Two film strips to watch..

Educatonal filmstrips from Filmstrip International, just like when you were 12. It's called A--hole and it's about the current Administration. Here is version one. Here is another one, updated after Katrina. It features the song, "A-hole" by a band called Jim's Big Ego. Pass these links along to your friends and foes. Click here for more filmstrips from these guys. Worth your time and every dime.

Touched by His Noodly Appendage

On August 9, 2005 "The Kansas Board of Education voted 6-4 to include greater criticism of evolution in its school science standards, but it decided to send the standards to an outside academic for review before taking a final vote. The Kansas school system was ridiculed around the country in 1999 when the board deleted most references to evolution. The system later reversed course, but the language favored by the board Tuesday comes from advocates of intelligent design or creationism."
Intelligent Design (ID) proponents assert that an unidentified supernatural being created the universe and that ID should be offered in public schools as an alternative to theories of evolution. Scientists, academics, teachers and other sane people were outraged, and said that such pseudoscience does not belong in our classrooms. ID supporters were outraged by the outrage, setting the stage for a Scopes Monkey Trial Part Dieux.
A concerned citizen, one Bobby Henderson, heard about this and was disappointed to learn that only one theory of ID was being discussed. So he wrote to the Kansas Board of Education and told of his vision, in an attempt to persuade them to consider what he believes is the supernatural creator of the universe:
The Flying Spaghetti Monster. Behold Bobby's Holy vision in all His noodly glory!
Read his entire letter to the Kansas Board of Education here, and if you are not touched by his eloquence and persuaded by his sound reaoning of Flying Spaghetti Monsterism (FSM), then you sir, are truly a soulless beast who shall be condemned to the hell of your own making. **insert sound of the Flying Spaghetti Monster smiting you here**

Here is an excerpt from Bobby's open letter to the KS Bd of Ed.:

I am writing you with much concern after having read of your hearing to decide whether the alternative theory of Intelligent Design should be taught along with the theory of Evolution. I think we can all agree that it is important for students to hear multiple viewpoints so they can choose for themselves the theory that makes the most sense to them. I am concerned, however, that students will only hear one theory of Intelligent Design.
Let us remember that there are multiple theories of Intelligent Design. I and many others around the world are of the strong belief that the universe was created by a Flying Spaghetti Monster. It was He who created all that we see and all that we feel. We feel strongly that the overwhelming scientific evidence pointing towards evolutionary processes is nothing but a coincidence, put in place by Him...
In conclusion, thank you for taking the time to hear our views and beliefs. I hope I was able to convey the importance of teaching this theory to your students. We will of course be able to train the teachers in this alternate theory. I am eagerly awaiting your response, and hope dearly that no legal action will need to be taken. I think we can all look forward to the time when these three theories are given equal time in our science classrooms across the country, and eventually the world; One third time for Intelligent Design, one third time for Flying Spaghetti Monsterism, and one third time for logical conjecture based on overwhelming observable evidence.

Read some responses he received from the Kansas Board of Ed.
Here are some interesting emails he has recieved.
And the FAQ.

Presidential Potty Break

This is real. I am not making this up. During the UN Security Council meeting yesterday (09/14/05) President Bush, in a hand-written note passed to SecState Condi Rice wrote, "I think I may need a bathroom break? Is this possible." Here is a photo. Here is a close-up. Okay, so he's not the smartest guy in the room wherever he goes. He still has not grasped the concept of punctuation, let alone issues of international diplomacy. We knew that already. But was he serious, or just trying to be cute? I heard he and Condi were playing hangman, too. Here is a peek at the puzzle that stumped the President:

Headline from English tabloid..

..is a bit unfortunate, but funny. I guess they have differnent names for things over there.

Art courtesy of Jena Sesow

This just in: Brownie to Resign as Head of FEMA

via Raw Story, FEMA Chief Resigns Post
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Coming soon: Dubya to award "Brownie" the Presidential Medal of Freedom for "doing a heck of a job." You may laugh at the absurdity of that last bit, but hey, Tenet and Bremer each got one.

The Bush Mea Culpa Watch

Thanks to PERRspectives Blog.

I'm not holding my breath waiting for Bush's "my bad" on his handling (or lack thereof) of Katrina aftermath, either. Bush promises to lead an investigation regarding "what went right, what went wrong." WTF? He's going to lead an investigatoin of himself? That should be enlightening. In case you couldn't tell, i was being sarcastic. Meanwhile, the Bubble Boy continues to be babied by his handlers who say, "Now is not the time to play the blame game."
To quote Jon Stewart: "Those who don't want to play the blame game are to blame."

