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Captain Beef-Heart - I’m Gonna Booglarize You, Baby

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Moody Blues - Legend of a Mind

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[Loosely lampooning this article which has appeared on the front page of Republican’t mouthpiece the Washington Post:

ON THE REPUBLICAN’T FRONT
Foes Use Lott’s Gay Hooker Ties to Fuel Rumors About Him

By funnyfarmer - blogger incredulous that this was approved and allowed to be published on the front page of the newspaper right after the Giuliani scandal came out - almost as if they had to distract the public from the important news of the day!

Friday, November 30, 2007

In his speeches and often on the Internet, the part of Sen. Trent Lott’s biography that gets the most attention is not his continuing racist remarks, but his connections to the gay hooker world.

Since abruptly resigning his position as a US Senator five years before his term ends, Trent, a member of a sanctimonious group of holier-than-thou Republican’ts, has had to address assertions that he is gay or that he had purchased the services of a gay hooker while condemning gays in general and the gay lifestyle in particular. While he publicly proclaims to practice a form of christian religion, Trent’s itinerary did occasionally coincide with known male sex workers during his time as a representative of american taxpayers.

Despite his denials, rumors and e-mails circulating on the Internet continue to allege that Trent (R-MS) is gay, a closeted denier and persecutor of his fellow homosexuals, and that, if he continued to serve in the US Senate, his sexual preferences would be exposed, when the results of investigations in the matter become public.

In Senate appearances, Trent regularly condemns the ‘deviant behavior’ involved with same-sex relationships, and promotes legislation that would criminalize sexual activity between members of the same sex. Trent invokes these opinions as part of his case that he is a gawdly christian, and that he would literally bring hellfire and damnation on earth to the gawdless sodomites in america.

Trent was born and spent his childhood in Mississippi, and he talks more about his southern roots than he does about the possibility of being the latest Republican’t Senator to be publicly outed as a hypocrite in his private life.

Read the rest of this entry »

Not a nudge in the past two days and the biggest bill’s due tomorrow. Please toss in a twenty or ten or a five, but only if you haven’t helped out already.

The wolf really is at the door and with 22,000 visitors this month, it hasn’t been enough to get over the hump after a month of blegging. When I’m back on my feet, I’m the sort who’ll pay it forward to others in need, so I hope you’ll lend a hand and finish my fundraising for another year.

Two campaign workers are being held hostage by a 40-something man with a self-proclaimed bomb strapped to his chest, and is demanding to speak with Hillary, who’s in Virginia. Developing…

Turn on CNN or go to that link and get local live video.

Good. A clarification.

When Congressman Murtha said the surge has improved things, particularly in Anbar province, the press immediately spun it as an endorsement of all the strategies employed by the White House in the past year, even though his original comments also criticized the Iraq government. The press also indicated his words posed problems for Democrats.

As a Democrat, the only problem I had was with the press spin, not with Murtha’s quoted comments. With his clarification, there can be no doubt what his intents were: they echo what two GOP Congressmen said earlier this week:

The surge, he said in a statement, “has created a window of opportunity for the Iraqi government,’’ but so far the Iraqi government has “failed to capitalize on the political and diplomatic steps that the surge was designed to provide.”

“The fact remains that the war in Iraq cannot be won militarily, and that we must begin an orderly redeployment of U.S. forces from Iraq as soon as practicable,” said the chair of the House Appropriations Committee’s Defense Subcommittee.

If the press operated impartially, they would have been skipping the ‘gotcha’ spin and asked some proper followup questions. Such as:

Do you attribute the decline in violence to the strategy of Sunnis and US forces uniting against other outsiders, or has the ceasefire of 8/29 by Moqtada al-Sadr been part of that violence reduction?

But we’ve learned the corporate press remains more interested in creating controversy than ferreting out a clear picture of what’s happening in Iraq.

I sure miss journalism.

Steve Benen provides the details. Don’t Ask Don’t Tell may finally go the way of the Ford Pinto if the politicians listen to the retired brass. Both have damaged too many lives, but I’ll hold my applause till I see the discrimination ended.

