....The children are left behind, again!..

For a so-called "Compassionate conservative" Bush sure seems to love screwing over everyone from the troops to America's children. Here's hoping that Sicko help changes that.

Bush Is Prepared to Veto Bill to Expand Child Insurance
By ROBERT PEAR

WASHINGTON, July 14 — The White House said on Saturday that President Bush would veto a bipartisan plan to expand the Children’s Health Insurance Program, drafted over the last six months by senior members of the Senate Finance Committee.

The vow puts Mr. Bush at odds with the Democratic majority in Congress, with a substantial number of Republican lawmakers and with many governors of both parties, who want to expand the popular program to cover some of the nation’s eight million uninsured children.

Tony Fratto, a White House spokesman, said: “The president’s senior advisers will certainly recommend a veto of this proposal. And there is no question that the president would veto it.”

The program, which insured 7.4 million people at some time in the last year, is set to expire Sept. 30.

The Finance Committee is expected to approve the Senate plan next week, sending it to the full Senate for action later this month.

Senator Max Baucus, the Montana Democrat who is chairman of the committee, said he would move ahead despite the veto threat.

“The Senate will not be deterred from helping more kids in need,” Mr. Baucus said. “The president should stop playing politics and start working with Congress to help kids, through renewal of this program.”

The proposal would increase current levels of spending by $35 billion over the next five years, bringing the total to $60 billion. The Congressional Budget Office says the plan would reduce the number of uninsured children by 4.1 million.

The new spending would be financed by an increase in the federal excise tax on tobacco products. The tax on cigarettes would rise to $1 a pack, from the current 39 cents.

Mr. Fratto, the White House spokesman, said, “Tax increases are neither necessary nor advisable to fund the program appropriately.”

Democrats in the House would go much further than the bipartisan Senate plan. They would add $50 billion to the program over five years, bringing the total to $75 billion. By contrast, in his latest budget request, Mr. Bush proposed an increase of $5 billion over five years, which would bring the total to $30 billion.

White House officials said the president had several other reasons to veto the bipartisan Senate plan.

“The proposal would dramatically expand the Children’s Health Insurance Program, adding nonpoor children to the program, and more than doubling the level of spending,” Mr. Fratto said. “This will have the effect of encouraging many to drop private coverage, to go on the government-subsidized program.”

In addition, Mr. Fratto said, the Senate plan does not include any of Mr. Bush’s proposals to change the tax treatment of health insurance, in an effort to make it more affordable for millions of Americans.

Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, the senior Republican on the Finance Committee, said he would like to consider such tax proposals. But, he said, “it’s not realistic — given the lack of bipartisan support for the president’s plan — to think that can be accomplished before the current children’s health care program runs out in September.”



How the hell can we dare to wave our stupid "We're #1" foam finger when our government doesn't even want to care for our children???? The money that could be going into health care-money that could save lives- is instead used to take lives in Iraq and Afghanistan.


As I write this I'm drowning out the Michelle Malkins of the world (sadly, there's more than one she just has a different) because they will defend this idiot faux cowboy until Armageddon arrives ...which thanks to him doesn't seem to far away. How can ANYONE claim to be a Christian yet support a health care system where innocent people including children, die? Or they're left out in skid row? I know why because most of them are insured, they don't have to worry about choosing which finger to keep or how to spend their last days. And, they could a fuck about the poor because lord knows JESUS had the same attitude. He would be so proud seeing these people support this needless war, his followers turn away from the sick and poor.


FYI, even as an agnostic, I know what "Love thy neighbor" means and it's not telling them to go fuck themselves but apparently Bush's followers think otherwise. Jan. 20, 2009 can't come soon enough.

....Her Choice...

I found this on

msn.com

and I knew had to post this before it was taken down.

Real Life: Why I Chose Abortion
By Gretchen Voss

Fireworks lit up the sky; great, big booming explosions of color. It was New Year's Eve 2002, and I'd just found out I was pregnant with my first child. Surrounded by a dozen friends on Cape Cod, I thought those fireworks were meant just for me.

We wanted to keep it a secret, my husband, Dave, and I, so I stealthily poured nonalcoholic O'Doul's into my frosty mug, trying to act like I was the same old person I was yesterday. That lasted about an hour. I've never been good with secrets, especially life-changing ones.

Four blissful months later, the lights dimmed and the screen brightened. My rounded belly was covered in slick, warm gel. As I lay back on the cushy examining table at my doctor's office in Lexington, MA, fuzzy gray images of our baby pulsed on the monitor. It was curled up like a question mark in my womb -- our baby -- and Dave and I oohed and aahed over its perfect little features. "Is it a boy or a girl?" I asked, giddy -- thinking, really, that the sole purpose of this routine full-fetal ultrasound was to determine what color to paint the nursery. The technician was quiet. Evasive. Her furrowed-brow focus finally brought an end to my bubbly chitchat, and I began to feel uncomfortable. Then she left the room, and I started to panic. Trying to distract myself as the seconds stretched into minutes, I stared up at the silly pictures of fuzzy kittens and kissing dolphins taped to the ceiling. When she returned, she said that our doctor wanted to see us upstairs. Dave murmured reassurances, but it did no good. I started crying. I could barely get my maternity clothes back on.

The waiting room upstairs, usually bustling with radiantly serene pregnant women devouring parenting magazines, was empty. My doctor -- young and trim, and usually quick with a smile -- was tight-lipped as she led us back to her office, the half-eaten contents of her lunch and photos of her own children scattered about the desk. The ultrasound, she said, indicated that the fetus had an "open neural tube defect," a spinal-cord condition with a range of severity from life-threatening to hardly noticeable. We had to go to Boston, she said, immediately, today, where a new, high-tech machine could tell us more. She directed someone to make an appointment and give us directions. Then she abruptly left us to cry.

There were no fuzzy kittens or dolphins in that stark white hospital room at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in downtown Boston. Just ominous-looking machines and monitors that beeped and whirred. Dave grasped my hand tightly as the technician squirted gel over my belly and rolled a cold wand across my roundness, gently punching it down here and there unexpectedly, trying to get the baby to move and provide a better view on the screen. I couldn't bear to see my baby in sharp, black-and-white relief -- What does a life-threatening spinal condition look like? -- so I stared at the technician, like a panicked airline passenger caught in a thunderstorm, taking her cues from the expression on a flight attendant's face. But the technician revealed nothing. She did not utter one syllable in 45 minutes.

And then she spoke words no pregnant woman wants to hear. Instead of "healthy" and "strong," our baby was discussed in clinical terms like "hydrocephalus" and "spina bifida." Like a defective zipper, the spine hadn't closed all the way, and a gaping hole was located near the brain -- the worst possible spot. What the doctors knew -- that the baby would be paralyzed and incontinent, its brain smushed against the base of the skull and the cranium filled with fluid -- was awful. What they didn't know -- whether it would live, and if so, the degree of mental and developmental defects -- was devastating. If the baby did live, countless surgeries would be required, and none of them would repair the damage that was already done.

I was numb with shock. It sounds naive now, but I'd never considered pregnancy a gamble. Nobody warned me that what was rooting around inside my body was a hope, not a promise.

Sitting in the genetic counselor's windowless office, I tried to read between the lines of complicated medical jargon, searching for answers that weren't there. But I already knew what I had to do. Even if our baby had a remote chance of surviving, it was not a life that we would choose for our child.

