It's Just Blogging.
Man, I hate it when good bloggers start to take themselves too seriously and end up thinking they are Edward R. Murrow, Walter Cronkite or other members of the media glitteratti.
Recently, a very popular gay left-wing political blogger caught hell from a good portion of his readers by posting a photo of himself at a political gala standing next to one of the GOP's most loathsome female members.
He said it was "campy," then got defensive when challenged about saying, "what a nice person she was."
All politicians are nice to people in public. That's part of the game. As a former MSM reporter, I've met and interviewed my share of politicians, and they've all been very charming on the surface. Big deal.
Many of us come into close proximity with famous people just by leaving our homes and going to ordinary events like political rallies, good restaurants or parties.
If I met George W. Bush, however, I would not smile and pose for a photo with him as if I cared about being seen with him.
I would not do a grip n' grin photo with any GOP politician, any more than I'd pose with Ted Nugent, Osama bin Laden, O.J. Simpson or Fred Phelps of the "God Hates Fags" ministry.
And if I did sacrifice my political principles and make breezy chitchat with a neo-con political celebrity at an event, I sure as hell wouldn't blog about it.
Friday, March 31, 2006
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Top Chef
I am now glued to Bravo's "Top Chef" the way I was glued to "Project Runway."
Last night, their challenge was to make a gourmet meal from $20 worth of groceries they purchased at a gas station MiniMart.
I can't believe they missed the obvious culinary delicacy: a can of chili, a bag of Fritos and some yellow cheese makes for a superb Frito Pie. Add some sour cream to the mix and you have haute cuisine.
Best of all, you can microwave the spicy melange in about three minutes. And it goes perfectly with most MiniMart wines and beers.
What would you create with $20 worth of MiniMart groceries?
I am now glued to Bravo's "Top Chef" the way I was glued to "Project Runway."
Last night, their challenge was to make a gourmet meal from $20 worth of groceries they purchased at a gas station MiniMart.
I can't believe they missed the obvious culinary delicacy: a can of chili, a bag of Fritos and some yellow cheese makes for a superb Frito Pie. Add some sour cream to the mix and you have haute cuisine.
Best of all, you can microwave the spicy melange in about three minutes. And it goes perfectly with most MiniMart wines and beers.
What would you create with $20 worth of MiniMart groceries?
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
From LiveJournal.com
New Attack Meme: It's Not Just Incompetence, It's a Disease
What if you had someone like this in your family?
He's a drunk. Doesn't matter what his particular poison is, it's how he lives his life.
He's always broke. He has to borrow money to finance his nights out on the town. He tells the people he borrows from that he'll get them back sometime in the future.
He spends money he doesn't have on shit he doesn't need. And then tells his kids that he can't afford to send them to a good school or a good doctor because times are tough.
He's been known to get drunk and attack people who haven't done anything to him. Invariably, this gets him in fights that he can't win.
He goes off on benders and no one can find him for days. Once, while he was on one of these, part of his house flooded and his family had to go stay with relatives. He hasn't bothered to clean up that part of the house yet. It has been seven months now.
When any of his friends question his choices he loudly declares that either they are "with him or against him" and calls them cowards. When someone in the family questions him, he tells them that they are ungrateful and obviously don't care as much about the family as he does.
Ironically, he's the first guy to stand up in church on Sunday. He sings the loudest, even as his breath stinks of booze.
So now if you were his wife, would you stay with this guy?
If you were his kid, would you take fatherly advice from him?
If he was your brother-in-law, would you lend him money?
If you were his friend, would you even let him drive home?
So why would you vote for him and his kind to run this country?
This administration is full of drunks. The Republican party is the party of drunks. And anyone who votes for them is an enabler.
It's time to take away the keys before someone really gets hurt.
New Attack Meme: It's Not Just Incompetence, It's a Disease
What if you had someone like this in your family?
He's a drunk. Doesn't matter what his particular poison is, it's how he lives his life.
He's always broke. He has to borrow money to finance his nights out on the town. He tells the people he borrows from that he'll get them back sometime in the future.
He spends money he doesn't have on shit he doesn't need. And then tells his kids that he can't afford to send them to a good school or a good doctor because times are tough.
He's been known to get drunk and attack people who haven't done anything to him. Invariably, this gets him in fights that he can't win.
