Colbert

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. Before I begin, I've been asked to make an announcement. Whoever parked 14 black bulletproof S.U.V.'s out front, could you please move them? They are blocking in 14 other black bulletproof S.U.V.'s and they need to get out.

Wow. Wow, what an honor. The White House correspondents' dinner. To actually sit here, at the same table with my hero, George W. Bush, to be this close to the man. I feel like I'm dreaming. Somebody pinch me. You know what? I'm a pretty sound sleeper -- that may not be enough. Somebody shoot me in the face. Is he really not here tonight? Dammit. The one guy who could have helped.

By the way, before I get started, if anybody needs anything else at their tables, just speak slowly and clearly into your table numbers. Somebody from the NSA will be right over with a cocktail. Mark Smith, ladies and gentlemen of the press corps, Madame First Lady, Mr. President, my name is Stephen Colbert and tonight it's my privilege to celebrate this president. We're not so different, he and I. We get it. We're not brainiacs on the nerd patrol. We're not members of the factinista. We go straight from the gut, right sir? That's where the truth lies, right down here in the gut. Do you know you have more nerve endings in your gut than you have in your head? You can look it up. I know some of you are going to say I did look it up, and that's not true. That's cause you looked it up in a book.

Next time, look it up in your gut. I did. My gut tells me that's how our nervous system works. Every night on my show, the Colbert Report, I speak straight from the gut, OK? I give people the truth, unfiltered by rational argument. I call it the "No Fact Zone." Fox News, I hold a copyright on that term.

I'm a simple man with a simple mind. I hold a simple set of beliefs that I live by. Number one, I believe in America. I believe it exists. My gut tells me I live there. I feel that it extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and I strongly believe it has 50 states. And I cannot wait to see how the Washington Post spins that one tomorrow. I believe in democracy. I believe democracy is our greatest export. At least until China figures out a way to stamp it out of plastic for three cents a unit.

In fact, Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong, welcome. Your great country makes our Happy Meals possible. I said it's a celebration. I believe the government that governs best is the government that governs least. And by these standards, we have set up a fabulous government in Iraq.

I believe in pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps. I believe it is possible -- I saw this guy do it once in Cirque du Soleil. It was magical. And though I am a committed Christian, I believe that everyone has the right to their own religion, be you Hindu, Jewish or Muslim. I believe there are infinite paths to accepting Jesus Christ as your personal savior.

Ladies and gentlemen, I believe it's yogurt. But I refuse to believe it's not butter. Most of all, I believe in this president.

Now, I know there are some polls out there saying this man has a 32% approval rating. But guys like us, we don't pay attention to the polls. We know that polls are just a collection of statistics that reflect what people are thinking in "reality." And reality has a well-known liberal bias.

So, Mr. President, please, pay no attention to the people that say the glass is half full. 32% means the glass -- it's important to set up your jokes properly, sir. Sir, pay no attention to the people who say the glass is half empty, because 32% means it's 2/3 empty. There's still some liquid in that glass is my point, but I wouldn't drink it. The last third is usually backwash. Okay, look, folks, my point is that I don't believe this is a low point in this presidency. I believe it is just a lull before a comeback.

I mean, it's like the movie "Rocky." All right. The president in this case is Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed is -- everything else in the world. It's the tenth round. He's bloodied. His corner man, Mick, who in this case I guess would be the vice president, he's yelling, "Cut me, Dick, cut me!," and every time he falls everyone says, "Stay down! Stay down!" Does he stay down? No. Like Rocky, he gets back up, and in the end he -- actually, he loses in the first movie.

OK. Doesn't matter. The point is it is the heart-warming story of a man who was repeatedly punched in the face. So don't pay attention to the approval ratings that say 68% of Americans disapprove of the job this man is doing. I ask you this, does that not also logically mean that 68% approve of the job he's not doing? Think about it. I haven't.

I stand by this man. I stand by this man because he stands for things. Not only for things, he stands on things. Things like aircraft carriers and rubble and recently flooded city squares. And that sends a strong message, that no matter what happens to America, she will always rebound -- with the most powerfully staged photo ops in the world.

Now, there may be an energy crisis. This president has a very forward-thinking energy policy. Why do you think he's down on the ranch cutting that brush all the time? He's trying to create an alternative energy source. By 2008 we will have a mesquite-powered car!

And I just like the guy. He's a good Joe. Obviously loves his wife, calls her his better half. And polls show America agrees. She's a true lady and a wonderful woman. But I just have one beef, ma'am.

I'm sorry, but this reading initiative. I'm sorry, I've never been a fan of books. I don't trust them. They're all fact, no heart. I mean, they're elitist, telling us what is or isn't true, or what did or didn't happen. Who's Britannica to tell me the Panama Canal was built in 1914? If I want to say it was built in 1941, that's my right as an American! I'm with the president, let history decide what did or did not happen.

The greatest thing about this man is he's steady. You know where he stands. He believes the same thing Wednesday that he believed on Monday, no matter what happened Tuesday. Events can change; this man's beliefs never will. As excited as I am to be here with the president, I am appalled to be surrounded by the liberal media that is destroying America, with the exception of Fox News. Fox News gives you both sides of every story: the president's side, and the vice president's side.

But the rest of you, what are you thinking, reporting on NSA wiretapping or secret prisons in eastern Europe? Those things are secret for a very important reason: they're super-depressing. And if that's your goal, well, misery accomplished. Over the last five years you people were so good -- over tax cuts, WMD intelligence, the effect of global warming. We Americans didn't want to know, and you had the courtesy not to try to find out. Those were good times, as far as we knew.

But, listen, let's review the rules. Here's how it works: the president makes decisions. He's the decider. The press secretary announces those decisions, and you people of the press type those decisions down. Make, announce, type. Just put 'em through a spell check and go home. Get to know your family again. Make love to your wife. Write that novel you got kicking around in your head. You know, the one about the intrepid Washington reporter with the courage to stand up to the administration. You know - fiction!

Because really, what incentive do these people have to answer your questions, after all? I mean, nothing satisfies you. Everybody asks for personnel changes. So the White House has personnel changes. Then you write, "Oh, they're just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic." First of all, that is a terrible metaphor. This administration is not sinking. This administration is soaring. If anything, they are rearranging the deck chairs on the Hindenburg!

Now, it's not all bad guys out there. Some are heroes: Christopher Buckley, Jeff Sacks, Ken Burns, Bob Schieffer. They've all been on my show. By the way, Mr. President, thank you for agreeing to be on my show. I was just as shocked as everyone here is, I promise you. How's Tuesday for you? I've got Frank Rich, but we can bump him. And I mean bump him. I know a guy. Say the word.

See who we've got here tonight. General Moseley, Air Force Chief of Staff. General Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. They still support Rumsfeld. Right, you guys aren't retired yet, right? Right, they still support Rumsfeld.

