And the hits keep coming. Bush’s approval rating has dropped to 35% in the latest WSJ/Harris poll. Only 27% of respondents believe the country is headed in the right direction.
Yeesh.
Mr. Unpopular
break out the champagne and placenta!
Because the Tombryo arrived today:
KATIE HOLMES gave birth to a 7-lb., 7-oz., 20-inch healthy baby girl named Suri on Tuesday.
...Tom was present for the birth, and reps for the star tell ET that both Katie and baby Suri are doing well. Little Suri's name has its origins in Hebrew meaning "princess," or in Persian meaning "red rose."
In somewhat related news, Brooke Shields had her baby girl today too:
Shields [...] gave birth Tuesday morning in Los Angeles to a 7-pound, 20-inch girl, the actress' publicist confirmed to E! News.
Shields' new addition, named Grier Hammond, is the second child for her and husband, Chris Henchy, 42, a screenwriter (Entourage). The couple's oldest daughter, Rowan, turns 3 next month.
I bet the paparazzi are going insane.
A Retraction
Unlike such people as Michelle Malkin and the Prezint himself, I am more than willing to admit when I have made a mistake. A few days ago, I posted about the ridiculous meme of Christian Persecution, and challenged people to inform me of a college that would expel you for being Christian and/or conservative.
Well, one has been thrown in my face, and I must apologize.
In the latest Spittle & Ink Podcast, the well-researched Chet Masters points out the Northeastern liberal "College of Satan," which features such courses as:
- Boiling babies for profit
- The History of Curses
The Adventures of the Smart Patrol regrets the error.
(Thanks, Mark Spittle!)
(Night and cross-post... you are the one...)
Question of the Day
Suggested by Shaker Puellasolis, after our rather enjoyably prurient QotD on Friday: What’s the most interesting place/situation in which you've had sex?
I guess the most unusual place in which I’ve ever engaged in any sort of shenanigans is the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disney World. There were no kids around. It was late. I was frisky. And it was the coolest part of the entire state of Florida.
“Common Sense” and other grand ideas.
Mcjoan finds a charming little tsk-tsker from The Wall Street Journal's "Taste" editor, Naomi Schaeffer Riley, on the Duke rape case called Ladies, You Should Know Better. The title basically tells you everything you need to know. (Although, by all means, click through if you’d like to see one of the most tortured anti-feminist screeds I’ve seen lately, as Riley condemns modern feminism, yet approvingly notes that the “radical feminists” who “used to warn that men are evil and dangerous,” though “wrong-headed,” nonetheless provide a “useful … worst-case scenario for young women today”—in other words, more “All men have little rapist-devils sitting on their shoulders, so watch out, girls!” bullshit). Anyway, you can head on over to mcjoan for your tonic of righteous outrage about that swill.
As to mcjoan’s concluding question, "Can anyone explain why it's more important for women to 'learn common sense' in conducting their daily lives than for men to learn that they have absolutely no right to violate another human being's body without consent?" all I can say is this: Let's just pretend, for shits and giggles, that a precise execution of common sense as laid out by Riley and friends could indeed protect women against sexual assault; in fact, that, very specifically, it could protect women against sexual assault from the men who now stand accused in the Duke case. (Which is not to assume they're guilty; I'm just referencing the charges.) How, pray tell, could that have protected Jeffrey O. Bloxgom?
[Finnerty, one of the men currently charged in the rape case] and two of his teammates from high school lacrosse were arrested on Nov. 5 in Washington. At 2:30 a.m. that day, Jeffrey O. Bloxgom told the police that the men had "punched him in the face and body, because he told them to stop calling him gay and other derogatory names," according to records at the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.Was Bloxgom exercising a lapse in common sense by requesting that a collection of bullies stop hurling epithets at him? Or was allowing his face to get in the way of their fists the lapse in common sense?
Bloxgom also said that the three men "without provocation had attacked him, busting his lip and bruising his chin." He was treated for minor injuries.
Finnerty has entered a diversion program, and the simple assault charge against him will be dismissed upon completion of 25 hours community service, said his lawyer for that case, Steven J. McCool.
Or, perhaps, is it that mcjoan is right, and, instead of focusing on what women should do to protect themselves, we might consider that there are some people who just don't agree that they have no right to violate another person's body—and that they should be the focus of our (ahem) helpful suggestions?
