Monday, December 31, 2007

A PSA from your pals at SteveAudio

I'll Have Yore Badgsh

As we get ready to celebrate the end of one year and the beginning of another...

Please, party people, avoid emulating the poor example of President George Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney...

DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE.

Everybody needs to get home safely...Thank you.

Sunday, December 30, 2007

I'm just a Huck, a Huck of burning love

(image by the illustrious darkblack)

Steve Benen at Washington Monthly has a good round-up of the hackery of the Huckabeast:
Earlier this month, he didn't know what the National Intelligence Estimate was. A week later, the former governor identified Thomas Friedman and Frank Gaffney as his biggest influences on foreign policy, despite the fact that Friedman and Gaffney don't actually agree on anything.

This week, any shred of credibility Huckabee maintained on foreign policy quickly vanished. In the aftermath of Benazir Bhutto's assassination, the Arkansan's first reaction was to argue that the slaying should lead to a reevaluation of U.S. immigration policy. Of course, the assertion didn't make any sense.

Indeed, it's been a particularly embarrassing couple of days for Huckabee. He argued that "we have more Pakistani illegals" entering the U.S. than any other nationality, aside from Mexico. That's not even close to being true. He said the Pakistani government "does not have enough control of those eastern borders near Afghanistan to be able go after the terrorists." He meant western borders.

It's often said the politicians should be judged not on what crap they spin on the campaign trail, but rather on what they have actually done. And that applies as well to Huckabee. Here's what he did in Arkansas:
It all began 16 years ago for Mike and me. Huckabee, in his political debut, was preparing to become the Bible-thumping, abortion-decrying Republican challenger to U.S. Sen. Dale Bumpers, the Democratic incumbent. With a playbook straight out of James Dobson, he tried to portray Bumpers as a pornographer for his support of federal grants to the arts.

More important, Huckabee revealed an enduring weakness as glaring as that other Arkansas governor's fondness for women. Huckabee seems to love loot and has a dismissive attitude toward ethics, campaign finance rules and propriety in general. Since that first, failed campaign, the ethical questions have multiplied.

In the 1992 contest with Bumpers, Huckabee used campaign funds to pay himself as his own media consultant. Other payments went to the family babysitter.

In his successful 1994 run for lieutenant governor, he set up a nonprofit curtain known as Action America so he could give speeches for money without having to disclose the names of his benefactors. He failed to report that campaign travel payments were for the use of his own personal plane.

After he became governor in 1996, he raked in tens of thousands of dollars in gifts, including gifts from people he later appointed to prestigious state commissions.

In the governor's office, his grasp never exceeded his reach. Furniture he'd received to doll up his office was carted out with him when he left, after he'd crushed computer hard drives so nobody could ever get a peek behind the curtain of the Huckabee administration.

So there's your conservative champion of Family Values™, in actuality a modern-day Boss Tweed. Read the whole thing. This is they guy the fundamentalist/evangelical part of the Right-wing wants in the top job.

Bastard.

You have no value, You're just another one, Death will quench your hunger

Bush Leading Iraq to peace, freedom and stability
IRAQ: Saddam Provided More Food Than the U.S.

Friday, December 28, 2007
BAQUBA - The Iraqi government announcement that monthly food rations will be cut by half has left many Iraqis asking how they can survive.

The government also wants to reduce the number of people depending on the rationing system by five million by June 2008.

[...]
The sanctions, imposed after Saddam Hussein ordered the invasion of Kuwait, were described as “genocidal” by Denis Halliday, then UN humanitarian coordinator in Iraq. Halliday quit his post in protest against the U.S.-backed sanctions.

The sanctions killed half a million Iraqi children, and as many adults, according to the UN. They brought malnutrition, disease, and lack of medicines. Iraqis became nearly completely reliant on food rations for survival.
[...]
The imminent move will affect nearly 10 million people who depend on the rationing system.
[...]
According to an Oxfam International report released in July this year, “60 percent (of Iraqis) currently have access to rations through the government-run Public Distribution System (PDS), down from 96 percent in 2004.”

The report said that “43 percent of Iraqis suffer from absolute poverty,” and that according to some estimates over half the population are now without work. “Children are hit the hardest by the decline in living standards. Child malnutrition rates have risen from 19 percent before the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 to 28 percent now.”
[...]
Many fear the food ration cuts can spark unrest. “The government will commit a big mistake, because providing enough food ration could compensate the government’s mistakes in other fields like security,” a local physician told IPS.
In the 4.5 years since we illegally invaded Iraq, a country that we knew had no WMDs and no connection to 9/11, an invasion that was planned from day 1 of the bush regime, we have had more Iraqi civilians die under our regime than under 20 years of Saddam's.

We have not been able to surpass the food, water, sewage, electricity and even oil production that he maintained for Iraqis under UN sanctions.

All this while we spend about $15 BILLION a month on Iraq. The money would be better spent on butter, not guns. Arming both sides of a civil war while starving the population is a recipe for disaster.



Cross posted at VidiotSpeak

Written In Blood

Sangre De Kristol

Anecdotal evidence suggests that the New York Times has contracted William Kristol to begin penning some sort of advice column to lovelorn conservatives in the new year - The Miss Cleo of the NeoCons.

What...You didn't think he was going to offer fact-based screeds on 'events of the day', did you?
After all, this man has been an aggressively ambitious shill for every greed-soaked policy concocted by neoconservatives, and has been demonstrably wrong with every prediction made...Yet he shrugs it off nonchalantly, even insouciantly, for those who suffer as a result of his mendacity are not those who matter to him or those he serves.

He doesn't even like the newspaper that has offered to take up the slack in his wallet created by his earlier cashiering from Time magazine - Thus, how much credibility does this situation offer either party... Exactly?

Obviously Arthur Sulzberger, Jr. needn't hire Kristol to hew closely to established truths, by dint of the fact that empirically received wisdom is so 'twentieth century' now...Strictly for geeks and squarebritches.

We find ourselves living in the New Unreality - Whatever one chooses to believe in the grip of their fever dreams is real, because they believe and declare it so, thus no further proof need be offered, and the world has no choice but to accept this unquestioningly...And should the world be so unwise as to refuse acceptance, extreme force is perfectly justifiable when brought to bear on such recalcitrance.

This is yet another example of civilization's early onset dementia, the return to a Darker Age as critical thinking and logical analysis of data is subsumed by infantile wish fulfillments metastasized into the public discourse and accepted as factual perceptions by the mass.
There is no more objective reality, a shared group of non-fictive truisms that can be reliably verified...Only the grasping Id of the empowered forcing whatever catches their fancy upon the powerless.

