Rigging the Constitution for the GOP - POLITICO.com Print View

Rigging the Constitution for the GOP By: Chris Van Hollen July 21, 2011 09:39 PM EDT

With only 12 days to go before the United States risks defaulting on its debt, our nation is at a crossroads. Unfortunately, rather than working to find common ground, House Republicans voted this week to prevent the U.S. from paying its bills unless we enshrine their radical budget proposal into the Constitution. President Barack Obama has put a compromise plan on the table that would reduce the deficit by about $4 trillion over roughly 10 years. It builds on the framework established by the bipartisan Simpson-Bowles Commission, which calls for $3 in spending cuts for every $1 in revenue increases. This plan would raise revenue beginning in 2013 by closing corporate tax loopholes and returning the highest 2 percent of income earners to the same tax rate in place during the Clinton administration — when the economy was booming and 20 million jobs were created. Obama also proposed extending the payroll tax holiday through 2012 — to give all working Americans more disposable income to boost consumer demand and the economy. Republicans walked away from the table because they refused to raise one penny of revenue to help reduce the deficit. Instead of accepting this balanced approach, House Republicans passed legislation to prevent the United States from lifting the debt ceiling to pay our bills until two-thirds of Congress votes to accept their proposed changes to the Constitution. Since economists and financial experts from across the political spectrum have warned that failure to lift the debt ceiling by Aug. 2 could have catastrophic economic consequences, it is worth examining what constitutional changes Republicans are demanding in exchange for allowing America to pay its bills and prevent default. Republicans are proposing radical changes under the popular guise of a so-called balanced-budget amendment. However, their proposed amendment is “balanced” in name only. In reality, it is a cynical attempt to rig the Constitution to favor the Republican approach to reducing the deficit. It would write into the Constitution two mechanisms that stack the deck in favor of reducing the deficit by slashing critical investments and shredding the social safety net, while protecting special interest tax loopholes. The first mechanism favors big monied special interests over American families. It allows for a simple majority vote to reduce the deficit by cutting Social Security, Medicare or education — but requires a two-thirds vote to reduce the deficit by cutting corporate tax loopholes or raising the rates for millionaires. This provision would also make it easier for Washington lobbyists to get pork barrel tax breaks into the tax code (a simple majority vote) than for reformers to eliminate them to reduce the deficit (a two-thirds vote). The measure essentially re-engineers the Constitution to protect existing tax breaks for the rich and powerful — at the expense of critical investments in education and protections for our seniors and the most vulnerable. The second device to graft the GOP budget plan into the Constitution is an artificial spending cap. The constitutional amendment recently passed out of the House Judiciary Committee would cap federal spending at 18 percent of gross domestic product by 2016 — a level exceeded every year since 1966. Given the growing number of retiring baby boomers, that arbitrary ceiling will inevitably force Congress to dismantle Medicare and Social Security instead of working to strengthen it for future generations. This type of ideological rigidity does not belong in our nation’s founding document. Instead, it reflects a backdoor attempt to impose the GOP budget plan by manipulating the Constitution. These devices establish permanent, undemocratic barriers that could make it impossible for future Congresses to respond to the will of the people. A majority of the public may choose to balance the budget at a different level than the GOP’s artificial cap, or with a balanced approach that includes additional revenue. But the supermajority requirement and the arbitrary spending cap prevent the American people from choosing to balance the budget in a way different than the Republicans’ demands. My Republican colleagues seek to justify their proposal by observing that 49 of the 50 states have balanced-budget requirements. This is a deeply misleading comparison. Only 14 states require a supermajority to raise revenue, and only 16 states have spending caps written into their constitutions. Moreover, states borrow money for capital investments in things like schools, roads and other infrastructure — which would be prohibited by the Republican amendment — and they don’t have to pay for wars or national emergencies. The hour is late for getting serious about reaching a real compromise that can build a national consensus for addressing the debt ceiling and moving our economy forward. This is no time for introducing a Trojan horse under the “balanced budget” mantle to embed the GOP’s right-wing budget framework into the Constitution, while threatening to tank the economy, throw people out of work and drive up interest rates and the deficit if it is not accepted. Let’s return to the table to hammer out a balanced compromise. Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) is the ranking member of the House Budget Committee.

Canadians love sex more than sleep!!!! You go Canadians!!!!

The next time you hear a hot 'n' heavy racket going on in the hotel room next door, don't be surprised if you detect an "eh" amongst the "oohs."

According to a new survey conducted by Westin Hotels and Resorts, a great night's sleep is more important than great sex -- except to Canadians.

The survey polled 12,500 frequent travellers in 10 countries. Overall, 51 per cent reported that sleep was their top priority when checking in to a hotel, but only 48 per cent of Canadians felt that way.

"Either we have different customs or we were more truthful than others in answering the question," says Jean-Luc Barone, general manager of the Westin Bayshore Vancouver.

Barone says the Westin chain, with its custom-designed "Heavenly Bed," aims to create a soothing sleep environment for guests. But that doesn't mean sex is out of the question.

"I don't think they're mutually exclusive," says Barone.

"We provide an environment where guests are safe and comfortable. Once they get into our hotels, they're free to do whatever they please."

The global dry spell is relatively new. Ten years ago, Westin conducted a similar study, at which point only 31 per cent overall chose sleep over sex.

However, today's economic climate and bothersome bedside BlackBerrys have contributed to a growing dearth of satisfactory shuteye. And the consequences of tossing and turning every night are significant -- especially for executives who are expected to perform the following day.

"Most people surveyed get into fights with their boss or co-workers because of a bad night's sleep," says a press release from Starwood Hotels, the company that owns Westin. "About one in four screw up a presentation or forget an important event, while less than one in five argue with their spouse or partner."

The desperation has led travellers to seek out more comfortable lodgings -- in fact, more than two-thirds of those surveyed would pay more to stay at a hotel with their favourite bed.

Relationship stress is another common sleep stealer (not enough hotel sex, perhaps?).

Curiously -- and somewhat inconsequentially -- the survey also states that 26 per cent of hotel guests sleep in pyjamas, while 23 per cent sleep "completely nude." As to what the other 51 per cent are wearing in the sack -- that remains a mystery. But anyone who is slipping into tight jeans, wetsuits or hockey equipment may want to rethink blaming the bed for their sleep woes.

In conjunction with the new findings, Westin has teamed up with the National Sleep Foundation to offer a toll-free sleep hotline. Restless souls can call 1-888-TIME-4-SLEEP; an expert will divulge tips on how to overcome common sleep problems. The line will be answered from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m., Monday to Friday, through Sept. 15.

Please note, though, that the expert may not be able to offer any advice on how to sleep though noisy Canadian lovemaking.

© Copyright (c) Postmedia News

Read more: http://www.canada.com/life/Never+mind+sleep+prefer/1924234/story.html#ixzz1TQhhg3U2

Phillips gets sexy....We are behind you Phillips!.....

