This is yet another week of long overdue additions. And honestly, some of these are so long overdue that I couldn’t believe they weren’t already on my blogroll, I’ve been reading them so long. Anyway, forgive the delay, friends.
They’re all great. Go read anything and everything.
Krazy karaoke is singing the wrong words to classic songs. Come on over, sing your song, and grab a drink.
My contribution:
Each word he says is so untrue
Each syllable makes him a liar
All that he knows how to do
Is blame, hedge, dodge, and then conspire
Come on Preznit, fuel my ire
Come on Preznit, fuel my ire
Liar, liar pants on fire
Your time in office should be through
Please give up your dreams of an empire
Right now, or we will surely lose
Our dreams to your schemes ever dire.
Come on Preznit, fuel my ire
Come on Preznit, fuel my ire
Liar, liar pants on fire
It’s time I really must get through
Your thick skull, and inspire
You to rid us of your crew
Why don’t you all just please retire?
Come on Preznit, fuel my ire
Come on Preznit, fuel my ire
Liar, liar pants on fire
Liar, liar pants on fire
Liar, liar pants on fire
Liar, liar pants on fiiiiiiiiiiiiiire.
I’m sorry, Jim.
(Alternative, if you're too late for the party, please share your Krazy Karaoke lyrics in komments.)
Last night, fellow bloggrrl and kickass commentator Pam pointed out that Shakespeare’s Sister made the list of the Top Progressive Political Blog and Netroots sites as compiled by The New Politics Institute in a study called "The Emergence of the Progressive Blogosphere," authored by Chris Bowers of MyDD and Matt Stoller of Blogging of the President.
Pam made the list, too. (And so did lots of other sites we like.) Check it out.
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(As a side note, I’m basically a techno-idiot; computers have always been for writing and graphic design for me, and it’s frankly a miracle that I was able to figure out how to post in the first place. If it weren’t for Rook, I wouldn’t even know how to use Trackback. And I still don’t have the vaguest notion about how to read something on a feed, or what a feed is, or what RSS stands for, lol. So thanks to all the people who know what they’re doing out there in the progressive blogosphere for dragging my pathetic ass along with you.)
Debunking bullshit is something at which John Howard, author of the hottest blog on the internets but not prime minister of Australia, is really, really good. I mean, he excels at it. He just looks at whatever bullshit is going down, and then matter-of-factly says exactly why it’s utter rubbish. And taking on the wingnuts who are trying to discredit Cindy Sheehan is no exception.
I encourage you to read his whole post, in which he addresses point by point the various methods employed to try to impugn Sheehan’s character and motivations, but I want to share his summation because it’s so spot on (emphasis mine):
The bottom line is that I can't see any good reason to argue that there is anything wrong with what this woman is doing, and even if you disagree with it, then I still don't see any reason to attack her personally. And the fact that so many people are doing it anyway really worries me. Not just because it makes it look like there are a lot more assholes in the world than I thought, but because it seems more people are loyal to George Bush than they are to America. And that sucks.I could write endlessly on the topic of nationalism run amok, but that really just says it all, doesn’t it?
I’m sure that’s what dear old Tom DeLay would love to be able to claim, but in fact, he and Jack Abramoff are pretty tight. The Ethics Void known as DeLay must be a little nervous that the man who convinced the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians to donate $25,000 to the National Center for Public Policy Research, which then paid for DeLay’s golf trip to Britain, has now been indicted in an unrelated scam, charged with five counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud. See, the thing is, either of those charges could garner Abramoff up to five years in prison and a $250,000 dollar fine. Now I don’t know Jack Abramoff from a hole in DeLay’s head, but the thing is, slimy corporate types have this tendency to sing when there’s a boot pressed against their throats. It seems to me like DeLay better start praying that his pal Jack can’t carry a tune.
Not that it happened. That they’ve been able to get away with it.
Senate Intelligence chairman quietly 'fixed' intelligence, and diverted blame from White House over Iraq
Timeline: Senator Pat Roberts (R - KS) Helps to Fix the Intel
Through leaks and smears, Senate chairman protects White House to blame CIA, Democrats
Just go read. That’s really all I can say.
[Moved back to the top for awhile, since it was starting to get buried. New posts below.]
