Sunday, August 31, 2003

Posted by Cherryperry on DU:Poll question: Vote On Your Opinion of Liberalism as Defined By This Song & Then Respond
LOVE ME, I'M A LIBERAL
by Phil Ochs
I cried when they shot Medgar Evers
Tears ran down my spine
I cried when they shot Mr. Kennedy
As though I'd lost a father of mine
But Malcolm X got what was coming
He got what he asked for this time
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal
I go to civil rights rallies
And I put down the old D.A.R.
I love Harry and Sidney and Sammy
I hope every colored boy becomes a star
But don't talk about revolution
That's going a little bit too far
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal
I cheered when Humphrey was chosen
My faith in the system restored
I'm glad the commies were thrown out
of the A.F.L.-C.I.O. board
I love Puerto Ricans and Negros
as long as they don't move next door
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal
The people of old Mississippi
Should all hang their heads in shame
I can't understand how their minds work
What's the matter don't they watch Les Crane?
But if you ask me to bus my children
I hope the cops take down your name
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal
I read New Republic and Nation
I've learned to take every view
You know, I've memorized Lerner and Golden
I feel like I'm almost a Jew
But when it comes to times like Korea
There's no one more red, white and blue
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal
I vote for the democratic party
They want the U.N. to be strong
I go to all the Pete Seeger concerts
He sure gets me singing those songs
I'll send all the money you ask for
But don't ask me to come on along
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal
Once I was young and impulsive
I wore every conceivable pin
Even went to the socialist meetings
Learned all the old union hymns
But I've grown older and wiser
And that's why I'm turning you in
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

Although politics is not exactly a traditional Jewish profession, individual Jews have thrown themselves into the democratic process, such as Paul Wellstone, Barbara Boxer, many freedom riders in the 1950's/60's, Emma Goldman and the radicals of the early 20th century, all of whom have been inspired by the traditional Jewish ideal that we have a DUTY to help repair the world!


Poll result (69 votes)
Appropriate in the 1960's, Doesn't Work Anymore (2 votes, 3%) Vote
Not Appropriate in the 1960's or Ever (5 votes, 7%) Vote
I Don't Believe I Ever Looked At Liberalism This Way, But I Agree (1 votes, 1%) Vote
I Don't Believe I Ever Looked At Liberalism This Way, But I Disagree (34 votes, 49%) Vote
I've Always Loved this Song and I Agree With It (11 votes, 16%) Vote
I've Always Loved Phil Ochs, but This Song Was Not One With Which I Agreed (3 votes, 4%) Vote
Phil Ochs is a Whiney-Baby (6 votes, 9%) Vote
Other (7 votes, 10%) Vote 
my answer:
 No longer applies eversince Raygun moved the center to the right
When Phil Ochs wrote that song, liberal was something people were proud to be - and he took a poke at this sacred cow from the radical perspective. Partly justified at the time.
Enter Raygun and the media (sans fairness doctrine): now everyone, Phil's gang, the people he poked fun at and people who would be DLC- moderate GOP-ers - all of them became "liberals". Those "dirty liberals" opposed to "the people" (silent majority) - that fuzzy notion that media assigned when dubbing Raygun "populist". So, the majority of Americans - everyone who was not a freeper became some sort of a fringe that had to defend their right to exist, speak for themselves eversince.
Now we need to fight for our right to be libera; and proud of it.
Which only illustrates how far back we moved from Ochs time.

Saturday, August 30, 2003

Bartcop quote of the Day


"300 bigots and lunatics protesting around a carved rock, worthy of nonstop coverage.
  100,000 people protesting a war, worthy of brief snide commentary."
      --Atrios,   http://atrios.blogspot.com/
Liberal lexicon: The Clenis (TM) - from El Corrente blog


Who can define a signifier of such mighty power?
It's worth about $10 million per inch as measured by the Republicans investigating it.... And to hear the Republicans tell it, The Clenis̢㢠is responsible for everything that's wrong with the country, then and now....
From one who needs no codpiece, the Big Dog, our last elected President...
Originated, I believe, by "Jennifer" of the Atrios comments section.

TruthisAll posts on DU:
Breaking: Bush approval ratings on Rebound, because...

The Bush rebound is due to a number of factors, according to the Talking Heads, based on the latest discussions with Rove.
1.The situation in Iraq is deteriorating daily, but the public gives Bush a boost due to his gallant move to get the U.N involved.
2. The power blackout has worked to Bush's advantage as the public sees him redoubling efforts to privatize the industry.
3. The revelation that Bush had the EPA inform the public that it was ok to continue to work or visit the WTC area after 9/11, even though there was no indication that it was safe, indicates Bush had an even greater concern for Wall Steet as opposed to the health of the people. This is consistent with past policies of encouraging pollution. After all its just business, not personal.
4. The public is rallying to WH claims that WMD will be found in Sept. Marketing of new products is best rolled out after Labor day, and the WMD planting has begun to take root. And the 9/11 anniversary will bring forth a rebirth of patriotism and warmongering.
5. The people feel that a rested Bush, coming off a 35-day vacation, will perform at an even higher level.
6. The unemployment figures, though high, are being looked on as a non-issue in this jobless recovery. Corporations are seeing earnings improve, which is good for the market, even though more and more unemployed are considering foreclosures, a boon to scavenger investing firms.
7. The emergence of a powerful Schwarzenegger candidacy, under the Buffet/Schultz economic wing, can only help Bush in California in 2004 when those Diebold machines are in place.
8. Global warming is affecting France, which is Bush's number one enemy. This is a victory for all those who believe that GW is an isolated European phenomena which does not affect the U.S.
9. Blair is becoming very vulnerable. Bush gains when the Tories get back in power, as it appears they will.
10. Our troops in Iraq can no longer express dissaproval of Bush and Cheney on CNN. This can only help Bush as he rallys public support.