In Washington, DC, on the same day I decided to terminate my pregnancy, lawmakers gathered to discuss a new bill -- one that would effectively outlaw so-called partial-birth abortions, the term preferred by pro-lifers to put a decidedly graphic spin on abortions that occur after the first trimester. It wasn't an issue I'd given much thought to, since I'd long been ready to have children of my own. Although I'd always considered myself pro-choice, I just assumed that meant choosing whether or not to keep a baby after an accidental pregnancy, not whether or not to terminate a pregnancy after you'd already fallen in love with your child.

Looking back, I'm not sure which was worse: the three days leading up to the procedure (like most women who have gone through it, I've never called it an abortion) or the rip current of emotions following it.

Walking around with a belly full of broken dreams, I felt like I was drowning. I couldn't shower, because I didn't want to touch my stomach and accept that there was life in there; yet I couldn't bring myself to have a glass of wine to calm my nerves, because, of course, I knew there was.

My decision tortured me. This wasn't some mysterious clump of cells that would simply be sucked away in a vacuum. This was a 19-week-old baby, one that I desperately wanted, that would be pulled out of me bit by bit -- that's the way it works through the "dilation and evacuation" procedure.

I asked over and over, Are we doing the right thing? Our family -- even my Catholic father and Republican father-in-law, neither of whom were ever pro-choice -- assured us that we were. Politics suddenly became personal -- their daughter's heartbreak, their son's pain, their grandchild's suffering -- and that changed everything.

My regular obstetrician, who only handled healthy pregnancies, referred us to someone else. I was glad. Whereas she'd seemed cold and dismissive upon learning of my decision to terminate the pregnancy, I felt nothing but compassion from my new doctor, who reminded me in looks and manner of Dr. Larch in The Cider House Rules.

His eyes, the kindest, saddest I'd ever seen, teared up as Dave and I cried in front of him.

In his cramped and unfashionable private office in Brookline, he started the two-day termination process by inserting four laminaria sticks (made of dried seaweed) into my cervix. The pain was excruciating, like needles piercing my abdomen, and he apologized over and over as I cried out. Afterward, ghostly white and shaking, I could barely walk to the recovery room. The pain increased through the long night as the sticks collected fluids from my body and expanded, dilating my cervix as though I were in the beginning stages of labor.

The next morning in the operating room, I was petrified and fought the anesthesia, clinging to my last moments of pregnancy. As I finally started to drift off, my doctor held one of my hands and an older, female nurse held the other, whispering in my ear, "You're going to be okay, I've been here before, lean on your husband." It's my last memory of the experience. When I woke up, it was all over. I was empty.

For the next week, my mother tried to bring me back to life with grilled-cheese sandwiches and chicken noodle soup. But I felt like a freak in a world of capable women having babies -- Why did my body betray me? -- and for months I quarantined myself from the world. I just couldn't bear well-meaning friends saying, "I'm so sorry."

I took that nurse's advice and leaned on my husband. He seemed so resolved in our decision, in a way that I just couldn't be. Perhaps it was guilt -- it was my body that had failed us all: my husband, myself, our baby. Dave was strong where I was weak. But then I found him one night, all alone, kneeling on the floor of our bathroom with the light off and the door half-closed, doubled over, bawling. It nearly killed me, and I realized then that I did not own this pain alone.

In an effort to pull myself together, I wrote my doctor a long note on my good wedding stationery. I thanked him for his compassion and said that it must be hard, what he does, but that I hoped he found consolation in the fact that he was helping women at their most vulnerable. When I went in for my six-week checkup, he told me that he kept my note, along with other letters of appreciation, in a large bundle, to remind him of why he does this difficult work. And he keeps that bundle right next to his stack of hate mail, which is about the same size.

Seven months later, in November 2003, 14 weeks into my second pregnancy, I gently rubbed my rounded belly, tears rolling down my cheeks as I watched George W. Bush sign the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act on CNN. It would be at least two more weeks before I could learn via ultrasound if this baby squirming around inside my womb was healthy or not. Taking in the scene, I understood that if this baby were plagued with the same genetic defects as my last, any choices I had were being taken away from me.

Once the president signed the act -- the first federal ban on any abortion procedure in the 30 years since Roe v. Wade, and the first ban on a surgical technique in the history of this country -- the 400-strong crowd at the ceremony exploded in whoops and hollers. "For years a terrible form of violence has been directed against children who are inches away from birth, while the law looked the other way," Bush said. It was time to "defend the life of the innocent."

I stared at the screen. The president was, in essence, calling me a baby killer. Even members of the Democratic Party -- 17 in all -- voted for the ban. One of my own senators, John Kerry, perhaps looking to dodge the liberal label in anticipation of his bid for the White House, conveniently missed one of the key votes (as did his future running mate, John Edwards).

According to the Bush administration, the new law would put an end to the "gruesome and inhumane" procedure used to kill healthy babies after the first trimester. But the language of the law was less clear. Essentially, legislators invented a previously nonexistent medical term -- "partial-birth abortion" -- and then banned it. By giving it a purposely vague definition, the term could feasibly apply to all abortions after the first trimester, including my own.

Legislators also made no mention of fetal viability (the point at which a fetus can live independently of its mother for an extended period of time) or gestational age. There were no exceptions for a fetus with severe birth defects incompatible with life (many of which cannot be detected until well into the second trimester). Nor for a mother who would be forced to have, for example, a kidney transplant or hysterectomy if she continued with the pregnancy.

"When we look to the unborn child," Bush said into the television cameras, "the real issue is not when life begins, but when love begins."

Over the next 36 months, three federal courts -- as well as three appellate courts -- struck down the ban as unconstitutional. But on November 8, 2006, the eight men and one woman of the Supreme Court heard two new arguments on the ban -- both of which, experts predict, could result in expanding its reach. The Supreme Court upheld the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act in a ruling on April 18, 2007.

Maureen Britell used to stand outside a Planned Parenthood in Maryland shouting Hail Marys. A devout Irish Catholic, Britell was raised to believe "abortions were for bad girls who couldn't keep their legs closed," she says. Her husband, a major in the Air Force, flew F-15s for a living. Then, when she was five months pregnant with her second child, Britell found out their baby girl had anencephaly -- no brain or any chance of life.

"Could we have continued the pregnancy? I guess, but we'd have been on a death watch," Britell says today. Because they were Catholics, the Britells decided to have a labor induction instead of a surgical abortion so that they could baptize and bury their daughter whole. But, after 13 hours of labor, the baby came out breech, stuck in the birth canal with a too-short umbilical cord. Halfway delivered, the doctors had no choice but to cut the cord, an "overt act" that killed the baby while partially delivered. In other words: a partial-birth abortion.

As if the heartbreak weren't enough, CHAMPUS, the government-funded health insurance for military families, refused to pay Britell's $8,000 hospital bill, as it does not cover abortion unless the woman's life is in jeopardy. In the middle of the financial battle, the Britells went to church on Mother's Day, which was also the occasion of their 6-year-old daughter's First Communion. After the service, Britell was confronted by dozens of chanting protesters from the National Right to Life. Her pastor -- who knew about her baby girl -- had sold her out.