(Crossposted at AlterNet PEEK.)
Breaking News: Bush Releases Pop Single
And once again, my top-notch secret sources have gotten me the scoop…
President Bush, suffering from plummeting approval ratings and desperate to generate some positive press, has recorded a new single, called “The Decider,” which puts a zany spin on his passionate defense of embattled Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Said White House pressrobot Scott McClellan, “The president felt that, with Iraq persisting as an untenable quagmire, the domestic infrastructure in the toilet, investigations plaguing his administration, and the searing hatred of an increasing swath of the populace aimed in his general direction, it was time for some wacky hijinks.” Dion and the Belmonts, whose 1960’s hit “The Wanderer,” served as inspiration for the recording, could not be reached for comment.
Well, I’m the type of guy who will always let you down
Where Rummy critics are, well, you know my disdain will abound
I hate ‘em and ignore ‘em, ‘cause to me they’re all the same
I hate ‘em and ignore ‘em; I don’t even know their names
They call me The Decider, yeah, The Decider
I spin around around around around around…
Well, there’s Rove on my left and there’s Cheney on my right
But Condi is the girl, yeah, that I’ll be with tonight
And when she asks me which one I love the best
I tear open my shirt and I got Rummy on my chest
‘Cause I’m The Decider, yeah, The Decider
I spin around around around around around…
Oh well I spin from town to town
I go through life without a care
I sound as dopey as a clown
With my head full of iron and I’m going nowhere
I’m the type of guy that likes to spin the media
I never read a book, not even the encyclopedia
And when I find the haters a-hatin’ on my chum
I tell them no one’s better than my buddy Donny Rum
‘Cause I’m The Decider, yeah, The Decider
I spin around around around around…
‘Cause I’m The Decider, yeah, The Decider
I spin around around around around…
You Better Practice What You Preach...
Steve at No More Mister Nice Blog has an excellent question for the screeching flying monkey, Ann Coulter:
So next time Ann Coulter comes to your town, don't heckle her or try to hit her with a pie. Wait till she's plugged her new book by telling you how much liberals hate the God of Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, Rod Parsley, and George Bush, the God who hates non-marital sex more than anything in the world. Then ask her if she's abstinent and, if not, why not.
You might want to clarify your terms by reading Rev. Parsley definition and asking whether she specifivally abstains from every item on the list.
Oh -- wear a crucifix, if possible. The biggest one you can find.
They're hypocrites; we know they're hypocrites. It's time to start forcing them to admit it.
Cheney's mysterious machinations: Secrecy, strong-arming, and spies
Drum points to a great article by Robert Dreyfuss in The American Prospect, Vice Squad, which digs into the inner workings of the Office of the Vice President, revealing how the VP has managed to exert such a significant influence on both national and foreign policy—and who comprises the collection of dedicated enablers that dedicate themselves to making it so.
Larry Wilkerson, formerly a top aide to Secretary of State Colin Powell, is a no-nonsense, ex-military man who has spoken out bluntly about what he calls a "cabal" led by Cheney, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and their top aides. Time after time, in various interagency meetings, all the way up to the Cabinet-level "principals committee," Wilkerson would watch in astonishment as Cheney's staffers muscled everyone else.The entire article is most assuredly worth your time. From the unrelenting secrecy about everything emanating from the veep's office—including, bizarrely, even who works there—to the bullying and spying performed on behalf of the vice president by his mysterious and true-believing staff, it's nothing less than a playbook of a coup that most of America has failed to notice. From the moment Cheney was tasked with selecting Bush's running mate, and subsequently selected himself, he's endeavored to realize all of his neocon fantasies, changing America—and the world—into what he wants it to be.
Wilkerson portrays the vice president's office as the source of a zealous, almost messianic approach to foreign affairs. "There were several remarkable things about the vice president's staff," he says. "One was how empowered they were, and one was how in sync they were. In fact, we used to say about both [Rumsfeld's office] and the vice president's office that they were going to win nine out of ten battles, because they are ruthless, because they have a strategy, and because they never, ever deviate from that strategy … They make a decision, and they make it in secret, and they make in a different way than the rest of the bureaucracy makes it, and then suddenly foist it on the government -- and the rest of the government is all confused."
