Monday Night Pimpfest, Part Three!

Last but not least, check out Blue Gal’s tryst with Bill Clinton.  I see hugs from Dennis Kucinich in BG’s future real soon, provided she survives her cat fight with Hillary.

Just hope I don’t have nightmares of that floating head of Hillary . . .

D.

Steve Gilliard, RIP

Only a few of my readers follow the progressive blogs, and I don’t know how many of you read The News Blog with any regularity. I know (from searching my blog posts just a moment ago) that I have shouted out Steve on more than a few occasions.

Well, it’s been a sad weekend for the progressive blogosphere, since we’ve lost one of our most incisive voices. Karen and I were regular readers of The News Blog. Steve could move us to write, to act, to donate to his blog (which is a bigger deal than you might imagine — we usually reserve our donations for ACLU, Planned Parenthood, Sierra Club, and progressive political campaigns). He could also infuriate us from time to time, which is why I took him off my blogroll at one point. But I kept sneaking looks by way of others’ blogrolls.

Others have highlighted their favorite Gilly posts, like this one from Meteor Blades. This one from September 3, 2005, remains one of my favorite Steve Gilliard rants. He’s writing about the way New Yorkers were ahead of the ball with regard to Bush — it took Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath to wake up the rest of the country. What follows is an excerpt. Read the whole thing here.

Instead of hearing what we had to say about Bush, you called John Kerry a coward, mocked Max Cleland, blamed everything but herpes on Bill Clinton. You enabled Bush into this mess and now you’re shocked?

Now, Fox can be outraged, now, Wash Times and Union Leader call Bush weak? Well, his coward ass disappeared in 2001. But you rather blame Michael Moore for that.

He can’t even explain the Iraq war to a grieving mother.

So what did you do?

Write the most vile things about her and her dead son. Attacked her patriotism and her honesty.

Well, motherfuckers, and that means you, fat ass Goldberg and your master, Rich Lowry, PNAC Bitch Beinart, the racist wannabe white Malkin and the little fucktards at LGF, Bareback Andy and “Diversity” Instacracker, all you backstabbing, fag hating uncle tom ministers, you can see Dear Leader in action. America’s largest port is gone, maybe forever, gas is $5+ a gallon and FEMA is coming. Whores come faster with old men than FEMA is getting to NOLA.

How did your wartime President react? Like Chiang Kai-Shek when the Yellow River flooded in 1944, with corrupt indifference.

Meteor Blades’ pick highlights Steve at his thoughtful best; this post, however, catches his incandescent rage. What a voice. We’ll miss you, Steve.

D.

P.S.: At DailyKos, pastordan has the perfect prayer.

Impeach Gonzalez NOW, damn it

Folks who argue, “We just don’t have the votes,” fail to realize how unpopular Alberto Gonzalez is right now. How many Republicans will be willing to stand by Dubya’s man? Isn’t it far more likely that they’ll cave to public pressure, or at least abstain?

Impeach Gonzalez: go and sign the petition now. Um, pretty please? Unless you’re one of my outside-of-the-US readers, of course.

I’ve got more on my plate for tonight . . . stay tuned.

D.

You’re not paranoid . . .

if they’re really out to get ya.

Karen insists I’m paranoid. At the very least, I read too much Daily Kos. “Will Bush Walk Away in 2009?” showed up on the Recommended list this AM and it gave me the serious heebie jeebies. Enough heebie jeebies that I headed over to We Move To Canada, followed the links, and confirmed for myself that yes, Canada would grant me residency if I jumped through all the hoops. (72 points, and passing is 67. Woot!)

Here’s the issue. For the last few days, posters over at Daily Kos have been writing about the internal coup (BushCo’s successful attempts to control all three branches of government; and if you don’t believe BushCo controls Congress, witness last week’s conciliation to Bush on the war) and, today, the National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive. That’s the directive which allows Bush to take full control of the Federal Government in case of a national catastrophic emergency, which is defined,

(b) “Catastrophic Emergency” means any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government functions

It’s that phrase “regardless of location” which freaked out the post’s author, and me, too. Select the following options from this vague definition: “regardless of location” (outside the US, for example?) “disruption severely affecting . . . the economy.” What do you call the Iraq occupation, for the love of God? And the comments were even more frightening than the post. To me, the “It could never happen here” commenters had weak arguments. The “Better watch your ass” commenters struck a chord.

Think I’m overreacting? What about Halliburton’s contract to build concentration camps right here in the US of A? Karen, whose mom spent time in one of those concentration Japanese internment camps, says, “I always figured they were going to use those for American citizens of Arabic ancestry.” I think they’re for dissenters of any stripe — American gulags. And even if Karen’s right, am I supposed to feel relieved?

