Month: June 2008

Hurricane Katrina & Federal Flood

David Simon pays tribute to Ashley

ViaSuspect Device is Maureen Ryan’sChicago Tribune column on how the creator of “The Wire” will pay tribute to NOLA blogger Ashley Morris this weekend: Simon, the creator of “The Wire,” will be in the Chicago area Sunday to receive an honorary degree and to deliver the commencement address for DePaul University. Simon’s appearance at the ceremony, which will take place at Rosemont’s Allstate Arena, sprang from his desire to pay tribute to Ashley Morris, a DePaul assistant professor and “Wire” fan. Morris recently passed away at the age of 44. For the restThank you Mr. Simon Continue reading David Simon pays tribute to Ashley

Hurricane Katrina & Federal Flood9 Comments

Huh?

ViaPandagon is aneditorial from the WSJ which claims… Democrats are going to have to grow up. The oil-rich areas they want to leave untouched are accessible with minimal environmental disturbance, thanks to modern technology. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita flattened terminals across the Gulf of Mexico but didn’t cause a single oil spill. (my emphasis) I’m not sure what they are referring tobecause.… More than 500 specialists are working to clean up 44 oil spills ranging from several hundred gallons to nearly 4 million gallons, the U.S. Coast Guard said in an assessment that goes far beyond initial reports of just … Continue reading Huh?

Stupid Republican Tricks1 Comment

Today on Athenae’s Obsession with the Freepi: Hop on Pop

I’m still waiting for them to unite behind McCain. Today they watch him on Fox, weigh and measure him, and find him wanting: Well, I see he is continuing to ignore my advice to suspend his campaign until Labor Day. He’s determined to keep conservatives a P’ed off as possible. Can we replace this dud before the convention? Short of General Tommy Franks trotting in on his noble steed with Duncan Hunter in tow (“sorry we’re late, we stopped for breakfast”) we’re stuck with a choice between pink and red. ( … Steed?) Drill Now John! No more slavery in … Continue reading Today on Athenae’s Obsession with the Freepi: Hop on Pop

Your President Speaks

Your President Speaks! Again!

Yesterday, inRome, during a presser with Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi. The Return of the Have-Gots The United States is committed to convincing those of us that have got economic development and produce greenhouse gases to agree to a long-term goal. Mental Massh-Up And therefore Vladimir Putin went and said — and he believes that — and he said, we’ll provide the fuel for you, and we’ll not only provide the fuel, we’ll gather the spent fuel — so you don’t need to enrich. Is-Is Strikes Again But what they need to hear is, is that we are firm in our … Continue reading Your President Speaks! Again!

Your President Speaks

Your President Speaks!

Yesterday, inRome. Brainwreck I’m real proud of the fact that my fellow citizens have contributed to the restorations building — it turns out someone from the great state of Texas, notably Mercedes Bass*. One Of The Best Diplomacy I want to thank you all for sponsoring these exchanges. Madam Mayor, I’m particularly pleased that you’re here. You know, one of the best diplomacy — the best diplomacy for America, particularly among young folks, is to welcome you to our country. Rebellion In The Cerebellum You get to see first hand the truth about America — like a lot of images. … Continue reading Your President Speaks!

Happy Democrat Photo6 Comments

Happy Michelle Obama Photo

Michelle Obama could KICK YOUR ASS: Obama works out like “a gladiator,” a friend has said. When people—they’re almost always shorter—ask her to pose for pictures, instead of bending her knees she leans at the waist, like the Tin Man. Her winningly chipmunk-cheeked smile is doled out sparingly, a privilege to be earned, rather than an icebreaker or an entreaty. Obama, who graduated from Princeton, earned a law degree from Harvard, and became, first, a corporate lawyer and, more recently, the vice-president for community and external affairs at the University of Chicago Hospitals, spent all but the first year of … Continue reading Happy Michelle Obama Photo

Of Interest1 Comment

Column: Thank You, Democratic Candidates

Link: I’m on record publicly as having thought the long Democratic primary was a fine and useful thing, turning out Democratic voters in droves and giving Democrats essentially unfettered press coverage for our ideas and our values while Republicans were relegated to the background. Night after night, the candidates were speaking in town halls and train stations about how best to give sick people health care, how best to end the war. They were arguing with each other not about how little to give but how much, and in the face of that conversation, the Republican argument that we shouldn’t … Continue reading Column: Thank You, Democratic Candidates

