AYFKM Alert:

AIG Executives Go ON A 400K Luxury Retreat After Receiving 85 Billion Dollar Taxpayer Bailout

Today on CSPAN Rep. Cummings (MD-D) of the House Oversight Committee gave AIG exec the business.



Really. This is what they do with bailout money. Welcome to the dark side America. Story at Think Progress with a sidebar from Fucked in California blog.

Either Or

At a McCain 'rally' yesterday during the inflammatory speech grandpa made, in response to what he says you can hear from the crowd what sounds like either, "terrorist," or "kill him." I listened several times and can't be sure which it is, but regardless, McCain heard it as you can tell from his immediate reaction, and yet does or says nothing. Is that leadership? Come on. Really. Ask yourself, is it? Certainly McCain is not responsible for what others say or do but if he knows of it he has the responsibility to say something. Think about it. This is not the way to act "presidential."


Note to regular readers:I have recently joined some milblogs as a reader commenter and am posting regularly a some military message boards. I find myself currently on a mission to change minds and am writing not with the choir in mind.

Creepy McMeltdown

"If I were a dictator, which I always aspire to be..."

Direct quote from John McCain's meeting yesterday with the editorial board of The Des Moines Register. Finally a little truth creeps onto the "Straight Talk Express." Watch the entire interview or short segments on specific topics, but do listen to Gramppy utter the same famous words as Junior. The clip is: Full Editorial Board, dictator statement begins at 56:50. I would like to point out, as John McCain so often does, that he had long military career. The military is not a democracy. No wonder he wants to be a dictator.

Lost in the Wilderness

When Palin does the crash and burn, someone ought to let her use one of her lifelines; it's the humane thing to do. Another respected journalist jumps off the Scary Talk Express. Culled from TruthDig:

Calling Sarah Palin’s recent interview with CBS anchor Katie Couric “the last straw,” Newsweek editor and columnist Fareed Zakaria tells Wolf Blitzer on Monday’s episode of “The Situation Room” that it’s not a matter of Palin not giving the right answer when faced with a complex question about the economy or foreign policy, “it’s that she clearly does not understand the question.”

The highlight reel begins at 1:54.

Oh no he di'int :UPDATE

Oh yes he did. Cracker-ass illiterate, Lynn Westmoreland (GA-R)-- you may remember him from his appearance on The Colbert Report, where he displayed what a dumb-ass hypocrite he is -- called Obama, "Uppity."

Georgia Republican Rep. Lynn Westmoreland used the racially-tinged term "uppity" to describe Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama Thursday.

Westmoreland was discussing vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin's speech with reporters outside the House chamber and was asked to compare her with Michelle Obama.

"Just from what little I’ve seen of her and Mr. Obama, Sen. Obama, they're a member of an elitist-class individual that thinks that they're uppity," Westmoreland said.

Westmoreland so clearly went to the Dubya school of publik speakin'.

Photo: West-
moreland's family were also in attendance at the festivities. Tell me you can't see the resemblance...

Another H/T to WT, The Dependable Renegade

UPDATE: Brian Reynolds, spokesman for rep. Westmoreland, said the congressman stands by what he said. When asked to clarify, Westmoreland said, “Uppity, yeah.”

Call Westmoreland's office 202-225-5901 and let him know how you feel. That is, unless you think that's 'too uppity'.

Amy GoodMan Arrested at RNC

Democracy Now! anchor and investigative reporter Amy Goodman and two of her producers were manhandled and then arrested by St. Paul police while trying to cover the convention yesterday. Listen to Amy Goodman tell what happened.

Absurdity of the Week

File under AYFKM: Prostitute-patron David Vitter (R-LA), and Gay-Bathroom-Sex-Perp Larry Craig (R-ID) have authored a new and improved Federal Marriage Amendment to the Constitution. The `Marriage Protection Amendment’ is such an absurd waste of time and resources only to be topped by the ludicrous couple introducing it. A perfect item for Dan Abrams segement "Why America Hates Washington."
From the Carpetbagger Report:

Yes, two of the principal sponsors of a constitutional amendment to “protect” marriage include one far-right Republican who hired prostitutes and another far-right Republican who was arrested for soliciting gay sex an airport men’s room.

