Illmethinks_Politiq

Beautiful Universe

Glorious void

Too bad it's all random chance, you bleepin' creationists... I mean, um, "intelligent designers"... but that only applies to life, right?

Bear

The 50 Worst People

Thanks to The Beast for this mostly agreeable compilation of America's 50 most loathsome individuals. It's heartening to see satire isn't completely dead; reminiscent of The Simpson's "ironic punishment" division of hell.

Bear

You Want Proof That Bush and The Cronies Are Violating Your Cival Rights!? - Google Refuses Govt. Request For Search Records On Bush

Boy I really had to look hard for this blatant attempt at violating my civil right!!!....(sigh)

You Want Proof That Bush and The Cronies Are Violating Your Cival Rights!? - Google Refuses Govt. Request For Search Records On Bush

Mountain View-based Google has refused to comply with a White House subpoena first issued last summer, prompting U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales this week to ask a federal judge in San Jose for an order to force a handover of the requested records.

The government wants a list all requests entered into Google's search engine during an unspecified single week -- a breakdown that could conceivably span tens of millions of queries. In addition, it seeks 1 million randomly selected Web addresses from various Google databases.

In court papers that the San Jose Mercury News reported on after seeing them Wednesday, the Bush administration depicts the information as vital in its effort to restore online child protection laws that have been struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Google competitor  Yahoo Inc., which runs the Internet's second-most used search engine, confirmed Thursday that it had complied with a similar government subpoena.

Although the government says it isn't seeking any data that ties personal information to search requests, the subpoena still raises serious privacy concerns, experts said, especially considering recent revelations that the White House authorized eavesdropping on domestic civilian communications after the Sept. 11 attacks without obtaining court approval.

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Hehe...

Check out The Best Blonde Joke Ever. Funny stuff...

Asshole alert

This time it comes in the form of my good buddy Rush, who said this while discussing a sexual discrimination suit being brought against Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein Securities by six of it's female employees:

I’m not talking -- I know how many of you want to be sexually harassed -- that’s not what I’m asking. But if somebody wants to hire you to look good for whoever is the first to walk in the door every day, why not, if that’s your asset?

Now, I have a real-world question for those of you women in the audience. Just something I’d like to know. How many of you in the secrecy and privacy of your own dreams and hopes would love to be hired as eye candy?

Ugh. "If that's your asset"; because women couldn't possibly have anything else to offer besides big tits and a pretty face. This man is so utterly repulsive... (but don't you like his sexy Dr. Phil-type picture?)

Thanks to Vanessa at feministing.

J.J.

Schwarzenegger in fight with lethal curb

Ok, so I totally jacked that joke from the Daily Show... I couldn't resist. Arnold got in a motorcycle accident this week, with his 12-year-old son in the sidecar. Arnold, I believe, hit his face on the curb. Ouch. He got 15 stitches, but it's been reported that it didn't noticably affect his speech. Of course not... he's always sounded like he had a fat lip. Turns out he doesn't actually possess the proper license to be driving the motorcycle at all. He says he "never really thought about it." I wonder if I could get away with that... "Sorry officer, I don't really have the proper license to be driving this semi... guess I just never really thought about it."

J.J.

Stampede at Hajj

    Mina, Saudi Arabia - Muslim pilgrims tripped over luggage while hurrying to ritually stone the devil Thursday, causing a crush that trampled at least 345 people to death in the latest stampede to mar Islam's annual hajj.

    Saudi authorities have sought for years to ease the flow of increasingly mammoth crowds, but the tragedy underlined the difficulty in managing one of the biggest religious events in the world, which this time drew more than 2.5 million pilgrims.

    The deaths on the final day of stoning came a week after another hajj disaster - the Jan. 5 collapse of a building being used as a pilgrims' hotel that killed 76 people in Mecca.

Can't wait to hear what Pat Robertson has to say about this one.

J.J.

