Censored by Google Alerts - Crossed Crocodiles on AFRICOM  Read more 

From the New York Times:

Verizon, Sprint and Time Warner Cable have agreed to block access to Internet bulletin boards and Web sites nationwide that disseminate child pornography.

The move is part of a groundbreaking agreement with the New York attorney general, Andrew M. Cuomo, that will be formally announced on Tuesday as a significant step by leading companies to curtail access to child pornography.

Then there is this from Mashable: “Cuomo’s Child Porn Deal: The Death of USENET?”  Read more 

I’m sure you’ve seen this.

Among the images on the site were a photo of naked women on all fours painted to look like cows and a video of a half-dressed man cavorting with a sexually aroused farm animal. He defended some of the adult content as “funny” but conceded that other postings were inappropriate.
Kozinski, 57, said that he thought the site was for his private storage and that he was not aware the images could be seen by the public, although he also said he had shared some material on the site with friends.

I just got off the phone with someone following this a little more closely, and I’m told that this is the gentle description of the stuff that was on his “private” public site. Yadda yadda, to each his own, if it doesn’t involve the unwilling or children I’m OK with it. But: ick. What is wrong with republicans? Cows? Cows??? Anyway, besides being totally grossed out, and not at all surprised that even ’libertarian’ Republicans are sick fucks, this comment from that link pissed me off:

besides, everyone looks at porn of some sort. most people are just afraid to admit it.

No, not “everyone.” I’ve written some porn here, so I won’t make the claim that I’m ’porn-free.’ But mostly, I did that to raise some money so the site admin here doesn’t have to sell blood to keep this place going. And frankly, it made me uncomfortable and somewhat depressed. But whatever, I grok that people will look at porn all the livelong day but can’t be bothered to read and/or lift a finger to save American Constitutional Democracy. Still, I hope the commenter eventually is told: no, and I’m speaking both as a non-conusmer of visual porn, as well as a friend to lots of (mostly women) people who aren’t either; not everyone “enjoys” porn.

There’s a whole nuther discussion about why porn is hateful, hurtful, misogynist, anti-feminist, ubercapitalist, hurts children, encourages rape and violence, and degrades our ’moral values.’ I won’t start that here as I don’t think most of you want to hear it. But while I’m enough of a Freedom of Speech All the Time sort of person, I will not accept that porn is always “healthy” and “normal” and that “everyone” should “enjoy” it. If you do, that’s your right. But please understand, there are actually quite a few of us who don’t. That’s our right as well.

I’m sorry Twisty doesn’t post so often anymore. She said it best, and I have to agree: what’s wrong with long walks on a beach at sunset? Holding hands? Reading poetry? Linking arms over a toast? Is a pretty face not enough anymore? Must it be closeups of clits and fake tits, all the time, and nothing else? Is perceiving the whole being/object of your attentions/attraction really that hard, such that people (men?) must always and only see the “juicy” parts to get excited? If so, that strikes me as really sad, and a sign of the degree of sickness in our society.

…who needs friends?

I’m by no means accusing anyone of Glennuendo, but in the spirit of CD’s last epic post, we should all keep our eyes out for shit like this, in which wingnuts parrot Holocaust denialists in order to tar Obama. Say what you want about how his presidency will be a boring tour around the Lekture circuit, but if this happened on our side there would be an immediate effort to tie these bloggers to McCain (campaign contributions?) and force him to issue a public apology. The ADL would jump down his throat and it would become an albatross that would go down in history as sinking McInsane’s campaign (well, one of many.)

We don’t have to go that exact route but this shouldn’t go unnoticed because, again, the wingnuts will be nastier than ever over the next 5 months. Don’t ever forget that.  Read more 

Money laundering is the process of illegally transferring money without getting caught. It takes two forms:

1. Turning illegally obtained money into money that appears legally obtained.

This is your typical drug dealer with suitcases full of cash. As long as it is in cash, it can be stolen or seized by the authorities. It can’t be deposited in the bank, and the IRS will be upset that they didn’t get their cut. Just ask Al Capone.

If you stuff a million dollars in your mattress you probably won’t sleep very well.

2. Legally possessed money transferred illegally to someone else.  Read more 

Fascinating:

But as a terrible consequence of the first whalers making landfall there 150 years ago, Gough has become the stage for one of nature’s great horror shows. Mice stowed away on the whaling boats jumped ship and have since multiplied to 700,000 or more on an island of about 25 square miles.