And it will go on without end, unless and until people reject the use of relative morality and situational ethics as convenient solutions to complex issues, and embrace the concept of enlightened interdependence practiced on a scalable level in all affairs.

Meanwhile, I'm sure there are bird cages in need of lining somewhere...But the rancid scribblings of William Kristol are not even fit for that type of deployment.

You god damn right, I'm a criminal



For those who are Facebook enthusiasts, or even just casual users, NTodd has pointed us to something pretty cool:
The Kucinich resolution, H.Res. 799, to impeach Cheney first is gathering more and more support as the national impeachment continues to grow, after being referred to the House Judiciary Committee last month.

And as a member of that committee, Representative Robert Wexler and two other committee members, Representative Gutierrez and Baldwin, have joined together in demanding action now.

Congressman Robert Wexler says it on his website, "The charges are too serious to ignore. There is credible evidence that the Vice President abused the power of his office, and not only brought us into an unnecessary war but violated the civil liberties and privacy of American citizens. It is the constitutional duty of Congress to hold impeachment hearings." This special action page will add you name to the sign ups on the Wexler site, where he has more than 150,000 of his own submissions already.

Indeed. It goes on with tools to submit a message signing on to Wexler's site, and send a message to Congressperson's supporting Kucinich & Wexler.

Or you can just go to Wexler's site if you're not a Facebook geek. Click here for link.

Saturday, December 29, 2007

Want a plane that loops the loop - Me, I want a hula hoop

Since I've been tagged by our fearless leader, I certainly don't want to be a party pooper, so here is my take on the Christmas Survey:

1. Wrapping or gift bags?
Mainly wrapping, but gift bags are tempting due to their "lazy factor" of just tossing a present inside one and covering with that colored tissue stuff.
2. Real or artificial tree?
Haven't had a real tree since the first year my wife and I were married like 20 years ago. But our artificial tree is realistic enough, complete with artificial pine needles that can be sprinkled around it and artificial sap that gets on your clothes. After Christmas, it has brown, dried out fake branches that can be attached to its base so it can be dragged out to the street and fool the neighbors into thinking we actually splurged for a real one. Just have to remember to run out and pull it back in before the trash man comes.
3. When do you put up the tree?
Right after Thanksgiving, though I sometimes think my wife would like to see the Christmas decorations go up after Memorial Day. Kind of like they do in the stores.
4. When do you take the tree down?
Maybe this year I'll just take off the lights and ornaments and leave the tree up and pretend it's just an overgrown houseplant.
5. Do you like egg nog?
Haven't had it in years, so I don't recall the taste. I remember liking it as a child until one Christmas all us kids caught the flu and it hit us the evening after we all had egg nogs at the kitchen table. After that, it just wasn't quite the same "treat".
6. Favorite gift received as a child?
Probably was the Christmas we all got Huffy 10 speed bikes. Of course, I wasn't smart enough to understand the concept of why it had all the different speeds, so I just rode it on the same setting all the time. But it was a step up from my little purple bike with the rocket handle grips.
Oh, and another year that I got the Major Matt Mason Space Station (a late 60's toy).
Along with the various bendable characters and aliens, also got his Space Crawler.
I could never figure this one out as a mode of transportation. The way it bumped and banged as it "crawled", a real-life astronaut would lose his cookies in no time flat.
7. Do you have a nativity scene?
Yes, we have two of them up (three if you count one that is a part of an ornament on the tree). After all, it IS Jesus' birthday.

8. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
Can't think of anything that I "hated", but like Sailor, when I was younger I only got so many gifts to open and I viewed each present that turned out to be clothes as one less toy I was going to get.
9. Mail or email Christmas cards?
Mailed photo cards and did a few e-mails.
10. Favorite Christmas Movie?
I always enjoy the Grinch. The original Charlie Brown special is good, too. If it's on I'll watch the Rudolph one, mainly because I remember how cool it was watching it as a kid (and actually being scared of the Abominable Snowman). Remember the days before videos and cable when the only time we could see those things was at it's allotted time in the holidays? If you missed it, you had to wait another year. Rudolph was like that. Though I could never understand why Santa was so mean in it. Him getting mad at Rudolph's parents when his nose got uncovered. Was it their fault their son was born that way? Did he think it was a result of them doing drugs while his mom was pregnant? Would he have been equally pissed if Rudolph was autistic or crippled? (See? I take my Christmas specials seriously)
As for my favorite movie, I agree with Steve... any version of A Christmas Carol. I have on video one with Patrick Stewart and one with George C Scott. Also an old one from the 40's. My dad always loved the Mr. Magoo version. I don't know why, but no matter how many times I see them, I never get tired of them.
11. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
Usually last minute, but for once this year I started right after Thanksgiving and got it pretty much done, though I did sneak to Target at 7 in the morning of Christmas Eve to get a couple last minute things.
12. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
Can't name just one thing. Like Thanksgiving, I just love the variety of so many different yummy treats to munch upon.
13. Clear lights or colored on the tree?
Currently we have the clear lights on, but we've also done the colored. Depends on our mood at the time we are putting the tree up.
14. Favorite Christmas song(s)?
I like most of them, I suppose. Carol of the Bells comes to mind at the moment.
15. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
Lately it's been stay home. My family over on Christmas Eve, my wife's on Christmas Day. Though in the past we've traveled on Christmas Day.
16. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer?
Let's see if I can do it by getting Gene Autry's voice in my head from the intro to Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer without cheating and doing a google search... there was Dasher and Dancer and Comet and Cupid, Donner and Blitzen and Cheney and Stupid. Something like that.
17. Angel on the tree top or a star?
Used to be a star, but it's been an angel for several years now. I shove a ball of lights up under her dress so she glows. Sounds pretty nasty though, don't it?
18. Open the presents Christmas Eve or Christmas Morning?
In the morning. The boys know they can't go out into the living room without us, so after they are both up and feel that they've let us sleep in long enough (like 5 or 6 in the morning) they come in and wake us up.
19. Most annoying thing about this time of year?
The few times I've done it, going to the mall on a weekend and trying to find parking.
20. Do you decorate your tree in any specific theme or color?
No. We like just using all the ornaments that we've accumulated through the years from different places and people, each one with it's own memory attached to it.
21. What do you leave for Santa?
A bear trap, but he then just turns around and puts my presents within it's jaws with a "F.U." note attached.
22. Least favorite holiday song?
Probably the ones that are most overused, like Jingle Bells and We Wish You a Merry Christmas.
23. Favorite ornament?
Got lots of them. As mentioned above, they all have some kind of story or memory attached. I have some baseball ones and a yellow submarine. Ones the boys made in school, too.
24. Family tradition?
I think my family coming over to our house for Christmas Eve is pretty much the only "tradition" that has held firm for quite some time.
25. Ever been to Midnight Mass or late-night Christmas Eve services?
Yes, I've done Midnight Mass several times before. But I'm not really a night person, so I prefer either going in the evening of Christmas Eve or Christmas morning, though the former is what we usually do.

