The Road to Hell

with apologies to Chris Rea

If something isn't done to stop the madness, King George will be carting this country, all it's citizens (THAT'S YOU AND I, PEOPLE!) and the Constitution, into Hell with Cheney and Karl Rove carrying the damn hand basket. I used to be fairly confident in this country surviving for quite a while longer, quite a while. I survived the Sixties, REALLY enjoyed the Seventies, and muddled through the Eighties and Nineties with 2 divorces. I'm proud to claim 2 grown children and 3 grandchildren along the way. However, things aren't quite as simple or as innocent as they used to be, and I am now officially worried about all of them. Someone's President -(I'm sure as hell not claiming him) with his cabal of evil cronies is in the process of making a mockery of the Constitution, Bill of Rights and pretty much every civil liberty you and your neighbors take for granted. What I find scary, also, is that I actually feel concern while typing this that someone in some cubicle in some Federal Organization for the Security of the Fatherland...oops-Homeland, will deem that I'm an Enemy of the State and come knocking. Ahh, screw it-let 'em come. Bush, Cheney & Rove, Inc. are systematically dismantling everything our forefathers stood for. Interesting bit HERE:

And about this Executive Order..."...due to the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security.." Hell! HE is the threat to the nation's security! It also seems King George is actually losing the war on terror, in regards to Al Qa'ida, if anyone takes the time to peruse some text of the latest National Security Estimate.
This is in spite of the roughly $400 BILLION spent in Iraq and the 3,000+ American lives lost there. My solution would entail letting the Iraqi "government" know that we are going to be out in, say, 18 months, and they better be prepared for it. Then I'd send most folks home, but keep some mobile forces and those spendy new MQ-9 drones for rooting out the terrorists on the Afghani-Pakistani border. (Sorry-not much oil there, George). Get the good 'ol B-52's involved too-they scare the hell out of everybody, still. We would then NOT be an army of occupation, mired in some unwinable nightmare, but actually burning the nasties (and don't get me wrong, they ARE out there) out of their holes where they live and train.
As for Iran, unless they do something REALLY stupid-I say leave them the hell alone. If they get froggy, though, stomp them one or two good ones then we will have a REAL a mess. I really don't think the Iranians want to screw with us on that level, though. The poor folks there seem to have more than their share of difficulties.

So...Do we wait till Next year to vote in a new administration? Hint:NO
Write to your Senators (everyone has 2, remember) AND your Representatve (one of those too) and let them know that you're "mad as hell and not going to take it any more!" (Thank you Peter Finch). It's going to be an interesting year and a half-that's for sure. Nancy Pelosi as President? ummm...ummm-no other option, huh? Oh well, I'm really looking forward to the Democratic Primaries and the general election next year. It's shaping up to be a history making election unless Bush pulls some REAL magic out of his, uh, hat, and saves the seemingly doomed GOP.( OR the Dem's manage to screw up a perfect chance for us to get either a black or female president).

In related news, Bush is going to have a colonoscopy Saturday. Hmmm-wonder what they're looking for......?

On the up side- The improper politicizing of wildlife and land use decisions by the Interior Department has been severely hampered by the resignation of appointee Deputy Assistant Secretary of Fish and Wildlife and Parks , Julie A. McDonald. Several cases are to be reviewed and likely overturned. (Score one for the people vs Big Business).

Ok...some other stuff:

Is Google going to revolutionize wireless next year?

Cool Paint-On solar panels

Saturn's sixtieth (yes-sixtieth) moon!

Landing a proper human craft on Mars seems to be tougher than most expected-

Microsoft won't make quite the gazillion dollars for the quarter that they wanted/expected due to a $1 BILLION charge for xbox 360 failures and consequent repairs.

For the soccer fans, David Beckham debuts with the L.A. Galaxy tomorrow vs. Chelsea FC ..ESPN @ 5:30 PDT

Register, Register, Register- then VOTE

You almost have to feel sorry for dear old George (yeah,right). I said ALMOST. The Republicans are drifting away from his dreadful Iraq "war" strategy in what is turning into a constant stream. The latest count is what..11? Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, Pete Domenici of New Mexico, George Voinovich-Ohio, Richard Lugar-Indiana, John Warner -Virginia, Chuck Hagel- Nebraska, Gordon Smith-Oregon, Olympia Snowe-Maine, Susan Collins-Maine. By and large these are respected and powerful members of the Senate too.

The former Surgeon General Richard Carmona had a few words
regarding our erstwhile Executive Branch too. Seems the man was
constantly pressured to put politics ahead of science fact pretty much across the board.

Is there anything this administration does that isn't underhanded, immoral or downright illegal? Let me know,OK? (I'm not holding my breath). I am constantly amazed that people can pull this crap off and still sleep at night. I assume its pretty much like any self-delusional syndrome. If you feel you are doing what's right, no problem.