Update: Blue Girl in a Red State reports that the blogswarm was just mentioned and shown on CNN's Inside Politics regarding the Sheehan protest. She notes: "Wolf clarified at the end that you/we are definitely part of the 'liberal, left leaning blogs.'" Indeed we are. (Thanks to Qusan, Gordon, and Brother Kenya for the heads-ups, too.)
Via mutiple posts from Shakes contributor D. and myself (see here, here, here, here, and here), you know about Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a fallen Iraq War soldier who is camping out in Crawford, Texas, seeking an audience with the president. You may also remember Cindy's powerful testimony at the Downing Street Memos hearing called by Congressman Conyers. This is a woman on a mission, and the Big Brass Alliance, along with Code Pink, who have called for a hunger strike in her support, and Democrats.com, who are closely tracking her pursuit of justice, in addition to many others, support her all the way. Enough soldiers have died already to preserve the lies. President Bush, Meet With Cindy!
Agitprop
Rob’s Blog
Badtux the Snarky Penguin
Words on a Page
Preemptive Karma (and here)
The Heretik
Republic of T (and here)
Crooks and Liars (and here, here, and here)
The Green Lantern
Florida Blues (and here and here)
Fire Dog Lake
Dependable Renegade (and here)
Bark Bark Woof Woof (and here)
Poetic Leanings (and here)
Dying to Preserve the Lies
The All Spin Zone (and here)
American Regression
Medbh Sings
A Brooklyn Bridge
No BU**SH** Zone
LinkingThoughts
Skippy the Bush Kangaroo
The Cranky Liberal Pages
Scout Prime (and here)
Upbeat Defiance (with daily updates from Cindy)
Iddybud
Pam’s House Blend
And, Yes, I DO Take It Personally (and here)
Middle Earth Journal
The Green Knight
Blue Girl in a Red State
Fallenmonk
Words Light Fires
stuff
Alternate Brain (and here)
Upon Further Review… (and here)
Dharma Bums
Laughing Wild
Newsfare (and here)
The Chestnut Tree Cafe
What She Said!
Women's Autonomy Movement
The Goddess
Idyllopus Press
The Supreme Irony of Life (and here)
Poor Impulse Control
Radamisto
You Forgot Poland!
True Blue Liberal
Ang’s Weird Ideas
It’s a Wonderful Lie
Fuzzy and Blue (and here, here, and here)
That Colored Fellas Weblog
Section 15
2 Political Junkies
Ramblings From My Mind
Tami, the One True
The Disenchanted Forest
The Impolitic
Thoughts of an Average Woman
Zen Comix
PA Liberal
Incertus
Evil Mommy
After School Snack
Daily Pepper
Brother Kenya’s Paradigm
The Disgruntled Chemist (and here)
Froth Slosh B’Gosh
Pharyngula
Francesca’s Liberal Wingnut Corner
Comments from Left Field
Cupie Spew!
An Angry Old Broad
Some Watery Thoughts
Expostulation
Waveflux
Earl Bockenfeld’s Radio Weblog
Blanton’s and Ashton’s (and here)
Thou Shall Not Suck
Political Forecast
Genius of Insanity
US Liberals at About.com
Heart, Soul & Humor
Bearcastle Blog
Linkmeister
Wally Whateley’s House of Horrors (and here)
Grumpy Old Man
A la Gauche
Bitch, PhD
Lance Mannion
Me4President
Night Light
Eccentricity
A Cat Named Pi
Whirled Peas
Spontaneous Arising
Poverty Barn
Justice Now!
CommonSenseDesk
Rook’s Rant
Science and Politics
42
The Emmaus Theory
Twisted Chick
Fact-esque
The Curmudgeonly Crab
Everybody Knows
Dirty Liberal Words
Recidivist Journals
HungryBlues (and here and here)
Julien’s List
Liberty Street
Christopher’s Partner
RatBoy
Stone Bridge
The American Street
Adventures of the Smart Patrol
Virtual Pus
Mahablog (and here and here)
Arse Poetica
The Pepper Farm
Dr. C
The Right Left Story
A Beginner’s Mind
Afarensis
Birmingham Blues
Now That’s Progress
Left I on the News
Seeing the Forest
Perspective of Pete
I'm Talking Here
Yep, Another Goddamned Blog
The Gypsy's Caravan
T. Rex's Guide to Life
Brilliant at Breakfast
Thoughts from an Empty Head
Excuse Me, I Can't Find My Head
Driftglass
Pen-Elayne
King of Zembla
Domus Carataci
Luminous Chickenscratch
F. Kwan
Keep checking back. The list is sure to grow!