The Sudanese court had one way to proceed: let Gillian Gibbons go free, but then deport her. The deportation could have quelled extremist demands that the teacher be executed for agreeing to let her students pick a name.

Now they’ve got a far more serious problem to handle. Thousands of armed protestors could put Gibbon’s life in danger. If she’s hurt, it will cause further religious animosity all over the world.

In fact, it was several extremist clerics that incited the mob actions that are occurring. That’s the real threat to their national security, not a misnamed teddy bear.

But the Sudanese government seems to relish the role of promoting extremism and violence towards anyone who’s a symbol of the West. One only needs to consider the Darfur genocide to see how corrupt and violent the Sudanese government really is.

With a median age of a very young 18.9 years, an average life expectancy of 49.11 years, a literacy rate of 61.1%, and 40% of the country living in poverty, it’s a population easily manipulated by ideologues. But singling out an innocent teacher like this invites hostile actions from civilized nations all over the globe.

If they’re halfway smart, they’ll get Miss Gibbons home safely within the next 24 hours. There are governments that deserve to be overthrown because of their ongoing atrocities. Sudan has been among the top 2 or 3 deserving of that for several years.

I think the president, Umar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir should get a delivery of a boatload of teddy bears, each one named Umar Hassan Ahmad al-Rectum in his honor.

I’m sorry if this runs counter to my preference for non-war solutions, but this is simply the latest outrage from a government that long ago failed to block a genocide. In all of Africa, it’s the only government that deserves outright ouster for the war criminals it contains.

Though it’s clear that Rudy lies with statistics,, they’re a bit like Reagan’s welfare queen anecdotes. Most people don’t believe them, but they do sway a few.

His deliberate fudging of the facts should, of course, be exposed. But politics watchers and activists occasionally overlook the visceral impact of candidates on viewers. Most voters think most politicians take liberties with the truth and they accept some of it as part of the game. But when politicians are talking, do they sound defensive, look nervous, carry off a real air of comfortable authority, or do they sound clumsy, or look like they’re forcing that smile?

Reagan got away with it by expressing cheer mostly and determination during serious moments. Rudy’s been attempting to mic a similar calm and cheerful reassurance on camera. But as he comes increasingly under fire, it’ll be important to see if he starts sounding defensive or outright phony.

It would be nice if more voters stopped granting politicians the ‘everybody-lies’ defense. Every elected official doesn’t. And none should.

But at the moment, voters do judge from their gut as well as their head. Those impressions propelled Rudy to top GOP contender for awhile. But lately, that facade is cracking.

From SeacoastOnline:

Biden spoke in front of a crowd of approximately 100 at a Seacoast Media Group forum Thursday, which focused on the Iraq War and foreign policy. When an audience member expressed fear of another war with Iran, he said he does not typically engage in threats, but had no qualms about issuing a direct warning to the oval office.

“The President has no authority to unilaterally attack Iran and if he does, as foreign relations committee chairman, I will move to impeach,” said Biden, which was followed by a raucous applause.

Biden said he is in the process of meeting with constitutional law experts to prepare a legal memorandum saying as much, and intends to send it to the President.

When resident Joel Carp asked Biden why not impeach now given what has already been done, Biden said it was a valid point but might not be constitutionally valid and potentially counterproductive. A case for impeachment must have clear evidence, he said, and blame should be directed at the right parties.

“If you’re going to impeach George Bush, you better impeach Cheney first,” said Biden, which also received applause.

Biden said the best deterrent to prevent preemptive military action in Iran is to make it clear, even if it is at the end of his final term, action will be taken against Bush to ensure “his legacy will be marred for all time.”

When Hillary’s feeling squeezed, she trots out her husband. Candidates going nowhere have to resort to bold statements to get any press at all. So Biden sounds like Kucinich at the moment, but will the moment end when his primary run does?

The latest Rasmussen poll indicates more men think so, even though the women remain very skeptical. Neither gives Bush any credit for the slightly more optimistic male assessment, as he lost a point in the process.

But really, how does any voter really judge these things? AS near as I can tell, it’s either by the lack of attacks on US soil, or by mixing u the minor successes in Iraq with the ambiguous ‘War on Terror’. In fact, by asking about both in this poll, Rasmussen continues that Bush deception alive.

