From Holden: When a Florida church group put a Nativity scene on public property, officials warned it might open the door to other religious — and not-so-religious — displays. They were right. Since the Nativity was erected in Polk County, displays have gone up honoring Zoroastrianism and the fake holiday Festivus, featured on the TV sitcom “Seinfeld.” Link. Continue reading Where’s O’Reilly When You Need Him?

From Holden: Today’s Washington Post editorial accuses the Bush administration of war crimes. Too much good stuff in this one, you need to read it yourself. Continue reading War Crimes, Bitch!

From Holden: Flattening Fallujah just gave the insurgents more places to hide. U.S. Marines clashed with insurgents in the battered city of Fallujah on Thursday with warplanes dropping bombs and tanks shelling suspected guerrilla positions on a day when a first group of residents displaced by fighting were scheduled to return. It was unclear what caused the clashes, but Marine officers said that both sides had suffered casualties. We supposedly subdued Samarra last fall. Apparently, no one told the Samarrans. The frustrating dead end was a symptom of what officers here agree is a virtual intelligence meltdown in Samarra, a … Continue reading The Cities We’ve Conquered

From Holden: New jobless claims last week rose by 17,0000 over the previous week. In the week ending Dec. 18, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 333,000, an increase of 17,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 316,000. The 4-week moving average was 340,000, an increase of 2,250 from the previous week’s unrevised average of 337,750. Also, consumer spending in November rose only 0.2%, less than the expected 0.3% and much less than October’s 0.8% rise. Incomes grew by 0.3%, down from a 0.6% increase in October Continue reading My Bush Boom Won’t Be Home for the Holidays

From Holden: Maureen Dowd: The Bushies are betting a lot on the January election, even though a Shiite-dominated government will further alienate the Sunnis – and even though Iraq may be run by an Iranian-influenced ayatollah. That would mean that Iraq would have a leadership legitimized by us to hate us. [snip] Aside from his scintilla of candor, Mr. Bush is still not leveling with us. As he said at his press conference on Monday, “the enemies of freedom” know that “a democratic Iraq will be a decisive blow to their ambitions because free people will never choose to live … Continue reading One Gets It, One Doesn’t

From Holden: The Interim Government of Iraq says that citizens of Fallujah may return to their city, beginning tomorrow. Iraq’s Association of Muslim Scholars (AMS) says no way. In an exclusive statement to IslamOnline.net Tuesday December 21, AMS secretary general, Sheikh Hareth Suliman Al-Dari said, “Fallujah is completely destroyed and sabotaged. It has become uninhabitable with no water, electricity or wastewater facilities.” “The rotten smell of the dead is widespread and smokes of internationally banned weapons [used by the US occupation] cover its sky. So, I don’t think they will return to it even if the occupation forces depart. They … Continue reading Return to What?

From Holden: The army now says the explosion in a U.S. military dining hall in Mosul yesterday was the result of a suicide bombing. This is bad news, worse than if the tent had been hit by a rocket. It means that the insurgency has infiltrated the base (where there is one suicide bomber there must be others), and it also means that the new concrete and steel mess hall Halliburton is building for the base can’t protect the soldiers from a similar attack. Continue reading Mosul Attack

From Holden: Yesterday Scott McClellan announced that there would be no gaggle for the rest of this week. That’s right, no Little Scottie… No Les, no Helen… As the White House Press Corps heads out for the Holidays. *sniff* I’ll miss you guys. Continue reading Holden’s Obsession on Hiatus

From Holden: US Soldiers re-enact Ben Hur prior to Fallujah assault. In a stunning (and lengthy) article published in Outlook India Abhay Mehta explains that the U.S. military has now lost two battles in Fallujah, and how our defeat in Iraq signifies the end of warfare as practiced by America. In the first siege of Fallujah in April 2004, the Iraqi Resistance inflicted a severe defeat on the Americans. In April 2004, while over 1,200 Iraqis were killed, blown up, burnt or shot alive by the Americans — two thirds of them civilians, mostly women and children — while 2,000-pound … Continue reading We Lost Fallujah – Twice. What Does It Mean?

