I Guess Fox News Wasn't Enough

Via AlterNet
I guess Rupert Murdoch and the folks at Fox News weren't doing a good enough job, because the Department of Defense is starting its own cable channel. It's already available on some cable systems and soon Dish Network will carry it on sarellite. It seems to me that the government shouldn't be in the domestic broadcasting business. The next thing you'll see is news from "state-run" TV, the way we do from other countries now. The "free press" is practically a joke now, now it seems the government is going to eliminate the middle man and start broadcasting its propaganda itself.

Howard Dean Comes to Kansas

Howard Dean began his campaign to make the Democrats a ntional party again, with a stop in Lawrence, Kansas Friday. He spoke for about 20 minutes to an enthusiastic crowd of about a thousand who paid $5 each to see the new DNC chair.

Lawrence Journal-World report
6 News Lawrence (local TV) report (Quicktime)
KCUR (Kansas City NPR) interview

It looks like Dean is keeping his promise with this trip and a trip to Mississippi next week. He's saying the right things, I only hope they translate into strategies that can get Democrats elected at the local level.

Count Me Blue Bracelets Wristbands

I'm auctioning off my extra Count Me Blue wristbands on ebay. If you don't want to buy a pack of 10 this a chance to get one at a fair price. Auction ends 2/20/2005 at 22:12 PST.

Thanks.

Chicken George

Via Political Wire:
George Bush was supposed to have a town hall style meeting with average Germans during his visit there, Wednesday. When the German government declined to go along with Bush's pre-screened and scripted format, he backed out.

Is anyone actually surprised by this? If George Bush had to answer questions from a potentially hostile crowd off the cuff, his brain would implode.

I Thought That Sounded Familiar

I thought Bush's recent denails of military plans for Iran sounded familiar. Think Progress was kind enough to lay it out for me.

“This notion that the United States is getting ready to attack Iran is simply ridiculous. Having said that, all options are on the table.” - George W. Bush, 2/22/05

“Again, all options are on the table, and – but one thing I will not allow is a nation such as Iraq to threaten our very future by developing weapons of mass destruction.” - George W. Bush, 3/13/02

Warning: This Program Contains Nudity, Violence, and Same Sex Marriage

On tonight's episode of the Simpsons, Homer becomes an ordained minister in order to perform same sex marriages. Fox thought it necessary to warn viewers of this fact before the show began. Anyboody who watches the show, shouldn't be surprised at its liberal views. But it's still a shame that same sex marriage has risen to the level of sex and violence as something viewers need to be protected from. On Fox, anyway.

Check the parody website mentioned on the show

Don't Like the Science? Change the Law

Via Think Progress:

A committee of the Indiana House voted Wednesday to send a bill to the full House that states that a human fetus is viable outside the womb at 20 weeks. Despite the fact that there's no scientific evidence to support this.

Attention all politicians! Science cannot be legislated. Leave science to the scientists. Please.

Memo to Joe Lieberman

Via Political Wire:
According to poll in the Wall Street Journal 60% of Americans want Congressional Democrats to make sure Bush and the GOP don't go too far. Only 34% want Democrats to work in a bipartisann way to pass Bush's priorities.

Someone could do the country a great service by passing out copies of this poll to those Democrats who vote for Republican bills. Like the 50 Democrats who voted today to take away Americans' right to class action lawsuits.

It's Worse Than I Thought

It's bad enough that the Army is sending one legged soldiers back to Iraq, now they want to send senior cittizens too. According to this Carpetbagger Report item, 84 year old WWII vet Floyd Baker, received letters from the Army promising generous incentives if he re-enlisted.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: there's a draft coming, and I'm not talking about the wind.

Howard, Get to Work on This

Yesterday, the mid point of February, I received from the DNC my 2005 calendar.

Howard, I know you were just elected on Saturday, but you might want to look into this, so that next year the calendatrs go out in January, or even December!

Dems Out-Mobilize GOP

Via Donkey Rising:

According to the 2004 American National Election Survey, 31% of respondents were contacted by the Democratic Party vs. 25% for the GOP. The previous high was 22% in 2000. The survey also showed that Democratic efforts were more effective. Among those who were contacted, the gap in turnout between the lowest and the highest income groups was only eight percentage points. Among those who weren't, the gap was 26 percentage points.

