EP-RANTS!

More words of wisdom from the (s)elected president Recycled from the j-walk.com blog , comes this set of quotes from Slate : The Complete Bushisms . Quotes from the President of the U.S. Just a few examples: "I'm also not very analytical. You know I don't spend a lot of time thinking about myself, about why I do things."—Aboard Air Force One, June 4, 2003 "You're free. And freedom is beautiful. And, you know, it'll take time to restore chaos and order—order out of chaos. But we will."—Washington, D.C., April 13, 200 "We need an energy bill that encourages consumption."—Trenton, N.J., Sept. 23, 2002 Here's another quote from someone else that I really liked: "Get a Bushectomy and get your country back!" Who originally said that? I don't know, but I'll be happy to repeat it! * * * * * * * * * * * *

Telemarketing Madness In today's Los Angeles Times, there was an interesting article: Another Hang-Up for 'Do Not Call' A Denver judge, ruling that the phone registry violates telemarketers' free-speech rights, hands the industry its second legal victory this week. By Jube Shiver Jr. WASHINGTON - Minutes after both houses of Congress concluded a remarkable scramble Thursday to make a popular "do-not-call" registry pass muster with a federal judge, a second jurist ruled that the program had deeper problems: It violated telemarketers' 1st Amendment rights. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Edward W. Nottingham in Denver handed the telemarketing industry its second legal victory this week and put in doubt the future of the Federal Trade Commission's national registry. Although Nottingham's ruling is certain to be appealed, legal experts said that at the very least it would delay implementation of the program, which was sc...

George W. Bush Doesn't Like to Read the News! President George W. Bush is not the type of man that likes to read the news. Here's part of an actual transcript from a Fox News interview conducted on Monday, September 22, 2003: BRIT HUME: How do you get your news? G.W. BUSH: I get briefed by Andy Card and Condi in the morning. They come in and tell me. In all due respect, you've got a beautiful face and everything. I glance at the headlines just to kind of a flavor for what's moving. I rarely read the stories, and get briefed by people who are probably read the news themselves. But like Condoleezza, in her case, the national security adviser is getting her news directly from the participants on the world stage. BRIT HUME: Has that been your practice since day one, or is that a practice that you've... G.W. BUSH: Practice since day one. BRIT HUME: Really? G.W. BUSH: Yes. You know, look, I have great respect for the media. I mean, our...

The 3rd Annual Nigerian EMail Conference Have you ever received any email from someone in Nigeria that desperately needed money? I'm sure you have. With a tip of the hat to Ms. Amacker B. of Bruhaha /Bitchwhich, I present some important information about a special conference designed specifically for these email marketers. The 3rd Annual Nigerian EMail Conference Dates: November 7 - 9, 2003 Location: Abuja Sheraton Hotel & Casino Registration Fee: $995 per person Like most Nigerians, you're probably finding that it's increasingly difficult to earn a decent living from email. That's why you need to attend the 3rd Annual Nigerian EMail Conference. "This conference is an investment in your future. Learn to take advantage of modern technology, and make a great deal of money with very little effort. If you have any question, please contact me and I will send you a proposal that may be of interest to you. I await your response by r...

Recycling Harry Truman More than once, I've heard Howard Dean acknowledge the spirit of Harry Truman, who had the great line "We won't give 'em hell. We'll just tell the truth and it will feel like hell." Harry Truman certainly had his share of political challenges. A lot of Democrats didn't think Truman stood a chance of getting re-elected in 1948. Thomas Dewey, the charismatic Republican candidate that lost a close race to Franklin Roosevelt in 1944, looked like the man who would become the next president. In fact, some of the estranged Democrats were so angry at Truman, they formed a third party, the Dixiecrats, which chose Strom Thurmond as their presidential candidate. Newsweek magazine polled 50 key political journalists to determine which candidate they thought would win. All 50 journalists believed that Thomas Dewey would win the election. Two months before the election, noted polltaker Elmo Roper was so confident of a Dewey v...

Two members of Congress ask for investigation of why Bush allowed 140 Saudi nationals to leave the U.S.A. after 9/11 - before proper investigations took place With a tip of the hat to Buzzflash.com, I found this interesting news tidbit: Two Democratic House members from South Florida, Peter Deutsch and Robert Wexler, are calling for an investigation into how Bush administration officials allowed about 140 Saudi nationals to leave the country in the days after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. At a time when all private aviation was grounded, top officials allowed charter flights to pick up Saudis around the country and then leave for Saudi Arabia, according to reports in Vanity Fair and The Tampa Tribune. The group included some members of the royal family and some relatives of Osama bin Laden. The departures occurred as investigators learned that 15 of the 19 hijackers in the Sept. 11 attacks were from Saudi Arabia, and some Saudi officials said they feared a backlas...

