Better a veterinarian than a proctologist...
yowzers!
Internet muse.
Daring, bold, never sold.
My daily weblog of politics, humor, philosophy...and a constant and nagging reminder of the existence of universal love....
Saturday, April 17, 2004
At Critical Viewer, A Busy Person's Guide to the Bush Press Conference
If you don't have time for the original, (so much campaign slogan schlock to wade through), this one's to-the-point.
By the way, this has been tough weeks in that country.
My prize for the weirdest (and most horrifying) answer to a question about the FBI: "We are an instrument of God to deliver freedom to the people of the world."
Oh...please repeat after Cal....It's all Don Gonyea's fault...it's all Don Gonyea's fault...
A particularly 'DUH-ful' moment: "And they were happy — they're not happy they're occupied. I wouldn't be happy if I were occupied either..."
Most unconvincingly delivered line: "I feel incredibly grieved when I meet with family members, and I do quite frequently. I grieve for, you know, the incredible loss of life that they feel, the emptiness they feel." Maybe it was just the delivery, but I wasn't swayed in the least.
Second most unconvincing line: "I wanted Tenet in the Oval Office all the time."
*ForPDB threat assessments history lessons, perhaps? Is our children our Presidents learning?*
If you don't have time for the original, (so much campaign slogan schlock to wade through), this one's to-the-point.
By the way, this has been tough weeks in that country.
My prize for the weirdest (and most horrifying) answer to a question about the FBI: "We are an instrument of God to deliver freedom to the people of the world."
Oh...please repeat after Cal....It's all Don Gonyea's fault...it's all Don Gonyea's fault...
A particularly 'DUH-ful' moment: "And they were happy — they're not happy they're occupied. I wouldn't be happy if I were occupied either..."
Most unconvincingly delivered line: "I feel incredibly grieved when I meet with family members, and I do quite frequently. I grieve for, you know, the incredible loss of life that they feel, the emptiness they feel." Maybe it was just the delivery, but I wasn't swayed in the least.
Second most unconvincing line: "I wanted Tenet in the Oval Office all the time."
*For
With Glen Este and the Maupin family and friends...
Here at Iddybud, our prayers are with all of you.
Matt, come home safely.
Here at Iddybud, our prayers are with all of you.
Matt, come home safely.
Have you seen....
"The Front-Runner’s Fall"
The Dean implosion up close, from the vantage point of the candidate's pollster
The night of the Iowa caucus:
"The Front-Runner’s Fall"
The Dean implosion up close, from the vantage point of the candidate's pollster
The night of the Iowa caucus:
We tried hard to cheer him up, and we explained the importance of seeming confident in those interviews. He did beautifully in each of them. But nobody had bothered to write up a concession speech or even a few lines to use when he faced the crowd waiting in the Val Air Ballroom, many of them Stormers. It was as if we were all in shock, and didn't even consider the importance of his first election-night appearance in front of a national television audience.
Friday, April 16, 2004
Report From Fallujah -- Destroying A Town In Order To Save It (News) Rahul Mahajan
Blogs in the Heart of the War Zone
by Rahul Mahajan, EmpireNotes.orgApril 15, 2004
Rahul Mahajan's sobering, evocative weblog that he updates several times a day from the heart of the war zone completely dispels the Bush administration's stance that only a handful of mujahadeen are behind the uprisings in Fallujah and elsewhere in Iraq. If you're looking for a lighthearted account that justifies the presence of American troops in Iraq and foresees a quick solution, look elsewhere. But if you crave a street account of the quagmire that sheds light on why many normal Iraqis are rising up against the invaders even though they hated Saddam Hussein, then check out EmpireNotes.org."
Will Cheney's secret energy meetings see the light?
Will Cheney's secret energy meetings see the light?
In These Times | The Task at Hand"The Bush administration has until June 1 to turn over secret documents involving Vice President Dick Cheney's energy task force or provide the legal grounds to withhold them."
Sunday, April 11, 2004
Headlines
Seattle Post Intelligencer: Footage shown of slain Westerners in Iraq
Are the slain (alleged Americans) intelligence agents? Mercenaries? We really don't know. The article leads us to think they're probably "contractors". We are having to "pacify" Iraqi cities because of depraved killings of "contractors". Some of these "contractors" may not even be American citizens...they may be soldiers of (pretty decent) fortune. Our troops risk all for meager pay. What's happening, really?
