Write A Caption

Craig Ferguson On Fox News

"Yelling doesn't make stuff true and that's the truth."

Craig Ferguson

Bill O'Reilly must have missed that memo.

You know, these Clintonistas are really unfuckingbelievable

Larry Johnson, 3/30/08: "No other pundit has done more to inject the poison of race baiting and play the race card than the inimitable Frank Rich of the New York Times."

Larry Johnson, only a day earlier: "The 'Wrong Nigga to Fuck Wit' Dilemma for Barack."

What were you mentioning about race baiting again, Larry? Somebody call the irony police.

It's Hard Out Here For A Chimp

Hustle and Flow....we haven't seen the worst of George W. Bush yet.



political, cartoons,political cartoons, parody, satire, Republicans, GOP, Iraq, War, Theocracy, Bush, Cheney, comics, comic strips,

Zencomix

Happy Birthday Peace Symbol

The peace symbol is 50 years-old. The symbol was born out of the anti-nuclear war movement. And everybody knows you are a Commie if you are not pro-nuclear war. True patriots love fallout.

May the Farce Be With You

This is the greatest news story I have read in ages.

Jedi Master Jonba Hehol - known to family and friends as Barney Jones, 36, of Holyhead - was giving a TV interview in his back garden for a documentary when a man, dressed in a black bin-bag and wearing Darth Vader's trademark shiny black helmet, leapt over his garden fence.

How the assailant may have looked
Wielding a metal crutch - his lightsaber presumably being in for repairs - the Sith Lord proceeded to lay about his opponent, whose Jedi powers proved inadequate for the task of defending himself.

After besting Master Hehol in single combat, Vader, who The Sun reports was under the influence of alcohol, went on to assault the camera crew and a hairdresser.

Did I mention I really hated the last three Star Wars movies?

My VP Pick

Kos posted his top Democratic Vice-President picks. I decided it would be fun to say who I want for Vice-President. I like to throw Nancy Pelosi's name out there.

Barack Obama should be able to win California. Despite John McCain's efforts to win the state. Would Obama feel comfortable having a pol as skillful as Pelosi as VP? It's easy to see a Vice-President Pelosi as powerful as Dick Cheney.

The advantage to Pelosi on the ticket is she has name-recognition and is fantastic with the media. She is also a skilled political tactician. The negative is a Democratic victory makes Steny Hoyer House Speaker.

The only Kos pick that intrigues me is Kansa Governor Kathleen Sebelius. She is from a Southern state and good on the stump. Bill Richardson is a horrible public speaker. I admire Chris Dodd, but don't see him as Vice-President.

A True Conserative

The National Review announces that Charlie Crist isn't a true conservative. I wholeheartedly agree. What columnist John J. Miller fails to understands is Crist isn't a liberal. He is a politician that seeks to move to higher office.

What amuses me is conservatives allergic reaction to any Republican whose views on global warming, abortion (what is Crist's stance this week), gay marriage, and consumer advocacy differ from the group think. Conservatives are so obsessed with these issues they can't focus on simple things like fixing potholes. It is no wonder the GOP version of governing has been ripe with incompetence. The FCAT, Florida schools, Department of Children and Families, and KidCare have been disasters under Jeb Bush's leadership. Bush's treatment of children is utterly shameful. The family values conservatives care not about abused and sick children. Family values conservatives have little interest in children once they leave the womb.

The National Review conservatives want a Republican like Rick Santorum. Red meat issues are what feeds the base. Want a Senator that will take a dead fetus home to show his children? Santorum is your man.

"That's my little guy," Santorum says, pointing to the photo of Gabriel, in which his tiny physique is framed by his father's hand. The senator often speaks of his late son in the present tense. It is a rare instance in which he talks softly.

He and Karen brought Gabriel's body home so their children could "absorb and understand that they had a brother," Santorum says. "We wanted them to see that he was real," not an abstraction, he says. Not a "fetus," either, as Rick and Karen were appalled to see him described -- "a 20-week-old fetus" -- on a hospital form. They changed the form to read "20-week-old baby."

John J. Miller thought Santorum would make a great United Nations ambassador. Pennsylvania voters had a better idea. They resoundingly voted Santorum out of the Senate. The Corner crew worship a man that would bring a dead fetus home. That is what Charlie Crist has to do to be deemed a true conservative.

Chinatown

From The Agonist and Info Wars, This is from 2 WEEKS AGO. Free Tibet demonstrators walking near the U.N., getting beat with clubs and threatened with death by cops in New York City.

There's a man with a gun over there tellin' me I got to beware.

Eventually, some Buddhist Monks will light themselves on fire on the sidewalks of New York. Do you think they will care whether or not they are being clubbed with batons or being tazed, bro?

Stop, Hey, What's That Sound?

You Boys Get Offa My Lawn!

Old Man last seen creating fantasy sketch about being waterboarded.



political, cartoons,political cartoons, parody, satire, Republicans, GOP, Iraq, War, racism, Bush, Cheney, comics, comic strips,

Zencomix

Quote of the Day

"Second, no people anywhere has done more to lift up blacks than white Americans."

Pat Buchanan, the author of the infamously intolerent Culture Wars speech.

It's only a wafer thin communion wafer.

Blog Against Theocracy Blogswarm continues...

political, cartoons,political cartoons, parody, satire, Republicans, GOP, Iraq, War, Theocracy, Bush, Cheney, comics, comic strips,

Zencomix

Worst Viral Video Supporting A Candidate. Ever.

Are these women over-enthusiastic John McCain supporters or Democratic plants that want to sabotage the less-than-straight talker's chances at the presidency? I can't decide. I do know this video is so bad that it's good.

Hillary Clinton: First Lady Action Hero

Hillary Clinton's version of her Bosnia trip, as First Lady, differs from Sinbad's version.

Good morning. I want to thank Secretary West for his years of service, not only as Secretary of the Army, but also to the Veteran’s Administration, to our men and women in uniform, to our country. I certainly do remember that trip to Bosnia, and as Togo said, there was a saying around the White House that if a place was too small, too poor, or too dangerous, the president couldn't go, so send the First Lady. That’s where we went.

I remember landing under sniper fire. There was supposed to be some kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base. But it was a moment of great pride for me to visit our troops, not only in our main base as Tuzla, but also at two outposts where they were serving in so many capacities to deactivate and remove landmines, to hunt and seek out those who had not complied with the Dayton Accords and put down their arms, and to build relationships with the people that might lead to a peace for them and their children.

The video shows action straight out of a Die Hard movie. The risks Hillary took to do a photo-op with a child is beyond comprehension. We salute Hillary's courage under the fire of media cameras.

Making All Votes Counts

Common Cause is asking Florida voters to write a letter to state representative to have all votes hand-counted. My advise is write your own letter or email. Politicians tend to ignore form letters.

