Did you catch it? The best part was not when Huckabee admitted
how strong Obama was, but when he admitted that race was not the
ultimate issue. Oh, and also, the tribute to Tubbs was pretty rad.
KO has been a fan of The New Yorker magazine for as long as we can remember.
In fact, years ago we were so inspired by our friend Kayt's parents' artful and clever
bathroom tribute to The New Yorker (they wallpapered the whole bathroom with covers
from the 70s) that we began collecting covers in hopes of someday following suit in a
room in our very own home. Well, we're sad to say we are so very disappointed with the
publication that we are actually considering boycotting it hence forth...Sad! But valid!
The first sign of trouble was Anthony Lane's loathsome and misogynistic review of the
Sex and The City movie (as well as the accompanying artwork by David Hughes). The
bitter, brutal and blatantly hateful review was just beyond justification. It reeked of
rage and forced me to question the integrity of the editor(s). And now, to make matters
worse, the pub. has lowered itself to put a horrific and hateful cover on the stands
featuring an illustration by Barry Blitt. His artistic vision features a very distorted Barack
Obama in full-on Osama Bin Laden mode, American flag burning in the fireplace (of the
Oval Office?) and his wife, complicit with machine gun. WTF??? What's the argument "for"
you ask? Something along the lines of addressing the misrepresentation of Obama in
the press, the "politics of fear," blah blah blah. Sorry, not falling for it. No reasonable,
rational thinking person has gone there, and certainly not a reader of The New Yorker.
So what, what, WHAT is the deal with inciting this kind of fear, hatred, racism?
Seriously?! I could go on, but truthfully, I'm too disgusted and ultimately just too
disappointed. I no longer trust The New Yorker. I no longer respect The New Yorker.
Sad, sad, sad. Disappointment.
***
David Hughes artwork for Sex and the City review on left, above;
Barry Blitt's cover art of Barack for the new issue of The New Yorker, on right
********
Oh, and p.s. please don't try to tell me I have no sense of / for satire. I do.
Tim Russert, host of Meet The Press suffered a fatal heart attack Friday.
He was just 58. Russert was at work at the NBC Studios in Washington, D.C., when
he went into cardiac arrest. "He was an institution in both news and politics for more
than two decades. Tim was a tough and hardworking newsman. He was always well-
informed and thorough in his interviews. And he was as gregarious off the set as he
was prepared on it," President Bush said Friday. In 2008, TIME magazine named him
one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Russert was a father, too. Very sad.
Well, it sure seems like a while since I've been here...
Because we are in between casas, we are busier than usual
and the schedule is skewed. It is what it is.
One thing we need to mention: Fat Tuesday/Super Tuesday
I made sure to vote, and I felt empowered and engaged after.
It was an important day, as there was no incumbent running for
the first time in 80 years, and a woman and man of color were on
the Democratic ballot. To boot, Fat Tuesday in New Orleans (one of
our long lost loves it seems these days...sigh) was raging righteously
into...today, Ash Wednesday/first day of Lent...and, delightfully, a day
damp and silver-toned, brisk and beautiful. Happy Humpday you guys.
Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was assassinated Thursday
in a suicide attack that also killed at least 20 others at a campaign rally, aides said.
"The surgeons confirmed that she has been martyred," Bhutto's lawyer Babar Awan
said. A party security adviser said Bhutto was shot in neck and chest as she got into
her vehicle to leave the rally in Rawalpindi near the capital Islamabad.
The gunman then blew himself up.
Bhutto arrived to a throng of thrilled supporters...
The suicide bomber left death, destruction and a heartbreakingly bloody
aftermath...
sources: Reuters & Wonkette
Anderson Cooper is adorable.
Stephen Colbert's interview with A.C. tonight
was like Ben & Jerry's new "Banana Split" ice cream:
Yummy, yummy, decadent, delicious and yes, yummy!
Yesterday Colbert threw his hat into the Presidential ring.
Is he serious? If he actually plans on following through...well,
umm, he could be a formidable force because he has a following,
and he has no fear! He may be trying to make a point, but really, is
his bid a genuine gesture acknowledging all the additional drama
associated with such a bold and brazen leap? The question we all
need answered honestly and honorably is, For US, for realz, SC?!
We love Matt Taibbi and have for a long time.
In recent years he's taken to writing his political op-essays
for Rolling Stone. His aggressive, angsty attitude is almost a
perfect antidote to mainstream media coverage. If you haven't
read it already, DO check out his piece on Fred Thompson.
Regarding "So Much Trouble In The World" Indeed:
Post a Comment On [Peter's Blog]:
SO MUCH TROUBLE IN THE WORLD
"Sickness redefined"
CJ said...
How sad are people like Michelle Malkin and Bill O'Relly? And, what's even more amazing, is that they have a platform like Fox News to speak such deliberate lies, propaganda, and character assassinations.
10:50 PM
bodacious said...
A further investigation also shows all four children are enrolled at this private school. Did you know this?
Do you realize somewhere in America tonight, some child is going to be happy having squirrel and taters for dinner tonight, compared to the in all probability vegetarian pizzas ordered in by the so "John Denveresque" family from Baltimore?
I want my money going to the real poor of America. They are out there.
Apparently the Democrat Party just can't find the "Real Poor". Or is it you just don't want to get near them.
Remember Winnifred and the Winnebago?
4:03 PM
Peter Matthes said...
I work with many people who make a better than decent living and still cannot afford ANY healthcare in this country.