To add a bit of fuel to this never-ending story...Virginia Democratic Representative Jim Moran is co-sponsoring a Cheney impeachment bill with Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) which brings the co-sponsor total to somewhere between 10 and 12 depending on your sources. The move continues to kill the Veeps funding.
(After all, he isn't part of the Executive Branch, right?)
And everyone does know that Dick is the former C.E.O of Halliburton, the Huston-based energy services and construction giant. (read: Iraq occupation profiteer) The stock has gone from roughly $5 per share in early 2002 To $35 per share today.

OK-so much for the collapsing Bush/Cheney regime...
Oh....3609 +/- The American war deaths in the occupation of
Iraq so far.
and...with the Iraq war costs (in dollars) approaching 450
billion, we could have sent 3 or 4 missions to Mars. (at least)

Now for something different:

>Speaking of Mars...The 'little rovers that could' are in serious trouble from a nasty Martian storm.

>Giant badgers terrorize Basra. (I don't have to make this stuff up)

>It's Less than two weeks after release and various groups/individuals are feverishly working on hacking the hell out of the iPhone. That would be DVD Jon (Jon Lech Johansen), along with others:
LINK

LINK

>The "mastermind" of the foiled bombings in London on July 21
2005 wasn't too good at math, it seems.

>American science and medicine is waaaay behind the curve
compared to the Brits in some areas.

November '08 is SOOOO far away!

OK, it’s time for a HUGE rant(s) about the state of affairs in Washington D.C. and the U.S in general

……cue the patriotic music, boys

Who the HELL does George think he is? (I’ll get to Dick in a minute)

We have the 8 fired U.S. attorneys issue, the Val Plame/Libby mess (Yeah-I know that’s kinda a Dick Cheney deal, but look who commuted the snake’s sentence.) There’s those Quasi (NOT) legal wiretaps. There's the outright lying about anything to the public and his old-school oilman stand on global warming. Don’t get me started on that 4 year long quagmire in the Middle East (speaking of oil).
The only reason the Prez is going to get anything accomplished with Congress from now on is if the Democrats want something (read pork) in exchange. Remember the push to tie a war funding bill to a pull-out date? Well, until the Dems got a little in return, that is. Sheesh! I don’t know what irks me more, the Corrupt Big Business- Cronie Luvin Bastiges that infest the White House or the smarmy Speaker and her hench(men?).
The bright spot in this horrific mess seems to be a kind of a patriotic backlash against the agenda that Bush has been trying to shove down our throats for the last 5 years. It’s beginning to look (and rightly so) that the biggest boogie-men we need to fear don’t wear funny things on their heads and talk like Apu. They’re comfy-cozy in limos and hang out in big echoy (is that a word?) buildings. Not a few of those structures are located in the U.S. northeast.

Bush's popularity is the worst (consistently low) since Harry Truman's slide from the end of WWII till he left office.

For a funny/scary peek at Dubya, check the 'Scary Stuff' link to the right.

For a refreshing view on current events, try Keith Olberman’s ‘Countdown’ on MSNBC (link to right)

Life in the 21st Century

Ok, I’m getting really tired of these screwy commercials where the advertisers show their product doing something completely improbable or impossible (or REALLY stupid). Then …zip…along the lower part of your screen blasts a “disclaimer” so fast and with type so small, you need a dvr with slo-mo to read the bloody thing. I mean, PLEASE! You can’t show a Range Rover driving around underwater and shoot by a 4 second message that a speed reader would find impossible to catch, to try and explain that “This is a dramatization and should not be taken seriously, never mind attempted”. I pride myself in the fact that I’m no idiot, but they’re out there, believe me. If a manufacturer or retailer is going to display their product within a false, improbable or impossible scenario, at least leave the “disclaimer” up long enough for the “reality challenged” of the viewing public to figure out that this ain’t such a great idea. Better yet, quit portraying products in such a light. If your auto is weatherproof to the extreme-create a monsoon, don’t drive the damn thing underwater and then try to explain in 4 seconds that anyone in their right mind should never try such a foolish stunt. At least Jose Cuervo, when their actress’ hair flies out with the claim that their product is “electric”, they slap a simple explanation large and long enough for all to understand “Not true, but sparks may fly anyway”. Now THAT’S a disclaimer!
It seems that Sony’s latest “fix” for the MediaMax portion of their DRM software causes just as much trouble as it “cures”. Patch one security hole-open another! Sheesh! Are these people really that incompetent when it comes to technology? As a former bench tech working on numerous consumer electronics products, including MANY by the illustrious afore-mentioned corporation, I can say that my days of referring to their products as “high quality” and “right up there with the best” are over. How can I support products from a corporation whose ineptitude (purposefully or inadvertently) has led them down this nightmare road?

Tidbits:

• Remember Pearl Harbor!
• Asteroid heading toward earth!
• Flying Rodents?
• One review of Peter Jackson’s latest jewel
• Man’s corpse mistaken for dead deer
• Microsoft being fined $32 M by South Korean anti-trust folks
• Woman steals parrot by stuffing her bra