It's good to know that all those phone calls I made did some good.

Congratulations Howard!

Although the result was a foregone conclusion, Howard Dean was elected chairman of the DNC today. I am, admittedly, a big fan of his, but I think he was the right choice because he has a plan to build the party by expanding it at the state and local levels.Which is exactly the path we need to take if we're going to be a national party again.

Good Luck Howard!

Did Bush Know About Steroid Use?

Sorry, no updates last week, I was very tired.

Via Political Wire:
In former Chicago White Sox (I'm a fan) slugger Jose Canseco's new book, Juiced : Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball Got Big, he claims to have brought steroids to baseball, having introduced them to Mark McGwire, Ivan Rodriguez, Rafael Palmeiro and Juan Gonzalez. He even claims that, then Rangers owner, George W Bush knew players were using performance enhancing drugs, but did nothing about it. The White House declined comment.

I don't know if Canseco's telling the truth, but if he's trying to draw attention to himself, it may just work.

Recommended Online Viewing

Via Green Cine Daily:
America's Biggest Dick takes Dick Cheney's 2004 convention speech and replaces the audio with lines from Scarface. The result is both funny and scary. Check it out.

You're Welcome

Via President Boxer:
Senator Barbara Boxer (H.O.D.) thanks Daily Kos and the blogosphere as a whole for their help durinng the Rice nomination hearings.

I know there aren't many of you seeing this, if anyone, but I still like to think I helped.

Boxer/Rice SNL Sketch

Via President Boxer:

Crooks and Liars has a very funny clip of a Saturday Night Live sketch based on last week's hearings. I'm sorry I missed it, but I haven't watched SNL regularly in a long time.

Senate Dems Show Backbone

In two seperate votes, Senate Democrats showed they do have some backbone. Condoleeza Rice was confirmed 85-13. It was the most no votes for any Secretary of State nominee since 1825. Alberto Gonzales cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee 10-8, a straight party line vote. One clue that Democrats are starting to wake up is Dianne Feinstein. She voted to approve Rice in the Foreign Relations Committee, yet she voted against Gonzales. To my view, they're both equally abhorrent, so maybe she's starting to get it.

Since I named names before, I'll do it again. These are the Democrats who voted against Rice:

Akaka (D-HI) Bayh (D-IN) Boxer (D-CA) (H.O.D.) Byrd (D-WV) Dayton (D-MN)

Durbin (D-IL) Harkin (D-IA) Jeffords (I-VT) Kennedy (D-MA) Kerry (D-MA)

Lautenberg (D-NJ) Levin (D-MI) Reed (D-RI)

The Judiciary Committee's web site isn't up to date so I can't find an accurate list of how they voted. Will update when I find out.

Coalition of the Willing, R.I.P.

Reuters reported Friday that the administration has scrapped the list of countries known as the "coalition of the willing", Bush's term for the countries who were providing varying levels of support for the war effort. No reason was given.

I suppose it wouldn't have any thing to do with the fact that countries are leaving the coalition in droves, would it?

Cartoon of the Day

Monday's Non Sequitur. Tuesday's and Wednesday's aren't bad either. :)

Democrats DO Speak Out

I'm a regular listener to Air America, and I don't know how many times I've heard people call in and ask, "Where are the Democrats?" The Democrats don't always stand up when they should but, the biggest part of the problem is that the media doesn't report it when they do speak out.



In that spirit, since it probably wasn't covered at all by the mainstream media, I'd thought I'd share a portion of Senator Robert Byrd's speech during the debate of Condoleeza Rice's confirmation yesterday. He spoke for an hour, but you can read or listen to a good portion of it here. This was his closing:

Mr. President, Dr. Rice's record in many ways is one to be greatly admired. She is a very intelligent lady, very knowledgeable about the subject matter, very warm and congenial, but the stakes for the United States are too high. I cannot endorse higher responsibilities for those who helped to set our great country down the path of increasing isolation, enmity in the world and a war that has no end. Oh, when will our boys come home? When will our men and women be able to sit down at the table with their families and their friends in their own communities again? For these reasons, I shall cast my vote in opposition to the confirmation of Condoleezza Rice to be the next Secretary of State.