Yahoo News: Iraqi Civilians Flee Falluja as Truce Takes Hold
Consider the contrasting information between the reported facts and the White House spin:
Charles Krauthammer says Hubert Humphrey was an over-idealistic schlump...the secret to curing hunger and poverty is capitalism and free trade. To hell with human rights, true democracy, UNICEF, the U.N. We see how the Iraqis love the idea of our bastardized gift of "democracy".
Seattle Post Intelligencer: Footage shown of slain Westerners in Iraq
Are the slain (alleged Americans) intelligence agents? Mercenaries? We really don't know. The article leads us to think they're probably "contractors". We are having to "pacify" Iraqi cities because of depraved killings of "contractors". Some of these "contractors" may not even be American citizens...they may be soldiers of (pretty decent) fortune. Our troops risk all for meager pay. What's happening, really?
Yahoo News: Iraqi Civilians Flee Falluja as Truce Takes Hold
Consider the contrasting information between the reported facts and the White House spin:
Grabbing their chance, desperate families fled battle zones in the town of 300,000. Sunni Muslim fighters, who have been battling U.S. Marines from street to street, remained inside. In Falluja, overnight clashes gave way to calm by dawn after intense efforts to arrange a cease-fire. International relief groups say 470 Iraqis have been killed there and 1,200 wounded, including 243 women and 200 children, in the past week.Now information disseminated by the White House:
Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz and the neo-conservatives maintain that this upsurge of violence was expected, and that the insurgents are a small minority.Americans want to know why we are expending so much blood and treasure on something so illegitimate. Bush spent the Easter weekend on his Texas ranch and officials insisted there is "no major combat" in Iraq.
Charles Krauthammer says Hubert Humphrey was an over-idealistic schlump...the secret to curing hunger and poverty is capitalism and free trade. To hell with human rights, true democracy, UNICEF, the U.N. We see how the Iraqis love the idea of our bastardized gift of "democracy".
History Repeats
The Philadelphia Inquirer article begins:
The Philadelphia Inquirer article begins:
It was fitting that Condoleezza Rice testified to the 9/11 commission on the day before the anniversary of the fall of Baghdad.Could it be a willful rejection of inconvenient facts?
In both cases, information was available to the White House that might have prevented disaster - the attacks on the twin towers and Pentagon and the postwar chaos. In both cases, the information wasn't used.
We need to know why.
Here's the August 6, 2001 PDB Text
Do you think this document should have given Bush enough warning to push for more intelligence information about possible domestic hijackings? Read for yourself.
Related Stories:
MSNBC: White House releases intelligence memo
Washington Post: Bush seemed unworried in Aug. 2001
Do you think this document should have given Bush enough warning to push for more intelligence information about possible domestic hijackings? Read for yourself.
Related Stories:
MSNBC: White House releases intelligence memo
Washington Post: Bush seemed unworried in Aug. 2001
Saturday, April 10, 2004
Whip It Good
Actors Whip Easter Bunny at Church Show
GLASSPORT, Pa. (AP)--First, the Passion of the Christ. Now, the torment of the Easter Bunny?
It may not have been as gruesome as Mel Gibson's movie, but many parents and children got upset when a church trying to teach about Jesus' crucifixion performed an Easter show with actors whipping the Easter bunny and breaking eggs.
People who attended Saturday's show at Glassport's memorial stadium quoted performers as saying, ``There is no Easter bunny,'' and described the show as being a demonstration of how Jesus was crucified.
Melissa Salzmann, who brought her 4-year-old son J.T., said the program was inappropriate for young children. ``He was crying and asking me why the bunny was being whipped,'' Salzmann said.
Patty Bickerton, the youth minister at Glassport Assembly of God, said the performance wasn't meant to be offensive. Bickerton portrayed the Easter rabbit and said she tried to act with a tone of irreverence.
``The program was for all ages, not just the kids. We wanted to convey that Easter is not just about the Easter bunny, it is about Jesus Christ,'' Bickerton said.
Performers broke eggs meant for an Easter egg hunt and also portrayed a drunken man and a self-mutilating woman, said Jennifer Norelli-Burke, another parent who saw the show in Glassport, a community about 10 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.
``It was very disturbing,'' Norelli-Burke said. ``I could not believe what I saw. It wasn't anything I was expecting.''
