On to Connecticut, bitches! A. Continue reading Your Daily Gay Agenda

From Holden: William S. Lind (Director of the Center for Cultural Conservatism at the Free Congress Foundation) shakes his Magic Eight Ball and it comes up “Iran”: What I had predicted as a likely “October Surprise” may instead be a Christmas present: a joint Israeli-American air and missile attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Amazingly, Colin Powell already has launched a repeat of the same strategy that led us to war in Iraq. Based on a single, unvetted intelligence source, he last week accused Iran of attempting to weaponize nuclear warheads to fit on ballistic missiles. It is improbable Iran has … Continue reading Setting Ourselves Up for an Ass-Kicking

From Holden: Jeebus. Can it get any more embarrassing? Start with arrogance… Q: In the days after September 11th, thousands of Canadians went to Parliament Hill to demonstrate in solidarity with the U.S. and in fact, in cities across the country. Yet public opinion polls and other evidence suggests that now, today, our peoples are in fact diverging; that in fact our peoples are drifting apart. Why do you think that is? And do you have any responsibility for it? PRESIDENT BUSH: You know, I haven’t seen the polls you look at. We just had a poll in our country … Continue reading Incurious George Goes to Canada

From Holden: Chimpy: “D-A-W-G… no. D-O-J… no. Hell, let’s just see what Laura got for that one.” Continue reading A Little Caption Contest

From Holden: Little Scottie tortures the language in response to the Red Cross’ accusations: Q The International Red Cross says the U.S. military has used coercion that says is tantamount to torture on prisoners in Guantanamo. You know anything about that? Do you have a response? MR. McCLELLAN: Well, a couple things. One, we work very closely with the international committee for the Red Cross on detainee issues. When the International Committee for the Red Cross raises issues, we work to address those issues. There are times when we agree and there are times when we disagree. The President’s policy … Continue reading Today on Holden’s Obsession with the Gaggle – Torture Edition

From Holden: The press corps needled Little Scottie just a tad over the Chimpster’s trip up north today. Q Scott, there was a — the recent poll in Canada that said about two-thirds of Canadians say their opinion of America has declined over the past four years under the Bush administration. Why do you think that is? Why do you think Canadians dislike President Bush, dislike the President’s — MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I don’t necessarily agree. I mean, that was just one poll and I’m not sure that — Q Well, there was something like — MR. McCLELLAN: Like I … Continue reading Today on Holden’s Obsession with the Gaggle – Canadian Edition

From Holden: Damn! Tom Ridge is gone and I never decided which image depicted him with the most accuracy. The Blockhead from Gumby certainly descibes his mentality… But he looks like Big Boy. Oh, well, it will be interesting to see who Chimpy taps to replace him at the Dept. of Fatherland Security. Based on recent history I would expect him to choose either an Hispanic or a suck-up. Continue reading Ridge Out

From Holden: While cruising the right side of the blogosphere to see what latent-homosexuals think about the SCOTUS taking a pass on Massachusetts’ same-sex marriage I ran into a post by The Corner’s John Derbyshire. I found it interesting, but not for the reason that the author intended. A LIE CAN TRAVEL ROUND THE WORLD… [John Derbyshire] …while Truth is lacing up her boots. Thus spake Mark Twain, and he never said a truer thing. Case in point: The famous chart purporting to show IQ by state, with states that voted Gore in 2000 ehibiting a higher IQ than Bush … Continue reading Cornering the Market on Stupid

From Holden: The Post’s Dan Froomkin, citing the Post’s Dana Milbank, on my good gaggle-buddy Les Kinsolving: “Want to end the briefing by turning the whole thing into a circus? You might choose Russell Mokhiber of the Corporate Crime Reporter (he’ll launch into a tirade about greed), or Baltimore radio personality Lester Kinsolving (he’ll ask about how ‘the Reverend Mr. Jackson impregnated his mistress and used tax-exempt contributions to get her out of Chicago’). Within seconds, the wire service reporters in the front row will beg for an end to the briefing.” Yesterday, however, McClellan actually slapped down Kinsolving after … Continue reading Today on WaPo’s Obsession with the Gaggle

From Holden: A guide for Canadian citizens. If you live north of the border, click, read and act. Continue reading How to Charge George Bush with War Crimes