In fact, over 40 Million Americans (Your fellow Americans) also cannot afford proper healthcare.
I have Oxford Health ... which sucks your balls ... and it costs me almost $8,000 a year.
Call me when you have a solution for the healthcare problem in this country. We all know what great inroads the Republican Party and your President have made on that issue.
I would guess that you need someone to be down and bleeding to death before you consider them good enough for your support.
PS. I had taters for lunch. It's not what goes into a person that counts. It's the amount of hypocritical Bullshit that comes out.
8:51 PM
Katy said...
i'm smart, have had periods of success, and am worldly...but i had a hard time in LA (freelance) and NYC with health insurance
and am currently uninsured
i'm 30, gonna be 31 nov.4th
eek
i'm not a martyr, but if it's this complicated and cruel for me, and I KNOW BETTER, imagine how so many others must feel.
ugh.
awful.
KO
katyoliver.com
ps. PM~ love when you get on a roll and give generously of the jelly.
keep it up.
11:05 PM
Katy said...
oh and another thing:
we expect socialism when we deal with firefighters and cops~
BECAUSE IT'S LIFE OR DEATH!
HUMANITY BASED!
Why SHOULDN'T
HEALTH CARE
BE CONSIDERED WITH SUCH
COMMON PLACE COMPASSION?!!!!
A reminder to your "bodacious"commenter:
Socialism is not communism.
We all use highways. You may not drive but I'm willing to bet you entertain your lifestyle (perks) because of them. I'm sure, at the very least, you use cabs and subways. What if your imported client couldn't get to you? How, do you imagine, the City transports materials so as to insure your underground subway commute?
Without maintenance, aren't we left with entropy?
I wonder when and if you notice traffic flow (are you aware only when there is upkeep/repairs?) and do you really think everyone who works in the City lives there? No, of course you KNOW they don't. You KNOW your firefighters and cops could never afford to live in the City, right?! And sure, you hate cops and they're a hassle...until you need them!
Health education,
awareness
and care is vital
to a productive,
sustainable
progressive
society.
Some things aren't political or commercial at all.
Medical care and responsibility should be a social value. It's common sense.
We have public schools! They may suck, but we have them! We should have public health care! It might have to be basic but at least each individual (SOUL) would then have a chance (however stifled) to (at least aspire to) comprehend and seize his or her own livelihood at it's very core. Each individual would once again be a CITIZEN (!!!) not a CONSUMER!!!!! Each SOUL would be first and foremost granted the basic right to be human; to be granted a right to feel human!
With awareness, we are more apt to pursue a destiny determined (not dictated) by the scope of our own ambitions.
And then,
maybe (?!) we'd realize how
toxic and sad it is
to CLASSify and RATIONalize
our compassion and culpability
so righteously, so recklessly,
and ultimately, so indefensibly.
*******
ok. ack. wow. (sorry?!)
I went off!
tKO!!!
11:46 PM
Katy said...
that got my blood pressure up!
11:51 PM
Fellow blogger (and onetime fellow coworker) Peter Mathes
has a very powerful, poignant, relevant, repulsive and necessary
post up at his blog, and I am strongly urging you all to check it out.
Now.
_____________________________________________________
***C&L has a post and an important link regarding this topic too***
In the new issue of Penthouse Magazine (classy) Kid Rock takes aim at a certain American actor who is against the war. It doesn't take a damn brain surgeon to figure out he's talking about Sean Penn.source:DlistedKid Pebble said, "These kids [U.S. soldiers] are very young and a lot of them think people who oppose the war are against them. You have to be very careful with what you talk about - especially when you are some Hollywood fucker. Just because you made a great movie doesn't make you are an expert on foreign policy."
"I was at the White House drinking a Beam and Coke, shooting the shit with Rumsfeld, when [President] Bush came by and gave me five like we were on Seven Mile and Van Dyke in Detroit."
"If it weren't for guns and people who know how to use them in America, we'd all be sitting around with swastikas saying, 'Heil Hitler!' "It's funny, because he says that Sean Penn isn't an expert on foreign policy, but he thinks he is? And it's not like this country deafeated the damn Nazis. Ugh, he's such a moron.
To the tune of Rock Me Amadeus, the Daily Show shrewdly
and brilliantly created the segment "Iraq Me Dave Petraeus"
and we absolutely insist you click here and watch it right now!
"David Lynch Goes Public With 9/11 Questions
Film director is disturbed by unanswered questions
Film Director and cult icon David Lynch has gone public with concerns he has over the official government story of the September 11 2001 terror attacks. Lynch has stated that he is disturbed by unanswered questions concerning the Pentagon attack, the collapse of the buildings in New York and the strange ending of flight 93 in Pennsylvania.
Appearing on Dutch Television on VPRO's Wereldgasten, on December 3rd, Lynch discussed and played clips from Dylan Avery's groundbreaking 9/11 documentary Loose Change.
After playing a four minute segment from the documentary Lynch stated:
Its not so much what thy say, it's the things that make you look at what you thought you saw in a different light. And Those things for me, that bother me, is the hole in the Pentagon being too small for a plane, the lawn isn't messed up, and the government's not showing the plane hitting when many cameras photographed it.
At the World Trade Center, three buildings came down, like demolitions, and two of them were hit by a plane, but the third one they said "do you want us to pull it?" and they pulled it and it looked just like the other two. Those things bother me.
