These are the 110 most banned books. The ones I have read (or mostly read) are in bold; the ones I have read excerpts of are in italics. #1 The Bible#2 Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain#3 Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes#4 The Koran#5 Arabian Nights (any number of doubtless-abridged versions)#6 Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain#7 Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan … Read More
Oscar Night
For the first time in many many many many many years, I really didn’t give a shit. I hadn’t seen most of the movies, except "Sideways" which was nice. I’m glad Morgan Freeman won. That was nice. But here’s the thing: does Chris Rock suck bigtime or what?
The Hidden Cost
A side of the Iraqi War that you rarely read about: Jesus Bocanegra was an Army infantry scout for units that pursued Saddam Hussein in his hometown of Tikrit. After he returned home to McAllen, Texas, it took him six months to find a job. He was diagnosed with PTSD and is waiting for the VA to process his disability … Read More
Uncle Bucky Cashes In
From the LA Times: The Iraq war helped bring record earnings to St. Louis-based defense contractor Engineered Support Systems Inc., and new financial data show that the firm’s war-related profits have trickled down to a familiar family name — Bush. William H.T. "Bucky" Bush, uncle of the president and youngest brother of former President George H.W. Bush, cashed in ESSI … Read More
More on the F-word
A little over a week ago, I wrote a post about the F-word ("fascism") being used to describe the Bush Administration by a prominent conservative magazine. Was it just mudflinging . . . or is there something to the notion that we are heading into a fascist era? This flash animation makes a compelling argument that we are indeed seeing … Read More
From the Producers of “The Swift Boat Veterans for *cough* Truth *cough*”…
… comes the latest in surreal conservative propaganda. And it is a doosy. AARP: Anti-military. Pro Gay. Therefore, we should privatize social security. This is a copy of the the ad being run by USANext, the conservative alternative to AARP (when you click the actual ad, you are taken to USANext‘s home page). There’s no article or argument as to … Read More
Iraq Report Card
P.S. One mile lines for gasoline? In an oil-rich country? Ouch.
Disconcerting News
WASHINGTON – The Earth may be on the brink of a worldwide epidemic from a bird flu virus that may mutate to become as deadly and infectious as viruses that killed millions during three influenza pandemics of the 20th century, a federal health official said Monday. *** "The science here is all alerting us that we have a great deal … Read More
Bush’s “Schtick”
Gotta love it. From the NY Times article on the newly-discovered Bush tapes: He refused to answer reporters’ questions about his past behavior, he said, even though it might cost him the election. Defending his approach, Mr. Bush said: "I wouldn’t answer the marijuana questions. You know why? Because I don’t want some little kid doing what I tried." Isn’t … Read More
Hypocrisy of the Right – Part III
From the comments at Body and Soul via Sisyphus Shrugged: See, me, I’m fine with his being gay. Hell, I’m fine with him being a prostitute, if that’s what he needs to do to live. What I want to see, and what thankfully I am seeing, is all of the right-wing pundits roaring anathema on left-wing blogs because by not … Read More
Hypocrisy of the Right – Part II
Eason Jordon believed that U.S. soldiers were targetting journalists. Ann "It’s Time for the New McCarthyism" Coulter wants U.S. soldiers to target journalists. Eason Jordon’s statement is made in a closed-door symposium with relatively few listeners. He retracts it almost immediately. Ann Coulter’s statement was made on national television to untold millions of listeners. She never retracts it. Eason Jordon … Read More
Hypocrisy of the Right – Part I
If the Clinton Adminstration had done something like this . . . U.S. diplomats and intelligence officers are conducting secret talks with Iraq’s Sunni insurgents on ways to end fighting there, Time magazine reported yesterday, citing Pentagon and other sources. … the right wingers would run the word "appeaser" into the ground. But it is Bush, so they don’t. Hypocrisy … Read More
Chinese Arms
China has lots of them. (Scroll down to bottom of page to view incredible video of Chinese performers, who — believe it or not — are deaf!!).
Camilla Banned From White House
CAMILLA BANNED FROM WHITE HOUSE George Bush has banned Camilla Parker Bowles from the White House – because she is a divorcee. The unprecedented snub has effectively sabotaged Charles’s plan to take his bride on a Royal tour of America later this year. (Source) A divorcee? Never! A gay hooker, on the other hand . . .