Look, by the way, I've got a theory about how to handle these retired generals causing all this trouble: don't let them retire! Come on, we've got a stop-loss program; let's use it on these guys. I've seen Zinni and that crowd on Wolf Blitzer. If you're strong enough to go on one of those pundit shows, you can stand on a bank of computers and order men into battle. Come on.

Jesse Jackson is here, the Reverend. Haven't heard from the Reverend in a little while. I had him on the show. Very interesting and challenging interview. You can ask him anything, but he's going to say what he wants, at the pace that he wants. It's like boxing a glacier. Enjoy that metaphor, by the way, because your grandchildren will have no idea what a glacier is.

Justice Scalia is here. Welcome, sir. May I be the first to say, you look fantastic. How are you? [After each sentence, Colbert makes a hand gesture, an allusion to Scalia's recent use of an obscene Sicilian hand gesture in speaking to a reporter about Scalia's critics. Scalia is seen laughing hysterically.] Just talking some Sicilian with my paisan.

John McCain is here. John McCain, John McCain, what a maverick! Somebody find out what fork he used on his salad, because I guarantee you it wasn't a salad fork. This guy could have used a spoon! There's no predicting him. By the way, Senator McCain, it's so wonderful to see you coming back into the Republican fold. I have a summer house in South Carolina; look me up when you go to speak at Bob Jones University. So glad you've seen the light, sir.

Mayor Nagin! Mayor Nagin is here from New Orleans, the chocolate city! Yeah, give it up. Mayor Nagin, I'd like to welcome you to Washington, D.C., the chocolate city with a marshmallow center. And a graham cracker crust of corruption. It's a Mallomar, I guess is what I'm describing, a seasonal cookie.

Joe Wilson is here, Joe Wilson right down here in front, the most famous husband since Desi Arnaz. And of course he brought along his lovely wife Valerie Plame. Oh, my god! Oh, what have I said? [looks horrified] I am sorry, Mr. President, I meant to say he brought along his lovely wife Joe Wilson's wife. Patrick Fitzgerald is not here tonight? OK. Dodged a bullet.

And, of course, we can't forget the man of the hour, new press secretary, Tony Snow. Secret Service name, "Snow Job." Toughest job. What a hero! Took the second toughest job in government, next to, of course, the ambassador to Iraq.

Got some big shoes to fill, Tony. Big shoes to fill. Scott McClellan could say nothing like nobody else. McClellan, of course, eager to retire. Really felt like he needed to spend more time with Andrew Card's children. Mr. President, I wish you hadn't made the decision so quickly, sir.

I was vying for the job myself. I think I would have made a fabulous press secretary. I have nothing but contempt for these people. I know how to handle these clowns. In fact, sir, I brought along an audition tape and with your indulgence, I'd like to at least give it a shot. So, ladies and gentlemen, my press conference.

[Colbert shows a video of a mock press conference, at which Colbert is completely dismissive of questions he doesn't want to answer, i.e., all of them. He chooses among three buttons -- "Eject," "Gannon" and "Volume" -- to get rid of the offending speaker. But ultimately Helen Thomas causes Colbert to flee in terror from the press conference with her insistence that he answer her question, "Why did you really want to go to war [with Iraq]?" Colbert has difficulty finding a door from which to exit the room, echoing Bush's experience in China. He finally finds a way out, and runs frantically down the street and into a parking lot. Helen Thomas pursues Colbert relentlessly. He calls for help on an emergency phone in the parking lot, but the attendant also wants to know why we invaded Iraq. Colbert screams, "No!!!" Colbert fumbles nervously with his keys, having great difficulty getting into his car. Finally, he gets in, and continues to fumble trying to get the car started. He looks up and sees - Helen Thomas standing in front of the car! He screams, "No!!!" Colbert manages to drive away. He then takes the shuttle from Washington, D.C. to New York. His car is waiting for him at Penn Station. The uniformed man standing alongside the car opens the door and lets Colbert in. He says, "What a terrible trip, Danny. Take me home." The driver locks the doors, turns around, and says, "Buckle up, hon." IT'S HELEN THOMAS!!! "No!!!"]

STEPHEN COLBERT: Helen Thomas, ladies and gentlemen. Mr. Smith, members of the White House Correspondents Association, Madame First Lady, Mr. President, it's been a true honor. Thank you very much. Good night!

The video is even better than the transcript

(via DailyKos)

Never Mind The Bollocks, Here Comes Reality

I generally don't like to continue these pointless discussions: I mean, after all, there's no way I'm going to change the minds of the Bush-neocon-turn-the-desert-into-glass-just-because-we-can cultists. But since the show was canceled tonight and I had some time in front of the computer and do a little research and write, I figured I'd get one post up today. So here, for your edification, is the straight dope from this straight dope:

The Bollocks:

We're winning. The bad guys in Iraq are dead, in our custody, or on the run. In the north, in Kurdistan, the streets are peaceful, rebuilding is going on at a furious rate, and investment dollars are pouring in. In the central and southern areas, it's less settled, but definitely improving -- things are getting better every day for the average Abdul and Fatima. If we could get the Shiites and Sunnis to quit killing each other, the rest of the country would follow.

The Reality:
Winning Hearts And Minds:

Contractor's Plans Lie Among Ruins of Iraq
Parsons Corp., the Pasadena engineering firm that won one of the largest rebuilding contracts in postwar Iraq, fell dramatically short of a number of goals, according to interviews and documents that cite shoddy work and negligent government oversight.

The firm was to have rebuilt Iraq's health and security infrastructure. However, an audit and interviews show it will finish only 20 of 150 planned health clinics, and nearly $70 million of medical equipment meant for the clinics sits unused.

Additionally, as few as 12 of 20 hospitals planned to be refurbished will be completed. Some border forts built by the company lack walls, and some fire stations may be structurally unsound.

Our Tax Money At Work:

Projected Iraq War Costs Soar
The cost of the war in Iraq will reach $320 billion after the expected passage next month of an emergency spending bill currently before the Senate, and that total is likely to more than double before the war ends, the Congressional Research Service estimated this week.

The analysis, distributed to some members of Congress on Tuesday night, provides the most official cost estimate yet of a war whose price tag will rise by nearly 17 percent this year. Just last week, independent defense analysts looking only at Defense Department costs put the total at least $7 billion below the CRS figure.

Once the war spending bill is passed, military and diplomatic costs will have reached $101.8 billion this fiscal year, up from $87.3 billion in 2005, $77.3 billion in 2004 and $51 billion in 2003, the year of the invasion, congressional analysts said.

The good news is that one project is on time and under budget:

Giant U.S. embassy rising in Baghdad
Three years after a U.S.-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein, only one major U.S. building project in Iraq is on schedule and within budget: the massive new American embassy compound.

