I must say it is very interesting to see "Blogger" turn the language around to French, even though I did not request any such change. Oh well, its good I practice un petit francais while I'm here....or at least use some of what one of my friends calls "Fra-anglaise". One example would be "merci-buckets." Anyways, I must say this city is incredible, here's a few pics from today's outings into the city.
Art is even on the trees here, forget the Louvre or the Musee d'Orsay.
A pillar of the Eiffel Tower, complete with overpriced souvenir shop.
Can you guess where I'm standing?
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Bonjour du Paris!
Georgie Hires More "Illegals" Than Anyone
It's getting harder and harder to be the world's greatest Preznit (not to be confused with a President). Not only does the left disapprove of him, the right is hitting George hard too for talking tough wingnut-ese and not following up on it. Specifically we are talking about immigration reform, and the right's quest to see their xenophobic delusions realized. One GOP leader had some harsh reality for him..
From The Huffington Post:
If President Bush is serious about getting tough on U.S. employers who hire illegal aliens, he can start with his own administration, which employs thousands of unauthorized workers, says the top Republican on the House immigration subcommittee.
A 2006 audit showed federal, state and local governments are among the biggest employers of the half-million persons in the U.S. illegally using "non-work" Social Security numbers -- numbers issued legally, but with specific instructions that the holders are not authorized to work in the U.S.
That top Republican just happens to be Presidential (non)candidate Duncan Hunter. For the most part he is an unknown outside the military community. After the reversal of fortune in Congress' killed his powers of defense appropriations, so now he is out looking to be another Tom Tancredo. Both him and Tom are barely blips on the radar screen, so look for more Bush-bashing from these types. There is plenty to hit Bush with on when it comes to solvency of our democracy and the war in Iraq. Xenophobes like Hunter attacking him is just icing on the cake.
Why Does CNN Approve Of Risky Mines?
Kyra Phillips and CNN in general like to tout their own horn when it comes to hard-hitting journalism, but it seems that the only thing they can claim is spewing hot air with no "journalism" to speak of. CNN has had Crandall Canyon mine owner on their network several times (other stations included) yet has never asked him actual questions about the mine's safety and the industry in general. In fact, the coverage gives Murray and others like him a free pass on their negligence.
From The Huffington Post:
Phillips had the chance to ask Murray the kinds of questions that could expose dangerous mining practices -- and possibly save lives in the future. Instead, she let the interview become yet another opportunity for Murray to buff his image as the grieving surrogate father of the miners that were killed under his supervision.
Phillips ended the softball interview not by pressing Murray on the day's million-dollar question -- Did you place the recovery of more coal from your mine above the safety of your miners? -- but by asking Murray "How are you holding up?"
She then offered Murray the CNN stamp of approval, telling him: "I appreciate your time... and your honesty."
I could give a damn about how Murray is feeling, and there is definitely no honesty here, nor any integrity to give the network and Kyra "air-head" Phillips. If she had half a brain or soul, she would have bags under her eyes....because no decent person can read the teleprompter and avoid real questions about a terrible tragedy and not be burdened by their sins.
It would be great to see the families of the miners confront her for her dishonest interviews before they tear into Bob Murray for his criminal negligence. Instead, we have this crap that comes out of CNN, shame on them.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
McCain Could Be Kicked Out Of Office In 2010
McCain's Presidential goose is cooked for next year already, but that may just be the beginning of his troubles. The Senator had extreme difficulty finding support in his own state of Arizona and placed fourth in the AZ straw poll, Duncan (nobody) Hunter won that little contest. Now it seems that lack of enthusiasm is showing itself with the office he already holds.
From Political Wire:
In a hypothetical 2010 head-to-head race for Sen. John McCain's (R-AZ) seat, 47% of those polled would vote for Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano (D), 36% for the sitting Republican senator, and 17% were undecided, according to a new Behavioral Research Center poll.
Janet is well liked and already more than a year into her second term as Governor. The local GOP couldn't even field a decent candidate to run against her last year. She'll be a formidable challenger to McCain's incumbency. He has been considerably weakened since he began this second run at the White House. Janet can definitely be the woman to deal the knockout blow.