It's holiday season 2006, and I'm deep inside the concrete bowels of the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington. Down hidden elevators and along desolate corridors littered with abandoned filing cabinets, I see the sign I've been searching for: "H.O.P.E. Memorial Service," written on blue construction paper. It stands for Helping Other Parents Endure, a support group for families who've terminated a pregnancy due to fetal abnormalities. Tonight is its annual memorial service.

It has been three years since I ended my pregnancy. Gathering with strangers feels awkward. The room is too large for such an intimate gathering. The event organizer hands me a 14-page program, filled with beautiful poems and letters submitted by other parents. I didn't submit anything. She asks me to sign the guest book with my baby's name and take an ornament: pink angels for little girls, blue ones for little boys. I tell her I didn't know whether my baby was a boy or a girl, and we never gave it a name. She feels bad that she didn't consider that circumstance. I feel bad that maybe I didn't mourn properly.

After a few words by the chaplain, the social worker leads us through a door onto a dark concrete patio. In a tight circle, we light candles off one another with shaking hands. "I light this candle in honor of..." each person says, then recites the child's name. Abigail and Travis and Grady. I say, simply, "Baby Voss." "Now we'll blow out the candles," the social worker says. "But the light your child brought into your life will never be extinguished." I lower my head to blow out my candle, but the flame is already gone. The freezing wind blew right through my protective hand and took the light away from me.

It's an awkward process. Just a month before, I find myself sitting in the dining room of the Concord Country Club at a baby shower for a pregnant friend. Over plates of salmon, the foursome at my table shares hilarious tales of raising children. Then the woman next to me turns and says brightly, "I want a third child, don't you?"

I don't know what to say.

These women are aware only of the two healthy boys I've had in the past two years, not my first child, whom I will never know. As I sit in the members' dining room, I feel like an outsider. Pregnancy, for me, is an experience I associate with sheer terror. How do I explain to this woman that carrying my two sons to term left me exhausted from worrying? That as I consulted genetic counselors and gobbled down massive doses of folic acid, I floated in an emotional no-man's-land, completely unable to attach to the new life in my belly?

While I scramble to find some suitable answer to her question, I can feel the ears of a friend at the next table prick up. Last year, in her 18th week, she, too, terminated a pregnancy that had gone horribly wrong. She knew my story -- her parents and my in-laws are friends -- and she called me. I remember her asking through tears, "What am I going to tell everyone? What if people judge me?"

"Just tell them you lost the baby," I said. "It's nobody's business, anyway."

We talked for a long time that night. But we haven't talked about it since.

Turning to my cheerful tablemate, I briefly consider telling her the truth. Then, instead, I mumble something lame, like, "Kids are a handful -- I think we're all set with two." As the words leave my mouth, I feel like my silence is letting all of us down.

On one level, it's nobody's business, I realize. But on another, isn't it everybody's?




Words like compassion and conscience are thrown around when it comes to this issue but it's stories like Gretchen's that truly matter because we are actually brought into the mind of the woman. As you read this wasn't an easy or ideal situation for her, despite what some pro-lifers think. No matter the circumstance it is never an easy decision for any woman to make.


As the country debates whether a fetus is life, we can't forget that the woman carrying it, is.

.....KO, foes and Ro.......

As expected, the democrats (with a few exceptions) gave into Bush. They're going to continue to fund this war until September. The optimist in me believed that they would at least hold out until late summer because then the lack of funding would actually effect the troops but they didn't. In this case they're waiting for General Petraues report which will probably ask for more troops because he is a company man.


This strikes me as being odd because the donkey is the symbol of the democrats but it's Bush who is being the total jackass. His stupidity and stubbornness is frustrating, annoying and disgusting. This wasn't "bipartisanship" as he claimed, he held his breath like a little spoiled brat until he got his way. And during a press conference this week he tried to use the fear card against reporters (like David Gregory) who questioned him. He kept on saying that terrorists are going to go after their children. Apparently, he doesn't realize that with the exception of Fox Noise most Americans don't believe his bullshit anymore. It's because of this "macho"/"protector" attitude, we as a country have gained more foes than allies. But again, he is so into his bubble of a world to see the damage he has done at home and abroad.



Anyway, KO delivered a superb Special Comment this past week and he didn't hold anything back. He said he would give the democrats six months before going after them and he stayed true to his words.


While bridges began burning between the democrats and anti-war folks, the same can be said about Rosie, Elisabeth and the View. Last Wednesday's show was the most intense eternity that I've ever witnessed on television. From my perspective this fight between Rosie and Elisabeth was about more about friendship than politics.


The week before Rosie had posed a question about who the terrorists were to Elisabeth since the US invaded Iraq and the result is the deaths of thousands of Iraqi civilians. Some pundits took it as her either calling the troops terrorists or her implying that concept. On Monday's show, instead of defending Rosie, Elisabeth explained how they can "draw a link" with her words. Unlike these pundits, Elisabeth knows Rosie, she's been to her home and their children played together. Yet, she yelled at her during the fight to "defend to her insinuations" as if Rosie intentionally insinuated that the troops were terrorists. And as her friend, I would think that she would already know the answer. Rosie hates the owner (Bush) but she loves the team (troops) and Elisabeth knows that, she just couldn't say it when it mattered.

This fight was a deterioration of a friendship and of a business relationship. Now that's Rosie's gone from The View, so will I and many others. She was the one that resurrected the show and now, it looks as if she was the only one that could.

...How Can They?...

This is a poem I just wrote about the 30%ers (those who still support Bush).


How can they close their eyes?
Then dare to defend
All his blatant lies
And support a war with no end
How can they stand by this man?
This "cowboy", so reckless and wild
He can’t relate or understand
How it's like to bury his child
And he says, “We must win”
That our only option is “victory”
As he ignores a soldier’s coffin
How can they not see?
What he’s done to this great land
Turning us into the world’s enemy
With blood on our hands
And not showing our humanity
How can they ignore
Him taking our rights away
Do they even care anymore?

.....Pink and the President....

Pink has a song titled "Dear Mr. President" which directly address President Bush in a courageous and eloquent manner. She has an amazing voice and the lyrics are painfully beautiful.


"Dear Mr. President"
(feat. Indigo Girls)

Dear Mr. President
Come take a walk with me
Let's pretend we're just two people and
You're not better than me
I'd like to ask you some questions if we can speak honestly

What do you feel when you see all the homeless on the street
Who do you pray for at night before you go to sleep
What do you feel when you look in the mirror
Are you proud

How do you sleep while the rest of us cry
How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye
How do you walk with your head held high
Can you even look me in the eye
And tell me why

Dear Mr. President
Were you a lonely boy
Are you a lonely boy
Are you a lonely boy
How can you say
No child is left behind
We're not dumb and we're not blind
They're all sitting in your cells
While you pay the road to hell

What kind of father would take his own daughter's rights away
And what kind of father might hate his own daughter if she were gay
I can only imagine what the first lady has to say
You've come a long way from whiskey and cocaine

How do you sleep while the rest of us cry
How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye
How do you walk with your head held high
Can you even look me in the eye

Let me tell you bout hard work
Minimum wage with a baby on the way
Let me tell you bout hard work
Rebuilding your house after the bombs took them away
Let me tell you bout hard work
Building a bed out of a cardboard box
Let me tell you bout hard work
Hard work
Hard work
You don't know nothing bout hard work
Hard work
Hard work
Oh

How do you sleep at night
How do you walk with your head held high
Dear Mr. President
You'd never take a walk with me
Would you

.....Another Candle on the Cake..........