The Florida legislature bills SB 2544 and HB 1521 would make hand-counting ballots mandatory. This is a good idea. Considering how bad Florida has screwed up recent elections.

Hat tip to Meowmissy.

Fight the Sag II

The NAACP has come out against Florida Senator Gary Siplin's anti-drooping pants bill.

NAACP President Adora Obi Nweze called it a "clearly discriminatory bill."

"In essence, it will criminalize the wearing of saggy pants and thereby provide a new avenue of interaction between young people and the criminal justice system," Nweze said.

That is an overstating on Nweze's part. The bill would suspend students that come to school wearing low-riding pants. It is still amusing how many people think this is a stupid bill. That might explain why it passed in the Florida Senate 28-11.

Quote of the Day

"Mr. Richardson’s endorsement came right around the anniversary of the day when Judas sold out for 30 pieces of silver, so I think the timing is appropriate, if ironic."

James Carville, on Bill Richardson's endorsement of Barack Obama.

The great thing about Hillary Clinton not getting the nomination is that James Carville will fade into obscurity. Not a moment too soon.

Daily Show Obama Bit

The Daily Show comments on Barack Obama's speech on race.

Blog Against Theocracy

The Blog Against Theocracy Blogswarm continues.



The U.S. Military is intimately linked to religion at the highest levels of authority.





The hypocrisy of "Alleged Christians" in the Government is mind boggling.




Churches and religion are big business and they shouldn't be getting a free pass from the government. Tax The Churches!



political, cartoons,political cartoons, parody, satire, Republicans, GOP, Iraq, War, Theocracy, Bush, Cheney, comics, comic strips,

Zencomix

Everybody Must Get Stoned

There's a Blog Against Theocracy blogswarm this weekend. What's Lt. General Willie Boykin up to this weekend?










Was it Lenny Bruce who said "Thou shalt not kill means just that!"? He must have been sniffing model airplane glue when he said that.






political, cartoons,political cartoons, parody, satire, Republicans, GOP, Iraq, War, Theocracy, Bush, Cheney, comics, comic strips,

Zencomix

Iraq War Now Old Enough For Kindergarten

Celebrating 5 Long Years of the Iraquagmire. Hold on a second, let me google "Iraquagmire".....hmm hmm hmmmm Ah! Here it is

Here's a question that is never asked on TV, or on the front pages of newspapers. If the Authorization to Use Military Force was granted to Bush so that he could use it as leverage at the U.N. against Iraq to allow weapons inspectors back into Iraq, why did he invade Iraq after weapons inspectors were back in Iraq and actively looking for the "Weapons Of Mass Destruction"?

Why is there no mention of Hans Blix this week in the Mainstream Media?Here's a cartoon I did for The Daily Iowan in 2002 during the buildup to the war.






Yeah, I'm a day or so late for the BlogSwarm. It wouldn't be the first time I was a day late and a dollar short, but who's counting? Here's another cartoon from the Fall of 2002.





Too bad for the Tibetans! They're NOT sitting on a large pool of Texas Tea! No Freedom For You! Next!



Once upon a time L'il George decided to do an experiment. He placed a frog in a pan of cold water and put the pan on the stove. He wanted to see if the frog would jump out of the water as it got warmer, or would the frog not notice as it was boiled alive. L'il George turned on the stove and watched. After half a minute, L'il George removed the frog from the cold water, took the frog outside and placed a firecracker in the frog's mouth. L'il George lit the firecracker and tossed the frog, imagining it was a hand grenade.

political, cartoons,political cartoons, parody, satire, Republicans, GOP, Iraq, War, Mike Huckabee, Bush, Cheney, comics, comic strips,

Zencomix

Silly talk

[Crossposted from Sugar Land is Dreaming]

That's what this question to Obama from Lanny Davis is.

If a white minister preached sermons to his congregation and had used the "N" word and used rhetoric and words similar to members of the KKK, would you support a Democratic presidential candidate who decided to continue to be a member of that congregation?

This would be a legit question to Obama if the rhetoric in Pastor Wright's sermons included racial slurs against white people. For all his egregious quotes in the media lately, I haven't seen anything where Pastor Wright refers to white people as "honkies" or any sort of white equivalent of the word "nigger". And I've looked -- particularly at that recent, infamous Newsmax article. I figure that if Pastor Wright said any racial slurs, surely Newsmax would print it. Here's the worst I could find from him:

“In the 21st century, white America got a wake-up call after 9/11/01,” Wright wrote in the church-affiliated magazine Trumpet four years after the attacks. “White America and the western world came to realize that people of color had not gone away, faded into the woodwork or just ‘disappeared’ as the Great White West kept on its merry way of ignoring black concerns.”

Is that kind of rhetoric offensive? Certainly. But does it contain any racial slurs against whites equivalent to the word "nigger"? Not that I can see.

As Obama discussed yesterday, while palpable anger shouldn't be looked upon as any sort of solution, recent American history does give reasons why this anger exists -- and that history must be reconciled. It's hard to forget slavery and segregation. But with the question that Davis poses to Obama about white ministers preaching KKK-styled hatred and whether he would support that, I think such a question is out of line because it mischaracterizes Obama's speech. Obama discussed historical precedents for anger in the Afro-American and white communities -- but there's no historical precedent for the hate foisted upon society by the KKK. Those people are just plain prejudiced, period. Now if somebody can find examples of Pastor Wright preaching the equivalent of KKK style hate then we have a different story; but, like I said, I looked at the worst of Wright's statements and couldn't find it. Only then would Davis's question be legit -- but as is, I think the question is out of line.

REM - Radio Free Europe

I remember when people were trying to figure out what the hell the lyrics to this song. One of my favorite memories of Mike O'Neill was him singing "calling out all the girl" doing his rendition of the song.

Lee Nelson Fundraiser

Donald and Rosalind Moffett will host a fundraiser for Hillsborough County Elections Supervisor candidate Lee Nelson.

Time and Place Date: Thursday, March 27, 2008
Time: 6:30pm - 10:00pm
Location: The Moffett Home
Street: 1714 Abbey Trace Dr.
City/Town: Dover, FL

You can get contact information on the Facebook page.

Broken Record Cheney

It doesn't matter how many commissions and reports say otherwise. Dick Cheney will continue to link Iraq to September 11th.

"This long-term struggle became urgent on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001 . That day we clearly saw that dangers can gather far from our own shores and find us right there at home," said Cheney, who was accompanied by his wife, Lynne, and their daughter, Elizabeth.