Brother Kenya’s written a great post on the lead-up to the Iran War (no, that’s not a typo). Go read. It’s really good stuff (and leaves me wondering just how much effect the mere existence of a coalescing anti-war movement can have on a government’s ability to go to war).
Elise at After School Snack directs us where to go to get informed about the NARAL ad about John Roberts. (I was supposed to be in on a call about this last night but was otherwise engaged dealing with the fruits of my own idiocy, so I need to do some catching up, too—thanks for the round-up, Elise.)
Driftglass's got a great one, and so does Mannion, but I can't get their pages to open to give you the links. The internet at work is totally screwed up again, so I haven’t been able to get online or read anything else most of the day. (It will be a miracle if I can even post this.) So consider this an open thread to blogwhore, recommend other good stuff you’ve read today, chat, complain, celebrate, or anything else you fancy. Sorry I’ve not been as prolific as usual today.
Last month, I posted about two Iranian teens who were allegedly hung for being gay. Later, I posted an update that it was being reported the two teens were hung because they had raped a child, but noted that I didn’t buy it; it just wasn’t sitting quite right with me. Now it looks as though I might have been correct to be dubious about the rape charge:
NEW INFORMATION FROM INSIDE IRAN ON THE HANGED BOYS CASTS DOUBT ON 'RAPE' CHARGE: Meanwhile, new information is continuing to come in from Iran casting doubt on the validity of the rape charge against the two hanged boys. Afdhere Jama, editor of the e-zine for Queer Muslims, Huriyah, says contacts of his in Iran affirm that the two boys hung in Mashad were lovers. "The first day I found out, I called my Iranian contacts from Huriyah," says Jama. "All agreed on the fact that these boys were murdered for being queer. One of my contacts who has been to gay parties in Mashad (the city where the boys were executed) swears the boys were long-term lovers, and another source told me one of he boys' family members outed the couple.Clearly, all the sources referenced above have reason to affirm the boys were hanged just for being gay. But the Iranian government has just as much reason, if not more, to say the boys were hanged for being rapists. And the thing that still bothers me is that, isn’t a rape accusation a convenient red herring to cause the gay community and its supporters to retreat? (Convenient, and effective; few are still following the story since the rape angle was released.) The anti-gay crowd has always heavily relied on misclassifying gay men as pedophiles and child rapists; that these young men were deemed child rapists after an international outcry over their execution (originally reported as punishment singularly for their being gay, which is hardly unprecedented in Iran) should have been totally expected, as it handily plays into a nasty stereotype—a nasty stereotype from which gay men have had to repeatedly distance themselves, making it that much more likely they’d deflect interest in this cause. Mighty convenient indeed.
Jama told me that, "The level of surveillance in Iran has reached maximum since the reports of the hanged boys 'got out.' You would be surprised how far I had to go to find out what happened. Can you believe one of my contacts had to dress up as a woman -- with full facial nikkhab -- also wearing gloves.... and go into an Internet cafe... only to use Yahoo messenger he created right there for only -- yes -- just a ONE minute message to me? He had to travel a day to this Internet cafe to make sure nothing would get back to him. it is that scary. People are rightfully scared for their lives."
I have also had e-mail correspondence over the last ten days with the editors in Tehran of an Iranian underground publication for Iranian gays -- who have asked that neither their names nor the name of their publication be cited, as they are fearful of the heightened repressive atmosphere for same-sexers there. They, too, assert the 'rape' charge was trumped up and that the two boys who were hanged were lovers.
AP story here (accompanied by photo slide show of Cindy’s vigil). I think it comes off as quite favorable toward Cindy. The spokesdope for FreeRepublic sounds like a jerk. How can you not when you’re accusing a grieving mother of exploiting her own son’s death?
(Aside: Seriously, wingnuts—I know part of the new “conservatism” is an unyielding belief that your self-proclaimed moral superiority gives you the right to dictate how everyone else should live their lives, but you’ve really just gone over the edge, telling the mother of a fallen soldier how best to honor him. It’s none of your business, you rude assholes.)