There are many more detailed (and surprising) revelations, but this bit struck me as perhaps the most pertinent in explaining exactly how Cheney came to have the power he has:
[O]fficials who have opposed Cheney believe that President Bush has "views" only about basic principles, and that in making dozens of complex decisions he relies on pre-determined staff papers. Says one insider deeply involved in U.S. policy toward North Korea: "The president is given only the most basic notions about the Korea issue. They tell him, 'Above South Korea is a country called North Korea. It is an evil regime.' … So that translates into a presidential decision: Why enter into any agreement with an evil regime?"Perhaps the greatest irony about Bush's reputation for being "strong, tough, unyielding," for "staying the course," for "listening to his gut instincts," is that not only are none of those things true, but he may well be one of the most easily manipulated men to ever have held such prominent office—so deeply mistaken about his own character, having started to believe his own press, he has failed to realize that his "instincts" are suggestions carefully created and implanted by his alleged second-in-command, mere illusions. He's nothing more than an action figure with posable parts, but believes himself to be a real, tough-talkin', hard-working cowboy...which is exactly what the Wormtongue whispering in his ear wants.
(Crossposted at AlterNet PEEK.)
The decider-in-chief makes some decidings.
During his remarks this morning, in which he nominated Rob Portman as OMB Director to replace Josh Bolten (who was promoted after Andy Card's departure and is now fixin' to clean house), the President was asked what he would say to critics who believe he's ignoring the advice of retired generals regarding Rumsfeld. He replied:
I say, I listen to all voices, but mine is the final decision. And Don Rumsfeld is doing a fine job. He's not only transforming the military, he's fighting a war on terror. He's helping us fight a war on terror. I have strong confidence in Don Rumsfeld. I hear the voices, and I read the front page, and I know the speculation. But I'm the decider, and I decide what is best. And what's best is for Don Rumsfeld to remain as the Secretary of Defense.All right then. Can't argue with the decider, I guess.
I'm a little concerned about his hearing "the voices," though. Somebody get him back on his meds, stat.
(Hat tip Agitprop; crossposted at AlterNet PEEK.)
Reunion Tour
A couple of weeks ago, my beloved Mozza turned down a $5 million offer to reunite The Smiths for a single show, saying, “I would rather eat my own testicles than re-form The Smiths, and that's saying something for a vegetarian.” To all of us thinking I Know It’s Gonna Happen Someday, he seems to be sending a vague message that all the Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want-ing in the world isn’t going to make a reunion any more likely. Oh Well, I’ll Never Learn…but, dear Mozza, Whatever Happens, I Love You.
I will, however, take consolation in the possibility that, even if Moz and Marr aren’t, Gore is 'getting the band back together.'
Oh, I will. Come on, Al. All it takes is A Rush and a Push and the Land Is Ours.Al Gore is getting the band back together. In a move that could inch him closer to another bid at the presidency in 2008, the former vice president has hired Roy Neel, a veteran of presidential politics, to help run his current campaign to raise awareness of global warming.The WaPo's Richard Cohen added today, "[O]n paper, he is the near-perfect Democratic candidate for 2008." Gore may be a man on a mission, but is the mission the 2008 campaign? Stay tuned.
We stand on is ours
It has been before
So it shall be again
And people who are uglier than you and I
They take what they need, and just leave…
(This post dedicated to Roxanne.)
Disclaiming
Pink is the new black, and The Da Vinci Code is the new Jackass.
Opus Dei, a conservative Catholic organisation, has asked Sony to put a disclaimer on the corporation's upcoming film based on The Da Vinci Code…Isn’t that already a standard disclaimer on every film, anyway? “Any resemblance to real persons or events is unintended blah blah blah.” It’s so standard, in fact, that I’ve seen it scroll through in the credits of biopics—as if they’ve just forgotten to take it out of the boilerplate.
Opus Dei has written to Sony Corp in Japan seeking a disclaimer on the film "to clarify that it is a work of fantasy and that any similarity with reality is purely coincidental".