Terrorism6 Comments

Got No Excuse

Is that all right with you? WASHINGTON – In a stinging rebuke to President Bush’s anti-terror policies, a deeply divided Supreme Court ruled Thursday that foreign detainees held for years at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba have the right to appeal to U.S. civilian courts to challenge their indefinite imprisonment without charges. [snip] Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the 5-4 high court majority, acknowledged the terrorism threat the U.S. faces — the administration’s justification for the detentions — but he declared, “The laws and Constitution are designed to survive, and remain in force, in extraordinary times.” Of course they were, Justice … Continue reading Got No Excuse

Happy Democrat Photo5 Comments

Happy Kerry Photo: New Times’ Sake Edition

See, now that the primaries are over, we can get back to doing what we do best here at First Draft. Which is to say, BOYFRIEND: Baby, baby, you so fine baby: On an Obama campaign conference call with reporters just now, prominent Obama supporter John Kerry unleashed blistering criticism of McCain over the comments. Speaking of military families, Kerry said: “To them it’s the most important thing in the world when they come home.” Kerry also cast the comments as proof that McCain is befuddled about the situation our military finds itself in. “Our generals have made it crystal … Continue reading Happy Kerry Photo: New Times’ Sake Edition

Faith3 Comments

It’s About Time: Catholic Edition

HIT BACK. The only reason scumbags like Donohue get away with claiming to represent all Catholics, or all “people of faith,” or all Christians, is that no one else is out there being accessible and public with a dissenting view. You’d be stunned how many stories of the type we deride as stupid and shallow are the result of simply not being able to get somebody on the phone. Yeah, sometimes it’s laziness, sometimes it’s willful stupidity, but sometimes it’s simply, “WHOASHIT I need to get this filed NOW” and Bill Donohue will always make himself available to fill the … Continue reading It’s About Time: Catholic Edition

Your President Speaks3 Comments

Your President Speaks!

Today, during a presser inMeseberg, Germany. What We Have Got And that we had a lot of — we’ve got a lot of issues that we can talk about. America or Iran? They deserve better from having, you know, their government held up as, you know, unsafe and not trustworthy. The Process We Are Going Forward So that’s the process we’re going forward. Mispelled “Traitor” You know, it’s — I’m a free trader. Um, Predicate? A lot of protectionism in the American political scene these days. Gets Snippy I just told you that all options are on the table, and … Continue reading Your President Speaks!

Stupid Republican Tricks2 Comments

Oh, The Humanity!

Wacko-wing bloggers are pissed at Chimpy for his expression of remorse over “Bring ’em on!” Michelle Malkin was one very predictable source of indignation about this, and she played to type. Her post on the comments is titled “Bush Goes Mushy.” In it, she quips, “He’s putting the lame in lame duck.” Similarly indignant, if more strident, was Pamela Geller at Atlas Shrugs. Geller called Bush’s interview “pathetic,” wrote, “Memo to Bush: STFU” (her emphasis) and said, “Bush regrets his legacy as a ‘man who wanted war?’ … It was not your legacy, it was al qaeda and company’s legacy. … Continue reading Oh, The Humanity!

LOL5 Comments

Guys? GUYS?!

Jesus H. Susan LucciChrist: Being an International Superstar and The World’s Most Photographed Squirrel, Sugar Bush loves to dress up, and has over 2,000 outfits with matching hats and accessories. Sugar Bush Squirrel has her own, posh studio with an elaborate stage and thousands of stage props, and has posed for over 5,000 photos since her modeling career began. As News Anchor of SNN-The Squirrel News Network, she has turned the catch phrase, ‘you’ve been squirreled’ into an overnight success. It is fast becoming her very own, international, household expression. The squirrel is inspecting Saddam Hussein’s gallows. I’m … it’s … Continue reading Guys? GUYS?!

Hurricane Katrina & Federal Flood2 Comments

FEMA on Ice: “You don’t know how complicated an area this gets to be.”

FEMA announcd in April it will no longer provide ice after hurricanes though word of that decision apparently didn’t reach many people until last week and Mississippi officials are not too happy about the decision.From the Sun Herald: MEMA Director Mike Womack said Monday that his agency is doing all it can to be prepared to supply ice to the public after a hurricane. But he warned that the state doesn’t have the money or the procurement power that the federal government has, so it might have difficulty meeting the demand. And if MEMA does commit to coming through with … Continue reading FEMA on Ice: “You don’t know how complicated an area this gets to be.”

Economy2 Comments

Bush Boom, Bitches!