An article published yesterday in the St. Petersburg Times raises more questions about just exactly what was going on before the 9/11 attacks, reporting that, as a result of information provided by the Republican vice-chair of the Armed Services Committee and the Homeland Security Committee, both Congress and the 9/11 Commission have launched investigations.
The fast-paced developments were in response to information provided by Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Pa., vice chairman of the Armed Services Committee and the Homeland Security Committee. Weldon said a secret military unit known as "Able Danger" discovered a year before the attacks that ringleader Mohammed Atta and three other future hijackers were in the United States. Weldon said the unit - created at SOCom under a classified directive in 1999 to take out al-Qaida targets - identified Atta and the others as likely members of the organization.Couldn’t talk to a suspected al Qaida member because he had a green card? That makes no sense. I mean, long before 9/11, even an American-born citizen suspected of planning a terrorist act could have been pulled in and questioned, so why would a green card-holding, foreign-born terror suspect be afforded a “hands-off” policy? And why was this never mentioned before? Considering that even the most egregious offenses at the highest levels of government (August 6, 2001 Presidential Daily Briefing: Bin Laden Determined to Strike in US) were dismissed under the umbrella excuse of “communications failures,” I’m not sure why previous investigations examining Able Danger’s actions failed to unearth this information. Or mention it, if they had.
In fall 2000, the unit recommended SOCom share the information with the FBI, Weldon said in an interview Tuesday. But lawyers at either the Pentagon or SOCom determined the men were in the country legally, Weldon said. He said he based his information on intelligence sources. When members of Able Danger made their presentation at command headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base, Weldon said, the legal team "put stickies on the faces of Mohammed Atta on the chart," to reinforce that he was off-limits. "They said, "You can't talk to Atta because he's here on a green card,"' Weldon said.
[…]
SOCom is responsible for the nation's secret commando units, and has played a central role in the war on terror since 9/11.
A former spokesman for the Sept. 11 Commission said that members of its staff were told about the program but that the briefers did not mention Atta's name. The commission report produced last year did not mention Able Danger's findings.
The call I recounted yesterday is now available to everyone through the miracle of the internets. Go here.
(Thank you, Dread Pirate Roberts!)
First to Spontaneous Arising, which is turning one year old. Michael does great work, and has just a wicked sense of humor that I adore. Congratulations, Michael! Keep up the good work (I know you will).
Next to The Heretik, who just passed the 100,000 visitors mark. Joe is an absolute original and is so wonderfully supportive; I appreciate him endlessly, as both a blogger and a friend.
Give them both a visit and a pat on the back.
(As a side note, if you’re celebrating some kind of milestone, please don’t be shy about letting me know. I really like sharing this kind of news.)
I wish I had more time to devote to this post, but I just got home after locking my keys in the car at the fucking gas station like a total moron and having to go through all sorts of rigmarole to get them out and get my ass home, and now I'm due to pick up Mr. Shakes at the train station in a few minutes, and then we're over to my parents' for the evening. So please forgive the brevity.
First, go here to get a brief background on a recent skirmish which started at a new Minnesota blog called Minnesotans for Life. Then go here and let them know, politely please, that people who support choice are not "baby killers."
Thank you to The Power Liberal for bringing this to our attention.
Just got off a conference call with Cindy Sheehan and various other bloggers, organized by Joe Trippi, Democrats.com, and Code Pink (I don’t think I missed anybody). The call started with Cindy talking about what the past few days have been like and thanked everyone profusely for all their support. She said she never thought that one person could make a difference, but that one person with a million people supporting them certainly can. She also talked about the power of the internet and said that if it weren’t for our ability to share the truth across the internet, we might well already be living in a fascist state.
After that, it was opened up for questions, and unfortunately, I couldn’t stay through the whole thing (since I’m at work), but during the Q&A, Illinois Representative Jan Schakowsky, came on the line to give Cindy her support, let her know that she was doing everything she could in Congress to pursue accountability, and remind her that her son didn’t die in vain—that Casey might have died so his mother could stop the war.
I can imagine it doesn’t come across in the writing of it, but it was incredibly moving. Listening to Cindy and Jan talk, giving each other words of support and encouragement, and knowing I was one of many people who were sharing in such a powerful moment, I felt very lucky to be in such fine company.
And I felt proud to be a part of saving this country. And make no mistake, that’s what we’re doing. When our president refuses to meet with one of the people who he serves, dismissing her like a king dismisses a subject, while his media whores impugn her character, our country is in need of saving.