What is horrifying ornithologists is that the British house mouse has somehow evolved, growing to up to three times the size of ordinary domestic house mice, and instead of surviving on a diet of insects and seeds, has adapted itself to become a carnivore, eating albatross, petrel and shearwater chicks alive in their nests. They are now believed to be the largest mice in the world. Yesterday Birdlife International, a global alliance of conservation groups, recognised that the mice, who are without predators themselves, are out of control and threatening to make extinct several of the world’s rarest bird species.

Here’s the deal: Mo Nature kills, frequently and without mercy. 99.9999999999% of species that have ever lived are extinct, the great majority of them acheived that without our help. Yes, it’s a “horrorshow” to know that species are being snuffed out left and right because humans are too stupid and lazy to properly preserve delicate environments. That sucks, for a lot of reasons. The two biggest in my mind are 1) All the scientific benefit that is lost when a unique species is lost. Who knows what miracle drugs or energy solutions could’ve been found in them? We fuck ourselves and our future when we recklessly destroy or let a species go extinct, of any kind, great or small, flora or fauna. 2) We barely understand how ecosystems really work. Killing a single species can upset the delicate balance for all the rest of them in any given ecosystem, small scale and large. In the spirit of “the butterfly wing flap that caused a hurricane/Chaos Theory,” similarly, we really shouldn’t think ourselves so knowledgable such that we can choose which species “aren’t important.” We’re just learning the truth of this now, as we attempt serious efforts of repopulation and re-naturalization of ecosystems. It’s way harder than first thought.

Having said all that: do the Killer Mice have the right to live, and thrive? Why are the birds “more important” than this new breed of mouse?  Read more 

Ah, the NYT is the epitome of accuracy in journalism:

Then in March 2004, Mr. Obama’s political and literary fortunes abruptly shifted. His victory in a tightly contested United States Senate primary in Illinois made him an overnight Democratic Party sensation.

“Tightly contested?” From Wikipedia:

In early media polls leading up to the March 16, 2004 primary election, [Blair] Hull enjoyed a substantial lead and widespread name recognition resulting from a well-financed advertisement effort. He contributed over $28 million of his personal wealth for the campaign.

When allegations that Hull had abused his ex-wife were made by the media, Hull’s poll numbers dropped and he failed to win the nomination. Illinois State Senator Barack Obama later became the nominee.

Obama finished 29 points ahead of the second place primary finisher. Then he cake-walked in the general against Alan Keyes after Jack Ryan withdrew from the race following disclosure of divorce records containing politically embarrassing charges by his ex-wife.  Read more 

At least now we know why NARAL endorsed Obama. From The Politico (emphasis mine):

In an interview with Politico, NARAL President Nancy Keenan said the group’s nine-member political action committee chose Obama after extensive deliberation that included studying the two Democratic candidates’ delegate counts (both pledged and superdelegates), their viability in a matchup against the presumptive Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain, and their cash on hand.  Read more 

NARAL, National Abortion Rights Action League, announced that it is endorsing Obama.

Sen. Obama has said, “A woman’s ability to decide how many children to have and when, without interference from the government, is one of the most fundamental rights we possess. It is not just an issue of choice, but equality and opportunity for all women.”  Read more 

Tommorrow’s news today.

Tune in tonight for the latest episode of WWTSBQ! Hear Hillary’s campaign obituary (again)

Watch pinheaded pundits pontificate pointlessly!

See Donna Brazile-nut toss Democrats under the bus.

Listen to Tweety misogynize shamelessly with the He-Man Woman Haters Club Chorus.

Find out how a landslide defeat in a swing state is a huge victory for Barack Obama!

Special bonus: a preview of tomorrow’s “new and improved” wankfest!

(No-host bar, gratuity not included)

When the WVWV wankfest was at its height, I got this mail from Michelle:

lambert —

In every state across the country, there are thousands of qualified voters who are not registered to vote.

Some believe their vote doesn’t matter, some have been actively disenfranchised, and some have been overlooked or excluded by a broken system that has lost touch with the concerns of ordinary Americans.

Barack and I entered this race because we believe there’s a chance to change that.