John Howard, who gets the hat tip, gives it the snark it deserves:
I fully support this, and I assume we'll be getting disclaimers on all Sony movies from now on, like Spider-Man 3, for example. When Spider-Man first came out, I was all set to travel to New York to see if I could meet the superhero, when someone told me he wasn't real. I wouldn't want anyone else to make the same mistake.In the comments, Chris Howard suggests that the Catholic Church has turned into Dan Brown’s marketing firm—ha.
…Was there a disclaimer on Passion of the Christ? Just curious.
Delicious
Blogenfreude passed along the link to this article, which reports that Tom Cruise had vowed to eat the placenta after his alien spawn was born. B said, “Please tell me it’s a late April Fool’s prank.”
Well, not really. Although he does say he was just joking. Or something. And then he launched into the whole soundless Scientology-birth thing again, which, sadly, isn’t a joke.
Here’s a tip for old Tom: When everyone already thinks you’re nuts, don’t make jokes about eating afterbirth.
Big Mouth Strikes Again II
More reaction to Malkin
PZ Myers, referring to the WaPo's recent hackjob profile of the angry left:
I don't quite understand this etiquette thing. So Maryscott O'Connor is angry about war and corruption and our incompetent administration, and that's bad. Naughty leftist, she should be better mannered and respectful to our president, no matter how badly he screws up.Carla at Preemptive Karma:
Meanwhile, Michelle Malkin sics her mouth-breathing minions on some college-aged peace activists, and they get swamped with death threats from right wingers. And she does it twice, even after learning what kind of sewage her pals are spewing.
Hmmm. Decisions, decisions. Angry denunciations of political actions vs. vicious but infantile threats. Unstinting demands that our leaders do right vs. outrageous extortion. Which side do I want to be on?
I'll pick the door on the left, Bob. Without hesitation.
Malkin's inability to muster up even basic scruples here is astounding--especially for a woman of her age. Anyone with even a rudimentary set of life experiences and maturity would know better than to put other people's lives in danger this way…Maha has a good round-up of other responses, and also addresses some of the defenses of Malkin starting to pop up in Righty blogs (and elsewhere):
There's something fundamentally wrong with an individual who would deliberately put the lives of others in danger like this. Some innate screw is in need of tightening.
But then again, that's what karma is for...tightening screws…or putting the screws…to those who deserve them.
The rightie excuse for Malkin’s publishing of names and phone numbers (see previous post for background) is that the names and phone numbers were on a press release (see Joe Gandelman, who is a nice guy, for an explanation). If they hadn’t wanted their names and phone numbers made public, why were they on a press release?And Roxanne suggests sending Malkin some toenail clippers.
And the answer is, press releases always come with the name and contact information of someone responsible for the press release, either above or below the text of the news release. This is so journalists can call that individual for more information or to confirm the relase is legitimate. Without such contact information most news desk editors would pitch the release into the famous round file. But anyone who has worked in a newsroom for more than ten minutes understands that the contact information itself is not "released" unless it appears in the text of the release.
The other excuse: "Lefties do it too." As I’ve said many times, the foundation of all rightie moral standards is Billy hit me first and variations thereof. I regret that there are some people who lack the common sense and impulse control to not stoop to the level of sending Malkin obscene email. However, that doesn’t excuse what Malkin did.
(Crossposted at AlterNet PEEK.)
Bush to gays: No soup for you!
And no sex, either. Ever.
Because LGBT kids just don’t have it hard enough in school, the Bush administration thought they’d heap a bit more indignity onto the pile. Think Progress has dug out some new guidelines from the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services which effectively create a new, even stricter, definition of abstinence, to which any organization applying for grants much adhere, if they want any federal moolah for abstinence-only sex education programs.
The curricula must explicitly represent abstinence as "voluntarily choosing not to engage in sexual activity until marriage. Sexual activity refers to any type of genital contact or sexual stimulation between two persons including, but not limited to, sexual intercourse," and additionally define marriage as “only a legal union between one man and one woman as a husband and wife, and the word 'spouse' refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife.” TP's Nico notes:
In other words, if you’re gay, the Bush administration has decided that you should be taught to never, ever engage in "any type" of "sexual stimulation" — ever.Setting aside the myriad of philosophical objections to this rubbish, I'm curious about how these restrictions play out in a state like Massachusetts, in which marriage is quite obviously not "only a legal union between one man and one woman" and the word spouse does not "[refer] only to a person of the opposite sex." It appears that Massachusetts can either forego all federal funding in order to teach comprehensive sex education, or must necessarily miseducate public school children about its own state laws.