Are there more or less global terrorists than a year ago? Are the number of attacks globally increasing or decreasing?

Rasmussen should be asking why they think terrorism is up or down. I suspect it’s because the media’s just burying terror stories while increasing campaign coverage. Rasmussen’s data is meaningless until we know how respondents are measuring success or failure.

Josh Marshall covers Rudy’s latest dodge as he tries to explain his way past the use of random city accounts to fund his shagadelic love-ins. Perhaps the claim that there’s security reasons to cover up this fund-dipping means Rudy was afraid his rejected wife would go all Lorena Bobbitt on him. Or was he hiding his sausage slushfunds from mooks like his pal Bernie Kerik, who’d demand a piece of the action? And if so, did he really make his security detail wear paisley?

Inquiring minds want to know. I just pray there’s no Paris Hilton-like videos forthcoming that he billed to the fire department’s widows and orphans pension accounts.

Consider Redstate’s title: CNN’s Performance Was Unacceptable. There Should Be A Do Over of This Debate. I thought mulligans were the province of bad golfers and overly spoiled children, not people vying for the world’s biggest bully pulpit.

John Edwards visits Olbermann and takes his light sabre to the Republiweenies who can’t take a question without crying like three year olds.

Really, I’m amazed that instead of the usual lies, propaganda and insults, the rightists now resort to holding their breath till they turn blue. If anything could embolden a terrorist, I imagine this latest round of diaper wetting could.

And you have been designated a threat to the state apparatus. You do not have the right to remain silent. You do not have the right to request an attorney. What you say after we force you to talk will be held against you. should you choose not to talk, that will also convict you. You do not have a right to a phone call or any other means of thought conveyance. Your thoughts have already proven your traitorous intents. You no longer exist.

When will the fresh daily thefts of our Constitutional rights be themselves prosecutable crimes?

Okay, so maybe it’s not as juicy as the Shag Fund scandal*. But former fellow Open Source Politics blogger Richard Silverstein has just successfully defended himself from a libel lawsuit brought against him by Rachael Neuwirth for content on his blog**:

Tonight is not a good night for Rachel Neuwirth. Like Casey at the bat, she took a mighty swing & like Casey she struck out.

She sued me for libel in Los Angeles Superior Court because I called her a “Kahanist swine.” Her claim was that this was the same as claiming she was a Jewish terrorist since Kahane Chai, Meir Kahane’s Israeli political party, is designated by the U.S. Treasury Department as a terrorist organization.

Her attorney, Charles Fonarow, told my attorneys that her case was a “slam dunk.” Seems Los Angeles Superior Court Judge John Reid had a different idea. It’s also important to note that Judge Reid is no activist liberal judge. He teaches law at Pepperdine University law school where Kenneth Starr is the dean. He’s a law and order conservative and he understood the principles of free blog speech that were involved in this case. He understood that calling someone a Kahanist swine, while not perhaps the most refined turn of phrase in the world, is permitted in the context of public discourse on an issue of great civic importance.

We won the case with an anti-SLAPP (Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation) motion under which the defendant must prove that his speech was made in a public arena and furthered a public good and that the plaintiff was a public figure. Rachel’s key defense was that she is a private figure (she argued that she was merely a real estate agent) and the my blog was a private forum (because I “controlled” it), all of which are patently false since she herself calls herself an “internationally respected journalist” in her online bio. That my blog is a public forum is also patently obvious as 250,000 unique visitors each year indicate. And I no more ‘control’ the 6,000 comments published on my blog than I control the entire web.

[snip]

There’s much more at the various links as well as a lot of other stuff within comments and/or at other sites (which the Funny Farm strongly advises you avoid unless you have a strong stomach and a thick hide), and of course I’m not very well versed on the minutiae of the whole story. So you’ll have to decide for yourself.

I heartily applaud Mr. Silverstein for winning the first round*** here, fighting the good fight, and leading by example.

* - Groovy, baby!

** - I’m not exactly sure what the whole kerfluffle is about; apparently there are some radical blog sites out there that Richard has been outing to their web hosts, and Neuwirth thought a SLAPP suit would cause Richard to back down from those activities. I’m also sure that I have no interest in wading into the bloggy cesspools that he has slogged through to gather such special attention from people like Ms Neuwirth.