"So the United States made a decision: to hunt down the evil of terrorism and kill it where it grows, to hold the supporters of terror to account and to confront regimes that harbor terrorists and threaten the peace," Cheney said. "Understanding all the dangers of this new era, we have no intention of abandoning our friends or allowing this country of 170,000 square miles to become a staging area for further attacks against Americans."

Cheney is both politically oportunistic and cowardly. He will use the 9-11 tragedy to make the bogus case for the Iraq war. Cheney had the chutzpah to blame the media for implying that he suggested there was a connection.

Reiterating the distinction between contacts and actual collaboration on the Sept. 11 attacks, Cheney said some news media had blurred that distinction and reported the administration was directly tying the attacks to Saddam.

"The press is, with all due respect there are exceptions, often times lazy, often simply reports what someone else in the press says without doing their homework," Cheney said.

Later in the interview, Cheney proceeded to link al-Qaida with Saddam Hussein. What a sad excuse for a public official.

Update: this golden oldie from Cheney is worth replaying.

"He's had years to get good at it and we know he has been absolutely devoted to trying to acquire nuclear weapons. And we believe he has, in fact, reconstituted nuclear weapons," Cheney said.

Rubio Pushes Again For Sales Tax Increase

Marco Rubio will once again get to push his horrible sales tax increase. The Florida House Speaker believes in trickle down economics.

"I was raised on other people's leftover money," Rubio, 35, said on the Jim DeFede Show, whose station WINZ-AM 940 identifies itself as the "resource for progressive talk radio." "When people spent their money, they spent it in the places where my parents worked."

He went on: "And I'm telling you that this property tax cut will create $6-billion in disposable income. And what that means in real terms is that people who now mow their lawns will hire someone to do it. ... People who now maintain their own pools will hire someone to do it. ... And that helps the working class. ...

Rubio's comments angered listeners of the Jim Defede Show. One caller destroyed Rubio's bogus economic rhetoric.

"Most working-class people are just struggling to survive and their solution is the most regressive form of tax there is? This is unbelievable. Trickle-down economics was disproven. ... I work my tail off every day just to make ends meet, and if they raise the sales tax, that's going to be coming directly out of every little bit that I earn. It's just going to make it even more expensive to live here, not less."

The previous and current sales tax increase plan is to make up for the loss in property tax revenue. The new proposal would cut property taxes by an estimated 25 percent. The downside is there will be a loss in $6 billion of revenue. Not that Rubio is worried about that.

“If there’s something that’s ridiculous that’s on there we should look at it and talk about it. I just don’t think we should be obsessed with constantly looking for revenue sources, when in fact we have a structural spending problem in government and many of the sources they out line really wouldn’t generate enough money.”

Rubio argues once again that the property taxcut will send people into a retail shopping frenzy. Incoming House Speaker Ray Sansom will inherit Florida's deficit. Fortunately, he appears to be aware that many sales tax exemptions need to be discontinued.

“They shouldn’t be off limits. Some of the tax exemptions have been there for years and years and we need to continually go out and measure the public benefit of these tax exemptions.”

Stadium skyboxes, Superbowl tickets, and limousines are tax exempt. These exemptions make the GOP base happy. There has been zero serious discussion from Charlie Crist about tax reform. These exemptions cost the state an estimated $12.3 billion. I don't know anyone that felt the trickle down effect from these tax loopholes.

Blast From the Past: Donald Rumsfeld Edition

This June 30, 2003 exchange between Donald Rumsfeld and CNN Correspondent Jamie McIntyre illustrates the length the Bush administration would go to deny the realities of growing insurgency in Iraq.

MCINTYRE (voice-over): I want the DOD definition of guerilla war.

RUMSFELD: I was afraid you would. I should have looked it up. I knew I should have looked it up. I could die that I didn't look it up.

MCINTYRE: The Pentagon's own definition (unintelligible): "Military and paramilitary operations conducted in enemy-held or hostile territory by an irregular predominantly indigenous forces." It seems to fit a lot of what's going on in Iraq.

RUMSFELD: It really doesn't.

The vast majority of U.S. military casualties occurred after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime. There were early signs of an insurgency and Rumsfeld was too incompetent to address the situation. Republicans appoint people like Rumsfeld and tell us they are the only political party that can keep them. That is about as believable as there was no guerilla war in the summer of 2003.

Quote of the Day 2

"Being wrong about sending Americans to kill and be killed, maim and be maimed, is not like making a punctuation mistake in a highway bill."

"They argue that the president duped them into war, but getting duped does not exactly recommend their leadership. Helping a rogue president start an unnecessary war should be a career-ending lapse of judgment, in my view."

Former Republican Senator Lincoln Chafee, on Hillary Clinton and other Democratic presidential candidates that voted to give President Bush the authorization to invade Iraq. Chafee is a Barack Obama supporter.

Quote of the Day

White House Press Secretary Dana Perino is the gift that keeps on giving. Perino compares the chaos in Iraq to Florida and Michigan not being allowed to seat delegates at the Democratic National Convention. Talk about lame strawman arguments.

"Politics are alive and well in Iraq," she said, defending President Bush's troop surge. "I think some people who are throwing stones ought to look at the primary system in our country, especially on the Democratic side, where you have two states where - Florida and Michigan - where they're figuring out whether or not to seat those delegates. Politics happens. And that's what -- it happens in the United States and it's certainly happening in Iraq. It's not a bad thing that they're having debates about their constitution."

Florida and Michigan residents are not getting killed daily with IEDs and ethnic purgings. Democracy is so bad in Iraq that millions have fled for Syria and Jordan. The Sunday Times reports on a refugee camp in Qawala. Children wear plastic bags on their shoes because they have no shoes. The refugees live near raw sewage. These people are scared that they will be killed if they go home.

Along with the internally displaced, another 2m Iraqis have fled the country, mostly to Jordan and Syria. They include many of Iraq’s best and brightest. Only about 36,000 have returned, despite the fall in violence in recent months attributed to the troop “surge”.

Iraq is not a democracy. For Perino to suggest otherwise is insulting.

Lara Logan Interview

Emmy-winning journalist Lara Logan talks about the Middle East and being a woman in television news.

Money quote:

Lara Logan: Managing to keep long hair in a warzone and show all the people that thought that must mean you're stupid, but you're not. I say my single greatest achievement is being able to say screw you to all the people who said that a woman like me couldn't make it in this business.

Obama's Speech On Race In America

The Huffington Post has the transcript.

Obama: I have brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles and cousins, of every race and every hue, scattered across three continents, and for as long as I live, I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible.

That is a very truthful statement about many people's ethnic backgrounds in this country.

The speech get sidetracked with Obama doing damage control over the Reverend Jeremiah Wright controversy.

Obama does a good job explaining the black church experience. Will that play well with the general public is a serious question for the campaign.