As my friend Kyle put it, these two are “not exactly the poster boys of the family values crowd or particularly upstanding examples of the supposed sanctity of the ‘union of a man and a woman.”

Good luck with that one boys, I'd get Glinda the Good Witch to sign on as a co-sponsor. If she's not available, try The Tooth Fairy.

The South's Gonna Do It Again

One for the AYFKM files: Church Sign Causes Controversy
While even bothering to correct Pastor Roger Byrd's punctuation, WSPA in South Carolina, reports Pastor Byrd-brain has put up this offensive message on his church's sign:

"Obama Osama humm are they brothers?"







Just wondering (humm) if the righteous wrong-reverend and cracker-boy here are related:

Moving On and In

I want all who read here to know, I do realize my blog was founded on the basis of political discourse from a relative neophyte, but frankly in light of the dramatic life-changing developments in every area of my life, politics takes a backseat to survival.

Since I do claim the mantle of 'neophyte', I might be excused from the expression of emotional dyspepsia in which I find myself currently embroiled. I appreciate the indulgence and reiterate, where to start? What is appropriate to divulge to a worldwide audience while still maintaining one's relative anonymity? Imagine giving your entire life history on a first date. So not cool. But I shall press onward, into a hopefully appropriate chronicle of the incredible adventure of two people in love and where it went wrong.

To begin, I did not see this coming at all. I swear. No red flags, no yellow flags even. I was completely blindsided by the devastating course of events that began with the innocuous act of finding and giving away a stray kitten. Who knew?

Brief synopsis of the events that occurred in late-December, just before Christmas:The previously mentioned found kitten was hopefully going to be adopted by a nurse at the Air Force base (the one I just left). It was a Saturday, and I had errands while the aforementioned nurse was to visit our home and see the kitten for possible adoption. I was gone 3 hours and called home to see if she had taken the cat. My beloved told me, "Yeah it's done wanna meet for a beer?" "Sure," I say and am looking out for the nurse who is to arrive before Doc Turtle to our little local tavern.

The nurse arrives. I approach her and introduce myself. We order a beer. Doc T shows up moments later, and we embark on a festive Saturday evening. Normal getting-to-know- you conversation ensues between the three of us. It is of course clear that Doc T and I are married, our matching rings are commented on, etc. About 30 minutes later, Two of Doc's interns from the hospital show up and we all begin to socialize.

Being Saturday night, the place fills up fast and music, wine and song ensue. The evening goes on and my betrothed and the nurse get quite drunk and I'm informed that she can't drive and will all crash at our place. Okay, no problem, I am the hostess with the mostess. We arrive back at our house (me driving) and I set up the guest room for our "guest." I announce I'm going to shower the bar off me and go off and get a nice, hot shower. My considerate lover virtually always lays out clothes for me after I shower, yet when I'm finished with my ablutions--nothing. Minutes later after I've dressed, Doc shows up and announces that the nurse needs socks. Okay, take these. Ten minutes go by and I'm curious as to how long it takes to deliver foot coverings. I creep up the stairs to the guest room and encounter a stillness that immediately makes me uncomfortable. I see the closed door to the guest bedroom, approach it furtively, and hear the distinct sounds of--you guessed it--sex. Shut the fuck up. No really. I open the door and find Doc Turtle and Nurse Ratched in full bloom. In my own house? In front of me? Are you fucking kidding me?

So as you can imagine the shit hits the fan. After some yelling, I leave. It's 2AM so the only place to go is a casino, where I procede to blow a wad and fume. I leave said casino about 5AM and go home to find a cab in my driveway and Nurse Predator in my bathroom getting ready for work. Did I mention she's wearing Dr. T's scrubs? I tell her she needs to leave my house--now. She does. Doc T and I then begin the terrific battle-for-the-truth session that I would assume follows this kind of behavior. We stay up for several more hours talking about what happened. After much wrangling, it is divulged that after I left, they 'did it' twice (with a short nap in between)and the, "we were really drunk" line is trotted out. Whatever.