Okay, there is my take on the Christmas survey, and you can take it with a grain of piggy pudding if you like. ;)

Friday, December 28, 2007

The End of the World



Follow the bouncing ball.

;>)

h/t Freewayblogger

Sparkle someone else's eyes

Since Steve threw down the gauntlet I'll let him smell the glove. One caveat: The answers are what I prefer, not necessarily what I do.

1. Wrapping or gift bags?
Wrapping for what I give, and it doesn't matter with what I receive.

2. Real or artificial tree?
Real, a tree that I hunt down and kill myself. After slogging thru 6 ft of snow, uphill both ways, and mount on the hood of my sleigh for the drive back over the hill and thru the woods.

3. When do you put up the tree?
Umm, actually I don't.

4. When do you take the tree down?
See above.

5. Do you like egg nog?
Gotta go with SteveAudio on this one, but as a sailor I prefer even more rum.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
If it's xmas gift only I think a red pedal car, but I had a bunch of good ones. But if it's any gift I'd have to say my 1st sailboat.

7. Do you have a nativity scene?
Nope, it got creched by the reindeer.

8. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
Some bastard tagging me to play 20 questions;-) But seriously folks; when I was a kid I hated getting clothes.

9. Mail or email Christmas cards?
Hand delivered or email.

10. Favorite Christmas Movie?
It's a Wonderful Life, but currently second would be White Christmas. I always thought I'd seen it but the other night I surfed in just after the credits and didn't know it was a christmas movie till half way thru.

11. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
Late December.

12. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
Santa's little helper.

13. Clear lights or colored on the tree?
Both, I like the sparkle of the tiny whites and the gaudy, prismatic exuberance of the colors, (especially the bubbly candles.)

14. Favorite Christmas song(s)?
Please Come Home For Christmas, White Christmas, Blue Christmas.

15. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
If I'm lucky there's no travel.

16. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer?
I can't even name the 7 dwarves.

17. Angel on the tree top or a star?
I've had both on top of the tree, but the stars were more self involved.

18. Open the presents Christmas Eve or Christmas Morning?
It used to be morning, but my favorite present these days I unwrap at night.

19. Most annoying thing about this time of year?
SteveAudio nailed it: "War on Christmas" crap from O'Reilly et al.

20. Do you decorate your tree in any specific theme or color?
Nope.

21. What do you leave for Santa?
My wallet.

22. Least favorite holiday song?
All of them.

23. Favorite ornament?
There was this really cool indented sphere with a little sparkly tree on top when I was a kid.

24. Family tradition?
I don't go there. Really, I don't go there.

25. Ever been to Midnight Mass or late-night Christmas Eve services?
Never, but once I came out of a pinball palace when I was a teenager and saw all these folks with funny hats swinging braziers and chanting. It looked pretty cool.

I'm not a Scrooge and I'm not a Grinch, but my favorite Christmas these days is just me and my winch wench.

Now as to the tagging, once again I'll go with Steve and tag my co-bloggers at VidiotSpeak, because nothing epitomizes the holiday season like making friends and loved ones suffer along with you:
The Vidiot
Mr. Vidiot
oscar wilde
Bill Arnett
Global Patriot Worker

She's Gone Oh I, Oh I'd better learn how to face it


Big Tent Democrat writing at Talk Left has the vapors re: Obama spokesperson David Axelrod's statement on the Bhutto assassination:
Axelrod disgustingly blames Hillary for the Bhutto assassination:
Bhutto’s death will “call into issue the judgment: who’s made the right judgments,” [Obama campaign manager David] Axelrod said. “Obviously, one of the reasons that Pakistan is in the distress that it’s in is because al-Qaeda is resurgent, has become more powerful within that country and that’s a consequence of us taking the eye off the ball and making the wrong judgment in going into Iraq. That’s a serious difference between these candidates and I’m sure that people will take that into consideration.” . . . “She was a strong supporter of the war in Iraq, which we would submit, was one of the reasons why we were diverted from Afghanistan, Pakistan and al-Qaeda, who may have been players in this event today, so that’s a judgment she’ll have to defend,” Axelrod said.

Wow! I can not believe he said that. Beyond the fact that the problems of resources in Pakistan are not related to Iraq (indeed, the Bush Administration has given away resources that the Pakistanis diverted to issues other than fighting Al Qaida), where was Obama on funding of Iraq and Pakistan for his tenure in the Senate? What did He do? According to Axelrod, is Obama to blame for the Bhutto assassination too? Outrageous stuff from the Obama campaign.

Um, not really. In this, as well as several other posts over there, he is quick to criticize Axelrod, & Obama, and even offers this:
The Obama campaign seems to be going down in flames.

While this seems to me perhaps a case of Obama Derangement Syndrome, I think the criticism of Axelrod's comments is parsing pretty finely. Put simply, GWBushCo did indeed take military resources out of the 2 -stans, thus ending the hunt for Bin Laden, to start the Iraq debacle. Whether or not continuing the actions in the -stans would have helped or hurt Musharraf's dictatorship is hard to know, and a foolish debate since American forces left.

And the American push to have Bhutto share power with Musharraf, while pretty misguided like everything out of this White House, didn't directly connect with Iraq policy. But I think a long-term military presence in the 2 -stans might have led to Musharraf reigning in some of the more fanatical elements in his army, who likely had some part in the Bhutto assassination.

Pure speculation on my part. But shooting the messenger ("where was Obama on funding of Iraq and Pakistan for his tenure in the Senate?") is a little silly, IMHO. HRC was a supporter of invading Iraq, which meant we took troops out of the -stans, with consequences unknown. Except for the renewal of the Taliban, and the burgeoning of al Qaeda in other parts of the world.