In the words of Chi chi Rodriguez, today I was birthed :)I know that this is supposed to be my day but when I think about the number of candles on my cake, my mind drifts to our troops. Most of them are my age and they have probably celebrated one, two even three of their birthdays in a war zone instead of with their families and friends. Some of them won't have opportunity to do so because they'll either come home in a flag covered coffin or their tour will be extended.


And for what? A President that can't admit to his own mistakes. Instead of trying to put to an end to this war he's going to push it off onto the next president. His own party continues to throw around words "defeat", "embolden our enemies", and "victory" when in their hearts they know that this war has been lost. The only one who has said it, albeit in a Freudian slip, is John McCain - yet they press on with the same rhetoric.

Even though it pains me to admit this, the Dems can't break the president on this and so, we'll have to wait until 2008 to bring our troops home. At least then this war will belong to the President's and his party.


So before I blow the candles on my cake surrounded by my loved ones, I'll think of those who aren't as fortunate.

.....Sorry H-Money.......

Sorry H-Money, but Obama's speech in Springfield, IL has blown your campaign (so far), out of the water. I don't know what H-Money is going to do now...


Barack has the eloquence that W lacks and charm that H-Money needs. And sorry Edwards, but he has made sure that there are no "controversial" bloggers on his staff too. Granted, he doesn't have H-Money's experience but hell, look at Forest W. Gump's track record pre-White house. He wasn't exactly seasoned either.


Unlike W, when Barack says that he will work WITH both parties he actually means it. He won't turn his back against the world, congress and the American people and do whatever he damn pleases. That kind of attitude is not admirable (take note Rudy Giuliani and John McCain.. pandering bastards) and yet, it perfectly represents why this country is hanging by a thread. Therefore, it will either take a former First Lady, a gangly senator with a funny name, a handsome humanitarian, a former senator and maybe.. just maybe...a former VP that WON the presidential election to fix this broken land. '08 can't come soon enough........

....Clash of the Titans:Part Deux....

There have been great feuds throughout history. First there was, David v. Goliath, and Greeks v. Trojans then came along Fox News v. Real News Networks, Rosie v. Dump Truck, Britney v. Christina Lindsay v. Hilary, Scarlett, Paris, The Simpson sisters, her father, Fes from That 70's Show...we have a come a long way. Of course one timeless battle is woman v. woman and today is no exception.


For a brief time (about a day) there were murmurings of Dick Cheney possibly resigning from his VP position which I doubted. Then I saw the anti-war march in DC where actors like Tim Robbins and Jane Fonda spoke about impeaching Mr. Bush. So, Tim's suggestion got me thinking...If by some miracle Cheney and Bush are out of office well before January 2009 that means Nancy Pelosi would be president....The First WOMAN President in US history (and yes, I did have a feminist hard on just by thinking about this) But then another powerful woman came to mind, Hillary...


Now Hillary (or as I like to sometimes call her, H-Money) is in this race to win. I don't understand why she felt the need to say that other than to assert herself in this male dominated race. No one enters a presidential race to lose...except for Ralph Nader. Anyway, she's going for the triple crown: the presidency, the historic significance of being the first woman president and the First Lady to become president (Bill will of course be the First Gentleman not "First Man" as my dear KO said) I see the drive and ambition in her baby blues but she's not (at least not publicly) acknowledging a potential obstacle; Nancy Pelosi.


Mama Pelosi is logistically closer to the presidency than H-Money is. She only has two men in her way while H-Money has over a dozen. And I just know that H-Money would secretly resent Mama Pelosi if she were to become president because she got there FIRST. It is like Britney Spears v. Christina Aguilera all over again!


Let's face it, Christina has always resented Britney for being first...at EVERYTHING! She got signed to a label first and released her album before her. Even though she has the stronger voice, Britney got more attention and credit for being "the first woman of pop" during the resurgence of genre in the late 90's. Britney was the face of Pepsi, so Christina went to Coca Cola. Britney had her own video game while Christina was a character in The Sims. Although Christina was the face and feet of Skechers in 2003 Britney already was years earlier. They've even shared men! Britney was with Justin but after the breakup, he toured with Christina. Then there's Fred Durst....Christina did a duet with him at the VMAs and three years later, Britney spent some um...."studio time" with him. Although to be fair, Durst is like that loser in high school who brags about scoring with every girl when in reality, he doesn't even get to first base. And last but not least, how can anyone can forget the press that Britney's Madonna kiss got over Christina's? Ms. X-tina was so pissed off that she accused Britney of lip synching and she called the performance "vanilla" during an interview with Allure magazine. These two are younger and apolitical version of Mama Pelosi and H-Money....



Whatever team you're cheering for, I think we can all agree on one thing..no one wants to see any of them resort to making with Barbara Boxer on the senate floor.

............Never Before....

This is long overdue...but screw it. Blue has never looked so beautiful on a map before. Obviously, I'm referring to the midterm elections. Snaps to Howard Dean, Chuck Schumer and John Murtha for making this happen! And I now have restored faith in our country and democracy. IRAQ is the issue that determined this election because all the democrats that won were against it and much like most of the country, they wanted a change for the better.


Now don't get me wrong, I know that W is still in charge and that impeachment...for now, is not an option. I don't want DICK to be in office, all right? But I think the mere threat of impeachment could really help dear W actually listen and compromise w/ Madame Speaker Pelosi (sweeter words have never been typed). I also don't expect an instant magic wand effect but I am hopeful. Maybe...just maybe the 31% that still supports W will also learn a hard lesson as well.


As far coverage goes, I watched Keith Olbermann and Christ Matthews on MSNBC. I love KO and I tolerate Chris lol Although compared to the other guys on there like Carlson and Scarborough he is well.... fair and for the most part, intelligent, it's just his voice. And the fact that he playfully roughed up my dear Colbert a bit has stayed with me. I actually fell asleep with Keith being the last person that I saw on my screen. So, I can proudly say that I went to bed with KO but since I love him, I am denying that I fell into my deep slumber before he finished. :)



All right Dems, y'all better get it right and get it done!

....Oh What Balls (The Dixie Chicks edition)........

Update on Colbert: It's been over three weeks since his infamous speech at the WHCA dinner and it like Daniel Powter's song, it just won't go away. This past Saturday, the audio version of his speech was the number 1 download on iTunes and since he is on a two week break he is now taking the time to read his reviews but also speaking at Knox College's graduation ceremony! Go on my dear Stephen, enjoy this glorious afterglow!

Look, I'm not going to pretend that I was always a Dixie chicks fan...in fact the only country music I can take is pop country like Faith Hill with a few drops of Shania and LeAnn. But everything changed on the eve of the Iraq war. Natalie made her a controversial comment saying that she was ashamed that W came from Texas. It was the quote heard around the world. We all know what happened next with their "fans" and country radio turning their backs on them. But it wasn't until she won VH1's "Big Quote" of the year (2003) award that I took notice of this Texan woman with the biggest balls in America. When she appeared on stage to accept the award (from the fabulous Bill Maher) she was greeted by a fair amount of boos and she did the "Bring it On" gesture. Her acceptance speech was funny, gracious and eloquent. Here is Bill Maher's introduction and her speech.