Friday, August 29, 2003

Christian Science Monitor on Fux's folly:


As opinions clash over the US role in Iraq, there have been some interesting figures used to justify one side's position over the other. Perhaps the most interesting example of this was advanced by FoxNews earlier this week, when it said that the rate of US soldiers being killed in Iraq is minor, say, compared to the number of people who are killed in California every day. US soldiers in Iraq are dying at a rate of 1.7 per day, while there are 6.6 murders daily in California. But the problem with the argument is that there are only 150,000 US troops in Iraq, while there are 34.5 million people in California. So in fact, a US soldier in Iraq is actually 46 times more likely to be killed than a person in California
Paul Krugman writes:

"...even the government of a superpower can't simultaneously offer tax cuts equal to 15 percent of revenue, provide all its retirees with prescription drugs and single-handedly take on the world's evildoers — single-handedly because we've alienated our allies. In fact, given the size of our budget deficit, it's not clear that we can afford to do even one of these things. Someday, when the grown-ups are back in charge, they'll have quite a mess to clean up."

Thursday, August 28, 2003

White House bullied France's Ch 2 not to air this:

According to Le Parisien daily, Scheib (bush's chef) was approached by a woman pretending to be French President Jacques Chirac's wife Bernadette with a request: Would he consider switching presidential pads to make hamburgers and pizzas for Jacques?
The answer, despite the brouhaha over "Freedom Fries", French wine boycotts and the small issue of working for a man Scheib's current boss has little time for, was "yes", the newspaper said.
But when he found out it was all a set-up for a popular Candid Camera-style programme called "On a Tout Essaye" (We've Tried Everything), Scheib grew furious.
snip

Wednesday, August 27, 2003

Schwarzenegger Quote:

"I believe gay marriage should be between a man and a woman."
- Arnold Schwarzenegger (Sean Hannity Radio Show, 8/27)
A Candide Sign from God

After watching on CNN the removal of the graven image of the 10 Commandments from the Alabama court (to the gnashing of the teeth of the faithful ignoring the 2nd Amendment), we went to our garden. There, coiled in an apple tree was a 7ft boa constrictor being lovingly photographed by her owner. I took it to mean: ignore the idiots, just cultivate your garden.
Poster on DU by Evil Dewar:

A criminal before Moore's court*
Moore: You broke the law.
Criminal: So did you. Who are you to judge me? I only answer to a higher power (God). Not some tinhorn Pharisee judge.

Tuesday, August 26, 2003

Al Franken questions to Terry Holt:
1. Which was stupider: "crusade" or "Bring them on"? A; Crusade
then:
1: What did the president know?
2: If not, why didn't he know it?
3: If, as maybe the case, the president did not understand his intelligence-briefings, why didn't he ask to have them explained to him?
4: Did he know that he didn't understand them?

Whistle Ass wants more preemptive wars:

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/26/politics/26CND-BUSH.html?hp
President Bush defended his policy on Iraq today, declaring that the United States had struck a blow against terrorism in overthrowing the government of Saddam Hussein. And Mr. Bush said the United States might carry out other pre-emptive strikes.

Quote from speech:

"We've adopted a new strategy for a new kind of war, We will not wait for known enemies to strike us again. We will strike them in their camps or caves or wherever they hide, before they hit more of our cities and kill more of our citizens."

Quote of the Day:

Mr. Wallis said Mr. Bush had told him as president-elect that "I don't understand how poor people think," and appealed to him for help by calling himself "a white Republican guy who doesn't get it, but I'd like to." Now, Mr. Wallis said, "his policy has not come even close to matching his words." NYT on Whistle Ass's "Compassionate agenda"

Monday, August 25, 2003

Hey Lieberman, Daschle, Bayh, Biden, Mediawhores ..wanna know a secret?

Posted by TruthIsAll on DU
Original message
Hey Lieberman, Daschle, Bayh, Biden, Mediawhores ..wanna know a secret?Edited on Mon Aug-25-03 10:21 PM by TruthIsAll
Promise not to tell?
Let me whisper in your ear..
of those sins you're gonna hear..
Do you still want to be associated with BushCo's foreign and domestic fiascos? And still feel that anti-war Democrats are in the minority? Do you continue to defend your support of Bush in his War for Oil? And still believe, in spite of all that has happened since 9/11, that America supports the Bush Doctrine of preemptive war? Do you support PNAC as the cornerstone of our foreign policy? And will you continue to remain silent in the face of overwheming evidence of a BushCo Voting Machine Conspiracy to steal our elections AGAIN in 2004?
You still think Bush is a very popular war pResident? Prepare to eat eternal crow. As the so-called Democratic opposition and Fourth Estate, you should all hang your heads in shame.
Your legacy will tarnished as the spineless and cowardly benefactors of a fascist regime that is now in a freefall descent to oblivion in the public consciousness.
The American people will no longer forgive or forget or be manipulated.
Fortunately, America has its heroes who have and will continue to expose the lies, corruption and greed that have brought our once proud nation into such disrepute all over the world.
For those who have propped up and continue to paint teflon on the fascist dictator wannabee smirking in Al Gore's House, know this: We who yearn for the TRUTH have no pity for you. You will endure sleepless nights forever, knowing that you are nothing less than traitors to the American ideal, assuming that feelings of guilt could ever overwhelm your greed and cowardice. You will be known in the history books as the 21st Turncoats-of-the-Century quislings who were willing to let America drift to the edge of tyranny for acquisition of power and profit.
It is only through the efforts of true American patriots that this land will remain free.
The heroes our children will sing praises of are named Wellstone, Joseph Wilson, Hans Blix, Byrd, Kucinich, Waxman, Kennedy, Graham, Palast, Molly Ivins, Bev Harris, Franken, Conason, Krugman, Sheer, Breslin, Moore, Helen Thomas, the Dixie Chicks, Tim Robbins, Sean Penn and many others.
And don't forget the John Hopkins Information Security specialists, who have proven that our touch-screen voting machines are not so secure after all. These are the tools the Republican fascists you support would use to subvert democracy.
All these heroes have this in common: they value one ounce of TRUTH more than a billion barrels of Iraqi oil.
MWO Quote of the Day