Philips pushes sex-toys line for health

 

 

BY HARRO TEN WOLDE, REUTERS

 

 

 

Philips pushes sex-toys line for health

Always wanted to buy a sex-toy but cringed at the thought of entering one of those shops?

Dutch Philips Electronics may have a solution. Turn to a convenience store around the corner or online and a purple colored "sensual massagers" could be yours and it may even look nice on your bedside table.

With the launch of a new entry model at the consumer electronics trade show, IFA Philips is raising its presence in a multibillion market, it entered only one year ago, when it launched the products in the United Kingdom.

"Our sensual massagers are shaped to fit the contours of male and female erogenous zones," said Chris Worp, head of Philips relationship care business.

Worp demonstrated the toys, which retail from 70 euros to 150 euros ($100 to $214) in a room at the Philips booth, elegantly decorated with white curtains, cozy sofas and dimmed lights.

"We are unique in our approach as we are targeting couples and we are not excluding a partner, which products that are currently on the market, do."

According to Worp the total market for sex-toys is about $97 billion, but Philips is only targeting a small segment of it that still could be significant in size.

And it serves public health as well. "People who have a good sexual relationships live 12 years longer and look 10 years younger," Paula Hall, a sex and relationship expert who advised Philips in the process of designing and developing the toys.

"It actually reduces chances of getting cancer, heart deceases and lowers blood pressure," she claims.

Since introducing the product line in the United Kingdom at Boots, Amazon and other retailers, Europe's biggest consumer electronics producer has expanded distribution in Spain, France, Germany and the Benelux countries.

"They were very well received both in terms of consumer reactions and sales...We wouldn't be expanding if it was a small niche market," Worp said declining to give details for competitive reasons.

"We found that 40 percent of couples were uncomfortable with the poorly made and often crude sex toys currently available. We will keep expanding both geographically and in products."

© Copyright (c) Postmedia News

Green Vibrators...gotta love em!

Green vibrators promise truly sustainable pleasure

 

 

BY JURGEN HECKER, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

 

 

 

Earth Angel is the world’s first-ever "green technology sex toy".

Photograph by: Photos.com, canada.com

DUBLIN — When world leaders in Copenhagen argue for days in knife-edge talks to save the planet, what more fitting way to relieve the tension than an environmentally-friendly vibrator?

The global sex toy industry is worth an estimated annual $15 billion and uses up a mountain of batteries in the process, many of which end up as toxic waste.

But now one Irish company reckons they’ve got the solution to shake up the market: a vibrator they are calling the world’s first-ever "green technology sex toy".

The Earth Angel, described as "eight inches (20 centimetres) with a sleek white finish", is a wind-up vibrator which comes with a handle built into the bottom.

"You just flip out the handle, grab a hold of it there, and you just wind it," said Janice O’Connor, the co-founder of Earth Angel makers Caden Enterprises along with her husband Chris.

"So for four minutes of doing that, you should generate enough power to give you 30 minutes of full-on, right-to-the top vibrations," she told AFP.

She added: "I’ve only used it a couple of times, and it’s fantastic. It’s very intense, and sometimes, at the top level, depending on the person that’s using it, it can actually be too intense sometimes.

"That’s why we have four different levels on it."

The vibrator is made of 100 per cent recyclable materials and the couple hope it will encourage sex toy fans around the globe to do their bit for the environment.

"We want to change the way that people view adult toys and the adult industry as a whole," they said.

"We wanted to produce an environmentally-friendly sex toy that appealed to all consumers.

"Every industry has an obligation to do as much as they can to reduce the effects of climate change and by developing this new technology we hope that others will follow suit and look for alternative ways to design and manufacture their products."

Chris O’Connor is the brains behind the power-storing technology that he said could be applied to any small power device, such as electric toothbrushes.

He said climate change had been his primary motivation rather than sexy fun.

"When I was a child we’d have months of good weather," the inventor said.

"Now that’s totally changed, 100 percent changed, in this country. And that’s why I decided I’d try to make a change for the better, for the planet."

Public morality in Ireland is still traditionally Catholic, so producing the green vibrator there was out of the question - it is manufactured by a British-based company - while financing it proved an obstacle course.

But the O’Connors, both practicing Catholics, believe God is on their side.

"In all fairness, wouldn’t God want something that’s green and that doesn’t do any damage to the environment?" asked Chris.

An Earth Angel costs 70 euros (100 dollars) plus shipping costs and around 1,000 have already been sold to people seeking its special brand of "sustainable pleasure".

For more information www.theearthangel.ie

A small step from equality in MN.

MN Court Hands National Organization for Marriage A Defeat!

bySomething the Dog Said

A bit of good news in the marriage equality fight in Minnesota; the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board has decided that NOM (the National Organization for Marriage) can not keep the name of donors who give more than $1,000 secret. NOM was arguing that it by having to disclose their big money donors it would have a chilling effect and exposes these donors to harassment and possible property damage.

Now let’s be crystal clear on this, I am never, every going to support any kind of property damage for peoples political views. As fun as the idea of TP’ing and egging Rush Limbaugh’s house sounds, it is still not acceptable. However, being called out for your bigoted position on marriage equality, well that is fair game and anyone that supports an inherently un-American position of state sanctioned discrimination should be on the hook for it publicly.

This is an important win as the law up to now has been willing to shield donors, while at the same time equating speech with money. I disagree that money and speech should be equal, but if they must be, then there must be a clear line of sight to who is speaking. To be able to hid behind a 501(c)3 group is clearly not what the framers of the constitution meant.

At the time that the Constitution was ratified it was nearly impossible to publish something without it being widely known who was the writer and publisher. And obviously when people physically spoke, well there was no doubt as to who was making political statements.

The whole fight with NOM and the various forces of intolerance has been funded by groups that want to talk one way in public and another in private. That they have to face the disapproval of the members of their community because of their views is only fair.

After all would we be fine with White Supremacist groups buying add time advocating against interracial marriage? Especially if they were getting the massive amounts of anonymous funding the bigoted groups like NOM are getting to oppose marriage equality? I don’t think that the argument that it is chilling to their political point of view is going to carry any water, do you?

He's drunk, she's drunk...He raped her....Goes to Jail..while she keeps whoring...