Hearts and Minds: Colonel Pittard's job made tougher by insurgents' rage
Is this a recipe for another never-ending battle (like Israel/Palestine)? Colonel Dana J.H. Pittard sees places like eastern Diyala in Iraq becoming a "future battleground between Arabs and Kurds'' as the Kurds will try to regain land and homes snatched away by the former regime during its campaign of Arabization. The region harbors 53,000 displaced people, and serves as a corridor for illegal movements out of neighboring Iran. What on God's earth has Bush gotten our country into? I feel badly that most of the hard work Col. Pittard has done has been derailed by this Iraqi citizen uprising. I know people like the Colonel cannot or will not say it, but I blame the Pentagon and the Commander-in-Chief for rushing into this unnecessary and cruel war without a decent plan. I am not surprised it has turned out as it has. I pray for the safety of Col. Pittard's Brigade and hope he will truly be supported soon by his own Commander. My heart breaks for all of the people touched by this awful experiment.
Is this a recipe for another never-ending battle (like Israel/Palestine)? Colonel Dana J.H. Pittard sees places like eastern Diyala in Iraq becoming a "future battleground between Arabs and Kurds'' as the Kurds will try to regain land and homes snatched away by the former regime during its campaign of Arabization. The region harbors 53,000 displaced people, and serves as a corridor for illegal movements out of neighboring Iran. What on God's earth has Bush gotten our country into? I feel badly that most of the hard work Col. Pittard has done has been derailed by this Iraqi citizen uprising. I know people like the Colonel cannot or will not say it, but I blame the Pentagon and the Commander-in-Chief for rushing into this unnecessary and cruel war without a decent plan. I am not surprised it has turned out as it has. I pray for the safety of Col. Pittard's Brigade and hope he will truly be supported soon by his own Commander. My heart breaks for all of the people touched by this awful experiment.
What did I just say yesterday?
.....more important, many critics believe, Bush should have listened to former Army chief of staff Gen. Eric Shinseki, who said a postwar occupying force in Iraq would have to number in the hundreds of thousands.....
.....more important, many critics believe, Bush should have listened to former Army chief of staff Gen. Eric Shinseki, who said a postwar occupying force in Iraq would have to number in the hundreds of thousands.....
Praying for the Miners
The dead, the trapped, the injured.
When that sun comes up each morning and I walk down into that cold dark mine
I say a prayer to my dear saviour, please let me see the sunshine one more time.
--Dwight Yoakam
The dead, the trapped, the injured.
When that sun comes up each morning and I walk down into that cold dark mine
I say a prayer to my dear saviour, please let me see the sunshine one more time.
--Dwight Yoakam
Operation Hero Miles: The Troops Need Your Help
Operation Hero Miles provides a way for you to help our troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan by donating your unused frequent flyer miles. Efforts are underway to make the donated miles more broadly available to all U.S. military personnel.
Operation Hero Miles provides a way for you to help our troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan by donating your unused frequent flyer miles. Efforts are underway to make the donated miles more broadly available to all U.S. military personnel.
Gurdjieff: The
Sunnite and the Shiite
This prescient wisdom was quoted in February by my guest-blogger Anonymoses:
Gurdjieff quote on psychic hatred and organic hatred...
"These two schools of the Mohammedan religion are called there the "Sunnite" and the "Shiite".
It is very interesting to note that the psychic hatred of each other formed in the psyche of the beings who belong to these two independent schools of one and the same religion has, on account of their frequent clashes, now been transformed completely into an organic hate.
Beings of certain European communities have during recent centuries greatly contributed to their incitement to the rise of this particular transformation on that strange being-function.
And they have employed and continue to employ this incitement in order that the animosity between the beings who follow these two independent schools of one and the same religion, should increase and that they should never unite, since if that were to happen, there might soon be an end there for those European communities.
...
And hence it is that accidentally arisen "newly baked" communities always rub their hands and rejoice when sparks fly between these Sunnites and Shiites, because they then count on a long and secure existence for themselves."
-G. Gurdjieff, "Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson" circa 1950
Sunnite and the Shiite
This prescient wisdom was quoted in February by my guest-blogger Anonymoses:
"These two schools of the Mohammedan religion are called there the "Sunnite" and the "Shiite".
It is very interesting to note that the psychic hatred of each other formed in the psyche of the beings who belong to these two independent schools of one and the same religion has, on account of their frequent clashes, now been transformed completely into an organic hate.
