Iraq Casualty Count as of 9:00 PM EST, Sunday, 02/27/2005

Three Americans reported dead today. 55 Americans have died this month. 1355 have perished since the “Mission Accomplished” sign was hung on the aircraft carrier; 1495 since Bush’s War began. 1668 men and women from the participating nations have died since the onset of Bush’s war.

11,069 American men and women have been wounded, 101 between 2/16 and 2/22. These data come from Iraq Coalition Casualties who can use your financial support.

Iraqis continue to be blown to bits and otherwise slaughtered by the score, with tens of thousands of men, women, and children killed and the infrastructure virtually destroyed.

Quote for the Day

“I had a great idea this morning, but I didn't like it.” Shmuel Gelbfisz, AKA Samuel Goldwyn, producer and co-founder of MGM.

I’ve been working around the house again.

Check back tomorrow - meanwhile, try to behave.

Iraq Casualty Count as of 9:00 PM EST, Saturday, 02/26/2005

Good news, no change for a change. Nonetheless, 52 Americans have died this month. 1352 have perished since the “Mission Accomplished” sign was hung on the aircraft carrier; 1492 since Bush’s War began. 1665 men and women from the participating nations have died since the onset of Bush’s war.

11,069 American men and women have been wounded, 101 between 2/16 and 2/22. These data come from Iraq Coalition Casualties who can use your financial support.

Iraqis continue to be blown to bits and otherwise slaughtered by the score, with tens of thousands of men, women, and children killed and the infrastructure virtually destroyed.

Quote for the Day

“To insult someone we call him "bestial." For deliberate cruelty and nature, "human" might be the greater insult.” Isaac Asimov, late American biochemist, and author, born in Russia.

Alberto Gonzales should be proud - little torturers in training.

Psychologists say, I recall, that children frequently repeat the abuse visited on them on their own children. Keeping that in mind, look what I came across today: some of our right-wing-fundamentalist-reality-challenged-biblebanging brothers and sisters in Oklahoma are marketing something called “The Rod,” as in spare the rod and spoil the child.

This piece of crap is essentially a whip for your kid. The purveyors of this abomination - and it really is an abomination, unlike gays and shrimp - advertise that it has a “cushioned vinyl grip” and is “durable for years of use.” Isn’t that special?

I personally had to lower my trousers and be beaten on my bare butt with a belt when I was little. Presumably that scarred me psychologically for life. Perhaps, but I don’t have another life to compare, so I’m not sure. I know that I didn’t want to have children, because I didn’t want to risk treating them as I was treated - in a number of ways…

You can read more about “The Rod” here. It's worth a visit so you can see a picture of this thing. Any "Godly" parent who would use this on their child deserves to be in jail.

Yo, listen up!

I’ve got stuff to do, that’s all for today. All y’all come back, heah?

Iraq Casualty Count as of 9:00 PM EST, Friday, 02/25/2005

A bad day: five Americans and one Pole reported dead. So far, 52 Americans have died this month. 1352 have perished since the “Mission Accomplished” sign was hung on the aircraft carrier; 1492 since Bush’s War began. 1665 men and women from the participating nations have died since the onset of Bush’s war.

11,069 American men and women have been wounded, 101 between 2/16 and 2/22. These data come from Iraq Coalition Casualties who can use your financial support.

Iraqis continue to be blown to bits and otherwise slaughtered by the score, with tens of thousands of men, women, and children killed and the infrastructure virtually destroyed.

Quote for the Day

“Why does man kill? He kills for food. And not only food: frequently there must be a beverage.” Woody Allen, American actor, director, and writer.

Rotten, evil, un-American bastards - and I don’t mean that in a good way.

Thrown to the Wolves
By Bob Herbert, February 25, 2005, The New York Times

OTTAWA - If John Ashcroft was right, then I was staring into the malevolent, duplicitous eyes of pure evil, the eyes of a man with the mass murder of Americans on his mind. But all I could really see was a polite, unassuming, neatly dressed guy who looked like a suburban Little League coach.

If Mr. Ashcroft was right, then Maher Arar should have been in a U.S. prison, not talking to me in an office in downtown Ottawa. But there he was, a 34-year-old man who now wears a perpetually sad expression, talking about his recent experiences - a real-life story with the hideous aura of a hallucination. …

In the fall of 2002 Mr. Arar, a Canadian citizen, suddenly found himself caught up in the cruel mockery of justice that the Bush administration has substituted for the rule of law in the post-Sept. 11 world. While attempting to change planes at Kennedy Airport on his way home to Canada from a family vacation in Tunisia, he was seized by American authorities, interrogated, and thrown into jail. He was not charged with anything, and he never would be charged with anything, but his life would be ruined.

Mr. Arar was surreptitiously flown out of the United States to Jordan and then driven to Syria, where he was kept like a nocturnal animal in an unlit, underground, rat-infested cell that was the size of a grave. From time to time he was tortured. He wept. He begged not to be beaten anymore. He signed whatever confessions he was told to sign. He prayed. Among the worst moments, he said, were the times he could hear babies crying in a nearby cell where women were imprisoned. He recalled hearing one woman pleading with a guard for several days for milk for her child. He could hear other prisoners screaming as they were tortured.

"I used to ask God to help them," he said.

The Justice Department has alleged, without disclosing any evidence whatsoever, that Mr. Arar is a member of, or somehow linked to, Al Qaeda. If that's so, how can the administration possibly allow him to roam free? The Syrians, who tortured him, have concluded that Mr. Arar is not linked in any way to terrorism. [emphasis added] …

A lawsuit on Mr. Arar's behalf has been filed against the United States by the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York. Barbara Olshansky, a lawyer with the center, noted yesterday that the government is arguing that none of Mr. Arar's claims can even be adjudicated because they "would involve the revelation of state secrets."

This is a government that feels it is answerable to no one.

Think about this Dear Reader. We exported this man to a state that the administration has labeled a terrorist state. We call this “extraordinary rendition.” How classy! It’s really just outsourced torture. But I digress. The Syrians “interrogate” him at our behest for six months or so and find that he was telling the truth. This poor bastard wasn’t even trying to enter the country - he was changing planes at JFK! Now he files a suit and the government says that his claims can’t be judged because the rationale for his treatment is a “state secret.” Outrageous is too mild a word.

Alberto R. (for Rasputin) Gonzales, our new AG and Torturer-in-Chief can certainly be proud. Personally, I think that every Senator, including the Democrats, who voted for his confirmation should be impeached. The new face that American justice presents to the world represents torture? I’m just so damned proud - and Lady Liberty is weeping.

Don’t you just love a conspiracy?

From the Chicago Tribune, I give you a columnist named “The Rambling Gleaner.”

A White House plant?
By Charlie Madigan, February 22, 2005, Tribune senior correspondent

What did the White House know and when did it know it on the question of the kinky bald guy with the stinky Web sites who got to pose as a "daily pass" reporter in the White House press corps?

He got to help the White House wiggle out of unpleasant moments by asking questions worthy of a doofus, which drew the attention of the blogosphere, which shifted into "high proctology" mode in a recent hot pursuit of the caper. …

Madigan relates the general details, which you and I know, and continues:

The question is what the White House knew and when?

Based on my own experience with the Bush people, I have some discomfort about what I have heard so far, lots of little comments about things being checked out and how confusing it is to keep the media straight (whoops! my Freudian slip) in these hectic days of websites and blogging.

Why the doubts?

Because I have dealt with these people.

They are the most diligent people on earth when it comes to finding out where genuine reporters are and what they are doing.

Here is my story about that.

During the campaign last year, I made an attempt to get a ticket as a normal person, not as a reporter writing the Gleaner, to a Bush rally in Holland, Mich. I made exactly one call to an old guy at the local Republican committee to cop a ticket.

Before you knew it, local Republicans, regional Republicans, and National Republicans were all over me. No! You can't go as a normal person. You must go as a reporter and sit where the reporters sit.

You may not ramble around.

Well, what fun is that?

I made a half-hearted attempt to follow the rules, got my credentials, and went to the event outside of Holland. Once I cleared security, I dashed off to freedom to ask a guy in a funny hat what he was up to.

It took less than two minutes for a woman in a nice blue suit to rush up to me with some "security" in tow and announce I couldn't do that, that I had to sit in the press section and stay there.

Since the "press" wasn't even going to arrive for another two hours, I thought that would be kind of limiting, so I respectfully said, "No @#$%#$ way in hell."

They held a meeting and affixed a tour guide to my side, a nice young woman who turned out to be a good interview because of the details of her life and why they made her think like a Republican.

Soon, she was withdrawn, probably for being too communicative, and was replaced by a fat guy who spent the entire event following me around and asking me if I was "getting what I needed."

That, I thought, was a very personal question.

