And So Many More Hearts And Minds

How exactly was it we figured that they'd appreciate us?

From Raw Story:

A new study estimates that as many as 655,000 Iraqis died since the U.S.-led invasion in March of 2003, and roughly ninety percent of the deaths were directly related to violence, primarily victims of gunfire.

"A team of American and Iraqi epidemiologists estimates that 655,000 more people have died in Iraq since coalition forces arrived in March 2003 than would have died if the invasion had not occurred," David Brown reports for the Washington Post in Wednesday's edition.

The Post notes that this figure, "produced by interviewing residents during a random sampling of households throughout the country, is far higher than ones produced by other groups, including Iraq's government."

"It is more than 20 times the estimate of 30,000 civilian deaths that President Bush gave in a speech in December," Brown writes. "It is more than 10 times the estimate of roughly 50,000 civilian deaths made by the British-based Iraq Body Count research group.

Good Thing? Bad Thing?

Caught Chris Matthews' show this Sunday. Even with Tucker Carlson on Chris had to struggle to get anyone to say good things about the current administration. This interchange was telling:

CARLSON: It goes deeper than that though. The deep truth is that the elites in the Republican Party have pure contempt for the evangelicals who put their party in power. Everybody in ...

MATTHEWS: How do you know that? How do you know that?

CARLSON: Because I know them. Because I grew up with them. Because I live with them. They live on my street. Because I live in Washington, and I know that everybody in our world has contempt for the evangelicals. And the evangelicals know that, and they're beginning to learn that their own leaders sort of look askance at them and don't share their values.

MATTHEWS: So this gay marriage issue and other issues related to the gay lifestyle are simply tools to get elected?

CARLSON: That's exactly right. It's pandering to the base in the most cynical way, and the base is beginning to figure it out.

#@%*&^! Deadwood

Ah, The Poetry !

I Don't Give These Guys Enough Credit

An "I'm Not Dead Yet" news conference in front of a graveyard. I guess the subtext is to stress the word 'yet'. 

Back To The Boss

Our First GT12 Honoree deserves our first official YouTube.

This is 'The River' from The Rising Tour. Anyone who knows me knows I love heartbreak.

Testing ... With Bill

Let's Try This You Tube Thing

No Second Act

Jon Stewart speaking about Ann Coulter:

I actually feel sorry for her. Once your career is based on denigrating 9/11 widows, what's your second act? Unless you dig up Mother Teresa and stick a dildo in her eye, nothing could be more offensive.

Counting Our Chickens

Well, Political Wire is anyway......

Republicans in Free Fall

A new USA Today/Gallup Poll shows Democrats hold a 23-point lead over Republican candidates in the generic congressional ballot. "That's double the lead Republicans had a month before they seized control of Congress in 1994."President Bush's approval rating is now 37%, down seven points in the last month. The approval rating for Congress is 24%, down five points."Government corruption, Iraq and terrorism were the three most important issues to poll respondents. They said Democrats would do a better job on all three. The party had a 21-point advantage on handling corruption and a 17-point advantage on Iraq. A longstanding GOP advantage on terrorism vanished; Democrats had a 5-point edge."

"is reported to be a professed atheist"

The Authoritarian Christian Right attacks .... well, an American citizen's beliefs and equates those beliefs with Un-Americanism.

From Law.com:

Religion has entered the political fray in a race for an appellate court bench in east Texas.

The Austin-based Republican Party of Texas played the religion card in a Sept. 21 online newsletter. As alleged in the newsletter, Texarkana solo E. Ben Franks, Democratic nominee for a seat on the 6th Court of Appeals, "is reported to be a professed atheist" and apparently believes the Bible is a "collection of myths.'"
But Franks says he has never professed to be an atheist and is not a member of any atheist organization. Franks says no one with the Republican Party ever asked him whether he professes to be an atheist. However, he says he's not surprised by the allegation.

"I'm not surprised at anything anybody says in politics anymore," Franks says.
Anthony Champagne, a political science professor at the University of Texas at Dallas, says he has watched judicial races in Texas and other parts of the country for 25 years and has never before seen a judicial candidate accused of being an atheist.