The $592 million facility is being built inside the heavily fortified Green Zone by 900 non-Iraqi foreign workers who are housed nearby and under the supervision of a Kuwaiti contractor, according to a Senate Foreign Relations Committee report. Construction materials have been stockpiled to avoid the dangers and delays on Iraq's roads....

...The 104-acre complex — the size of about 80 football fields — will include two office buildings, one of them designed for future use as a school, six apartment buildings, a gym, a pool, a food court and its own power generation and water-treatment plants. The average Baghdad home has electricity only four hours a day, according to Bowen's office.

Making the region safer:

Turkey Deploys More Troops to Contain Kurdish Guerrillas
The government has deployed more than 30,000 additional troops in its predominantly Kurdish southeast to fight separatist guerrillas and to prevent any from entering through the rugged border with Iraq and Iran, officials said Thursday.

Kurdish rebels Wednesday killed two Turkish soldiers and injured a third in a grenade attack on a military outpost, the Anatolian news agency reported. At least 17 Turkish soldiers and more than 40 Kurdish guerrillas have been killed this year.

Insurgent Attacks on Iraqis Soared, Report Says
The number of insurgent attacks on civilians in Iraq skyrocketed last year, resulting in almost 8,300 deaths and accounting for more than 50 percent of those killed in terrorist attacks worldwide, according to a State Department report released Friday.

The figures for 2005, reported in the State Department's annual survey of global terrorism, showed a doubling from the previous year in both the number of major terrorist attacks in Iraq and the death toll from them. The overall tally of about 3,500 terrorist attacks in Iraq last year represented nearly one-third of such attacks around the world. The numbers do not include attacks against American or coalition troops.

And what about those?

Death Toll for Americans in Iraq Is Highest in 5 Months
The military on Friday announced the death of one American soldier, bringing the death toll so far in April to 69, the highest in five months. The monthly figure disrupted a trend of steadily falling American fatalities that had begun in November.

The bulk of American deaths in April occurred in Baghdad and in the insurgent-controlled western province of Anbar, according to Iraq Coalition Casualty Count, an independent group that compiles casualty figures based on information provided by the American military.

Deaths in April could still climb, but are not likely to top the 84 American deaths in November. The April figure is more than double the 31 troops killed in March, one of the lowest monthly tolls of the war, according to the group's statistics.

And how, you may ask, is this affecting the overall Global War On Terror?^TM

U.S. Reports a Surge in Global Terrorism
The State Department's annual report on global terrorism, released Friday, concludes that the number of reported terrorist incidents and deaths has increased exponentially in the three years since the United States invaded Iraq, largely because of Iraq itself.

The report also said that although the United States had made some gains in fighting terrorism, Al Qaeda and its affiliate groups remained a grave threat to U.S. national security at home and abroad -- both in Iraq and elsewhere.

Of potentially greater concern, the government said, is mounting evidence that small, autonomous cells and individuals are becoming more active. Such "micro-actors" are engaging in more suicide bombings, and using increasingly sophisticated technologies to communicate, organize and plot their attacks, including the Internet, satellite communications and international commerce, according to the 292-page report. . . .

The report said there were 11,111 attacks that caused 14,602 deaths in 2005. Those figures stand in contrast to prior State Department reports, which cited 208 terrorist attacks that caused 625 deaths in 2003; and 3,168 attacks that caused 1,907 deaths in 2004.

So, let's see: We're spending a lot more money than we were told we would, yet (with that one glaring exception) we're not doing anywhere near the reconstruction we should, they're still killing our soldiers and each other regardless of elections or new governments or whatever, the region is getting more, not less, tense, and Al Qaeda is still a threat.

If this is "winning" I'd hate to see "losing". Oh, wait...

Tech Issues Cancel Tonight's Show

I just got the word from Ben Burch. The live feed is screwed so they'll be doing a rerun. New show next week however!

The Georgia Podcast Network, Rant Radio And Other Stuff

My friends Amber and Rusty , two excellent bloggers themselves, have generously invited me to become part of the Georgia Podcast Network, where you can listen to all the great podcasts coming out of the Peach State. I'm glad to be a part of the group, and I need to get the two of them back on the show soon just to talk about it.

On another note, Smokehouse from Rant Radio emailed me a few days back asking why I hadn't done any new shows: it seems I neglected to tell him about the new live show, which is my bad. I'm still on Rant Radio's schedule Mondays and Thursdays, what we're talking about doing is putting the first hour on Monday and the second hour on Thursday.

I know, I know, I need to do more publicity work for the show, but I just don't seem to have the time: even when I've been home lately I've been sick and when I'm working it's hard to get the energy to do anything more than the job and the daily reports.

Meantime, if any of you big spenders out there would like to contribute a little so that I could make up for some of the money I lost being sick this week, that would be nice. Thanks to another donor I am getting a guest mike (same brand as my current one) and I'm still looking to get an upgraded computer, though a friend may give me her used one when she switches to a Mac. I'll keep everybody posted.

Being A "Hayta"

Quick note before I begin:

You may have noticed that there haven't been any daily reports since Monday: that's because I have spent pretty much the whole week being sick. I'm not used to being sick for more than a day or so, and I've missed three days work this week, three days I really couldn't afford. I am feeling a little better today, though not good enough to go to work. I went yesterday but in retrospect that may have been a bad idea. I'm just hoping to be well enough to do the show Saturday night.

OK, on to business:

I've been quarreling, once again, with my old nemesis Bruce Lewis, aka "Plymouth Belvedere" (where does he come up with these names?) who was gloating about the supposedly low sales of Markos' book Crashing The Gate but of course his report came straight from Drudge, so naturally it was dead wrong. It's a stupid argument to begin with, of course: but it's typical of people like Drudge to pick and choose what he wants to see, and just as typical of right-wingers to latch on to whatever remaining straws they have left so that they don't have to confront the fact that they've been wrong about so many things in so many ways. The book sales are a little thing, of course. And as Digby points out about the book sales of right-wingers:

the right has subsidized these lousy writers and thinkers for decades. They buy their crappy books for their crappy book clubs (whining all the way about totalitarian leftists bookstore owners who refuse to sell their crappy crap) and give the impression that they are successfully indoctrinating the country with their crappy propaganda. From the numbers of right wing propagandists who are allegedly great authors and thinkers, you would think that the Republicans would rule with an 80% majority. The truth is they have always rigged the numbers.

The power players inside the GOP understand this, they know the key to their power is perception, deception and fear-mongering, because if the mindless slugs who worship them ever figure out what's really going on, well, let's just say it won't be pleasant.

Now of course, Bruce is wrong about a lot of things, but what he's most wrong about is who I am, why I believe what I do, and why I write this blog. I don't come out here and pull stuff out of my ass. My last post, for example, reflected a real fear of what could possibly happen to this country. I wasn't pretending to predict specific events: the truth is that I think it's far more likely that this country will be taken down economically rather than militarily (though a military takedown is still a possibility), but I do believe that, if we continue the path we're on, we could fall as a nation. It's not something I want, but I have history backing me up. Certainly Egypt, Athens, and Rome believed they would last forever as they were.