*** - cause you know they’re going to appeal…

From the forgotten candidate:

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This is dedicated to Cesar Chavez, Malcolm X, Betty Friedan, Abbie Hoffman, Ella Baker, Daniel Ellsberg, Dorothy Day, Dolores Huerta, the Berrigan Brothers, James Lewis, Ryan White, Saul Alinsky, RFK and Fred Ross.

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(h/t to Norm Jenson for the video)

Via Glenn Greenwald at Salon:

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has won another significant legal battle, as a federal judge in California yesterday ordered the Bush administration (.pdf) to comply with EFF’s FOIA demand and disclose documents revealing its “communications with telecommunications carriers and members of Congress” regarding efforts to amend FISA and provide amnesty to telecoms. Better still, the court imposed an extremely quick deadline for release of these documents — December 10 — so that “the public may participate in the debate over the pending legislation on an informed basis.”

Needless to say, the Bush administration raised every argument it could to avoid having to disclose this information. These disclosures will reveal — among other things — which telecom lobbyists and other representatives were meeting with DNI Michael McConnell in order to secure telecom amnesty, as well as which members of Congress McConnell and other Bush officials privately lobbied. As an argument of last resort, the administration even proposed disclosing these documents on December 31 so that — as EFF pointed out — the information would be available only after Congress passed the new FISA bill. The court rejected every administration claim as to why it should not have to disclose these records.

This is a huge win for the EFF, and for Americans in general. But we can’t take it for granted because Congress will be recessing for the holidays within 10 days of those materials reaching the public. Debate on the FISA bill will likely be concluded sooner than that recess date. So it’s imperative that we all stand ready to lobby our representatives, especially those on the Intelligence and Judiciary Committees, as that fresh data becomes known.

This morning, I called several of the Senators who have thus far been most instrumental in helping the telecom industry keep amnesty in the FISA bill: Senators Rockefeller, Feinstein and Whitehouse. The latter two Senators voted against stripping amnesty out of the FISA bill in both the Intelligence Committee and the Judiciary Committee (although both of them seem now to be attempting to work on a “Specter compromise” whereby telecoms would still be granted amnesty but the federal government would take their place as defendants). By e-mail, I also contacted the office of Sen. Reid, whose actions over the next couple of weeks will be crucial, perhaps dispositive, in determining the outcome of the efforts to keep amnesty out of the Senate bill.

He intends to post responses as he receives them.

It’s pretty bad when leading right wing editorialists start eating their own for acting like iggerant yayhoos.

To T Rex at his new home.

The King lives.

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With this post by him, I dedicate this set to Earl Dunovant:

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Update: Here’s the transcript. the post follows below.

Well, the neo bad boys met in debate last night, testing out the YouTubes and each other. It was awfully moving. They were implying lots of things about each other, occasionally got as bitchy as a pack of hungover drag queens waiting for the Mr. Coffee to drip faster, but nobody clawed and kicked or bit the head off an actual gerbil.

I spared myself the horror of it all, but due to the magic of modern cable modems and my capacities for absorbing mass quantities of hypertextual light transmissions, I’m certain i can microanalyze it all with my uncanny Joe-Klein-like interpretive intuitionment. Right at the outset, I have divined that John McCain lost.

McCain, already so old that most of the country thinks he should retire to the Thurmondesque tranquility of Senate senility, made the mistake, after all, of displaying an emotion beyond anger, disgust or crankiness. Like Edmund Muskie before him, this assures his place as an elder statesman but completely harshes his shot at the Big Laz-e-boy with the magic fingers.

mitt Romney, on the other hand, mindful of his Dad’s political demise after saying he’d been brainwashed, was determined to demonstrate that he wouldn’t crack under the pressure wash of a waterboard.

Mr. McCain and Mr. Romney got into a heated dispute on the subject of torture, with Mr. McCain saying Mr. Romney’s failure to condemn waterboarding reflected a fundamental misunderstanding of American principles.

“How in the world anybody could think that that kind of thing could be inflicted by Americans on people who are held in our custody is absolutely beyond me,” Mr. McCain said.