Did those players have anything to do with Bhutto's death? Heck, even our White House Press folks think so:
I've seen and I'm aware that al Qaeda may have claimed responsibility. I'm aware of news reports of that, but I don't have any specifics for you on that. But certainly whoever perpetrated this attack is an enemy of democracy, and has used a tactic which al Qaeda is very familiar with, and that is suicide bombing and the taking of innocent life to try to disrupt a democratic process.
And the Pakistani government is spinning that story hard:
The government said al-Qaida and the Taliban were responsible for her death, claiming it intercepted an al-Qaida leader's message of congratulation for the assassination.
But many of Bhutto's furious supporters blamed President Pervez Musharraf's government for the shooting and bombing attack on the former prime minister, Musharraf's most powerful opponent. They rampaged through several cities in violence that left at least 23 dead less than two weeks before crucial parliamentary elections.
"We have the evidence that al-Qaida and Taliban were behind the suicide attack on Benazir Bhutto," Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz said.


Update: from partner darkblack in comments (this piece deserves wide-spread analysis and reporting-hint hint):
The roots of the crisis go back to the blind bargain Washington made after 9/11 with the regime that had heretofore been the Taliban's main patron: ignoring Musharraf's despotism in return for his promises to crack down on al-Qaeda and cut the Taliban loose. Today, despite $10 billion in U.S. aid to Pakistan since 2001, that bargain is in tatters; the Taliban is resurgent in Afghanistan, and al-Qaeda's senior leadership has set up another haven inside Pakistan's chaotic border regions.

The problem is exacerbated by a dramatic drop-off in U.S. expertise on Pakistan. Retired American officials say that, for the first time in U.S. history, nobody with serious Pakistan experience is working in the South Asia bureau of the State Department, on State's policy planning staff, on the National Security Council staff or even in Vice President Cheney's office. Anne W. Patterson, the new U.S. ambassador to Islamabad, is an expert on Latin American "drugs and thugs"; Richard A. Boucher, the assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs, is a former department spokesman who served three tours in Hong Kong and China but never was posted in South Asia. "They know nothing of Pakistan," a former senior U.S. diplomat said.

Current and past U.S. officials tell me that Pakistan policy is essentially being run from Cheney's office. The vice president, they say, is close to Musharraf and refuses to brook any U.S. criticism of him. This all fits; in recent months, I'm told, Pakistani opposition politicians visiting Washington have been ushered in to meet Cheney's aides, rather than taken to the State Department.

All I can say is shit-pies!

Colored lights that hypnotize


Commentor and friend (?) BustedKnuckles of Ornery Bastard sent me one of those surveys, so loved by the kidz and their MySpace friends. Only this one is kind of fun. For great answers go see Busted's answers. For mine, well, here they are:


1. Wrapping or gift bags?
Either; wrapping is more personal.

2. Real or artificial tree?
Currently artificial, it's so much easier.

3. When do you put up the tree?
Usually the weekend after Thanksgiving.

4. When do you take the tree down?
After Pam's B-day, also known as Epiphany.

5. Do you like egg nog?
Lots of rum, please.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
My horse; see picture at top.

7. Do you have a nativity scene?
Yep, a lovely one given us by the equally lovely Kristin.

8. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
Can't think of one.

9. Mail or email Christmas cards?
Pam takes responsibility for that, thankfully.

10. Favorite Christmas Movie?
Any one of the "A Christmas Carol" versions.

11. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
Some time in December.

12. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
Pam's rigatoni!

13. Clear lights or colored on the tree?
Colored!

14. Favorite Christmas song(s)?
Adeste Fidelis.

15. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
Travel to the Mansells (you know who you are).

16. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer?
Dasher, Dancer, Donner, Blitzen, Prancer, Sparky, Tweedle & Floyd.

17. Angel on the tree top or a star?
Both are lovely.

18. Open the presents Christmas Eve or Christmas Morning?
Both.

19. Most annoying thing about this time of year?
"War on Christmas" crap from O'Reilly et al.

20. Do you decorate your tree in any specific theme or color?
Sometimes, that's also up to Pam.

21. What do you leave for Santa?
Nothing, he gets enough at other houses.

22. Least favorite holiday song?
Grandma got run over by a reindeer.

23. Favorite ornament?
Some of the dated ones from Mom.

24. Family tradition?
Make nice with each other.

25. Ever been to Midnight Mass or late-night Christmas Eve services?
Not recently.


Supposedly I'm to pass this on to 7 lucky victims, but I'm breaking with tradition and keeping it in the family.

So here goes: Sailor, D-Dave, darkblack, here's the throwdown. You've been tagged!


Update: corrected Pam's b-day to the correct Catholic holiday.

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Playboy Fred, Protectorater Of Maidenhood

True Sh*t

CBS:

CRESTON, Iowa (AP) -- Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson says there's not a woman who should be president next year.
...
Without saying Hillary Clinton's name, he said -- quote -- "There is no woman on the horizon that ought to be president next year, let's all agree on that."


Ah, but since there is only one woman running for American president this year, I think we can all guess who he is referring to.

Frankly, I'm not a fan of Clinton's...Irrespective of the provenance of her spauldings, they're sunk deeper into corporate pockets than some might suspect.

That being said, I have a large problem with gender barriers as they pertain to people's lives, and those who create and use them as a divisive stratagem.

When I was in Rock And Roll High School (Shoephone, holla!), the fastest way to get my negative attention was to disparage someone's abilities or potential career track because '...they were a girl '.

Land sakes did that cause a botheration, because Mama darkblack didn't raise little piglets...She worked her ass off for tie-sniffing chauvinists and bounced her nose against more than a few glass ceilings so that I could eat under a roof with the heat on.

Accordingly, women will never be less than an equal to me then, now, and forevermore.

So what's the deal, Thompson? You think little girlies ought to mind their place and their man?

Two words, Flipper...One rhymes with 'truck', and the other is you.

Cleanliness is Next to Godliness?

Priests brawl at Jesus' birthplace

Greek Orthodox and Armenian priests attacked each other with brooms and stones inside the Church of the Nativity as long-standing rivalries erupted in violence during holiday cleaning on Thursday.

The basilica, built over the grotto in Bethlehem where Christians believe Jesus was born, is administered jointly by Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic authorities.

Any perceived encroachment on one group's turf can touch off vicious feuds.

On Thursday, dozens of priests and cleaners were scrubbing the church ahead of the Armenian and Orthodox Christmas, celebrated in early January. Thousands of tourists visited the church this week for Christmas celebrations.