Michael D. Brown = Gareth Keenan

Ok, not only is FEMA head Michael D. Brown totally unqualified to run a free lemonade stand, but he lied about his professional experience as well.
Check this!! He pulled a Garreth Keenan!

In the hit British comedy series, The Office, Mackenzie Crook played Gareth Keenan: a puny, brown-nosing office geek who always introduced himself as, "Assistant Regional Manager," only to be corrected by his boss: "Assistant to the Regional Manager."

According to Michael D. Brown's bio on the FEMA website, "His background in local and state government also includes serving as an assistant city manager with emergency services oversight and as a city councilman" in the city of Edmond, OK.

As TIME reports, "according to Claudia Deakins, head of public relations for the city of Edmond, Brown was 'assistant to the city manager' from 1977 to 1980, not a manger himself, and had no authority over employees. 'The assistant is more like an intern,' she told TIME."
Is that precious, or what? I wonder if Chertoff ever put Brown's stapler in jell-o.

Read here and here and here for more of this phony's falsehoods.

Another day, another scandal in BushWorld. Maybe the mainstream media won't ignore this one, since you know, he's pretty much responsible for people dying and all.

Quiz: What does this mean?

Wish Hood Tall Cup Stare Sew Thick Can Tear Is

Keith Olbermann on Katrina and "our" government

Keith Olbermann broke his editorial silence Monday and lashed out against "our" US gov't and their response to the Katrina crisis:

"...these are leaders who won re-election last year largely by portraying their opponents as incapable of keeping the country safe. These are leaders who regularly pressure the news media in this country to report the reopening of a school or a power station in Iraq, and defies its citizens not to stand up and cheer. Yet they couldn't even keep one school or power station from being devastated by infrastructure collapse in New Orleans — even though the government had heard all the "chatter" from the scientists and city planners and hurricane centers and some group whose purposes the government couldn't quite discern... a group called The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. And most chillingly of all, this is the Law and Order and Terror government. It promised protection — or at least amelioration — against all threats: conventional, radiological, or biological. It has just proved that it cannot save its citizens from a biological weapon called standing water. Mr. Bush has now twice insisted that, "we are not satisfied," with the response to the manifold tragedies along the Gulf Coast. I wonder which "we" he thinks he's speaking for on this point. Perhaps it's the administration, although we still don't know where some of them are. Anybody seen the Vice President lately? The man whose message this time last year was, 'I'll Protect You, The Other Guy Will Let You Die'? I don't know which 'we' Mr. Bush meant."

Read the full text here.
See the video of the above spiel here. Or here.
Mr. Olbermann hosts my favorite daily news show, Countdown with Keith Olbermann on MSNBC Mon-Fri at 8pm eastern. For my money, he's the best TV news man anywhere. If you don't watch him regularly, i would gently encourage you to tune in. Take the Grape Nuts challenge: watch Keith for a week, and see how much better you feel. i guarantee you'll get all the news you need along with your recommended daily allowance of context and perspective that won't leave you bloated. Keith has a knack for delivering the news with creativity, insight and honesty. And perhaps most importantly, he is appropriately cynical about the business of journalism and its role in our culture. That is why he is uniquely awesome.

Administration's View VS. Facts on the Ground

The Administration officials' official line about progress being made differs greatly from reports by those in the midst of the disaster. Sound familiar? It's the same M.O. used when they talk about the war in Iraq: lie, deny, distort, disinform. Oh yeah, and blame the media. Standard operating procedure.
From CNN:

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) -- Diverging views of a crumbling New Orleans emerged Thursday. The sanitized view came from federal officials at news conferences and television appearances. But the official line was contradicted by grittier, more desperate views from the shelters and the streets.
These conflicting views came within hours, sometimes minutes of each of each other, as reflected in CNN's transcripts. The speakers include Michael Brown, chief of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Homeland Security Director Michael Chertoff, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, evacuee Raymond Cooper, CNN correspondents and others. Here's what they had to say:

Conditions in the Convention Center
FEMA chief Brown: We learned about that (Thursday), so I have directed that we have all available resources to get that convention center to make sure that they have the food and water and medical care that they need.

Mayor Nagin: The convention center is unsanitary and unsafe, and we are running out of supplies for the 15,000 to 20,000 people.