Think about it this way. The Bush people were so efficient and focused they could reach all the way out to Holland, Mich. and try to put a choke collar on an innocent Rambling Gleaner.

Given that, can there be any doubt about what they knew about the ringer sitting in the middle of the pressroom for the briefings just about every day?

I don't think so.

Time to come clean.

Did you put him there?

Madigan’s entire tale is here. Based on his personal experience, it doesn’t seem likely that Jimmy-Jeff just continued to wander in off the street day after day for two years without the White House press office knowing exactly who and what he was.

Of course the “liberal media” don’t seem to care that the White House apparently had its own trained monkey in the audience for two years - or that he had a part-time job as a gay prostitute while he was writing pieces for his “news” organization excoriating gays. I guess that’s OK ‘cuz it’s just business. Oh well.

It’s Friday: Are you ready for the Rapture?

Hey Rapture fans, it’s Friday, and time for the weekly reading of the Rapture Index from our loony friends at www.raptureready.com. As you’re aware, those wacky folks publish a weekly “Rapture Index” indicating how likely it is that the Second Coming is, well - coming. OK, Rapture fans, the index is up one from last week’s value of 152 to 153. Apparently the Iranian "newkewler" activity caused the index to rise.

Remember, the record high is at 182 set the week of September 24, 2001 and the record low is at 57 and was set during the week of December 12, 1993.

As usual, I never know whether I’m supposed to root for the index to go up or down. If the rapture comes, all the people that I believe are right-wing-fundamentalist-reality-challenged biblebangers will disappear and we’ll get their stuff. That’s surely not a bad thing.

The bad news is that a substantial number of those right-wing-fundamentalist-reality-challenged biblebanging buttheads are running our nation. These people believe that the rapture is going to happen sooner rather than later, so why not rape the earth. It apparently governs policy towards Israel to some extent also. You can read all about the index and the values that go into the final number here.

Iraq Casualty Count as of 9:00 PM EST, Thursday, 02/24/2005

47 Americans have died this month. 1347 have perished since the “Mission Accomplished” sign was hung on the aircraft carrier; 1487 since Bush’s War began. 1,659 men and women from the participating nations have died since the onset of Bush’s war.

11,069 American men and women have been wounded, 101 between 2/16 and 2/22. These data come from Iraq Coalition Casualties who can use your financial support.

Iraqis continue to be blown to bits and otherwise slaughtered by the score, with tens of thousands of men, women, and children killed and the infrastructure virtually destroyed.

Quote for the Day

"If English was good enough for Jesus Christ, it's good enough for us." Miriam A. “Ma” Ferguson, 1st woman governor of Texas, on teaching Spanish in the schools.

Do your Kegels and clench, here comes the Kansas AG!

This is frightening:

Kansas attorney general demands abortion records
By John Milburn, February 24, 2005, Associated Press

TOPEKA, KS -- The Kansas attorney general is demanding abortion clinics turn over the complete medical records of nearly 90 women and girls, saying he needs the material for an investigation into underage sex and illegal late-term abortions.

Two clinics are fighting the request in Kansas Supreme Court, saying the state has no right to such personal information.

But Attorney General Phill Kline, an abortion opponent, insisted Thursday: "I have the duty to investigate and prosecute child rape and other crimes in order to protect Kansas children."

Kline is seeking the records of girls who had abortions and women who received late-term abortions. Sex involving someone under 16 is illegal in Kansas, and it is illegal in the state for doctors to perform an abortion after 22 weeks unless there is reason to believe it is needed to protect the mother's health.

Kline spoke to reporters after details of the secret investigation, which began in October, surfaced in a legal brief filed by attorneys for two medical clinics. The clinics argued that unless the high court intervenes, women who obtained abortions could find government agents knocking at their door.

The clinics said Kline demanded complete, unedited medical records for women who sought abortions at least 22 weeks into their pregnancies in 2003, as well as those for girls 15 and younger who sought abortions. Court papers did not identify the clinics.

The records sought include the patient's name, medical history, details of her sex life, birth control practices, and psychological profile.

"These women's rights will be sacrificed if this fishing expedition is not halted or narrowed," the clinics said in court papers.

State District Judge Richard Anderson ruled on Oct. 21 that Kline could have the files. The clinics then filed an appeal with the high court. No hearing has been scheduled.

So much for the sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship! The investigation was a secret and the women who were the subjects would not even have known it was going on had it not been for the court proceedings. How would you like to find out that your most intimate medical and psychological information was in the hands of what is clearly a religious fanatic?

Let’s all have a warm hand for our good friends in the religious right.

Don’t Bogart that joint, my friend!

Cannabis may help prevent Alzheimer's memory loss
Ben Sills and Ian Sample, February 24, 2005, The Guardian

Scientists at one of Spain's leading research centres claimed yesterday to have found evidence that cannabis helps prevent the memory loss experienced by people suffering from Alzheimer's.

The potential breakthrough in understanding a disease that affects nearly half a million people in Britain, and around nine million worldwide, was made by a team led by Maria de Ceballos at the Cajal Institute in Madrid.

Their study seems to show that THC, the main active ingredient in cannabis, inhibits the activity of cells that cause damage to neurons in the brain.

Although the study is preliminary, it was welcomed by patient groups

Not to mention being welcomed by heads and phreaks worldwide.

Yesterday, All Things Considered on PBS was discussing an experiment wherein some Harvard (or is that Hahvahd?) University physicians wanted to do a study wherein they would test some folks with terminal illnesses with MDMA, aka Ecstasy, to see if the drug would aid with their understandable depression.

Hey, surprise, the DEA is throwing up all sorts of roadblocks. Gosh, if a valid use were found for the stuff, it would make MDMA OK for something other than a party drug. The DEA just can’t have that. Go figure.

Achtung - Attention - Attenzione - Yo, Listen up!

No blogging for the next day or so. I’m going to out of service. In the meantime, try to behave.

Iraq Casualty Count as of 9:00 PM EST, Tuesday, 02/22/2005

Two more American deaths. 44 Americans have died this month. 1344 have perished since the “Mission Accomplished” sign was hung on the aircraft carrier; 1484 since Bush’s War began. 1,656 men and women from the participating nations have died since the onset of Bush’s war.

10,967 American men and women have been wounded, 97 between 2/09 and 2/15. These data come from Iraq Coalition Casualties who can use our financial support.

Iraqis continue to be blown to bits and otherwise slaughtered by the score, with tens of thousands of men, women, and children killed and the infrastructure virtually destroyed.

Quote for the Day

“For some reason, the most vocal Christians among us never mention the Beatitudes. But, often with tears in their eyes, they demand that the Ten Commandments be posted in public buildings. And of course that’s Moses, not Jesus. I haven’t heard one of them demand that the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes, be posted anywhere.”

“Blessed are the merciful” in a courtroom? “Blessed are the peacemakers” in the Pentagon? Give me a break!”

Kurt Vonnegut, American novelist and satirist.

Stand by for a new manufactured crisis!

Wag-the-Dog Protection
By Paul Krugman, February 22, 2005, The New York Times

The campaign against Social Security is going so badly that longtime critics of President Bush, accustomed to seeing their efforts to point out flaws in administration initiatives brushed aside, are pinching themselves. But they shouldn't relax: if the past is any guide, the Bush administration will soon change the subject back to national security.

… I don't know which foreign threat the administration will start playing up this time, but Bush critics should be prepared for the shift. They must curb their natural inclination to focus almost exclusively on domestic issues, and challenge the administration on national security policy, too.

I say this even though many critics, myself included, would prefer to stick with the domestic issues. After all, domestic issues, particularly Social Security, are very comfortable ground for moderates and liberals. The relevant facts are all in the public domain, voters clearly oppose the administration's hard-right agenda, and Mr. Bush's attack on Social Security stumbled badly out of the gate. …

… A president can always change the subject to national security if he wants to - and Mr. Bush has repeatedly shown himself willing to play the terrorism card when he is losing the debate on other issues. So it's important to point out that Mr. Bush, for all his posturing, has done a very bad job of protecting the nation - and to make that point now, rather than in the heat of the next foreign crisis.

The fact is that Mr. Bush, while willing to go to war on weak evidence, hasn't taken the task of protecting America from terrorists at all seriously.

Consider, for example, the case of chemical plants.

Just days after 9/11, many analysts identified sites that store toxic chemicals as a major terror risk, and called for new safety rules. But as The New York Times reported last fall, "after the oil and chemical industries met with Karl Rove ... the White House quietly blocked those efforts."

Nearly three and a half years after 9/11, those chemical plants are still unprotected.

… When the administration does spend money protecting possible terrorist targets, politics, not national security, dictates where the money goes. Remember the "first responders" program that ended up spending seven times as much protecting each resident of Wyoming as it spent protecting each resident of New York?