Heard back from a congressmen yesterday --- Here are the excerpts from his letter:“Nudity” or “state of nudity” means the showing of the bare human male or female genitals or pubic area with less than a fully opaque covering, the showing of the female breast with less than a fully opaque covering of the areola, or the showing of the covered male genitals in a discernibly turgid state. “Nudity” or “state of nudity” does not include a mother in the act of nursing the mother's baby; and So men can't have a boner in public....Even if a women flashes him accidently.... but women can breast feed... Go figure...That's Maryland's Law..Ok... and here's another:

He's drunk, she's drunk. He stripped her naked....spanked her pink...She enjoyed it all.. She gave him a BJ. He filled her holes. They both had a hell of a fun night. So...Who got raped?  NOBODY!!!!!! DID.......Even if they had remorse the morning after.....But according to... man hating gender feminists....She got raped!!!!!!!..Gender Feminists... need to be taken out and shot  or burnt at stake......for their perverted agenda....Just like the religious pervert GOPs should be taken out and shot too for their bigoted radical agenda......

No matter how hard the GOP fights gay, lesbians or same sex marriages under the banner of religious righteousness. it just wouldn't work.

Hypocrisy, Oppression, repression and bigotry are always a losing battle...The GOP is bound to learn it one way or the other....most likely the hard way.    

                                                                                                         Laura Y....

male + female + alcohol = he raped her........Gender feminists.

male + alcohol +female = he raped her........Gender feminists.

female +alcohol  +male = he raped her.........Gender feminists. 

A Guy goes to jail over the whorish ways of a female...which Feminists have no problem convincing our lawmakers is rape....what a shame.....Reasons I hate Feminists...Just like I hate the GOP....Go figure...

Laura Y.  

Holy Mary! Pregnant Nuns - Vatican Miracles!!!!!

The Vatican is now acknowledging allegations first reported in the Catholic press. (CBS)

The Vatican acknowledged Tuesday a report alleging that some priests and missionaries were forcing nuns to have sex with them and in some cases forced their rape victims to have abortions.

Other nuns were forced to take birth control pills, according to the report cited in the Rome daily newspaper la Repubblica.

The Vatican said the issue was restricted to a certain geographical area, but the report cited cases in 23 countries, including the United States, Brazil, the Philippines, India, Ireland and Italy.

Missionary news agency MISNA condemned the abuse while recalling that missionaries often worked "at the limit of human endurance." It urged the media to remember the good deeds of missionaries around the world as well as their failings.

A Vatican statement said "in relation to the news of cases of sexual abuse against nuns committed by priests and missionaries…the problem is known about and is restricted to a certain geographical area. The Holy See is dealing with the issue in collaboration with bishops, the Union of Superiors General (grouping of heads of male religious orders) and the International Union of Superiors General (heads of female religious orders)."

While the Vatican did not name the geographical area, the report said most incidents of sexual abuse against nuns occurred in Africa where the nuns were identified as "safe" following the onset of the HIV and AIDS viruses devastating the continent.

Charges made in the report, signed with names and surnames, were made known to Church authorities on several occasions throughout the 1990s, according to the article by Marco Politi, la Repubblica'sVatican correspondent.

The author of the report was nun and physician Maura O'Donohue, who presented it to the head of the Vatican's Congregation for Holy Orders, Cardinal Martinez Somalo, in February 1995.

He ordered a working group from the Congregation to study the problem with O'Donohue, who was AIDS coordinator for Cafod, the London-based Roman Catholic Fund for Overseas Development.

O'Donohue made specific reference to certain cases, one in which a priest forced a nun to have an abortion, after which she died. He then officiated at her requiem mass.

In reference to Africa, her report said: "It is impossible (there) for a woman or an adolescent to refuse a man, especially an older man and in particular a priest."

In Africa, certain priests sought out nuns "for fear of contracting AIDS with prostitutes."

"There are cases in which priests make nuns take the pill...and there was one case of 20 nuns in one religious community being pregnant at the same time," the artile cited the report as saying.

A mother superior was continually ignored by the local bishop when she complained that priests in the diocese had made 29 of her nuns pregnant. The bishop relieved her of her duties, the report said without identifying the diocese.

The charges first appeared in the Kansas City-based National Catholic Reporter weekly on March 16 and in a small Italian religious news agency, Adista, which also publishes a weekly.

In 1998, Marie McDonald, mother superior of the Missionaries of Our Lady of Africa, presented her report on "sexual abuse and rape committed by priests and bishops."

The Vatican is monitoring the situation, making sure bishops were aware of the phenomenon, but no direct action has been taken, the article said.

Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said in his statement: "We are working on two fronts, training of people and finding a solution to individual cases. Some negative cases cannot let us forget the often heroic faith expressed by the large majority of those men and women in religious orders and of the clergy."

MISNA echoed his words, complaining in a statement that "in general, people only ever talk about missionaries when they die, are kidnapped or when they make mistakes. If on the one hand... these incidents of alleged sexual abuse cannot and should not be denied or justified, on the other hand they prompt us to reflect on the conditions in which the majority of the tens of thousands of missionaries live on the fringes of the so-called Third World. Many of them live in situations of extreme psychological and physical hardship, at the limits of human endurance."

La Repubblica quoted McDonald as saying: "As far as I know, no inspections have taken place...There are some nuns who become financially dependent on priests, who can then ask for sexual favors in return."

"Then there is the conspiracy of silence which makes the problem worse. Only if we confront this together, will we be able to find a solution," she said.

Evil Republicans, Or Stupid Republicans?

Evil Republicans, Or Stupid Republicans?

Current vote is in favor of "stupid." Please go here to see the prank "USA Patriot Pledge" that 237 people actually signed and mailed in. (Sample pledge: "I commit my children to pay for the wars America is fighting.")

Yo! A cool study shows that conservatives and Republicans are stooopid because they're wired differenty than creative, smart liberals! Right here!!

Here's what typical Republican Ann Coulter has to say about the wives who's husbands were burned alive in the twin towers on 9/11:

"These broads are millionaires, lionized on TV and in articles about them, reveling in their status as celebrities and stalked by griefparrazies. I have never seen people enjoying their husband’s death so much." Here's their response. Yo: Republicans! Do you buy this? Is this how you feel? Are you all warm and fuzzy with Ann?

Garrison Keillor:

Having been called names, one looks back at one's own angry outbursts over the years, and I recall having once referred to Republicans as "hairy backed swamp developers, fundamentalist bullies, freelance racists, hobby cops, sweatshop tycoons, line jumpers, marsupial moms and aluminum siding salesmen, misanthropic frat boys, ninja dittoheads, shrieking midgets, tax cheats, cheese merchants, cat stranglers, pill pushers, nihilists in golf pants, backed-up Baptists, the grand pooh-bahs of Percodan, mouth breathers, testosterone junkies and brownshirts in pinstripes." I look at those words now, and "cat stranglers" seems excessive to me. (here)

Things you can count on the Republican leadership to screw up:

The deficit. Body armor. Medicare reform. Social Security reform. The minimum wage. Port security. The National Guard. Diplomacy. The Geneva Conventions. Fair elections. Clean elections. Intelligence. Protecting the Constitution. Protecting the Bill of Rights. Government transparency. Oversight. Separation of church and state. The middle class. The poor. Tax reform. Tax cuts. Bankruptcy law. Global warming. Disaster management. Defeating terrorists. Saying no to lobbyists. Saying yes to public opinion. Pre-war planning. Post-war planning. Competence. Civil rights. Civil liberties. Civil debate. Veterans' benefits. Hiring based on ability. Legal surveillance. Morality. Energy policy. Energy independence. End-of-life decisions among spouses. Inclusion. Learning lessons from history. Learning, period. Drug policy. Fiscal responsibility. Trusting the generals. Trusting the spooks. Trusting the experts. Basic honesty. Basic health care. Education. Creating jobs. Keeping CIA operatives' identities secret. Catching Osama. Playing nice. Playing fair. Refilling ice cube trays. Making paper airplanes. Or coffee. Tying their shoelaces. Making friends. Blowing their noses. Counting to ten five three. Sharing their toys. Telling the truth. Uniting the country. Protecting underage kids from a predatory congressman. (here)

" Not all conservatives are stupid, but all stupid people are conservative." HL Menckin


Republicans: Cowards, except when it comes to sending people to die for no good reason. Then they're very very brave.

Perverts and criminals:

* Vice President Dead-eye Dick Cheney's Chief of Staff Scooter Libby resigns after being indicted on felony charges of obstruction of justice, perjury and making false statements in the CIA leak investigation

* President Bush severely criticized for his role in the domestic NSA wire

When a Republican uses the phrase "Cut and run" or "Surrender is not an option" be sure to check and see if they served overseas in the military or sat on their fat asses because of "other priorities."

Service in the Armed Forces

Democrats:

* Richard Gephardt: Air National Guard, 1965-71.
* Tom Daschle: 1st Lt., Air Force SAC 1969-72.
* Al Gore: enlisted Aug. 1969; sent to Vietnam Jan. 1971 as an army journalist in 20th Engineer Brigade.
* Bob Kerrey: Lt. j.g. Navy 1966-69; Medal of Honor, Vietnam.
* Daniel Inouye: Army 1943-47; Medal of Honor, WWII.
* John Kerry: Lt., Navy 1966-70; Silver Star, Bronze Star with Combat V, Purple Hearts.
* Charles Rangel: Staff Sgt., Army 1948-52; Bronze Star, Korea.
* Max Cleland: Captain, Army 1965-68; Silver Star & Bronze Star,
Vietnam. Paraplegic from war injuries. Served in Congress.
* Ted Kennedy: Army, 1951-53.
* Tom Harkin: Lt., Navy, 1962-67; Naval Reserve, 1968-74.
* Fritz Hollings: Army officer in WWII; Bronze Star and seven campaign ribbons.
* Leonard Boswell: Lt. Col., Army 1956-76; Vietnam, DFCs, Bronze Stars,and Soldier's Medal.
* Pete Peterson: Air Force Captain, POW. Purple Heart, Silver Star and Legion of Merit.
* Mike Thompson: Staff sergeant, 173rd Airborne, Purple Heart.
* Bill McBride: Candidate for Fla. Governor. Marine in Vietnam; Bronze Star with Combat V.
* Gray Davis: Army Captain in Vietnam, Bronze Star.
* George McGovern: Silver Star & DFC during WWII.
* Jimmy Carter: Seven years in the Navy.
* Walter Mondale: Army 1951-1953
* John Glenn: WWII and Korea; six DFCs and AirMedal with 18 Clusters.
* Tom Lantos: Served in Hungarian underground in WWII. Saved by Raoul Wallenberg.

Republicans -- the guys sending people to Afghanistan and Iraq:

* Dick Cheney: did not serve. Several deferments, the last by marriage.
* Dennis Hastert: did not serve.
* Tom Delay: did not serve.
* Roy Blunt: did not serve.
* Bill Frist: did not serve.
* Mitch McConnell: did not serve.
* Rick Santorum: did not serve.
* Trent Lott: did not serve.
* John Ashcroft: did not serve. Seven deferments to teach business.
* Jeb Bush: did not serve.
* Karl Rove: did not serve.
* Saxby Chambliss: did not serve. "Bad knee." (The man who attacked Max Cleland's patriotism.)
* Paul Wolfowitz: did not serve.
* Vin Weber: did not serve.
* Richard Perle: did not serve.
* Douglas Feith: did not serve.
* Eliot Abrams: did not serve.
* Tim Hutchison: did not serve.
* Newt Gingrich: did not serve.
* George W. Bush: failed to complete his six-year National Guard; failed to show up for required physical. Coward.
* Phil Gramm: did not serve.
* JC Watts: did not serve.
* Jack Kemp: did not serve. "Knee problem, " although continued in NFL for 8 years as quarterback.
* Dan Quayle: Journalism unit of the Indiana National Guard. Scary!
* Rudy Giuliani: did not serve.
* George Pataki: did not serve.
* Lindsey Graham: National Guard lawyer.
* Arnold Schwarzenegger: AWOL from Austrian army base.

Pundits & Preachers
* Sean Hannity: did not serve.
* Rush Limbaugh: did not serve (because of a boil on his ass!) (here)
* Bill O'Reilly: did not serve.
* Michael Savage: did not serve.
* George Will: did not serve.
* Chris Matthews: did not serve.
* Paul Gigot: did not serve.
* Bill Bennett: did not serve.
* Pat Buchanan: did not serve.
* John Wayne: did not serve.
* Bill Kristol: did not serve.
* Kenneth Starr: did not serve.
* Antonin Scalia: did not serve.
* Clarence Thomas: did not serve.
* Ralph Reed: did not serve.
* Michael Medved: did not serve.

Foot in Mouth Disease: Nice Republican Quotes

House Republican Leader John Boehner would have appointed Rep. Wayne Gilchrest to the bipartisan Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming -- but only if the Maryland Republican would say humans are not causing climate change, Gilchrest said. "I said, 'John, I can't do that,' " Gilchrest, R-1st-Md., said in an interview. "He said, 'Come on. Do me a favor. I want to help you here.' (here)

"We have to change the range of that bird to 1.8 miles because my family has property in California." Department of the Interior Bush appointee Julie MacDonald. (here)

Arnold: Typical Republican Liar
"I finally arrived here in 1968.I had empty pockets, but I was full of dreams. The presidential campaign was in full swing. I remember watching the Nixon and Humphrey presidential race on TV. I heard Humphrey saying things that sounded like socialism which is what I had just left. But then I heard Nixon speak. He was talking about free enterprise, getting government off your back, lowering taxes, and strengthening the military. Listening to Nixon speak sounded more like a breath of fresh air. I said to my friend, "What party is he?" My friend said, "He's a Republican." I said, "Then I am a Republican!" And I've been a Republican ever since!"