NY GoOPer Goes After Spitzer's Dad
Roger Stone is a seasoned Republican consultant who has used dirty tricks on his opponents since he began working for Richard Nixon. Now that he is in New York, he has turned his vitriol against our own Governor. Stone left a threatening message on the answering machine of Eliot Spitzer's dad Bernard earlier this month. When he was confronted about it, he claimed that the Democrats must have mimicked his voice to play a trick of their own.....are you kidding me? Is that best defense you've got?
From The New York Times:
The message, left at Bernard Spitzer’s Manhattan office just before 10 p.m. on Aug. 6, says that Mr. Spitzer, 83, a wealthy real estate developer, would be “compelled by the Senate sergeant at arms” to testify about “shady campaign loans” he made to his son during Eliot Spitzer’s unsuccessful campaign for attorney general in 1994.
Mr. Winner’s committee has been holding hearings into a scheme by some of Governor Spitzer’s top aides to use the State Police to embarrass the Senate Republican leader, Joseph L. Bruno. Senate Republicans have said they were considering reviewing Bernard Spitzer’s 1994 loans to his son.
“If you resist this subpoena, you will be arrested and brought to Albany,” the message says, according to a transcript. The message also calls Governor Spitzer a “phony” and a “psycho.”
Bernard Spitzer’s lawyers hired Kroll Associates, the private investigative firm, to trace the message, and their report was included with the letter to Mr. Winner. The firm traced the number that appeared on Mr. Spitzer’s caller identification system, linking it to listings under the name of Mr. Stone’s wife, Nydia.
I'm sorry, but trying to make believe that it was someone else calling from your wife's phone is just too easy to uncover in this day and age. He may have been good at his craft in the 1970s (and even as part of the Bush recount team down in Florida seven years ago) but now it seems he has lost his edge....and is just a plain-old dirty man.
Foaming At The Mouth For Iran Is The Same As It Was For Iraq
Robert Greenwald's new clip in the Fox Attacks! series is a good one. The warmongers are playing from the same textbook now over Iran as they did four years ago about Iraq. Will the public fall for the same crap as they did before? I certainly hope not.
Mitt Romney And His Xenophobia
Mitt must hate undocumented immigrants, or at least right-wing conservative dogma tells him to do so. Romney lashed out at cities that are deemed sanctuaries for 'illegal immigrants,' including New York City. It was a clever way for Mr. Make-Up to attack his primary foe Rudy Giuliani. Of course Giuliani replied that he hates undocumented workers too. We wouldn't want to deny him the privilege of hating immigrants either of course.
From Yahoo News:
"Immigration laws don't work if they're ignored. That's the problem with cities like Newark, San Francisco and New York City that adopt sanctuary policies," an announcer says in the ad, which runs in New Hampshire and Iowa. "Sanctuary cities become magnets that encourage illegal immigration and undermine secure borders."
Romney and Giuliani have jabbed over illegal immigration in recent weeks. The former Massachusetts governor says Giuliani promoted New York as a haven for illegal immigrants when he was mayor. Giuliani aggressively denies it, insisting he cracked down on lawlessness of every kind (except for his ex-police chief Bernard Kerik - my own insertion here).
"Legal immigration is great," Romney says in the new ad. "But illegal immigration, that we've got to end. And amnesty is not the way to do it."
Mitt does a great job of giving red meat to the xenophobic-wingnut community while going after Rudy in one fell swoop. On top of that, Rudy got to get his racist sound bite in as well. All is well in Republa-land today.
McCain Is Getting Off The Bus
No, not the proverbial bus of campaigning for President. He still thinks he has a shot to rebuild his run for office (though he may be the only one). The Straight-Talk Express is about to be sold and replaced with a much cheaper version. As we all know, his campaign is nearly out of money, with very little cash on hand when you include all the debts. It helped the balance sheet when most of his staff left the doomed effort, but because money is tight, there are going to have to be more cuts.
From the New York Magazine:
John McCain’s new steward of the Straight Talk Express, campaign manager Ricky Davis, says that he’s been uncovering old bills and invoices for extravagant purchases that just don’t jibe with McCain’s image as a frugal-minded maverick. Among them are whoopingly high receipts for a souped-up Straight Talk bus McCain used on the campaign trail, which came complete with flat-screen televisions and elaborate “art wrap”—the cellophane-y stuff that’s used to cover the bus with an image. “Every $10,000 counts now,” says Davis, who replaced Terry Nelson and McCain’s chief strategist, John Weaver, who resigned this summer after filings showed they steered McCain’s campaign off the road by spending too much on consultants and staff, among other things, and not doing enough fund-raising. Davis says he’s been able to balance the books a bit by focusing McCain’s bare-bones operation on three states—Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina—and finding a cheaper Straight Talk Express. “The next time we roll it out, it’ll be much more like the original version.” What did the original look like? “A piece of shit.”