Beings of certain European communities have during recent centuries greatly contributed to their incitement to the rise of this particular transformation on that strange being-function.
And they have employed and continue to employ this incitement in order that the animosity between the beings who follow these two independent schools of one and the same religion, should increase and that they should never unite, since if that were to happen, there might soon be an end there for those European communities.
...
And hence it is that accidentally arisen "newly baked" communities always rub their hands and rejoice when sparks fly between these Sunnites and Shiites, because they then count on a long and secure existence for themselves."
-G. Gurdjieff, "Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson" circa 1950
The disquieting Iraq ruins won't ruin George's vacation
Speaking about the June 30 transfer of power in Iraq in relation to ongoing U.S. military support, Colin Powell said: "This will be a new government that is still getting its sea legs, that is still developing institutions of democracy, that has not yet finished a constitution and has not yet held an election to give it full legitimacy."
Sea legs? If it's a sea of blood, then sea legs it is, I suppose.
Powell says the growing casualties in Iraq are "disquieting", which means robbing one of peace/tranquility. Now he knows how the citizens of Iraq are feeling.
The Prez is back there again..on his 33rd visit to his Crawford ranch since becoming president. According to the Washington Post, he has spent all or part of 233 days on his Texas ranch since taking office, according to a tally by CBS News. Adding his 78 visits to Camp David and his five visits to Kennebunkport, Maine, Bush has spent all or part of 500 days in office at one of his three retreats, or more than 40 percent of his presidency. MUST BE NICE.
Bush was on his ranch on Aug. 6, 2001, when heignored received a certain crucial intelligence briefing historical document called "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in US". "Historical" my hot-cross buns! The Bush White House is saying the "historical document" primarily focused on recounting al Qaeda's past efforts to attack the United States. It is only the most ignorant, non-curious of leaders and advisors who would have missed so many obvious threats, especially about plane hijackings....assuming the hijackings would be just the "traditional kind" and leave it at that.
On the campaign trial, John Kerry recently quipped that when Bush 'takes days off he totally relaxes: He doesn't watch television, he doesn't read the newspapers, he doesn't make long-term plans'. I guess he doesn't readCIA briefings historical documents, either. Gosh, let's hope he doesn't get any important correspondence this week.
The President's Dan Bartllett made an astoundingly damaging political retort about Kerry (NOT) .....Bartlett said that Bush is "not skiing" in Texas, as Kerry did on a recent vacation in Idaho. Oooooooo, tough stuff there, Dan.
I just read today that the repulsive government of North Korea has said the standoff over its atomic ambitions has put them on the brink of nuclear war against the U.S. I do not want Bush at the helm when and if push comes to shove. He's the last one I'd trust to see America through without the possibility of a nuclear exchange. I think he's brought us to this brink and I'm sickened by the thought.
I am already convinced our President isn't a natural at being incredibly intelligent. I've seen his dull-witted statements at press-conferences and on shows like Meet the Press.
Now I'm beginning to wonder if he has a conscience.
Speaking about the June 30 transfer of power in Iraq in relation to ongoing U.S. military support, Colin Powell said: "This will be a new government that is still getting its sea legs, that is still developing institutions of democracy, that has not yet finished a constitution and has not yet held an election to give it full legitimacy."
Sea legs? If it's a sea of blood, then sea legs it is, I suppose.
Powell says the growing casualties in Iraq are "disquieting", which means robbing one of peace/tranquility. Now he knows how the citizens of Iraq are feeling.
The Prez is back there again..on his 33rd visit to his Crawford ranch since becoming president. According to the Washington Post, he has spent all or part of 233 days on his Texas ranch since taking office, according to a tally by CBS News. Adding his 78 visits to Camp David and his five visits to Kennebunkport, Maine, Bush has spent all or part of 500 days in office at one of his three retreats, or more than 40 percent of his presidency. MUST BE NICE.
Bush was on his ranch on Aug. 6, 2001, when he
On the campaign trial, John Kerry recently quipped that when Bush 'takes days off he totally relaxes: He doesn't watch television, he doesn't read the newspapers, he doesn't make long-term plans'. I guess he doesn't read
The President's Dan Bartllett made an astoundingly damaging political retort about Kerry (NOT) .....Bartlett said that Bush is "not skiing" in Texas, as Kerry did on a recent vacation in Idaho. Oooooooo, tough stuff there, Dan.