I told Bruce and I'll tell all of you here: whatever you may feel about what I say here on the blog or on the radio show, I guarantee you one-hundred percent that I say it because I believe it. I may be wrong from time to time but I'm not going to lie to you and I'm not going to just say something to get people all riled up. I say what I mean and I mean what I say. Period. Anyone who thinks I have any motive other than to speak my mind, anyone who thinks I am a slave to the Democratic Party or any particular politician, anyone who thinks I apply a liberal litmus test to every circumstance is wrong. If I'm less critical of Democrats it's only because they already have plenty of detractors and I don't feel the need to pile on. I understand what's wrong with the party leadership and I hope to change that in my own small way. I'm not as dedicated or active as some, but I do what I can.

But with Bruce, well, like someone we both know, you kind of have to peel away the outer layers of sarcasm and hubris to get down to brass tacks. He knows me well enough, yet he insists on demeaning my justifiable outrage by saying I'm just a "hayta", pretending to be above it all. But I think the fact that he latched on to this insignificant Drudge story with such glee is pretty telling. I think Glenn Greenwald put his finger on it much better:

Drudge's baseless and deceitful proclamation -- that Crashing the Gate is a flop -- was immediately and mindlessly ingested as unchallengeable fact by those whose mental processes are centrally guided by fantasy and desire, and it will forever remain as unshakable, conventional wisdom among them that the book failed, no matter how many facts in the future undermine their faith that it's true. Believing this provides emotional satisfaction for them, confirms the myths to which they desperately cling (Bush is popular, liberals are hated), and they therefore adopt it is a belief even though it does not correspond to reality. That really is a snapshot of what one, without hyperbole, could describe as the psychological imbalance that has driven the policies and actions of our government for several years.

The Drudge claim spread like wildfire among Bush followers yesterday. The delusional anchor was Roger L. Simon, who dribbled out some observations about what he called the "pathetic sales figures" for CTG, linking only to Drudge's inane item. Simon also asserted, literally without a single citation to anything, that the book by Glenn Reynolds -- whom Simon reverently describes as having "remarkable respect in the blogosphere for his integrity and intelligence" -- "is selling much better." He says this even though the only publicly available data that relates to that comparative assessment -- the Amazon rankings -- shows that CTG is at #33 (#24 yesterday), while Reynolds' book is at #1,006 (#1,157 yesterday). What rational person could possibly claim that Reynolds' book "is selling much better" than CTG?

These twin items by Drudge and Simon -- equally baseless, fact-free and misleading on their face -- were mindlessly recited as fact by countless Bush followers all day yesterday. The always fact-free Powerline John dutifully recited the claim that CTG "has sold an astonishingly low 3,630 copies," and even repeats Simon's fantasy-driven fiction "that Glenn Reynolds' book is selling well." Right Wing News drools: "it's really nice to see Kos's book nosedive into the pavement." The Bush zombie at BlogsFor Bush echoes the script: "I've stopped laughing long enough" to note that "there is no mention of the pathetic book sales of Kos's book on the site's front page." And PunditGuy, after celebrating the "failure" of CTG, says this:

Kos claims that Drudge’s numbers aren’t on the up and up. What-ev-eh.

Don't they have somewhere lurking in their brain any critical faculties at all? For the sake of one's own integrity and reputation if nothing else, who would read an undocumented assertion on Drudge -- no matter how much of an emotional need they feel for it to be true -- and then run around reflexively reciting it as truth, writing whole posts celebrating it and analyzing it, without bothering to spend a second of time or a molecule of mental energy trying to figure out if it's really true?

This intellectually corrupt syndrome goes back a long way and has been festering for a long time. Nuggets of deceitful, fact-free fantasy get planted in some cesspool like Drudge and then mindless followers who want to believe it start repeating it as fact, and then it gets ossified forever as conventional wisdom and can never be dislodged from their minds. That's how Al Gore came to "claim that he invented the Internet," how Howard Dean became a far left radical pacifist, how Jessica Lynch had a heroic shoot-out with Al Qaeda and was then rescued by gun-blazing Marines, how Moveon.org produced commercials saying that Bush was Hitler, how Saddam funded Al Qaeda and personally participated in the planning of 9/11. It's even how the lesbian, Hillary, killed Vince Foster in order to ensure that their affair (or Whitewater crimes or drug-running landing strip) would be kept quiet and, to this day, it's how Bill Clinton was a wildly unpopular president.

It's Bruce's attitude, and others, that prevent me from having a real, honest-to-God conversation with them, because you just can't break through their fantasy. Well, at least I can't. Which is why I don't generally waste my time arguing. But every now and then I get a wild hair up my ass and feel the need to explain myself, if for no other reason than to get it out of my system.

Bruce is welcome to comment here, and the truth is, we tend to agree on a great many things (especially when it comes to things like public transport), but his blind loyalty to ideology and his willingness to casually support the war in Iraq, among other things, makes it nearly impossible to try to reach a true consensus. How do you have an intelligent argument with a guy who says you and I both know that the only reason our guys [in Iraq] are dying at all is because we're not fighting the war all-out. If we wanted to, we could reduce Iraq to a slab of sterilized glass in an hour. Yes I do know that, Bruce, but the difference between you and me is that while I'm horrified at that thought, you seem to welcome it. And when I point out that nuking Iran could lead to millions of deaths, your answer to me is simply to lighten up and not be a hayta.

This is not about disagreement. You simply don't understand me, and I don't understand you. And that, I think is the real problem, not just between us, but around the globe. It's become a world where everyone becomes a "hayta" out of pure survival, where everything boils down to it being "us" versus "them". But if the nukes start flying, there may not be anyone left to hate, or be hated. And that's not something I'm feeling particularly "light" about.

"Humbled" U.S. Awaits World's Verdict

Note: I have been working on this, on and off, for some time. This is the headline and the speech, or variation thereof, that I have been imagining. The names of the people and the dates of the events are obviously not to be taken seriously, I am not a seer. But I don't know how we can step back from the brink, and I don't see how any of this is going to be settled without bloodshed, perhaps even on a massive scale. If you click on the image you can see a larger image of the newspaper front page, or you can download a PDF here. Again, I hasten to point out that these are not things that I want to see happen, but simply don't know how they can be avoided.

Text of the President’s speech before a joint session of Congress

Tuesday, August 3, 2032

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, members of Congress, honored guests, my fellow Americans.

Thirty-one years ago, this nation stood alone among its neighbors. With unmatched military might, a flourishing economy, and moral authority respected around the world, we stood at the precipice of great times, our futures limited only by our imaginations. Now, we emerge from the ruin of a great war, the gravest military defeat we have ever suffered. How has this come to pass? How could we, in such a short time, have fallen so low?