From Holden: Georgie is planning to pull out all the stops in order to destroy Social Security. President Bush (news – web sites) will spearhead an election-style public relations campaign early next year to try to convince Americans that Social Security (news – web sites) is in urgent need of change but will keep dollar and cent details deliberately vague, analysts and officials say. With Bush’s political capital riding on a successful overhaul of the popular retirement program, the White House and its allies plan to bombard the public with presidential speeches, television and radio ads, newspaper op-ed articles and … Continue reading Rolling Out the New Product Line

From Holden: But you knew that already. Here’s yet another example. May 6, 2004, after meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah II the bastard had this to say: We also talked about what has been on the TV screens recently, not only in our own country, but overseas — the images of cruelty and humiliation. I told His Majesty as plainly as I could that the wrongdoers will be brought to justice, and that the actions of those folks in Iraq do not represent the values of the United States of America. I told him I was sorry for the humiliation … Continue reading Bush is a Fucking Liar

All right, I’ve finally put my finger on the two or three things that bug the living shit out of me about all this Christmas nonsense. Julie West is tired of being wished “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas.” She’s annoyed with department stores that use “Season’s Greetings” banners, and with public schools that teach about Hanukkah and Kwanzaa but won’t touch the Nativity story. So last week, she sent a baked protest to a holiday party at her first-grade son’s school: a chocolate cake with vanilla frosting and red icing that spelled out “Happy Birthday Jesus.” [snip] Although her … Continue reading ENOUGH ENOUGH ENOUGH ENOUGH ENOUGH

From Holden: On the other hand, I don’t work in the health care industry. America’s pharmaceutical industry is putting out an advisory about the latest potential threat to its health: Michael Moore. Moore, the filmmaker whose targets have included General Motors (“Roger & Me”), the gun lobby (the Oscar-winning “Bowling for Columbine”) and President Bush (“Fahrenheit 9/11”), has now set his sights on the healthcare industry, including insurance companies, HMOs, the Food and Drug Administration — and drug companies. At least six of the nation’s largest companies already have issued internal notices to their work forces, preparing them for potential … Continue reading I Love Michael Moore

From Holden: Where’s Michael Powell when you need him? This is fucking obscene. Continue reading Bush Visits His Victims

From Holden: In another sign that freedom is on the march, a major U.S. contractor slinks out of Iraq: Contrack International Inc. has become the first major US contractor to pull out of the reconstruction effort in Iraq, the Los Angeles Times said Wednesday, adding that high security costs were to blame. “We reached a point where our costs were getting to be prohibitive,” company president Karim Camel-Toueg told the paper. Contrack, based in Arlington, Virginia, had won a 325-million-dollar award to rebuild Iraq’s shattered transport system. US officials said Contrack’s decision to terminate work in Iraq was reached with … Continue reading War Profiteering Not So Profitable

From Holden: James Wolcott on MSNBC’s decision to can Deborah Norville in favor of Tucker Carlson. It’s a dumb decision. Tucker Carlson is a terrible hire not only because he’s a conservative yakker in a medium where there’s a superabundance of conservative yakkers, but because he’s a truly inept TV performer–flighty, stammering, laughing at his own lame quips and then repeating them as if repetition makes them even swiftier, waving his hands around as if trying to throw them away, slamming the table in phony indignation (“That’s outRAGEous!”), tucking his little smirk in at the end of each segment…he’s unbearable. … Continue reading Coming Up on MSNBC: The Dinky Show

From Holden: Can Nicholas Kristof read? If he can, does he read his own paper? In his column in today’s New York Times Kristof praises the right, particularly the neanderthal Christian right represented by the likes of Sen. Sam Brownback, for their humanitarian concerns for the less fortunate peoples of the world. Meanwhile, his paper publishes this. In one of the first signs of the effects of the ever tightening federal budget, in the past two months the Bush administration has reduced its contributions to global food aid programs aimed at helping millions of people climb out of poverty. With … Continue reading The Post In Which Holden Concludes that Nic Kristof is Illiterate

You know, I said after the election that people who started ripping on Kerry should go fuck themselves with a rusty chainsaw. That might have been a tad melodramatic. Maybe it’s just me. Maybe it’s all the eggnog and Christmas cheer that’s made me overly mellow these past few days. But I find the prospect of having Kerry’s entire campaign team “lined up and shot” just a tad melodramatic, too. But what makes me angry was Kerry and his gang’s inability to take advantage of the situation. I may regret saying this later, but fuck it — they should be … Continue reading All the Myths At Once

From Holden: You preznit, today: “Any time of the year it’s a time of sorrow and sadness when we lose a loss of life.” Continue reading His Grand Eloquence