Ouch! Time to tighten that belt John.
Does Anyone Hear The Screams?
Would you try to help someone that was being victimized by a criminal? Someone that was being robbed, raped or about to be murdered? Would the Good Samaritan in you prevail or the apathetic "its not me" take over? I would like to think that I would be the Good Samaritan, but no one really knows until you are placed in that situation.
One time when I was working for Kerry/Edwards I saw a friend run over by a truck while crossing the street with a "Walk" sign during a sign-waving rally. The people in the car were yelling and screaming obscenities at us and didn't pay attention to their driving. Once she was struck, they sped off, committing hit and run in addition to assault with a deadly weapon.
In the confusion I tried to write down the license plate of the rapidly disappearing vehicle, only being able to call the police and give a description of what it looked like. I felt bad that I couldn't write that plate number down, because it would have brought the driver to justice, who ultimately got away despite the best efforts of the Tucson Police Department.
Thankfully, miraculously, she survived the impact. Even with bruises all over her body and a serious concussion, the paramedics and the doctors at the hospital helped to save her life. Truly a miracle. Even though we lost that election four days later, knowing she was on the road to recovery made up for the sadness of Bush's re-election.
Well now Bush has had almost another three years in office since that late October night. The President and his men are continuing their assault on our country. They are committing murder in a way. By leaving our troops in Iraq, by keeping a despicable foreign policy
and by stabbing our democracy to death with their disrespect of the constitution and the separation of powers.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy is threatening to hold Bush in contempt, shouting loudly at the press. They hear him, and they dutifully report it to their publications, just as they dutifully report Bush's statements verbatim. Then the pundits go at it, conservatives dismiss it as political theater, while the liberals decry Bush's continuing assault.
Yet despite all of that, who is really listening? Most Americans frankly do not give a shit. 23/6.com lays it out perfectly at Huffington Post, with a neat little graph that makes it easy to see what the public cares about. So while Lindsay Lohan, Amy Winehouse and whatever other celebrity fucks their lives up, the media writes down the details of their sexcapades, drug usage and alcoholic binges in order to keep the masses glued for the next round, and the masses hear the screams of our nation in the background, pretending that....."at least its not me."
America needs to wake up, and in a hurry.
Not-So-Breaking News: Liberals Read More Books
It makes perfect sense to me that a new study shows that liberals read more than conservatives. Simply, liberals want to learn more and have a larger intellectual appetite. It isn't that the left is necessarily smarter, but their minds are much more open than the restriction of thought that leaders in the conservative world like to maintain.
The first person that comes to mind is Frank Luntz, who has come up with many alliterations and catch-phrases for the Republican party (as well as some Democrats). Simplification is their key asset to make sure their flock stays in line with ideological priorities. Keeping things "black and white" makes things easier for them, even though the world is full of shades of gray.
From the AP:
"The Karl Roves of the world have built a generation that just wants a couple slogans: 'No, don't raise my taxes, no new taxes,'" Pat Schroeder, president of the American Association of Publishers, said in a recent interview. "It's pretty hard to write a book saying, 'No new taxes, no new taxes, no new taxes' on every page."
Schroeder, who as a Colorado Democrat was once one of Congress' most liberal House members, was responding to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll that found people who consider themselves liberals are more prodigious book readers than conservatives.
She said liberals tend to be policy wonks who "can't say anything in less than paragraphs. We really want the whole picture, want to peel the onion."
Conservatives are quick to disagree of course. Mary Matalin was interviewed for this article as well and put in her two cents. First she says that Schroeder shouldn't interject her opinion....and that conservatives are getting more of their reading material online. Well Mary, I hate to tell you, but online readership, especially on the blogs is heavily liberal. In fact, the largest Democratic blog gets more traffic than the top 50 sites in the conservative blogosphere. In addition to that, blogs on the left are much less top-heavy.
Lets face it, liberals like to read more. We are more interested in finding out the nuances of the gray shades than simply saying it is "us vs. them" all the time. The world isn't that simple. The difference is that liberals want to learn about it and conservatives want to make it easy so they don't have to think.
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