He goes off on benders and no one can find him for days. Once, while he was on one of these, part of his house flooded and his family had to go stay with relatives. He hasn't bothered to clean up that part of the house yet. It has been seven months now.
When any of his friends question his choices he loudly declares that either they are "with him or against him" and calls them cowards. When someone in the family questions him, he tells them that they are ungrateful and obviously don't care as much about the family as he does.
Ironically, he's the first guy to stand up in church on Sunday. He sings the loudest, even as his breath stinks of booze.
So now if you were his wife, would you stay with this guy?
If you were his kid, would you take fatherly advice from him?
If he was your brother-in-law, would you lend him money?
If you were his friend, would you even let him drive home?
So why would you vote for him and his kind to run this country?
This administration is full of drunks. The Republican party is the party of drunks. And anyone who votes for them is an enabler.
It's time to take away the keys before someone really gets hurt.
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Just Another Tired Old Card Trick
The news of Bush's Chief of Staff Andrew Card "resigning" is about as lackluster as any political shake-up can be.
Bush may think that getting rid of Card will satisfy nervous GOP legislators who urged Bush to shake things up in his administration in time for the November elections, but it's too little, too late.
Bush needed to fire Rumsfeld, Cheney, Rove and Rice for their combined dishonesty and incompetence. Now THAT would have made an impact.
Changing Card for some old schmuck recycled from Bush 41's disastrous administration is a nothing move.
Bush has fallen and he can't get up.
His cabinet full of slime is his anchor.
The news of Bush's Chief of Staff Andrew Card "resigning" is about as lackluster as any political shake-up can be.
Bush may think that getting rid of Card will satisfy nervous GOP legislators who urged Bush to shake things up in his administration in time for the November elections, but it's too little, too late.
Bush needed to fire Rumsfeld, Cheney, Rove and Rice for their combined dishonesty and incompetence. Now THAT would have made an impact.
Changing Card for some old schmuck recycled from Bush 41's disastrous administration is a nothing move.
Bush has fallen and he can't get up.
His cabinet full of slime is his anchor.
Monday, March 27, 2006
Kinky in San Antonio:This Isn't Just About Texas
I went to hear Kinky Friedman speak on Saturday morning here in San Antonio. Nice crowd, including Brian Williams and his crew from NBC Nightly News.
Kinky's pretty damn amazing, and I love his platform.
Sitting right in front of us in the audience was a big guy wearing a black cowboy hat and a Kinky T-shirt. Turned out to be Jerry Jeff Walker.
Willie Nelson is on board as Kinky's energy secretary.
As you may know, Willie is actively touting biodiesel fuel as an alternative to petroleum based fuels. Basically, the fuel is made of vegetable oil or animal fats--meaning an average McDonald's or Burger King could be the source of fuel in your tank without much effort.
Go to http://www.wnbiodiesel.com/products.html to learn more.
Get a load of some of Kinky's plans (from his website):
Education:
Texas has the second-largest population of any state in the country and two of the ten largest cities. That's an awfully big cart to pull with the horsepower we're currently giving our kids in Texas schools. An educated workforce and top-notch schools are essential to keeping our state attractive to new business, but we're failing the test.
Texas has the 8th largest economy in the world, but we're 1st in dropout rates and 49th in education spending in the country.
Teachers' salaries in Texas are over $6,000 below the national average. This lack of respect for the people who do our state's most important job must stop. As governor, Kinky will work to make sure that teachers are paid what they're worth. Period.
The TAKS test and its predecessor, TAAS, were invented essentially to make legislators look good on education. But studies show that rigid enforcement of standardized test scores doesn't help kids learn or make teachers more effective. Teach to the test and kids will learn the test—but not much else.
Healthcare
Texas ranks rock-bottom in providing for the basic needs of its youngest and poorest residents. More than one-fifth of Texas children have no health insurance at all.
In 2003, Texas legislators slashed the Children's Health Insurance Program, pulling the rug out from under 170,000 kids. Not only did this put more of our children at risk, it ended up costing the state tens of thousands of health care jobs and $16 billion in lost productivity. Kinky believes this is reckless and short-sighted—no way to invest in the future of Texas.
We're a state that prides itself on friendliness and responsibility, but the message we're sending our kids is that if you're going to be born poor, you'd better not be born in Texas.
Renewable Energy
It's time for Texas to reclaim bragging rights as an energy icon. As governor, Kinky will accomplish that by encouraging investment and innovation in new methods of electricity generation and new fuels like biodiesel.