Over the next four days, we talk more, have lunch together and have 'make-up sex' every night. It will be the last times there will be any semblance of the last five years of our relationship.

Tune in next time for the "Break-Up." I thought this shit only went on in soap operas. Okay, fair enough, call me naive.

Happy MLK Jr. Day

Or here in Mississippi (and Arkansas,and Alabama), it's Robert E. Lee Day. What the fuck? When will you Southerners get over it? You lost. How about you try moving into the 21st century or even back the 1776: All Men (and Women) are created EQUAL.

This is one of my last missives from Mississippi. I am leaving for my native California next week. And frankly, I can't get the fuck out of this backward ass state soon enough. More on my mission to Cali in our next episode.

Today I celebrate the birth of Martin Luther King Jr. and his dream of civil rights for all. Happy MLK Day!

Congressional Intervention

"Hi my name is the 101st Congress, I'm a democrat, and my government has become unmanageable." Hi 101st.

It has become necessary to promote a congressional intervention on the sorry, sick, spineless, addicted-to terror congress and get them into a 12-step program pronto.

Their latest foray into the darkside is HR 1955, the Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007. Ya gotta give it to 'em though, they sure know how to name a bill in order to scare people into capitulation. Isn't time to let your Senator (this bill has PASSED in the house already)that Orwellian thoughtcrime is OFF THE TABLE? This is YOUR fisrt step, please take it today.

However lame or ineffectual you may think writing, calling, emailing your senator seems, doing NOTHING, is infinitely more so. Please contact your senator and tell them that this thoughtcrime bill is an UNACCEPTABLE way to thwart terrorism and is UNCONSTITUTIONAL. The senate version is s1959.

UPDATE: Yes, someone has started a petition. Please sign it.

The DemPublicans Ride Again

Yeah, I can't believe they did it either boys...'torture boy redux' is going to be the new AG. Great. Unfuckingbelievable. Larry Johnson has something to say about it. Follow his advice.

WTF Alert:Jeb in 2008?

James Carville, Clinton strategist in '92 predicts: Jeb Bush will be GOP nominee in 2008. Color me puke green.

WTF USAF?

Who's business is it? Just wondering why the USAF with its readiness issues and a "war"/occupation on, a severely strained military, why they would care what someone does in the privacy of one's bedroom. Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.

From Military.Com:
Female Airman Punished for Threesome

SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany - A Spangdahlem-based airman was sentenced Monday to four months confinement for her part in a sexual act with two other airmen. [ ] She faced a maximum sentence that included as many as 10 years in a military prison, but Air Force prosecutors argued for a lighter sentence of two years. read the rest...

Way to go democrats

I have hesitated to comment on the democrats passing the funding for the ongoing Iraq occupation, without benchmarks, until this morning. On the heels of dem senate leader Harry Reid's tepid, whiny announcement that 'they did their best' and had to send the chimp-king everything he wanted, what I heard in Reid's statement was an implicit threat: the dems are our only hope and until they are in power fully, with the White House firmly in tow, they can't do anything to stop this president. The topper for me has been the news that Gold Star Mother, Cindy Sheehan has quit the Peace Movement. From Cindy Sheehan's diary at DKOS:

I have endured a lot of smear and hatred since Casey was killed and especially since I became the so-called "Face" of the American anti-war movement. Especially since I renounced any tie I have remaining with the Democratic Party, I have been further trashed on such "liberal blogs" as the Democratic Underground. Being called an "attention whore" and being told "good riddance" are some of the more milder rebukes

. Read the rest of Cindy's entry. From CNN:

• Sheehan: My son "did indeed die for nothing"
• She is upset that Democrats and anti-war politicians can't end Iraq war
• She is exhausted by the personal, financial and emotional toll
• "I am going to take whatever I have left and go home," she wrote

Apparently, the will of 70% of the American people is meaningless to the people we have elected to execute our will. What next? Martial law? Revolution? Way to go dems, and you wonder why people call you cowardly...and oh yeah, 8 more soldiers dead as of Memorial Day.