JOHNNY CASH- REST IN PEACE We lost a great man today. My heart goes out to the family and friends of Johnny Cash. He inspired millions of people, and he will be missed. Man In Black (Johnny Cash) copyright 1971 House Of Cash Well you wonder why I always dress in black Why you never see bright colors on my back And why does my appearance seem to have a somber tone Well there's a reason for the things that I have on I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down Livin' in the hopeless hungry side of town I wear it for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime But is there because he's a victim of the times I wear the black for those who've never read Or listened to the words that Jesus said About the road to happiness through love and charity Why you'd think he's talking straight to you and me Well we're doin' mighty fine I do suppose In our streak of lightning cars and fancy clothes But just so we...

Remembering, Re-remembering, and Reinventing What happened two years ago can never be forgotten. Someone once said that comedy is merely tragedy plus time, but I can't imagine any scenario where this event could ever be considered funny. It was the darkest, scariest moment in my life, and it was the only time I've ever known when America truly came together as one community. To see such a vicious attack on so many people was something we did not expect. We shared many tears for the thousands of people that never knew what hit them. As this attack was something that emerged out of political and religious differences with a group of extremists from the Middle East, it's naive to think that politics are irrelevant to this issue. This attack was a wake-up call to strengthen our security systems, pay attention to the growing cancer of discontent in the Middle East, and recognize that life itself is so very precious. I could provide a lot of links that would suppor...

Another reason to avoid Excedrin... In a New York Times article dated September 6th, reprinted in the Sydney Morning Herald of Australia I found some very interesting news: During the 2000 presidential campaign in the US, executives at Bristol-Myers Squibb, one of America's largest drug companies, received an urgent message: Donate money to George Bush. The message did not come from Republican campaign officials. It came from top Bristol-Myers executives, according to four executives who say they donated to Mr Bush under pressure from their bosses. The four, who asked not to be named, said they were told to donate the maximum - $1000 in their own name and $1000 in their spouse's - and if they failed to do so, their names would be forwarded to the company's then chief executive, Charles Heimbold. Federal election law bars companies from using coercion to force a person to make a political contribution. A spokesman for Bristol-Myers, John Skule, said on ...

Ted Koppel on the Patriot Act My friend Lisa Rein spotted a great segment on ABC Nightline where Ted Koppel interviewed folks from the ACLU and the Justice Department, among others -- and was able to paint a frighteningly accurate picture of the Patriot Act and its new bastard brother, the Victory Act. To quote Ted: The men who drafted our constitution, who framed our civil rights and protected our various freedoms under the law would, I suspect, retch at some of the bone headed, self-serving, misinterpretations of their intentions that they so often use these days to undermine the very freedoms they pretend to safeguard. The miracle of American Law is not that it protects popular speech, or the privacy of the powerful, or the homes of the priviledged, but rather, that the least among us, those with the fewest defenses thoses suspected of the worst crimes -- the most despised in our midst, are presumed innocent until proven guilty. That remains as revolutionary a concept no...

Bill Clinton, Terrorism, and Intelligent Policy A lot of conservatives like to think that Bill Clinton allowed terrorism to happen. There's a certain comfort zone in believing in things that support your beliefs, even if they have little to do with actual fact. BuzzFlash.com presents a clear case that dismisses such theories. I tend to agree with their conclusions. http://www.buzzflash.com/perspectives/Clinton_and_Terrorism.html Of course, there's always the matter that the mostly-Republican congress refused to enact the suggestions of the 1996 Gore Airline Security Commission until it was too late. http://nsi.org/library/safety/aviationsec.html When it comes to poltics, rhetoric is usually stronger than reason. That's why it's so refreshing when we find a politician that isn't afraid to embrace a good idea, regardless of party affiliations. That's why Howard Dean is such a breath of fresh air. * * * * * * * * * * *

A Smart Republican Speaks Out I've got a lot of respect for Michael Cudahy. As veteran of old politics for the Republican party, Mr. Cudahy ran 8 state campaigns for George H.W. Bush, but lately, he's decided to come out in favor of supporting Howard Dean's presidential campaign. As the founder of Marquette Electronics, this 78 year old Wisconsin Republican doesn't exactly fit the stereotype of of a liberal Dean supporter. That's why his endorsement is so intriguing..... As we have all witnessed, Republican media strategists have been very effective at scaring the living daylights out of the citizens of this country, and driving down overall turnout. It is a process which, if not stopped soon, may very well become impossible to reverse. And then -- we might find ourselves well down the road to being a Banana Republic governed by strutting, angry ideologues -- interested more in maintaining their political power than in enacting thoughtful bipartisan po...