The fault is our own. In our pride and arrogance, we failed to learn the lessons of history. We believed we were unique, that what happened to other nations would not happen to us, because we believed that God smiled upon us. We were wrong.

We destroyed our military might in a futile attempt to conquer a region of land we had no right to: squandering the lives of our soldiers by exploiting their sense of patriotism and their devotion and loyalty to their country, and destroying the future for millions of people whose only crime was having been born on land we wanted for our own purposes.

We destroyed our financial security by stealing from the poor and giving to the rich: squandering money that could have benefitted all Americans, rich and poor, in the name of a false ideology and the idolization of wealth and power above all else.

We destroyed the notion that we lived by the rule of law by showing how easily a powerful few could circumvent it, falsely promising security in exchange for their unearned trust and false assurances that they were acting in evryone’s best interests.

We destroyed our national security and squandered the goodwill we had taken decades to build up among our neighbors by arrogantly proclaiming that we had the right to do whatever we wished because we had the might to back it up.

We destroyed our claim of moral authority as, in the name of democracy and freedom, we took away the freedom and democracy of others. We showed the world that we were capable of atrocities as great as the ones that were perpetrated by other on us, proving that in the end we were no different from the tyrants we were trying to liberate them from.

We have destroyed ourselves and squandered our future, and we are chastened. We have failed to live up to the ideals our nation was founded on, we have failed to keep the Republic we were given. We have failed those who came before us, we have failed ourselves, we have failed our children, and jeopardized the very survival of the world, all in the name of greed and hubris. We stand now humbled before the people of the world.

But in the midst of our failure lies great hope, for only in failure can we learn, and become greater than what we were.

We have failed to learn the lessons of history, but we now can plainly see that no single nation, no matter how great its military might, or how noble its purpose, is worthy of empire. No nation has the right to rule over its neighbors, or to war on them because they covet their land or their resources, or to force its culture upon them, or to take away their inalienable right of self-determination.

We have failed to learn the lessons of history, but we now know without a shadow of a doubt that love of money and love of power is the root of all evil, for in the name of money and power we have committed great evil.

We should never forget these lessons. For even as I speak, and as we wait to learn what we will be expected to do to heal the wounds caused by our actions, there are those among us who have failed to understand what has occurred here, and will wish for us to one day return to the ruinous path we have followed. Shun them, for they have no vision. Shun them, for they are morally bankrupt. The evidence of their wrongdoing, and the evil of their vision and the wasteland that that vision has created is clearly before us. We must reject once and for all those who seek power for power’s sake.

Even as I speak, there are those of us who would prefer to forget what we have done, to pretend that this had never happened and that we can turn back the clock to a simpler time. But we should never let them forget it. We cannot turn back the clock, we cannot go back to where we were before. A new day is dawning and if we are to break the cycle of history we must not deny history: we must admit to ourselves the sins and crimes of the past so as to learn and grow.

So let us remember this day so that we will no longer listen to the voices of hate. Let us remember this day so that we will no longer heed those who tell us that one race of people, or one culture, or one method of belief, is inferior and should be destroyed. Let us remember this day as the day we finally recognize that all are created equal, that we are all brothers and sisters sharing the wondrous gift of Earth. And let us remember how fragile this vessel is and care for it as we care for one another.

Let us now ensure that those who have suffered and died did not do so in vain. And as we were magnanimous to the Axis powers in the aftermath of the Second World War, we now ask the nations of the world to be magnanimous to us. For they too have bourne the burden of empire and failed as we have. Let us now work to renew our faith in ourselves and in our institutions, and to work together as neighbors to build a better America and a better world in a spirit of peace and goodwill. And if we commit ourselves to rebuilding our nation, I believe that we will find that the task before us is not so hard as it appears.

Let us not be afraid. Let us face the future with great hope, a hope born of folly but grown into wisdom.

Saving The "Internets"

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As much as I complain about some aspects of the internet: in particular the cliquish nature of the larger, so-called "community" blogs, the straight truth is that it's the most powerful tool people have ever had to communicate with each other. In years past, the only way to send a message to large amounts of people would be to either own a printing press or a radio or television transmitter. The former also required a means of distribution, the latter a license to operate. Either way, it was an expensive proposition. Today, a solid computer can be had for less than $500; expensive yes but nowhere near as pricey or as complicated as the others.

So far, the 'net has proven its worth as a means of communicating, organizing, and fundraising. But all that could change. Up until now, Internet service providers haven't been able to block content they don't like. But ISP's like AT&T, which by the way just bought out BellSouth, which by the way is the ISP used by yours truly, want to begin censoring the content that goes through "it's pipes". In short terms, it's an attempt by corporate America to control something they currently have no control over. And if they have their way they might be able to stop you from reading my blog or from listening to these reports or any of the shows on the Head On Network.

The threat is real, and we can't sit back and let it happen. Because unlike newspapers or radio or TV, the internet is completely interactive; the first truly populist technological breakthrough in history . Let's see to it that it's not the last.

Digby has more. Go read.

Update: McJoan at DailyKos has more info on the bill, as well.

Reminder: The Cup O' Joe Radio Show!

On tonight's Cup O' Joe Radio Show, Joe, joined once more by activist Phyllis Huster, talks about racism and public transport in Atlanta, and the possible indictments of Karl Rove and others in the Bush administration.

Don't forget to call in and talk to Joe at 1-877-4-HEAD-ON (1-877-443-2366)!
It's the Voice of the Working Man from 8-10 PM EST tonight! Exclusively on the Head On Radio Network!

Listen LIVE!

Moving Africans Rapidly Through Atlanta

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(A transcript of today's "Cup O' Joe Report" blogcast)

An article in this week's Atlanta Creative Loafing discusses the plight of MARTA: Atlanta's public transportation system, which has been on the verge of bankruptcy for many years. And at $1.75 per ride, MARTA is among the most expensive in the country, and the fare is due to go up soon. Why is that? Part of the reason is ideology: MARTA gets no funding from the state (an affair that's unique in the country) until it can prove it can "show a profit", which is ridiculous: the benefits of public transportation can't be seen on an accounting sheet.

But the real reason is purely racist: MARTA is known by Atlanta suburbanites as "Moving Africans Rapidly Through Atlanta". And this attitude, veiled through code words, is screamed twice daily at Atlanta drivers on AM radio as they sit in bumper-to-bumper traffic on America's longest commute. And these drivers, many of whom live in counties that refused to have anything to do with MARTA at its beginnings, continue to vote for politicians and policies that will keep them sitting in their cars longer and longer, no matter how much they widen the roads. And with gas approaching three dollars a gallon, that commute is getting more and more expensive.