Well, it's still happening. An audit of the Homeland Security Department's (greatly inadequate) program to protect ports found that much of the money went to unlikely locations, including six sites in landlocked Arkansas, where the department's recently resigned chief of border and transportation security is reported to be considering a run for governor.

… The ultimate demonstration of Mr. Bush's true priorities was his attempt to appoint Bernard Kerik as homeland security director. Either the administration didn't bother to do even the most basic background checks, or it regarded protecting the nation from terrorists as a matter of so little importance that it didn't matter who was in charge.

My point is that Mr. Bush's critics are falling unnecessarily into a trap if they focus only on domestic policies and allow Mr. Bush to keep his undeserved reputation as someone who keeps Americans safe. National security policy should not be a refuge to which Mr. Bush can flee when his domestic agenda falls apart.

I ranted about this in a post on Monday - or did I rave? Krugman has a point. We probably do need to stand by for some sort of distraction.

How about a crisis to get our attention? A few cruise missiles into Iran? A quick surgical strike into Syria? We can forget North Korea; they’re way too scary. Perhaps Israel will do something unpleasant to either of the first two; that would probably do it. We’ll see.

Fellators!

The lovely “patriots” who brought you the Swift Boat Liars for Bush are at it again:

A New Target for Advisers to Swift Vets
By Glen Justice, February 21, 2005, The New York Times

WASHINGTON, Feb. 20 - Taking its cues from the success of last year's Swift boat veterans' campaign in the presidential race, a conservative lobbying organization has hired some of the same consultants to orchestrate attacks on one of President Bush's toughest opponents in the battle to overhaul Social Security.

The lobbying group, USA Next, which has poured millions of dollars into Republican policy battles, now says it plans to spend as much as $10 million on commercials and other tactics assailing AARP, the powerhouse lobby opposing the private investment accounts at the center of Mr. Bush's plan.

"They are the boulder in the middle of the highway to personal savings accounts," said Charlie Jarvis, president of USA Next and former deputy under secretary of the interior in the Reagan and first Bush administrations. "We will be the dynamite that removes them."

There’s a lot more at the link.

These guys are going to spend at least $10 million to push Dear Leader’s agenda against we “greedy” seniors. I’m sure we can expect the usual half-truths, innuendo, and out-right lies. What a lovely group of people.

It’s a shame that no one seems to remember that Social Security is supposed to be “insurance.” A guy named Barry Schwartz said, “Social Security was created as an insurance scheme, not a pension scheme. It was meant to provide a safety net, to protect the unlucky from immiseration in old age. The benefits we get are not payouts from accounts in which we have accumulated our own private stash. What we get is largely determined by what we earned, but we keep getting it even after we've taken out every penny we put in. And if we happen to die early, someone else reaps the benefits of our contributions.” What’s not to like?

Iraq Casualty Count as of 9:00 PM EST, Monday, 02/21/2005

Damn, up four on the American deaths. 42 Americans have died this month. 1342 have perished since the “Mission Accomplished” sign was hung on the aircraft carrier; 1482 since Bush’s War began. 1,654 men and women from the participating nations have died since the onset of Bush’s war.

10,967 American men and women have been wounded, 97 between 2/09 and 2/15. These data come from Iraq Coalition Casualties who can use our financial support.

Iraqis continue to be blown to bits and otherwise slaughtered by the score, with tens of thousands of men, women, and children killed and the infrastructure virtually destroyed.

Quote for the Day

"Majority rule only works if you're also considering individual rights. Because you can't have five wolves and one sheep voting on what to have for supper." Larry Flynt, publisher of Hustler magazine and dirty old man.

Well, here’s another one…

Editing Jefferson
Washington Post Editorial, February 21, 2005

Charles W. Carrico Sr., a Virginia lawmaker, has decided to rewrite the Founding Fathers. Mr. Carrico, a state trooper-turned-Republican-delegate from Grayson County in southwestern Virginia, says he believes Christians are being silenced and persecuted. "America was founded on Christian beliefs," he proclaims. "Christianity is the majority faith in this country, and yet because the minority has said, 'I'm offended,' we are being told to keep silent.” Yet Mr. Carrico's "solution," an amendment to a passage of the Virginia Constitution adapted in part from Thomas Jefferson's famous Statute of Religious Freedom, is unnecessary, vague and disingenuous as to its real intent. If incorporated into the Constitution, it would defile the language of Jefferson and embolden religious activists for whom the Founding Fathers' doctrine of separation of church and state is a nuisance.

Mr. Carrico's amendment codifies the "people's right to pray and to recognize their religious beliefs, heritage and traditions on public property, including public schools," as long as no one is required to join in prayer or religious activity. The prayer part is unnecessary because it changes nothing. Praying is already legal at Virginia public schools; the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects it, and the Supreme Court, as recently as three years ago, let stand a lower court ruling allowing a daily minute of silence in public schools, during which students may pray. But recognizing religious beliefs and traditions starts to sound ominously vague, and might conceivably include activities clearly beyond the constitutional pale, such as baptizing born-again students in classrooms or erecting shrines in the cafeteria.

Before entering the state constitution, Mr. Carrico's bill must be passed in two successive years by the General Assembly and approved by voters in a referendum. Whatever his amendment's wording, Mr. Carrico's agenda -- advancing the practice of Christian belief in public schools -- is clear enough from his comments, and he is plainly unconcerned with any discomfort he might inflict on non-Christian students. The section of the state constitution he would amend, Article I, Section 16, prohibits the General Assembly from conferring "privileges or advantages on any sect or denomination.” Yet conferring advantage on Christians by dint of their majority status seems to be just what Mr. Carrico hopes to achieve. And there can be little doubt that its expansive language would be seized on by religious activists spoiling for a fight. By tinkering with Jefferson's original language while seeking to inspire faith-based mischief, the amendment combines arrogance and irresponsibility.

These people make me tired. Being in the majority doesn’t mean that you can trample roughshod over those in the minority. Mr. Jefferson understood that. Hell, Larry Flynt understands that. Mr. Carrico and, actually, most Americans don’t. If 80% of Americans think that everyone should be a Christian, that’s tough, thankfully our Constitution still protects the Buddists, Muslims, and Pagans from that 80%. Even if Trooper Carrico’s amendment is made part of the Virginia constitution, it might not pass Federal constitutional muster, presuming Dear Leader hasn’t managed to stack the Supreme Court with too many more Scalia-Thomas clones.

Virginia, my former home for 35 years, has really become a pit of intolerance and idiocy: apparently they’re now one of the least gay friendly states in the union; they tried to pass a bill to ban low rider trousers, and now this. What idiots!

Here’s Johnny:

Fark.com, the irreverent source of strange and interesting stuff and the occasional pair of “boobies” or a “weener” had a link to the reprint of a Rolling Stone article on Johnny Carson. If you loved and respected Mr. Carson as I did, go and read it. It’s really quite long and it dates from - wait for it - March 22, 1979.

It’s a fascinating read. Check it out.

Iraq Casualty Count as of 9:00 PM EST, Sunday, 02/20/2005

38 Americans have died this month. 1338 have perished since the “Mission Accomplished” sign was hung on the aircraft carrier; 1478 since Bush’s War began. 1,650 men and women from the participating nations have died since the onset of Bush’s war.

10,967 American men and women have been wounded, 97 between 2/09 and 2/15. These data come from Iraq Coalition Casualties who can use our financial support.

Iraqis continue to be blown to bits and otherwise slaughtered by the score, with tens of thousands of men, women, and children killed and the infrastructure virtually destroyed.

Quote for the Day

"You know that look women get when they want sex? Me neither." Drew Carey, American comedian.

This is worth reading.

Our Unnecessary Insecurity
New York Times Editorial, February 20, 2005

September 11 changed everything," the saying goes. It is striking, however, how much has not changed in the three and a half years since nearly 3,000 people were killed on American soil. The nation's chemical plants are still a horrific accident waiting to happen. Nuclear material that could be made into a "dirty bomb," or even a nuclear device, and set off in an American city remains too accessible to terrorists. Critical tasks, from inspecting shipping containers to upgrading defenses against biological weapons, are being done poorly or not at all. …

The biggest obstacles to making the nation safer have been lack of political will and failure to carry out the most effective policies. The Bush administration and Congress have been reluctant to provide the necessary money - even while they are furiously reducing revenue with tax cuts. The funds that are available are often misdirected. And Washington has caved to pressure from interest groups, like the chemical industry, that have fought increased security measures.