"I have a suggestion for a new slogan for Fox News, drawn from Judge Chin's decision: Wholly Without Merit."

- Joe Conason (interview on WBAI FM NYC)

Cheese eating surrenderring monkeys not abjectly following bushco:

PARIS (Reuters) - France on Friday dismissed a U.S. effort to get more nations to send soldiers to back up its troops in Iraq (news - web sites), saying an international force should instead be sent with a United Nations mandate.
Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin urged the coalition powers to switch from "a logic of occupation to a logic of sovereignty" in Iraq.
"We can't make do with adjusting or enlarging the current plan," he told the daily Le Monde.
"The right thing would be to bring into play a true international force under the mandate of the United Nations. Sovereignty is a matter of urgency," Villepin added.

Saturday, August 23, 2003

Bob Boudelag rejoices:


It makes you glad to know that Our Great President George W. Bush is off on his 35-day vacation, that not even the blackout or the bombing and killing was worth interrupting. Instead he looks relaxed and played golf even when he knew the UN building was blown up, which was not his fault in any way even though he was warned ahead of time.

Friday, August 22, 2003

Fux lost the lawsuit!

"There are hard cases and there are easy cases. This is an easy case," said U.S. District Judge Denny Chin, who added that the motion for an injunction was "wholly without merit."


""In addition to thanking my own lawyers," Franken said, "I'd like to thank Fox's lawyers for filing one of the stupidest briefs I've ever seen in my life."
Barney Gumble on BC Forum on fundies guarding the 10 Commandments statue:

"They are worshipping a rock! That has don't worship a rock written right on it!
Paul Krugman:

The key moment in Arnold Schwarzenegger's Wednesday press conference came when the
bodybuilder who would be governor brushed aside questions with the declaration, "The public
doesn't care about figures." This was "fuzzy math" on steroids — Mr. Schwarzenegger was, in
effect, asserting that his celebrity gives him the right to fake his way through the election. Will
he be allowed to get away with it?

Thursday, August 21, 2003

bush recall in an obituary:

Almost in unison, what her children decided to include in the obituary was this: "Memorials in her honor can be made to any organization working for the removal of President Bush."
"She thought he was a liar," Baron's daughter, Maureen Bettilyon, said. "I think his personality, just standing there with that smirk on his face, and acting like he's this holy Christian, that's what really got her."
-snip-
"She'd always watch CNN, C-SPAN, and you know, she'd just swear at the TV and say 'Oh, Bush, he's such a whistle ass!' She'd just get so mad," Bettilyon said.
Big Dog - Aspen conference:

Clinton said Bush had “sold the stock to buy
the baseball team which got him the governorship which got him the
presidency.”


Clinton kept referring to the media as (contrary to Kinsley’s view) the
“supine” media, pointing out that when Bush insulted Helen Thomas (who,
by asking a rough question in the infamous prewar press conference had,
Clinton said, “committed the sin of journalism”), no “young journalists”
stood up and walked out.


The media, the supine media, was going to have to “go to the meat locker
and take out its brains and critical skills.”


Sunday, August 17, 2003

John Leopold explains the Arnie-Lay connection:

For Schwarzenegger and the others who attended the
meeting, associating with Enron, particularly Ken Lay, the disgraced
chairman of the high-flying energy company, during the peak of
California’s power crisis in May 2001 could be compared to meeting with
Osama bin Laden after 9-11 to understand why terrorism isn’t necessarily
such a heinous act.
From Alternet:
"Zsa Zsa Saddam" to taunt Iraqi regime loyalists
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L17563306.htm

TIKRIT, Iraq, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Saddam Hussein has his head tossed back, his blonde locks flowing and a filter-tipped cigarette dangling coquettishly between his delicate fingers.
Meet "Zsa Zsa Saddam", the U.S. army's latest ploy in the four-month hunt for the fugitive dictator.
In a campaign set to start on Monday, U.S. forces plan to put up posters around Saddam's hometown of Tikrit showing his face superimposed on Hollywood heroines and other stars in an attempt to enrage his followers and draw them out.
As well as Saddam dolled up as a slinky Zsa Zsa Gabor, there is a busty Rita Hayworth Saddam, a grooving Elvis Saddam and even Saddam in the guise of British-born rocker Billy Idol.
"We're going to do something devious with these," said a chuckling Lieutenant-Colonel Steve Russell last week, as he checked out a range of spoof Saddam pictures taken from the Internet (www.worth1000.com).
WP:Around the World, Schwarzenegger Gets a "Thumbs Down"

In Israel, columnist Larry Derfner, writing in the Jerusalem Post, had much the same thought.
Schwarzenegger's "debut as the instant favorite in the race for governor of California only confirms the world's opinion of Americans," he wrote. "They like violence, power, revenge, riches, success and fame, and they don't know the difference between real life and fantasy, between real people and characters in an action movie."
"As for their politics, it amounts to 'looking out for number one.' They don't have a society and don't want one. The world outside America's borders is irrelevant to them except as a threat or a target. "
But Derfner says the real precedent for Schwarzenegger is George W. Bush.
"Bush also gets over on his image as a terminator, a blaster of bad guys, a man with a swagger, an action hero who delivers killer one-liners ('Bring 'em on!'). What are his politics? We're good, they're evil. Taxes are evil. Now did you get all that, or do you need some help?"
"From George W. Bush, then, it's just a half-step down to Arnold Schwarzenegger."