Despite this, I don't expect Atlanta's suburbanites to change their attitude any time soon: the new trend is to move the suburbs closer to downtown, creating expensive residential areas for those who earn upwards of fifty thousand dollars a year. The other option, no doubt, is to create a new public transportation system, which can be called NNT: I think you can guess what that means.

Time For Another Reality Check

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(A transcript of today's "Cup O' Joe Report" blogcast)

OK people, listen up. I know Bush's numbers are lousy and the polls suggest some good news for us come November, but once again I need to remind you all of how much work we have ahead of us. Even if by some miracle the Democrats manage to take control of Congress in November, can we count on them to do the right thing? That is, will they attack this administration with every legal tool at their disposal with the end result being multiple impeachments and arrests, or will they just solidify their own standings with the money people behind all of it? I'm banking on the latter. Actually I'm banking on the idea that they won't even regain control of Congress to begin with.

Reality check, people: we can't settle this with anything less than a death blow for the Bush administration, the Republican leadership, and the corporate backers who are corrupting both parties. We have to not only remove them from power, but take steps to keep them out, for another century at least. We have to make an example of them: the political equivalent of putting their heads on pikes, so that future generations understand that there is a heavy price to pay for greed and arrogance.

The only thing victory means is that we're finally able to start the real work. Getting rid of the GOP is only the first, and sad to say, the easiest step. If we want to make the world a better place we really have to think on a global scale. Because it's not about saving the Democrats or saving America, it's about saving the entire human race.

The Chicks Are Back In Town

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(A transcript of today's "Cup O' Joe Report" blogcast)

The new CD by The Dixie Chicks, Taking The Long Way, has risen, at the time of this podcast, to number four on the Amazon.com best-seller list, even though the CD's release is still more than a month away. You would think that something this popular would merit some serious attention, and it has, but not in the way you would imagine, if you were hearing about this for the first time.

Over the last few years, the Chicks have been the target of some of the most vicious right-wing attacks since Jane Fonda. They've been kicked off the air in much of the Red South, vilified as traitors, and had death threats made against them. They even went and changed their designation from "country" to "rock" because of it. Not that it's hurt their sales, of course: the Chicks still remain a popular group, and the song Not Ready To Make Nice is a clear indication that, unlike the leadership of the Democratic Party, they're not going to be pushed around. But that's to be expected from a group who wrote a song about killing an abusive husband.

And the most remarkable thing of it is, that all of this started just because lead singer Natalie Maines said at a concert in England that she was "embarrassed that the President was from Texas." That's it. But you know, that's how it is with bullies: they're notoriously thin-skinned. Maybe it's because the people they're trying the hardest to convince are themselves. I guess the louder you yell the easier it is to forget how idiotic it is to support this embarrassment of an administration.

The Angry, Crazy Left

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(A transcript of today's "Cup O' Joe Report" blogcast)

A front-page story in the Washington Post on Sunday focused on the bloggers of the "angry left". What's interesting, however, is that they never really delved into why it is that we're angry. I don't suppose it has anything to do with the economy going down the drain, or millions of people losing their hard-earned pensions and Social Security, or having to work harder and harder for less money. Not to mention the shame of watching America crash and burn, or the idea that nuclear holocaust is now a distinct possibility because the people with their fingers on the button are religious fanatics who think God is out to make war, not love. I guess the so-called "professional" media, engaged as they are with their own careers, aren't aware of these things.

Of course when the Post says we're angry, what they really mean is we're crazy. As if one of us were suddenly going to go out and do something completely insane, like, say, bomb a government building or claim to the Second Coming of Christ, arm our followers to the teeth, then lock ourselves in a compound and dare the FBI to come after us. Or worse, go out and kill tens of thousands of people on false pretenses and blame our opponents when things go wrong. God knows we can't have any of that.

But sadly, what this is really about is the Post being angry at bloggers for pointing out their own shortcomings. Maybe if they spent more time covering the news we wouldn't have so much to be angry about.

Tonight On The Cup O' Joe Radio Show

On tonight's Cup O' Joe Radio Show, Joe talks more about racism in this country and how it's used as a tool to keep us fighting among ourselves while the few at the top conspire to rob us all blind! Also the really stupid things people do at work!

And don't forget to call in and talk to Joe at 1-877-4-HEAD-ON (1-877-443-2366)!

It's the Voice of the Working Man from 8-10 PM EST tonight! Exclusively on the Head On Radio Network!

Listen LIVE!

Deja Vu All Over Again

As I was resurrecting the old Pax Liberalis site, I ran across the following political cartoons that came out right around and immediately after the invasion of Iraq. Click on the thumbnails for a larger picture. Look at them first then read the text below. I'll wait.

Done? Good. Now obviously we never invaded Syria, so the cartoonists were wrong on that prediction, at least at that time. I certainly think the administration wanted to go to Syria, and I think they still want to go there, but they got bogged down in Iraq, and now the attention is turning towards Iran, though why they think they can be successful in Iran is beyond me. They certainly can't invade, and dropping nukes is going to screw everybody up, including the Saudis, who have a lot of fundamentalists themselves. If the Saud royal family falls because we nuke Iran, look for things to get really screwed up. If, as Greg Palast wrote, the quagmire in Iraq is intentional, so as to keep Iraq's oil off the market and therefore increase the value of Saudi and Kuwaiti oil, then if the Saudis fall it kind of blows the lid off the whole scheme. I don't think even American suburbanites, who are Bush's most loyal supporters, would care for the idea of five to ten dollars a gallon for gas.

Invading Iraq was a war crime: aggressive wars are illegal according to the UN charter, which we signed (and according to the Constitution have the force of law). Nuking Iran would only add to it, same with Syria if that's what they have in mind next. I don't know how long the rest of the world, fearing nuclear fire at the hands of the criminally insane, will tolerate this behavior; I think they expected us to get rid of this administration in 2004 and when we didn't, they weren't sure what to do. I think they're just waiting to see what happens before they make any decisions, collectively or as individual nations. But the evidence is very clear: these are war crimes, the only question is whether the will is there to make the arrests.

The decision on Iran has probably already been made, has been made some time ago. It's possible they're already planning on bombing Syria and Jordan as well. Maybe. Hard to tell with this crowd. Now it's just a question of timing. The spin, as we see from the cartoons, is pretty much the same as ever. I don't doubt the hardcore cultists are a hundred percent behind it all. What's a few thousand more dead brown people? And I bet FOX and the rest even have graphics ready for when the nukes fly. I think of it all and I just get nauseous. Again, it's a good thing I don't drink...

The Taxman Cometh

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(A transcript of today's "Cup O' Joe Report" blogcast)

Well, it's tax time again, that is, it's tax time for those of you who wait until the last minute to send in your taxes. I usually send them in as soon as I get my W2 forms, that way I get my return faster. In all the years I've done my taxes, I've always gotten a return: that of course doesn't mean that I never paid taxes, just that I always paid more than I should. I've been criticized by some people for that, because they say I'm letting the government have my money all this time. It never really bothered me, though: I don't have the anti-government hysteria a lot of people do, though I certainly don't care for government when Republicans are in charge.