But the clean-up turned ugly after some of the Orthodox faithful stepped inside the Armenian church's section, touching off a scuffle between about 50 Greek Orthodox and 30 Armenians.
Armenians are meany ones with a broom and now the orthodox need ortho docs.



Cross posted at VidiotSpeak

And when I'm gone, just carry on, don't mourn

The power of patriarchy and extremism:



Bhutto was far from perfect, but compared to the corrupt and power hungry Giuliani Musharraf, she was a breath of fresh air:
He has yet to indicate whether elections will still be held as scheduled on January 8 or whether he will re-impose the state of emergency that he lifted only a fortnight ago.

From GWBush:
The United States strongly condemns this cowardly act by murderous extremists who are trying to undermine Pakistan's democracy. Those who committed this crime must be brought to justice.

Too bad he didn't feel that way about Osama Bin Laden:
I don't know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don't care. It's not that important. It's not our priority.


Here in this country, we're not too far away from the patriarchy:
Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson says there's not a woman who should be president next year.

It was a jab aimed at Democratic candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The former Tennessee senator was in Iowa today, challenging potential caucus-goers to choose the best man to help fend off what he described as a Democratic Party that would lead the country into a welfare state.

Without saying Clinton's name, he said -- quote -- "There is no woman on the horizon that ought to be president next year, let's all agree on that."

Thompson continued to refer to the next president as a man who should represent conservative principles and values.

Bastard.

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

But they never let you know, On the TV and the radio

Don't turn around, oh oh
Der Kommissar's in town, oh oh:
Defiant FCC Chief Refuses To Delay Vote

Friday, December 14, 2007

Facing growing criticism of his agenda and tactics, a defiant Kevin J. Martin, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, refused senators’ requests Thursday to delay a vote next week on his plan to loosen restrictions on owning a newspaper and broadcast station in the same city.
[...]
Martin wants to lift the so-called cross-ownership ban in the top 20 U.S. markets and allow such combinations in smaller markets if the FCC determines that they would be in the public interest.
[...]
Lawmakers and public interest groups had expected the FCC’s periodic review of its media ownership rules to extend into next year. But Martin accelerated the process in October, rushing to hold the final two public hearings with minimal notice and proposing to vote on a plan Tuesday, just a week after public comments were due at the FCC.
Once again Kommissar Martin is ignoring The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent United States government agency, directly responsible to Congress.

The congress, the public hearings and public comments were overwhelmingly against more media consolidation. So what's Martin's reaction? He and his fellow bush appointees changed the freakin' rules anyway!
FCC, on 3-2 vote, OKs media ownership rule

Dec 19, 2007

Federal regulators Tuesday brushed aside the concerns of lawmakers and decided to ease the reins on media companies seeking to own newspaper and broadcast properties in the same market in the nation's 20 biggest markets.
But wait, there's more!
FCC chief defends media ownership rules

Tue Dec 25

The Republican chairman of the Federal Communications Commission is disputing Democratic assertions that a new rule loosening restrictions on media ownership is full of loopholes and will lead to a wave of mergers and fewer choices for consumers.
[...]
The conflicting impressions say a lot about the divisive nature of the media ownership debate. Too much media in the hands of too few companies raises fears of an emerging corporate big brother and fewer news and information sources.
[...]
Since then, questions over what the rule actually means have lingered. The rule itself — despite a commission vote — has yet to be released to the public.
Quick summation; the rethuglican chairman of a public agency ignored Congress, studies and the public to institute a rule that they haven't released to the public ... and defended his illegal and unconstitutional actions on Christmas Day.

Do they know it's Christmas? Yeah, but they don't care. I see a Meddle In Honor in his future.

We Three Kings of Orient Are

After finding out that their Chinese-made gifts for the baby Jesus had been recalled, the Three Wise Men were forced instead to give gold, frankincense and myrrh.
[graphic by Dancin' Dave]

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Christmas, and a Happy New Year

Whether or not you subscribe to the religiosity of the day, no one can deny these guys can sing their asses off. The guys in Take 6 doing a Christmas Medley:



I've worked with charter member Mervyn Warren in the studio, charming fellow, very talented.

Saturday, December 22, 2007

From a heart of darkness came a twisted faith, Reaching to the far east with a burning hate


Military Evangelism Deeper, Wider Than First Thought

For US Army soldiers entering basic training at Fort Jackson Army base in Columbia, South Carolina, accepting Jesus Christ as their personal savior appears to be as much a part of the nine-week regimen as the vigorous physical and mental exercises the troops must endure.
[...]
Frank Bussey, director of Military Ministry at Fort Jackson, has been telling soldiers at Fort Jackson that "government authorities, police and the military = God's Ministers,"

Bussey's teachings from the "God's Basic Training" Bible study guide he authored says US troops have "two primary responsibilities": "to praise those who do right" and "to punish those who do evil - "God's servant, an angel of wrath."
Bussey's teachings directed at Fort Jackson soldiers were housed on the Military Ministry at Fort Jackson web site. Late Wednesday, the web site was taken down without explanation. Bussey did not return calls for comment. The web site text, however, can still be viewed in an archived format.
These religious extremists are not only targeting boot camps, they are in the military Academies:
Evangelist Video Shot at Air Force Academy Exposed

A video made by a Christian ministry group shows Air Force Academy cadets being pressured to become “government paid missionaries when they leave” the academy, according to the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), which released the video this week.
And in the Pentagon:
Inquiry Sought Over Evangelical Video
Defense Department Asked to Examine Officers' Acts Supporting Christian Group

A military watchdog group is asking the Defense Department to investigate whether seven Army and Air Force officers violated regulations by appearing in uniform in a promotional video for an evangelical Christian organization.

In the video, much of which was filmed inside the Pentagon, four generals and three colonels praise the Christian Embassy, a group that evangelizes among military leaders, politicians and diplomats in Washington. Some of the officers describe their efforts to spread their faith within the military.
[...]
Pete Geren, a former acting secretary of the Air Force who oversaw the service's response in 2005 to accusations that evangelical Christians were pressuring cadets at the Air Force Academy, also appears in the video.
If you have a rifle in one hand and a bible in the other you should be made to disassemble one because you're dissembling with the other.

BTW, my friend and co-blogger Bill Arnett at VidiotSpeak, who has been there and done that, is an atheist. He has more agape in his heart than any of these so called christians.

Happy Blogiversary to Jon Swift!

pic stolen from BoingBoing

A belated Happy Blogiversary to Jon Swift! Jon, our favorite conservative blogger and the only one we link to, is now in his terrible twos.