"Now as many of you here tonight know, last March Natalie Maines of the Dixie
Chicks said something mean about George Bush and almost lost us the war in
Iraq. In fact, if she had said one more mean thing about the President, the
Iraqi’s would have taken Boston. And that could have affected Ben and J. Lo.
Now, since the Dixie Chicks have made several trips to the Pakistani border,
where they have been meeting with Osama Bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, Uncle Saddam
to them, North Korea’s leader, Lil’ Kim and Janeane Garafalo, who two of them
are dating. Now, all kidding aside, there is a technical word for people who
get hysterical over nothing, they are called 'morons.' Whipping up fake
hystery is a tactic that bullies use and free speech depends on people standing up
to bullies and the Dixie Chicks did that gracefully this year. All of this,
all of us who have been "Dixie-chicked," at one time or another, salute these
ladies. And it is with great pleasure that I present Natalie Maines with VH1’s
Big Quote of ‘03 Award."





"Thank you. I can take it!! Thank you. You know, there's an old Texas expression that says if you don't have anything nice to say about someone, then go to London and say it in front of 2,000 people. This has been a life-changing experience for me and I'm so grateful that it happened. I learned a lot about myself, my partners, my fans and the country. And actually, I think I found one thing that I do have in common with the President: neither one of us know how those words got into our speeches.


And you know, some people have said that I should shut up and sing. And I thought about this. Everything's worth a thought. I thought about this and I actually tried it. To shut up AND sing. But nothing came out and that didn't work. So, instead I decided to NOT shut up AND to sing. It's one thing that's great about being an American. And a mother of one of the soldiers wrote us a letter that said freedom is something you live, not just something you write on a wall. And that is why we as Americans must vote, and we must be involved, and we must question. Why? Because we can. So I ask you, please don't let anyone scare you and start living your freedoms.


I'd like to thank a few people whose support was very important to me during the last 8 months. First of all, Martie and Emily, who both showed the kind of undying support I can only hope I would've shown them. My dad, my mom and my sister who wrote countless letters defending me and standing up for the person I am. They probably knew to prepare for something like this because they've had a relationship with my mouth and my opinions for 29 years. I'm thankful that I was raised my parents who taught me to love and not to hate. I thank Simon Renshaw for putting integrity above money. You could have asked us several times to just say or do one thing that would've changed it all. And you never did that.


All three of our husbands and our friends and families endured negative...a lot of negative, but remained strong and supportive. I'd like to thank Bill Maher, Michael Moore and Al Franken for dedicating their time to sifting through the lies to find the truth. And laughing while learning is a beautiful thing! Most of all I want to thank our fans for standing by us. You're the best and you make me proud. And lastly I want to thank all the haters, because you make me strong, empowered, involved and proud!! And to the haters, I thought you might like to know we have a CD and a DVD coming out next week, which is great for y'all because you can burn one and stomp on the other. And now, in saying all this, I hope we can move on to the music. And I'm actually going backstage right now. I was hoping you [indicating Bill Maher] would help me with this. I'm starting to write our next big hit single. It's called 'Goodbye Cheney.' Thank you!"




After that, I was totally on board with her and the chicks. These women were/are not unpatriotic for their stance against the President and this war, country radio is for shutting them. Freedom of speech is a right that is entitled to EVERYONE not just to those who we deem worthy and yes, that includes celebrities as well. Even though a lot of their fans and country radio turned on them they gained a new audience and respect frorm liberals like myself.

Freedom, Truth, Understanding and Knowledge or Fuck You Toby Keith lol



The treatment that they received from their former fans was unfair and and uncalled for. Mel Gibson and I are on opposite sides of the fence but I still enjoy his work and he's a great actor. He isn't a horrible person and he doesn't have a "mental disorder", we just disagree. It's unfortunate that the Chicks fans couldn't be the same way. Although honestly, if they're going boycott every liberal who was against this administration and the war..well, I hope they enjoy watching the 700 club, PAX, Dennis Miller and the blue collar comedy tour. Oh and Chuck Norris movies. The death threats that they sent to these chicks were just disgusting and those people are no better than the dictators that they claim to hate. They threaten these women to "shut up and sing or I'll kill you!" How American is that?



Since the "Incident" the lovely ladies spent their time holding concerts where the profits went to educating individuals about Bush hoping to boot him out of the white house...alas, it didn't work. So, they lived their lives, recharged themselves and have now put out a new album. "Not Ready to Make Nice" is basically a wonderful "fuck you" to their fans and if you've seen the video, possibly Cheney too. Their true fans (liberal and conservatives) have praised their most recent album and those who never bought a country record in their life are doing the same. It's a very anti-conservative thing to do actually. I mean, when was the last time you ever heard liberals boycotting something? Or Bill Maher urging his audience to do so unlike O'Reilly. Currently, I'm awaiting for "Taking the Long Way" to be delivered to my doorstep. And by the way, it was the top selling album on Monday on amazon.com.


With this album, they have nothing to lose and everything to gain including a more mainstream and open-minded following. Hell, Natalie said in a recent interview that she's happy that "Not Ready" isn't being played on country radio because quite frankly, well, its current state sucks, yes, I'm talking about you Gretchen Wilson.

The Dixie Chicks and others like them, are living proof that freedom has to be fought for in ordered to be kept and maintained. So kudos to you Dixie Chicks for refusing to "make nice" and to "kiss that ass." Bless your patriotic and courageous hearts!


I hope you enjoy their interview in Time down below.







Sunday, May 21, 2006
In the Line of Fire
THEY'VE TAKEN THEIR HITS, AND NOW THE DIXIE CHICKS HIT BACK WITH WHAT MAY BE THE BEST ADULT POP CD OF THE YEAR. ER, WILL ANYONE BUY IT?
By JOSH TYRANGIEL

Natalie Maines is one of those people born middle finger first.

As a high school senior in Lubbock, Texas, she'd skip a class a day in an attempt to prove that because she never got caught and some Mexican students did, the system was racist. After Maines joined the Dixie Chicks, and the Dixie Chicks became the biggest-selling female group in music history--with suspiciously little cash to show for it--she and her bandmates told their record label, Sony, they were declaring themselves free agents. (In the high school that is Nashville, this is way worse than skipping class.) Now that she's truly notorious, having told a London audience in 2003, on the eve of the Iraq war, "Just so you know, we're ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas," Maines has one regret: the apology she offered George W. Bush at the onset of her infamy. "I apologized for disrespecting the office of the President," says Maines. "But I don't feel that way anymore. I don't feel he is owed any respect whatsoever."

A sizable chunk of their once adoring audience feels the same way about the Dixie Chicks. After Maines' pronouncement, which was vigorously seconded by bandmates Martie Maguire and Emily Robison, the group received death threats and was banned by thousands of country radio stations, many of which still have informal bans in place. The Dixie Chicks have mass appeal--you can't sell 10 million copies of two of your three albums without engaging lots of different people--but country radio is an indispensable part of how they reach people. Programmers say that even now a heartfelt apology could help set things right with listeners, but it's not happening. "If people are going to ask me to apologize based on who I am," says Maines, "I don't know what to do about that. I can't change who I am."