Pat's At It Again

Once again Pat Robertson is kind enough to let us know what God's agenda for the planet is, suggesting that Ariel Sharon, who recently had a stroke, was struck down by God for his actions concerning the Middle East peace process, specifically the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip:

He was dividing God's land, and I would say, "Woe unto any prime minister of Israel who takes a similar course to appease the [European Union], the United Nations or the United States of America. God says, "This land belongs to me, and you'd better leave it alone."

Robertson has a history of making ridiculous statements, including his call for Venezualan President Hugo Chavez to be "taken out" and his attribution of blame for hurricane Katrina on New Orleans' practice of "witchcraft and sorcery". It seems Pat is a big fan of the Old Testament "angry God", rather than the New Testament's "loving God".

Angell Watts, spokeswoman for Robertson, tried to deflect the critics of Pat's statements:

What they're basically saying is, "How dare Pat Robertson quote the Bible?" This is what the word of God says. This is nothing new to the Christian community.

Umm, Angell, at what point does the Bible say God will strike down the leader of his chosen people for attempting to bring peace to a war-torn region?

And to think, this guy was once a Republican presidential candidate...

Bear

Where's The Outrage?

I don't know how many of you have been paying attention to the mainstream coverage of the Jack Abramoff, but it is pretty pathetic. This has the potential to be one of the biggest scandals in decades, and all the general population knows is that some guy named Jack gave some people money. Of course, the O'Reilly factor hasn't mentioned his name all week (Hey Bill, can I borrow a loofa?) Remember Whitewater? What about Monicagate?

Free advice for Tom DeLay: Give up trying to regain your majority leader post. It's over. Even if you survive your "partisan" case in Texas, you can't get past this. First off, Abramoff cut a plea deal. This means you have no chance of playing the partisan witch-hunt card, especialy since all your party can say is "We'll give back the money, but Democrats took some too." Good job, GOP, going the old "well, they did it too" route. Aren't you the party of the "moral majority"? Secondly, if you do come out of Texas unscathed, do you really think the GOP is stupid enough to put a former majority leader back into his old position with a second, more concrete, scandal hanging over his head? For the record, I hope they do. Thirdly, Abramoff gave money to two of your aides. Even if you didn't know this (unlikely) it is your job to know what goes on in your name.

Once again it's time for the hio polloi to become enraged, rather than compacently waiting to be spoon-fed their talking points. Some Republicans are saying that, since both parties were receiving money from Abramoff, the fallout won't be too focused on the GOP. Unfortunately for them that's wishful thinking. But it's the GOP that runs Washington right now, and the public is looking at this as another case of Washington corruption. If Washington is corrupted, and the Republicans are, in essence, Washignton, then the Republicans are corrupted. The party of morals and small government is awash in illegal money and favors, given to them by a man who initially obtained it from Indian casinos; isn't gambling a vice, Mr. Republican?

To quote Michael Franti: "Hypocrisy is the greatest luxury."

Bear

More crap from Cheney

If this isn't classic Bush administration bullshit... Just say "9/11, 9/11, scary, scary!!" and the masses will stand silently by... not this time.

As part of an effort to sell Americans on the administration's recently disclosed program to eavesdrop on telephone and e-mail communications between the United States and people overseas without a warrant, Cheney told a small group of conservatives at the Heritage Foundation that instead of being able to "pick up" on the terrorist plot "we didn't know they were here plotting until it was too late."

But Cheney did not mention that the government had compiled significant information on the two suspects before the attacks and that bureaucratic problems -- not a lack of information -- were primary reasons for the security breakdown, according to congressional investigators and the Sept. 11 commission. Moreover, the administration had the power to eavesdrop on their calls and e-mails, as long as it sought permission from a secret court that oversees clandestine surveillance in the United States.

Ugh. This guy...I mean, he may be able to fool some idiots who take him at his word, but the 9/11 Commission has already said we had the intelligence but did nothing. The surveillance he's speaking of HAS ALWAYS BEEN AN OPTION. You just need a court order first. I don't think he would have had difficulty getting a warrant for 2 known members of Al Qaeda. That's all this is about. Just have to get that court order. FISA is pretty easy-going; they approve pretty much everything. No need to circumvent them unless you're doing something they would find illegal. Hmmmm.

J.J.