From Holden: Dude, lay off the Cialis. Continue reading Bush in Canada

From Holden: Further evidence that the people of Iraq were better off under Saddam is provided by Medact: War in Iraq (news – web sites) has caused a public health disaster that has left the country’s medical system in tatters and increased the risk of disease and death, according to a report released Tuesday. Medact, a British-based charity that examines the impact of war on health, said cases of vaccine-preventable diseases were rising and relief and reconstruction work had been mismanaged. “The health of the Iraqi people has deteriorated since the 2003 invasion,” Gill Reeve, the deputy director of Medact, … Continue reading Iraqi Health Care Deteriorates Under U.S. Occupation

From Holden: The Consumer Confidence Index falls for the fourth straight month: Consumer confidence declined in November for a fourth consecutive month, a private research group reported Tuesday, reflecting doubts about the economy once the holidays are past. The Conference Board said its Consumer Confidence Index fell to 90.5, down from a revised reading of 92.9 in October, defying market expectations. Analysts had forecast the index would rise to 96.0. The November figure marks the lowest point in the index since March, when it registered 88.5. The closely watched gauge of consumer sentiment has been in decline since peaking in … Continue reading A Consuming Lack of Confidence in My Bush Boom

From Holden: War Crimes charges, they seem to be all the rage these days. The Canadians are itching to file charges against Chimpy this week, the Humanitarian Law Project has petitioned the Organization of American States to investigate the war crimes of one of its member states (the U.S.), the top human rights official at the UN has promised that those responsible for war crimes in Iraq will be brought to justice, and head of the Turkish Parliament’s Human Rights Commission has accused U.S. forces of war crimes in Fallujah. Now Don Rumsfeld and George Tenet are to be charged … Continue reading Rumsfeld and Tenet to be Charged with War Crimes in Germany

From Holden: Just in time for Alberto Gonzales’ confirmation hearings next month, a June Red Cross report charging the U.S. with torturing detainees in GITMO is published in the Times: The International Committee of the Red Cross has charged in confidential reports to the United States government that the American military has intentionally used psychological and sometimes physical coercion “tantamount to torture” on prisoners at Guantnamo Bay, Cuba. [snip] The team of humanitarian workers, which included experienced medical personnel, also asserted that some doctors and other medical workers at Guantnamo were participating in planning for interrogations, in what the report … Continue reading More Fodder for the Gonzales Confimation Hearings

From Holden: Georgie is counting on Iraqi forces to provide security for all 4,000-plus polling places in the election to be held January 30. Which is why there will either be no election, or if an election is held it will lead to chaos. Iraqi police and national guard forces, whose performance is crucial to securing January elections, are foundering in the face of coordinated efforts to kill and intimidate them and their families, say American officials in the provinces facing the most violent insurgency. [snip] In the most violent provinces, they say, the Iraqis are so intimidated that many … Continue reading No January Elections in Iraq

I think what has me feeling the best about the SCOTUS decision vis-a-vis gay marriage is not the meltdown they’re doubtless having about it over at Freeperville, nor how fucked the Family Research Council has to feel right now. I take joy in those moments of discomfort the forces of goodness and light may cause them, but that’s not my favorite part. It’s this: Merita Hopkins, a city attorney in Boston, had told justices in court papers that the people who filed the suit have not shown they suffered an injury and could not bring a challenge to the Supreme … Continue reading ‘Even More Don’t Like Congress’

From Holden: Court delivers a slap in the face to war mongers and gay-haters with one blow: A federal appeals court Monday barred the Defense Department from withholding funds from colleges and universities that deny access to military recruiters. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that a federal law known as the Solomon Amendment infringes on the free speech rights of schools that have restricted on-campus recruiting because of the military’s ban on homosexuals. Ruling in a lawsuit brought by students and professors at New Jersey law schools, the three-judge panel said that by threatening to withdraw … Continue reading Oooh, This is a Sweet Win

From Holden: Give him hell! Continue reading Canada Prepares for Chimpy

From Holden: Today I am extremely happy to welcome Helen Thomas back to my obsession: Helen, go ahead. Q Why are we killing people in Iraq? There are many men, women and children being killed there. I mean, what is the reason we are there, killing people, continuing. It’s outrageous. MR. McCLELLAN: The reason we are there is the same reason the international community is, is united in helping Iraq — the international community is united in helping Iraq move forward on a free and peaceful and democratic future. I think you can look to the recent commitments from the … Continue reading Today on Holden’s Obsession with the Gaggle

He’s not a fetish of mine or anything, but I love the fangirls seeking his autograph. A. Continue reading Happy Democrat Photo: Edwards Edition

From Holden: Bill O’Reilly digs Amazon.com, but our buddy Backslider prefers Target. Continue reading What the Hell Is Happening Here?

