Does this sound familiar to anyone? U.S. Encouraged by Vietnam Vote: Officials Cite 83% Turnout Despite Vietcong Terror by Peter Grose, Special to the New York Times (9/4/1967: p. 2) WASHINGTON, Sept. 3– United States officials were surprised and heartened today at the size of turnout in South Vietnam’s presidential election despite a Vietcong terrorist campaign to disrupt the voting. … Read More
What Iraqis Want
This is one hell of a fractured country. I’m glad they are going through the mostly symbolic, but still important, act of voting. But that is of course only step one in building a country. The hard work hasn’t even begun. Here are some interesting finds from a Zogby poll of Iraqis: (76%) of Sunni Arabs say they definitely will … Read More
Good Question Re: Iraqi Voting
Anyone know the answer to Thomas Schaller’s questions? Of the 234,000 [Iraqis eligible to vote] living in the United States right now, only 90,000 are estimated to be foreign-born (presumably in Iraq); the remaining 140,000 or so were born here. At what point does your foreign voting eligibility cease, may I ask? For instance, if your grandparents were Iraqi refugees, … Read More
Everybody’s Getting Religion
The United Church of Christ gets it. Kudos to them. And Billie Miller, a woman in Ridgecrest, California , lost her religion a couple of weeks ago: I can’t believe the vicious slander of some people who have the nerve to portray or suggest Jesus behaved as a Liberal. Jesus makes his position very clear. The wisdom of an "eye … Read More
VP Disgraces Solemn Service
Let’s hope he didn’t go around telling people to fuck themselves. From WaPo: At yesterday’s gathering of world leaders in southern Poland to mark the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the United States was represented by Vice President Cheney. The ceremony at the Nazi death camp was outdoors, so those in attendance, such as French President Jacques Chirac … Read More
New VW Ad
I thought I couldn’t be impressed by computer-aided special effects. I thought I had seen it all. I was wrong. (Quicktime Movie — takes a while to load — to truly appreciate, make sure your sound is on) Is Gene Kelly rolling in his grave?
The Toynbee Mystery
Signs like this one were first spotted in New York and Philadephia in 1996. They appear to be plastic and baked into the street or sidewalk. The plaques make reference to Stanley Kubrick’s "2001" (and perhaps "2010"), but what do they mean? Some publicity was generated about the bizarre plaques, and it turns out that these signs appear throughout the … Read More
Payolagate – Number Three
Another undisclosing White House shill . . . Even Magalang sez: "This is getting ridiculous". No, honey. It’s standard operating procedure.
More Torture Bedtime Stories for Neo-cons
Hey, kids! Press "play" on your recording of Lee Greenwood’s "Proud to be an American" and snuggle up to this wonderful story: Female interrogators tried to break Muslim detainees at the U.S. prison camp in Guantanamo Bay by sexual touching, wearing a miniskirt and thong underwear and in one case smearing a Saudi man’s face with fake menstrual blood . … Read More
When Right-Wing Bloggers Don’t Bother To Fact Check . . .
. . . you get a lot of sound and fury and well, egg-on-faces: Last week, the University of Oregon asked one of its employees to remove a yellow "Support the Troops" sticker from the state-owned truck he drives. Since then, it has been taking the heat from talk radio hosts and Internet bloggers who picked up the story and … Read More
Undoubtedly
I think the experts are right . . . don’t you? Hat tip: Wonkette
Nice Work If You Can Get It
Even though it is not opening for another five months, many are eagerly awaiting the premiere of "Star Wars III: The Return of the Who-Gives-A-Shit". (Actually, it is "Return of the Sith"). But Jeff Tweiten in Seattle, Washington is going a bit too far. He’s lining up for a ticket now. He’s even got a couch in front of the … Read More
Eyes On The Prize
About 20 years ago, I (like millions of others) saw an extraordinary documentary called "Eyes On The Prize". Shown in multiple parts over several days, the documentary is without a doubt THE documentary chronicling the United States civil rights movement. I have long wondered what happened to film, expecting it to show up on DVD one of these days. Sadly, … Read More
Pundit Payola
Again.
Never Tired Of Being Wrong
According to a July 28th, 2000 article in USA Today, back in 1978 when President Bush was running for congress in Texas, "he predicted Social Security would go broke in 10 years and said the system should give people ‘the chance to invest money the way they feel’ is best." (Source) And back in 1999, he again said that Social … Read More