As proof, the first single from the Dixie Chicks' new album, Taking the Long Way (out May 23), is called Not Ready to Make Nice. It is, as one country radio programmer says, "a four-minute f___-you to the format and our listeners. I like the Chicks, and I won't play it." Few other stations are playing Not Ready to Make Nice, and while it has done well on iTunes, it's quite possible that in singing about their anger at people who were already livid with them and were once their target audience, the Chicks have written their own ticket to the pop-culture glue factory. "I guess if we really cared, we wouldn't have released that single first," says Maguire. "That was just making people mad. But I don't think it was a mistake."

Whether the Dixie Chicks recover their sales luster or not, the choice of single has turned their album release into a referendum. Taking the Long Way's existence is designed to thumb its nose at country's intolerance for ideological hell raising, and buying it or cursing it reveals something about you and your politics--or at least your ability to put a grudge above your listening pleasure. And however you vote, it's tough to deny that by gambling their careers, three Texas women have the biggest balls in American music.

Over lunch in decidedly uncountry Santa Monica, Calif., where they have lived part time while recording Long Way, the Dixie Chicks--in fancy jeans, tank tops and designer sunglasses--seem less like provocateurs than busy moms (they have seven kids in all, ages 1 to 5) amped up by a little free time. In conversation they are loud and unembarrassable, celebrating their lack of boundaries in that escalating, I-can-be-more-blunt-than-you way unique to sisters (which Maguire and Robison are) and women who have shared a tour-bus bathroom. They eagerly discuss the soullessness of Tom Cruise, the creepiness of Charlie Sheen and the price-fixing practices of hair colorists. But sex is the perennial champ, and they are in a constant state of speculation about which of their kids' nannies is most likely to "get some" on tour this summer. "We're all married," says Maguire, "so it's not like we're going to."

One product of their decade together is that the Chicks are loose with pronouns (they use I and we interchangeably) and agree on almost everything, although the ways they agree can be revealing. When the conversation turns to childhood pets and I mention a beloved one-eyed dog, they all make empathetic faces, but Maguire, 36, gets teary, Robison, 33, laughs at her sister's sensitivity, and Maines, 31, says she would have poked around the empty socket "just to check it out." On Iraq, Maguire begins, "The night we sent missiles over ..." while Maines prefers, "When we bombed the s___ out of ..."

In the days preceding the March 2003 U.S. invasion, the Dixie Chicks were touring Europe. They don't subscribe to Foreign Affairs, but they are daily newspaper readers who back up their positions with a solid understanding of current events. It struck them as natural that in front of a largely antiwar crowd in London, Maines would preface Travelin' Soldier, an apolitical ballad about a heartsick Vietnam G.I., with a reference to the world outside the theater. As Maines spoke, though, Robison admits, "I got hot from my head to my toes--just kind of this rush of 'Ohhh, s___.' It wasn't that I didn't agree with her 100%; it was just, 'Oh, this is going to stir something up.'"

The celebrity playbook for navigating a scandal is one word long: repent. But apologies are for lapses of character, not revelations of it, and sensing that they were being asked to apologize for their beliefs as much as their timing, the Chicks decided not to back down. "Natalie knows we could have totally convinced her to apologize," says Maguire. "But the fact is, any one of us could have said what she said." Their demure response to the bans and threats--one of which arrived with the date, time and method of Maines' planned assassination--was to appear nude on the cover of ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY with slurs (SADDAM'S ANGELS) scrawled on their naked bodies. That did not placate the offended. More fans and friends were lost. Gradually, though, the need for round-the-clock security faded.

Now when they talk about "the Incident," as they unfailingly call it, the Dixie Chicks try to write it off as an absurdity. Maines has powerful gusts of indignation and real disdain for a few right-wing websites and talk-show hosts, but what seems to linger most is disappointment in her pre-controversy self. "I think I'd gotten too comfortable living my life," she says. "I didn't know people thought about us a certain way--that we were Republican and pro-war."

With George Bush the official piñata of the music industry (see chart, above) the Dixie Chicks' ordeal should have cooled by now. "We struggle with that all the time," says Maguire. "Are we picking the scab of something that's already healed? Because we don't know what people are thinking." Radio programmers make it their business to know. "They're still through the floor," says Dale Carter, program director at KFKF in Kansas City, Mo. "There's a technology called the Dial where listeners react to songs, and every time we test the Dixie Chicks ..." Carter makes a noise like a boulder falling from a high cliff. "It's not the music, because we're playing them the hits they used to love. It's something visceral. I've never seen anything like it."

The unwillingness of audiences to forgive the band is inseparable from politics. Market research indicates the average country listener is white, suburban and leans to the right, and they need not lean too far to file away an insult against a wartime President. Still, as the President's support has eroded and growing numbers of Americans (presumably some country-music fans among them) have come to disapprove of both his performance and the decision to go to war, shouldn't there be a proportional feeling of forgiveness toward the Dixie Chicks?

Country Music Television (CMT) has conducted numerous focus groups on the band. "And they're all a great study in the American psyche," says Brian Philips, the channel's executive vice president. "What comes up over and over again is, 'It would have been one thing if they'd said it on American soil, but it's the fact that they said it in Europe that really sets me off!'" There's an accusation of cowardice in there--although Maines insists, "I said it there 'cause that's where I was"--but if the way Philips draws out the syllables in Europe is to be believed, there's also a more personal grievance, an uneasy cocktail of resentment and abandonment. As Tim McGraw, one of the few vocal Democrats in country, and the only major artist who would speak on the record about the Dixie Chicks, says, "You've got to remember this is a family skirmish, and it's possible there's more than one thing going on."

Country music has never been particularly classy, which is one of its principal charms. Less charming is its defensiveness about its station. Unlike rock fans, most of whom are attracted to the music's integration of styles, some country fans--particularly those who call up radio stations in a lather--take it upon themselves to patrol a wall of genre purity. Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash got passes because they were sui generis. Not so Buck Owens, who in 1965, after a few experimental dalliances, took out an advertisement with a career-saving loyalty oath, "Pledge to Country Music," in the Music City News, promising, "I Shall Sing No Song That Is Not a Country Song." Even now, acts that other listeners reflexively think of as country, from McGraw to Willie Nelson to Shania Twain, are often disparaged for keeping an eye on the Hot 100, playing noncountry songs or showing a little navel. The message from hard-core listeners is, Stay behind the wall.

Early in their careers, the Dixie Chicks did, and they were beloved for it. Maguire and Robison started the group in their teens (Maguire was then at Southern Methodist University; Robison never finished an application to the Air Force Academy) with two singers in their 30s before eventually replacing them in 1995 with Maines, a Berklee College of Music dropout who, at the time, was attending her third college in three years. After a lot of dues paying, the band took over the country charts. Maines has an immensely powerful voice, but she's also capable of barometric emotional adjustments; she almost never oversings and thus sounds great coming out of stereo speakers. Meanwhile, in a medium that values tradition, Maguire and Robison played the most traditional country instruments, fiddle and banjo, and played them well. It didn't hurt either that all three were lookers.

The Chicks have affection for their early work, and songs like There's Your Trouble and Goodbye Earl will endure, but Maines describes most of it as "amateurish." They didn't write their hits, and the songs they did write were mostly filler. "I never wrote anything from my point of view," Maines says. "Even if it was something that happened to me, I would write it like it was a character and I was telling someone else's story ... That's not very brave."