Most of all, the government has failed to lay out a broad strategy for making the nation more secure. Among the most troubling vulnerabilities that have yet to be seriously addressed:

Chemical Plants After Sept. 11, the Environmental Protection Agency identified 123 chemical plants that could, in a worst-case attack, endanger one million or more people. …

Nuclear Materials A nuclear attack in an American city is the ultimate nightmare. The desire, on the part of the terrorists, is there: Osama bin Laden has declared acquisition of nuclear weapons to be a religious duty. …

Nuclear Power Plants There are more than 100 nuclear reactors producing energy in the United States. Many of them are in heavily populated areas. Some may be vulnerable to a suicide attack from the air, particularly if a plane managed to crack the wall around the pool of spent fuel, causing a fire that would send clouds of toxic gas into the atmosphere …

Port Security One of the greatest threats to national security is the possibility that a weapon of mass destruction could be smuggled in on one of the millions of shipping containers that arrive from overseas every year. …

Hazardous Waste Transport Millions of tons of highly toxic chemicals and nuclear waste are shipped by railroad and truck, much of it through or near densely populated areas. …

Bioterrorism The anthrax attacks of the fall of 2001 only began to suggest the devastating power of biological weapons. …

Given these serious gaps, it is disturbing to see limited resources used as inefficiently as they have been. Fighting the last war, the Bush administration is devoting far too great a proportion of domestic security spending to preventing the hijacking of commercial aircraft. For a long time, it engaged in a draconian crackdown on academic visas, while the nation's borders - the likeliest entry points for future terrorists - remained as porous as ever. And with the stakes literally life or death, the pork-barrel politics that have controlled domestic security funds - giving Wyoming more per capita than New Jersey - are simply unconscionable.

… Looking back, we feel a natural frustration at all the warning signs that were ignored before Sept. 11. There is now a wide array of government reports, private studies, and even best-selling books alerting us to remaining vulnerabilities. If the United States is hit by another attack at one of those points, we will have only ourselves to blame.

There’s more at the link above.

The chemical industry fought tooth and nail to avoid having to spend additional money on plant security because it would affect profits - and the public be damned. 60 Minutes did a piece on their security that was astonishing.

My personal favorite is port security. Nine or ten million of those shipping containers pass through our ports each year. Dear Leader is spending $10 Billion a year on missile defense when the easiest and most likely way that a nuke is going to enter this country is in one of those containers - yet fewer than 10% of those containers are subject to x-ray, radiation counters or hand inspection. Customs says that “intelligence” identifies all the containers that need close inspection so they don’t need to check more for radiation. Right!

So we’re spending $10 billion a year for missile defense, $80 billion plus per year in Iraq and Afghanistan and we’re stiffing the “homeland.”

At the same time, Porter J. Goss, the new CIA Chief and well know administration toady, announced to Congress last week that "Islamic extremists are exploiting the Iraqi conflict to recruit new anti-U.S. jihadists. These jihadists who survive will leave Iraq experienced and focused on acts of urban terrorism," he said. "They represent a potential pool of contacts to build transnational terrorist cells, groups and networks in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and other countries."

I don’t feel safer, do you?

Iraq Casualty Count as of 9:00 PM EST, Saturday, 02/19/2005

37 Americans have died this month. 1337 have perished since the “Mission Accomplished” sign was hung on the aircraft carrier; 1477 since Bush’s War began. 1,649 men and women from the participating nations have died since the onset of Bush’s war.

10,967 American men and women have been wounded, 97 between 2/09 and 2/15. These data come from Iraq Coalition Casualties who can use our financial support.

Another bad day for Shiites, with at least 50 killed on their holiest day. Otherwise, Iraqis continue to be blown to bits and otherwise slaughtered by the score, with tens of thousands of men, women, and children killed and the infrastructure virtually destroyed.

Quote for the Day

You've Got To Be Carefully Taught

You've got to be taught to hate and fear
You've got to be taught from ear to ear
It's got to be drummed in your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught

You've got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made
And people whose skin is a different shade
You've got to be carefully taught

You've got to be taught before it's too late
Before you are six or seven or eight
To hate all the people your relatives hate
You've got to be carefully taught

Oscar Hammerstein II, from the musical South Pacific.

And your assignment is…

Today we’re going to do just one thing. We’re going to think about Mr. Hammerstein’s lyrics that I’ve posted above.

I’ve always thought that I was especially clever in my choice of parents: I never heard them use any of the pejorative terms used negatively describe other groups of people. The words nigger, spic, wop, faggot, hebe, hunky, or anything else that you can think of never crossed their lips. Was this intentional? I don’t have a clue. They’re gone now, so I can’t ask them; but I’m damned grateful. My parents were Republicans; I’m clearly not a Republican. What’s it all mean Bruce?

Hell, I’m not sure I know. I grew up tolerant of everything and everyone. En route to Europe in 1961, I spent six weeks in New York City while my parents intensively learned French. Whoa, did I get hit on by a lot of “queers” (the term at the time). After about the fourth time, I decided to be flattered rather than angry and just say “No thanks.” That worked very well - much better than anger in fact. I took me a while to reason that out: someone who finds men attractive finds me attractive. What's not to like?

I guess the bile the right is spewing concerns me: AM radio is filled with Limbaugh, Savage, Liddy, North, and their clones. All hate, all the time! The “Born Again” “Christians” are convinced that only they are saved and you and I are going to burn in the fiery pit for eternity. A cartoon rabbit can’t visit a lesbian couple on PBS. Sponge Bob is queer. Clint Eastwood is pro-assisted suicide. Their children are hearing this putrid filth.

They are breeding another generation of monsters like themselves - only there will be more of them. Hardly a cheery thought.

Iraq Casualty Count as of 9:00 PM EST, Friday, 02/18/2005

Another bad day, five Americans reportedly killed. So 35 Americans have died this month. 1335 have perished since the “Mission Accomplished” sign was hung on the aircraft carrier; 1475 since Bush’s War began. 1,647 men and women from the participating nations have died since the onset of Bush’s war.

10,967 American men and women have been wounded, 97 between 2/09 and 2/15. These data come from Iraq Coalition Casualties who can use our financial support.

The Shiites took a real beating today, with more that 45 reported killed in bombings and hundreds wounded. Otherwise, Iraqis continue to be blown to bits and otherwise slaughtered by the score, with tens of thousands of men, women, and children killed and the infrastructure virtually destroyed.

Quote for the Day

“Remember, Ginger Rogers did everything that Fred Astaire did, but backwards and in high heels." Faith Whittlesey, former Ambassador to Switzerland.

Are you ready to be Raptured?

Hey Rapture fans, it’s Friday, and time for the weekly reading of the Rapture Index from our loony friends at www.raptureready.com. As you’re aware, those wacky folks publish a weekly “Rapture Index” indicating how likely it is that the Second Coming is, well - coming.

OK, Rapture fans, the index is down two from last week’s value of 154 to 152. Remember, the record high is at 182 set the week of September 24, 2001 and the record low is at 57 and was set during the week of December 12, 1993.

As usual, I never know whether I’m supposed to root for the index to go up or down. If the rapture comes, all the people that I believe are right-wing-fundamentalist-reality-challenged biblebangers will disappear and we’ll get their stuff. That’s surely not a bad thing.

The bad news is that a substantial number of those right-wing-fundamentalist-reality-challenged biblebanging buttheads are running our nation. These people believe that the rapture is going to happen sooner rather than later, so why not rape the earth. It apparently governs policy towards Israel to some extent also. I still don’t understand it. If there are any students of “fundie philosophy” reading this, enlighten me and the other reader please.

As usual, you can read all about the index and the values that go into the final number here.

And now for something completely different:

Look what I found - this Straight Dope Classic from April of 1986

Dear Cecil:

I heard a weird radio news report a while back about some college medical researchers who had done a study on Coca-Cola being used as a contraceptive. Can this be? The researchers claimed that several third world countries use it and it works. Also, they did a study of the various Cokes out on the market and found that new Coke was not as effective as old Coke and Diet Coke was better than both. Is this true? What college did the research, and how do you go about using Coke as a contraceptive? --Illinois Smith, Chicago

Cecil replies:

A lot of research on contraceptive techniques is done at colleges, Smitty. Some of it is even done in the labs.

The Coke bulletin was issued by three researchers at the distinguished Harvard Medical School, and published last November in the equally distinguished New England Journal of Medicine, surrounded by articles on such topics as "Retinoic Acid Embryopathy" and "Aldosterone-Receptor Deficiency in Pseudohypoaldosteronism.” It consists of a total of four paragraphs plus one table. From these we may glean such nuggets as the following: "Postcoital douching with household substances was a popular form of contraception at the beginning of this century, and Coca-Cola is still said to be used in developing countries for this purpose.” The Fugs, if I remember correctly, did a song on this subject once. Great group, the Fugs. Gave new meaning to the expression "seminal influence."