From Holden: My hometown DA, Ronnie Earle, is quoted in this week’s Newsweek: Earle, who was denounced by one House Republican last week as a “partisan crackpot district attorney,” declined to say whether he will ultimately indict DeLay or any more of his corporate donors. But he strongly hinted to NEWSWEEK there is more to come. “This investigation is a little like clowns coming out of a Volkswagen in the circus,” he said. “There’s always another clown coming out.” Earle has his flaws and has made some horrible mistakes (the prosecution of 11 year-old Lacresha Murray for murder based solely … Continue reading Tom ”Bozo”DeLay

From Holden: My hometown DA, Ronnie Earle, is quoted in this week’s Newsweek: Earle, who was denounced by one House Republican last week as a “partisan crackpot district attorney,” declined to say whether he will ultimately indict DeLay or any more of his corporate donors. But he strongly hinted to NEWSWEEK there is more to come. “This investigation is a little like clowns coming out of a Volkswagen in the circus,” he said. “There’s always another clown coming out.” Earle has his flaws and has made some horrible mistakes (the prosecution of 11 year-old Lacresha Murray for murder based solely … Continue reading Tom “Bozo”DeLay

From Holden: Aide: “Somebody help me get the preznit into his booster seat.” Continue reading Your Mid-Day Caption Contest

From Holden: Wal-Mart says yes: The holiday shopping season began with a surge in spending but consumers faded by the long Thanksgiving weekend’s close and many retailers were facing decent but hardly impressive sales. Big chains including J.C. Penney Co. Inc. and Sears, Roebuck and Co. were pleased with their sales. But Wal-Mart Stores Inc. was less fortunate — the industry leader said its sales in the seven days that ended Friday were disappointing, and the company lowered its sales forecasts for November. The holiday shopping season traditonally begins the day after Thanksgiving. Alternative title: Is That a Lump of … Continue reading Will My Bush Boom Leave a Lump of Coal in My Stocking?

Oh, HELL YES. The Supreme Court on Monday sidestepped a dispute over gay marriages, rejecting a challenge to the nation’s only law sanctioning such unions. Justices had been asked by conservative groups to overturn the year-old decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Court legalizing gay marriage. They declined, without comment. {snip} Merita Hopkins, a city attorney in Boston, had told justices in court papers that the people who filed the suit have not shown they suffered an injury and could not bring a challenge to the Supreme Court. “Deeply felt interest in the outcome of a case does not constitute an … Continue reading Moral Values, Bitches!

From Holden: The bombing of a hospital in Fallujah by U.S. forces has the Humanitarian Law Project asking the Organization of American States to investigate U.S. war crimes in the beleagured city. Los Angeles-based Humanitarian Law Project/International Educational Development (HLP/IED) and San Francisco-based Association of Humanitarian Lawyers (AHL), submitted a petition to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States on behalf of “unnamed, unnumbered patients and medical staff both living and dead” at the medical facilities in Falluja. The Commission had authority to investigate human rights violations committed by a member State of the OAS … Continue reading More on War Crimes in Fallujah

From Holden: With Georgie’s body count hitting 1,241 U.S. dead (and 120 in November alone), Sunni insurgents releasing their greatest hits on DVD just in time for the holidays, and reports from Fallujah of U.S. forces using napalm and phosphorus bombs against civilians, the Canadians are just itching to charge Chimpy with war crimes when he visits our neighbors to the north next month: An international legal group called Lawyers Against the War has asked federal Immigration Minister Judy Sgro to declare U.S. President George Bush an inadmissable person to Canada under federal immigration legislation. Gail Davidson, a Vancouver lawyer … Continue reading George Bush, War Criminal

From Holden: Today it’s the Post’s Charles Lane who provides a run-down of the kewl kids who find themselves at odds with the law in the Plame case. The nub of the story is an oblique reference to Novak. Novak is not before the court, and a key question in the case is why he is not, because he presumably knows the identities of the original leakers. Neither he nor Fitzgerald has been willing to say whether Novak has even been subpoenaed or, if so, whether he has cooperated. One intriguing possibility, noted by several lawyers familiar with the case, … Continue reading …and Keep Googling Plame