In Pennsylvania, the plane that went down, there was just a hole in the ground, there wasn't any wreckage,there wasn't any skid marks, there wasn't any tear in the earth, and no one has ever really found out about that.
So every place there's questions, coming from this documentary. You don't have to believe everything in the documentary to still have questions come up... and you look back and you remember what you saw, and what you were told, and now, you have questions.
It's just an event that has many questions and no answers.
When asked "What about suggestions the American government was behind it?", Lynch answered:
"That's too big for people to think about. it's too big. It's like something no one wants to think about."
Lynch has directed well known cinematic classics such as Eraserhead, Dune, The Elephant Man and Mulholland Drive. He was also the creative force behind the Twin Peaks television series in the 80s. His films are synonymous with the questioning of the nature of reality and thinking outside the box. Often employing visually rich and surrealist stylistic elements, Lynch's works have become instantly recognizable to audiences worldwide and cemented his status as an underground hero for many.
Lynch's decision to make public his views is another encouraging sign that 9/11 truth and visualizations such as Loose Change are crossing the boundary between "the alternative" and the mainstream, permeating the collective consciousness of accessible culture, just as Lynch's work has done over the past four decades.
Lynch follows in the footsteps of other identifiable cultural figures who have spoken out on 9/11, such as Richard Linklater, Jesse Ventura, Matthew Bellemy, Ed Asner and Charlie Sheen.
By: Steve Watson
Infowars.net
Wednesday, December 6, 2006"
We like distractions probably more than most, but we also can't NOT
get serious about the way our world is depicted in the media...Especially now...
***************************************************
Tragedy's Legacy
Six years of 9/11 as a license to kill
It evokes a tragedy that marks an epoch. From the outset, the warfare state has exploited "9/11," a label at once too facile and too laden with historic weight -- giving further power to the tacit political axiom that perception is reality.
Often it seems that media coverage is all about perception, especially when the underlying agendas are wired into huge profits and geopolitical leverage. If you associate a Big Mac or a Whopper with a happy meal or some other kind of great time, you're more likely to buy it. If you connect 9/11 with a need for taking military action and curtailing civil liberties, you're more likely to buy what the purveyors of war and authoritarian government have been selling for the past half-dozen years.
"Sept. 11 changed everything" became a sudden cliché in news media. Words are supposed to mean something, and those words were - and are - preposterous. They speak of a USA enthralled with itself while reducing the rest of the world (its oceans and valleys and mountains and peoples) to little more than an extensive mirror to help us reflect on our centrality to the world. In an individual, we call that narcissism. In the nexus of media and politics, all too often, it's called "patriotism."
What happened on Sept. 11, 2001, was extraordinary and horrible by any measure. And certainly a crime against humanity. At the same time, it was a grisly addition to a history of human experience that has often included many thousands killed, en masse, by inhuman human choice. It is simply and complexly a factual matter that the U.S. government has participated in outright mass murders directly - in, for example, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Panama, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq - and less directly, through aid to armies terrorizing civilians in Nicaragua, Angola, East Timor and many other countries.
The news media claim to be providing context. But whose? Overall, the context of Uncle Sam in the more perverse and narcissistic aspects of his policy personality. The hypocrisies of claims about moral precepts and universal principles go beyond the mere insistence that some others "do as we say, not as we do." What gets said, repeated and forgotten sets up kaleidoscope patterns that can be adjusted to serve the self-centered mega-institutions reliably fixated on maintaining their own dominance.
Media manifestations of these patterns are frequently a mess of contradictions so extreme that they can only be held together with the power of ownership, advertising and underwriting structures - along with notable assists from government agencies that dispense regulatory favors and myriad pressure to serve what might today be called a military-industrial-media complex. Our contact with the world is filtered through the mesh of mass media to such a great extent that the mesh itself becomes the fabric of power.
The most repetitious lessons of 9/11 -- received and propagated by the vast preponderance of U.S. news media -- have to do with the terribly asymmetrical importance of grief and of moral responsibility. Our nation is so righteous that we are trained to ask for whom the bell tolls. Rendered as implicitly divisible, humanity is fractionated as seen through red-white-and-blue windows on the world.
Posing outside cycles of violence and victims who victimize, the dominant vision of Pax Americana has no more use now than it did six years ago for W.H. Auden's observation: "Those to whom evil is done / Do evil in return."
We ought to know. But we Americans are too smart for that.
The U.S. media tell us so.
My way of paying tribute to those who died on 9/11...*
I was in Oklahoma, just outside OKC, on the morning of September 11, 2001,
when my mother called me and told me to "turn on the tv." I will never forget the shock and horror I felt as I watched the second plane hit...My boyfriend and I were madly in love and on a cross-country trip at the time, bound for LA...We were full of optimism and excitement...until that unforgettable phone call...We drove to Dallas that day to see my friend Matt Lum. While in Dallas, we watched countless hours of news footage chronicaling the day, the destruction, the pain and the confusion...Initially the news was relatively uncensored, so we watched as people fell to their death...we listened as experts speculated about how something like this could happen...And for the remaining portion of our trip across the states, I gathered newspapers and magazines...anything I could...all in an attempt to grasp the enormous and horrific nature of this tragedy.
Recently, I posted about the movie Loose Change~ a film I encourage you to watch (for free). I also posted about WTC, Oliver Stone's film about two firefighters rescued miraculously from the rubble. If you haven't already, I suggest you see WTC. You can read my "review" and/or decide for yourself...The post about WTC also has links to many worthwhile charities supporting firefighters, police, and rescue workers. I also recently posted this very distressing video of GW from a correspondence dinner in 03 (or was it 04?)...It's here for you, below, to view again because I feel it is very important we consider the "sensibility" of our Commander in Chief...and that we honor those who have died fighting the "war on terror" that started as a result of 9/11.
