Chimpy Mchalliburtan Bush and the U.S. Imperialists are at it again

Well, the Madman in Pajamas seems to have finally come around just a bit.

North Korea handed over its long-awaited nuclear program declaration to officials from China earlier Thursday, which led the six-nation talks that hammered out the conditions of the agreement.

"This will describe their nuclear activity. It is a good first step in getting the kind of disclosure and transparency into North Korea's nuclear activities as part of and a step toward their disablement, dismantlement and termination of those activities," U.S. National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley told reporters in Washington.

Of course, the citizen of NK have no idea:

An article from Wednesday posted on North Korea's state-run news agency, Korean Central News Agency, noted the 58th anniversary of the beginning of the Korean War, and called the United States "imperialists."

"The Korean War was a war of aggression started by the U.S. imperialists in an attempt to occupy the whole of Korea by force of arms and a war of brutal massacre and destruction unprecedented in the world history of war," the article read.

There did not appear to be any mention of the declaration on the news agency's Web site on Thursday.

Things are mighty strange over there, to say the least. Obviously, they have a long (LONG) way to go, but this action is a necessary first step.

Ed Morrissey over at Hot Air:

If all of this takes place, it shows that multilateral pressure can work to disarm a rogue nuclear state — but only as long as its leadership is rational. Kim Jong-Il may be a strange man with strange habits, but he doesn’t believe that a Twelfth Imam would walk down a road to Pyongyang at the apex of an Armageddon to put him in charge of the world. Kim wants to survive and remain in power himself, and the global community finally cut off all of the props for power as a means to get him to acquiesce. Iran is a much different story, but if the world would act in a similar manner, rational actors in Tehran might rise to the occasion as well.

This looks like a tremendous victory for George Bush, perhaps the last one he’ll have as President. When Iraq fully stabilizes, he will probably be in Crawford, having the last laugh.

I'm sure we'll be hearing about this "tremendous victory" from all the media outlets, right?

Last post of the day

Since no one is around anyway.

I got this one from Hot Air. P Diddy, apparently, introduced a new slogan for the O!™ campaign, " Obama or Die", at the recent BET awards show.

Good thing blacks can't be racists, because otherwise I would be suspicious.

Offered with minimal comment, II

From HuffPo. Don't critiize O!™. The author is pissed, first, because someone on the left dared to criticize O!™'s decision to forego public financing:

When Jon Stewart seeks "balance" for his targets of satire he can end up reinforcing the false impressions that the Bush Republicans want people to have. It's unfortunate because political humor is a powerful force that can sway some of those "low information" voters the pundits have been flogging lately.

So too was the case last night when Jon Stewart ran a bit about Barack Obama's decision to eschew public financing. The Daily Show seized the issue as an opportunity to display "balance" and to poke fun at the Obama campaign. But not only did the bit fall flat it played right into the Republican line, which is full of half-truths and outright lies about Obama's decision.

Apparently Jon has wandered off the plantation and needs to be reigned in:

Jon Stewart and The Daily Show should be mindful whenever Obama is the target of their satire that they don't end up regurgitating Republican talking points. The Daily Show is far more influential than it was four years ago when Bush still had millions of people duped. The producers should be careful when poking fun at Obama not to provide fuel for the right-wing slime machine. Poke fun at Obama all you want, but do it in a way that also reveals the Republicans' mendacity and hypocrisy.

So, remember Jon, criticizing the Obamessiah is "regurgitating Republican talking points." I mean, certainly one would NEVER, EVER have reason to criticize O!

As if!

BDS on Wheels

George Soro's money in action. Of course, YOU can help by putting fuel in the tank of this behemoth. And they'll need a lot of fuel, since it only gets about 5 miles a gallon.

BUT, you say, WHAT about the CARBON FOOTPRINT? Exurban League has the info:

According to a quick carbon calculation (10,000 gallons × 22.4 [diesel emissions factor]), this road trip will create 224,000 pounds of CO2. For comparison, my fuel-efficient car will generate less than three percent of that total over the same time period — but I have to drive.

Keep in mind that I'm not accounting for running the engine while stopped. They will have to keep that AC blasting to ensure their fellow lefties can "stick it to The Man" in a pleasant climate.

Ah, sweet, sweet irony. I can't wait to see the rolling "Don't Drill in ANWR!" exhibit they no doubt have planned for Summer 2009.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again ... I don't think George Bush is going to win reelection.

h/t: Nice Deb via Ace.

Bill Bennett and Seth Leibsohn on Baracky

Top ten reasons to be "concerned" about a O!™ presidency. And not-a-one devoted to the "Obama is really a muslim" theory.