Saturday, August 16, 2003

Yesterday NYT - good to know he made some phone calls!


Bush Doesn't Let Blackout Upset Lunch With Troops
By ELISABETH BUMILLER

AN DIEGO, Aug. 14 — President Bush was having lunch with troops at the Miramar Marine Corps
Air Station when Joe Hagin, his deputy chief of staff, told him of the massive blackout on the
East Coast.

But unlike the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, when news of another New York catastrophe sent Mr.
Bush on an odyssey on Air Force One, today he continued his lunch and went ahead with plans to
attend a $1 million political fund-raiser here this evening. Still, he spent the rest of the afternoon
on the phone trying to sort out the damage and the cause of the power failure with his top
national security aides.
Picosecond Blackout story (from BC Forum):


I was in New York for the blackout and believe it or not, I had a KICK-ASS TIME!!! It was like a big outdoor party, at least in my section on Manhattan.
I was at work when all the power went out. My computer and a couple other guys’ boxes were still running after everything else went dead; apparently we were on a circuit that included the backup generator, so we were sucking juice from it. After we shut down, we all just kinda hung out and chatted in the dark. This was a temporary thing, we figured – then somebody came in and said it’s not just our building. The whole block is out of power.
So a bunch of us run downstairs to see, and everybody’s outside their buildings, just looking around. The sidewalks were so packed, it was like a parade. Traffic lights were dead but there were already cops directing cars(props to ‘em for that). A bunch of us tried getting through to people on our celphones, but they were either down or overloaded. Somebody had a radio and that’s when we heard that not only was the WHOLE CITY out, but so was Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, Ohio, Michigan – all the way out to Toronto, Canada. We were like, “Holy Fucking Shit!”
We all went our own way after that. I joined the massive river of people walking uptown, figuring I could hang out in Union Square till the power came back, and take the first train back to Brooklyn. Some funny shit went on: People stealing water from guys on delivery bikes, people climbing up fire escapes to escape the massive crowds. People were walking in the streets because the sidewalks were jammed – by Cooper Square, some asshole in a BMW honked his horn and tried plowing through a crowd of people. A couple of guys hit the BMW’s windows with their bags. The Beemer Man got out and was trying to be tough, like “Who the fuck did that? Which one of you assholes tried to break my window?” Somebody screamed out “It was ALL of us!” Then some old black lady screamed, “Yeah, what? Brooklyn in da house! Whatchoo gonna do, stop us? HAH!” Everybody gave Beemer Man the finger. Beemer Man(wisely) got back in his car and took off. There was some kind of chant going on in the sea of people, actually: This black lady would holler ”BROOKLYYYYYN!!!!” and people would holler back: ”YEEEEAAAAHHH!!!”
Cabbies were blasting news on their car radios and crowds would gather around to hear the latest updates. People would just turn to me and start chatting about what they thought was going on. The radio announcers kept saying things like, “It could be terrorism, but we don’t know yet.” Later, the papers told a bunch of stories about how “terrorism fears were allayed” by Bush and Mayor Bloomberg. I was there and out of all the people I spoke with, only one guy really thought it was terrorism in the first place. The rest of us used common sense – We figured that since the power had been out X amount of hours and there were no bombs going off, no missiles being fired, no Al Qaeda marching in the streets with AK-47s, it probably wasn’t. One guy I talked to said, “I’ll bet there’s terrorists scrambling right now, trying to figure out how they can use this – or how to take credit for it.” Another guy said, ”They probably fucked up something while doing repairs or changes. They’re just saying they don’t know what happened, because they don’t want us seeing how stupid they were – that would piss people off a lot more than if it was a terrorist attack.” The final verdict on what caused this hasn’t come in yet, but still, those were way smarter observations than anything I heard on the radio.