Our authors go on: "There has recently been controversy over the attributes of old-formula ("Classic') Coke and those of "New Coke.’ We therefore compared the effect of various modern formulations of Coca-Cola on sperm motility.” (Motility basically means the sperm's swimming ability.) The results were dramatic. "All samples of Coca-Cola markedly reduced sperm motility, whereas [a saltwater control solution] had no spermicidal effect.” Old Coke was five times as potent as new Coke, and Diet Coke was the most potent of all, annihilating every living thing in its path. This may give you pause next time you're tempted to chug down a frosty one.

The Harvard folks conclude, "The effectiveness of Coca-Cola as a spermicidal agent in vaginal douching has been attributed to its acidic pH.” However, since the various types of Coke had similar acidity, some other factor must be at work to account for the observed differences. The researchers do not speculate what this might be. I blame the NutraSweet.

I should point out that the experiments were conducted in test tubes, rather than in vivo, if you follow me. Postcoital contraceptive douching in general is not very effective because the sperm travel pretty fast. Still, I suppose if you were one of today's New Women and you woke up after a particularly rambunctious evening to find the Incredible Hulk snoring beside you ... well, any port in a storm.

I should also underscore the preliminary nature of the study. The researchers did not test the effectiveness of such common beverages as Mr. Pibb, Mello Yello, or Cherry-Ola Cola, which greatly limits the usefulness of their work. You would not want to be condemned to an unwanted pregnancy simply because of an unfortunate choice of soft drink.

Nonetheless, Harvard has opened up some interesting possibilities here. One can envision the day when the contraceptive properties of a brand might become an integral part of its marketing strategy, e.g.:

CONTRA-COLA

Kills Sperm by the Million on Contact

... and tastes great too!

The potential, I think, is enormous.

--CECIL ADAMS

Gosh, Contra-Cola sounds like my favorite gin, Bowman’s Virgina Gin: “Tastes great and removes paint too!” What’s not to like?

Actually, when I was I in Vietnam in 1965-66, the ladies of the evening reportedly used Coke as a douche. Seemed like a strange idea at the time - maybe not, eh?

Iraq Casualty Count as of 9:00 PM EST, Friday, 02/17/2005

30 Americans have died this month. 1330 have perished since the “Mission Accomplished” sign was hung on the aircraft carrier; 1470 since Bush’s War began. 1,642 men and women from the participating nations have died since the onset of Bush’s war.

10,967 American men and women have been wounded, 97 between 2/09 and 2/15. These data come from Iraq Coalition Casualties who can use our financial support.

Iraqis continue to be blown to bits and otherwise slaughtered by the score, with tens of thousands of men, women, and children killed and the infrastructure virtually destroyed.

Sometime this week Dear Leader's war will have succeeded in wounding 11,000 Americans - and for what? The sanctions were working. We didn't need to do this.

Quote for the Day

"I am not going to give you a number for it because it's not my business to do intelligent work." Donald J. Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense, while testifying before Congress on February 16, 2005. His defenders say he meant to say “intelligence work.” Right.

Kids - They’ll break your heart every time.

I just love this:

The Gay Child Left Behind
By Dan Savage, February 17, 2005, The New York Times,

So far 2005 hasn't been a very good year for gays and lesbians. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings slammed Buster, an animated rabbit, for visiting a Vermont girl with same-sex parents; President Bush renewed his call for an anti-gay amendment to the Constitution; and a deadly new strain of H.I.V. has surfaced.

But there was one bright spot this week. On Monday, Maya Keyes, the daughter of Alan Keyes, officially declared herself a lesbian at a gay rights rally in Annapolis, Md. It was a bit of good news for gays and lesbians, particularly those who are connoisseurs of schadenfreude. Or was it?

Alan Keyes is the Republican who moved to Illinois last year to run against Barack Obama for the United States Senate. To describe Mr. Keyes as an opponent of gay rights is putting it mildly: during his campaign Mr. Keyes described homosexuality as "selfish hedonism.” When asked if he thought Mary Cheney, the lesbian daughter of Vice President Dick Cheney, was a selfish hedonist, he replied, "Of course she is."

Learning that a prominent conservative like Mr. Keyes (or Randall Terry, the anti-abortion-turned-antigay-rights crusader whose son revealed last spring he is gay) has a gay relative is nothing new. Newt Gingrich, for instance, has a lesbian half-sister. But for gays and lesbians there's something particularly satisfying about watching a prominent antigay conservative learn that his or her own child is homosexual. It smacks of cosmic retribution: Mr. Keyes now has to choose between his antigay "pro-family" rhetoric and a member of his own family.

Sadly for Maya Keyes, her father apparently has more affection for his ideology than for his daughter. She says her parents kicked her out of the house and have refused to pay for her education. (Thankfully, some of those evil gay people have come forward to pay her tuition at Brown next year through the Point Foundation.) Perhaps Mr. and Mrs. Cheney could find the time to call Mr. and Mrs. Keyes and explain how parents who actually value their families react when they learn one of their children is gay.

But I can't enjoy this news about Maya Keyes as much as most gays and lesbians. As a parent, you see, I feel Alan Keyes's pain - and Randall Terry's too. I can empathize with their desire not to see their children grow up to be one of us because I live in mortal fear of my child growing up to be one of them.

There are more gay and lesbian couples having families than you may think; according to the 2000 census, there are 250,000 children in the United States being raised by same-sex parents. The debate over gay marriage can be particularly infuriating for us. Allowing gays and lesbians to marry, people like Alan Keyes and Randall Terry argue, would somehow harm children. In Washington a group calling itself Allies for Marriage and Children, co-founded by Jeff Kemp, the son of the former presidential candidate Jack Kemp, advocates a ban on gay marriage.

I live in Seattle with my partner and son. Preventing us from marrying harms my child and does nothing to protect Jeff Kemp's. So in my darker moments I find myself hoping that one day Mr. Kemp will, like Randall Terry or Alan Keyes, find himself listening to one of his children explain that he is gay.

Yet my better angels won't let me wish a gay child on anyone for fear of setting myself up for the gay-parent brand of cosmic retribution that Mr. Keyes brought down on his own head. As the children being raised by gays and lesbians grow into adulthood, it's inevitable that some of them will disappoint their gay parents. One day some prominent gay or lesbian parent - Rosie O'Donnell? Melissa Etheridge? little ol' me? - is going to cringe in horror when Matt Drudge breaks the news that one of our children has become a born-again Christian Republican who condemns his parents for their "selfish hedonism."

If we don't want the same fate to befall us - and I don't - then it's only prudent for us not to take too much pleasure in the plight of Alan Keyes. The next time someone like Maya Keyes comes tumbling out of the closet, we should all try to be gracious and not succumb to our baser instincts. Because one day it's going to be our turn.

I mean, kids. They'll break your heart every time.

Dan Savage is editor of The Stranger, a Seattle newsweekly.

I have an ex-brother who is a genuine right-wing-fundamentalist-reality-challenged biblebanging santimonious butthead - and I mean that in a good way.

If I had been lucky (or unlucky, depending) enough to have children, but produced one or more like him, I’d have a hard time not putting them down in the interest of the general good. Oh well.

Iraq Casualty Count as of 9:00 PM EST, Tuesday, 02/16/2005

It’s apparently been a bad two days - seven Americans reported dead. 29 Americans have died this month. 1329 have perished since the “Mission Accomplished” sign was hung on the aircraft carrier; 1469 since Bush’s War began. 1,641 men and women from the participating nations have died since the onset of Bush’s war.

10,967 American men and women have been wounded, 97 between 2/09 and 2/15. These data come from Iraq Coalition Casualties who can use our financial support.

Iraqis continue to be blown to bits and otherwise slaughtered by the score, with tens of thousands of men, women, and children killed and the infrastructure virtually destroyed.

Quote for the Day

"You WILL act like a Christian or I WILL slap the snot of of you" Vera Karp, Tuna, TX (from the play "Tuna Christmas")

I’m back.

I’m tired and blue. Perhaps I’ll be crankier tomorrow. Say goodnight Bruce.

Achtung - Attention - Attenzione - Yo, Listen up!

No blogging for the next couple of days. I’m out of town. Since you didn’t read what I wrote on Friday and Saturday, check that out, eh?

Iraq Casualty Count as of 9:00 PM EST, Monday, 02/14/2005

One American death reported today. 22 Americans have died this month. 1322 have perished since the “Mission Accomplished” sign was hung on the aircraft carrier; 1462 since Bush’s War began. 1,634 men and women from the participating nations have died since the onset of Bush’s war.

10,871 American men and women have been wounded, 101 between 2/02 and 2/08. These data come from Iraq Coalition Casualties who can use our financial support.