Obama: But race is an issue that I believe this nation cannot afford to ignore right now. We would be making the same mistake that Reverend Wright made in his offending sermons about America - to simplify and stereotype and amplify the negative to the point that it distorts reality.

The fact is that the comments that have been made and the issues that have surfaced over the last few weeks reflect the complexities of race in this country that we've never really worked through - a part of our union that we have yet to perfect. And if we walk away now, if we simply retreat into our respective corners, we will never be able to come together and solve challenges like health care, or education, or the need to find good jobs for every American.

It is a gutsy political move on Obama's part to directly address the issue.

A good moment in the speech is Obama discussing how both blacks and whites blame other races for their problems. This has polarized Americans and hindered efforts to solve problems.

Obama: But they have helped shape the political landscape for at least a generation. Anger over welfare and affirmative action helped forge the Reagan Coalition. Politicians routinely exploited fears of crime for their own electoral ends. Talk show hosts and conservative commentators built entire careers unmasking bogus claims of racism while dismissing legitimate discussions of racial injustice and inequality as mere political correctness or reverse racism.

The Southern Strategy is alive and well in the Republican Party.

The speech is presidential in how we wished are presidents behaved. Obama faced a controversy and talked candidly about the matter and the bigger problem of racial tensions in America. John McCain and Hillary Clinton have hardly shown this level of political courage in dealing with their racial and religious controversies.

Obama: We can play Reverend Wright's sermons on every channel, every day and talk about them from now until the election, and make the only question in this campaign whether or not the American people think that I somehow believe or sympathize with his most offensive words. We can pounce on some gaffe by a Hillary supporter as evidence that she's playing the race card, or we can speculate on whether white men will all flock to John McCain in the general election regardless of his policies.

We can do that.

But if we do, I can tell you that in the next election, we'll be talking about some other distraction. And then another one. And then another one. And nothing will change.

I have never heard a presidential campaign speech like this. I like to get feedback from readers on what they think. This speech is a big deal and I like to start a discussion on it. Lurkers start commenting.

Bill Kristol Cites Newsmax & Gets Punked

Bill Kristol once again embarrasses himself on the New York Times op-ed pages. Kristol used a Newsmax article as gospel truth. The Jim Davis piece claimed that Obama was in the congregation the the day Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. made his controversial "white arrogance" sermon. The problem is that Obama was in Miami that day. Obama was campaigning in Miami that day. AOL has a video of Obama speaking in Miami on July 22, 2007.

Newsmax's Ronald Kessler is sticking to his story. He is claiming that Obama was in Chicago and Miami at the same time. I'm really not making this up.

While both the early morning and evening service allowed Sen. Obama to attend the service and still give a speech in Miami, Mr. Davis stands by his story that during one of the services he attended during the month of July, Senator Obama was present and sat through the sermon given by Rev. Wright as described in the story.

Kristol was forced to print a retraction.

In this column, I cite a report that Sen. Obama had attended services at Trinity Church on July 22, 2007. The Obama campaign has provided information showing that Senator Obama did not attend Trinity that day. I regret the error.

Kristol is making mistakes constantly in his column. The neocon pundit wrongly attributed a Michael Medved quote to Michelle Malkin. The man's sloppliness is staggering.

What kills me people people like Kristol and Glenn Reynolds is how they lament about inaccuracy in the so-called liberal media. The Weekly Standard and Instapundit are conservative giants of factually inaccurate information. These people have an allergic retraction to truth that is pathological.

Former Homeowners Homeless

Perhaps President Bush can explain to these former homeowners why the housing market is so bad.

Fight the Sag

Sheree informs us that Florida Senator Gary Siplin has reintroduced his anti-drooping pants bill. HB 335 "prohibits student from exposing below-waist underwear in specified manner while on grounds of public school; provides penalties." Students would be suspended for wearing sagging pants. Blogger Jim Johnson added Siplin's previous version of the bill to his Top Ten Amusing Bills for the 2007 Session.

I will be grateful when Siplin is no longer in public office. He is ethically-challenged and an embarrassment to the Florida Senate.

Quote of the Day

"But no question there's been a over-supply of housing, and it's going to take time to work through this over-supply."

President Bush, in Jacksonville, Florida.

Bush thinks every economic issue is based on supply and demand. His recent cluelessness about oil prices is a perfect example.

GHARIB: Well, you’ve pressed OPEC to increase oil production –

BUSH: I did.

GHARIB: And they didn’t do it. Let’s say that OPEC did pump more oil. How much do you think that that would bring down oil prices, by $20, $30?

BUSH: You know, I don’t know. You’re going to have to ask the experts that. I’m just a simple president. But I really don’t know what it would do. I do know that the main problem is supply and demand and excess supply obviously would help.

The housing market crashed hard in Florida. Overinflated property values led to higher property taxes and difficulty for people to sell their homes. A bad job market and stagnant wages worsen matters. Bush thinks that there are empty houses just waiting to be bought. New home construction has decreased for the past year in Florida. The stupidity of this man continues to amaze me.

Hat tip to Shakesville.

The Maverick Sees al-Qaeda Everywhere

John McCain is so unserious about foreign policy that he thinks all Ababic people support al-Qaeda. His latest political blunder reveals is utter cluelessness.

The misstep in question occurred during a news conference in Jordan earlier Tuesday, when the presumptive Republican presidential nominee repeatedly said Iran was supplying al Qaeda. Iran is predominately a Shiite country and is not aiding the Sunni dominated Al-Qaeda.

McCain ultimately corrected himself after Sen. Joe Lieberman whispered in his ear.

"I'm sorry, the Iranians are training extremists, not al-Qaeda. I am sorry," the Arizona senator said.

Iran gave the United States intelligence on al-Qaeda. That changed when Bush speechwriters David Frum and Michael Gerson decided to label Iran part of the Axis of Evil. There was no vetting with the State Department. The speechwriting department made foreign policy.

McCain has shown an equal lack of insight about Iraq.

Well, all I can say is that [Hillary Clinton] obviously does not understand nor appreciate the progress that has been made on the ground. She told General Petraeus last year when he testified that she would have to suspend disbelief in order to believe that the surge is working. Well, the surge is working.

So I just think what that means is al Qaeda wins. They tell the world that. And we fight here again and around the Middle East. And their dedication is to follow us home. All I can say is that this will be a big issue in the election as we approach November because at least a growing number of Americans, though still frustrated and understandably so, believe that this strategy has succeeded.

Iraq was not a stronghold for al Qaeda before 9/11. The Iraqi population is a Shiite majority and was purging al-Qaeda in Iraq before the surge.

At least I hope it's dishonest," wrote blogger Matt Yglesias. "Because if McCain is really that clueless about what's happening, then we're in more trouble than I thought." The Straight-talker really is that dense.

