FroM the Slacktivist: It’s been awhile so it seems again it’s time for a helpful reminder that noncombatant immunity isn’t just a good idea, it’s the law. In other words: You’re not allowed to kill civilians. Killing civilians is against the law. Killing civilians makes you a criminal. Yes, but … No buts about it. You’re not allowed to kill … Read More
Anti-Smoking Vaccine In The Works
Attention all smokers who would like to quit: Doctors are testing a radical new way to help smokers quit: a shot that "immunizes" them against the nicotine rush that fuels their addiction. That pleasurable buzz has seduced Mario Musachia into burning through nearly half a million cigarettes in half a century. Now the Madison man is among 300 people around … Read More
Ken Burns vs. The FCC
Ken Burns, documentarian extraordinaire (see The Civil War, Baseball) is in a battle with the FCC over his latest project — a 14 hour PBS documentary on WWII. Apparently, two of the people he interviews somewhere in that 14 hours use — get the fainting couch ready — swear words! The War, by Ken Burns, which includes veterans using profanities … Read More
Happy SAAD
Today is System Administrator Appreciation Day. Hug your tech guy who keeps your computer services running.
Pot Smoking Greg Brady
Yesterday’s mystery house was the Brady Bunch house. And keeping with the Brady theme, here is a clip from the show. In his biography, Barry Williams (who played Greg) says that he played this scene (where the station wagon pulls into the driveway), like, totally baked, man. And it shows. He just grins a lot, and almost trips over a … Read More
U.S. Army: “If You’re Involved In Community Theater, You Must Be Gay”
From TPM Muckraker: Here’s a tidbit from an AP article …The story concerns a decorated Army Arabic specialist who was dismissed for being gay: On Dec. 2, investigators formally interviewed Copas and asked if he understood the military’s policy on homosexuals, if he had any close acquaintances who were gay, and if he was involved in community theater. Seriously? Yeah, … Read More
Condi Rice Not Comfortable Singing Show Tunes
Well, that’s what she said. I guess that makes sense. What with everything going to hell in a handbasket, Condi would look pretty silly getting up in front of a bunch of diplomats and singing "Everything’s Comin’ Up Roses".
Key Neocon Acknowledges Iraq Debacle
David Frum was a former Bush speechwriter, best known for coming up with the "axis of evil" term. Both in and out of the White House, he has been an ardent supporter of Bush’s foreign policy and the invasion of Iraq. But today, he’s being candid, writing that Iraq is essentially a lost cause no matter what we do: Hands … Read More
Bill Moyers For President
Molly Ivins has an idea which isn’t bad at all. Here’s some background on Bill Moyers. UPDATE: Ezra Klein agrees: I’ve always found Moyers writings and speeches to be closer to prayers than essays, appeals to our better angels rather than for our grudging votes. When I’m depressed with the state of the country or feel overtaken by the enmities … Read More
Bush Administration Worse Than 9/11
Well that’s one way to look at this: According to the poll, 65 percent say they feel less confident that life for their children’s generation will be better than it was for them. The poll was taken July 21-24. Now that’s pretty bad, but look how people responded to the same question when it was asked three months after 9/11/2001. … Read More
Funny Video Of The Day
There’s one thing that conservatives and liberals agree on: Fred Phelps and his group are the most incidious people on the planet. Fred Phelps, if you don’t know, is the pastor of the Westboro Baptist Church. He first came to national attention with his protests in Laramie, Wyoming following the murder of Matthew Shepard, as immortalized in the play and … Read More
A Unique Solution To The Middle East Problem
Why didn’t somebody think of this before? Reuven Zelinkovsky was a colonel in the Israeli army, but now he has renounced military might to join a squadron of yogic flyers at the Sea of Galilee to throw a "shield of invincibility" around the Jewish state. As Hezbollah rockets fired from nearby Lebanon boomed in the background, he explained that the … Read More
A Bit Of Advice To Pam Anderson And Kid Rock
Look, kids. You can get married twenty times for all I care — it’s still only gonna last a year.
Those Poor Gas & Oil Companies
As Jon Stewart pointed out recently, let’s not feel bad for the oil companies. Poor BP set a record quarterly profit of $6.118 billion, or roughly $55,000 per minute. And news comes out today that Exxon second quarter profits for this year jumped 36 percent. They netted "earned $10.36 billion in the second quarter, the second largest quarterly profit ever … Read More
Whose House?
These are pictures of a house rendered in CAD. See if you can identify whose house it is. Some of the furniture may be missing, but yes, you do know whose house it is. Here’s a couple of dead giveaways, if you haven’t figured it out yet…