Congratulations and here's wishing him many more!

Friday, December 21, 2007

Have A Safe, Happy Christmas!

Don't Tase Me Ho Ho Ho

Best wishes from your pals at SteveAudio.

;>)

Chain, Chain, Cheney, Chain that Fool

Bump & UPDATE: As of 1:00 pm EST Rep. Wexler has collected over 123,832 signatures!
Sign up now!

US Rep Robert Wexler got motivated when the news outlets refused to run his, (and fellow Members of the House Judiciary Committee, Luis Gutierrez and Tammy Baldwin's), Op-Ed listing the reasons why and calling for impeachment hearings for Dick Cheney, so he decided to go to the people.
Call for Cheney impeachment hearings

The charges are too serious to ignore. There is credible evidence that the Vice President abused the power of his office, and not only brought us into an unneccesary war but violated the civil liberties and privacy of American citizens. It is the constitutional duty of Congress to hold impeachment hearings.
I agree, and so do a lot of other people. Wexler launched his impeachment Web site last Friday and as of Monday afternoon, almost 80,000 people had signed an online petition to support the hearings.Update: Since about 3:00 pm EST the count is now 89,000.

Sign up here.



Cross posted at VidiotSpeak

Adeste fideles, laeti triumphantes

Music is always out of tune. Surprised? Well, if it's played by modern instruments, it is.

Some guy named Bach proved that, if you detune every instrument a little bit, you could play in any key. Previously, you had to tune instruments to specific keys: a clavichord tuned to G would sound like cats screwing if you played in E flat.

The point is that the only place one hears precisely in-tune music is a cappella vocals, because the singers, often without being aware, fudge or cheat every chord into precise tune. There is a tension to equal-tempered tuning that is absent in a cappella music, and it's refreshing to hear, it's almost like being able to take a deep breath for the first time.

I heard a recording of "Adeste Fidelis" by the Vienna Boys Choir in my 4th grade music class, and it changed my life. This wasn't opera, the posturing heavy-metal of the classical vocal world. This was straight-up singing, as pure as a human voice can be. No excessive art or artifice, no obvious tools or mechanics, no sounding forced. It was sounds like I had never heard, voices devoted to the melody and not the style.

It is said that the unchanged male voice is the most beautiful there is. While this is probably a wholly sexist viewpoint which has led in past centuries to horrible practices (castrati), this recording, of pre-pubescent males, was truly glorious.

Here is the Vienna Boys Choir in 1977 singing "Adeste Fidelis"



Here's the same vintage of the VBC singing "Maria Wiegenlied" (Maria's Lullaby); this is rock'n'roll:

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Ain't no rules, ain't no vow, we can do it anyhow

Official: Justice Dept. slowed probe into phone jamming

The Justice Department delayed prosecuting a key Republican official for jamming the phones of New Hampshire Democrats until after the 2004 election, protecting top GOP officials from the scandal until the voting was over.

An official with detailed knowledge of the investigation into the 2002 Election-Day scheme said the inquiry sputtered for months after a prosecutor sought approval to indict James Tobin, the northeast regional coordinator for the Republican National Committee.
Oddly enough, voter fraud cases against rethuglicans that ended up being successful were delayed until after the election, but voter fraud cases against Dems, that ended up being unsuccessful were rushed before the election.



Cross posted at VidiotSpeak

Good times, Bad times, You know I had my share


Good times:
Harry Reid is going to keep the Senate in session over the holidays to keep bush from making recess appointments.
Bad times:
Senate OKs Myers for Immigration Job

The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Julie L. Myers as director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, two years after President Bush [...] had used a recess appointment in 2005 to [appoint her.]
That would be this Julie Myers:
Critics also noted her personal connections within the Bush administration. She was engaged — and is now married — to John F. Wood, who was chief of staff to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and is now the U.S. attorney in Kansas City, Mo. Ret. Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is her uncle.

Myers herself was Chertoff's chief of staff when he led the Justice Department's criminal division. However, her appointment in 2005 came after Hurricane Katrina, which brought criticism over the experience of those handling the federal response to the disaster.

Her appointment ran into trouble again this fall when she gave the "most original" costume award to a white employee who came to the agency's Halloween party dressed as an escaped prisoner with dreadlocks and darkened skin.
Nepotism and racism go hand in hand,
As Bush and Reid lead us to the garden land,
A garden filled with sticks and stones,
For their actions they cannot atone

Sorry for the doggerel, I apologize,
But just saying motherf***er, motherf***er
Wouldn't reveal their lies.


Cross posted at VidiotSpeak

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Rockin' around the Christmas tree

Kevin Hayden at American Street has been doing a great job posting Christmas music, so I'm taking that as a challenge.

Here's one that has to be played. Hokey, yet heart in the right place:



I've played guitar most of my life, pretty darned well, if you ask me. And every now and then you find someone who pushes the instrument beyond all logical possibilities. Zack Kim "White Christmas":



Some songs are owned by their most notable singers. Skippy and I have a fun ongoing debate about this. Here's a song (not the original recording) that belongs to Brenda Lee, no one else can ever dare to sing it, especially no one named Simpson:



While we're on the guitar idea, here's Chet playng "Away in a Manger" better than anyone else:



And last for tonight, here's Steve Perry's Christmas Album. No really, it's Steve, I swear. Just check it out:

Primary B.F.D.

Primary BFD

Doesn't it mine a richer vein of irony that one 'leading candidate' endorses a failed foreign policy as a stratagem to outflank his opponent who holds no real foreign policy ideas, merely because he cannot steal the threadbare credibility that the other's religious faith gives him among a minor segment of the voting population...And thus, he must adopt a stance that has garnered collapsing respect at home and even less credibility abroad, merely to provide 'contrast' for the credulous voters.

How sublimely unclever. One gets the sense that if sufficiently provoked through fear or greed that these empty vessels might say and do anything that could filch them the slim advantage necessary to eke out their brittle triumph over the other punchinellos in the right-wing electoral circus.

And all for naught, I suspect...the final raid on the henhouse of international goodwill by the glassy-eyed predators of profit that has climaxed in this decade is drawing to a close, with pardons and protections to come for all the participants as a last defiant act before the taxi to the terminal zone arrives.