The Bad Con Man

I'm glad to see that Bill Nelson's grandstanding has finally caught up with him. Nelson told the press that he had a full-proof plan for a mail in vote to redo the Florida primary. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton hated the idea. The Florida Democratic Party announced they would not persue a mail-in revote.

Nine members of Florida Democratic delegation issued a press release against Nelson's plan. One anonymous Congressional staffer spoke with the Palm Beach Post.

The exchanges "spoke volumes about Sen. Nelson," said a Democratic congressional staffer who asked not to be identified. "He engaged in free-wheeling, self-dealing behavior and got caught with his pants down. He told the press that he had a done deal on a new Florida vote without even talking to any members of the Florida delegation, and in fact, the entire Florida delegation was opposed to him.

"He tried to do something on his own, and it blew up in his face," the staffer said. "I think right now there is significant resentment against him by the other Florida Democrats on the Hill."

Nelson's recent behavior "validated his reputation as not being a team player," the staffer said. "He's never been inclusive or seemed to reach out to other members to work on Florida-specific issues. He always flies solo. It's not a warm relationship between the House Democrats and Senator Nelson."

The political fallout has been so bad that Freshman Congressman Tim Mahoney had to come to rescue Nelson.

“I was in the meeting between Florida’s congressional delegation and Senator Nelson, to resolve the Florida primary crisis," said freshman Rep. Tim Mahoney of Palm Beach Gardens. "The Senator has kept me apprised on his efforts to resolve this matter and has always represented the best interests of the people of Florida.”

I wonder if any quid pro quo is involved with Mahoney stepping forward. He was one of the Congressional delegation against the mail-in vote.

Nelson has been grandstanding and attempts to help Hillary Clinton win Florida's delegates is catching up with him. In February, Nelson had zero interest in the DNC's suggestion of a caucas. A revote was the furthest thing from Nelson's mind.

JUST RECENTLY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE, A VERY DISTINGUISHED FORMER GOVERNOR OF VERMONT, GOVERNOR DEAN, OUR CHAIRMAN OF THE PARTY, AS REPORTED IN "THE NEW YORK POST" SUGGESTED HAVING A CAUCUS IN MICHIGAN AND FLORIDA AS A WAY OF SELECTING THE DELEGATES TO THE NATIONAL CONVENTION FROM THOSE TWO STATES.

BUT, MR. PRESIDENT, YOU CAN'T UNDO AN ELECTION WITH A CAUCUS, AND ESPECIALLY YOU CAN'T UNDO AN ELECTION WHERE 1.7 MILLION FLORIDA DEMOCRATS HAVE VOTED IN A SECRET BALLOT AND REPLACE IT WITH A CAUCUS THAT MAYBE 50,000 PEOPLE WOULD SHOW UP. IT'S BASIC TO OUR DEMOCRACY, AND IT’S A BASIC CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO VOTE AND TO HAVE THAT VOTE COUNTED.

Nelson was one of the members of the Florida Democratic Party that voted to move the primary up to Jan. 29th. I am getting sick of a man responsible for this "train wreck" blaming others and using the opportunity to garner national media attention. Nelson should be removed from his position in the FDP and held accountable for his actions. The fact that Chairwoman Karen Thurman is not returning phone calls and letting Nelson be the face of the FDP says she has no leadership abilities. The FDP has always been a joke. It should be dismantled and rebuilt with fresh leadership.

The Ten Types of Republicans

A comprehensive guide to the different types of wingnuts.

Worst Lost Character to Send On A Rescue Mission

The most unintentionally funny part of Lost is how Kate always wants to rescue another Losties. The only problem is Kate always gets captured and never saves anyone.

Kate was captured by the Others after Jack and Locke went after Michael. She was instructed not to follow them. She didn't listen to reason and was captured by the Others. She was used as a hostage against the Losties. Jack, Locke and Sawyer were forced to give up their weapons.

Kate was captured attempting to rescue Walt. She only escaped with the help of two of the Others (Juliet and Karl). Sawyer thought she was batshit insane when she wanted to immediately go back. My reaction was can any human being besides George W. Bush be both that incompetent and stupid.

Kate got captured again attempting to rescue Jack. This was after Jack told her not to come back for him and he made a deal with the Others to get off the island. Jack reminded her that he told her to rescue him.

Kate: I didn't believe you.

Naomi was stabbed by Locke. Kate went after Naomi and ended up her Naomi holding a knife to her throat. Thanks to Naomi getting the phone from Kate, Naomi was able to inform the freighter that the Losties hurt her. Why Kate neededed to take the phone to rescue Naomi is logic that only makes sense to a crackhead.

Every character gets captured on Lost. Kate is the only character that repeatly does it in such spectacularly bad fashion. How the hell she became one of the Oceanic 6 is beyond me.

The McLaughlin Group Song

Andrew W.K. made a song uses bizrre phrases that John McLaughlin used on the McLaughlin Group. Who knew that John McLaughlin was the new Dylan?

If it happens Pat
May he rest in peace
Death comes in the night on little cat's feet.
The next man on the moon will be Chinese

Battle of the Press Releases

The Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama campaigns fire press releases accusing each campaign of disenfranchising Florida voters. What the campaigns fail to mention is Florida doesn't need any help disenfranchising it's voters.

Barack Obama Press Release

FLORIDA: “We hope that all parties can agree on a fair seating of the Florida delegates so that Florida can participate in the Democratic Convention, and we look forward to working with the Florida Democratic Party and competing vigorously in the state so that Barack Obama can put Florida back into the Democratic column in November.”

Hillary Clinton Press Release

“Today’s announcement brings us no closer to counting the votes of the nearly 1.7 million people who voted in January. We hope the Obama campaign shares our belief that Florida’s voters must be counted and cannot be disenfranchised.”

All this finger-pointing is getting old. The Florida Democratic Party refused to do a revote. After several stinging defeats, Hillary Clinton pushed to have the Florida delegation count. Now the FDP floated the mail-in vote idea that everybody hated. The mail-in vote will not happen. Karen Thurman uses the opportunity to falsely claim that Democratic legislators attempted to set the primary date for Feb. 5. The vote to move up the primary received bipartisan support. The Republican legislators do not have final say over when Democratics hold their primary. That honor goes to the FDP.

MIAMI, Fla.-Florida Democrats have embraced an early primary on Jan. 29 despite the national party's threat to penalize them by taking away half their delegates to the national convention.

Karen Thurman, the party chairwoman, and Sen. Bill Nelson said Monday that the leadership had voted unanimously to accept the date. The state party has to submit a plan to the Democratic National Committee by Friday.