Iraqis continue to be blown to bits and otherwise slaughtered by the score, with tens of thousands of men, women, and children killed and the infrastructure virtually destroyed.

Quote of the Day...

“Man is the best computer we can put aboard a spacecraft ... and the only one that can be mass produced with unskilled labor.” Werner Von Braun, Rocket scientist - really!

The NY Times removes its head from its ass!

Finally the Times admits that BushCo is driving the nation to the brink of financial ruin.

The Importance of Being Earnest
New York Time Editorial, February 14, 2005

For all its talk of deficit reduction, President Bush's 2006 budget is a map of reckless economic policies and shows how they have backed the United States into a precarious position in the global financial markets.

Mr. Bush needs to convince foreign investors that he's serious about cutting the budget deficit. Here's why: Each day, the United States must borrow billions of dollars from abroad to finance its enormous budget and trade deficits. Without a steady stream of huge loans, the country would face rising interest rates, higher inflation, a dropping dollar, and slower economic growth. The lenders want to see less of a gap between what the government collects in taxes and what it spends, because a lower budget deficit always eases a trade deficit. A lower trade deficit also implies a stronger dollar. And a stronger dollar would reassure foreign investors that dollar-based assets remain their best choice.

As it is, their belief is being sorely tested: in 2003, the European Central Bank lost $625 million to the weak dollar and reportedly stands to lose $1.3 billion for 2004. Japan's central bank, which has the world's largest foreign stash of dollars - some $715 billion - could lose an estimated $40 billion if the dollar weakened to around 95 yen, a level many analysts expect to see this year. No wonder that a week before Mr. Bush released his budget, Japan's finance minister said that Japan had to be careful in managing those dollar-filled foreign currency reserves.

It's not hard to see what brought the United States to this juncture. Mr. Bush's first-term tax cuts were too expensive and too skewed toward top earners to work as effective, self-correcting economic stimulus. Instead, predictably, they've driven the nation deep into the red. Having reduced tax revenue to a share of the economy not seen since 1959, the cuts are a huge factor in the swing from a budget surplus to a $412 billion deficit. …

Lately, Mr. Bush has been talking the deficit reduction talk, but there's no sign that he is willing to walk the walk. In his 2006 budget, he pledges to slash spending, but largely in areas that would have only a small impact on the deficit and where cuts would be politically difficult, not to mention cruel, such as food stamps, veterans' medical care, child care and low-income housing. Meanwhile, he is pounding the table for more deficit-bloating measures - making his first-term tax cuts permanent, at a 10-year cost of as much as $2.1 trillion; putting into effect two high-income tax breaks that were enacted in 2001 but have been on hold, at a 10-year cost of $115 billion; and introducing new tax incentives to allow high earners to shift even more cash into tax shelters, at a cost that would ultimately work out to more than $30 billion a year when investors cashed in their accounts tax-free.

Oh, yes. Mr. Bush also wants to borrow some $4.5 trillion over two decades to privatize Social Security, which is a bad idea even without the borrowing and a horrendous one with it. …

Congress can avert this crisis-in-waiting by forcing Mr. Bush to be serious about deficit reduction. The first-term tax cuts should be allowed to lapse. Cuts that are not yet in effect should not be allowed to begin. And no new programs should be started that require megaborrowing. If the president doesn't see that he has more important tasks than cutting taxes for the rich and undermining Social Security, Congress should set him straight.

I think that we can hope and pray that Congress has the courage to force the administration to cancel and/or even roll back those tax cuts. (Agnostics and atheists can hope that Congress will). I’m not sure that Congress has the fortitude. I know my two North Carolina clowns don’t.

Grover Norquist and his “Starve the Beast” adherents at Americans for Tax Reform are grinning from ear to ear.

Iraq Casualty Count as of 9:00 PM EST, Sunday, 02/13/2005

Four American deaths reported today. 21 Americans have died this month. 1321 have perished since the “Mission Accomplished” sign was hung on the aircraft carrier; 1461 since Bush’s War began. 1,633 men and women from the participating nations have died since the onset of Bush’s war.

10,871 American men and women have been wounded, 101 between 2/02 and 2/08. These data come from Iraq Coalition Casualties who can use our financial support.

Iraqis continue to be blown to bits and otherwise slaughtered by the score, with tens of thousands of men, women, and children killed and the infrastructure virtually destroyed.

Quote for the Day

“My doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four - Unless there are three other people.” George Orson Welles, director, broadcaster, and actor.

I see it the way she sees it.

I like Cynthia Tucker; she’s the editorial page editor for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and no dummy. Here are some excerpts on her take on the right’s treatment of the poor when pregnant and thereafter.

ABANDONED AT BIRTH
By Cynthia Tucker, February 12, 2005, As I See It

At least Sonny Perdue, Georgia's governor, practices what he preaches. A conservative Christian and an opponent of abortion, Perdue and his wife have matched word with deed over the years by volunteering as foster parents who take care of abused or abandoned infants.

But there isn't much of that going around. There has long been an odd cognitive dissonance in the anti-abortion movement, a strange disconnect of values. Many family-values-loving conservative Christians are staunchly opposed to programs that would help poor children get health care or day care or decent housing. It is as if they adore the child still inside the womb, but despise him as soon as he comes screaming into the world. …

Tucker cites examples of Red State parsimony toward the poor and concludes:

Five years ago, political scientist Jean Reith Schroedel, a professor at Claremont Graduate University, published a book -- "Is the Fetus a Person?" -- that examined state policies throughout the country, comparing their restrictions on abortion to their support for poor children. She found that the states that imposed the most restrictions on access to abortion were also those that put the least money into health care or day care or housing assistance for poor children.

"Pro-life states are less likely than pro-choice states to provide adequate care to poor and needy children. Their concern for the weak and vulnerable appears to stop at birth," she wrote.

So if conservative Christians are going to insist on lecturing pregnant women before they get access to abortion -- frightening them with grim tales of future emotional distress -- they should also counsel them on the realities of raising a child with few financial resources. The brochure might read something like this: "If you are poor and you keep this child, you won't have the money for decent day care. You'll have to choose between paying the electric bill and buying antibiotics for your child's ear infection. And don't even think about opening a savings account to pay for his college education."

There’s more at the link above.

The Sharper Image get its edge filed off.

I saw the usual Sharper Image ad for the Ionic Breeze in the Sunday paper “big pile o’throwaway ads” today and wondered if the mainstream media had reported on what a piece of er, umm, plastic the Ionic Breeze is. Here’s a report:

Sharper Image, Consumer Reports Settle Ionic Breeze Flap
By David Kravets, February 10, 2005, Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO - The Sharper Image Corp. has agreed to pay the publisher of Consumer Reports $525,000 to cover the magazine's legal fees and costs from successfully defending itself against the specialty retailer's libel lawsuit.

The settlement, announced Thursday, comes three months after a federal judge here tossed a lawsuit alleging the magazine printed false and malicious articles in 2002 and 2003 about the company's Ionic Breeze Quadra Silent Air Purifier.

Consumers Union of United States Inc. has stood by its magazine's published reports, which said its tests of the heavily advertised machine "found almost no measurable reduction in airborne particles."

U.S. District Judge Maxine Chesney last year tossed the case, ruling San Francisco-based Sharper Image's "claims against Consumers Union arise from acts in furtherance of free speech" and that "Sharper Image has not demonstrated a reasonable probability that any of the challenged statements were false."

Sharper Image appealed to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, but withdrew the challenge and agreed to end the case. Under a California law, defendants of First Amendment speech lawsuits who prevail are entitled to legal fees and costs.

"The message is clear. If you file a meritless lawsuit just because you want to silence a fair, honest review by Consumer Reports, you'll pay," said Jim Guest, president of Consumers Union, the Yonkers, N.Y.-based publisher.

More than 2 million of the $350 units have been sold.

E. Robert Wallach, Sharper Image's attorney, said Thursday the articles were misleading, but decided to end the case because the purifiers are selling well.

"Sharper Image made a business decision in recognition of the fact that the Ionic Breeze remains the dominant indoor air purifier and sales continue at a brisk pace," he said. "That is the most effective response to the misleading and, in the opinion of Sharper Image, deceptive conclusions announced by Consumer Reports."

In a July hearing, Wallach told the judge that Consumer Reports' two articles compared the Ionic Breeze, which uses no fan, to other machines that have fans and clean the air quicker.

The case is Sharper Image v. Consumers Union, 04-17483.

Why is this interesting? Well, for starters, it’s proof of the old adage that there’s a sucker born every minute. Sharper Image decides that they’re not going to appeal because "Sharper Image made a business decision in recognition of the fact that the Ionic Breeze remains the dominant indoor air purifier and sales continue at a brisk pace," he said. "That is the most effective response to the misleading and, in the opinion of Sharper Image, deceptive conclusions announced by Consumer Reports."