This is what talented musicians are supposed to do: aspire to get better, braver. But at each step of their evolution, from their feud with Sony (ungrateful!) to the bluegrass album, Home (not country enough!), and then, of course, the Incident, the genre's wrath hovered like a jealous boyfriend. "Their old audience feels a little betrayed, a little left behind maybe," says CMT's Philips. That may explain why, as the Chicks and country began their breakup, country fans ran into the arms of brilliant redneck instigator Toby Keith, who displayed a doctored photo of Maines and Saddam Hussein at his concerts.

It also explains why the Dixie Chicks have made such a point of saying good riddance. "I'd rather have a smaller following of really cool people who get it," says Maguire, "who will grow with us as we grow and are fans for life, than people that have us in their five-disc changer with Reba McEntire and Toby Keith. We don't want those kinds of fans. They limit what you can do."

When the group gathered in early 2004 to talk about a new album, none of the three sounded nearly that confident. "You could tell this thing had strengthened them personally but shaken them artistically," says producer Rick Rubin, famous for his work with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Beastie Boys and on Johnny Cash's haunting American series. "What turned me on, though, was that even though people were divided over what they said, people cared what they said, and that's a very strong position for an artist to be in. For the first time the girls, these cute little girls, had a platform."

Rubin took on the project with the hope--he's way too Zen to make demands--that for the first time in their careers the Dixie Chicks would write all their songs, by themselves and about themselves. As writers they admit they're prone to laziness, like people at a gym who need a personal trainer to force them to concentrate. Gary Louris of the Jayhawks, blues artist Keb' Mo' and Dan Wilson of Semisonic were brought in to co-write and supply discipline, and the band hunkered down in Los Angeles, where Rubin lives, to begin the long and unglamorous work of crafting songs.

Most of the material that emerged over nearly two years of writing was about marriage and kids and modern life as the Dixie Chicks and lots of other people live it. Oblique references to the controversy made their way into a few songs, so Wilson suggested they write one that addressed the issue head on. "Natalie said, 'Does that mean we'd have to forgive the people that were so evil to us?' And I said, 'Maybe it does,'" Wilson recalls. "And with a little wave of her hand, she said, 'Nooooope.' Then the next morning that phrase 'I'm not ready to make nice' appeared."

The song builds to a massive crescendo under lyrics ("It's too late to make it right/ I probably wouldn't if I could/ 'Cause I'm mad as hell/ Can't bring myself to do what it is you think I should") that are explicitly clear. Those who loathe the Dixie Chicks will never get to the end, while those who love them will listen once, say Yeah! and probably not need to go back. It works better as a referendum than as a pop song, but as Robison says, "We wrote it for ourselves, for therapy. Whether or not other people think it was important enough to say, we think it was." Says CMT's Philips: "I hope the audience lets them get this out of their system, because it would be the musical crime of the century if people don't hear this album all the way through."

That's a bit much, but you probably won't hear a better adult pop album this year. Musically, Taking the Long Way is full of swaggering country-tinged rock hooks--like a peak Eagles record, except without the misogyny and drug references and the advice to Take It Easy. Instead the songs aspire to do what the best pop always does, function as a smart expression of its creators' lives while remaining accessible to its listeners'. There are allusions to the recent past--on the jubilant opener The Long Way Around ("It's been two long years now/ Since the top of the world came crashing down") and the breakup song Everybody Knows ("I swore they'd never see me cry/ You'd never see me cry")--but they're only obvious if you look for them. Bitter End is a sing-along about fair-weather friends (the group fell out with a few lefty rockers who, amazingly, felt cheated of the nation's opprobrium) and even Lullaby is the rare song about kids well crafted enough that the childless could mistake it for a love song. And as things begin to sag a bit in Long Way's final third, the album delivers a knockout, So Hard, the first pop song in memory about infertility (Maguire and Robison conceived by in vitro fertilization) and also the catchiest, most complicated love song on the record.

Will anybody buy it? The Dixie Chicks talk about Long Way as the end of their commercial salad days, but they're shrewd enough to know that only suckers choose between art and commerce. "I'm not ready to fly coach," jokes Maguire, and indeed Taking the Long Way could easily sub as the title for their marketing plan. They'll tour starting in July and flog the record on a few select talk shows. "Natalie's new motto is, 'What would Bruce Springsteen do?'" says Robison, laughing. "Not that we're of that caliber, but 'Would Bruce Springsteen do The View?'" They're not doing The View.

Maines says she's not looking for more battles, but she won't shy away from any either. "Everything was so nice and fine and happy for us for the longest time," she says of their pre-Incident days. "It was awesome to feel those feelings again that I felt in high school: to be angry, to be sure that you're right and that the things you do matter. You don't realize that you're not feeling those feelings until you do. And then you realize how much more interesting life is."

With reporting by Andrea Sachs

....My Bad, I didn't mean to bust a cap in your 78-year-old face...

If God exists, he gave all the comedians in America and The Daily Show a gold mine by having Cheney accidentally shooting one of his supporters in the face while quail hunting. The quails were raised in captivity and were/are wingless. It's basically shooting fishes in a barrel just add a 78-year-old man into the mix. Poor Harry Whittington, all he was doing was packing up the quail that he just dispatched and he was greeted the nation's second most powerful man ...with a shot to the face. But from what I hear, he's doing well. We may not agree on politics but I wouldn't wish such a horrific injury on anyone...unless they tried to inflict it on me or if it was Fred Phelps, Pat Robertson, that bitch Jasmine from 6th grade etc..



There have been reports that Whittington was at one point, in very critical condition but he's fine now. Although I didn't really like how the White House sort of blamed it on him. The man expected everyone there to ..I don't know... pick out the man amongst the flock of quails in front of them. It's not exactly "Where Waldo?" (which I always kicked ass, btw) for gawd sake. That's not too much to expect. This happened Saturday and unlike their usual preemptive behavior, the White House waited a day to even talk about the story. Of course, a reporter outed them..word travels fast here in the states, just look at our tabloids. Or Angelina's bump watch.



Dick has to be under a lot of stress to make such a mistake. Perhaps he has not had his annual eye exam? Did he mentally shut down and imagine that Whittington was Jack Abramoff or a New York Times reporter? Maybe Whittington and him had an argument over who would ride shotgun? They could have fought over who was going to use their special quail recipe afterwards. We don't know....and I don't think we ever will.

.......Apathy Works for Them.....

I find it sad and disgusting that I have yet to meet a pro-Bush person that actually feels compassion for the victims of Katrina. From our many conversations not once have they sent their condolences or uttered a kind word about them. Instead, they solely blame the victims themselves and that is down right callous and heartless.

Yet, I think it’s odd because a lot of pro-Bush people are a part of the religious right (more like reich). These individuals are supposed to be moral and in touch with America’s true values (meaning Christian). That’s laughable because the ones that I have encountered are without compassion, tolerance, sympathy and selflessness (that’s right W’s mama I’m talking about you!). Unlike 9/11, their beloved leader was not depicted as strong and fearless. He was exposed for what he really is; an incompetent idiot with a lot of money, power and nepotism by his side.