It takes serious chutzpah for Thurman to blame Republicans for a primary she moved up. My grievance is that the FDP is incapable of fixing the mess because that would admit they made a mistake moving up the primary. Blaming Charlie Crist and Marco Rubio isn't going to solve anything.

Howard Dean is near the end of his tenure as DNC Chairman. He hasn't changed his decision and blaming him is likely only to piss him off even more. The nominee will need Dean more, in the general election than a state that went red the last two presidential elections. Contrary to what Florida Democrats think, Obama and Hillary can win the White House without Florida.

I Don't Know Doesn't Cut It

This exchange between George W. Bush and Susie Gharib is getting a lot of play in the blogosphere. I feel the need to point out that staggering stupidity of Bush's "I don't know" statement. Gharib asked Bush if OPEC increased oil production would that lower prices. Dear Leader was stumped.

GHARIB: Well, you’ve pressed OPEC to increase oil production –

BUSH: I did.

GHARIB: And they didn’t do it. Let’s say that OPEC did pump more oil. How much do you think that that would bring down oil prices, by $20, $30?

BUSH: You know, I don’t know. You’re going to have to ask the experts that. I’m just a simple president. But I really don’t know what it would do. I do know that the main problem is supply and demand and excess supply obviously would help.

Bush's answer is inexcusable for someone who ran as the CEO President. Bush ran the oil company Arbusto Energy. Arbusto went busto and Bush was never a private sector CEO. His dubious resume and time in office doesn't allow for "I don't know" to be a viable answer.

There is a funny video of airbag Donald Trump breaking down how bad of a CEO President Bush is. Trump annoys me, but he is on the mark. It's bad when pro-Republican business men are publicly dissing Bush.

Compassionate Conservatism: Katrina Victims Deserved To Be Smitten

John McCain recently received the endorsement of Pastor John Hagee. The good Pastor said that New Orleans residents deserved the horrors of Hurricane Katrina because of their evil gay agenda.

"All hurricanes are acts of God because God controls the heavens. I believe that New Orleans had a level of sin that was offensive to God. And they were recipients of the judgement of God for that. The newpaper carried the story in our local area that was not carried nationally."

"There was to be a homosexual parade there on the Monday that Katrina came and the promise of that parade was it was going to reach a level of sexuality never demonstrated before in any of the other gay pride parades. And I believe that the hurricane Katrina was in fact the judgement of God against the city of New Orleans."

It's amazing how many gay-bashing preachers are also meteorologists. Anti Steve Stanton crusader Rev. Ron Sanders blamed Katrina and 9/11 on gay people.

He pointed to the 911 terrorist attacks and the devastation of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina.

Sanders said the gay, lesbian and transgender lifestyle is “an abomination against God.” He said if the city allows Stanton to stay in office, “He will be a hero to all of those weirdos from New Orleans who are looking for a new home.”

It's hard to feel the love of Christ in Sanders' tirade.

We must not forget the King of natural disasters: Pat Robertson. He incorrectly predicted that Orlando would immediately be hit several forms of natural disasters. Disney decided to hang rainbow flags for their annual Gay Days event.

"I don't think I'd be waving those flags in God's face if I were you," warned Robertson. "[A] condition like this will bring about the destruction of your nation. It'll bring about terrorist bombs, it'll bring earthquakes, tornadoes and possibly a meteor."

I'm disappointed that Robertson forgot the flying locust.

Amanda Marcotte's New Book

Pandagon blogger Amanda Marcotte has just released her new book It's a Jungle Out There: The Feminist Survival Guide to Politically Inhospitable Environments. Amanda has upcoming book readings in Austin, Texas and New York City.

Amanda is excited about the book launch.

I’m so stoked. I have a box of them here and they look just awesome. It was funny writing that book while still writing this blog. On the blog, you have the day to day fighting, but of course, the book is more the stuff that’s going on all the time.

Congratulations to Amanda.

Update: Amanda informed me on the dates of her readings.

New York City
Bluestockings
Date: Apr 22
Time: TBA

Austin, Texas
The Book People
Date: Apr 30
Time:7:00 PM

You've got to be.. [Update at bottom]

[Crossposted from Sugar Land is Dreaming]

A) Kidding me;
B) Fucking kidding me; or
C) Shitting me

Either way, queries like this are nothing short of asinine:

Mr. Obama, We Have a Question

Why won’t you release your schedule that notes the dates when you attended church and heard the sermons of Rev. Jeremiah Wright?

We want the facts, sir. Just the facts. You deny being at the July 22 service — as is asserted by NewsMax — but you provide no verification that your claim is accurate. You can deny from now until the end of time, but you need to provide proof, sir. [Emphasis there's.]

You know, I'm sure that Obama keeps a record of every time he goes to certain churches just so he can answer these questions. After all, Obama certainly can't be like any other normal person who doesn't keep such records. Obama's special! We know that evil keeps records and then hides them! We want verification from that evil, America hating Obama! Watch me froth at the mouth! AARRRHHHWAWAWGGHHHAAA! Oh, btw, vote Hillary! -- since the post I'm attacking came from a pro-Hillary "progressive" [huuyyyk! - spit] blog.

And have I mentioned before that the pro-Hillary bloggers are emulating wingnuts? Looks like my past assertions have been right if they're stooping low enough to use an article from Newsmax.com to attack Obama. As if Newsmax is some beacon of accuracy in journalism. Jesus Christ, this website got famous on the Right in 2000 when it disseminated disinformation in support of Bush's bid to steal the vote in Florida -- which all of these morons still blame on Nader. And now they are quoting Newsmax like it's actually journalism. Hey guys, while you're at it, if you can't get enough of sucking off the Right's media outlets why don't you go suck Bush's herpes infested cock too?

Makes me wonder what's next... Hey, maybe I can read No Quarter to find out about Rush Limbaugh's latest scoop. Maybe Lambert at Corrente will tell me the next journalistic breakthrough from World Net Daily! Because as long as they agree with you in the short term, then those sources must be accurate! ...right?

[Update] Newsmax, and their neo-wingnut Clintonista backers like No Quarter, have a lot to answer for with this anti-Obama propaganda. They're wrong and I have proof.

Newsmax claims that they sermon Obama attended was on July 22, 2007. In fact, Newsmax claims that Obama was bowing his head in agreement with Pastor Wright's words -- yet they have not a shred of photographic evidence to show for this. In the day and age of cell phone video cameras where even Saddam Hussein's execution can get taped and put on Youtube, if a website like Newsmax claims that Obama was in attendance somewhere and did something, I want to see visual evidence. Otherwise, I'll consider a story highly suspect -- especially considering the source in this case.

Turns out that holding Newsmax suspect is the correct assumption to make. Marc Ambinder at The Atlantic provides video of an NCLR Conference in Miami that Obama attended on July 22, 2007.