I’m a Consumer Reports subscriber. Consumer Reports reported in 2002 that the Ionic Breeze was basically worthless. Sharper Image understandably got their shorts in a knot and pointed out that the CR “tests, based on the industry standard for measuring clean-air delivery rate (CADR), were inadequate. Sharper Image said that the Ionic Breeze technology is “vastly different” from that of other air cleaners and would fare better in a longer test.”

In 2003, the Ionic Breeze got their longer test. CR hired two independent experts, professors from NYU and UC-Berkley. The Ionic breeze and a Honeywell product using similar technology were compared to two other air cleaners using fans. The experts concluded that even over time, the fan-powered cleaners on low were 25 times more effective than the precipitator-type Ionic Breeze on high (and the Honeywell).

The Freidrich is priced higher, the Whirlpool is lower, but they are 25 times more effective! 25 times! Then again, Sharper Image gives you free shipping. What a deal!

Don’t you just love it when the good guys win one? Consumer Reports, to which you should subscribe, is here.

Iraq Casualty Count as of 9:00 PM EST, Saturday, 02/12/2005

17 Americans have died this month. 1317 have perished since the “Mission Accomplished” sign was hung on the aircraft carrier; 1457 since Bush’s War began. 1,629 men and women from the participating nations have died since Bush’s war began.

10,871 American men and women have been wounded, 101 between 2/02 and 2/08. These data come from Iraq Coalition Casualties who can use our financial support.

Iraqis continue to be blown to bits and otherwise slaughtered by the score, with tens of thousands of men, women, and children killed and the infrastructure virtually destroyed.

Quote for the Day

"When lip service to some mysterious deity permits bestiality on Wednesday and absolution on Sunday, cash me out." Francis Albert “Frank” Sinatra, late vocalist

Holy Crap - literally!

Here’s a Canadian’s view of our some of our scariest right-wing-fundamentalist-reality-challenged biblebanging brothers hanging down in Florida:

Rapture awaits in the Florida Panhandle
By Tom Harpur, February 12, 2005, The Toronto Star

Last month, as we usually do, we motored down U.S. Interstate 75, to the emerald waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the shores of the Florida Panhandle. It's a time to catch up on serious reading, walk the pristine white quartz beaches, watch for pelicans and passing dolphins, and do some research on the ever-fascinating phenomenon of American religion. …

Harpur describes the “Americana” on the trip south and upon his arrival in Destin, he attended:

… an all-day Saturday conference at one of the largest Protestant churches I have ever been in, The Village Baptist Church in Destin, Fla. The facilities there are gleaming, spacious, comfortable.

The theme of the day was Left Behind: A Conference on Biblical Prophecy about End Times, and it featured three of the leading voices in the U.S religious right today: Tim LaHaye, Gary Frazier, and Ed Hindson. …

To sum up the essence of the three speaker's messages all that long Saturday, I have never heard so much venom and dangerous ignorance spouted before an utterly unquestioning, otherwise normal-looking crowd in my life. For the $25 fee, the 800 devotees certainly got a plateful. …

There were stunning statements about humans having been only 6,000 years on Earth and other denials of contemporary geology and biology. …

But these fantasies were harmless compared with the hatred against Islam that followed. Here are some direct quotes: "Islam is an intolerant religion — and it's clear whose side we should be on in the Middle East.” Applause greeted these words: "Allah and Jehovah are not the same God ... Islam is a Satanic religion ...We will never be able to understand their (Muslim) mentality ... They're going to attack Israel for certain. ..."

… The two-state concept is unacceptable to American Christians, they argued, because "God gave that land to the Jews through Abraham" long ago. If the Palestinians want a state they must go to Jordan or elsewhere.

A terrible, final war in the region is inevitable.

Frazier, Hindson, and LaHaye all teach at Rev. Jerry Falwell's Liberty University. They have the ear of the President of the world's sole superpower.

Remember Dear Reader, there’s no reason to conserve any natural resource if the world is going to end soon… hell, who cares? We should all go buy a bigger SUV.

Don't get used to this!

I actually published Friday's content on Friday - and by 9:18. I'm going to be gone all day long tomorrow. I may cancel tomorrow as I canceled Thursday. One never knows do one?

Cranky

Iraq Casualty Count as of 9:00 PM EST, Friday, 02/11/2005

Whoops, after two days of no casualties, six deaths in the last two days. Iraqis, as usual, don’t count. 15 Americans have died this month. 1315 have perished since the “Mission Accomplished” sign was hung on the aircraft carrier; 1455 since Bush’s War began. 1,627 men and women from the participating nations have died since Bush’s war began.

10,871 American men and women have been wounded, 101 between 2/02 and 2/08. These data come from Iraq Coalition Casualties who can use our financial support.

Iraqis continue to be blown to bits and otherwise slaughtered by the score, with tens of thousands of men, women, and children killed and the infrastructure virtually destroyed.

Quote for the Day

“The days of looking the other way while despotic regimes trample human rights, rob their nations' wealth, and then excuse their failings by feeding their people a steady diet of anti-Western hatred are over.” Richard Bruce “Dick” Cheney, American Vice President, and probably the Antichrist.

Here’s a thought: Change “anti-Western” to “anti-liberal.” Apparently those days are not over.

What liberal media, where?

Did you ever wonder about this “liberal media” noise that you keep hearing about? The right keeps up the drumbeat: oh that’s just the liberal media; don’t believe that, that’s the liberal media; and so on.

Now we find that the administration has been paying a pundit: Armstrong Williams, a conservative, to push its programs. Two others have accepted pay for the same thing. None of the three have been “liberals.”

Then we have this new scandal: an apparently fake “journalist” named Jeff Gannon was admitted to the White House - repeatedly. Press Secretary McClellan regularly called on him when he needed a break from the hard questions. Then last week, Dubya himself called on Jeff. Jeff lobbed him this soft ball that misquoted Harry Reid (the new Senate Minority Leader) and made Dear Leader look great and Hillary Clinton and Reid look bad: “Senate Democratic leaders have painted a very bleak picture of the U.S. economy. Harry Reid was talking about soup lines, and Hillary Clinton was talking about the economy being on the verge of collapse. Yet, in the same breath, they say that Social Security is rock-solid and there's no crisis there. How are you going to work -- you said you're going to reach out to these people -- how are you going to work with people who seem to have divorced themselves from reality?”

The question was so slimy that it called attention to Mr. Gannon. People began to ask who this guy was. The gang in the blogosphere jumped right on this. Atrios, World O’Crap, and AmericaBlog did, I think, most of the work. Gannon worked for something called Talon News Service. A guy in Texas who runs something called GOPUSA owns Talon. The Talon News reporters are described on the Talon site as “volunteers.” Further research by the boys revealed that Gannon’s work frequently consisted of White House press releases slightly reworked for Talon.

Then came the big news: Jeff Gannon was an alias. This guy had been getting into the White House, presumably the most secure location in the nation, using a fake name. Well no, it turns out that the White House knew all along. Scotty McClellan revealed yesterday that they knew that his real name was James Guckert. Scotty has known this for some time. Guckert was also the owner of several military themed gay meet-up sites, despite writing anti-gay pieces for Talon. Conclusion: collusion. The guy was not eligible for “real” press credentials. Real credentials require a background investigation and a “real” news background, so he’d been admitted for two years on one-day passes. This apparently could only happen with the permission of the White House press office. Mr. McClellan is truly a piece of… work. Oh, BTW, Guckert apparently has no other job except his Talon News “volunteer” correspondent work. Strange, huh?

Then, in addition to scandals, we have the usual raging right-wing background noise: the Fox News Channel and Bill O’Reilly, AM talk radio with Rush Limbaugh and his clones, the Christian media, and a new player, Brian Williams of NBC. Williams is an admitted admirer of Limbaugh and of course NBC is owned by General Electric. GE donated almost $500K to the Republicans for 2004 election cycle. I’ve been watching NBC’s coverage on Social Security and it’s been neither fair nor balanced.

That liberal bias is damned hard to find. Oh well.

How could I have missed this?

BUSH PROMISES TO BRING TROOPS HOME THROUGH IRAN: Most Direct Route, President Says
By Andy Borowitz, February 8, 2005, The Borowitz Report

Under pressure to detail an exit strategy for Iraq, President George W. Bush said at a White House briefing today that he would not designate an exact timetable for a withdrawal of U.S. troops but added, “The fastest way to bring the troops home would be through Iran.”

After reporters audibly gasped, the president explained that bringing the troops home through Iran would be “the most direct route” and produced driving directions from Mapquest to back up his claim.