They are all pertinent, but #7 is especially important:

Barack Obama’s economic policies would hurt the economy. As Kimberly Strassel recently put it in the Wall Street Journal: “Mr. Obama is hawking a tax policy that would take the nation back to the effective marginal tax rates of the Carter days. He wants to further tax income, payroll, capital gains, dividends and death. His philosophy is pure redistribution.”

When Barack Obama speaks of taxing only the wealthy, keep in mind this could have a devastating effect on new small businesses. As Irwin Stelzer has written: “Taxes change behavior. By raising rates on upper income payers, Obama is reducing their incentive to work and take risks. The income tax increase is not all that he has in mind for them. He plans to increase their payroll taxes, the taxes they pay on dividends received and capital gains earned, and on any transfers they might have in mind to their kith and kin when they shuffle off this mortal coil. If the aggregate of these additional taxes substantially diminishes incentives to set up a small business of the sort that has created most of the new jobs in recent decades, the $1,000 tax rebate will be more than offset by the consequences of reduced growth and new business formation.”

Raising taxes doesn't do what people think it does. Come to Michigan and you can watch as the businesses fail or flee the state.

Confidence in Congress LOWEST eva!

HA!.

The public currently has more confidence in HMOs than in Congress.

WTG Nancy!

For the literary minded ...

Laura has SUCH a way with words. Her haiku is a thing of beauty.

I'm thinking of getting it done up in calligraphy and mounted on my wall.

I can put it right next to my copy of her "Spring Awakening" Poem.

Al Gore - one year later

A bit over a year ago, Right-wing nuts criticized Al Gore, America's most caring person EVER, of being a big, fat hypocrite. After writing a book, making a documentary, and then winning both an Oscar and the Nobel Peace Prize for his concern for Global Health how dar anyone criticize his energy use? Hasn't he done enough for the movement?

Anyway, so last year it came out that Gore's home energy use for a month equalled that of your average homes use for a YEAR. Pish Posh. Details, details ... but Gore responded that he was in the midst of turning his mansion GREEN. So, imagine my surprise to learn that after all this green stuff he did, he actually uses 10% MORE energy.

Do as I say, not as I do, right Al?

Oh Lord

Children books of indoctrination.

Er?

Detroit school system faces another budget deficit. $400 million. Who do they blame? Those gosh-darn families who keep leaving the city AND those idiots who bail from the DPS and send their children to (unproven) Charter schools. Sure, Detroit schools have a 24% graduation rate, but what are all those teachers and administrators going to do when they have no children left to pay their salary to educate?

But, I had to scratch my head at this:

Other board members agreed the district should have cut jobs in the fall when enrollment fell by 12,000 students. A September 2007 memo from former board member Jonathan Kinloch warned of a crisis unless job cuts were considered. About 327 job cuts could have saved DPS $32 million this year, draft budget documents show.

Now, my math may be off, but it would appear that each employee costs the state $97,000. Let that sink in.

Sigh

President Robert Mugabe vowed on Saturday that the opposition Movement for Democratic Change would never rule Zimbabwe and that he was prepared to fight.

"We shall never, never accept anything that smells of ... the MDC. These pathetic puppets taking over this country? Let's see. That is not going to happen," he said.

"We are prepared to fight for it if we lose it in the same way that our forefathers lost it (to British colonial rule)."

Honestly, I see his point. I mean, he's done such a STELLAR job of running the country ...

Zimbabwe's agricultural sector, once one of the most prosperous in Africa, has collapsed, and shortages of bread, milk and meat are common. Inflation is running at 165,000 percent and unemployment is 80 percent.

Certainly Mugabe is simply the most capable man for the job.

The former guerrilla commander told ZANU-PF youth members in Harare a day earlier that liberation war veterans had told him they would launch a new bush war if he lost the run-off.

"They said if this country goes back into white hands just because we have used a pen (to vote), 'we will return to the bush to fight'," Mugabe said

Mugabe doesn't care who he brings down with him. He'll kill every man, woman, and child in Zimbabwe to stay in power.

Book Report

Breaking Dawn comes out August second, so I have about six weeks to chip away at my reading shelf. I should take a picture of my reading shelf ... it's basically a shelf of books that I've intended to read, but for one reason or another haven't. Reasons vary. But, I'm bound and determined to take at least a few of those books off the shelf this summer.

So, my target date is August second, because on that day I will be reading book four of The Twilight Saga. I don't know why I'm making such a big deal about my summer reading coming to a stop on that date. I'll probably be through the book by the third. Barely a blip of time.

But, I guess the biggest aspect of this two-month self-imposed exile is that until August second, I won't be reading ANY fluff books. Those candy books that are all story and no big words. I love 'em, but I doubt they are good for me.