I did some further digging and, through this comment on another site, I found the NCLR Conference agenda for that day. Obama was scheduled to speak around 1:30pm. Now I know that people can be on two different coasts during the same day thanks to the magic of airplanes, but church services take place in the morning. Pastor Wright's church is in Chicago. For Obama to have attended a service that gets out around 11:00am or noon, he would have had to have hopped on a super fast jet to make it to Miami in time for the NCLR Conference which we knew he was at.

In short, it was impossible to Obama to have been in attendance at Wright's church on July 22, 2007 -- contrary to Newsmax's claims.

All it takes is a half hour with Google to find this shit out, people. Now I expect this level of propaganda from Newsmax since that's the only reason why that piece of crap website is around, but for supposedly "progressive" [huyyykk! - spit] bloggers to advertise a Newsmax "scoop" verbatim -- without double-checking any of the "facts" -- is despicable. So callous, in fact, it's enough to accuse them of just plain lying.

Shame. Anyone peddling this bogus story should be ashamed of themselves.

Farmer Buddy

Hillsborough County Elections Supervisor Buddy Johnson is renting out his land at $1.00 an acre to a cattle farmer William Kenneth Grimmer. Johnson is making a whooping $20.00-a-year from this deal. The flip side is Johnson hopes to get a $12,000 tax cut by getting is land zoned greenbelt.

But with the Grimmer cows grazing on his new property, Johnson has filed applications for greenbelt tax exemptions that could reduce the assessment of his land from $614,428 to $5,855. That would lower his property tax bill from $12,626 to $120.

Grimmer only has 11 cow grazing Farmer Buddy's land. Johnson runs into a snag in attempting to get his property tax cut. The law states a cut can only be given if there is "bona fide agricultural use with a reasonable expectation of making a profit." Grimmer said, "He's not making any money off that property with a $20 lease, I can tell you that." Johnson would if he cut a property tax cut.

Johnson pushing for this tax cut while he is up for re-election is the height of chutzpah. He is hoping the voters are too apathetic to notice his arrogance. He refused to be interviewed by the St Petersburg Times about his potential greenbelt land status. So much for candidate Buddy explaining himself to the people.

Embedded

Tampa's Jobsite Theater will be performing Tim Robbins' Embedded. The performances will be in in Aug. of 2008. The play is about the Iraq war.

Jobsite will let political activists and candidates speak before the show and have talkbacks with the audience.

Write A Caption: Mary Matalin and James Carville

Mary Matalin and James Carville answer the question what would Gollum and the Scarecrow be like if they married.

Ned Lamott Obama Ad

I can't decide if it's the cheap production values or that Ned Lamott comes off as a mental health patient talking to his imaginary friend/sex chat girl. This is the best bad campaign ad since Giuliani's Christmas greeting.

Update: I'm betting this ad isn't going to be posted on Firedoglake.

About That 3:00 A.M. Phone Call

Ezra Klein finds an interview of comedian Sinbad contradicting Hillary Clinton's story about the dangerous of her 1996 Bosnia trip.

Sinbad, along with singer Sheryl Crow, was on that 1996 trip to Bosnia that Clinton has described as a harrowing international experience that makes her tested and ready to answer a 3 a.m. phone call at the White House on day one, a claim for which she's taking much grief on the campaign trail. [...]

"I never felt that I was in a dangerous position," [said Sinbad.] "I never felt being in a sense of peril, or 'Oh, God, I hope I'm going to be OK when I get out of this helicopter or when I get out of his tank.'"

In her Iowa stump speech, Clinton also said, "We used to say in the White House that if a place is too dangerous, too small or too poor, send the First Lady."

Say what? As Sinbad put it: "What kind of president would say, 'Hey, man, I can't go 'cause I might get shot so I'm going to send my wife...oh, and take a guitar player and a comedian with you.'"

Remember when Hillary claimed, "I helped to bring peace to Northern Ireland." Lord Trimble of Lisnagarvey won a Nobel Peace Prize for his work on getting the IRA an British government to make a peace agreement. He dubunks Hillary's bunk.

"I don’t know there was much she did apart from accompanying Bill [Clinton] going around," he said. Her recent statements about being deeply involved were merely "the sort of thing people put in their canvassing leaflets" during elections. "She visited when things were happening, saw what was going on, she can certainly say it was part of her experience. I don’t want to rain on the thing for her but being a cheerleader for something is slightly different from being a principal player."

Hillary's really desperate and will say anything to become President. The feminist bloggers deserved a better woman presidential candidate than Hillary. A more presidential woman, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, took a thinny-veiled shot at Hillary saying that John McCain is more presidential than Barack Obama.

Honor Thy Earmark

Rep. CW Bill Young informs his constituents the power of the mighty earmark.

"Remember, every time you turn on your water faucet, the water that comes out just might be flowing from the C.W. Bill Young Reservoir that was funded by a Congressional earmark."

If it wasn't for Bill Young's earmarks from Bill Young's reservoir you would die of thirst. Carry on with your day and remember the man that giveth water can take it.

Big GOP Guns

NRA lobbyist (goota love the name) Marion Hammer attempted to pass a law that would allow gun owners to bring their firearms to work. The business community beat the NRA. The Florida legislature is going through their version of GroundHog Day. The Florida House's new bill would once again allow gun owners to bring weapons to work. The Florida Chamber of Commerce is posed to fight the bill.

What's interesting is conservative ideals work better on the stump than in actual practice. Republicans are getting pressure from the gun and business lobbies that they are slaves to. Their wonderful coalition splinters when they attempt to legislate all the stupid ideas they have been promising for years. The bill will fail again, but it be fun watching the Florida GOP try to figure out which ass needs more kissing.

Three Dog Night - Shambala

I have this Three Dog Night song stuck in my head from watching a season 3 episode of Lost. Admit it, this song is disgustingly catchy.

Three Dog Night - Shambala

:: Oh, save me from the puritanical and provincial mind ::

Okay, I know Valentine’s Day has come and gone, per se. But, I really haven’t had the time to give all you good people the exiting news!!!! (I’ve been wanting to post this for over two weeks!)

No, I’m not getting married. (shudder)

In 2004, the State of Texas, in it’s infinite lack of wisdom, as usual, decided to prosecute a Baptist, mother of 3, former school teacher for selling sex widgets in Texas. That’s right, sexual gratification devices. This North Texas Bible-belt mama, was prosecuted by the State for selling whips, chains, erotic oils and dildo’s to people like me. She had sex parties - to sell sex toys to you and your friends at her customers homes. Just like a Pampered Chef party. (The morons in North Texas later dropped the charges against the Burleson resident.)

Who Knew??? Criminy. I must be a criminal, too. Freaking provincial idiots.