While researching and putting together this post, I found alot of very disturbing footage and alot of different theories about the events of that day...
The footage of the Towers is hard to watch...but I feel the clips I have selected are relevant, if heartbreaking, because we owe it to every citizen that died that day and since to remember the absolute worst and ugliest and scariest and saddest moments of that day...Not because I want to enrage or anger you or exploit your grief...but because I feel that we must try to understand their experiences and their pain in order to serve and honor their courage and their sacrifice...We must acknowledge our utter powerlessness in order to enrich and embolden our collective strength...We must remember so as not to become complacent in the face of fear-mongers, war-mongers, liars and profiteers...
We must remember...
If we don't, who will?
So...I present to you a considered~if crude~ compilation:
This clip may as well be called "Holy Shit" because it captures the first tower collapsing and the voices of shocked New Yorkers witnessing the unfathomable:
This clip is chilling...It shows the second tower getting hit...
This clip is just heartbreaking...It is narrarated by the reporter who shot the footage,
and I must warn you, it's graphic: a man waving for help...and falling...
This video clip is a compilation of eye witness accounts. It's about 10minutes long.
It's very upsetting. Note the firefighter who says it was like
a "planned detonation-boom boom boom boom"......
...Peter Jennings essentially silenced by the footage...Pataki having to
"map out" for the reporter where the towers were~ because there's nothing left...
You absolutely must watch A&E's fascinating "Anatomy of 9/11." Unbelievable.
This is part 1 of 10. Amazing...
You can watch part 2 here, and you can watch part 3 here. 
Also: Part 4. Part 5. Part 6. Part 7. Part 8. Part 9. And finally, part 10.
Just Unreal. "Sheer terror." "A day of fatal confusion."
"There was nothing we could do. They were doomed."
This video about Bldg.7 is also fascinating. Note that Larry Silverstein, the lease-holder
of the towers says they decided to "pull it," which is a term for a controlled demolition.
This video is called "Follow The Money" and like any loyal Law & Order viewer knows,
that is standard procedure when you investigate a crime...We can make no mistake about it, 9/11 was a crime...but the question is who was the perpetrator? Follow the money...?...
Please click here to see the amazing documentary shot by Jules and Gedeon Naudet and narrarated by firefighter James Henlon that was broadcast on CBS. You can not miss this. What started out as a documentary "about a boy becoming a man" became a chronicle of the day, the horror and the bravery. There is unbelievable footage (and the only footage) from within the tower, as well as footage of the first tower getting hit. It's an astonishingly gripping testament to their heroism, documenting candidly just how courageous and strong the FDNY were on September 11th and in the days following...You will be truly humbled trying to comprehend their commitment to helping others and their dedication to the city of New York in face of so much destruction, despair and hopelessness. Beautiful. Emotional. Unforgettable.
I also recommend you check out parts 1&2 of a short movie called "The Evil of 9/11."
I've embedded both parts below. The music can be annoying but keep the sound on...it's worth it, I promise...you may not agree with particular parts of the movie, but it is important enough to atleast contemplate the points raised...especially the NWO,
the secrecy among our top officials, and the cold facts about steel framed buildings...
Just to be "fair and balanced" click here for an interesting take on that famous moment when the President was told about the Towers while visiting children in a Florida school for a photo op. Spoiler alert: Ann Coulter is one of the "character witnesses!"
You may recall Michael Moore famously attacked Bush for his reaction to the news.
Below is the Epilogue from his film Fahrenheit 9/11:
There is one last take on the events of that infamous day I want to share with you...Of all the clips I've compiled here, this one is the simplest, perhaps, in that it doesn't have fancy editing or music or images of the day...but I think it's equally important. It's simply a concise breakdown by Jim Marrs that is incredibly thoughtful, powerful
(and depressing)...PLEASE WATCH THIS!
I don't know that there is any appropriate way to end this post...
My intention was to create a somber and humbling tribute to those who died...
My hope is that you honor and remember the tragedy of 9/11 with respect and compassion...and with a renewed sense of passion and purpose...
I leave you with a tribute to the FDNY, a truly heroic group...
Included is a list of the 343 firefighters who died on 9/11 at the WTC...
(Yes, the music is a little hoaky but the sentiment will not be lost on you)...
You can purchase FDNY World Trade Center Memorial shirts, decals, & pins
from the Official Fire Store for the FDNY (click on link or call 1-800-229-9258).
Since September 11th 2001 the prime beneficiary was The Widows and Children's Fund of the FDNY Uniformed Firefighters Association (UFA). Other, smaller distributions were made to the FDNY Officer's Union (UFOA), which established a scholarship fund for the children of the WTC firefighter victims; and some of the individual fire houses.
To Donate Directly, send a check or money order to:
Uniformed Firefighters Assoc. Scholarship Fund
204 E.23rd St. NY, NY 10010
*To learn more about the Memorial for the 343 Fallen Firefighters
check out the National Firefighters Hall of Heroes. 
Please also check out Denis Leary's Foundation for Firefighters.
*Click here to learn more about the 84 Fallen Port Authority workers
37 of whom were Police Officers.
*World Trade Center Relief information about resources
and charities can be found here.