Anyway, I get to Union Square, and the first person I see is this guy Bob I knew in high school. Bob was with another guy named Bob, who was a cool guy and happens to have a pretty funny Website. I sat down with Bob & Bob, figuring it was safer to stick with people I know, even if I don’t really know ‘em that well. Later on my friend Rachel came & sat with us, and this girl named, I guess, Cullen(It was like “Colleen” but with one “e”) joined our party. She was from Tennessee and didn’t know anyone – she’d only been in NY for four days. We pooled our meager cash and bought beer, donuts & juice drinks. Then we just sat & watched the crowd go by, drinking and talking until the sun went down. When it did, people started making out under the trees and some musicians started a drum circle and people were dancing in the park. It was like this big hippie campout festival kinda thing. Rachel was bugging out because you could actually see stars in New York, for the first time any of us could remember. A guy named Reverend Billy put on a show for the crowd, and later this massive group of bike riders took over the streets – for a couple of minutes, there were a hundred people on bikes, just all around the park.
People were wondering out loud when the looting would start, talking about what they’d grab if they got a chance. We were joking that we should be ready when it starts – plan out what stores to hit, what escape routes we’d take, etc. I was just marveling over how different and how quiet the city was, with nothing but the lights from cars, lanterns & road flares. It should have been creepy, but somehow it wasn’t. I guess it was too amazing to be creepy. No looters meant it felt safe to go exploring the rest of the city, so Rachel and I walked around. She had a digital camera and we wandered all over, just taking pics of the dark alleys and stuff. I think she got a few really great shots. I carried her bag, and she let me smoke her cigarettes. I got free beer from some friendly bartenders, and later we got free ice cream cones from this old drunk who bought cones for everyone. Those Mr. Softee trucks must’ve made a huge profit – when night came, they were the only cheap food around.
Around 1am, we figured it was time to get home. First we tried catching a cab – I had exactly two dollars left, but lovely Rachel agreed to let me ride with her, and then I could go from there on foot. Problem was, no cabbies wanted to go out to Brooklyn. I talked to a cop, and they said no cabs are leaving Manhattan because they’re almost out of gas, and every gas pump & filling station in the city is electric. We tried calling car services but couldn’t get through. Buses were still running, but they were so full they weren’t making half their stops. Rachel decided to keep trying; I decided I was sleeping wherever. The streets were mostly empty by then – it was incredible wandering around SoHo and being the only person for blocks around, with hardly any light. I felt like I’d survived the Apocalypse, and I was the last person alive in the city.
Eventually I wandered back to Union Square. On the way I met this guy named Clayton,
Who told me about how he met these two drunk NYU girls and hooked up with them both. He said there was “threesome potential” but the girls were so drunk they peed on themselves, so that pretty much killed the mood. From what I smelled wandering around, there were lots of dark alleys that became temporary urinals. Clayton and I went off in different directions when we got to the Square -- it was like a refugee camp. Hundreds of people just crashed out on the lawn, on the steps, wherever, surrounded by empty bottles and plastic bags. I followed their lead, and went to the nearest empty park bench to lie down. My feet were in serious pain, but that was the first time I really noticed. I laid on that park bench and watched the moon for a while, listening to people chattering and musicians playing, with this cool breeze blowing on me. It was actually pleasant.
I guess it was around 4am when I went to sleep; I woke up at 7:05am, according to my celphone. The first thing I did was wander down to my work, just out of curiosity – plus my bank is two blocks away from it. If they were open, I could take out some cash and pay for a cab home. It was a longshot, but I didn’t have any other options. When I got there I talked to two security people who’d spent the night. They’d gotten specific orders not to let anyone in, which sucked because I really needed to use the bathroom. The banks weren’t open either. So I found a bush over in Battery Park, then sat down by the seaside for a while. I figured that since I was walking home, I’d better conserve energy.
Walking over the Brooklyn Bridge, I met this really cool girl who was trying to bum rides back from hippies. She said, “I look for old guys with beards, who are driving station wagons that have hippie bumper stickers. Then I say, ‘Hey man, peace – are you going to Brooklyn?’ “
We traded stories, and she told me that the buses were running for free today. I could’ve kissed her when she told me that – no ten mile hikes for me today! I went to the nearest bus stop, and three bus rides later, I was within walking distance of my apartment. I finally got home around 12:30pm – first thing I did was use the bathroom. I’ve never been so happy to use a toilet. Then I cleaned out the fridge, pulled out whatever didn’t seem spoiled and called my relatives. After a nice long shower(with cold water – damn electric water heaters) and a big meal, the power finally came back on.
So overall, I had a lot of fun during the blackout. I saw the city in a whole new way, hung out with people I normally wouldn’t, and got to know a really cool(and pretty cute) girl a lot better, which is always a good thing.

More blackout stuff:

t was easier for us who were home at the time. I heard of very wild parties going on in Tompkins Square - a bonfire and music mostly - but younger style than in our garden - with my guy and 2 others with guitars and one with bagpipe were playing their own songs and an international repertory (I even found myself singing "Internationala" in Romanian. On the roof, a neighbor was telling the story of a paparazzi event with Tracy Lords.
It was ugly to see the peddling of flimsy flashlights for $10 or water for $ 5 but on my street we had plenty of stores selling candles and water in their doors at regular prices and giving free matches.
Heroes: WNYC for their 24h transmission via telephone by flashlights (they usually have 5-6 h a day)
Rep Marty Markovitz of Brooklyn who stood on a soapbox with a loudspeaker at their end of the Brooklyn Bridge greeting people coming home: "You've made it! You are in Brooklyn- the capital of USA! You are safe now! Everything will be allright. The next day he told people to throw the largest block party with the contents of their freezers.
New Yorkers who self-appointed themselves traffic agents (traffic lights were dead too)
The guy who bought the last ice cream but gave it to my little girl refusing the money (and the guy who left the line saying: "I can't take it from the pretty girl with the nice eyes - )
jeers: Bloomberg who tried hard to pull a "Giuliani" but spouted one inane statement after another "Go home, open your windows - it's hot" and, when proven wrong about power coming back on the 14: "well, Con Ed told me that, because nothing is broken. If it were, this could have taken months to fix. As it is, who cares? A few hours, a few days - no big deal!"
He also did nothing for people at higher levels who lacked water .
Pataki - for blaming Canada as South Park recommended and being his usual removed and ineffective, the same day he pledged NY's support to Arnuld Scwatzennegger..
bush - for not bothering to intrerrupt his vacation for this and extremely vague, delayed statements. WNYC said: "he said people must be taken care of - so Bloomberg dispatched thousands of policemen" (bushco understanding of being taken care of)
My super for turning off the emergency lights on the corridors (they are for emergency)