Think these are fringe technologies? Think again. Wind power plants, solar power arrays and landfill gas capture systems are already in operation across Texas in cities from Fort Stockton to Fort Worth.
Texas has been called "the Saudi Arabia of renewable energy," and firms from TXU to Kyocera are already clamoring for a piece of the action.
Despite our staggering potential, only 0.7% of Texas' energy needs come from renewable sources. That puts us 51st in the nation, behind even Washington D.C.
Biodiesel—it's good enough for Willie Nelson's tour bus, and the city of Denton is using it to fuel their entire fleet of diesel trucks. Biodiesel is fuel you can grow. That's good for farmers, good for the air, good for the Texas energy industry and good for Texans. With biodiesel, everybody wins but OPEC..."
Best of all, he plans to pay for it by stopping the insanity of making Texans go to neighboring states to legally gamble. He's for casinos in Texas, with a large slice of the proceeds going back into the state's coffers so we can reduce property taxes by 15% and pay for the programs mentioned above.
All states need to shake things up, get politicians away from the grasping talons of lobbyists and start electing representatives who represent us- the people.
If the Democrats don't have the balls to do it, we need to support independents who do...like Kinky.
I went to hear Kinky Friedman speak on Saturday morning here in San Antonio. Nice crowd, including Brian Williams and his crew from NBC Nightly News.
Kinky's pretty damn amazing, and I love his platform.
Sitting right in front of us in the audience was a big guy wearing a black cowboy hat and a Kinky T-shirt. Turned out to be Jerry Jeff Walker.
Willie Nelson is on board as Kinky's energy secretary.
As you may know, Willie is actively touting biodiesel fuel as an alternative to petroleum based fuels. Basically, the fuel is made of vegetable oil or animal fats--meaning an average McDonald's or Burger King could be the source of fuel in your tank without much effort.
Go to http://www.wnbiodiesel.com/products.html to learn more.
Get a load of some of Kinky's plans (from his website):
Education:
Texas has the second-largest population of any state in the country and two of the ten largest cities. That's an awfully big cart to pull with the horsepower we're currently giving our kids in Texas schools. An educated workforce and top-notch schools are essential to keeping our state attractive to new business, but we're failing the test.
Texas has the 8th largest economy in the world, but we're 1st in dropout rates and 49th in education spending in the country.
Teachers' salaries in Texas are over $6,000 below the national average. This lack of respect for the people who do our state's most important job must stop. As governor, Kinky will work to make sure that teachers are paid what they're worth. Period.
The TAKS test and its predecessor, TAAS, were invented essentially to make legislators look good on education. But studies show that rigid enforcement of standardized test scores doesn't help kids learn or make teachers more effective. Teach to the test and kids will learn the test—but not much else.
Healthcare
Texas ranks rock-bottom in providing for the basic needs of its youngest and poorest residents. More than one-fifth of Texas children have no health insurance at all.
In 2003, Texas legislators slashed the Children's Health Insurance Program, pulling the rug out from under 170,000 kids. Not only did this put more of our children at risk, it ended up costing the state tens of thousands of health care jobs and $16 billion in lost productivity. Kinky believes this is reckless and short-sighted—no way to invest in the future of Texas.
We're a state that prides itself on friendliness and responsibility, but the message we're sending our kids is that if you're going to be born poor, you'd better not be born in Texas.
Renewable Energy
It's time for Texas to reclaim bragging rights as an energy icon. As governor, Kinky will accomplish that by encouraging investment and innovation in new methods of electricity generation and new fuels like biodiesel.
Think these are fringe technologies? Think again. Wind power plants, solar power arrays and landfill gas capture systems are already in operation across Texas in cities from Fort Stockton to Fort Worth.
Texas has been called "the Saudi Arabia of renewable energy," and firms from TXU to Kyocera are already clamoring for a piece of the action.
Despite our staggering potential, only 0.7% of Texas' energy needs come from renewable sources. That puts us 51st in the nation, behind even Washington D.C.
Biodiesel—it's good enough for Willie Nelson's tour bus, and the city of Denton is using it to fuel their entire fleet of diesel trucks. Biodiesel is fuel you can grow. That's good for farmers, good for the air, good for the Texas energy industry and good for Texans. With biodiesel, everybody wins but OPEC..."