*Click here to learn more about the ongoing health issues of the Rescue
and Recovery Workers as tracked by the CDC.
*Click here for additional information about the WTC and it's history.
If you know of any other organizations or charities I should've mentioned,
please let me know!
Thanks...
(thanks CS)
Read: The Tender Bar
J.R. Moehringer's memoir was a Times best seller for good reason.
More importantly, my sista Ami raved about it, quoting it freely.
It's moving, at times laugh-out-loud funny, at times too true to be real,
and always achingly accessible and winning. His underdog upbringing, agony
over self-esteem struggles and self-saboteur tendencies, as well as his wonder and
passion for words and communication~ irresistible, all of it. Trust me.
*****************************************************************
Better Late than Never Movie to See: Knocked Up
Funny, crass, sturdy, clever, well-cast...It's got heart.
******************************************************************
Keep an Eye on: actor Shia LaBeouf
He is huge after carrying Disturbia to the #1 movie spot
for 3 weeks in a row in April and helping lead Transformers
to its huge and historic (atleast in "industry" terms) opening over the 4th.
Plus, we just worked alongside him in the new Indiana Jones movie (out in 08)
and he is a classy, clear-headed hottie. Oh yeah, he also happens to be
a disciplined and impressive "veteran" actor.
******************************************************************
Cheer for from afar (if not from Fenway): Mike Lowell
We like to think of him as the George Clooney of baseball.
He's got salt-n-pepper hair, a very "familiar" and friendly face,
he helped the Red Sox achieve the infamous early-season home run
derby (4 homers in a row) in April and he's still kicking ass now. 
Also, he had testicular cancer a few years ago and beat it (has one ball).
How could you not love the guy? We have quite the crush, true, but he also
really is the quintessential baseball player. Go Mike Lowell! Go Sox!
*********************************************************************
Have high hopes for: Chris Drury
He just got more than 30 million for signing with the Rangers (after helping
the Sabres eliminate the Rangers prior to losing the Stanley Cup to Anaheim),
and we are more than confident he'll help get the Cup for them this year...and,
he's closer to home so we'll get to see him play more often. Gotta love it.
*********************************************************************
Better Late than Never magazine article to Read:
Matt Taibbi's Rolling Stone article about Giuliani
Taibbi has the perfect biting wit and bitter, brow-beaten bark to be mean but
meaningful tackling a frustrating possibility: Giuliani as President. 
Politics needs a guy like Taibbi zipping angrily, tripping tersely, capturing the dark
corner convesations, speculating vengeful motives and gross agendas. Rolling Stone
is the perfect platform for Taibbi. He's a bit lawless, a bit rebel with attitude, a bit
baby bitch...To boot, he is more than a bit hot.
*******************************************************************
Better Now than Ever Website to Explore: TED.com
TED is: Technology, Entertainment, Design. "It started out (in 1984) as a conference
bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become
ever broader." Check out "Inspired talks by the world's greatest thinkers and doers."
William McDonough's presentation is fascinating and memorable.
To quote the site: " Architect and designer William McDonough asks
what our buildings and products would look like if designers took into account
"All children, all species, for all time." A tireless proponent of absolute
sustainability (with a deadpan sense of humor), he explains his philosophy of
"cradle to cradle" design, which bridge the needs of ecology and economics.
He also shares some of his most inspiring work, including the world's largest
green roof (at the Ford plant in Dearborn, Michigan), and the entire
sustainable cities he's designing in China." Really superb!
**********************************************************************
Old School Classics Perfectly Appropriate to Revisit as August Approaches:
Billy Joel, Always A Woman
Otis Redding, Fa Fa Fa Fa Fa
Grateful Dead, Eyes of the World
************************************************************************
Put this post together to honor and celebrate the creations of some of my
favorite artists and their various crafts...Hope you click some of
the green links and see for yourself. Supergood.
"Finally the truth comes out. I've been practicing law for 37 years in Los Angeles.
I've talked to lawyers, judges, and prosecutors. No one has ever heard of anybody
being treated like the way they're treating Paris Hilton...Go check on Judge Michael Sauer. Go check on his records. He's been on the bench for 25 years. He was a former city
attorney. He is still hearing traffic arraignments. The next thing is, if you look at all the
sentences, I would venture to guess that it'd be rare that you would find anybody who
was found in violation of probation for a driving offense to get the restrictions put on
the sentence that Judge Sauer put on the sentence. Third, the entire system of justice is
in jeopardy in Los Angeles because traditionally the Sheriff runs the jail. Any lawyer will
tell you that when you go into court and you say 'Could you ask the Sheriff or order the
Sheriff to do this?', they say 'No.' The Sheriff is in charge of the jail. The Sheriff has certain
programs that everyone gets. They get work furlow, they get work release, they get early
release, they get community service programs. Paris Hilton gets none of this. She did
everything that she was supposed to from this horrendously um- unique sentence that
the Judge handed out. She showed up early. She surrendered to jail. She was released by the Sheriff. She didn't release herself. Her doctors didn't release her. Her lawyers didn't
file petitions to release her. The Sheriff had three doctors look at her. All three~ one
psychiatrist, two psychologists~ came to a unanimous recommendation to the Sheriff.
The Sheriff is an elected official. He's one of the most respected Sheriffs in the United
States. He said, 'You know what? Forget the political pressure. Forget the fanfare.
Forget this tabloid atmosphere that is permeating this case, I'm gonna do the right thing.'