Mr. Romney did not back down, however, and said he was glad the military detention facility at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, was still open. “I want to make sure these people are kept at Guantánamo,” he said, and “not be given legal representation in this country.”

Mr. Romney said he opposed torture but would not detail the interrogation techniques he found acceptable.

Mr. McCain, growing obviously emotional, said, “Then you would have to advocate that we withdraw from the Geneva Conventions.”

After which, Romney ordered all the lawyers and judges arrested, to emphasize his earnestness at being mean to people who look like they might be terrorists.

Rudy an Mitt faced off to declare that each was too kind to immigrants. Rudy, it seems, permitted them to live and work in New York City. And Mitt employed some in his executive mansion, permitting them the luxury of washing his invisible underwear while suckling his sons at their ample but less than Caucasian teats. Demonstrating he’d tolerate immigrants only if they were properly humiliated, Mitt won that face-off, too.

Surprisingly, they even touched the third rail of the Wingnut Underground Express as Rudy was forced on the defensive about his past support of gun control. That gave Fred Thompson the motivation to demonstrate his noose building prowess, after which he hung himself:

Mr. Giuliani, who has led in national polls, found himself and his record in New York — including his past support for gun control — under scrutiny.

And many candidates had high points: Mr. Giuliani with his line about Mr. Romney’s mansion; Fred D. Thompson, the former senator from Tennessee, giving a spirited defense of gun control; Mr. Huckabee, when asked how Jesus would feel about the death penalty, responded, “Jesus was too smart to ever run for public office”; and Senator John McCain of Arizona, in highly emotional terms, condemned torture.

As you can see by that, only Mike came prepared to take on the stern mindmeld capabilities of the Big Digmeister. Jesus was indeed too smart to have ever run for public office, unlike the seven who showed up last night to demonstrate their smartlessness.

Unfortunately, Huckabee ultimately revealed his extremist liberalism by showing compassion for the children of illegal immigrants. I mean, he provided them college tuition, so they’d attend institutions where they could be subject to the silly notions of global evolution and stemcell warming. And Big Dig pounced:

“Mike, that’s not your money,” he said. “That’s the taxpayers’ money. And the right thing here is to say to people that are here legally as citizens or legal aliens, we’re going to help you. But if you’re here illegally, you ought to be able to return home or get in line with everybody else, but illegals are not going to get taxpayer-funded breaks that are better than our own citizens.”

Mr. Huckabee responded: “In all due respect, we’re a better country than to punish children for what their parents did. We’re a better country than that.”

“I worked my way through college,” Mr. Huckabee added. “I started work when I was 14, and I had to pay my own way through, and I know how hard it was to get that degree. I’m standing here tonight on this stage because I got an education. If I hadn’t had the education, I wouldn’t be standing on this stage. I might be picking lettuce. I might be a person who needed government support rather than who was giving so much money in taxes I want to get rid of the tax code that we’ve got and make it really different.”

Phew, that was close. Diverting the topic to tax elimination is always a surefire way to please a Republican crowd.

The Big Dig said he’d outlaw abortion. The Huckleberry said he’d outlaw the IRS. A couple of nobodies said they’d do other stuff. And then Ron Paul confessed he’d raised more money than he’d ever believed was possible and he found the thought of spending it all kinda daunting.

And then came the retired Brigadier General who described his stellar service. He had the crowd eating out of his hand. Till he said he was gay, at which point, the sound of 500 simultaneously clenched assholes rippled across the room. As it turned out, he was a mole from the Kerry/Clinton/GayModerator terror cell, so they booed him lustily while pelting him with stones before cutting off his penis and stuffing it down his throat in the name of National Security against Gilbert and Sullivan show tunes and nonspecific homo cooties.

All the candidates responded by saying “Ewwwwwwwww”. After which all the assholes unclenched, which caused a rise in natural gas futures.

Sampling elsewhere to see what others thought:

Michelle Malkin’s trooplets discovered that every question was actually planted by Democrats and therefore, not real.

And really, you should read these links. I mean, trust my judgment but enjoy the power of lesser lights as well.

Captain Ed liked Huckabee and Big Dig best.