Ho boy. U.S. consumer confidence sank to a record low in June as a surge in gasoline prices to more than $4 a gallon and a jump in the unemployment rate helped torpedo a modest rebound in Americans’ outlook seen the previous month, according to a survey released on Tuesday. Investor’s Business Daily and TechnoMetrica Market Intelligence said their IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism Index fell to 37.4 in June from 40.3 in May. A reading below 50 indicates pessimism among survey respondents. [snip] It was just the second reading ever below 40 in the 89 months since the survey’s inception. June’s … Continue reading Bush Boom, Bitches!

Of Interest13 Comments

Won’t Someone Think Of The Gay Ferrets?

They think of you. Naked: Now the Beastmaster actually stands up pretty well, as far as bad 80’s movies goes. Its cheesy as all hell, but its still fun in pretty much the same way that Xena was. But I did notice a small issue with the ferrets. You see, I saw this movie when I was a child, and it convinced me that I wanted a pet ferret. This same movie convinced my parents that no such thing was going to happen. In fact, due to a variety of reasons I had been unable to get a pet ferret … Continue reading Won’t Someone Think Of The Gay Ferrets?

Your President Speaks

Your President Speaks!

Today, during a presser atBrdo Castle, Karnj, Slovenia. What We Have Got We’ve got a lot of relations with countries in our neighborhood. We Have Travel We talked about how to make sure we have travel in a way that comforts our societies. To Helping Elevate Folks The United States looks forward to working with EU nations to helping elevate folks from needless death. The Global War On Articles Continues It’s interesting, my first visit as U.S. President to Europe included a — my first stop in Slovenia. My last visit as U.S. President to Europe includes first stop in … Continue reading Your President Speaks!

War in Iraq2 Comments

Hitchens & Feith: Like A Law Firm That Gets Sued A Lot

Hitchens wonders why: As I write this on the first day of June, about a book that was published in the first week of April, the books pages of the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and the Boston Globe have not seen fit to give Feith a review. I don’t know, Chris, maybe because he is at best a complete ignoramus and at worst a complete fucking liar? Yeah, that’s right, I’m uncivil. Civility wasn’t doing me any good and my blood pressure kept going up, so fuck it. From the day he arrived in … Continue reading Hitchens & Feith: Like A Law Firm That Gets Sued A Lot

Stupid Republican Tricks6 Comments

You’re Fired, Amen!

More classiness from theChimpster. If you’re going to fire someone, you want to make sure you do it in a place where the now-unemployed can’t make a scene. You know…a place like, say, a church. That, according to a new book – “Machiavelli’s Shadow” – by former Time magazine reporter Paul Alexander, is where President George W. Bush informed trusted advisor Karl Rove in 2007 that his services would no longer be needed at the White House. “On a Sunday in midsummer, George W. Bush accompanied Karl Rove to the Episcopalian Church Rove sometimes attended,” writes Alexander. “They made their … Continue reading You’re Fired, Amen!

Stupid Republican Tricks1 Comment

Today on Athenae’s Obsession with the Freepi: Snubbing!

Back in January, I said that the minute the primaries were over, John McCain would assemble, with Jesus and Zombie Reagan, into a giant battle robot behind which the Freepi would fall in line to beat the Democratic nominee. I was so, so wrong. They still hate his ass, as evidenced bythis post in which they rip on him for refusing to meet with Rev. Billy Graham. What a mess we’re in. Another not to vote for McCain. This is a character problem with McCain, he seems to be a man who is unable to listen to what anyone has … Continue reading Today on Athenae’s Obsession with the Freepi: Snubbing!

Your President Speaks2 Comments

Your President Speaks! Again!

Friday, during an interview byGianni Riotta of RAI TV, Italy The Global War On Plurals Continues But the truth of the matter is, one reason why food price is so high is because energy prices are high. Driving A Tractor Is An Energy I mean, when you think about it, farming is a pretty energy-intensive business — fertilizer is an energy; driving a tractor is an energy; crops to markets require energy. What We Got Look, we got a lot of common areas: Afghanistan — and I will thank the Italian people for their sacrifices to help this young democracy. … Continue reading Your President Speaks! Again!

Your President Speaks1 Comment

Your President Speaks!

Friday, during aninterview by Natasa Briski of POP TV, Slovenia. What Slovenia Has Got And my impressions of Slovenia — I’ve told this to a lot of people — first of all, it’s a beautiful country; probably somewhat undiscovered in America, but my fellow citizens ought to go and explore Slovenia because it’s not only — it’s got — you can ski, you can play golf The United States And Europe Has Had Its Differences And the United States and Europe has had its differences on certain issues, and — but we’ve always had the same common values. A Different … Continue reading Your President Speaks!