Keep writing. Keep celebrating Cindy’s pursuit of justice. She is a true American hero.
(The call will later be made available for podcast.)
(Stolen completely and utterly from August.)
Apparently, the French are only useful when killing members of Greenpeace.
And don't forget, when your big fat mouth gets you into trouble, throw a temper tantrum.
The worst part about all this? Not only is he giving douchebags a bad name, he's making it impossible to wear a bowtie anymore.
I like wearing bowties.
(We got the cross-post...yeah! We got it!)
Eminem moons and farts at fansThat’s the entire news item. The other three paragraphs are just tour information.
Eminem dropped his trousers and farted into a microphone during a performance.
(This is cross-posted from my blog; I didn't think that it necessarily should be, as it's rather personal and I don't like to get *too* personal on a blog that is not mine. But Melissa feels very strongly about the message behind this post and asked me to put it up here. Thanks for giving me another soapbox, honey.)
So here's what's been going on the past few days (And many thanks to everyone for their well wishes):
I received a call on Sunday morning that a co-worker of mine, a wonderful, vivacious, exceptional woman, had passed away on Saturday. This was an extraordinary shock, as we have already dealt with the death of another beloved co-worker within the last few months. (For her and her family's privacy, I shall refer to her as "R.")
The most horrible thing about her passing, however, was that she took her own life.
I was flabbergasted when I heard what had happened. R. was, as I said before, an extraordinary human being. Not only did she work for a non-profit AIDS/HIV education center, but she also was very active in other social causes; working to create shelters for battered women in Israel, other social causes at home and in Israel, and in her temple. She had a great love of nature and environmental concerns. She was very passionate about helping others, and although it may be a cliché, there was not one person that she met that was not greatly affected by her amazing energy and passion. This was very evident at the funeral service yesterday, when her small temple was packed to overflowing with well over 200 people.
You never would have known that she was struggling with a devastating case of clinical depression.
Most of us in the office didn't have the slightest clue about her condition. Partially because of her keeping it a secret due to the stigma connected with mental illness, and also that, I'm sure, she did not want any of us to worry about her. R. was just that way; always worrying about others before herself.
Also, part of the insidious nature of depression is that it saps the energy you would use to seek help.
She had a wonderful marriage to a great man, three beautiful and fantastic children, a great career, and fulfilling hobbies such as gardening, weaving, and writing poetry.
However, as wonderful as her life was, her disease was too strong.
Late Saturday night, she rose, took an overdose of pills, and walked into a lake.
----
Clinical depression is a disease. It is a powerful, crippling disease. And although current celebrities and self-help gurus would argue this, it is not something that can be ignored or easily cured. Taking a multi-vitamin and working out will not cure depression. "Getting over it" will not cure depression. Changing your diet will not cure depression.
It's easy to bash Psychiatry, Psychology, and therapy as quackery. It's easy to claim that psychotropic medications are unnecessary and over-prescribed (which, granted, they can be).
But like any disease, you will need two things to fight it. You will need your doctor, and you will need medical treatment.
And even then, sometimes the disease can be too strong.
But it doesn't have to be.
The biggest problem with fighting mental illness is the stigma that surrounds it. We need to stop claming that people that are mentally ill are "not sick."
We need to stop making people feel ashamed about depression.
Please, if you think you have clinical depression, see your doctor. See a Psychiatrist. Get some help.
If you're so inclined, you can make a donation to the The National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia & Depression (NARSAD).
And thanks again for your support. Send some well wishes and good Karma to R.'s family. They're going to need all the help they can get.
Go read Driftglass. Here’s a little sample that will undoubtedly entice:
I Will Swallow Him (A Paean to Dear Leader)(Note to the Dems: When, exactly, are you going to start looking at all the amazing bloggers with progressive cred and hire yourselves some decent fucking writers?)
I will swallow Him, swallow Him whatever He may say,
Like ”Saddam is an al-Qaeda Chief”
And nothing will change my belief...
He is my Cha-la-bi.
I will swallow Him, and since His State of the Union Speech
There isn't bullshit too deep,
A pile of offal so high, it can keep,
Keep me away...
I am his drooling beetch.
I love Him, I love Him, I love Him,
And all the lies He tells, I'll swallow, I'll swallow, I'll swallow...