I just read today that the repulsive government of North Korea has said the standoff over its atomic ambitions has put them on the brink of nuclear war against the U.S. I do not want Bush at the helm when and if push comes to shove. He's the last one I'd trust to see America through without the possibility of a nuclear exchange. I think he's brought us to this brink and I'm sickened by the thought.
I am already convinced our President isn't a natural at being incredibly intelligent. I've seen his dull-witted statements at press-conferences and on shows like Meet the Press.
Now I'm beginning to wonder if he has a conscience.
Friday, April 09, 2004
A teaching tale on love
Secularist friends, pardon the diversion. I wish to share a teaching tale on love from the book: A Teaching Story from The Unveiling of Love: Sufism and the Remembrance of God by Sheikh Muzaffer Ozak.
Jesus (a.s) and the young man
"Jesus, on him be peace, one day saw a young man watering the garden and he greeted him with peace. The young man recognized Jesus, on him be peace, and said:
'" 'O Messenger of God! Pray for me to the almighty that He may grant as my portion one atom of His love.'
"Jesus replied: 'Know for sure that you could not bear as much as the one atom of God's love you so desire.'
"But the young man insisted: 'In that case, let Him grant me just half an atom of His Love.'
"Jesus, the Spirit of God, raised his hands once in supplication to the Divine Unity: 'O Lord! Grant and bestow upon this youth just half an atom of Your love.' Then he went on his way.
"Sometime later, Jesus, on him be peace, passed that way again; he could not see the young man who had begged him for just half an atom of God's love, so he asked where he was. They said:
" 'O Prophet of God! That young man went away to the mountains and wandered into the deserts. We have no news of how he is and what has become of him.'
"Jesus, on him be peace, prayed to the Almighty and asked for that young man to be shown to him. By divine inspiration, Jesus, on him be peace, was told the young man's whereabouts and he went straight there. Seeing the youth sitting on a steep rock, immersed in contemplation, he called out to him. Far from responding, the young man did not even turn his head and look. Jesus, on him be peace, called out again, identifying himself this time, but again he got no response. It was then that God, the Lord of Majesty and Perfection, vouchsafed to Jesus, on him be peace, this inspiration:
" 'How can one with even half an atom of My love in his heart be expected to hear the voices of men? O Jesus! For the sake of My Might and Majesty, do not suppose that he heard your voice and yet gave you no answer. If they were to cut that young man up with a saw, he would feel no pain. If they threw him into the fire, the fire would not burn his body, and he would not even notice the heat of the flames.' "
Secularist friends, pardon the diversion. I wish to share a teaching tale on love from the book: A Teaching Story from The Unveiling of Love: Sufism and the Remembrance of God by Sheikh Muzaffer Ozak.
Jesus (a.s) and the young man
"Jesus, on him be peace, one day saw a young man watering the garden and he greeted him with peace. The young man recognized Jesus, on him be peace, and said:
'" 'O Messenger of God! Pray for me to the almighty that He may grant as my portion one atom of His love.'
"Jesus replied: 'Know for sure that you could not bear as much as the one atom of God's love you so desire.'
"But the young man insisted: 'In that case, let Him grant me just half an atom of His Love.'
"Jesus, the Spirit of God, raised his hands once in supplication to the Divine Unity: 'O Lord! Grant and bestow upon this youth just half an atom of Your love.' Then he went on his way.
"Sometime later, Jesus, on him be peace, passed that way again; he could not see the young man who had begged him for just half an atom of God's love, so he asked where he was. They said:
" 'O Prophet of God! That young man went away to the mountains and wandered into the deserts. We have no news of how he is and what has become of him.'
"Jesus, on him be peace, prayed to the Almighty and asked for that young man to be shown to him. By divine inspiration, Jesus, on him be peace, was told the young man's whereabouts and he went straight there. Seeing the youth sitting on a steep rock, immersed in contemplation, he called out to him. Far from responding, the young man did not even turn his head and look. Jesus, on him be peace, called out again, identifying himself this time, but again he got no response. It was then that God, the Lord of Majesty and Perfection, vouchsafed to Jesus, on him be peace, this inspiration:
" 'How can one with even half an atom of My love in his heart be expected to hear the voices of men? O Jesus! For the sake of My Might and Majesty, do not suppose that he heard your voice and yet gave you no answer. If they were to cut that young man up with a saw, he would feel no pain. If they threw him into the fire, the fire would not burn his body, and he would not even notice the heat of the flames.' "
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)