Best of all, he plans to pay for it by stopping the insanity of making Texans go to neighboring states to legally gamble. He's for casinos in Texas, with a large slice of the proceeds going back into the state's coffers so we can reduce property taxes by 15% and pay for the programs mentioned above.
All states need to shake things up, get politicians away from the grasping talons of lobbyists and start electing representatives who represent us- the people.
If the Democrats don't have the balls to do it, we need to support independents who do...like Kinky.
Saturday, March 25, 2006
Battle Ax Babs
Barbara Bush contributed to the victims of Hurricane Katrina, but she earmarked the donation specifically to purchase "educational software" from her son Neil Bush's company, "Ignite!"
You may remember Neil Bush from the Silverado Savings and Loan scandal and the Asian hooker controversy.
Neil Bush's funding to start his company Ignite! came from the United Arab Emirates, the same crooks whom Dubya wanted to hire to control some of our major ports.
As I've said many times before, when the bitch is defective, the pups come out goofy.
Barbara Bush contributed to the victims of Hurricane Katrina, but she earmarked the donation specifically to purchase "educational software" from her son Neil Bush's company, "Ignite!"
You may remember Neil Bush from the Silverado Savings and Loan scandal and the Asian hooker controversy.
Neil Bush's funding to start his company Ignite! came from the United Arab Emirates, the same crooks whom Dubya wanted to hire to control some of our major ports.
As I've said many times before, when the bitch is defective, the pups come out goofy.
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Reporting "the Good News" from Iraq
A Pulp Friction Rant
The neo-con Bushistas are constantly complaining that the media fails to report the good news happening in Iraq.
Perhaps it's because if Bush hadn't started a war with a country that had nothing to do with 9/11, any good news in Iraq would be totally irrelevant to the American public.
Let me give you some examples:
Consider if America was not at war with Iraq...
-If the Iraqis were without electricity for an extended period of time and they somehow restored it, would Joe Sixpack of America give a shit?
-If an elementary school was built in Falluja, would that make the news in America? Hell, if a new elementary school was built in San Antonio, it wouldn't make the news in Austin!
-If there was no insurgent violence in Karbala for three days, would anyone in Rochester, New York care?
-If, before the war, the Sunni and Shia representatives went on a picnic and toasted each other with pomegranate juice, would anyone in Florida feel a need to know that?
The fact is, before Bush attacked Iraq, nobody in America could even name a city in Iraq besides maybe Baghdad.
Like the rest of those God-forsaken hellholes in the region, Americans didn't consider Iraq a tourist destination, or a region they'd ever have any cause to visit. In short, Americans didn't have one iota of interest in Iraq.
Before Bush made Saddam Hussein a target of his hatred and venom, most Americans thought he was just another average Middle Eastern dictator, a savage whose ass George H.W. Bush kicked soundly during The Gulf War.
The fact is, Bush would love for the media to spread messages of sunshine, lollipops and rainbows about ordinary things happening in Iraq so the American people would believe that Bush's invasion made sense.
If you could decide whether a new elementary school in Falluja was worth the lives of more than 2,000 American soldiers and more than $500 billion American dollars, would you say we should go for it?
Hell, no.
Iraq is and has always been a state filled with violent extremists, held together only by a dictator more rabid than the average street fighter. Removing the only stabilizing force in Iraq has shown us that Iraq is a region best left to its own insanity.
There is no good news in Iraq, and there won't be until the last American soldier is pulled out of that shithole.
A Pulp Friction Rant
The neo-con Bushistas are constantly complaining that the media fails to report the good news happening in Iraq.
Perhaps it's because if Bush hadn't started a war with a country that had nothing to do with 9/11, any good news in Iraq would be totally irrelevant to the American public.
Let me give you some examples:
Consider if America was not at war with Iraq...
-If the Iraqis were without electricity for an extended period of time and they somehow restored it, would Joe Sixpack of America give a shit?
-If an elementary school was built in Falluja, would that make the news in America? Hell, if a new elementary school was built in San Antonio, it wouldn't make the news in Austin!
-If there was no insurgent violence in Karbala for three days, would anyone in Rochester, New York care?
-If, before the war, the Sunni and Shia representatives went on a picnic and toasted each other with pomegranate juice, would anyone in Florida feel a need to know that?
The fact is, before Bush attacked Iraq, nobody in America could even name a city in Iraq besides maybe Baghdad.