That's Arnold at the 2004 Republican National Convention. The problem, is that in 1968 Arnie didn't speak English, and there were no Humphrey-Nixon debates. (here)

" I am a fashion god. I got it at Nordstrom's. ... Are you proud of me? Can I quit now? Can I come home now?" Michael Brown (Brownie "Heckuva Job") in the midst of Hurricane Katrina. (Here)

Representative Rep. Richard H. Baker, (in reference to hurricane Katrina) said: "We finally cleaned up public housing in New Orleans. We couldn't do it, but God did." (here)

Bill O'Reilly: Eeeeuwwwww!
Read actual phone transcripts concerning how Bill O'Reilly wants to "massage your back with a falafel." (Icky! He meant "loofah.")

Read how "impartial" and "fair and balanced" Bill threatens to have Al Franken "whacked." Read the transcript of his orgasm on the phone!

Jessica Simpson, on meeting Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton said, "You've done a nice job of decorating the White House." (here)

Why don't YOU get a new job?

"Why don't they get new jobs if they're unhappy — or go on Prozac?" Bush campaign worker Susan Sheybani's musings on employee options in the weak U.S. job market. (here)

Space is the Place!

Congressman Tom Feeney (R-FL) said on the 1/9/04 edition of "Scarborough Country": "Somebody is going to dominate space.  When they do, just like when the British dominated the naval part of our globe, established their empire, just like the United States has dominated the air superiority, ultimately, whoever is able to dominate space will be able to control the destiny of the entire Earth. And I think America is the only country with the moral capability and authority to." (here)

"I think that gay marriage is something that should be between a man and a woman." Arnold Schwarzenegger (here)

"Capital punishment is our society's recognition of the sanctity of human life." Republican U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (here)

"Facts are stupid things." Ronald Reagan (here)

"All the waste in a year from a nuclear power plant can be stored under a desk." Ronald Reagan (Wrong, unless the space under your desk can store 30 tons.) (here)

"Africa is a nation with a lot of diseases." --George W. Bush (more here)

Billy Graham, speaking about Jews in America: "This stranglehold has got to be broken or the country's going down the drain." Richard Nixon: "You believe that?" Graham: "Yes sir." Nixon: "Oh boy, so do I. I can't ever say that, but I believe it. --From Nixon's secret White House Tapes (here)

"God told me to strike at al-Qaeda and I struck them, and then He instructed me to strike at Saddam, which I did, and now I am determined to solve the problem in the Middle East. If you help me, I will act, and if not, the elections will come and I will have to focus on them." George W. Bush (here)

"It's amazing I won. I was running against peace, prosperity, and incumbency. It wasn't exactly a landslide, you know?" George W. Bush, speaking to Swedish Prime Minister Goran Perrson, unaware that a live television camera was still rolling.
Does Ann Coulter have a head injury?
"I think the other point that no one is making about the abuse photos is just the disproportionate number of women involved, including a girl general running the entire operation. I mean, this is lesson, you know, one million and 47 on why women shouldn't be in the military. In addition to not being able to carry even a medium-sized backpack, women are too vicious." -- Ann Coulter, missing the point for the one million and 47th time. (here)

"This is no time to be precious about locating the exact individuals directly involved in this particular terrorist attack. We should invade their countries, kill their leaders, and convert them to Christianity." --Right-wing columnist Ann Coulter (here)
"...and of course there are the 39 million greedy geezers collecting Social Security. The greatest generation rewarded itself with a pretty big meal. --Right-wing columnist Ann Coulter (here)
"Even Hillary Clinton claimed to have unearthed some evidence that she was a Jew. And that, boys and girls, is how the Jews survived thousands of years of persecution: by being susceptible to pandering." Ann Coulter (here)

Tom Delay Gets His Own Section of Stupid Quotes!
(Good riddance, Tom: Molly Ivins says goodbye.)

"I have seen these liberal psychologists and sociologists talk about there is no need for the man in the family. 'The woman can take care of it. A woman can take care of the family.' It takes a man to provide structure. To provide stability. " – House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX), in an interview, on the role of women in the home. (Christine DeLay "quickly realized that her hubby was treading on dangerous territory," admonishing, "Let's edit this out," she said. "This is not a good thing for you to be saying.") (here)

"The EPA is the Gestapo of government, purely and simply." (here)
To fix fish kills caused by acid rain: "Just sprinkle a little lime to neutralize the acid." (here)
Tom Delay's shouted reply when he was told it was a federal law that he couldn't smoke his cigar in a no-smoking area: "I AM the federal law!" (here)

(Also see Sylvester Stallone as Judge Dredd bellowing "I AM the law!")(here)

"Nothing is more important in the face of a war than cutting taxes." --Tom Delay (here)

(More on Evil Tom Delay's Evilness (here) and (here)

"How dare Senator Daschle criticize president Bush while we are fighting our war on terrorism, especially when we have troops in the field!" Trent Lott, 2/28/02, after spending the last half of the '90s criticizing Clinton's use of troops around the world. (here)
"If combat means living in a ditch, females have biological problems staying in a ditch for 30 days because they get infections. Males are biologically driven to go out and hunt giraffes." Newt Gingrich (here)

"Women are best suited for secretarial work, decorating cakes, and counter sales, like selling lingerie. --South Carolina Republican Representative Larry Koon (here)
Clayton Williams, the Republican nominee for Texas governor when running against Ann Richards compared bad weather to rape saying, "If it's inevitable, just relax and enjoy it." (here)

I have a black, a woman, two Jews and a cripple. --James G. Watt, Reagan's Secretary of the Interior describing an advisory panel. (here)
"What a waste it is to lose one's mind, or not to have a mind is being very wasteful. How true that is." --Dan Quayle (here)
Republican Governor of Alabama, Bob Riley has presented a plan to raise taxes to change what he considers a regressive tax structure that favors the wealthy and brings hardship to the poor. Marty Connors, the Alabama Republican chairman asked, "How far do you go in making a regressive tax structure progressive before it ceases to be a "moral" act and becomes a "liberal" or "Democratic" one? " (here)

"Every person who opens the door -- as long as they are white -- I'll say 'I'm James Hart and I'm running for Congress." Eugenics fan James Hart, running as a GOP Congressional candidate in Tennessee: (here)

"We will never stop thinking of ways to harm America." --George W. Bush (here)

Hypocritical Republican "God and Family" Types: Example #2,118: "Hey baby, it doesn't turn me on when you cry!"

Ah, those family values loving Republicans! "Cages, whips and other apparatus hanging from the ceiling," says the legal filing, roundly denied by the GOP Senate candidate, of course.

Jeri Ryan said her then-husband took her on three "surprise trips" in the spring of 1998 to New Orleans, New York and Paris, during which he took her to sex clubs. She said she refused to go in the first and went into the second at his insistence.

"It was a bizarre club with cages, whips and other apparatus hanging from the ceiling," she said in the court document, adding that her husband "wanted me to have sex with him there, with another couple watching. I refused."