And~ the Judge wouldn't allow it."
-Robert Shapiro, Criminal Defense Attorney, on Countdown with Keith Olbermann
KO, Pro-Choice Rally, Washington DC, 92/93
Great post at So Much Trouble In The World about the ongoing health problems
of rescue workers and residents of lower Manhattan post-9/11. Check it out.
KO was just kicking around the fact that Chris Dodd's intention to run for
President hasn't come up in any of my posts yet...Today seemed like as good
a day as any to get into it, but then I got this email from a producer friend in
Los Angeles, and have instead decided to run with his voiced concern...
Dodd discussion will commence at some point in the coming days most certainly...
In the meantime, I give you my friend's email (below), and ask: What are your thoughts?
Friends:Though I think it will ultimately take marching in the
streets to stop President Bush's escalation of the war,
I urge you to call your Senators and voice your oppos-
ition to funding it. I've made it easy for those of you
in California. The numbers are below.I'm not currently supporting nor do I favor any one
particular presidential candidate at this early date,
but for those of you in states other than California,
embedded in a note from John Edwards on
his website is a link you can click that will take
you to phone numbers for Senators in every state.If you are so inclined, his website offers a petition
you can "sign" (though you have to give your email
address).Make a call and make your voice heard.
CSCalifornia
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D)
112 Hart Senate Office Building
(202) 224-3553; (202) 228-2382
San Francisco: (415) 403-0100Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D)
331 Hart Senate Office Building
(202) 224-3841
San Francisco: (415) 393-0707
This might've been a funny joke if told via tipsy talk at a dive bar after a long night
of depressing- if not intellectual, heated- debate about our current political institution.
In its current manifestation, however, I can't help but find it less amusing than it is
offensive. What's worse, I'm not offended by the depiction of the Indian~ and he is a cringe-inducing caricature to be sure~ as much as I am by the overall disregard for the
original brunt of the joke. Instead of finding amusement at the punchline, I found a
sucker punch. The barista, the Indian~ and yes now yours truly to boot~ just a few
more exploited underlings at the hands of a Not Funny Creationist with an inflated
sense of humor, an archaic sense of justice, too much coffee, free time, connections...
Maybe I'm over-thinking it, but then I'm a traditionalist, I guess. I like my jokes funny.
(thanks RGO)
Some choice excerpts from Matt Taibbi's article for Rolling Stone:
That Iraq Report? More of the Same
The great Baker-Hamilton crock: A classic bullshit-cloud
in the proud tradition of congressional "studies"
These guys know how to spread their legs for campaign contributors, raid the budget for redundant public works projects and worm their way onto the six o'clock news wearing a hardhat or a Cubs cap -- but the average elected official knows very little about actually solving real political problems, because in most cases that's not what got him elected.The successful politician today is the one who can best convert the agendas of his campaign contributors into politically saleable policies. That's the business of government today; both the legislative and the executive branch are mainly engaged in searching out and finding the acceptable mean between voter sentiment and financial interest. It's sort of an ongoing math problem -- figuring out how many voters you can afford to fuck every four years, or how much money you should be extracting, and from which sponsors, for each rape of your constituents.
It's important, when you nominate your panel, to dig up the oldest, saggiest, rubberiest, most used-up political whores on the Eastern seaboard to take up your cause. That way, you can be sure that the panel will know its place and not address any extraneous issues in its inquiry -- like, for instance, whose fault a certain war is, or whether the whole idea of a "War on Terrorism" needs to be rethought, or whether the idea of preemptive defense as a general strategy is viable at all, or whether previously unthinkable solutions may now have to be countenanced, or whether there is anyone currently in a position of responsibility who perhaps should immediately be removed from office and hung by his balls. Your panel should contain people who are not experts or interested parties in the relevant field (since experts or interested parties might be tempted to come up with real, i.e. politically dangerous solutions), but it should contain people who are recognizable political celebrities whose names will lend weight to your whole enterprise, although not for any logical reason.
Hence the conclusions of the Baker-Hamilton report were predetermined virtually from the start. We could all have expected that the group's only unequivocal conclusions would restate the obvious -- that we need an eventual withdrawal of troops, that there needs to be more "robust regional diplomacy," that Iraqi forces need to assume more of the security burden, and that there will be no hope of a political solution without some cooperation from Syria and Iran. Duh! Because the really thorny questions are the specifics: when do we leave, and, more importantly, what do we offer Iran and Syria in return for their cooperation, what horrifying inevitable humiliation will we be prepared to suffer at their hands, and what form will talks with those gloating countries take?
We may soon have to face this fact: With the midterm elections over, and George Bush already a lame duck, the Iraq war is no longer an urgent problem to anyone on the Hill who matters. The Democrats are in no hurry to end things because it will benefit them if Iraq is still a mess in '08; just as they did this fall, they'll bitch about the war without explicitly promising to end it at any particular time. George Bush has already run his last campaign and he's not about to voluntarily fuck up his legacy with a premature surrender or a humiliating concession to Syria or Iran. At least publicly, John McCain is going to head into '08 siding with those in the military who believe the problem is a lack of troops.For the Iraq disaster to end, someone among these actors is going to have to make a difficult decision -- admit defeat, invite a bloody civil war, lose face before a pair of rogue terror-supporting states -- and it's obvious that none of them is ever going to do that, not until there's absolutely no choice.