From the beginning, our goal has been to reach out to people of all races, ages, and backgrounds and bring them back into the political process. We must use the rare opportunity we have right now to bring people together and make this a better country for all Americans.

That’s why I’m excited to announce a 50-state voter registration and mobilization drive we’re calling Vote for Change.

Beginning with a nationwide kick-off on Saturday, May 10th, more than 100 Vote for Change events will take place in every state, organized by our dedicated volunteers who are leading this campaign for change in their own communities.

Sign up to get involved now:

…

Blah, blah, hope, blah, change, blah,ratfucking, blah, blah, pack behavior, blah, blah, blah, blah [yawn], blah, change, blah, stolen caucuses, blah, blah, hope, change, blah…

Oops, I got a little carried away. All that “blah, blah” stuff at the end is me, not Michelle. In case you couldn’t tell.

But could the ginned up OFB WVWV wankfest, which baselessly smeared an organization that registers women be a two-fer? It would be irresponsible not to speculate:  Read more 

If you paid taxes in the last few years, that is.
The Houston Chronicle has details. Millions in taxpayers’ money helped build the sect’s home and fortune — as did labor and tithes from church members “prophet” Warren Jeffs dunned.

The market value of Yearning for Zion Ranch exceeds $21 million — with the approximately 80,000-square-foot temple valued at $8.7 million, according to the county tax appraiser. One of the county’s biggest taxpayers, the sect paid last year’s $424,000 bill on time.

There is little mystery about the source of all the money and manpower it took to build the ranch, according to dissident FLDS members, who still live at the sect’s historic home on the Utah and Arizona border.

They say before Warren Jeffs was arrested in August 2006, the sect’s self-pronounced prophet aggressively solicited the faithful at its base in Colorado City, Ariz., for donations of cash and labor to build its “New Zion” in Texas.

Yet the money didn’t all come from inside the FLDS. Some came straight out of the contracts and Small Business Administration loans taxpayers’ dollars fund.  Read more 

From The Guardian: “Senior [Bush] officials bypassed army chief to introduce interrogation methods.”

America’s most senior general was “hoodwinked” by top Bush administration officials determined to push through aggressive interrogation techniques of terror suspects held at Guantánamo Bay, leading to the US military abandoning its age-old ban on the cruel and inhumane treatment of prisoners…  Read more 

 Read more 

Under the Bush Administration, reading is no longer fundamental. The Bush Administration has eliminated all funding for the program— which has been funded by every administration since 1975—in the 2009 proposed budget.

The plainest way to say it is that everything, every last fucking thing, is “constructed” in the SCLM product/discourse/fairy tale. Someone thinks about what it is in it, and what is not, and how, one word at a time. So when this happens, people should remember it’s a feature, and not a bug. What is funniest to me is that the WaPo, and the District, are queer havens, places where queer culture and thought and activity are open, vibrant. I guess I’ve just never been a part of that group of self-hating types who want to play these games.

But guys: trust me when I say, str8 America is over all this silliness. I look forward to the day, and indeed I believe it will come in my lifetime, when this sort of stunt is uncommon and quickly forgotten.

As the Blade reported last week, Maj. Alan Rogers, by all accounts a hero for his brave acts while serving in Iraq, was killed in January and buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Rogers lived as openly gay a life as he could, given the military’s discriminatory “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. He had many gay friends in D.C., patronized gay businesses and even worked as treasurer for the D.C. chapter of American Veterans for Equal Rights, a group working to overturn the military’s gay ban.

But the mainstream media accounts of his death omitted any reference to his sexual orientation. These were not benign omissions. The Washington Post, in particular, worked overtime to excise any mention of Rogers’ sexual orientation. It did not even report his work for AVER. Several of Rogers’ gay friends told the Blade that they were interviewed by a Post reporter at the funeral, but their memories were not included in the paper’s coverage.

I say this as only one of my age and “race” can: there comes a time when people decide to hate others for different reasons. No construct lasts forever, and nothing cannot be changed. Yes, blah, I know it works ’both ways,’ but in this case, working with younger people and knowing what they tell me about sex and sexuality and gender, I’m confident that this country is on the verge of finally shedding our particularly vulgar and unimaginative form of homophobia. And that’s a good thing.

Feh, I’ll chalk it up to yet another example in which the WaPo reminds me that I’m not sorry I don’t read them. /tosses hair/ So tired, they are.