CNN Producer Kim Segal: It was chaos. There was nobody there, nobody in charge. And there was nobody giving even water. The children, you should see them, they're all just in tears. There are sick people. We saw... people who are dying in front of you.

Read the whole article.

Mr. Bush was on the ground in Biloxi, MS talking to two African-American women and a fella looking for help. Sounds like they shoulda looked elsewhere:

Bush to women: "There's a Salvation Army center that I want to, that I'll tell you where it is, and they'll get you some help. I'm sorry.... They'll help you.....
Woman 1: "I came here looking for clothes..."
Bush: "They'll get you some clothes, at the Salvation Army center..."
Woman 1: "We don't have anything..."
Bush: "I understand.... Do you know where the center is, that I'm talking to you about?"
Guy with shades: "There's no center there, sir, it's a truck."
Bush: "There's trucks?"
Guy: "There's a school, a school about two miles away....."
Bush: "But isn't there a Salvation center down there?"
Guy: "No that's wiped out...."
Bush: "A temporary center? "
Guy: "No sir they've got a truck there, for food."

Incompetence and cluelessness personified.

Republican Leadership in action!

Bill in Portland, Maine shows us how the Repugnican Leadership sprang into action as people suffered and died in NO, LA. Disgraceful? Insensitive? Selfish? You bet, but what's new?


You can help. Donate $ here. I did.
If everyone that reads this blog were to donate the minimum of $5, they could provide almost three cases of bottled water. Go to it.

Bush still on vacation

Tuesday, August 30, 2005: US Coast Guard searches for survivors of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, LA.














Tuesday, August 30, 2005:
Our "Commander in Chief" goofs off in California.

There he is, folks! Your President of the United States in all his blind idiocy and blissful ignorance. Can you believe that while the worst disaster in US history unfolds, that our nation's Leader would allow himself to be photographed in such a moment of frivolity? I can. That's how dumb he is.
BTW, is he trying to play CCR's "Fortunate Son?"
"Hey, Daddy! This song's about me! Heh-heh-heh!"

Bush to end vacation early.

Bush, dogged by Cindy at his "ranch", will jet back to DC to deal with Katrina.
Dubya says he will cut his 5-week vacation short by a whole two days to watch over Katrina disaster relief funds. Wow. If only he would pay so much attention to the $ in Iraq, we might have been able to keep track of it all. I guess that's what Halliburton is for.

On a serious note, those folks on the Gulf Coast need our help, and the best way to do that is to donate a few bucks.

Jack White would like to buy the world a Coke

Hat tip to Largehearted Boy:

White Stripes singer/songwriter Jack White has been tapped by Coca-Cola to write a new song to inspire the world to buy Coke. I think this is for real. Remember, the White Stripes turned down the Gap when they offered lots of cash for an appearance in a commercial. I guess this is somewhat different, since he is writing a song for the commercial, as opposed to having them use one of their songs in it.

In related news, Steve Earle's title track from his 2004 album, The Revolution Starts...Now is being used to sell Chevy Trucks. i saw the commercial Sunday night, i think. Chevy must have realized that no one listens to Bob Seger anymore. But Chevy must be ignorant of the song's lyrics and meaning.

The White Stripes and Steve Earl are two of my fave artists, and i would never accuse them of "selling out." i would LOVE to write a song for a commercial, and i would LOVE to be able to pay off all my debts if something i composed were used in a marketing campaign.

Guess i'll get to writin'...checks to pay my bills at least.

PS: here's a video of Steve singing The Revolution Starts Now for Cindy Sheehan in Crawford, TX recently.

Bush vs. Science

Hendrik Herzberg comments in the New Yorker about Evolution, Creationism, Intelligent Design and BushCo.'s position on science:

From the beginning, the Bush White House has treated science as a nuisance and scientists as an interest group—one that, because it lies outside the governing conservative coalition, need not be indulged. That's why the White House-sometimes in the service of political Christianism or ideological fetishism, more often in obeisance to baser interests like the petroleum, pharmaceutical, and defense industries-has altered, suppressed, or overriden scientific findings on global warming; missile defense; H.I.V./ AIDS; pollution from industrial farming and oil drilling; forest management and endangered species; environmental health, including lead and mercury poisoning in children and safety standards for drinking water; and non-abstinence methods of birth control and sexually-transmitted-disease prevention. It has grossly misled the public on the number of stem-cell lines available for research. It has appointed unqualified ideologues to scientific advisory committees and has forced out scientists who persist in pointing out inconvenient facts.

Read the one-page article. Hat tip to DC MediaGirl.