Baker-Hamilton wasn't about finding solutions to the Iraq problem. It was about finding viable political solutions to the Iraq problem. Since there are none, it punted the problem to the next administration.Read entire article HERE
(thanks RCO)
Is Al Franken gunning for the Senate in '08? If you believe his
interview on the Colbert Report (preceded by a sweet jab or two
at Rush Limbaugh), the answer is totally affirmative...
Hey, the "Colbert Bump" works wonders, baby! 
(sources: C&L; CC and CN)
Yalie Barbara Bush (Class of '04) was spotted tailgating in New Haven~
KO's hometown (and her Daddy's birthplace)~ at Saturday's Yale-Princeton game...
We are impressed with her creative and innovative spin on "double-fisting!"
Clearly she learned this trick by watching her Daddy, yes?
(source: Gawker via IvyGate)
Ummm, yeah...it's a fleeting moment...but Joe definitely lets the "F" bomb slip out!
KO doesn't care about profanities, but...KO loves funny! live! on tv!
Joe always delivers the funny/not funny (seriously) with a smile...
(Source: C&L...please go to C&L and decide for yourself)
ONE OF THE GREATEST QUOTES EVER!!!
"Seriously though Donald~
now YOU'RE paying the price
for OUR foolishness...
the world didn't deserve you~
You're like our Van Gogh~
except your canvas is the Earth and instead of brushes,
you're using uranium-tipped-bunker-busters...
Farewell, Don~ Your war was just too beautiful."
*Jon Stewart, The Daily Show, 11.9.06
My eco-terra-ist brother Tricky always jokes about "clear-cutting" his face when
he shaves...It's so totally perfect that Matt at BrandSpankin' has warmongering
(and newly resigned) Rummy waging war on his facial hair! Nicely done Brando!
(BrandSpankin')
Regarding Election Day:
Thought you might be interested in some political updates...because
you are here for me and that is never for a moment lost on me...
and...well, I link you, I really really link you!
*CNN~ Results/Breakdown of Power
*NYTimes~ "Good Morning, We're Going to bed" Results
*Crooks and Liars~ "End of the Neo-Cons?"/ House Cleaning/Lieberman's victory
*My Left Nutmeg~ Connecticut politics with truth, attitude and some "liberal bias"
Happy Friday-before-the-Election, y'all!!! We country!!!
This song~ much like KO~ NEVER gets OLD & ALWAYS remembers!!!
Genesis "Land of Confusion" (YouTube ain't 100% dead...yet)
Vintage From the pen of Larry Gelbart, writer of MASH, TOOTSIE, OH GOD,
FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM, CITY OF ANGELS, etc.~
(thanks CS)
***********
For Election Day -
Lest We Forget
Iraq
Iraq
Iraq
Abu Ghraib
Guantanamo
Evil Doers
Evil Do Gooders
Terrormercials
Outsourcing Jobs
OutsourcingTorture
Quitting International Criminal Court
The Kyoto Protocol
The Geneva Conventions
Leaving Habeas Corpus for Dead
Civil War Abroad
Uncivil War at Home
Sound Bites
Unsound Policies
Unremorseful
Unregretful
Unrepentant
The Middle East Mess
The Middle Class Collapse
Predictably Unprepared
Perpetually Unequipped
Unmatched Ignorance
Unbridled Arrogance
Unwarranted Phone Taps
Unprecedented Powers
Compassionate Imperialism
Faith-Based Fascism
Total Dicktatorship
700 Club
700 Mile Border Fence
Over 700 Presidential Signing Statements
Unmatched Incompetence
Unparalleled Corruption
Ethic Cleansing
Governor Bob Taft
Governor John Rowland
Governor Bill Janklow
Oversight
Overlook
Stuff Happens
Stuffed Shirts
Tailored Suits
Tailored Stories
24/7 Spin Cycle
Executive Privilege
Privileged Executives
Wordsmiths
Warsmiths
Surrogate Samurais
Draft Dodging Doges
Potomac Pattons
A Coven of the Craven
Representative Tom Delay
Representative Roy Blunt
Representative Ken Calvert
Representative John Doolittle
Representative Jean Schmidt
Representative Jim Gibbons
Representative Tom Feeney
Representative Patrick McHenry
Representative Christopher Shays
Representative Katherine Harris
Representative Barbara Cubin
Representative Joe Barton
Representative Jerry Lewis
Representative Gary Miller
Representative Marilyn Musgrave
Representative Richard Pombo
Representative Rick Renzi
Representative John Sweeney
Representative Charles Taylor
Representative Curt Weldon
Representative J.D. Hayworth
Representative Don Sherwood
Representative John Patterson
Representative Rodney Alexander
Representative Roy LaHood
Representative Bob Beauprez
Representative Bob Ney
Representative Randy Cunningham
Representative Chris Cannon
Jeff Gannon
Representative Mark Foley
Representative Dennis Hastert
Representative Jim Kolbe
Representative John Shimkus
