Just When You Think it Can't Get Any Worse

It does.

Never, ever, ever say "it can't get any worse." Never.

The universe has a very wicked sense of humor; as soon as you say something like that the feces will impact the air motivating device in a totally unexpected way.

Take my word for it.

Tie a Green Ribbon Around...

Tie one around just about anything. If you're tired of the mindless "support the troops" yellow ribbons, maybe this campaign will be more to your liking.

The Wilderness Society, in an effort to remind people about the plight of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), have started the Green Ribbon Campaign. Tell Congress and the public that you support keeping ANWR pristine and a true Refuge by sporting a green ribbon.

Check out the campaign's web site here.

Give them a little support. Save ANWR for your children or grandchildren or somebody else's children. Help keep BushCo.'s and the oil companies' greedy mitts off of ANWR.

Peace Denied

I've not blogged about the Terri Schiavo case in the past. Others have done so much more eloquently than I ever could. But today, as she is finally allowed her wish to die with a little dignity - whatever dignity might remain after being used as a political and religious football for a decade - I thought it appropriate to weigh in. Briefly.

This case touches on two things very important to me, and I think to many people: dignity in death and the autonomy of an adult. Terri was no child when she collapsed and died in all but body. Not only was she fully an adult, but she had entered into an adult "contract" called marriage. In such a case only Terri's wishes and her husband's matter. The apron strings had been completely severed. They could offer their sympathy and their help - and surely they could make their wishes known to her husband - but that's it.

As for the dignity aspect, while it may be too late to restore the dignity she lost during the many circuses cum court battles in the interim, she and her husband, Michael surely showed more dignity and quiet strength - each in their own way - than all the politicians and so-called religious leaders who interfered. Republicans' attempts to subpoena the brain-dead woman herself this week were particularly reprehensible.

But enough of that - it's all been said before.

Rest in peace, Terri; in the peace you could not find at the end of your short life.

R.I.P. A.N.W.R.?

The optimist in me thinks it's too early to mourn the demise of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). The realist in me - who knows the power Republicans hold to ramrod legislation through Congress - is starting to come to grips with the fact that the time to mourn may not be too far off.

Perhaps it's just a matter of something so simple as a definition; perhaps Republicans, who despise public education and disdain anything that smacks of intellectualism, are ignorant of the definition of "refuge." Maybe this will help:

1. An area set aside for the purpose of conserving species and their habitat.

2. A place that offers protection or shelter. (This from the Fish & Wildlife Service)

More likely, this is just another Republican sop to their sugar-daddies in the oil industry. The paltry amount of oil available in ANWR (6 billion barrels - or less than 21 months at January's consumption rate), and the amount of time it would take to get commercial quantities flowing (I've seen estimates from 2 years to 10 years) can in no way compensate for the amount of damage this pristine wilderness area will suffer.

In other words, like much else that Republicans have done or would like to do, they are doing this because they can, for spite, for plain meanness.

Farewell, Scooter...

If you've never read Scooter's Freakin' Wicked Weblog, you've missed some great writing - along with a heaping helping of wicked sharp humor. And now, it's too late. Scooter's shutting down his blog for good.

Before it disappears forever and before he stops reading his comments, go tell him goodbye.

The blogosphere is a bit poorer now.

Who's Arming Terrorists Now?

Just when you think that you expect only the worst from BushCo., they do something that makes you think that perhaps, before, they were just pikers. Even after more than four years of hypocrisy, this still amazes me. Sort of.

More than 40 terror suspects were able to buy firearms in the United States last year because background checks showed they had no felony convictions and weren't illegal immigrants, according to a government report released Tuesday.

Okay, you're thinking, just close the loophole and keep these nutjobs from buying a gun, right? If it were anyone but this administration, you'd probably be correct. But for the Bushies, who's a more powerful lobbying group than even the anti-choice folks? C'mon, I know you know the answer to that one...

FBI Director Robert Mueller told a House subcommittee Tuesday that perhaps the law could be altered.

[snip]

But the National Rifle Association says the law is protecting Americans from terrorists while allowing citizens the freedom to own guns. Wayne LaPierre, the NRA's chief executive, said under current law, if the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System gets a hit that someone applying for a gun permit is on a terror watch list, the government official who put that person on the list - along with other counterterrorism personnel - is notified.

All of you out there who guessed the NRA before reading the above, raise your hands... yeah... I thought so.

Honestly, I give up. There is no low these guys won't stoop to.

You Want the Truth?!?

Seems MSNBC thinks we "can't handle the truth..."

The last link in my post below now goes to the MSNBC "we can't find that link" page. It was a story about how the Afghans are faced with growing violence from resurgent warlords and how Afghanistan now provides something on the order of 80% of the worlds opium. Which is exactly, I'm sure, what BushCo. had in mind.

But then again... they've got religion pushing it's way more and more into the public sphere and if religion is the opiate of the masses, why not push the real thing as well?

I wasn't able to find that article anywhere on MSNBC's site.

Thanks to CmdrSue for pointing out that the link was broken. Thanks to MSNBC for pointing out that we're just not ready for the truth.

One Thousand Five Hundred

With barely a notice from the White House the continuing misadventure in Iraq has passed yet another grim milestone. The deaths of three American soldiers on Thursday, pushed the total deaths over 1,500.

With no end in sight.

Remember all of the big events that were supposed to presage a decrease in violence and deaths? Remember how they've all gone by with no decrease - in fact - remember how they've all gone by accompanied by only an increase in violence? You remember if you've kept track of it yourself; you certainly won't remember if you're depending on either the White House, Department of Defense or the mainstream media to keep you up-to-date. According to them, everything's just fine.

Oh, and if you thought the deafening silence about Afghanistan means everything is going great there, well... not so much.

Pot, Meet Kettle...

It's official - if it were ever true, it is no longer - irony is not dead.

The State Department on Monday detailed an array of human rights abuses last year by the Iraqi government, including torture, rape and illegal detentions by police officers and functionaries of the interim administration that took power in June.

In the Bush administration's bluntest description of human rights transgressions by the American-supported government, the report said the Iraqis "generally respected human rights, but serious problems remained" as the government and American-led foreign forces fought a violent insurgency. It cited "reports of arbitrary deprivation of life, torture, impunity, poor prison conditions - particularly in pretrial detention facilities - and arbitrary arrest and detention."

If this were any administration but the second coming of BushCo., nobody would have the gonads to release this report. For our friends at State, now lead by Miss Dominatrix Rice, it's just another bogus report.

Seems that the press' description of Condi's attire in Germany as "Matrix-like" were spot on. Either she's living in a computer generated world where reality is whatever they say it is or the rest of us are.

Either way, it scares the hell out of me.