Friday, August 15, 2003

More interesting black-out facts: The bagpipes guy had me play the Internationala.
We stood in line for ice cream this afternoon as the ventor was scraping the bottom. A guy stepped out of line pointing at Maya: "I don't want to take ice cream from the kid with the nice eyes (Maya) . Eventually by the time we get there, it's over. The guy who bought the last one offers it to Maya and refuses my money.
On the other hand, there were the guys selling flashlights for $10.00 or bottled water for $5:00. But mostly, everyone was great.
Big exception: our dear mayor who made comments such as: "go home, opem your windows because it's hot" and: "who cares if it's a few more hours or a few more days?"
Blackout song

passing through my mind, the Simpsons episode where Mr Burns cuts the electricity to subdue Sprinfield. They all dance around the fire as Lisa plays :
You may have the plants
But we have the power
Mr Burns gives in.
Blackout story

It started yesterday at 4:11 PM. As soon as we realized what it was, Maya proposed we eat the ice cream in the freezer - which we did. We spent the rest of the evening between the garden and the roof. People were treating everyone with ice cream and other goodies from the lifeless refrigerators. We had a little TV with batteries and transistor radio so we had the news. The phone was working but not over seas. The flash light dies so we used the little TV instead. The unpleasant part started when we went home - climbing 4 stories in the dark, sleeping in a hot apartment - very humid.

The next day we went into the garden right away and stayed cool and happy. We capped the day with a barbecue - people brought the stuff in their freezers. Victor, 2 other guys with guitars and a guy with bagpipes jammed while Maya ran around in the dark with another little girl. By this time, all NYC had power except our neighborhood.
By 9:00 PM we saw lights coming out in the buildings around us and we all cheered. After which we continued singing, dancing and eating until late.

Thursday, August 14, 2003

Nader hit with pie;blames Dems.
BC forum comment by Party like is 1984

How can he tell it's a democratic pie if there's no difference between them and republicans?

Wednesday, August 13, 2003

Title of the Day: WP:

"Bremer: US Troops Not Sitting Ducks"
(so stop saying that)
Basic California facts:

It was Enron that created the fiscal crisis in Cali
-It's the legislarure that is responsible for the budget (not Davis)
- It was Pete Wilson (arnie's guy) who deregulated utilities (Enron)
-It was dick&bush who refused to cap prices on Enron theft
-it was Davis who stood up to Cheney & created a popular movement ("voluntary blackout") against Enron
- It was Davis who asked FERC to investigate Enron
- Arnie is an immigrant who hates other immigrants (one of his few votes was Prop 187). He WILL NOT change parties
- Arnie, Rove + Kenny met in May 2001 - Cali fleecing time
MSNBC gossip page has this scary item:

s the Bush administration turning to a televangelist doomsayer for political predictions?
Apocalyptic preacher Jack Van Impe is claiming that he was contacted by Condoleezza Rice's
office and the White House Office of Public Liaison for an "outline" of his take on world events.

VAN IMPE is the author of such books as "Israel's Final Holocaust" and "The Great Escape:
Preparing for the Rapture, the Next Event on God's Prophetic Clock."

enough to make you miss Nancy's astrologer!

"But isn't this fun?"

MSNBC pundit asked Jesse the Body Ventura on the recall subject. "No"
boomed the former wrestler and proceeded to give the pundit a civics lesson. Who said irony is dead?
MWO's Crossfire's highlights:




Welcome to Media Whores Online

Media Whores Online takes an unbiased, in-depth look at the vast myriad of whores who call themselves "journalists."  MWO casts a garish spotlight on the relentless screaming heads of television, the babbling paranoids of squawk radio, and the crayon scribblings of lazy print media "journalists."

Whore Watch
------------------------------------------------------------------------


We proudly introduce the latest issue in our Elite Force series of authentic and historically accurate 12-inch figures, George W. Bush in Phillips Andover Head Cheerleader uniform. Exacting in detail and fully equipped with authentic gear including pom-poms and megaphone, this limited-edition action figure is a meticulous 1:6 scale recreation of the Cheerleader-in-Chief leading his squad in cheering the Andover Varsity Boys' Volleyball Team on to a championship victory.  A peppy Bush participated in a death defying 6-man pyramid stunt, then thrilled the crowd with a series of courtside cartwheels.

From Joe Conason's BIG LIES:


In his 1999 autobiography, A Charge to Keep, [Bush] offered lyrical memories of his Guard stint.  "I continued flying with my unit for the next several years," he wrote.  But that simply wasn't true: Lieutenant Bush never flew another jet after being suspended from flight duty in August 1972 for failing to take a mandated annual physical.  That was a fact he simply couldn't remember when asked to account for the discrepancy in 2000.  (A Charge to Keep also omits his stint as head cheerleader at Phillips Andover, his old prep school.)

- Chapter 3: Male Cheerleaders and Chickenhawks

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nader Takes a Pie in the Face in California


The recall election against Gov. Gray Davis has been called a circus, and Tuesday, that seemed very apt.

In a San Francisco event to mark the endorsement of Green Party candidate Peter Camejo by Ralph Nader -- who ran on the Green Party ticket for president in 2000 -- Nader was hit by a pie.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

David Neiwert's Orcinus on Tweety Matthews's disturbing crush on the Unelected Fraud that shows no sign of abating, and the difference between a statesman with character like Al Gore versus an incompetent yet entitled, morally and ethically bankrupt former cheerleader like Junior.


