Brain Damaged Republicans

3:50 pm EST February 26th, 2007 | News | 4 Comments

While two-thirds of Republicans approve of how Bush is handling the situation in Iraq, more than nine in 10 Democrats disapprove of the job he is doing there. Among independents, 31 percent approve and 68 percent disapprove.

Par for the course.

Topic: Iraq

Gun Play

3:03 pm EST February 26th, 2007 | Politics | 20 Comments

Jonthan Turley has an interesting op-ed about allowing children, specifically boys, to play with guns. As I child, I was not allowed to play with and have toy guns. Much to the chagrin of my grandfather who once fashioned one out of wood at his woodworking shop in order to counter my mom. Overall I think it was a good thing. I do play violent video games, but that wasn’t until I got old enough to appreciate the difference between the game and reality, and I don’t fetishize weapons as I think many people do.

Moment Of Beyonce Knowles Oscar Zen

11:57 pm EST February 25th, 2007 | Movies | 6 Comments

She looks great in high def – no wonder they put her in the first row. And Jay Z wasn’t there. Begin the spreading of the Beyonce-Oliver rumors. BeDub in the hizzy.

Al Gore @ The Oscars

11:32 pm EST February 25th, 2007 | News | 33 Comments

First off, the Dicaprio-Gore bit was hilarious (see cons, you go for the funny first, not the preaching or else it wouldn’t work). And kudos to Al Gore for taking awareness of the global climate crisis to a new level, no matter what the deniers mumble about.

Algoreoscar

Topic: Al Gore

Fear Factor

4:13 pm EST February 25th, 2007 | News | 10 Comments

So I’m thinking of the GOP field and which candidate scares me the most – right now – as a Dem, and least.

Least Scariest: Giuliani. I would almost love him getting the nomination. With Rudy, it’s almost a case of not throwing Br’er Rabbit into the briar patch. A New York city mayor with a hot temper, three marriages (one of them to a cousin), shady business dealings up the wazoo, and a horrible judge of character (Bernard Kerik)? No, Br’er Bear, don’t throw me in that thar birar patch! I still don’t see how his social positions make it through the GOP process with its fealty to the religious far right, but it’s almost worth it to hope that they give him a pass.

Kinda Scary: Romney. Has the good looks and the slick tongue to make a go of it, but already the template is being drawn for a John Kerry style flip-flop caricature. Also has shady business skeletons in his closet, and his one term at governor was essentially a mulligan – so much so that Massachusetts picked a Democratic governor as his sucessor after a string of Republican ones. (Will people start picking up on the fact that his first name is really “Willard”? That’s got “Felix” written all over it.)

Scariest: McCain. The base doesn’t love him, but still way too many Democrats and independents do. For as wrong as he is and continues to be about Iraq, his Vietnam service seems to get him a pass. Of all the GOP candidates, he’s the strongest against a Dem and will require the most resources and work to take down.

Overall, I’m about 62% sure right now (I reserve the right to flip flop on that as time goes by) that the next president will be a Democrat, thanks in large part to Bush/GOP fatigue (Iraq, Katrina) as well as a slight shift towards the Dems in the public consciousness as well as enthusiasm for the Dem field (Clinton, Obama, Edwards and maybe maybe maybe Gore).

Topic: 2008 Election

Adult Stem Cells Probably No Good

1:47 pm EST February 25th, 2007 | Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Just more evidence that the next Democratic president needs to make the promise of lifting the de facto ban on stem cell research a major part of the 2008 campaign.

A scientific panel says a 2002 study that suggested adult stem cells might be as useful as embryonic ones was flawed and its conclusions may be wrong, a finding that raises questions about the promise of a less controversial source for stem cells.

Lives are at stake.

Topic: Stem Cell Research

Connect The Dots: Iran

1:38 pm EST February 25th, 2007 | News | 9 Comments

Bush vampire by Alex Ross Fool me twice…

U.N. calls U.S. data on Iran’s nuclear aims unreliable

Although international concern is growing about Iran’s nuclear program and its regional ambitions, diplomats here say most U.S. intelligence shared with the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency has proved inaccurate and none has led to significant discoveries inside Iran.

The officials said the CIA and other Western spy services had provided sensitive information to the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency at least since 2002, when Iran’s long-secret nuclear program was exposed. But none of the tips about supposed secret weapons sites provided clear evidence that the Islamic Republic was developing illicit weapons.

U.S. developing contingency plan to bomb Iran: report

Despite the Bush administration’s insistence it has no plans to go to war with Iran, a Pentagon panel has been created to plan a bombing attack that could be implemented within 24 hours of getting the go-ahead from President George W. Bush, The New Yorker magazine reported in its latest issue.

The special planning group was established within the office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in recent months, according to an unidentified former U.S. intelligence official cited in the article by investigative reporter Seymour Hersh in the March 4 issue.

US generals ‘will quit’ if Bush orders Iran attack

Tension in the Gulf region has raised fears that an attack on Iran is becoming increasingly likely before President George Bush leaves office. The Sunday Times has learnt that up to five generals and admirals are willing to resign rather than approve what they consider would be a reckless attack.

“There are four or five generals and admirals we know of who would resign if Bush ordered an attack on Iran,” a source with close ties to British intelligence said. “There is simply no stomach for it in the Pentagon, and a lot of people question whether such an attack would be effective or even possible.”

Topic: Iran

Console Wars ’07

3:36 pm EST February 24th, 2007 | Uncategorized | 14 Comments

I’m a veteran of the console wars (I picked NES over the Master System, Genesis over Turbografx-16 and Super Nintendo) so imagine my surprise as an owner of the Sexybox 360 (shout out to Gears of War, Madden ’07) that I’m actually cheering on Microsoft and hoping for Sony to fail. This is a totally irrational, immaterial thing. But its fun.

Topic: Technology

Why Republicans Just Can’t Be Trusted On Terrorism

3:02 pm EST February 24th, 2007 | Republicans | 5 Comments

They call a lying, perjuring, smear artist like Scooter Libby a "loyal soldier" in the war on terror, but when the actual soldiers in the war on terror come home they throw them in a rat-infested hell hole.

Republican Values strike again.

Meet The Romneys

2:31 pm EST February 24th, 2007 | Uncategorized | 10 Comments

It doesn’t really matter to me, but for the religious right who get the heebie jeebies about Mormonism, Mitt Romney having polygamy in his family tree can’t help.

Topic: Mitt Romney