Cheney Has a Blast in Afghanistan

Bomb within earshot of Cheney kills 23

By ALISA TANG, Associated Press Writer

In what the Taliban claimed was an assassination attempt, a suicide bomber attacked the main gate of a U.S. military base Tuesday within earshot of Vice President Dick Cheney. The explosion killed 23 people, including two Americans, and delivered a propaganda blow that undercut the U.S. military and the weak Afghan government it supports.

The bomber struck about 10 a.m., and U.S. military officials declared a "red alert" at the sprawling Bagram Air Base while Cheney was rushed to a bomb shelter. Cheney, who had been stranded at the base overnight by a snowstorm, met with President Hamid Karzai in the capital before heading back to the United States via the Gulf state of Oman.

"I heard a loud boom," Cheney told reporters aboard Air Force Two en route to Oman. "The Secret Service came in and told me there had been an attack on the main gate."

I don't see what all the panic was about. Cheney made it a point to bring his lucky shotgun with him on the trip. Clearly there was no need to rush him to a bomb shelter. How terribly emasculating for this great warrior.

Harry Whittington, who was invited on the excursion to Afghanistan, declined the invitation, claiming that his "face still hurts".

I Found Bin Laden

He's hosting a TV variety show filmed in an underground cave somewhere in Europe.

I Might Vote Democrat

Obama ridicules Cheney's Iraq comments

By KELLEY SHANNON, Associated Press Writer

"Now if Tony Blair can understand that, then why can't George Bush and Dick Cheney understand that?" Obama asked thousands of supporters who gathered in the rain to hear him. "In fact, Dick Cheney said this is all part of the plan (and) it was a good thing that Tony Blair was withdrawing, even as the administration is preparing to put 20,000 more of our young men and women in."
"Now, keep in mind, this is the same guy that said we'd be greeted as liberators, the same guy that said that we're in the last throes. I'm sure he forecast sun today," Obama said to laughter from supporters holding campaign signs over their heads to keep dry. "When Dick Cheney says it's a good thing, you know that you've probably got some big problems."

Full story here.

This guy is the reason I might actually vote Democrat in '08. That, and the fact that he never voted for the war in Iraq.

Unlike some other candidates..

Anyone who is ready to vote for these two morons needs to seriously have their head examined. The fact that they voted for the war in Iraq when the evidence at that time indicated it was all a farce, shows a serious lack of both leadership and judgement. Is this really the type of person you want leading your country? God, I hope not.

I know that there are Democrats who read this blog and it is to you that I am appealing. Don't sell your country short. We're going to need strong leadership to bring this country back after 8 years of idiocy. Nominating Clinton or Edwards will be sending us backwards instead of forward. I know you're more intelligent than that.

Take the time to think about what these two voted for. And no, I don't give a rat's ass whether or not they apologized. Apologies at that level are like band-aids for a decapitation. The two of them failed our country just as sure as this administration has failed us. Don't vote for failure, vote for our future.

Bushism of the Week

"And there is distrust in Washington. I am surprised, frankly, at the amount of distrust that exists in this town. And I'm sorry it's the case, and I'll work hard to try to elevate it."

--George W. Bush, interview on National Public Radio, Jan. 29, 2007

SF Bay Guardian

I enjoy reading the SF Bay Guardian for a number of reasons, not least of which is their hold-no-punches articles on local politics and events.

A couple of articles caught my eye as I perused the latest edition this morning while at work (on my break, of course).

The first article I read was a piece titled, "Kids get Addicted to War" by Amanda Witherell, a great news item on a new comic book that's about to be released into the San Francisco public school system for 10th to 12th-graders. It's been touted by the likes of Susan Sarandon, Noam Chomsky, Helen Caldicott, Cindy Sheehan, and Howard Zinn and covers a 230-year span of warfare by this nation of ours.

Here's an excerpt:

Many peaceniks may be familiar with the 77-page comic book that was originally conceived in 1991 to highlight the real story behind the Gulf War. With spare wit and imagery, Andreas plainly outlines how combat is the very expensive fuel that feeds the economic and political fire of the United States.

In outlining this history, Andreas doesn't gloss over the lesser-known and oft misunderstood conflicts in Haiti, the Philippines, Lebanon, and Grenada. He draws on multiple sources to portray America's purported need to overthrow foreign governments and establish convenient dictators, including Saddam Hussein, in order to fill the pockets of the most powerful people and corporations in American history. Andreas also includes the blinded eyes of the mainstream media, whose spin and shortcomings keep this business rolling.
Full story here.

The second article was even better than the last, a piece written by J.B. Powell titled, "The Search for Spocko: San Francisco blogger draws corporate and conservative wrath for educating KSFO's advertisers". What a treat it was to read about my local blog-hero Spocko of Spocko's Brain.

