Here's the TV spot.
Here's Rush's take. (Who happens to be a big fat idiot oxycotton druggie fuck show freak.)
30 October 2006
24 October 2006
23 October 2006
Habeas Corpse [Rebate]
Habeas Corpus (The Great Writ) has been tarnished and broken, as a bill passed by Congress and signed into law by Shrub. And almost no one cares. Ben Franklin is reported to have said:
Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor safety.
I'm not the first to write about this, nor will I be the last. I even stole the quote from somewhere, because I'm just not current on my Franklin quotes. I just feel compelled to put something down in words, even if some of it is a cheap rip-off.
As a part of Constitutional Law, the right to know why you are imprisoned and what evidence there is against you is fundamental. Without that right, you really have little else; just hope they don't come for you. Under the new law, any "unlawful" detainee labeled by the executive has no recourse - no right to appear in court, no right to a lawyer, not even the right to see evidence piled against you.
My ancestor fought along side of Washington and the many other patriots in the first Revolution (do we need another?) against the red-coat Brits back in the day. Many of our families go back that far. Many more do not, but that in no way lessens their inheritance. That check, written in blood and signed by sacrifice, was the great gift given by the revolutionaries to all that would follow them. The new bill (err, law) written with lies on the paper of deceit and signed by a shameless fool, is a big red 'void' stamped on that inheritance. At best disrespectful, at worst treasonous, against the ideals of the founders and those who stood with them.
There is no check, no balance on this new law. Nothing to stop my name, or your names, from being on the list. There only need be the assertion that you have provided "material support" to the enemy. And when you're on that list, who is going to get you off?
Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor safety.
I'm not the first to write about this, nor will I be the last. I even stole the quote from somewhere, because I'm just not current on my Franklin quotes. I just feel compelled to put something down in words, even if some of it is a cheap rip-off.
As a part of Constitutional Law, the right to know why you are imprisoned and what evidence there is against you is fundamental. Without that right, you really have little else; just hope they don't come for you. Under the new law, any "unlawful" detainee labeled by the executive has no recourse - no right to appear in court, no right to a lawyer, not even the right to see evidence piled against you.
My ancestor fought along side of Washington and the many other patriots in the first Revolution (do we need another?) against the red-coat Brits back in the day. Many of our families go back that far. Many more do not, but that in no way lessens their inheritance. That check, written in blood and signed by sacrifice, was the great gift given by the revolutionaries to all that would follow them. The new bill (err, law) written with lies on the paper of deceit and signed by a shameless fool, is a big red 'void' stamped on that inheritance. At best disrespectful, at worst treasonous, against the ideals of the founders and those who stood with them.
There is no check, no balance on this new law. Nothing to stop my name, or your names, from being on the list. There only need be the assertion that you have provided "material support" to the enemy. And when you're on that list, who is going to get you off?
20 October 2006
TABORstupidity
One final thought:
Passing TABOR will permanently tie the funding of health care, education, and other essential services to the cost of a loaf of bread. That's fucked up.
Passing TABOR will permanently tie the funding of health care, education, and other essential services to the cost of a loaf of bread. That's fucked up.
Habeas Corpse (Or There Goes the Country)
Olbermann on why I want to be a lawyer.
[Talk about shit that is under the radar...this is a must watch.]
[Talk about shit that is under the radar...this is a must watch.]
18 October 2006
Analysis
Thanks to Visco et al for getting me to actually pay attention to voting issues before day-of cramming.
First thoughts on the Tax Payer Bill of Rights. (Having applied my Law of BS.)
TABOR is neither a Bill, nor does it include any Rights.
1. A Bill is either a piece of legislation passed by congress and not yet singed by the governor or a piece of paper that described in detail how someone bent you over and screwed you for money. TABOR is neither of these, and is certainly not modeled after the first 10 amendments to the Constitution, that from which it borrows its name.
2. TABOR doesn't deal with Rights at all, unless you consider a town's inability to create and fund a budget that it sees fit as a Right.
More to come.
First thoughts on the Tax Payer Bill of Rights. (Having applied my Law of BS.)
TABOR is neither a Bill, nor does it include any Rights.
1. A Bill is either a piece of legislation passed by congress and not yet singed by the governor or a piece of paper that described in detail how someone bent you over and screwed you for money. TABOR is neither of these, and is certainly not modeled after the first 10 amendments to the Constitution, that from which it borrows its name.
2. TABOR doesn't deal with Rights at all, unless you consider a town's inability to create and fund a budget that it sees fit as a Right.
More to come.
15 October 2006
Rule of BS
The following list is a small excerpt from my list of test conditions that I use when deciding if something in the political spectrum is bullshit.
---
1. When activists borrow wording from popularly understood concepts to forward their agenda, they are trying to screw you. [See USA PATRIOT Act]
2. When groups chose verbiage with positive connotations in order to forward their agenda, they are trying to screw you. [See Pro-Life literature]
3. You are in the group referred to by you if you are middle class.
4. Number 3 applies doubly if you are not white.
5. Number 4 applies doubly if you are poor or a woman. Extra points for being old.
6. Based on current trends, most groups and activists either have, are, or will screw you.
7. "Evil will always triumph because good is dumb."