Nobody, including me, really likes to pay taxes. At best we just accept them as a necessary evil. And nobody likes everything their tax money goes to: some people don't like it going to social programs, I don't like it going to pay for the military-industrial complex that's making the world a more dangerous place. It would be nice if we were all politically aware enough to force the government to be more responsible with our money, but, to paraphrase Donald Rumsfeld, you have to fight with the citizens you have, not the citizens you want.

What I don't understand is working class people who vote for Republicans on the assumption that Republicans are for tax cuts for all, instead of tax cuts for the rich. I for one have never bought into this "trickle down" nonsense: those of us at the bottom know exactly what it is that "trickles down." Unfortunately, however, stupid is as stupid votes.

A Couple Of Quick Notes

I'm home today feeling a little under the weather: a bad stomach from something I ate yesterday. My throat is sore, so there may or may not be a new Report today, if there is one, there is: if not, there's not. Them's the breaks.

Over the course of the next few weeks, some of you may notice that the archives will begin to go back further: that's because I have slowly begun the process of resurrecting some of the more relevant posts from my previous blog, Pax Liberalis. It's a time-consuming process and I'm in no particular rush.

What The F&#k Is The World Coming To?

So anyway, this "person" (for want of a better term) emails me asking if I am the same Joe Vecchio she used to work for, and that I probably wasn't, because that Joe Vecchio wouldn't have the same "warped" views that I have. I replied that I wasn't the Joe Vecchio she was looking for, and if my views were so warped, how did she find out about me anyway? She responded that she had googled the name, and that I shouldn't "flatter myself".

So someone writes me an insulting email then gets snotty when I respond. My answer wasn't even particularly rude. It's one thing for a conversation to turn sour, it's another when the person just walks in spewing insults. What's the world coming to, anyway?

I think the trolls were more fun when they were coherent. No, I take that back, they were never coherent to begin with.

The Rise And Fall Of The American Republic

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(A transcript of today's "Cup O' Joe Report" blogcast)

So the Bush administration is denying that they intend to launch a "surgical" nuclear strike on Iran. These are, of course, the same kinds of "denials" we heard from them in the months preceding the war on Iraq, a war this administration had wanted since they day it strolled into office, a war they had been actively planning even while they were denying they were doing so.

I don't know what's more remarkable: that we have a government that is planning on carrying out an unprovoked nuclear strike against a country that has never attacked us, and whose internal affairs we have interfered with for more than half a century, or that no small amount of Americans will actively cheer it on. Worse, the timing of the strikes makes it seem pretty obvious that this is yet another political ploy, meant to fire up the Republican base for the 2006 Congressional elections. I just can't fathom the thought processes that enable people to seriously consider killing tens of thousands of people just to win an election. I just can't.

You read about these things happening in history books, but somehow you never figure that it's going to happen to us. I wonder if I'll still be alive when they release the book "The Rise And Fall Of The American Republic." In less than five years, the United States has gone from being the most powerful and respected nation on Earth to an international pariah whose leaders are little better than criminals in the eyes of the rest of the world. You know, it's a good thing I don't drink. But maybe it's time I started.

You Can Save The Neighborhood, But You Can't Live There

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(A transcript of today's "Cup O' Joe Report" blogcast)

A recent article in the NY Times points out a potential problem in some mega-rich communities where housing is so expensive that teachers, policemen, and firemen are in short supply because no one who earns that kind of salary can afford to live there. The article mentions a group of volunteers who, with the help of Habitat For Humanity, are refurbishing an old home that's on land that was purchased by the county for a water storage tank. This home would be for a fireman.

While naturally I applaud the people who are doing this, I think it says something about the society we now live in that teachers, policemen, firemen, and other civil servants, who are an integral part of any community, need to live in an old house fixed up by local volunteers and Habitat For Humanity. It demonstrates clearly how little we value the people who provide these necessary services. And it demonstrates what great lengths the very rich will go to to make sure they get the services they need and still be able to distance themselves from those providing them.

I don't begrudge anyone having great wealth, but when it gets to the point where some begin to believe that more money makes you more human, and therefore that less money makes you less human, then it begins to pose a threat to everyone, rich and poor alike. Whether they want to believe it or not, the richest of the rich need the social infrastructure just as much as do the poorest of the poor. If it collapses for one group of people it can collapse for others.

It's Fear That Divides Us

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(A transcript of today's "Cup O' Joe Report" blogcast)

An old nemesis of mine, commenting on the blog, made it a point to say that, while he wishes me great success in the future, he looks forward to the "continued failure of my political ideas." This confuses me, because I don't happen to see anything wrong with my political ideas. I believe, for example, in free and fair elections because I believe that we have the right and the duty to govern ourselves, and elections are the process by which we achieve that. I believe our society needs a balance of power between government and private enterprise, and a free press that isn't afraid to challenge either one. These are all things that, in principle, most people would agree with regardless of party affiliation.

But I think there is a fundamental misunderstanding about what kind of world we all want to live in that is intentionally perpetrated by people whose only interest is their own ambitions. It's the assorted warmongers and powerbrokers of the world that get us to fight among ourselves for their benefit: if we were to be honest with ourselves and stop assuming that our so-called leaders had our best interests in mind, we would find that we have far more in common with each other than we have been led to believe.

Unfortunately, fear is a powerful weapon, and too many of us are perfectly willing to be manipulated. When we give in to our fears, we give up our rights, our freedoms, our money, and the better part of our humanity. Maybe one day soon we'll realize that, as Roosevelt said, we have nothing to fear but fear itself.

Cup O' Joe Show LIVE Premier tonight!

Hey gang, it's finally here, thanks to all my friends at the Head On Radio Network and the White Rose Society! The Cup O' Joe Radio Show will be broadcast live from the First Amendment Bunker in beautiful Decatur, Georgia tonight: that's Saturday, April 8th, 2006 from 8-10 PM Eastern Standard Time.

Tonight we're going to talk about Republican political machine and the numerous, numerous Republicans who have been convicted, indicted, or are under investigation for corruption and/or sexual crimes...it's a long list and I doubt we'll get to them all, but we'll sure as hell try. We'll also be discussing the incident with Rep. Cynthia McKinney and what that says about continued racism in America today.

My special guest in the studio with me will be activist Phyllis Huster of Count Paper Ballots!

And for the first time, you can call in to talk to me! The number is 1-877-4-HEAD-ON (1-877-443-2366).

Stream From The Archives!


Update: Everything went great, and I want to thank everyone who made it all possible! I'm looking forward to doing this every week!

Why Do People Still Trust Bush?

