Date:	2008-05-16 08:21
Subject:	Edwards on Colbert
Security:	Public
Mood:	amused
Music:	Mother Midnight * Wooden Wand and the Sky High Band

Date:	2008-05-16 07:18
Subject:	Good news in the U.S. this week
Security:	Public
Mood:	pleased
Music:	"Mother Midnight" * Wooden Wand and the Sky High Band

Obama and Edwards:



Marriage equality in California:

Date:	2008-05-13 23:38
Subject:	"'Darth Vader' spared jail in Jedi church attacks"
Security:	Public
Mood:	amused
Music:	To Each Their Own Dark Path * Mindflayer

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080514/ap_on_fe_st/odd_britain_vader_raider;_ylt=AtER581sq4YtAoQnpfXO_zvtiBIF

The Associated Press

'Darth Vader' spared jail in Jedi church attacks
2 hours, 30 minutes ago

HOLYHEAD, Wales - A man who dressed up as Darth Vader, wearing a garbage bag for a cape, and assaulted the founders of a group calling itself the Jedi church was given a suspended sentence Tuesday.

Arwel Wynne Hughes, 27, attacked Jedi church founder Barney Jones — aka Master Jonba Hehol — with a metal crutch, hitting him on the head, prosecutors told Holyhead Magistrates' Court.

He also whacked Jones' 18-year-old cousin, Michael Jones — known as Master Mormi Hehol — bruising his thigh in the March 25 incident, prosecutors said.

The two cousins and Barney Jones' brother, Daniel, set up the Church of Jediism, Anglesey order, last year. Jedi is the faith followed by some of the central characters in the "Star Wars" films.

The group, which claims about 30 members, says on its Web site that it uses "insight and knowledge" from the films as "a guide to living a better and more worthwhile life."

"We all love the films and what they stand for. Obviously some people are going to laugh about it," the Wales on Sunday newspaper quoted Barney Jones as saying last month. "But a lot of people do take it seriously."

Unfortunately for Hughes, his March attack was recorded on a video camera that the cousins had set up to film themselves in a light saber battle.

"Darth Vader! Jedis!" Hughes shouted as he approached.

Hughes claimed he couldn't remember the incident, having drunk the better part of a 2 1/2-gallon (10-liter) box of wine beforehand.

"He knows his behavior was wrong and didn't want it to happen but he has no recollection of it," said Hughes' lawyer, Frances Jones.

District Judge Andrew Shaw sentenced Hughes to two months in jail but suspended the sentence for one year. He also ordered Hughes to pay $195 to each of his victims and $117 in court costs.

In the 2001 United Kingdom census, 390,000 — 0.7 percent of the population — listed Jedi as their religion.

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/senators-say-whether-theyd-agree-to-be-vice-president-2008-05-12.html

The Hill

Senators say whether they’d agree to be vice president
By The Hill Staff
Posted: 05/12/08 05:21 PM [ET]

The Hill asked all 97 senators who are not running for president the same question: “If you were asked, would you accept an offer to be the VP nominee?”

Some senators laughed, but others took the question seriously. A story about these responses appears in the May 13 print edition of The Hill and at thehill.com.

Here, verbatim, are the 97 responses.

[Note to news editors: If you cite these responses, cite The Hill newspaper.]

( Read more... )

My Top Ten List:

10. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.)
“The chances of that are so remote that I’m more likely to be hit by an asteroid.”

9. Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii)
“If I were asked, I would say, ‘You’re out of your mind.’”

8. Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.)
“No, I can already preside over the Senate, and I do not enjoy spending a lot of time at ‘undisclosed locations.’”

7. Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho)
“I would say ‘No, Hillary.’"

6. Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.)
“Absolutely. Absolutely. I think I would be great. First of all, I know how to behave at weddings and funerals. And I know how to be commander in chief. I’d bring a lot of fun to the job. We would rock the Naval Observatory.”

5. Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.)
“I plan to stick with my current job until I get the hang of it.”

4. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa)
“I’m too old to be vice president. But I am young enough to be reelected to the Senate.”

3. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa)
“No, I’d have Jon Stewart stand in for me. Jon Stewart. That’s my guy.”

2. Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.)
“Yes. Sign me up. I’ve been kidding people for years: The hours are better, the wages are just as good — whoever heard of a vice president getting shot at? — and it’s a great opportunity to travel. And actually since time has gone by, the job is robust … So sure. Anybody here would, if they’re going to be honest. The chances are slim to none. But I promise you, I would deliver all three of Delaware’s electoral votes.”

1. Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.)
“No. I enjoy life too much.”

http://www.gallup.com/poll/107233/US-Satisfaction-Down-14-Just-Shy-AllTime-Low.aspx

Gallup

May 13, 2008
U.S. Satisfaction Down to 14%, Just Shy of All-Time Low:
Economy remains top problem in Americans’ eyes
by Jeffrey M. Jones

PRINCETON, NJ -- A new Gallup Poll finds just 14% of Americans saying they are satisfied with the way things are going in the United States, two percentage points higher than the 1979 low and tied with a June 1992 rating for the second-lowest reading.



( Read more... )

Date:	2008-05-12 02:26
Subject:	SNL = getting good?
Security:	Public
Mood:	amused
Music:	Sailship * Wizardzz

Date:	2008-05-10 20:31
Subject:	"Some War Dead Were Cremated at Facility Handling Pets"
Security:	Public
Mood:	disturbed
Music:	Things Don't Look Good * Genghis Tron

By Ann Scott Tyson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, May 10, 2008; A01

The U.S. military has, since 2001, cremated some of the remains of American service members killed in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere at a Delaware facility that also cremates pets, a practice that ended yesterday when the Pentagon banned the arrangement.

The facility, located in an industrial park near Dover Air Force Base, has cremated about 200 service members, manager David A. Bose estimated last night. It uses separate crematories a few feet apart to cremate humans and animals, he added, insisting that there had "not been any people gone through the pet crematory."

Pentagon officials said they do not think that human remains and animal remains were ever commingled at the facility. "We have absolutely no evidence whatsoever at this point that any human remains were at all ever mistreated," Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said at a news conference hastily convened last night.

( Read more... )

Date:	2008-05-09 03:16
Subject:	Electoral College Prediction Map
Security:	Public
Mood:	curious
Music:	Da Factory * J Dilla

Edit the map and post your own prediction.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/interactives/campaign08/electoral-college/?dList=ca,ct,de,il,nj,ny,ore,pa,ri,mi,wa,me1,me2,me0,md,wi,hi,ma,vt,dc&rList=sc,al,ak,ar,wy,ga,nc,ok,tn,ut,la,az,nd,tx,ms,ind,ne0,ne1,ne2,ne3,wv,ky,id,mt,sd,ks&uList=ia,nh,nv,fl,co,mo,va,mn,oh,nm

Date:	2008-04-30 03:01
Subject:	Floundering campaign --> sadness
Security:	Public
Mood:	disappointed
Music:	An Awful Mess * The Softies

At this rate, Obama will not get the nomination. *Tears up*. Thoughts?

Date:	2008-04-23 13:08
Subject:	My Clintonite Moment: Quasi-Hippie from Westchester
Security:	Public
Mood:	angry

After noticing a pro-Obama flyer on my friends dorm room door, a Clintonite, who is staying with her son on our hall, just told my friend and I that people have bought into Obama's "snakelike" charm, and that the success of his campaign owes itself to "youths who have sold themselves out." She also told my friend and I that we should "support Clinton on the basis that she is a woman," and that we should "be ashamed" of ourselves because we are female Obama supporters. I tried not to debate with this woman due to the baselessness of her arguments (i.e., Obama's pastor is anti-Semitic, Michelle Obama is "condescending" because she is not proud of America, she "does not care" that Clinton lied about having supported NAFTA). However, when she said that only women and baby boomers knew how to clean up the mess of Bush, and said that Obama was "10 years-old," and then pretty much said that only older people should be in office, I replied that I want a President who grew up through more recent changes and belongs to a younger generation because I think that such a person would bring in a fresh perspective (my parents are nearing 60 and share this view; I do not believe that it is an ageist one). After saying that she would vote for McCain over Obama, she told me that she has been working in geriatrics for 25 years and that I should never disrespect my elders, and she then went into her sons' room and slammed the door behind her. LUNATIC. Fucking quasi-hippie from Westchester.

This experience makes me wonder how much the Democrats are going to eat themselves alive at the convention.

Date:	2008-04-22 01:48
Subject:	Longing
Security:	Public
Mood:	nostalgic
Music:	Dreams * TV on the Radio

I wish that I had figured out my summer sooner. Sometimes, I miss Chicago so much. If anyone knows of any summer jobs there, please tell me ASAP.

