Take the Pledge

With Margaret and Helen.

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

Rich Whitey Running for Illinois Governor

I’ll jump on this story like everyone else. We could all use a little real political humor.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that the name of Green Party gubernatorial candidate Rich Whitney is misspelled "Rich Whitey" on electronic-voting machines in 23 wards -- "about half in predominantly African-American areas."

[...]

"I don't want to be identified as 'Whitey.' If this is happening in primarily African-American wards, that's an even bigger concern," Whitney told the Sun-Times.

  TPM

Not only ‘Whitey,’ but RICH Whitey. Sometimes mistakes are funny. But not to Rich Whitey, I suppose.

At any rate, he’s only got 2% of the vote estimated, he’ll sue and make some money, and his name appears that way only after a voter has cast his vote and is reviewing his choices. How many people would have even noticed it? They will now.

The story continues that it’s too late to change his name before the election. I don’t know about you, but I’m not buying that. It’s a computerized system. If there’s five minutes, there ought to be time enough. I bet they could drag any number of teenage nerds off the streets of Chicago to fix that problem.

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

Still Trying

A federal judge ordered an immediate halt Tuesday to discharges of openly gay and lesbian soldiers under the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, rejecting the Obama administration's request to wait until Congress acts on the issue.

U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips of Riverside ruled the 1993 law unconstitutional on Sept. 9, saying it intrudes on service members' personal lives and freedom of expression and reduces military effectiveness by needlessly excluding qualified personnel.

[…]

As of Tuesday, her order applies to all U.S. military forces worldwide.

[…]

Log Cabin Republicans, the 19,000-member gay-rights group that sued to overturn the law in 2004, applauded Phillips' injunction but advised "caution by service members considering coming out" because a higher court could reinstate the law.

[…]

[B]ased on its actions it has already taken in the lawsuit, the administration is likely to appeal the ruling and seek a temporary stay.

[…]

The House voted to repeal the law in May, but a Republican-led filibuster has blocked a Senate vote.

  SFGate

Spouting on about damned activist judges, no doubt.

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

In the Handbasket Headed for Hell

Just to underscore the rapidity of the decline [of the American Empire], as recently as 1999, the U.S. was ranked by the World Health Organization as 24th in life expectancy. It's now 49th. There are other similarly potent indicators. In 2009, the National Center for Health Statistics ranked the U.S. in 30th place in global infant mortality rates. Out of 20 "rich countries" measured by UNICEF, the U.S. ranks 19th in "child well-being." Out of 33 nations measured by the OECD, the U.S. ranks 27th for student math literacy and 22nd for student science literacy. In 2009, the World Economic Forum ranked 133 nations in terms of "soundness" of their banks, and the U.S. was ranked in 108th place, just behind Tanzania and just ahead of Venezuela.

[...]

There is, however, some good news: the U.S. is now in fifth place in total number of executions, behind only China, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, and comfortably ahead of Yemen and Sudan.

  Glenn Greenwald

Also, we are at the top for arms exports (by far) and population in prison.

Go us!

I Call This...

...Everything's Peachy.

1 tsp sugar
2 sprigs mint
1 overflowing shot Gentleman Jack
in a high ball glass filled with sun-brewed Bigelow 'Perfect Peach' herbal tea and ice

Afternoon (just), windows wide open, ceiling fans on.

And then I ignore the politics.

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

What She Said

The NYT editorial page today takes up the issue of Obama’s assassination program, intoning Very Seriously that “assassinations are a grave act and subject to abuse”. And if there’s one thing we hate, it’s seeing something noble and pure like assassination being... oh it hurts even to say it... abused.

  WIIIAI

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

It's Sunday

Roy Z Has Done It Again

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

It's Sunday: Religious Illiteracy

[A]lthough the United States is one of the most religious developed countries in the world, most Americans scored 50 percent or less on a quiz measuring knowledge of the Bible, world religions and what the Constitution says about religion in public life.

The survey is full of surprising findings.

For example, it's not evangelicals or Catholics who did best - it's atheists and agnostics.

  CNN

Now, that doesn’t surprise me at all. It’s the atheists and agnositcs who’ve actually read the Bible and therefore know how inaccurate and full of holes it is, therefore opting out of religion.

[O]nly about one in three know that a public school teacher is allowed to teach a comparative religion class - although nine out of 10 know that teacher isn't allowed by the Supreme Court to lead a class in prayer.

[...]

Jews and Mormons were close behind atheists and agnostics as the group who did best overall on the religion questions.

I think their religions require them to read.

Obama said he was not raised by a family that frequently went to church, but said that he came to his Christianity late in life, saying it was the teachings of Jesus Christ that inspired "the kind of life I would want to lead."

"I think, also understanding that Jesus Christ dying for my sins spoke to the kind of humility we all have to have as human beings."

  Raw Story

Oh, yes. When I think of Obama, I immediately think ‘humble.’ The teachings of Jesus inspired him. Because Jesus would so call for a hit on a fellow citizen and deny the man’s father the right to appeal to the courts.

I wonder how Obama would have fared in that poll.

Here's all the religion you'll ever need. Get yourself some spirit.

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

It's Sunday

Click to get a better view.

No, that's not satire, and it's not from The Onion. It's from the Galveston Daily News.

And speaking of Galveston….

A Galveston District Court judge gave a drunken driver two life sentences Friday after he admitted passing out before a crash that killed two teenagers and maimed two more.

  GDN

Yes, the convicted man is black. And let me just say, I’m not saying he got too harsh a sentence. I’m saying every other drunk driver who kills someone should get life. But they won’t.

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

Ramping Up in Pakistan

The US military is secretly diverting aerial drones from Afghanistan to escalate a CIA-led campaign against militants in neighboring Pakistan, the Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.

  Raw Story

I bet it’s no secret to Pakistanis. And why is the CIA conducting military campaigns?

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

Where Have I Been?

Tapping into anger as the tea party movement has done, a coalition of progressive and civil rights groups marched Saturday on the Lincoln Memorial and pledged to support Democrats struggling to keep power on Capitol Hill.

[...]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/10/thousands-flock-dc-support-obamas-agenda/

  Raw Story

And I never even heard of it being organized. Was it supposed to be a surprise?