But less than an hour after his remarks, Iranian president Mohammed Khatami blasted Mr. Bush’s exit strategy, arguing that bringing U.S. troops home through Iran was far from the most direct route, and was, in fact, going totally in the wrong direction.

Using a map of the world and a magic marker, President Khatami showed that by traveling east rather than west, U.S. troops would have to circumnavigate the globe in order to reach their final destination.

In response, Mr. Bush acknowledged that it would be a long journey, but added, “If necessary, we’ll stop in North Korea.”

On a related subject, Mr. Bush said that the vote counting in Iraq’s historic presidential elections was not yet complete but that it looked like the winner would be actor Jamie Foxx, for his performance in “Ray.”

“He’s won everything else so far,” Mr. Bush said.

Elsewhere, McDonald’s said it would follow up its successful promotion involving a French fry that looks like Abraham Lincoln by creating a Supersize vanilla shake that looks like Dick Cheney.

If it’s Friday, it’s time for the RAPTURE!

As you all are aware, our loony right-wing-fundamentalist friends at www.raptureready.com publish a weekly “Rapture Index” indicating how likely it is that the Second Coming is, well - coming.

OK, Rapture fans, the index is … screwed up. The gang is reporting that it’s down one to 153 from last week’s value of 154. But they’re also reporting that it was updated on the 6th. So they’ve missed the North Korean’s nookuwler announcement. Oh well. We’ll see what happens next week.

Remember, the record high is at 182 set the week of September 24, 2001 and the record low is at 57 and was set during the week of December 12, 1993.

As usual, I never know whether I’m supposed to root for the index to go up or down. If the rapture comes, all the people that I believe are right-wing-fundamentalist-reality-challenged biblebangers will disappear and we’ll get their stuff. That’s surely not a bad thing.

The bad news is that a substantial number of those right-wing-fundamentalist-reality-challenged biblebanging buttheads are running our nation. These people believe that the rapture is going to happen sooner rather than later, so why not rape the earth. It apparently governs policy towards Israel to some extent also. I still don’t understand it. I’m still waiting for a student of “fundie philosophy” to enlighten me and the other reader.

At any rate, read all about the index and the values that go into the final number here.

Thursday, 02/10/2005 was canceled due to lack of interest.

Iraq Casualty Count as of 9:00 PM EST, Wednesday, 02/09/2005

Whoops, after two days of no casualties, four deaths reported today. Iraqis, as usual, don’t count. 13 Americans have died this month. 1313 have perished since the “Mission Accomplished” sign was hung on the aircraft carrier; 1453 since Bush’s War began. 1,625 men and women from the participating nations have died since Bush’s war began.

10,871 American men and women have been wounded, 101 between 2/02 and 2/08. These data come from Iraq Coalition Casualties who can use our financial support.

Iraqis continue to be blown to bits and otherwise slaughtered by the score, with tens of thousands of men, women, and children killed and the infrastructure virtually destroyed.

Quote for the Day

"A conservative is a man with two perfectly good legs who, however, has never learned how to walk forward." Franklin Delano Roosevelt, American president and statesman

I’m so angry with this president!

As if this nation has nothing more important on its plate than destroying the New Deal. The “budget” that the Weasel is proposing displays a level of contempt for poor and middle income Americans that just takes my breath away. It’s literally astonishing! Here’s Salon’s take on the abomination today:

Bush's Lean And Mean New Budget
For low-income Americans, who will have less money to pay for child care, heating bills, housing and public parks, it will be mostly mean.
By Julia Scott, February 9, 2005, Salon

When President Bush released his "lean" budget for 2006 Monday, middle-class and low-income Americans had no idea just how right he was. They can expect nothing but lean times ahead. Lean times for those who depend on Medicaid, child-care assistance, or clean water. Lean times for those who rely on food stamps or federal supplements to utility bills. Lean times for those who would like to see their local community build a new baseball field. …

CUT: $57 million from the Food Stamp Program: Bush's food stamp cuts will take food out of the mouths of 300,000 families. …

CUT: $200 million from the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program: Right now, 5 million families -- mostly low-income families with elderly and disabled members -- benefit from the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which supplements their heating bills in cold weather. …

CUT: $361 million from the Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund: The Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund is the country's largest source of federal funding to upgrade sewage systems. It has distributed nearly $50 billion to states since 1988 to repair old sewer plants and keep raw sewage out of rivers and lakes. Bush wants to cut $361 million from the program this year, leaving states with $730 million. That's in addition to the $250 million slashed from the fund last year because of the budget crisis. …

CUT: Community Development Block Grant programs: In the past, the Department of Housing and Urban Development dished out Community Development Block Grant programs to cities to help low-income residents. Cities could then cash in the grants -- a key part of their efforts to keep folks off the streets -- on affordable housing, redevelopment, and social services like job training and day care. …

CUT: Upward Bound, Talent Search and GEAR UP: College preparatory programs Upward Bound, Talent Search and Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) provide funding to schools and organizations that help low- and moderate-income students get into college. …

CUT: $48 million from the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Program: In his State of the Union speeches, President Bush loves to imagine a shiny future where people drive hydrogen cars, watch TV by wind power and take baths in water heated by the sun. Right! …

CUT: The stateside Land and Water Conservation Fund: This $91 million slash in the Department of Interior budget literally eliminates federal matching funds for building and maintaining public playgrounds, soccer fields, bike trails and walking paths. Once again, it's folks without expendable incomes, those who can't pack up the Jeep Grand Cherokee to travel to our nation's charismatic national parks, who lose out.

The “Compassionate Conservative” may feel your pain, but he must be taking Vicodin or something so that he doesn’t notice. He’s also proposing new tax sheltered savings accounts to benefit those earning over $100K that will cost $35 billion per year when fully implemented and of course wants to make those “temporary” tax cuts permanent. That will cost a mere $1 Trillion (with a “T”) over the next 10 years).

Kinda’ gives you a warm feeling, doesn’t it? There’s more at the link above.

Iraq Casualty Count as of 9:00 PM EST, Tuesday, 02/08/2005

For the second day, no one from the Coalition died. Iraqis as usual don’t count. Nine Americans have died this month. 1309 have perished since the “Mission Accomplished” sign was hung on the aircraft carrier; 1449 since Bush’s War began. 1,621 men and women from the participating nations have died since Bush’s war began.

10,770 American men and women have been wounded, 148 between 1/26 and 2/01. These data come from Iraq Coalition Casualties who can use our financial support.

Iraqis continue to be blown to bits and otherwise slaughtered by the score, with tens of thousands of men, women, and children killed and the infrastructure virtually destroyed.

Quote for the Day

“A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.” George Bernard Shaw, Irish playwright and Nobel prize winner for literature.

This won't surprise you...

Spearing the Beast
By Paul Krugman, February 8, 2005, The New York Times

President Bush isn't trying to reform Social Security. He isn't even trying to "partially privatize" it. His plan is, in essence, to dismantle the program, replacing it with a system that may be social but doesn't provide security. And the goal, as with his tax cuts, is to undermine the legacy of Franklin Roosevelt. ...

Krugman says that the administration spinners have finally admitted that private accounts would do nothing to improve Social Security's finances and “that the guaranteed benefits left to an average worker born in 1990, after the clawback and the additional cuts, would be only 8 percent of that worker's prior earnings, compared with 35 percent today.”

… Why expose workers to that much risk? Ideology. "Social Security is the soft underbelly of the welfare state," declares Stephen Moore of the Club for Growth and the Cato Institute. "If you can jab your spear through that, you can undermine the whole welfare state."

By the welfare state, Mr. Moore means Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid - social insurance programs whose purpose, above all, is to protect Americans against the extreme economic insecurity that prevailed before the New Deal. The hard right has never forgiven F.D.R. (and later L.B.J.) for his efforts to reduce that insecurity, and now that the right is running Washington, it's trying to turn the clock back to 1932.

You might think, given these facts, that a plan to reduce the deficit would include major efforts to increase revenue, starting with a rollback of recent huge tax cuts for the wealthy. In fact, the budget contains new upper-income tax breaks. [emphasis added]

Any deficit reduction will come from spending cuts. Many of those cuts won't make it through Congress, but Mr. Bush may well succeed in imposing cuts in child care assistance and food stamps for low-income workers. He may also succeed in severely squeezing Medicaid - the only one of the three great social insurance programs specifically intended for the poor and near-poor, and therefore the most politically vulnerable.

All of this explains why it's foolish to imagine some sort of widely acceptable compromise with Mr. Bush about Social Security. Moderates and liberals want to preserve the America F.D.R. built. Mr. Bush and the ideological movement he leads, although they may use F.D.R.'s image in ads, want to destroy it.

It really angers me off that the weasel uses FDR’s name and image in his quest to destroy the New Deal and the Great Society. I actually wish him ill. That’s not Christian. Shame on me!