From Holden: Preliminary reports say 19 of the 24 killed in Mosul were U.S. military personel. Link. UPDATE: Halliburton subsidiary KBR lost four employees and three workers for KBR subcontractors were also killed. That’s brings Halliburton’s own private death count up to 62. Continue reading Beruit Calling

From Holden: We had a content-laden gaggle today so I split my obsession into three parts. This is the first of three, dealing with secular humanisms’ attack on the Christ Child!. Yes, even Little Scottie is not immune from an attack of the Wingnuts. Q Scott, what are the President’s thoughts on restrictions on religious symbols, especially during the holidays? After all, this is a nation that’s built on religion and relies heavily on God. And by the way, while we’re at it, merry Christmas. MR. McCLELLAN: Thank you. Happy holidays to everybody here. Q You can say, Christmas. [**No, … Continue reading Today on Holden’s Obsession with the Gaggle – Xmas Edition

From Holden: We had a content-laden gaggle today so I split my obsession into three parts. This is the second of three, dealing with the latest revelations from the ACLU’s Freedom of Information suit. Bring on the torture! First up, a classic non-denial denial from the master. Q Was the President aware of the FBI charges of abuse of prisoners at Guantanamo by the Defense Department? MR. McCLELLAN: Well, first of all, I think what you’re referring to is some of the reports about some memos that have been publicly released now. And some of this information dates back to … Continue reading Today on Holden’s Obsession with the Gaggle – Torture Edition

From Holden: We had a content-laden gaggle today so I split my obsession into three parts. This is the third of three, dealing with the attack on U.S. forces in Mosul. Shorter first question: how much longer do we have to put up with this shit, Scottie? Q Scott, can I ask you, you have said for months, and the President has said that they are trying to derail freedom, these insurgents, and that the insurgents will be defeated — as you just said. And, yet, you’ve said that for months and, yet, the insurgency continues to grow stronger. This … Continue reading Today on Holden’s Obsession with the Gaggle – Mosul Edition

From Holden: My Little Scottie, always ready with an intelligent answer to any question. White House spokesman Scott McClellan, responding to a question as to how Iraqis will be able to go to some 9,000 polling places on Jan. 30 if U.S. troops can’t secure their own bases from attacks, said there was “security and peace” in 15 of 18 provinces in Iraq. Continue reading My Little Scottie

From Holden: Continue reading The Scene in Mosul

From Holden: Take a couple of bong-hits then check out Privatize This! and their new Social Security Crap Shoot video. Continue reading The Dark Side of the Moon Social Security Privatization

From Holden: Oh, the joys of wingnuttery. Check out this headline from our good friends at WolrdNetDaily: BUSH WHITE HOUSE’S CHRIST-LESS CHRISTMAS Official commemorations emphasize Santa, Rudolph over Jesus in 2004 How about an opening graph or two? What’s missing from the White House commemoration of Christmas this year? Jesus. The little baby in the manger. The reason for the season. While President Bush was re-elected last month in an election victory many attributed to an outpouring of support by evangelical Christians impressed with his candid outspokenness about his faith, some Americans notice the White House website lacks even a … Continue reading A Swift Kick in the Wingnuts

from the Dallas Morning News: Three weeks ago an 18-year old honor student at Trinity Christian Academy was cruising toward graduation. He had already been accepted to a prestigious university, and the final months of high school seemed a mere formality. He was a varsity athlete and a winner of service and citizenship awards at the fundamentalist private school in Addison. He was active in the school theater, was a yearbook editor and helped younger students with Bible study. Trinity Christian was his second family, the student said, and by every indication he was one of the school’s favorite sons. … Continue reading Model student expelled for setting up a web site

From Holden: The latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll has Chimpy’s job approval rating pegged at 49%, making him “the first incumbent president to have an approval rating below 50 percent one month after winning re-election.” A collection of other polls agree with Gallup. ABC News/Washington Post Poll Approve 48% Disapprove 49% Pew Research Center for the People & the Press survey Approve 48% Disapprove 44% FOX News/Opinion Dynamics Poll Approve 48% Disapprove 45% Zogby America Poll Excellent/Good 50% Fair/Poor 50% Time Poll Approve 49% Disapprove 43% NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll Approve 49% Disapprove 44% Quinnipiac University Poll Approve 47% Disapprove … Continue reading Buyer’s Remorse…. Big Time