My worry is that BushCo will suspend the ’08 election; or, post-election, assuming the Dems win, he’ll claim some sort of “Catastrophic Emergency” as justification for not leaving office. I’d like to think the people of this country would respond appropriately to such an act of violence upon the Constitution, but most Americans have, in the last 6 years, been little more than sheep. Would they stand up?

Look at the violence this Administration has done to American values: a war of aggression, habeas corpus, torture, the looting of the US Treasury. Nixon was impeached for far less, yet we are repeatedly told (even by my Congressman, Pete DeFazio) that impeachment is impossible. Many of us feel that impeachment hearings would focus public attention on the crimes of this Administration, and with overwhelming public support, Republican Representatives and Senators might feel be forced to cave in to the people’s will.

Meanwhile, I need to decide how much is too much.

I’m trying to get Karen to agree to a vacation in British Columbia. They say every journey begins with a single step . . .

D.

Jerry, We Hardly New Ye

Jerry Falwell, 1933-2007, dead at age 73

Jerry on homosexuality

“AIDS is not just God’s punishment for homosexuals; it is God’s punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals”

“Homosexuality is Satan’s diabolical attack upon the family that will not only have a corrupting influence upon our next generation, but it will also bring down the wrath of God upon America.”

“[homosexuals are] brute beasts…part of a vile and satanic system [that] will be utterly annihilated, and there will be a celebration in heaven.”

Jerry on the separation of Church and State

“The idea that religion and politics don’t mix was invented by the Devil to keep Christians from running their own country”

Jerry on feminism

“It appears that America’s anti-Biblical feminist movement is at last dying, thank God, and is possibly being replaced by a Christ-centered men’s movement which may become the foundation for a desperately needed national spiritual awakening”

I listen to feminists and all these radical gals – most of them are failures. They’ve blown it. Some of them have been married, but they married some Casper Milquetoast who asked permission to go to the bathroom. These women just need a man in the house. That’s all they need. Most of the feminists need a man to tell them what time of day it is and to lead them home. And they blew it and they’re mad at all men. Feminists hate men. They’re sexist. They hate men – that’s their problem.

Jerry on religious tolerance

“If you’re not a born-again Christian, you’re a failure as a human being”

Jerry on 9/11

“…throwing God out of the public square, out of the schools, the abortionists have got to bear some burden for this because God will not be mocked and when we destroy 40 million little innocent babies, we make God mad…I really believe that the pagans and the abortionists and the feminists and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People for the American Way, all of them who try to secularize America…I point the thing in their face and say you helped this happen.”

I take it back — we knew ye only too well. Don’t let the Gates of Hell hit you on the ass.

Quotes from ThinkExist.com, and The Quotations Page.

D.

Talk about ridiculous

Sometimes I think airline attendents should strut the aisles naked, present themselves at each row, and demand passengers kiss their aging asses. From MSNBC.com this morning:

Man convicted for mile-high makeout

Jury punishes affectionate passenger for interfering with flight

WILMINGTON, N.C. – A California man was convicted Thursday of interfering with flight attendants and crew members in a case that prosecutors said began when he became too affectionate with his girlfriend on a Raleigh-bound flight.

Carl William Persing, 41, will likely serve jail time for the federal felony conviction, Assistant U.S. Attorney John Bowler said. A jury convicted Persing after a three-day trial in U.S. District Court in Wilmington.

Persing and his girlfriend were seen “embracing, kissing and acting in a manner that made other passengers uncomfortable” during the flight, according to a criminal complaint. Prosecutors said Persing twice threatened a flight attendant who told the couple to stop and refused to serve them alcohol.

Defense attorney Deb Newton said her client will appeal. Persing, of Long Beach, Calif., could get up to 20 years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines, she said.

I’d like to know what language he used when he “twice threatened a flight attendant.” But can you think of any language which would warrant a federal felony conviction and a possible 20 year prison term?

While the Air Traveler’s Bill of Rights addresses pricing, comfort, and appropriate care for disabled or sick passengers, it does nothing to address the inequity in the relationship between passengers and airline personnel.

In 2002, a passenger asked an America West flight attendant if the pilot had passed a sobriety test. He was kicked off the plane for asking the question. Last year, a man was arrested for trying to carry on a rubber band ball. And in ’05, a woman who accidentally left a knife in her luggage was fined $500, told she was going to be put on a terrorist watch list, and also told (when she asked for documentation) that she had no constitutional right to ask for it.

Given unlimited time, I could undoubtedly find dozens of examples of this abuse of power. What I can’t seem to find is any indication that folks are fed up and interested in changing the law. I’ll keep looking.

For the time being, y’all be good sheeple, and don’t talk back to the stewardess, y’hear?

D.