Wait! Actually, a higher court has overturned Texas law regarding the sale of sexual devices!!! WOOHOO!

Court overturns Texas ban on sex toys

Federal appeals court says law violates constitutional right to privacy.

By Steven Kreytak
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Thursday, February 14, 2008

A federal appeals court has struck down a Texas law that makes it a crime to promote or sell sex toys.

“Whatever one might think or believe about the use of these devices,” said an opinion written by Justice Thomas M. Reavley of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, “government interference with their personal and private use violates the Constitution.”

Under Texas law it is illegal to sell, advertise, give or lend obscene devices, defined as a device used primarily for sexual stimulation. Anyone in possession of six or more sexual devices is considered to be promoting them.

The Texas law dates back to the 1970s and is seldom enforced. Travis County prosecutors say that they haven’t charged anyone with a sexual device-related crime in at least the past seven years, and probably much longer.

In 2003, a woman in the Fort Worth suburb of Burleson drew nationwide attention when she was arrested for selling erotic toys at a Tupperware-type party. The charges against Joanne Webb were later dropped.

In addition to Texas, whose law has survived previous state court challenges, three other states have a similar sex toys statute: Mississippi, Alabama and Virginia. Laws in Louisiana, Kansas, Colorado and Georgia have been thrown out by courts in recent years.

The 2-1 opinion by a panel of the 5th Circuit was based heavily on the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2003 decision in Lawrence and Garner v. Texas, which struck down a Texas law prohibiting private consensual sex among people of the same sex.

That case established a broad constitutional right to sexual privacy.

On the heels of that landmark ruling, Reliable Consultants Inc. sued Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle and Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott in 2004 in U.S. District Court in Austin.

They sought a declaratory judgment prohibiting the enforcement of the statute. Reliable Consultants at the time operated adult-oriented stores in Texas including two Dreamers stores and Le Rouge Boutique in Austin. The plaintiffs were later joined by PHE Inc., which operates an online and mail order adult store called Adam and Eve. The plaintiffs were never prosecuted but argued that because of the law their business was hindered and their customers were deprived of buying sex toys.

U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel in Austin dismissed the lawsuit after finding that there is no constitutionally protected right to publicly promote obscene devices.

On appeal, lawyers for the State of Texas, which had replaced Abbott as a defendant, argued that the Lawrence case invalidates laws that target private conduct but not laws prohibiting any commercial conduct. Justice Rhesa H. Barksdale agreed with that logic in his dissent.

The state also argued in a brief that Texas has legitimate “morality based” reasons for the laws, which include “discouraging prurient interests in autonomous sex and the pursuit of sexual gratification unrelated to procreation.”

A spokesman for Abbott, who filed the brief for the state and for Earle in court, declined to comment. They can ask for review of the case by the entire court, appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court or allow the case to return to Austin, where Yeakel would likely enter an order that would end enforcement of the law.

Jennifer Kinsley, a Cincinnati-based lawyer for Reliable Consultants, whose firm represents adult businesses nationwide, applauded the court’s ruling and said it would aid her clients and their customers.

“We believe that the rights of ordinary people are being violated by this law, and we are very happy this no longer is valid,” Kinsley said.

And, this from Mathew Harwood, Deadline USA of the Guardian Unlimited:

Hands off my pocket punanni!

Texans can finally do unto themselves and others what they feel like in their own bedrooms

We Americans are known for our prudence, and by that I mean our puritanism in regards to all matters sex, especially when things get weird. For instance, four states ban sex toys: Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, and the state I blog from, Virginia. Notice the geography: all four reside in the apparently not so dirty South. But fear not “sexual deviants” in Texas, sex toys can now be legally purchased, reports Slate.com:

According to the Texas (ahem) penal code, it is forbidden to sell or to advertise an artificial penis or vagina “primarily for the stimulation of human genital organs.” The statute makes an exception for instances in which the purchase meets a “medical, psychiatric, judicial, legislative, or law enforcement” need. Even so, in Reliable Consultants v. Ronnie Earle, the normally conservative 5th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the ban on the grounds that it violated the right of ordinary citizens “to engage in private intimate conduct in the home without government intrusion.”

The exceptions to the ban are unintentionally hilarious. I beg someone to give me an example where a dildo could satisfy a legitimate law enforcement need. Although I guess a dildo could double as a night stick and a plastic vagina, handcuffs, if a situation out of the Naked Gun arose.

And for you journalists out there deep in the heart of Texas, want to make Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama squirm? Ask them if they support the circuit court’s ruling and then very coyly with a wink and a nod ask the follow-up question: Is it true that everything is bigger in Texas?

So, does making sex toys legal take the vicarious thrill away? Ummm, no! Someone from Austin was suggesting they could use their ‘fleshlight’ again without fear of imprisonment. Oh, MY! I do believe THAT is for men.

How about that Eliot Spitzer?

On another topic altogether…

Explain to me how Hillary managed to tie delegate votes with Obama in Texas when Hill and the x-Pres have been so heavily hated in the state, especially by men and provincial women. I still find it difficult to believe. I think the Republicans did what many advocated in across the State - Republicans vote in the Democratic Primary for Hillary. That just ain’t right.

I also find it a travesty that Florida and Michigan may be allowed to redo their primaries. If they wanted to be counted the first time, they should have followed the rules to agreed to for the primary.

My family is aghast and perturbed that I’m not a Hillary fanatic. The silly Republican bro’s. The idjuts probably voted for Huckitup. Sheesh. The parents just LOVE the Clintons. Me, I prefer checking what they do and not necessarily believing what they say.

Real Clear Politics is doing a fab job keeping up with the primary results. Previous link is popular vote and this one is Delegates.

Personally speaking:

I am one whipped puppy. Seriously. I finished up a project that started during my vacation in December and concluded last night … very successfully. But, I’m so tired, I could sleep for a month. 12-18 hour days non-stop.

So, hopefully, my work schedule will normalize a bit … except I have to catch up on everything I neglected to do that didn’t get accomplished due to the planning and implementation of the event I just concluded here. Damn.

My niece has a short film she produced last year with Laslo Rain at SXSW in Austin entitled “SHOT.” Damned Cool! It is screening 3 times, so try to catch it if you go to the festival. See link above for more info.

My friend Rob Dowling has some awesome paintings for sale. Must See!!!

Rob: I think you should consider the word “Serendipity.”

tag: sex toys, texas, state law, right to privacy, sex, ban, provinicalism, Baptist, federal appeals court, new orleans, constitution, puritanism, eliot spitzer, prostitute ring, obama, hillary, president, primary, election, voting, primary, democrat, democratic, florida, michigan, popular vote, delegates, SXSW, film, short film, Shot, Laslo Rain, niece, festival, art, surrealism, painting, robert dowling