She said on arriving at the third club, in Paris, "people were having sex everywhere. I cried. I was physically ill. [He] became very upset with me and said it was not a 'turn on' for me to cry." (here)

Hypocritical Republican "God and Family" Types: Example #2,119

(also see: Gingrich, Bennett, Bush's: Brother in Thailand)

The head of the Sinclair Broadcast Group (the broadcast company that yanked the Ted Koppel's Nightline program listing those killed in action in Iraq) apparently needs to spend more time at home reading his Bible. He got picked up a few years ago for buying a blow-job. (here)

Current Republican Chickenhawk:

Georgie himself! Read how Ben Barnes (former Texas House Speaker) got cowardly drunken Georgie into the Champagne Unit of the National Guard here.

Former Texas House Speaker Ben Barnes said he is ''more ashamed at myself than I've ever been'' because he helped President Bush and the sons of other wealthy families get into the Texas National Guard so they could avoid serving in Vietnam. ''I got a young man named George W. Bush into the National Guard ... and I'm not necessarily proud of that, but I did it,''

Scott McClellan went on the offensive against Ben Barnes for describing the "shame" he feels over helping President Bush duck service in Vietnam. "It is not surprising coming from a longtime partisan Democrat," he said. "The allegation was discredited by the commanding officer. This was fully covered and addressed five years ago. It is nothing new." It turns out that Barnes is such a down-the-line partisan that he supported Texas's Republican State Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn for reelection in 2002.

Strayhorn is Scott's mom.

Previous winners:

Thrice-divorced blowhard Rush Limbaugh avoided service in Vietnam because of a a boil on his ass. It's true! (here)

Senator Saxby Chambliss, Georgia - did not serve, had a "trick knee" (yet somehow feels he has a right to attack Max Cleland's patriotism)

"I am angry that so many of the sons of the powerful and well-placed... managed to wangle slots in Reserve and National Guard units. . . Of the many tragedies of Vietnam, this raw class discrimination strikes me as the most damaging to the ideal that all Americans are created equal and owe equal allegiance to their country."

(Colin Powell's autobiography, My American Journey, p. 148)
Who actually served---who didn't.

Last week (or month...)

Dennis Hastert's Trick Shoulder Trumps Saxby Chambliss' Trick Knee:
John McCain: "I don't remember ever in the history of warfare when we cut taxes." Asked about McCain's remarks, Dennis Hastert (here): "If you want to see sacrifice, John McCain ought to visit our young men and women at Walter Reed and Bethesda [military hospitals]. There's the sacrifice in this country. We're trying to make sure that they have the ability to fight this war, that they have the wherewithal to be able to do it. And at the same time, we have to react to keep this country strong not only militarily but economically. We want to be able to have the flexibility to do it. That's my reply to John McCain." Where was Hastert during the Vietnam war? He was rejected for military service because of a bad shoulder.

Former winners: A three-way tie between the Pentagon officials who, according to Newsweek, cancelled flights on September 10, 2001 because of "security concerns" (here) John Ashcroft, for flying by private jet starting in July of 2001 because of "security concerns" (here) and Condi Rice for saying, ""I don't think anybody could have predicted that they would try to use an airplane as a missile, a hijacked airplane as a missile" when, as it turns out, they had already received multiple warnings in Bush's PDB (Presidential Daily Briefing) (here)

Tom Delay's words on why he missed Vietnam: "So many minority youths had volunteered for the well-paying military positions to escape poverty and the ghetto that there was literally no room for patriotic folks like me in Vietnam." (here)
Dick Cheney managed to snag five deferments during the Vietnam war. “I had other priorities in the ’60s than military service,” Cheney told a reporter in 1989, according to the Washington Post. (here)
John Murtha, Democrat with lotsa combat decorations (Two purple hearts, bronze star) from his service in Vietnam says:
"I like guys who've never been there that criticize us who've been there. I like that. I like guys who got five deferments and never been there and send people to war, and then don't like to hear suggestions about what needs to be done." (here)

Dick Cheney's Five Big Deferments!

By the time Cheney turned 26 in January 1967 and was no longer eligible for the draft, he had asked for and received five deferments, four because he was a student and one for being a new father.

"Five deferments seems incredible to me," said David Curry, a professor at the University of Missouri in St. Louis who has written extensively about the draft, including a 1985 book, "Sunshine Patriots: Punishment and the Vietnam Offender."

"That's a lot of times for the draft board to say O.K.," Mr. Curry said.

1. Mr. Cheney enrolled in Casper Community College in January 1963 — he turned 22 that month — and sought his first student deferment on March 20, according to records from the Selective Service System.

2. After transferring to the University of Wyoming at Laramie, he sought his second student deferment on July 23, 1963.

3. On Aug. 7, 1964, Congress approved the Gulf of Tonkin resolution, which allowed President Lyndon B. Johnson to use unlimited military force in Vietnam. The war escalated rapidly from there. Just 22 days later, Mr. Cheney married his high school sweetheart, Lynne. He sought his third student deferment on Oct. 14, 1964.

4. In July, President Johnson announced that he was doubling the number of men drafted. The number of inductions soared, to 382,010 in 1966 from 230,991 in 1965 and 112,386 in 1964. Mr. Cheney obtained his fourth deferment when he started graduate school at the University of Wyoming on Nov. 1, 1965.

5. On Oct. 6, 1965, the Selective Service lifted its ban against drafting married men who had no children. Nine months and two days later, Mr. Cheney's first daughter, Elizabeth, was born. On Jan. 19, 1966, when his wife was about 10 weeks pregnant, Mr. Cheney applied for 3-A status, the "hardship" exemption, which excluded men with children or dependent parents. It was granted.
In January 1967, Mr. Cheney turned 26 and was no longer eligible for the draft. Yay! (here)
"It has always seemed to me that the leaders who are the quickest to send our boys and our young to war are those who have never known war themselves." George McGovern (a decorated WWII veteran who actually saw combat). (here)



What do you think they're discussing/comparing?


Limbaugh's Rules of Order: We Couldn't Have Put It Better Ourselves

(From Wonkette)

We'd been puzzling over what to say about the news of American soldiers humiliating and torturing Iraqi prisoners. We felt we should say something; after all, there's (simulated) ass-fucking involved. But, you know, torture. Where are the laughs?

Then Rush Limbaugh put it all in perspective, after a caller remarked that the "stack [of] naked men" was "like a college fraternity prank."

RUSH: "Exactly. Exactly my point! This is no different than what happens at the skull and bones initiation and we're going to ruin people's lives over it and we're going to hamper our military effort, and then we are going to really hammer them because they had a good time. You know, these people are being fired at every day. I'm talking about people having a good time, these people, you ever heard of emotional release? You of heard of need to blow some steam off?"