Call me paranoid, a conspirator or just a liberal bitch. But am I the only one that believes Bush and his administration purposely allow catastrophes to occur so he can swoop in and be this country’s white knight? It worked for 9/11, before that his approval ratings were as low as they are now (pretty depressing). So, I assume that Bush and his regime believed the same tactic would work with Katrina…oh how wrong they were. Because unlike 9/11, the local and federal government have known New Orleans vulnerability to a hurricane for years! Yet, nothing was done during the time prior to Katrina’s arrival. Nope, the big wigs just sat on their asses and assumed that Americans would praise them for cleaning up the wreckage. Yes, because tardiness and laziness are such a sought after virtues. Just like Courtney Love is a well-adjusted woman.

So now, it’s up to the American people to cleanup the mess that government didn’t take care of before hand. While the Bush supporters that I have met continue to defend their leader, REAL Americans will care for their own instead turning their backs to them.

........Kanye has cajones!................

So, for those of you who didn't catch NBC's telethon for the refugees of the Katrina Hurricane or has chosen to not watch any television for the past couple of days, Mr. West made some pretty bold statements concerning, Bush and the media's portrayl of black Americans. Honestly, I don't think it was a great time to rant but I will hand it to him he has cajones for doing it!

Although I don't agree his closing statement where he said that "George Bush doesn't care about black people" Correction, he only cares about people that can help move forward in his political career. Did anyone else notice that Katrina hit the red states the ones that helped Bush win the election??? I'm assuming that a lot of the people that voted for him though that he would take care of this country and its people whether it be through a terrorist attack or a natural disaster and sadly, the latter has proven to be wrong. Because unlike 9/11 it took DAYS for this administration to handle this situation and everyone knew that this bitch Katrina was a coming! Maybe, this administration (much like its supporters) don't believe in any scientific information whatsoever.


Many innocent lives have been lost and the death toll will raise and why? Because this country's leader was on vacation and like before did not prepare for this foreshadowed event ahead of time. Great going George!

Kanye and I agree on another point as well. The media portrayl of miniorities is biased and racist. I doubt that only "black people" are the only ones that are looting and misbehaving. Although I won't go into this, since I already covered this in an previous entry titled "Only the Beautiful Matter". Yes, it is pretty fucked up that blacks are portrayed in such a negative light during this horrible tragedy.

Mr. West was obvisouly ignoring the teleprompter because he was not as eloquent as he usually is. But I bet you a billion dollars that he is not the only one that thinks and feels that way. So, for that I commend him.

Now, I just hope that the cities and towns affected will be able to rebuild, reunite and move on. My heart goes out to them because like many times before our leader has broken another promise and many, many innocent lives have been lost because of it.

...The President and The People of the Porn.........

Wow, and I thought that my mind was going to explode when I found out that Bennifer 2 only got engaged because one of them are preggers. Oh, I spoke too soon.

It seems as if the President is going to be dining in the same room as hardcore porn star Mary Carey and her boss, porn producer Mark Kulkis. I kid you not, the Washington Post has an article that confirmed that the porn pair are attending. Don’t believe me, read it with your own eyes.

Bush's GOP Soiree Attracts a Veteran at Pressing the Flesh

By Richard Leiby

Post

Thursday, May 19, 2005; C03

When a news release crossed our desk yesterday proclaiming that a porn star named Mary Carey would attend a June dinner with President Bush , we figured it had to be a hoax. But it's true. It just won't be an intimate dinner with the prez.

Carey's boss, hard-core porn producer Mark Kulkis of Los Angeles, has ponied up $5,000 for two tickets to a National Republican Congressional Committee event called the President's Dinner and Salute to Freedom. Kulkis, who locked in his tickets by credit card yesterday, tells us he will take the 24-year-old Carey (real name: Mary Cook ) as his date.

The star of such XXX videos as "Grand Opening," Carey ran as an independent candidate for California governor in the 2003 recall election, coming in seventh with 10,110 votes. Kulkis managed her campaign.

Committee spokeswoman Caryn Alagno assured us that the porno pair would be among hundreds of donors attending the June 14 dinner at the Washington Convention Center.

"If he says that he's coming, he's coming," she told us. "This dinner is in a huge ballroom and there are going to be lots of people there."

Contemplating a run for California lieutenant governor next year, the voluptuous actress says she hopes to network with GOP officials here. "I'm especially looking forward to meeting Karl Rove," she cooed in a statement. "Smart men like him are so sexy."

Kulkis, who donated $500 to the NRCC earlier this year, said in his news release: "Republicans bill themselves as pro-business. Well, you won't find a group of people more pro-business than pornographers. We contributed over $10 billion to the national economy last year." He is also an honorary chair of the NRCC's business advisory council -- a title gained by contribution, of course.

Said Alagno: "There will be many honorary chairs."

Can't wait to see the seating arrangements.

Is this Bush’s way of bringing dignity back to the White House? So far, he’s failing and he’s not even aware of it (much like a lot of things in his life). First, there was the Jeff Gannon AKA the male escort/fake journalist and now there’s the porn duo of Mary and Mark. Morals and values seem to disappear once a large sum of money is involved. Unlike the Christian pharmacists who refuse to go against their morals by not doing their job, the Bush administration doesn’t care where their donations come from just as long as it ends up in their account.

This is the same President that once declared “Protection From Pornography Week” in October of 2003. Yet, his handlers are allowing a hardcore porn star and her producer into the White House. I’m expecting one of those Christian focus family groups to started mobilizing but it seems as if they’re choosing to be blind to the issue. Maybe I should show my breast on national television to get their attention.

Protection From Pornography Week, 2003
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation

Pornography can have debilitating effects on communities, marriages, families, and children. During Protection From Pornography Week, we commit to take steps to confront the dangers of pornography.

The effects of pornography are particularly pernicious with respect to children. The recent enactment of the PROTECT Act of 2003 strengthens child pornography laws, establishes the Federal Government's role in the AMBER Alert System, increases punishment for Federal crimes against children, and authorizes judges to require extended supervision of sex offenders who are released from prison.

We have committed significant resources to the Department of Justice to intensify investigative and prosecutorial efforts to combat obscenity, child pornography, and child sexual exploi-ta-tion on the Internet. We are vigorously prosecuting and severely punishing those who would harm our children. Last July, the Department of Homeland Security launched Operation Predator, an initiative to help identify child predators, rescue children depicted in child pornography, and prosecute those responsible for making and distributing child pornography.

Last year, I signed legislation creating the Dot Kids domain, a child-friendly zone on the Internet. The sites on this domain are monitored for content and safety, offering parents assurances that their children are learning in a healthy environment. Working together with law enforcement officials, parents, and other caregivers, we are making progress in protecting our children from pornography.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim October 26 through November 1, 2003, as Protection From Pornography Week. I call upon public officials, law enforcement officers, parents, and all the people of the United States to observe this week with appropriate programs and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-fourth day of October, in the year of our Lord two thousand three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-eighth.

GEORGE W. BUSH

Lord, I just love how crazy conservatives view liberals as being immoral and sacrilegious when they support a President that has connections to gay prostitution and now, pornography. Just recently, he pardoned a drug dealer as well. That W is one wild man! I wonder what he's going to do next...I'm betting on being seen with a gay couple. Then all the gay rumors will start because we all know that people who are seen with gays are automatically gay! Just ask Michelle Malkin (this is lovely nickname I have given to a conservative that Jamison and I cannot stand)