Now, these unfortunate tidings might portend (to the cogent among us) an increased need for, if not outright benevolence, then at minimum a effort at comity of nations formed from the rest of the world towards America while the Great Repair commences...Yet these inconvenient realities are discarded out of hand by happy-faced gladhanders in order to maintain some fiction for the jingo-jangling yahoos that the beloved assymetrical hegemony of the last two decades might continue apace, with no commercial breaks.

What a sharp surprise awaits...Nothing like the smell of fresh-baked humble pie in the morning of America, eh, Aunt Bee?

;>)

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

It's not just a week from Christmas...

Star Time

It's almost a year since the Godfather caught the Mothership home.

So many top tracks...But this one gets me every time right there, ever since I heard it way back then.



The night is coming when me and my American friends will celebrate with this, in America, when you all get your country back.

And you will.


Update (SteveAudio): Thanks to everyone stopping by from Crooks & Liars. Click on the 'Home' link below to see what else we do around here.

Go with your heart and do the right thing



Look, I don't want anyone to think that I've gone all-Dodd, all-the-time. It's just that yesterday's actions by Dodd are what we want: action that supports the Constitution and doesn't piss away rights in an effort to appease the Right or the Village elders.

And by we, I mean political activists & bloggers on the left who think correctly, just like me.

Chris stood up and did it, and for that he should be applauded.

And rewarded.

and we'll keep on fighting to the end

Chris Dodd this evening after the FISA bill is pulled:



Here's the thing, candidates. This is what we want. All the glowing, lofty rhetoric is nice, except that it's meaningless unless you do something to bring it to fruition:
  • Out of Iraq doesn't mean 5-10 years.
  • No telecom amnesty doesn't mean retroactive immunity.
  • Bi-partisan doesn't mean Republicans rule.
  • National health care doesn't mean insurance companies dictate rules.
  • Less oil dependence doesn't mean record profits/tax breaks for Exxon.
So far, Dodd, despite low poll numbers, is the only candidate who has indicated he's willing to stand up to the Bushies, as well as the defeatist wing of the Democratic Party.

Other candidates would do well to watch, and learn.

Monday, December 17, 2007

Sucker Birthrate Shows Minor Decline

I Wish You Was A Wishing Well

From Crain's:
The auction for Karl Rove's memoir drags on a month after the Republican strategist made the rounds of publishers with Washington power lawyer Robert Barnett at his side.

“It's very, very slow,” says an executive at one of the few houses left in the bidding. Early reports had predicted a $3 million sale, but some insiders are wondering if Mr. Barnett has had trouble getting to that number.

Let me see if I can surmise the reason for this winsome hesitancy.

Unlike government, publishing is a business, and businesses are fond of profit.

It might be one thing to subsidize some wingnut wacko or fifth-rate comedian like Ann Coulter into penning their latest 'Look-Mommy-I-made-Number-Two-on-the-persian-rug-at-
your-cocktail party'
screed, and then remainder the beans out of said screed so as to pump up placement on the New York Times bestseller list, thereby rooking some rubes into making it a Book Club special must-have.

It is quite another for the 'Machiavellian sage' behind the campaigns of the Ultimate Corporate Superstar Marionette to chump it at the retail level and require that depth of bailout...And 3 million clams means somebody has to eat a whole lot of dead trees.

Now, who might be the market demo for Kooky Karl's epistles on partisan pillage for fun and profit, I wonder?
It's not like his game is so majestically opaque that a weighty tome is required by the masses to explore the mystery.
Anything he could do, Lee Atwater could do 'better'...Except, of course, to croak with a solemn deathbed recanting of his misdeeds upon his bluing lips.
If Karl tried that, he'd spontaneously combust prior to leaving this vale of tears in a cloud of derisive laughter.

Naturally, it is most unlikely that progressive folk and honest conservatives need any tech tips from this glorified second-story man, so I suppose that leave the old reliable 24-or-so percent of registered morons who continue to clog the drain of global change...And those jagoffs aren't even good for wholesale price.

Econ 101 really messes with the ability to create one's own reality, don't it?

Well all right let people know

Chris Dodd made it happen today:
A Reid aide tells Greg Sargent that “Reid refused to jam this bill through the Senate because he believes it’s an important bill that deserves to be debated thoroughly.” FireDogLake writes, “Well played, Senator Dodd.”
Here's Dodd earlier today, very fired up:



Matt Browner-Hamlin at the Dodd campaign says:

Senator Dodd issued the following statement in response to Senator Reid pulling the Intel Committee bill from consideration until the new year:

"Today we have scored a victory for American civil liberties and sent a message to President Bush that we will not tolerate his abuse of power and veil of secrecy. The President should not be above the rule of law, nor should the telecom companies who supported his quest to spy on American citizens. I want to thank the thousands of Americans throughout the country that stood with me to get this done for our country."

The progressive blogs, who played a huge role in lobbying the Senate to support Dodd's leadership against retroactive immunity, are joining in the celebration now that the FISA bill has been pulled until next year.

Sam Stein at HuffPost adds:
Senator Chris Dodd won a temporary victory today after his threats of a filibuster forced Democratic leadership to push back consideration of a measure that would grant immunity to telecom companies that were complicit in warrantless surveillance.

The measure was part of a greater bill to reorganize the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Earlier on Monday, the Senate, agreed to address a bill that would have overhauled FISA, authorized the monitoring of people outside the United States, given secret courts the power to approve aspects of surveillance, and granted telecom companies retroactive immunity for past cooperation.

But the threat of Dodd's filibuster, aimed primarily at the latter measure, persuaded Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-NV, to table the act until January. A compromise on the immunity will ostensibly be worked out in the interim period.

And I don't feel safe anymore, Oh what a mess, I wonder who's watching me now

Telecom Industry Wins a Round on Eavesdropping
Apparently the Senators don't read the New York Times, but Glen Greenwald does, and he nails the problem
The Lawless Surveillance State

There are several vital points raised by the new revelations in The New York Times that "the N.S.A.'s reliance on telecommunications companies is broader and deeper than ever before" and includes both pre-9/11 efforts to tap without warrants into the nation's domestic communications network as well as the collection of vast telephone records of American citizens in the name of the War on Drugs. The Executive Branch and the largest telecommunications companies work in virtually complete secrecy -- with no oversight and no notion of legal limits -- to spy on Americans, on our own soil, at will.
Read the whole thing, the Bush admin has been spying on us domestically long before 9/11.

Contact Harry Reid, contact your congress critters and sign the petition.



Cross posted at VidiotSpeak

Don't look around, no, keep on going


Update, from the Dodd campaign:
Wanted to pass along an update regarding Sen. Dodd's efforts to block the FISA bill on the Senate floor today...