Like the rest of those God-forsaken hellholes in the region, Americans didn't consider Iraq a tourist destination, or a region they'd ever have any cause to visit. In short, Americans didn't have one iota of interest in Iraq.
Before Bush made Saddam Hussein a target of his hatred and venom, most Americans thought he was just another average Middle Eastern dictator, a savage whose ass George H.W. Bush kicked soundly during The Gulf War.
The fact is, Bush would love for the media to spread messages of sunshine, lollipops and rainbows about ordinary things happening in Iraq so the American people would believe that Bush's invasion made sense.
If you could decide whether a new elementary school in Falluja was worth the lives of more than 2,000 American soldiers and more than $500 billion American dollars, would you say we should go for it?
Hell, no.
Iraq is and has always been a state filled with violent extremists, held together only by a dictator more rabid than the average street fighter. Removing the only stabilizing force in Iraq has shown us that Iraq is a region best left to its own insanity.
There is no good news in Iraq, and there won't be until the last American soldier is pulled out of that shithole.
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Give Him Hell, Helen
For the first time in three years, cowardly warmonger George W. Bush called on venerable journalist Helen Thomas during a White House press conference, who asked him why he wanted to go to war with Iraq from the moment he took office.
He said he didn't want to go to war, that no president wants war.
When she tried to challenge that claim, he kept rudely interrupting her until he managed to elude her and move on.
Thomas has been a member of the White House press corps since 1961.
She has skewered every president since John F. Kennedy, and rightfully so, because as a journalist she has always represented the rights of the American people to know what their president is doing, and why.
If anyone wanted to see a demonstration of a highly competent journalism veteran going after a weak, thin-skinned politician, the recent exchange between Thomas and Bush fit the bill.
Bush can't take the heat from serious journalists.
He cannot justify his ridiculous actions.
The emperor has no clothes, and Helen Thomas exposed him in just a scant few moments.
Helen Thomas has questioned the last eight presidents during White House Press Conferences, so she's in a position to rate their performances.
She rates George W. Bush as the worst president in modern history.
And she oughtta know.
For the first time in three years, cowardly warmonger George W. Bush called on venerable journalist Helen Thomas during a White House press conference, who asked him why he wanted to go to war with Iraq from the moment he took office.
He said he didn't want to go to war, that no president wants war.
When she tried to challenge that claim, he kept rudely interrupting her until he managed to elude her and move on.
Thomas has been a member of the White House press corps since 1961.
She has skewered every president since John F. Kennedy, and rightfully so, because as a journalist she has always represented the rights of the American people to know what their president is doing, and why.
If anyone wanted to see a demonstration of a highly competent journalism veteran going after a weak, thin-skinned politician, the recent exchange between Thomas and Bush fit the bill.
Bush can't take the heat from serious journalists.
He cannot justify his ridiculous actions.
The emperor has no clothes, and Helen Thomas exposed him in just a scant few moments.
Helen Thomas has questioned the last eight presidents during White House Press Conferences, so she's in a position to rate their performances.
She rates George W. Bush as the worst president in modern history.
And she oughtta know.
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Mourning Mileah
To send Mileah's family a condolence e-mail, her aunt Jerry's e-mail address is
jnichols@bowie-cass.com.
Mileah's beloved father Bob will be staying with Jerry for the next few days and she's promised to share any messages with him.
Mileah's funeral will be on Wednesday in Quitman Texas, east of Dallas, but on Thursday, March 23 from 1- 3 p.m., there will be an Austin memorial at Stubb's Restaurant in downtown Austin, 801 Red River Street.
If anyone would like to speak with Jerry or Mileah's best friend Rob, please e-mail me at KarenZipdrive@aol.com and I will share their numbers with you.
To send Mileah's family a condolence e-mail, her aunt Jerry's e-mail address is
jnichols@bowie-cass.com.
Mileah's beloved father Bob will be staying with Jerry for the next few days and she's promised to share any messages with him.
Mileah's funeral will be on Wednesday in Quitman Texas, east of Dallas, but on Thursday, March 23 from 1- 3 p.m., there will be an Austin memorial at Stubb's Restaurant in downtown Austin, 801 Red River Street.
If anyone would like to speak with Jerry or Mileah's best friend Rob, please e-mail me at KarenZipdrive@aol.com and I will share their numbers with you.
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