Snippet:

For the better part of a year starting in late 2005, San Francisco blogger Mr. Spocko waged a quiet campaign against right-wing talk radio station KSFO, 560 AM. He wrote to its sponsors and played for them explicit portions of the station's programming, such as shock jock Lee Rodgers's call for antiwar protesters to be "stomped to death ... just stomp their bleeping guts out."

The idea was to educate corporations about exactly what they were sponsoring, in the hope that Spocko's work might staunch the free flow of hateful rhetoric.

He also posted these audio clips on his blog, Spocko's Brain. Several advertisers pulled their ads as a result of his campaign. But after MasterCard decided to cancel its KSFO spots in July 2006, Spocko said hostile commenters started to arrive on his blog and declare that he was in legal jeopardy.

"They said things like 'They're going to find you and sue you for everything you've got,' " Spocko told the Guardian by telephone, the only way he will be interviewed because of fears for his personal safety if people learn his true identity.
Full story here.

I'm proud to say that I was a participant in that campaign to notify advertisers. I'd like to think we made an impact on the vitriol that spews forth on a regular basis from Hate-Talk 560 KSFO.

J.B. Powell puts forth an outstanding piece that chronicles Spocko's continuing journey through hostile Romulan territory including being cast adrift by his spineless internet hosting company, 1&1 Internet. Be sure to check it out.

And to round out my morning reading, I got a really good chuckle out of the latest "This Modern World" cartoon by Tom Tomorrow. For those of you without 20/10 vision, click on the cartoon for a larger version of it.

Weekend Music Video

Anti-Flag - One Trillion Dollars

NSA Super Spy-O-Matic

The National Security Agency has a brand new weapon for fighting the War on Terror, the "Super Spy-O-Matic Domestic Surveillance Portal" ©.

As a test of this intimidating machine's powers, I plugged my name into the database and here's what came out:

After defecating, PTCruiser uses little American flags as toilet paper!

Now I can't for the life of me begin to wonder how they found that out about me but it does attest to the accuracy of this new program. Looks like our tax dollars are being wisely spent.

Go ahead and click here to see what embarrassing things they know about you.

George Galloway Speech to Parliament on Iraq

Awesome video of Galloway, British MP from Scotland as well as co-founder and representative of the Respect Party in England. Hat-tip to another great Scotsman, my Uncle Dennis, who sent me this video. Be sure to watch it to the end. His closing words are outstanding. And take note of the lack of a teleprompter in front of this great orator.

Freewaybloggers Beware!

At the request of one of my readers, (hat-tip to mdhatter) I'm going to weigh in on this Boston panic attack on Wednesday...

2 men released from jail in hoax case
By DENISE LAVOIE and JAY LINDSAY, Associated Press Writers

In nine cities across the country, blinking electronic signs displaying a profane, boxy-looking cartoon character caused barely a stir.
But in Boston, the signs — some with protruding wires — sent a wave of panic across the city, bringing out bomb squads and prompting officials to shut down highways, bridges and part of the Charles River.

Something that may have been amusing in other cities was not funny to authorities here, the city that served as the base for the hijackers who carried out the Sept. 11 attacks. Officials defended their reaction Thursday even as two men charged in the case, and some residents, mocked the response as overblown.

Young Bostonians familiar with the unconventional marketing tactics used by many companies tended to see the city's reaction as unmitigated hysteria.

Tracy O'Connor, 34, a retail manager, called the police response "silly and insane," contrasting it with that in other cities where no one reported concerns about the devices — an advertising gimmick for the Cartoon Network show "Aqua Teen Hunger Force."

"We're the laughing stock," she said.

Public safety officials and a large segment of Boston's older generation condemned the publicity campaign as unthinkable in today's post-9/11 world.

"Just a little over a mile away from the placement of the first device, a group of terrorists boarded airplanes and launched an attack on New York City," police Commissioner Edward Davis said in an interview with The Associated Press.

"The city clearly did not overreact. Had we taken any other steps, we would have been endangering the public," he said.
Full story here.

Yes, the citizens of Boston were in extreme danger from those deadly promotional ads. Luckily, the Boston police were on the scene, providing as much drama as possible to the situation with bomb squads, sirens, dogs, and pretty flashing lights.

Let this be a lesson to all my fellow freewaybloggers out there. Forget about putting batteries and lights on your signs, lest you unleash the irrational wrath of the Department of Homeland Security. At least if you live in the Boston area, anyway. There hasn't been this much excitement in Boston since 'Golden Girls' star Bea Arthur stormed an airplane at Logan Int'l. Airport with a pocket knife. Now that's something to get your panties all in a bunch about.

Update:
Check out the great commentary on this story by teh l4m3 over at Freedom Camp.