The GOP's anti-gay agenda has butted up against a consternating reality. Having failed to pass their Federal Marriage Amendment which would supercede state marriage equality laws, they're now unable to create federal mandates—at least, federal mandates that make any sense—that are predicated on that agenda, ignoring as they do legalized gay marriage and civil unions in a couple of states.
If the Bush administration had even the remotest connection to the world in which the rest of us live, they'd be embarrassed by the cynical politicization of something like sex education. They'd actually care about the massive failure that abstinence-only sex education really is; they'd feel the hot blush of embarrassment at being caught doing something stupid and selfish and opportunistic when it was pointed out to them that their anti-gay bullshit fails to take into consideration there already are gay spouses in America. But they don't live in the same world we do, nor do they have any interest in it, aside from trying to wish it away with idiotic regulations and operating under the stubborn pretense that if they don't like something, if just doesn't exist. This latest DHS malarkey is the equivalent of sticking one's finger in one's ears and shouting, "La la la la—I can't hear you!" at the entire gay population and the every resident in states that have extended some version of marriage rights to the LGBT community. Quite a policy.
In other LGBT news, the Cambridge University Press is on crack.
(Crossposted at AlterNet PEEK.)
Grab Yer Ankles, America...
... this isn't going to come with a reacharound. (Bolds mine)
Gas prices push up wholesale inflation
WASHINGTON - A big jump in gasoline prices pushed inflation at the wholesale level up in March at the fastest pace in three months, as oil prices above $70 a barrel sent consumers a high-octane warning of expensive fuel costs ahead.A high-octane warning! Ha! That's so clever! Ha ha! Sob.
The Labor Department reported that wholesale prices rose by 0.5 percent in March following a 1.4 percent decline in February, which had been the largest drop in nearly three years.
I heard about the barrel costs this morning on the way to work, just before stopping to fill up the Spudmobile. It was the most I've ever paid at the pump.
President Bush lamented the high fuel prices and said he attributes it to increasing demand and also concerns about perceptions of possible disruptions in supplies.But your current prick-waving at Iran has nothing to do with it.
Ass.
But, Bush added, "I'm also mindful that government has a responsibility to watch very carefully and to investigate any price gouging, and we'll do that."Gee, I feel so safe now.
(It's all just a little bit of cross-posts repeating...)
W is for Women: Spreading Freedom Edition
As if we needed more evidence that "W is for Women" was one of the most ridiculous campaign slogans ever plastered on a sign, shirt, hat, or button, or that Afghanistan is not the rousing success the administration loves to claim, here it is, care of Jessica at Feministing:
The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) has just released a report, "Evaluation report on General Situation of Women in Afghanistan."Superb. Also of interest: though the numbers of males and females between the ages of 6 and 18 are commensurate, "the number of girls going to school is less than half the number of school boys, and even in some regions like Zabul, this ratio is 3% / 97%."
The AIHRC reports, among other things, that 38 percent of women were "wedded off against their will and consent" and that more than 50 percent have been victims of domestic violence.
Freedom is awesome. Thanks, Dubya!
(Crossposted at AlterNet PEEK.)
Big Mouth Strikes Again
Sweetness, sweetness I was only joking
When I said I'd like to smash every tooth
In your head
Oh ... sweetness, sweetness, I was only joking
When I said by rights you should be
Bludgeoned in your bed…
— “Bigmouth Strikes Again,” The Smiths
The heir-apparent to the heinous little niche of unhinged hatemongering which Ann Coulter has carved out for herself, Michelle Malkin, is really making moves to unseat the queen these days. Her latest attempt to ascend to the throne is a real stunner. Ezra Klein describes the carnage:
[A] crew of students at UC Santa Cruz, my alma mater, protested some military recruiters, and Malkin got hold of a press release with their personal contact information -- a poorly conceived inclusion on the students' part, but then, these are undergraduates, not trained media flacks. Rather than calling and speaking to them herself, which is what members of the press are supposed to use such releases for, Malkin published their personal information on her website, prompting her hordes of orcish mouth-breathers to brandish their pitchforks and inundate the unsuspecting students with death threats (some of which you can read here). When the students frantically called on Malkin to remove their numbers, she posted their contact information again.Of course she won't—because one of the hallmarks of movement conservatives is a bull-headed determination to sustain the cognitive dissonance that allows them to sing the praises of The Ownership Society (a carefully designed social Darwinist philosophy that blames anyone who struggles for their own troubles) while simultaneously shirking accountability for any of their own actions. People stuck in a desperate cycle of endemic poverty, filers of bankruptcy due to staggering medical costs, black folks stuck on rooftops in New Orleans, gays bashed to their deaths--they have no one to blame but themselves. College students receiving death threats? Progressives being widely regarded as traitors? It all happens in a void, according to people like Malkin.