Obama’s top Iraq advisor has written a paper in which he advises that through negotiations with the Iraqi government “the U.S. should aim to transition to a sustainable over-watch posture (of perhaps 60,000–80,000 forces) by the end of 2010 (although the specific timelines should be the byproduct of negotiations and conditions on the ground).” (Emphasis mine.)

Now, of course, Obama’s campaign denies that this position is his position, but Colin Kahl heads his Iraq working group and Obama has never said how many troops he’d leave on the ground in Iraq. Obama’s advisors have also said that he wouldn’t rule out using Blackwater and other mercenaries in Iraq.  Read more 

I’m sure this may come as a shock to you, but military is hiring bloggers to work as moles, “verbally attack[ing] specific person[s] or promot[ing] a specific message.”

Wait, sorry, wrong link.

Here’s the article.  Read more 

In Part I we saw where the term “ratfucking” originated and met two of the most infamous ratfuckers. In this part we will see how ratfucking went from being a small part of GOP political campaigns during the Nixon era to being the centerpiece of campaigns under Bush I.

Harvey Leroy “Lee” Atwater (February 26, 1951 – March 29, 1991) was an advisor of Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush. As shown in Part I, He got his start as a ratfucker thanks to Karl Rove. Rove, then the National Chairman of the College Republicans, introduced Atwater to George H.W. Bush who was then the RNC Chairman.  Read more 

Did you ever wonder what some of the obnoxious trolls claiming to be Obama supporters are hoping to accomplish by insulting the supporters of Hillary Clinton? Their tactics aren’t likely to win converts, and seem designed to make enemies.

Maybe they aren’t really Obama supporters after all.

Maybe they are a special breed of GOP trolls called “ratfuckers.”

Part I

Ratfucking is an American slang term for political sabotage or dirty tricks. It was first brought to public attention during the Watergate scandal investigation that during the 1972 presidential campaign the Nixon campaign committee maintained a “dirty tricks” unit focused on discrediting Nixon’s strongest challengers.  Read more 

It’s a floorwax and a dessert topping! It robs you blind and destroys your Constitution, and it is grossly and absurdly incompetent:

WASHINGTON (AP) — Authorities revealed Tuesday that a man carrying a loaded shotgun was arrested in January near the U.S. Capitol, and explosives left in his truck nearby went undetected for three weeks.

According to an indictment filed in District of Columbia Superior Court, Michael Gorbey, 38, of Rapidan, Virginia, faces charges of planning to set off a bomb. He also is accused of making or transporting an explosive device with the intent of using it against people or property and multiple firearms charges.  Read more 

Not Everything That Can Be Done Should Be Done. I am rarely flummoxed. I’ve been researching and trying to write an essay about the convergence of transhumanism, the technological singularity, and eugenics. I can’t … I just bloody can not do it. I understand the damn material, but it just freezes my brain. So I’m gonna have to let you do most of the work. I’ll provide some basic resources.  Read more 

Which blogger said this:

Clinton was the only top-tier candidate to refuse the ultimate Iowa and New Hampshire pander by removing her name from the Michigan ballot. That makes her essentially the de facto winner since Edwards and Obama, caving to the cry babies in Iowa and New Hampshire, took their name off Michigan’s ballot. Sure, the DNC has stripped Michigan of its delegates, but that won’t last through the convention. The last thing Democrats can afford is to alienate swing states like Michigan and Florida by refusing to seat their delegates.

 Read more 

Speaking of the double-being known as Sen Lieberman-McCain: heh.

When The Day endorsed Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman for re-election in November 2006 it was supporting a candidate who demonstrated a history of pragmatic leadership and a willingness to seek bipartisan solutions.

We wonder what happened to that senator.

Sen. Lieberman’s open-ended commitment to military involvement in Iraq comes as no surprise. The senator made it clear when running for re-election that was his position. Sen. Lieberman wants the United States military to remain in Iraq until the war is won, whatever that means. It conflicts with this newspaper’s position that the time has come for a gradual withdrawal of U.S. forces.

Despite that difference of opinion, The Day editorially backed the senator because of his experience, his willingness to put principle above politics, as demonstrated by his condemnation of former President Clinton following the Monica Lewinsky scandal, and his even-handed political approach.

But while Sen. Lieberman remains experienced, he is no longer even-handedly principled.  Read more