See You in Two Weeks...Brrrrr...

Bush on Torture...Again

Yesterday, Bush said he hadn't seen a report that Human Rights Watch put out last week alleging that his administration has a deliberate strategy of abusing terror suspects during interrogations. But he said any allegation that the United States tortures people is wrong.

So, he hasn't looked at the report, but he knows that it's wrong. Is it possible that if he were to read the report, he might learn something or maybe be able to ask some questions that could help him to learn something? I think that there are a lot of reports that he hasn't read but yet has an opinion on.

For me, the real torture is watching his inappropriately-timed smirks when he's telling us something that anybody with any common sense would know is not true.

Domestic Spying

As usual, the Bush administration pretends not to get it. They're framing the issue of domestic spying as necessary to protect American citizens. Who could argue against that? They fail to address the real issue, that the electronic eavesdropping could be achieved just as quickly and effectively in a legal manner.

The Republicans are supposed to be the party wanting to get out of the lives of the American people. Can anyone look at the track record of this administration and believe that?

American Holy War

Make no mistake, there is a holy war going on in America. It's not between Christians and Muslim extremists; it's between Christian extremists and the rest of America. Though this brand of Christianity has much in common with their Muslim counterparts, i.e., they are determined to undermine our pluralistic society. They have just won the latest skirmish by pressuring enough NBC affiliates and sponsors to, in turn, pressure the network to drop The Book of Daniel.

Apparently, not watching the show was not enough; they do not want others to watch it either. If asked individually, every one of these Americans would say that they believe in the Constitution and a free society. The truth is that they believe in it only when it works in their favor.

For a glimpse of an American Theocracy, read Margaret Atwood’s A Handmaid's Tale. While certain aspects of it might warm the cockles of many a Christian Evangelist’s heart, it will chill most Americans to the bone.

Canadian Elections

Damn, now I have to worry about all of North America.

Bill Frist, diagnose this...

I think that Ariel Sharon's doctors ought to send Senator/Doctor Bill Frist a videotape of their patient. As in the Terry Schiavo case, I'm sure that Frist would be happy to review the tape in his office and give an insightful diagnosis and prognosis for the Israeli Prime Minister.

Speaking For God

Ray Nagin has joined the club of idiots who seem to know what God thinks and why He does things. I haven't been hit by any hurricanes, tornados, floods or earthquakes, so I can assume that God likes the way I operate. Did you know that He told me to write this blog?

Martin Luther King, Jr.

On October 24, 2006, I wrote the following about Rosa Parks. I believe it would apply to Martin Luther King, Jr. as well.

I wonder how Rosa Parks would be characterized were she to have popped into today's headlines. I know that she didn't have an easy time of it back then, but how would the Hannitys, Limbaughs and Robertsons (who seem to be the talking heads for this administration) attack and rip apart her reputation?

Debating the Holocaust and Evolution

Is it really any kookier for the President of Iran to have a debate about the Holocaust than it is for the American President to say that Intelligent Design should be taught in schools so students might see both sides of the issue. Both ignore reality.

Cowboy movies...

I'm not a big fan of cowboy movies, but I've seen enough to know that they sometimes include murder, rape, torture, robbery, arson and most other violent crimes against people and property. Movie cowboys are often motivated by greed, meanness and lust...you know, like people. Yet, I've never seen the American Taliban so abuzz with shocked whispers as it is about a gay cowboy movie.

Bush Urges Iran Nuclear Diplomacy

I don't think that he has a whole lot of credibility on this one.

Brokeback Mountain

Here are some quotes from family.org about the movie Brokeback Mountain.

"Youth could easily be led astray, he said, into thinking that gay sexuality is perfectly normal — a message that homosexual activist groups have been harping about for years.

"...it has...a high 'ick' factor.

"If they're not vomiting their way out of the theater when they see that scene, they are certainly going to be uncomfortable, and even in the uncomfortable aspects, they are going to be bored silly," he said."

Let me get this straight: a movie with a high "ick" factor that will either have people vomiting, uncomfortable or bored is going to influence youth to emulate what they see. Honk once if you believe this and twice if you believe in fairies.

Intolerance...it's a good thing?

"Do not be afraid to be intolerant. ...Intolerance does not mean hating your neighbor. It is just the opposite. It is caring for his soul by teaching him the error of his ways."

–Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa.

So, why do they call them hate crimes, Senator Rick?

Samuel Alito

I hope his nomination vote doesn't follow party lines. Many votes that do make me question their integrity.

Mouse Thrown Into Fire Sets Home Ablaze

Yup, that's the headline, folks. After reading the article, I'm happy to say that karma is alive and well.

"I'm All Ears...

...but don't expect me to really listen. This is just a photo op and put together so that America thinks I'm reaching out. So, 5 to 10 minutes of actual exchange should be enough."

As far as I know Bush never said the above at the meeting of the former Secretaries of State, but I don't think it's a stretch of the truth. It seems that most of the 40-minute meeting was an upbeat fantasy of how things are going.

He never listened to his own Secretary of State, Colin Powell, when he was in office, so I wonder why he was called back. Could that be the reason that he didn't have much to say at the meeting?

It would seem to me that having that many people with so much experience, together in one room to discuss such a badly mismanaged matter of such monumental proportions might require a little more than 40 minutes.

Pat Robertson and God

Pat Robertson is one lucky guy. He's got the Creator of the Universe carrying out his agenda: infecting people with deadly diseases, promoting terrorism, putting presidents in office, delivering disasters to sinful cities and handing out strokes. You've really got to wonder what he's done to rate such favor.

Book of Daniel

There are a lot of things on TV that I do not watch; more, in fact, than the things that I do watch. I'd never dream of asking someone else to not watch something because I don't or won't.

Conservative Christians and the American Family Association, however, are gearing up for a war on NBC's The Book of Daniel. I've read some comments that say it mocks Christianity. I guess the folks who say that want to leave the mocking of Christianity to folks like Pat Robertson.

Troop Withdrawal

I think that we're going to hear a lot about troop withdrawal from Iraq...right up until the midterm elections.

Domestic Spying

This administration must have an endless supply of red herrings. It's not the eavesdropping that people object to, it's the illegal eavesdropping; especially when they could have done it just as well legally.

If this issue has "caused great harm to the nation," it's Bush's own fault. Had he gone through the legal channels at his disposal, it would be a nonissue. Though I didn't watch either of his inaugarations, I know that he took an oath to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States" to the best of his ability. I guess it's that ability thing that's become a problem again.