Bush grants presidency extraordinary powers

Being reported by The Bill Press Show via World Net Daily News, the preznit has issued and signed a "directive for emergencies" which apparently gives authority without congressional oversight.

The "National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive" was signed May 9, notes Jerome R. Corsi in a WND column.

It was issued with the dual designation of NSPD-51, as a National Security Presidential Directive, and HSPD-20, as a Homeland Security Presidential Directive.

The directive establishes under the office of the president a new national continuity coordinator whose job is to make plans for "National Essential Functions" of all federal, state, local, territorial and tribal governments, as well as private sector organizations to continue functioning under the president's directives in the event of a national emergency.

"Catastrophic emergency" is loosely defined as "any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government functions."

“Troops don’t need bigger pay raises."

So says White House budget officials, Wednesday in a statement of administration policy laying out objections to the House version of the 2008 defense authorization bill. … Bush budget officials said the administration ’strongly opposes’ both the 3.5 percent raise for 2008 and the follow-on increases, calling extra pay increases ‘unnecessary.’

Kiss my ass Bush supporters. This is how your president "supports the troops."

Democrats Drop the Ball--Again

As you know, the Feingold-Reid bill to kill the occupation, didn't make it out of committee. A disappointment to be sure, but more disheartening are the democratic senators that voted against the measure. Most of the dems who've been saying they are "anti-war" walk their talk. Please call the offending senators and tell them what you think.I feel heartsick. Greg Sargent at TPM writes it up and presents us with the hall of shame; the dems that dropped the ball:

Against:
Baucus (MT)
Bayh (IN)
Bingaman (NM)
Carper (DE)
Casey (PA)
Conrad (ND)
Dorgan (ND)
Landrieu (LA)
Levin (MI)
Lieberman (ID-CT)
Lincoln (AR)
McCaskill (MO)
Bill Nelson (FL)
Ben Nelson (NE)
Pryor (AR)
Reed (RI)
Rockefeller (WV)
Salazar (CO)
Tester (MT)
Webb (VA)

For:
Akaka (HI)
Biden (DE)
Boxer (CA)
Byrd (WV)
Cantwell (WA)
Cardin (MD)
Clinton (NY)
Dodd (CT)
Durbin (IL)
Feingold (WI)
Feinstein (CA)
Harkin (IA)
Inouye (HI)
Kennedy (MA)
Kerry (MA)
Klobuchar (MN)
Kohl (WI)
Lautenberg (NJ)
Leahy (VT)
Menendez (NJ)
Mikulski (MD)
Murray (WA)
Obama (IL)
Reid (NV)
Sanders (I-VT)
Schumer (NY)
Stabenow (MI)
Whitehouse (RI)
Wyden (OR)

Not Voting:
Brown (OH)
Johnson (SD)

BTW, why was Sherrod Brown out of commission?

A note to buoy my spirits from reader Nefarious Leslie:Hi Hopey. mcjoan says:

The Feingold-Reid Amendment failed this morning, 29-67. Twenty-nine of our Democratic Senators does comprise a majority of the majority party, and is a significant bump from the 11 senators who are actual cosponsors of the bill. It also sent the strong message that many Dems, including the presidential contenders, endorse the idea of cutting funding in principle.

But the result means that we still have a lot of work to do.

I like to think of it the way she does, only because it’s less depressing and focuses on moving forward.-Nefarious Leslie

Thanks NL, that helps with the sting.

Skeletor to Replace Gonzo?

As soon as you stop laughing read the story at Politico.

Uncanny isn't it?

Halliburton Goes Coastal UPDATED

Interesting new post up at Kos, seems Halliburton is moving--moving it's headquarters to Dubai. I guess the administration needs somewhere to go after they're impeached. And it looks like they'll be comfortable.Halliburton to Move Headquarters To Dubai, Keeping Office in Houston

DUBAI -- U.S. oil services giant Halliburton Co. will shift its corporate headquarters from Houston to Dubai, Chief Executive Dave Lesar said Sunday.

New Update from Kos