 

Your Mom Is Always Right

 

Moral High Ground

Let's face it, a blow-job from an adult (albeit dim) young woman and a campaign to promote stability and commitment amongst Gay Folks just isn't as bad as looting for lobbyists or enabling cruising of teenagers for congressmen, to say nothing about arranging the death of 2,800 US servicepeople and 100,000+ Iraqis.

A new poll by Newsweek indicated the Foley scandal was doing significant damage to the Republicans' political fortunes and could sink their chances of holding onto control of Congress on Election Day, Nov. 7. The poll found that 52 percent of Americans, including 29 percent of Republicans, believe Hastert was aware of Foley's Internet communications with underage pages and tried to cover up Foley's actions. More of those polled, 42 percent, now say they trust Democrats to do a better job handling moral values than Republicans; 36 percent favored Republicans on the values question.

Gabba Gaaba Hey Hey Hey Goodbye!

Punk venue CBGB's closing after 33 years

NEW YORK - Legs McNeil remembers the night back in 1975 when he walked into the dingy storefront club perched in the even dingier Bowery neighborhood. The band onstage, four guys in leather jackets and torn jeans, was the Ramones. McNeil sat at a nearby table, watching their set with Lou Reed.

It was unforgettable. But as McNeil would soon discover, it was just a typical night at CBGB's, the club that spawned punk rock while launching the careers of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Blondie, the Talking Heads and the Ramones.

"Every night was memorable, except I don't remember 'em," said a laughing McNeil, co-author of the punk rock history "Please Kill Me."

After Sunday, memories are all that will remain when the cramped club with its capacity of barely 300 people goes out of business after 33 years. Although its boom years are long gone, CBGB's remained a Manhattan music scene fixture: part museum, part barroom, home to more than a few rock and roll ghosts.

The Rest (In Punk) is here.

A Night In Hastertville

GT12 spent another great great evening in St Charles IL, visiting some our very best friends. Charlie town is a major upscale burgh in Dennis Hastert's congressional district. They are all quite ashamed. Our favorite Republican now calls herself an Independent (leaving us to find another favorite Republican).

as RL Burnside observed: "It's bad you know..." 

No One Is Safe Any Longer

...from the responsibility-dodging authoritarian misdirection of Dick Cheney.

The is no honor among thieves...... 

Caption Contest!

 

Turn The Page

 

 

Can't Disagree With This

A Real Live Plan! From Democrats! And It's Even Reasonable!

From WaPo:

House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi is thinking 100 hours, time enough, she says, to begin to "drain the swamp" after more than a decade of Republican rule.

Day One: Put new rules in place to "break the link between lobbyists and legislation."

Day Two: Enact all the recommendations made by the commission that investigated the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Time remaining until 100 hours: Raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour, maybe in one step. Cut the interest rate on student loans in half. Allow the government to negotiate directly with the pharmaceutical companies for lower drug prices for Medicare patients.

Broaden the types of stem cell research allowed with federal funds _ "I hope with a veto-proof majority," she added in an Associated Press interview Thursday.

All the days after that: "Pay as you go," meaning no increasing the deficit, whether the issue is middle class tax relief, health care or some other priority.

To do that, she said, Bush-era tax cuts would have to be rolled back for those above "a certain level." She mentioned annual incomes of $250,000 or $300,000 a year and higher, and said tax rates for those individuals might revert to those of the Clinton era. Details will have to be worked out, she emphasized.

"We believe in the marketplace," Pelosi said of Democrats, then drew a contrast with Republicans. "They have only rewarded wealth, not work."

A Victim Of Project Runway?

Yves St. Laurent collapsed in the road outside his boutique just hours after his latest "catwalk triumph".

YSL is 70 and has lived a life characterized by lots of drugs and a healthy dose of mental instability.

None-the-less GT12 wishes to believe that someon just told him that Laura made it to the Project Runway final four.