"Radio 4's Broadcasting House has celebrated 10 years on air with some of its favourite moments from the archives. One recurring feature was an homage to the former US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's unique way with words."

Example: "I believe what I said yesterday. I don't know what I said, but I know what I think, and, well, I assume it's what I said."

Hilarious. This is the direct link for those who have Windows Media Player (for those who have Real Player, select "Preferences" and change the player):

http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/check/player/nol/newsid_7350000/newsid_7357300?redirect=7357322.stm&news=1&nbram=1&nbwm=1&bbram=1&bbwm=1

Date:	2008-04-19 18:27
Subject:	Not too surprising for these monsters, but HOLY FUCK
Security:	Public
Mood:	nauseated
Music:	Badlands * Bruce Springsteen

The New York Times
April 20, 2008
Behind TV Analysts, Pentagon’s Hidden Hand
By DAVID BARSTOW

"The Pentagon has cultivated “military analysts” in a campaign to generate favorable news coverage of the Bush administration’s wartime performance."

In the summer of 2005, the Bush administration confronted a fresh wave of criticism over Guantánamo Bay. The detention center had just been branded “the gulag of our times” by Amnesty International, there were new allegations of abuse from United Nations human rights experts and calls were mounting for its closure.

The administration’s communications experts responded swiftly. Early one Friday morning, they put a group of retired military officers on one of the jets normally used by Vice President Dick Cheney and flew them to Cuba for a carefully orchestrated tour of Guantánamo.

To the public, these men are members of a familiar fraternity, presented tens of thousands of times on television and radio as “military analysts” whose long service has equipped them to give authoritative and unfettered judgments about the most pressing issues of the post-Sept. 11 world.

Hidden behind that appearance of objectivity, though, is a Pentagon information apparatus that has used those analysts in a campaign to generate favorable news coverage of the administration’s wartime performance, an examination by The New York Times has found.

( Read more... )

Date:	2008-04-16 22:11
Subject:	My complaint email to ABC News
Security:	Public
Mood:	infuriated

ABC News has launched itself head-first into the "silly season" of politics. I had never witnessed such a poorly moderated debate before tonight. The first half of the debate did not involve a single question that pertained to policy, just comments from the past and flag pins. This debate did not seek to achieve serious journalism, just to enrage supporters of the candidates and further divisions within the Democratic Party for a media spectacle. Stephanopolous and Gibson repulsed me.

Date:	2008-04-16 21:43
Subject:	WHAT THE FUCK
Security:	Public
Mood:	enraged
Music:	THE SOUND OF MY VOICE YELLING AT A TV

THE MODERATORS, GEORGE STEPHANOPOLUS AND CHARLIE GIBSON, OF TONIGHT'S DEMOCRATIC DEBATE ARE REPULSIVE. I HAD NEVER WITNESSED THIS DEGREE OF BIAS IN A DEBATE. HOLY FUCK.

Better.

I have made a mix CD of protest songs for a professor of mine as a token of my gratitude for a recent act of kindness of his. The tracklist consists of songs written and recorded during the time of the Bush administration. Silly, I know, but I think that he would appreciate it, as he has played protest music in our class before (doing so is relevant to our course). I welcome any suggestions.

1. Fire * Kimya Dawson
2. Not a Crime * Gogol Bordello
3. Head (Of State) * The Coup
4. America's Boy * Broadcast
5. No Glory * Ministry
6. George Bush Doesn't Care about Black People ("Gold Digger" Remix) * The Legendary K.O.
7. Heard Somebody Say * Devendra Banhart
8. M.I.A. * M.I.A.
9. Young Men Dead * The Black Angels
10. Take It There (featuring Wadud Ahmad) * The Roots
11. The Movers and the Shakers * Herbert
12. Attack * System of a Down
13. "They" Schools * Dead Prez
14. When the President Talks to God * Bright Eyes
15. Combat Rock * Sleater-Kinney
16. High Party * Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
17. War * OutKast
18. Sealed with a Kiss * Deerhoof
19. Series of Tubes (Net Neutrality Dance Mix) * Manish
20. American Terrorist (featuring Matthew Santos) * Lupe Fiasco
21. A Distorted Reality Is Now a Necessity to Be Free * Elliott Smith