Indeed, one wonders where Chris Mathews was during the Florida Debacle, and the week after, when it became painfully apparent that George W. Bush was more than happy to steal away the presidency by eking out just enough Electoral College votes (through, of course, highly questionable means) in spite of Al Gore's wide-margin victory in the popular vote.

Oh, that's right -- he was still busy questioning Al Gore's character.

It continues even to this day, including this latest diatribe. What has become painfully clear is that for no one in the Washington press corps do George W. Bush's absolute ruthlessness and his unwillingness to win or lose by the rules of the game raise a character question.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Crossfire Highlights


PAUL BEGALA:  Fox is suing over Franken's use of the phrase "fair and balanced."  See, Fox trademarked that phrase in 1995 as a slogan for its alleged news network.

Now I don't get the whole controversy. Franken is, after all, a comedian. And the notion that Fox is fair and balanced is a joke. So what's the problem?
------------------------------------------------------------------------

TUCKER CARLSON: ...Semi-plausible candidate, John Kerry, meanwhile, stood firm in the tradition of Bill Clinton by taking both positions simultaneously. Yes, Kerry confirmed he had voted for the war in Iraq, but, no, he did not support the war in Iraq.

Confused?

Tuesday, August 12, 2003

Faux sues Al Franken on use of "Fair & Balanced" DU-er take:

All rise, the Honorable Judge gratuitous presiding
Have a seat, everyone. Well, I've reviewed the parties' pleadings, briefs and memoranda in this case, and heard the oral arguments of counsel. By the way, the stenographer had trouble transcribing the inarticulate grunts of the attorneys for Fox News Channel, so she just put in "Defendant bad" wherever it got too obscure. She also wasn't quite sure of the spelling of "Thhhbbbbbpppppttt," the raspberry that defense counsel blew during its oral argument. As you can see, the court had no such difficulty. Back to the matters at hand:
Clearly, the notion of "fair and balanced" as it pertains to the news has been given a special definition unique to the Fox News Corporation, and I believe that even counsel for the defendant conceded that no other organization in the history of news gathering and reporting has been fair and balanced the way Fox has been fair and balanced during the past eight years.
Defendant has, and plaintiff has conceded, for many years been publicly known as a wise ass, and no one with an IQ higher than 70 would be confused by any connection, real or implied, by the proposed title of defendant's book. The court believes this is prima facie evidence that the defendant's title is meant to confuse regular viewers of plaintiff's programming.
As such, I find that the plaintiff's suit is well taken, though the timing is not. Therefore, it is my judgment that the title of defendant's book shall be changed from "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right" to "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Balanced and Fair Look at the Right," and that because of the late filing of plaintiff's complaint in protecting its signature brand of "fair and balanced" news, plaintiff should bear the costs of reprinting.
Finally, it is the order of this court that should anything but the highest praise for this ruling appear either in future books, if any, by defendant or any public dissemination by plaintiff through any of its outlets, directly or indirectly, the offending party should consider its ass to be grass and this court a lawnmower.
{Bangs gavel.} We're adjourned.

Monday, August 11, 2003

Quote of the Day: Lieberman

"Why is it that I feel like Harry Truman on the back of a train?"

Friday, August 08, 2003

Arnie - not just a son of a nazi

In 1986 he invited Kurt Waldheim to his wedding in Massachusetts. Waldheim, the former United
Nations secretary-general, was in the middle of winning his election as president of Austria and
"forgetting" his own role in Austria's Nazi wartime record. A year later Waldheim was banned
from entering America.

Schwarzenegger has also been photographed with Jorg Haider, leader of Austria's right-wing
Freedom party who last year was filmed at a secret reunion of the Waffen SS, the military arm
of the Nazi SS, praising them as "decent people".

Haider claimed not to know that the Waffen SS had been designated a criminal organisation at the
Nuremberg trials.
bushco on Gore's speech:


Bush's spokeswoman Claire Buchan was also unusually blunt, saying of Gore's speech, ''I just
dismiss it.''

__Gore Blasts Republicans on 'Honor and Integrity'

"As for honor and integrity, let me say this: we know what that was all about, but hear me well,
not as a candidate for any office, but as an American citizen who loves my country: For eight
years, the Clinton-Gore Administration gave this nation honest budget numbers; an economic
plan with integrity that rescued the nation from debt and stagnation; honest advocacy for the
environment; real compassion for the poor; a strengthening of our military - as recently
proven - and a foreign policy whose purposes were elevated, candidly presented and
courageously pursued, in the face of scorched-earth tactics by the opposition. That is also a
form of honor and integrity, and not every administration in recent memory has displayed it.
So I would say to those who have found the issue of honor and integrity so useful as a political
tool, that the people are also looking for these virtues in the execution of public policy on their
behalf, and will judge whether they are present or absent."
http://www.moveon.org/gore-speech.html

Thursday, August 07, 2003

From the memory hole: December 2001:


PRES. BUSH: But all in all, it's been a fabulous year for Laura and me. We're so grateful to be living in this compound and I'm grateful to be working in this office. It's a joy to walk in here every morning, realizing that I'm the President of the greatest country on the face of the Earth.
Anything you want to say?
MRS. BUSH: Happy holidays to everybody. Very happy New Year.
> http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/12/20011221-2.html <
UK Mirror: Blix

FORMER United Nations weapons inspector Hans Blix yesterday blasted the US-led war on Iraq as a violation of international law.
He said: "I do not see the action as compatible with the UN charter."
Speaking on Swedish radio, Blix questioned whether Saddam Hussein had posed an immediate threat to his neighbours and the US.
He said: "I found it peculiar that those who wanted to take military action could - with 100 per cent certainty - know that the weapons existed and turn out to have zero knowledge of where they were."