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(A transcript of today's "Cup O' Joe Report" blogcast)

President Bush's approval ratings are down to 36%, even on FOX news. But that number, while remarkably low for any President since we began taking these polls, is remarkably high when you consider how incredibly corrupt and incompetent this administration and the Republican leadership has been. There have been more than a dozen indictments of high-ranking Republicans, including very important people like the Vice-President's Chief Of Staff "Scooter" Libby and Republican House Leader Tom DeLay. These aren't small time players here, these are people who sit at or near the very top of the pyramid of power that is the Republican Party.

And yet, despite all the corruption, despite the lower quality of life, the almost criminally inept response to Hurricane Katrina, events in Iraq, high gas prices, etc., more than one third of people polled still support Mr. Bush. Why, I ask myself, is this so? I think a lot of these people are simply misinformed: they get their news from a very narrow source, or they don't get any news at all. But probably half of that 36% choose to trust Mr. Bush's word simply because he claims to be a "Christian".

Trust is an important thing. It can mean placing your reputation, your livelihood, or even your life in someone's hand. As a liberal, I trust in the social contract to help me survive when times are bad, and we all have to trust technology we don't understand because so much of our daily lives depend on it. But trust should be earned, not just assumed. Mr. Bush has done little to earn the trust of his followers. I wonder when they'll begin to recognize this.

Tammany Tom? Not So Fast

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(A transcript of today's "Cup O' Joe Report" blogcast)

It would be nice to celebrate that fact that Tom DeLay has been forced to resign, but somehow it all seems rather hollow. Yes, the right wing has lost a major player, but the machine grinds on. DeLay hasn't been convicted of any crimes, at least not yet, and all indications are that he's going to remake himself into a preacher and move to another division of the right-wing money-making cartel. So unless he gets serious jail time, he'll never have to worry about putting food on his family.

I've said this before, but it bears repeating: DeLay has been compared by some to Boss Tweed, who was the corrupt leader of Tammany Hall, the political machine that ran New York City for over a century. Tweed eventually wound up in prison, where he died, and Tammany remains the poster child for corrupt political organizations in this country. But comparisons to Tweed and Tammany Hall are unfair...to Tweed and Tammany. Because even when people knew how corrupt Tammany was, they still supported them, because Tammany did things to help people out.

In contrast, the policies of Mr. DeLay and the Republican leadership do nothing but hurt their most loyal constituents. They set themselves up like a protection racket: scaring people with phony enemies and pretending that only the Republicans can save them. They do their job so well that sometimes people vote for legislation that makes their lives far worse. I hope someday that working class Republicans wake up and realize they're being scammed, but I'll be brutally honest: I'm not holding my breath.

Play Nice, Children

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(A transcript of today's "Cup O' Joe Report" blogcast)

It never ceases to amaze me how childish people can be. I was on a mailing list about election fraud, and I say was because I asked my name to be removed, that started out talking about a serious subject then quickly degenerated into insults and childishness. If you want to know why the left is losing, this is precisely it. No one can say anything without six people jumping on them because they phrased something the wrong way or mentioned some atrocity that should never be mentioned in any kind of context, or God forbid had the temerity to tell people that their little pet issue does not occupy the center of the friggin' universe.

What happened on the mailing list was very simple: one of the posters mentioned something about how we should spend less time trying to convince people that previous elections were fraudulent and more time trying to get the Diebold machines out so we won't have any more of them, and he was immediately attacked by people who thought they could somehow go back in time and reverse it. News flash: we know there was a lot of election fraud. And while what happened before was important and should be investigated, we have to fix the problems now so they won't happen again. And yelling at the people who point that out isn't helping.

We need to stop this childish behavior. It's counterproductive and wasteful. If we put as much effort into fighting the right as we put into fighting each other, the entire administration would be behind bars by now. So grow up.

I Win, Again! Or Do I?

While everyone who won a Koufax Award is congratulating themselves, I just received word that, for the third straight year, I have won the prestigious "Iggy" award for "Most Ignored Blog". Winning this award is both a bad and good thing; as it represents how a solid writer and podcaster such as myself gets ignored because "playing the game" is more important than content, and a good thing because it means I'm saying things that truly make people uncomfortable.

The problem I have with the left-wing blogosphere is that it's become one big circle-jerk. You're expected to do something to draw some attention to yourself, but when you do, you get yelled at for being a "blog whore". I've been doing this blog for more than two years now and a few of the big bloggers know me, but they hardly ever link to me, even though I put out a pretty good product on a regular basis. My problem, as always, is that I won't spend eight to ten hours a day writing messages on message boards and arguing with morons on both sides of the spectrum: from ignorant, obnoxious louts on the right, to self-important blowhards on the left who look for insults in every post whether they're there or not and try to make a name for themselves by putting people down.

That doesn't mean to say that I think the people who won the Koufax awards are a bunch of stuck-up snobs: I just happen to know that at least one of the award winners, namely Digby, who won for Best Writing, truly deserves recognition.

Meantime, I have no intention of changing how I do things here. Of course I hope more people start to read this blog regularly (and of course I'll always bitch that it's never enough) because I think what I have to say is important, but I know exactly what will happen if I start making changes in order to please people. I think the fact that I remain mired in the 100-hits-a-day range proves to me yet again that marketing is more important than content.

And if you think I'm being harsh now, if the elections in 2006 go the way I think they will, you ain't heard nothin' yet.

There Are No Immigrants

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(A transcript of today's "Cup O' Joe Report" blogcast)

I guess since attacking gays for wanting to get married has become passe`, the Republicans have decided that immigrants are going to be the scapegoat of choice, the issue they'll use to get their already too-wound-up supporters fired up for the 2006 Congressional elections. Now, being the grandson of immigrants, I'm probably a little biased. As far as I'm concerned we should let 'em all in. OK maybe that's not necessarily such a great idea, but then again I'm not planning on running for office! This issue is hardly a new one. The Irish, the Italians, the Jews, any number of immigrants coming into America have faced prejudice and hatred from those who were here before them. I'm not saying that this is a good thing, just something we should come to expect. Businesses love to pit these different groups against themselves, making them compete to see who is willing to work the hardest for the lowest wages.

To borrow a phrase from myself, here's the plain truth: There are no Americans. There are no Mexicans. There are no Iraqis. There are only working people who have nothing to sell but their own sweat and blood, and who depend on the social infrastructure to survive, and there are those who want to manipulate those people for their own ambitions. And as we move into a more interconnected global economy, we will eventually realize another, greater truth: there are no immigrants. This planet is home to all of us. And what the rich and powerful fear the most is that we'll stop fighting each other and turn our attention to them. When that day comes, the world will change.

Radio Show To Go LIVE Next Saturday!

We got all the technical snafus worked out today, so next Saturday, April 8th, 2006 at 8 pm, will be the premier of the LIVE Cup O' Joe Radio Show on the Head On Radio Network! I'll have more details as the week progresses!