Bill Scher thought they all lost except McCain.

Howie Klein was digging the audience.

BooMan just came away feeling queasy and unbalanced. Just as I would have, if I hadn’t chosen the more fun alternative of the industrial strength scrotum clamps, which is why I’m typing this in a high falsetto.

It’s pretty rare when TBogg quotes The Weekly Standard and they’re deadlier than TBogg.

And Scott Ott is likely disheartened that the most important question never got asked.

Finally, at Pollster.com, we get some actual voter sentiments:

InsiderAdvantage/Majority Opinion released two new statewide surveys (conducted 11/28) of 1,035 registered Republicans in Iowa and 341 undecided Republicans in Florida who said they watched tonight’s debate and were willing to call in after the debate to answer questions.

* Among Republicans in Iowa, 32% believe former Gov. Mike Huckabee won tonight’s Republican debate; former Gov. Mitt Romney gets 16%, former Mayor Rudy Giuliani 12%, Sen. John McCain 10%, former Sen. Fred Thompson 7%, Rep. Ron Paul 6%.

* Among Republicans in Florida, 44% believe Huckabee won the debate; Giuliani gets 18%, Romney 13%, McCain 10%, Thompson 5%.

* All other candidates receive less than five percent each.

So there you have it: Huckleberry won huge, while Big Dig and L’Affaire de Rudy split a distant second in the two states polled.

And where did Iraq go in this debate, besides gay? Healthcare? Housing crisis? Gas prices? Trade policies? Nope, real people hopes and worries were not in evidence. I blame it on poor Mexicans, Bill & Hillary’s tingly parts and the letter, bloody ‘L’.

In the past two days, you readers have pushed me ever closer to my goal. Thank you so much.

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If you can afford to toss in a $20, or anything at all, now’s the time to do so. I’m just shy of the rent I need by Friday, and if I can get the balance of the goal by this weekend, I’ll be free and clear through December. Please use the PayPal donation button in the right sidebar if you can help.

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Sister Nancy Beth Eczema has uncovered the most nefarious terrorist infiltration scheme yet devised. Praise Her.

You usually have to answer to your conscience, your kids, your wife and maybe her attorney. If your faith requires, you may have to answer to a cleric or a God. It’s an entirely separate matter when you insist on being accompanied by a security detail, you’re billing taxpayers for that, and the bills are quietly being paid out of several separate accounts, which lends an appearance of a coverup.

While some are welcome to make judgments about a politician’s personal life, I always am most interested in their public performance. If they’ve performed well as an employee, I’ll overlook personal behavior as long as it’s clearly not some felonious behavior. If their public performance has been poor or marginal, I might take the personal behavior into account and vote against such a public servant. Substandard performance plus substandard character issues is not an appealing combination.

But it’s a completely different matter when your personal life is also weighing on the public wallet. If I had an employee who used petty cash to grab a taxi home for a kid’s birthday party, I might consider that worth a verbal warning, but be generally understanding and unworried about the offense. Requiring a security detail to be paid, fed, transported and sheltered overnight isn’t petty cash. Doing that and doing it repeatedly is not acceptable, even if the employee is unmarried and pursuing a healthy, aboveboard loving relationship that hurts no one. Keeping such expenditures hidden is not a matter of security. It’s a matter of deceit.

Misuse of public funds, plus receipt, plus repetition are serious matters deserving disciplinary action and sometimes prosecution. Taxpayers don’t agree that security personnel are hired to perform in such circumstances. And the appearance of a coverup makes it even more serious.

The public has every right to insist upon a full investigation and pass judgment on the defective performance if such transgressions have occurred.

Rudy Giuliani believes he has the qualifications to serve as the most powerful public employee in the world. But if he misused funds and personnel, as it appears he may have, I think it disqualifies him from any higher office. And, should an investigation reveal he did those things, I trust most of America will prevent his election as President. not because he fell in love with another woman, but because he violated rules of conduct we have every right to expect him to adhere to. Those accounts are paid by taxpayers and the personnel involved have a specific limited service to perform.

If Rudy crossed those lines, he can kiss his presidential aspirations goodbye and live with the consequences of his bad decisions.