Wednesday, August 06, 2003

Letterman on W's vacation:


Today, he went fishing...He didn't find any fish but he firmly believes the fish are there and he has good intelligence that they're there...and he's sure he'll find them soon...
Faux poll August 1:
W deserves to be reelected 36%
Someone Else 42%
Depends 13%
Not Sure 9%
Hollings on the deficit (Bartcop pick):


"The President said two weeks ago on page one of his budget report that we have a $455 billion deficit
  at the end of next month; that's when the end of the fiscal year terminates. The truth of the matter is,
  you turn to page 57 of the report and you'll see it's $698 billion. And he admits to a $700 billion deficit,
  so you can see why the market goes down. Everyone sees who invests that there's no reason to invest
  because the interest rates are going up and you can't carry your investments."
    -- Fritz Hollings, telling the truth about America's worst serial killer
Last Night democratic Forum

"Glad they all did a 180 on rescinding the tax cut! Last year"
     
before the 2002 elections, no Senators except Ted Kennedy dared say that (the tax & spend stick had them all scared stiff). I even remember Kerry on Russlut proposing an additional tax cut , on capital gains.
Now they all refer to trickle down and it's a great thing!
Everyone said at least one good thing, the questions were dynamite!
Kuchinich didn't get the memo on this being a forum, not a debate. His Rick Lazio on "I want them to sign that they'll repeal NAFTA' was as repulsive as the original. (Not that I personally don't believe in isolationism, but a POTUS should honor international agreememnts, non?)
Dean was good at times (my usual review of him) and had a kick ass closing.
Carol Mosley Brown - clear and concise as usual - loved the "why the connection of health care to employment?"
Gephardt was at his best I ever heard him.
Edwards had a few good moments - I especially loved the part of the closing about the bushes & priviledges.
Kerry was forceful in spite of whatever was wrong with his voice. "tired to be trickled on" - excellent!
Graham scored with his Pinocchio pResident"
Lieberman managed to make sense now and then - and showed his hand on vouchers. His whining "let's try" don't fly. It's been tried already - and failed.
Sharpton is by far the best speaker - he has a gift of framing the issues like no one else ("getting paid for your work is a human right - it's a false issue how many are hurt by the overtime law - NO ONE should!" or "Government is not in the business of chosing which chhildren can have an education - it has an obligation to insure an education to all" Also, the health coverage as constotutional amendment.
All in all, a very heartening evening.

Tuesday, August 05, 2003

Good News! There is a RLC to our DNC!

Yesterday, I heard their chairman on WNYC. Dick Zimmer, rormer rep from NJ comes from a Dem family - tirned GOP in the 60's at yale and is not all that bright or informed (ex: thought MY has a dem governor). The most startling spin was: the Resident didn't take yet a position on the gau marriage, his guess is that he'll finally come with a moderate position, against gay marriage but for civil unions. (The rest was more of what you already know, with one refreshing point: "if the economy doesn't improvem they are in trouble"

Saturday, August 02, 2003

Chris Floyd:

"
The twin towers of the Bushist case for war -- "imminent threat" and
"connection to al-Qaida" -- have been crumbling for weeks, even among
the bovine intellects of the Bush-whipped U.S. media, who had happily
munched the thrice-chewed cud of the Regime's transparent mendacity
during the long build-up to the invasion. Wolfowitz provided the final
coup de grace on national television last Sunday, during an appearance
on Rupert Murdoch's propaganda mill, Fox News."

"
So Wolfowitz knew, Rumsfeld knew, Colin Powell knew, Condi Rice knew,
Dick Cheney knew, even President Can't-Chew-a-Pretzel knew that
launching a war of aggression against Iraq would increase the terrorist
danger to ordinary U.S. citizens. They knew this all along. They know it
now. They just don't care. For them, the game -- sweetheart deals and
he-man swagger -- is worth the candle. Unfortunately for the folks at
home and the soldiers abroad, the "candle" just happens to be the lives
of the American people."

Friday, August 01, 2003

W: Be grateful I didn't mess worse:

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush suggested Friday that the current drawn-out U.S. economic recovery might have looked more robust if he'd allowed the 2001 recession to get worse.
"Economic historians would say that the recession of 2001 was one of the more shallow recessions. Some would probably say, well, maybe you shouldn't have acted and let the recession go deeper, which would have made - may have made - for a more speedy recovery," Bush told reporters after meeting with his Cabinet.
Bob Boudelag:


But who did not breath a sly of relief when George W. bravely accepted responsibility for 16 of the words in his State of the Union speech?
Morford to W

Here it is: You are immaterial. You are of zero nutritional value and
are indigestible like corn and just pass right through. Do you
understand?

There is so much more going on down here than is dreamt of in your
bitter and small-minded philosophy. I, and millions like me, sense a
more luminous undercurrent, a wider spiritual lens, a richer sensual
mother lode.

On W "taking responsibility"


Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota said the admission was "worthwhile" but
late in coming.


"I'm sorry it had to take this long for him to acknowledge his responsibility," he said, adding there
were "a number of other questions that also ought to be reviewed, and I think, investigated."

Right wing libertarians (Lew Rockwell):


Furthermore, given that they see themselves as history's midwives, it was their duty to forward
the project of war against Iraq by whatever means seemed most likely to work. Hussein was
probably developing a bomb that would target only endangered species, eating babies for
breakfast, and making plans to abscond with Jennifer Lopez once he subdued the US. Whatever
charges could be brought against him were most likely true, so the issue was only to find the
charges that would best convince the American public that war was justified.

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