The invaluable John Amato, who's got some video from the scene, gets it right. Malkin, he writes, "crosse[d] the line of decency..the death threats are emanating from her blog and she knows it. Malkin understands the nature of the fear and outrage she causes. Will she take responsibility when somebody gets hurt?"
Which is technically true, if we're talking about a void of ethics and intellectual honesty.
Malkin should be ashamed of herself...but she isn't, and she never will be. There's too much celebration from her collection of worshipful minions, too much infamy, too much fun to be had to let a slip of conscience get in the way.
TBogg's got more.
(Crossposted at AlterNet PEEK.)
QoTD: describing your life with music
What song (or up to three for a mini-soundtrack) currently describes your life?
I have to go with:
Better Man (Pearl Jam)
Extraordinary Girl (Green Day)
and
Ordinary World (Duran Duran)
The Administration Who Cried “Hitler”
Glenn Greenwald’s got a great post today about the administration’s (and their supporters’) insistence on casting every dime-store despot as Hitler these days. One of the things that drives me bonkers about this shit is that, when someone vaguely rational tries to draw a distinction between a guy like Saddam, for example, and Hitler, s/he is automatically cast as an appeaser, with no regard for important (and really not all that subtle) nuances like scope and the baseline capacity to engage in the sort of large-scale tyranny and destruction exacted by Hitler.
Intent notwithstanding, there’s got to be some kind of regard for the means to realize that intent. The lying scumbags currently running this nation know that, which is why, even though Iraq didn’t have the tools, and neither does Iran, they make all kinds of mendacious claims to attempt to create an illusion to the contrary. No one knows better than they do that—at minimum—the façade of such means is a key component to selling the necessity of a war. It’s so indicative of what opportunistic and dishonest bastards they are that while casting as spineless traitors any dissenters who point out that ability to act on intent is an important consideration in the decision to go to war, they simultaneously trump up the appearance of such ability to bolster their case.
Saddam Hussein and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad are indecent, maniacal fuckwits, but that doesn’t mean they were/are a threat to Americans even if they want(ed) to be. The administration didn’t sell the Iraq war as a humanitarian intervention to protect the people most likely to suffer at the hand of Saddam—his own people—but as a preemptive strike against a nation that both intended and had the ability to harm the American people. Iran is now the same story. And once again, they’re not selling it as a rescue mission on behalf of Iranians (or even Israelis), but as an American national security concern, which is patently false.
Glenn points to this post at The Belgravia Dispatch, in which Gregory Djerejian has utilized the Wayback Machine to dig out the administration’s pre-Iraq war comments and compare them to the current comments being made about Iran, which are “strikingly, and alarmingly, similar.” Glenn notes:
[T]he array of unreliable and misleading statements made with regard to many matters prior to the invasion of Iraq have completely destroyed this government's credibility, making its word automatically subject to serious doubt by any rational person -- including, most destructively, its own citizens, in a way that is almost certainly unprecedented in our nation's history.The alarmist hyperbole, the disingenuous framing, the manipulation of intelligence and outright lies—it’s not only left the administration lacking credibility, but it’s left the American people less safe. If we can’t trust our leadership to be honest with us, there are a lot of people who will think they’re just crying Hitler again if a genuine and immediate threat presents itself. And even if we’re all clever enough to suss out the reality, our own nation may very well be left without the resources to do what really needs to be done, as our treasure and military have been stretched too thin chasing after illusions.
Fates save us if another real Hitler emerges, because Bush certainly won’t.