Representative Tom Reynolds
Over Paid
Over Reaching
Over Logging
Under Armored
Under Suspicion
Beneath Contempt
Senator Bill Frist
Senator George Allen
Senator Conrad Burns
Senator Joe Lieberman
Senator Rick Santorum
Senator Trent Lott
Senator James Inhofe
Senator Pat Roberts
Senator Sam Brownback
Rubber Stamps
Robber Barons
Senator Larry Craig
Craig Schelske
Ken Blackwell
Lester Crawford
Crawford, Texas
Brian Bilbray
Margaret Spellings
Media Consolidation
Homophobia on the Range
Fearmongering
Smearslinging
The RNC
The DNC (Do Nothing Congress)
DC (Dutifully Corporate)
Family Valuables
The Far Wrong
The Far Righteous
Reverend Jerry Falwell
Reverend Pat Robertson
Reverend James Dobson
Reverend Lou Sheldon
Ralph Reed
Gary Bauer
David Safavian
Vice Presidential Energy Task Force
Seventy Dollars a Barrel
Three Bucks a Gallon
Record Oil Company Profits
Anwar Pipeline
Anbar Province
Arthur Anderson
ABB
Adelphia Communications
Merck
Eli Lilly
Mirant
AOL Time Warner
Kmart
Bristol-Myers Squibb
CMS Energy
Duke Energy
Nicor Energy
Reliant Energy
Dynegy
Peregrine Systems
Homestore.com
Xerox
Qwest
Tyco
WorldCom
Global Crossing
Global Warming
Global Boiling
Lee Raymond
Exxon
Enron
Abramoff
Tribe Bribes
Mike Scanlon
Grover Norquist
War Profiteers
War Privateers
Halliburton
Bechtel
Blackwater
CACI
Titan
Carlyle Group
Custer Battles
Kellogg, Brown & Root
George Tenet
Unanswered Questions
Questionable Answers
Adam Kidan
Timothy Flanigan
Lawrence Lindsay
Jessica Lynch
Jim Ellis
John Colyandro
Donald Keyser
Peter Roskam
Katherine Gun
Garrett Lott
Armstrong Williams
Talking Points
Pointless Talking
Chuck McGee
James Tobin
Thomas Scully
Kenneth Tomlinson
Allen Raymond
Claude Allen
Katrina
Rita
Harriet (Miers)
FEMA
FISA
NSA
Cut and Run
Run on Cuts
Bring It On
Dead Or Alive
Terri Schiavo
Bill Frist, MD
John Bolton
Diebold
Florida, 2000
Ohio, 2004
North Korea 2006
Selective Diplomacy
Preemptive War
Iraq.
Iran?
Sleeper Cells
Stem Cell Research
Darfur
Dubai Ports World
Swift Boat Hit Men
Max Cleland
Douglas Feith
Mumming the Press
Dumbing the Proles
Roger Ailes
Sean Hannity
Bill O'Reilly
Fred Barnes
Morton Kondracke
Brit Hume
John Gibson
Ann Coulter
Laura Ingraham
Michelle Malkin
Glenn Beck
Neil Cavuto
Neal Boortz
Neil Bush (No Brother Left Behind)
Rush Limbaugh
David Frum
David Horowitz
Golden Parachutes
Shrunken Pensions
Sunken Bipartisanship
Bernie Kerik
Eminent Domain
J. Steven Griles
Numerous Convictions
Occasional Confessions
Social Security Privatization
Abrupt Resignations
Porter Goss
Dusty Foggo
Zero Accountability
Even Less Credibility
Michael Chertoff
Homeland Insecurity
Ahmad Chalabi
Baghdad Museum
Tora Bora
Taliban Resurgence
Iraqi Insurgents
General William Boykin
General Eric Shinseki
General Janet Karpinski
General Ricardo Sanchez
General Anthony Zinni
Mission Accomplished
Lawbreaking Lawmakers
Impeachable Sources
Suppressed Medicare Costs
The Donut Hole
Intelligent Design
Intelligence Failures
Ari Fleischer
Scott McClellan
Tony Snow
Tony Perkins
Tony Rudy
Tony Blankley
Tony Blair
Downing Street Memo
The Late Great Britain
Ken Mehlman
Dennis Prager
Wayne Simmons
Frank Gaffney
Expiration of Assault Weapons Ban
John Ashcroft
Alberto Gonzales
Alberto Fernandez
Danny Diaz
William Bennett
Stephen Hadley
Karen Hughes
Bunnatine Greenhouse
Richard Grasso
Brian Doyle
Thomas Noe
Ted Van Der Meid
Tan Nguyen
Michael Gerson
Michael Medved
Michael Reagan
Michael Maloof
Michael Savage
Aluminum Tubes
Rice
Yellowcake
Niger
Valerie Plame
Joseph Wilson
Scooter Libby
Robert Novak
Richard Armitage
Brent Bozell III
Paul Bremer III
Gulf II
Non-Regime-Changing Regime Changers
Neoconmen
Ex-Non-Vet Vulcans
Playing to an Enraptured Audience
Armageddon Uber Alles
Paul Wolfowitz
Richard Perle
David Wormser
Elliott Abrams
James Woolsey
Zalmay Khalizad
William Kristol
The Coalition of the Dwindling
Staining the Course
WMD (W's Mass Denials)
Mad Cowboy Disease
Mad Cowhands Disease
Kissinger Redux
Duck Cheney
Rumbo
Blossom (the Turd)
George (the Fourth):Son of a Higher Father; Uniter, Decider, Flatulater;
Reader of at least three Shakespeares, Camus' "The Stranger" and "The Pet
Goat;"
Prematurely discharged National Air Guardsman, missing in inaction, who
describes members of the political party that successfully prosecuted two
world wars as quitters.
Billions Missing in Iraq
Trillions Missing in D.C.
Missing Limbs
Missed Lives
Iraq
Iraq
Iraq
On to '08 ...
About Katy Oliver
Katy Oliver shares the love for the knockout life. Experience the KO creative renaissance! [more ]