Of course. That's how we like to unwind at the end of a hard day ourselves. Some soft music, a cocktail and some simulated ass-fucking. Oh, I'm sorry: Forcing someone else into simulated ass-fucking. And hey, isn't it nice to see a leader in the conservative movement finally come out in favor of a "don't ask, don't tell" policy in the military?

The report on Iraqi prisoner abuse is here.

Eloquent rant here

Rush Limbaugh's Canny Insights Into Iraqi Torture

LIMBAUGH: You know, if you look at -- if you, really, if you look at these pictures, I mean, I don't know if it's just me, but it looks just like anything you'd see Madonna, or Britney Spears do on stage. Maybe I'm -- yeah. And get an NEA grant for something like this. I mean, this is something that you can see on stage at Lincoln Center from an NEA grant, maybe on Sex in the City -- the movie. I mean, I don't, maybe-- it's just me.

(Yes, it's just you, Rush.) (here)

Media Matters for America monitored The Rush Limbaugh Show from March 15 to April 29. During that time, Limbaugh used the term "femi-Nazis" eight times; he suggested that women want to be sexually harassed; he repeatedly equated Democrats with terrorists; he twice resurrected long-discredited right-wing claims that Clinton deputy White House counsel Vince Foster was murdered; he repeatedly called Senator John Kerry a "gigolo"; he called environmentalists "total wackos"; he called Howard Dean "a very sick man"; he said Democrats "hate this country"; he referred several times to Democratic National Committee Chair Terry McAuliffe as a "punk" ... and so on.

Some Real Nice Things Rush Said:

"Some of these babes, I'm telling you, like the sexual harassment crowd. They're out there protesting what they actually wish would happen to them sometimes." [4/26/04]

"Time magazine has just discovered that stay-at-home moms are women who have made legitimate choices to stay home and raise their young children -- a cover story. Yes, it's a trend. It started years ago when the feminist movement decided that their best friends were going to be German shepherds." [3/19/04]

"I'm going to tell you is what's good for Al Qaeda is good for the Democratic Party in this country today. That's how you boil this down. And it doesn't have to be Al Qaeda. What's good for terrorists is good for John Kerry." [3/15/04]

"So the only real question is, if Al Qaeda's active and capable, what are they going to do? Because we know what they want: they want Kerry, they want the Democrats in power. They'd love that. I'm not guessing." [3/15/04]

(Media Matters for America notes: According to Reuters, an Al Qaeda letter that surfaced in March stated that the group supports Bush's reelection: "The statement said it supported President Bush in his reelection campaign, and would prefer him to win in November rather than the Democratic candidate John Kerry, as it was not possible to find a leader 'more foolish than you (Bush), who deals with matters by force rather than with wisdom.' ... [The letter added,] 'Kerry will kill our nation while it sleeps because he and the Democrats have the cunning to embellish blasphemy and present it to the Arab and Muslim nation as civilization. ... Because of this we desire you (Bush) to be elected.'" [Reuters, 3/17/04] (here)

" I'm almost going to come out in favor of war every 10 years so that we always have a group of people in this country that know what it's like. It's not healthy to go without a war for all these many years, because you get people that are born and grow up, and don't know what one is.

Note: It's worth keeping in mind that, while Limbaugh wants to have a "group of people in this country" who know what war is like, he didn't want to be in that group himself: Limbaugh didn't serve in Vietnam and told Jeff Greenfield in 1992, "I did not want to go." (here)

"ON JOHN KERRY'S BOAT"
Over at The Campaign Desk, Thomas Lang has some questions about the Wall Street Journal editorial page and its journalistic ethics.

It turns out that they finally ran their eagerly-awaited hatchet job against John Kerry from Vietnam vet/Republican shill John O'Neill. Lang read the print edition of the WSJ and noted that the editors had added something to O'Neill's contribution to the public discourse: the pull quote "I was on John Kerry's boat in Vietnam. He doesn't deserve to be commander in chief."

A pull quote is designed to break up the masses of gray type. Lang had a problem with that pull quote: "It's obviously designed to catch the attention of readers who don't actually read the article and fool them into thinking that O'Neill served alongside John Kerry. Saw him in action. Knew him personally back in the day.

Nope. 'On Mr. Kerry's boat' turns out to mean that after Kerry left Vietnam O'Neill happened to get assigned to the boat that Kerry had previously commanded. See? 'On Mr. Kerry's boat.' Cute, isn't it?"

Maybe we should ask, "Fake Republicans?"

First: the "Mission Accomplished" banner and stud-like victory prance around the deck of an aircraft carrier. Oops! Wrong! Fake! Mission Not Accomplished!

Then: Wow! Bush goes to Iraq to serve turkey to the troops! What a guy! Except...wait! The turkey was fake! Oops!

How about those cool-looking firefighters in those slick campaign ads for Bush. Hey! They're not really firemen! They're actors! Fakers! Why couldn't Bush get real firemen? Maybe it's because the National Union of Firefighters endorsed Kerry!


Mmmmm...nice and....long and....hard and....


Hai! Rumsfeld Mystic Fighting Techniques!

Stop the Presses! Cheney Tells the Truth!

If We Don't Like the Science, Lose the Scientists

Dick Cheney: Lying Scumbag
Dean's speech on the Republicans' politics of fear
Quotes From the Dark Side

Bush: Anti-Armed Forces

Democrat votes don't count, OK?

Women With Briefcases
Mr. Bennett's Little Casino of Virtues

How Much For A Piece of Plywood?

Shoot the Queers, or Anyone Different!

Free Speech! No Tape Recorders!
Public Urination! Yum!

Evil Republicans Archives

CHENEY TELLS THE TRUTH: One top Administration official who managed to tell the truth about the Administration's economic policies and its effect on jobs was Vice President Dick Cheney. He said "If the Democratic policies had been pursued over the last two or three years...we would not have had the kind of job growth that we've had." And he is correct: with a net 2 million negative job growth record over the last three years, Cheney was correctly asserting that his Democrats' policies would have stemmed the job loss tide. (here)

Dump the Scientists

Ideology trumps science yet again. The White House has consistently placed a conservative agenda above scientific fact. In yet another example, President Bush "dismissed two members of his handpicked Council on Bioethics -- a scientist and a moral philosopher who had been among the more outspoken advocates for research on human embryo cells." In their places, he "appointed three new members, including a doctor who has called for more religion in public life, a political scientist who has spoken out precisely against the research that the dismissed members supported, and another who has written about the immorality of abortion and the 'threats of biotechnology.'" The two scientists Bush removed "were often in the minority on the council as they provided dissenting views." Said Elizabeth Marincola, executive director of the American Society for Cell Biology, "It does seem alarming. It concerns me profoundly…The president is trying to ensure the advice he receives is the advice he wants to hear." (here)
Union of Concerned Scientists' Report on Bush's bending of science to policy

Dick Cheney Consorts With Terrorists
Vice President Dick Cheney, the former CEO of Halliburton, recently chastised those "who intimidate opposition, tolerate and profit from corruption and maintain ties to terrorist groups." Yet Halliburton, who has plenty of government contracts these days, maintains a mail box in the Cayman Islands in order to do business with Iran, one member of the famous "Axis of Evil" and a presumed exporter of terrorism. Cheney maintains that Halliburton has been "unfairly maligned" by "desperate" political opponents. Does anyone else think it's completely appropriate to malign a company that maintains an offshore shell company in order to evade U.S. sanctions on doing business with terrorist regimes? Does anyone wonder why many of us out here in the heartland of America find it increasingly impossible to trust anything this administration says?