Now, when I put down Breaking Daw (probably on August third) do I go back to the shelf, or do I get to read a few more fluff books? I mean, it's like potato chips. It's hard to eat just one.

What am I?

I've been trying to identify this bird for a while but no luck. It doesn't come to the feeder, but it loves this nest-stuff. About six weeks ago he and his mate were hard at work, but we hadn't seen him for a long time until yesterday. It isn't the best picture, since there was a window between me and the bird, but beggers can't be choosers.




Speaking of bird stuff - River Rat sent me the coolest CD of Loon tunes. I've tried to send him email thanking him (twice now) but I'm not sure it's going through. So, a public shout-out to insure he receives my thanks.

Compare and Contrast

Via Hot Air comes the story of Juana Tejada:

The 38-year-old came to Canada in 2003 under the federal live-in caregiver program, which grants permanent resident status to domestic workers after they complete their three-year assignments and obtain the necessary medical and criminal-record clearances.

Her cancer was found in 2006, during an exam for her immigration application. Tejada appealed to immigration officials to waive the good-health requirement for humanitarian reasons.

"While I am sympathetic to your situation, I am not satisfied that these circumstances justify granting an exemption," a case processing officer in Alberta wrote in the latest decision. "In the opinion of a medical officer, this health condition might reasonably be expected to cause excessive demand on health and social services."

What is this? Canada is trying to minimize the demands on their health and social services? But but but ... didn't Michael Moore make a movie criticizing the US, and holding up Canada as a shining beacon of light?

Moore is trying to rouse Americans to action on an issue most of us agree about, at least superficially. You may know people who will still defend the Iraq war (although they're less and less eager to talk about it). But who do you know who will defend the current method of healthcare delivery, administered by insurance companies whose central task is to minimize cost and maximize shareholder return?Americans of many different political stripes would probably share Moore's conclusions at the press conference: "It's wrong and it's immoral. We have to take the profit motive out of healthcare. It's as simple as that."

Oh, it's the profit motive that makes American healthcare evil. So, that Canada just can't afford to treat Juana ... that's ok.

But Moore's overall point is, I think, inarguable: Flawed as they may be [ed. the Canadian, British, and French], those systems are a hell of a lot more humane and civilized than anything we've got.

Just remember, Canada's system is more humane and civilized than ours.

"Juana has respected and followed all of our laws to the letter. If not for her cancer, she would have already been a permanent resident and realized her dream," said her immigration lawyer, Rafael Fabregas.

"Is it right to kick her out of Canada now because she is dying?

"While it may be legal, I don't think it's right. It would be manifestly inhumane."

Tejada and her husband, who is here on a visitor's visa, have until Aug. 8 to leave the country.

Of course, some may disagree.

Unasked for advice

To anyone out there on Blogger. I've got one word for you: Holoscan. Lordy, I don't know what it is, but Blogger has the SLOWEST comment application. Holoscan is easy (illustrated by the fact that "I" use it) and it keeps open you blog page. More reading, less back and forth.

What's all teh hoopla?

With Facebook? Haven't they been saying how you hook up with long-lost friends? I haven't found ONE yet.

Am I doing it wrong?

15 Songs

That was all I could fit. Bummer. I got ride of Susanne Vega's "Small Blue Thing" which is an awesome song. Probably her best. So, here it is:



Any other takers?

19 songs

Ok, I've got my playlist to burn for those who requested ... I made a few changes, because one of the Tool songs is 13 minutes long ... and I thought perhaps that's a bit much for someone not an afficionado ...

Also, a few of the songs were a bit ... hardcore as far as potty words, so took those out.

So here's the new list:

OLP- "Is Anybody Home"
APC- "Blue"
Radiohead- "Subterranean Homesick Alien"
-"The Bends"
- "Go To Sleep"
Sinead O'Conner - "Troy"
Smashing Pumkins _"Rhinocerous"
Susanne Vega -"Small Blue Thing"
Tears for Fears - "Pale Shelter"
The The - "Uncertain Smile"
Thomas Dolby - "I Scare Myself"
Tool - "Pushit" (some potty words on this one ,but I'm just too in love with the song to eliminate it - and it's almost 10 minuts long so we'll see ... I may have to edit .... arg)
Interpol-"Slow Hands"
Interpol- "Obstacle 1"
QOTSA - "I Never Came"
QOTSA-"In my Head"
Tragically Hip-"Bobcaygeon"

Ok, crap ... it's 1:31, and I think my discs are 90 minutes. So ... which one goes ...

Let's have a vote.

June

It's June now, and I didn't have a post up.

So, here it is. Voila.

Update:

BAM! Because it just seems more powerful than voila.

Update II:

I had a topic to write about today, but I forgot what it was. Must have been really important, huh?


BAM!