Sen. Dodd has continued to apply pressure to Senate Leadership, staying on the floor to speak when yielded time for approximately seven hours, while leaders stayed behind closed doors to negotiate what they should do next.

Sen. Dodd is still prepared to offer his amendment and mount a filibuster if debate on this bill is moved forward.

Thanks, Sen. Dodd.

Sing a song, it'll make your day

FireDogLake has a petition to Harry Reid:

Tell Harry Reid To Support Chris Dodd's Filibuster!


Dear Senator Reid:


I am outraged by your efforts to enable the Bush administration and telecoms to escape all accountability for their illegal spying on American citizens. I am appalled by your refusal to recognize the "hold" placed by Sen. Chris Dodd on the Cheney/Rockefeller bill to expand warrantless eavesdropping and provide telecoms immunity, especially given the reverence with which you treat "holds" asserted by GOP Senators. And I am truly disappointed that you have treated in such a cavalier manner revelations that the Bush administration has simply broken the law in how it has spied on Americans.


Sadly, your legacy as Senate Majority Leader thus far is one of extreme weakness and failure. It is astonishing to watch one capitulation after the next to a President who is widely discredited and historically unpopular and whose administration is patently corrupt. Your constituents did not send you to Washington to enable the Bush administration's behavior, but rather to act as an important check on that behavior. Your role as Senate Majority Leader is to impose limits on the President's misconduct, not to enable and endorse it. You are profoundly failing in all of your core duties.


More than ever, America needs principled and courageous leadership, and you are uniquely situated to provide it. Please start doing so. You can begin by joining in Chris Dodd's filibuster of the horrific Senate Intelligence Committee bill and by urging your caucus members to do the same.

Fill out the form below to make your voice heard:































* denotes required field




Go tell it on the mountain

Update: Senate is live on CSPAN-2 (Ch. 37, on Time-Warner cable in L.A. area)



Jane at Firedoglake has a message from the Obama campaign supporting Dodd's pledge to filibuster the FISA law that would give retro-active immunity to the bastard telecom companies for illegally spying on Americans:
"Senator Obama unequivocally opposes giving retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies and has cosponsored Senator Dodd's efforts to remove that provision from the FISA bill. Granting such immunity undermines the constitutional protections Americans trust the Congress to protect. Senator Obama supports a filibuster of this bill, and strongly urges others to do the same. It's not clear whether he can return for the vote, but under the Senate rules, the side trying to end a filibuster must produce 60 votes to cut off debate. Whether he is present for the vote for not, Senator Obama will not be among those voting to end the filibuster."

Leave comments for Dodd here.

Call Senators using the table below:

Individual Senator Rundown:
































































































































































































































NamePartyStatePosition Take Action
Murkowski, LisaRAKmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Stevens, TedRAKmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Sessions, JeffRALmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Shelby, Richard C.RALmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Lincoln, Blanche L.DARmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Pryor, Mark L.DARmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Kyl, JonRAZmaybeCALL THEM NOW
McCain, JohnRAZmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Boxer, BarbaraDCAmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Feinstein, DianneDCAmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Allard, WayneRCOmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Salazar, KenDCOmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Dodd, Christopher J.DCTyesCALL THEM NOW
Lieberman, Joseph I.ICTmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Biden, Joseph R., Jr.DDEmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Carper, Thomas R.DDEmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Martinez, MelRFLmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Nelson, BillDFLmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Chambliss, SaxbyRGAmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Isakson, JohnnyRGAmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Akaka, Daniel K.DHImaybeCALL THEM NOW
Inouye, Daniel K.DHImaybeCALL THEM NOW
Grassley, ChuckRIAmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Harkin, TomDIAmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Craig, Larry E.RIDmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Crapo, MikeRIDmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Durbin, RichardDILmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Obama, BarackDILmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Bayh, EvanDINmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Lugar, Richard G.RINmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Brownback, SamRKSmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Roberts, PatRKSmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Bunning, JimRKYmaybeCALL THEM NOW
McConnell, MitchRKYmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Landrieu, Mary L.DLAmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Vitter, DavidRLAmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Kennedy, Edward M.DMAyesCALL THEM NOW
Kerry, John F.DMAmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Cardin, Benjamin L.DMDmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Mikulski, Barbara A.DMDmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Snowe, Olympia J.RMEmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Levin, CarlDMImaybeCALL THEM NOW
Stabenow, DebbieDMImaybeCALL THEM NOW
Klobuchar, AmyDMNmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Bond, Christopher S.RMOmaybeCALL THEM NOW
McCaskill, ClaireDMOmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Cochran, ThadRMSmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Lott, TrentRMSmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Baucus, MaxDMTmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Tester, JonDMTmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Burr, RichardRNCmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Dole, ElizabethRNCmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Conrad, KentDNDmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Dorgan, Byron L.DNDmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Hagel, ChuckRNEmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Nelson, E. BenjaminDNEmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Gregg, JuddRNHmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Sununu, John E.RNHmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Lautenberg, Frank R.DNJmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Menendez, RobertDNJmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Bingaman, JeffDNMmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Ensign, JohnRNVmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Reid, HarryDNVmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Clinton, Hillary RodhamDNYmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Schumer, Charles E.DNYmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Brown, SherrodDOHmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Voinovich, George V.ROHmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Coburn, TomROKmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Inhofe, James M.ROKmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Smith, Gordon H.RORmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Wyden, RonDORmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Casey, Robert P., Jr.DPAmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Specter, ArlenRPAmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Reed, JackDRImaybeCALL THEM NOW
Whitehouse, SheldonDRImaybeCALL THEM NOW
DeMint, JimRSCmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Graham, LindseyRSCmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Johnson, TimDSDmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Thune, JohnRSDmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Alexander, LamarRTNmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Corker, BobRTNmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Cornyn, JohnRTXmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Bennett, Robert F.RUTmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Hatch, Orrin G.RUTmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Warner, JohnRVAmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Webb, JimDVAmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Sanders, BernardIVTmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Cantwell, MariaDWAmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Murray, PattyDWAmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Feingold, Russell D.DWIyesCALL THEM NOW
Kohl, HerbDWImaybeCALL THEM NOW
Byrd, Robert C.DWVmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Rockefeller, John D., IVDWVmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Barrasso, JohnRWYmaybeCALL THEM NOW
Enzi, Michael B.RWYmaybeCALL THEM NOW