Cheney's quote is here. The "60 Minutes" investigation is here.
An account of Dick Cheney's canned bird shoot is here.
(Can you say, "Weapons of mass destruction-related program activities?" No? Check this parody out: here)

"The Kay Report identified dozens of weapons of mass destruction-related program activities." - President Bush, 1/20/04 (here)

but:

"We have not uncovered evidence that Iraq undertook steps to build nuclear weapons or produce fissile material." There has been no evidence of "mobile biological production efforts." Iraq "did not have a large, ongoing, centrally controlled chemical weapons program after 1991." - The Kay Report, 10/2/03 (here)
(William Safire on secretive Republicans here )

U.S. Fights Verdict Backing Ex-P.O. W.'s

When 21 freed American P.O.'s returned home from the Persian Gulf war in March 1991, Dick Cheney, then secretary of defense, welcomed them at Andrews Air Force Base, Md.

"Every man and woman who cares for freedom," Mr. Cheney said, "owes you a very special measure of gratitude."

Of those 21 former prisoners of war, 17, who had been tortured by their Iraqi captors, would like something more tangible. This month they won a court award of almost $1 billion against Iraq, and a federal law says they may be paid from frozen Iraqi funds.

The Bush administration has expressed sympathy for the plaintiffs over what they endured but is fighting them about the money, saying it is needed to rebuild Iraq.

One plaintiff, Lt. Col. Richard Dale Storr, now with the Washington Air National Guard, said the administration's position troubled him. Colonel Storr endured beatings in Iraq that broke his nose, dislocated his shoulder and burst his left eardrum.

"It's sending a conflicting message to our troops," he said of the administration's recent court filings. "Congress and the judicial branch say, `Let's protect our guys to the maximum extent possible,' " while the executive branch is "saying the opposite."

"Disappointing," he added, "would be a good way to put it."
(full story here)
Voting For Civic Reasons Only
In April, when the Republicans on the New York City Board of Elections killed a plan to repair voting machines that had under-recorded votes in the 2000 election (with most of the unlucky voters being Democrats), Republican Commissioner Stephen Weiner denied that his party's disinterest in properly functioning machines showed bias against Democrats: "There are some people who don't want (their vote) register(ed), but who report to the polls for civic reasons." [Newsday, 4-16-03] (here)
Relentless Moral Crusader Is Relentless Gambler

By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE

WASHINGTON— William J. Bennett, author of "The Book of Virtues" and one of the nation's most relentless moral crusaders, is a high-rolling gambler who has lost more than $8 million at casinos in the last decade, according to online reports from two magazines.

The Washington Monthly said on its Web site that "over the last decade Bennett has made dozens of trips to casinos in Atlantic City and Las Vegas, where he is a `preferred customer' at several of them, and sources and documents provided to The Washington Monthly put his total losses at more than $8 million."

The Monthly said that in one two-month period, Mr. Bennett wired one casino more than $1.4 million to cover his losses.

The magazine says he earns $50,000 for each appearance in speaking fees on the lecture circuit, where he inveighs against various sins, weaknesses and vices of modern culture.

But Mr. Bennett exempts gambling from this list.(more here)
Shoot The Queers! Shoot the Liberals!
"We need to execute people like John Walker in order to physically intimidate liberals, by making them realize that they can be killed too. Otherwise they will turn out to be outright traitors." Right Wing commentator Ann Coulter, speaking at the 2002 Conservative Political Action Conference (more here)(and here)

Louie Welch, Republican of Texas, ran for Houston mayor on a "Return to Morality" platform. Once, unaware a microphone in front of him was still on, he outlined his four point plan to combat AIDS, saying, "One of them is to shoot the queers."
Todd Tiahrt, Republican from Kansas: "What is the best way for the Christian to win the race with the Muslim? The Muslim has too many babies, while Americans kill too many of theirs." (here)
Freedom of Speech! Except When I'm Talking

CLEVELAND (AP) - Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia banned broadcast media from an appearance Wednesday where he will receive an award for supporting free speech. The City Club usually tapes speakers for later broadcast on public television, but Scalia insisted on banning television and radio coverage, the club said. Scalia is being given the organization's Citadel of Free Speech Award. "I might wish it were otherwise, but that was one of the criteria that he had for acceptance," said James Foster, the club's executive director.

The ban on broadcast media "begs disbelief and seems to be in conflict with the award itself," C-SPAN vice president and executive producer Terry Murphy wrote in a letter last week to the City Club. "How free is speech if there are limits to its distribution?"(here)
Congress's War on France Is Just Starting

By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG New York Times

French fries and toast are not the only casualties of the escalating war of words between France and the United States. Add French wine, the French flag, French vanilla yogurt, French dressing, French air shows and, now, American soldiers' remains buried in France.

Angry over the French government's disagreement with President Bush's policy on Iraq, Representative Bob Ney, Republican of Ohio and chairman of the House Administration Committee, last week ordered the word "French" removed from the menus in all House cafeterias.

In Pennsylvania, a Republican state representative has proposed that state liquor stores divest themselves of Beaujolais. In New York, Washington, Chicago and San Francisco, the French-owned Hotel Sofitel is no longer flying the French flag — "a precautionary measure," said a spokesman, Paul Charoy.

The managers of the House cafeterias, perhaps fearing Mr. Ney's wrath, have extended the French ban by placing red, white and blue "freedom" stickers over the word French on the yogurt machine and on dozens of individual packets of french dressing.

Meantime, Representative H. James Saxton, Republican of New Jersey, has proposed a ban on Pentagon participation in this year's Paris Air Show, and Representative Ginny Brown-Waite, Republican of Florida, has introduced legislation that would allow the remains of World War II veterans buried in France to be brought home.

"The remains of our brave servicemen should be buried in patriotic soil, not in a country that has turned its back on the United States and on the memory of Americans who fought and died there," Ms. Brown-Waite said. "It's almost as if the French have forgotten what those thousands of white crosses at Normandy represent."
But we'll always have Paris. (here)

Public Urination: You Decide
Republican State Senator candidate Andrew Eristoff of New York, running against Liz Krueger, ran a TV spo