---
1. When activists borrow wording from popularly understood concepts to forward their agenda, they are trying to screw you. [See USA PATRIOT Act]
2. When groups chose verbiage with positive connotations in order to forward their agenda, they are trying to screw you. [See Pro-Life literature]
3. You are in the group referred to by you if you are middle class.
4. Number 3 applies doubly if you are not white.
5. Number 4 applies doubly if you are poor or a woman. Extra points for being old.
6. Based on current trends, most groups and activists either have, are, or will screw you.
7. "Evil will always triumph because good is dumb."
29 September 2006
Work is Killing Goody
Thanks, Goodwin, for confusing me with someone who just cut off his own balls with a diamond ring. Great.
Olbermann is the nuts now. I've known him to be smart (ie somwhat liberal) for some time, but he seems to have gotten teeth recently. Maybe MSNBC gave him tenure and he's not worried about his job anymore.
More from Keith on the smug lying bastard here...
Olbermann is the nuts now. I've known him to be smart (ie somwhat liberal) for some time, but he seems to have gotten teeth recently. Maybe MSNBC gave him tenure and he's not worried about his job anymore.
More from Keith on the smug lying bastard here...
26 September 2006
14 August 2006
It's Only Money
How much money has the United States spent fighting the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the broader war on terrorism, and how much more can we expect will be allocated over the foreseeable future?
Including all the funds Congress has voted this year, we will have spent $437 billion on Iraq, Afghanistan, and other parts of the war on terror since 2001—about $1,500 for every American. All this despite Paul Wolfowitz's promise that the war would be over quickly, the troops home soon, and that the reconstruction would be self-funding, thanks to the sale of Iraqi oil supplies. Back in 2003 the President's economic advisor, Larry Lindsay, predicted that the Iraq adventure would cost more than $100 billion. He was fired, in part, for saying it, yet he greatly underestimated the cost. Spending on Iraq alone makes up over 70 percent of the $437 billion, with Afghanistan costing another 20 percent and the rest for counter-terror operations elsewhere in the world. Another way of looking at it is that funding for Iraq, Afghanistan, and the war on terror accounts for 20 percent of all the funds the Defense Department has spent over the past five years. The Congressional Research Service estimates conservatively that we might spend another $371 billion on these operations through 2016.
Including all the funds Congress has voted this year, we will have spent $437 billion on Iraq, Afghanistan, and other parts of the war on terror since 2001—about $1,500 for every American. All this despite Paul Wolfowitz's promise that the war would be over quickly, the troops home soon, and that the reconstruction would be self-funding, thanks to the sale of Iraqi oil supplies. Back in 2003 the President's economic advisor, Larry Lindsay, predicted that the Iraq adventure would cost more than $100 billion. He was fired, in part, for saying it, yet he greatly underestimated the cost. Spending on Iraq alone makes up over 70 percent of the $437 billion, with Afghanistan costing another 20 percent and the rest for counter-terror operations elsewhere in the world. Another way of looking at it is that funding for Iraq, Afghanistan, and the war on terror accounts for 20 percent of all the funds the Defense Department has spent over the past five years. The Congressional Research Service estimates conservatively that we might spend another $371 billion on these operations through 2016.
04 August 2006
I'm an Idiot
Thank you Anonymous. I'm a retard. This morning when i was typing a link, I butchered it. And i used to write code. I now hang my head in shame. Look to my next post to correct the errors of my ways.
Yours in shame.
John
Yours in shame.
John
29 July 2006
Movie Idea
I just had a great idea for a movie. It's good like Tony Robbins good. See, there's this plane. And some people on it. Maybe it's a Boeing 777. Maybe all the passengers are the genetic equivalent of the group Bush's tax cuts help. Now here's where is gets really fun. There are snakes on the plane. (Time to suspend your disbelief.) Maybe they're ill-tempered and have laser beams attached. Maybe not. Either way, they roam around the plane (which clearly should have no pilots) looking to satiate their god-given bloodlust. They succeed. The end.
23 July 2006
22 July 2006
17 July 2006
Potluck Explained
I think the true origin of the term 'potluck' is: "if you eat what's in that pot, good luck."
That's why I'm not having a potluck dinner the second weekend of August. What I am going to have is Hammered Fest. As in hopefully a bunch of nails get hammered into my cabin during the daylight, and hopefully a bunch of humans get hammered at night. Visco might tell you something about that being a double entendre. I might tell you something about that being fun.
Anyway, that's the tentative plan at the moment. I will take comments here, and come up with an email sometime soon. Working on my cabin will be strictly optional. Other jobs include a multitude of foremen (or women) who aren't scared to drink before noon and heckle those of us foolish enough to try and accomplish anything.
That's why I'm not having a potluck dinner the second weekend of August. What I am going to have is Hammered Fest. As in hopefully a bunch of nails get hammered into my cabin during the daylight, and hopefully a bunch of humans get hammered at night. Visco might tell you something about that being a double entendre. I might tell you something about that being fun.
Anyway, that's the tentative plan at the moment. I will take comments here, and come up with an email sometime soon. Working on my cabin will be strictly optional. Other jobs include a multitude of foremen (or women) who aren't scared to drink before noon and heckle those of us foolish enough to try and accomplish anything.
13 July 2006
09 July 2006
08 July 2006
05 July 2006
Death of a Con Man
Strong evidence that karma is real came today in the timely death of Kenny Boy Lay. He died remorseless in Colorado of a massive heart attack. He was 64.
I wonder if all the money he made will buy back his soul?
I wonder if all the money he made will buy back his soul?
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