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Saturday, December 13, 2003

Unelectable... 

I'd have to say this man is unelectable. He lost in 2000 and he'll lose again. Scalia can't save you this time!

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Thinks week's Showcase vote... 

Big Corporate vs 13 y/o Girl
Sigh
You really didn't need those HIV drugs, did you?

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Friday, December 12, 2003

A call to the Right... 

The guy who made this brilliant commercial has had his life threatened by a piece of shit who calls himself Emperor Misha I. http://www.nicedoggie.net/archives/003462.html#003462 (I won't give him the satisfaction of an actual link.) I'm calling on all you conservatives to denounce his actions and delink his site. Inciting violence is well outside the boundaries of healthy political discourse.

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Thursday, December 11, 2003

Self Promotion... 

This post is featured on this week's New Blog Showcase. Please take a look at it and all the other fine entries. Note to LC members: Cast your votes before Sunday night.

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Is anyone surprised? 

Yahoo! News - Pentagon Finds Halliburton Overcharged
A Pentagon investigation has found overcharging and other violations in a $15.6 billion Iraq reconstruction contract awarded to Vice President Dick Cheney's former company, a defense official said Thursday.

An ongoing audit of Halliburton's Kellogg, Brown & Root subsidiary found substantial overcharging for fuel and other items, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The problems go beyond overcharging, the official said, declining to elaborate.
...
Cheney, a former defense secretary, stepped down from Halliburton when he became Bush's running mate in 2000 and has said he played no role in contracts for his former company.
Played no role? BULLSHIT.

I can't believe anyone will be surprised by these allegation. Haliburton is simply looting the government and the people of Iraq under cover of the Oval Office.

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This is a great idea... 

Weblog Entry - 12/10/2003: "blah3.com'" (via Eschaton)
So in the interest of keeping the political discussions honest in the coming year, I'm proposing a variant of Godwin's Law that I'm calling 'Stranger's Law.' And it goes a little something like this:

As a discussion of US politics grows longer, the probability of a liberal or progressive being called a 'Bush-Hater' approaches one. Once this occurs, that thread is over, and whoever called someone a Bush Hater has automatically lost whatever argument was in progress.
I agree wholeheartedly. Where do I vote? Where do I sign?


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Wednesday, December 10, 2003

Idiots... 

Yahoo! News - U.S. Calls Iraq Contract Restrictions Appropriate
The United States said on Wednesday its decision to bar Iraq (news - web sites) war opponents like France, Germany and Russia from $18.6 billion in U.S. reconstruction projects was appropriate and a reward for U.S. supporters.
...
But Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, ranking Democrat on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called it a "totally gratuitous slap" that "does nothing to protect our security interests and everything to alienate countries we need with us in Iraq."

He noted it came at a time when Powell and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld are seeking greater NATO support in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"What is this administration's policy? It's long past time we stop treating Iraq like a prize," Biden said.
They are treating like a prize because that's exactly what it is. This administration is playing a life size game of RISK. I need a freeper to explain to me how it is possible to be an isolationist and a colonialist at the same time. My tiny liberal brain can't fathom the complexities.

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Billmon always cracks me up... 

Musn't Let Them Have the Precious

Wolfie does look like Gollum!

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The Mayor...The Pride of the Iowa State Cyclones 

Read this article. Now. City Pages: The Glue Guy
When a teammate is being trapped on the perimeter, Hoiberg rushes over to bail him out, and then promptly gives the ball back. His passes are usually shrewd and accurate and he rarely dribbles into difficulty, resulting in an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.92-to-1 that is nearly twice as productive as Szczerbiak's 1.56-to-1 ratio last season. Despite being two inches shorter than Wally, Hoiberg is averaging almost exactly as many rebounds per minutes played as Szczerbiak did a year ago. Hoiberg defends the pick-and-roll more adeptly than Wally, already knows his defensive assignments more thoroughly, and fouls opponents with more savvy--on breakaways or when a basket is otherwise likely--than any Timberwolf since Mitchell.
Fred Hoiberg is one of the nicest people I have ever had the pleasure to meet. I'm happy to see that he is getting some much deserved press. Keep it up, Freddie.


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Ha ha! 

Yahoo! News - Spending Bill Delayed in Senate

Good. I'm glad the Democrats were able to play a little hardball. I hope their resolve continues when the new session begins next month.

This omnibus bill is full of pork. My town, Iowa City, has gained some notoriety because of the bill. Sen. Grassley (R-IA) wants you and your children and your grandchildren to pay $50 million for this little wonder. I think the rainforest is a great project. Having the tax payers fund it is another matter.

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Tuesday, December 09, 2003

Do as I say not as I do... 

Yahoo! News - Bush Warns Taiwan on Independence
"We oppose any unilateral decision by either China or Taiwan to change the status quo," Bush said when asked about a planned March 20 vote in Taiwan on China. "And the comments and actions made by the leader of Taiwan indicate that he may be willing to make decisions unilaterally to change the status quo, which we oppose."
Governor Bush is no position to be lecturing on unilateralism. I keep wishing I'd wake up to discover that Georgie Boy was still running the Rangers.

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Monday, December 08, 2003

Start your timers... 

Yahoo! News - George Clinton Arrested on Drug Charge
Funk music pioneer George Clinton was arrested and charged with drug possession after allegedly telling an officer he had cocaine in his pocket.
How long before Krauthammer turns this into Bill Clinton? I give him about 12 seconds.

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What is the point? 

Tipton, Iowa is planning the largest funeral the town has ever witnessed. This Saturday, Iowa National Guard Spc. Aaron J. Sissel will be laid to rest. Aaron died November 29th in an attack on his convey in Hadith, Iraq. He was 22 years old.

I've never lived in that small town that my parents now call home. I didn't know Aaron. Now I wish I did. I wish I could still have the chance to see all those young men and women arriving safely into the arms of their family and friends.

We've been given so many reasons why this war was so necessary. The goalpost have moved so many times that I don't know what the objective is anymore. Weapons of mass destruction, Al Quida connections, enforcement of UN sanctions human rights violations, the freedom of the Iraqi people...they all read like a mission statement in the Halliburton quarterly report. What I do know is the price is too high. And not just for Tipton.

I heard Steve Earle interviewed on NPR yesterday. Something he said hit me so hard that I couldn't sleep last night. He was talking about the death penalty but his words apply to what is happening in Iraq. He said in a democracy, when the government takes a life, we are all taking a life. We are collectively damaging our spirits by allowing this war to continue.

I don't know how Aaron felt about the war. I won't presume to put words in his mouth or feelings in his heart. He died performing his duty. Those of us responsible for sending him and so many others to die have a duty to perform as well. End this war and bring our loved ones home safely.

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