Cruelty to Pooches

I know dogs hate to be laughed at and ususally do not like to wear costumes, even on Halloween. Here is a site with over 50 of the funniest dressed up dogs I've ever seen. Enjoy!


(via The Presurfer)

Jesus W. Christ

You Tube just pulled all the Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert clips (h/t Susie), so what's left for the left?

Bush and Jesus


A Genesis Tribute


This classic tears me up


Oh wait, maybe they're not all gone...

Arnold Can't Crack 50 Percent in the Polls?

The California Majority Report
Why Can't Arnold Crack 50 Percent in the Polls?
October 26, 2006 @ 9:12 AM, by Steven Maviglio

You're known by 100 percent of the voters. Your job approval rating is in the mid-50's and you've run a near-perfect campaign. You've outspent your opponent by 3-1. And you're an incumbent that has swept just about every newspaper editorial endorsement in the state.

Wouldn't you think you would be able to poll 50 percent in a head-to-head matchup with your opponent two weeks before the election? You would, unless you were Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Today's PPIC numbers give the Governor a comfortable 48-30 percent lead over Phil Angelides. Zogby had Arnold up 9 a few days ago, and Rasmussen had him up by 7. Only one public poll ever has had Arnold over 50 percent,and that's the SurveyUSA poll, which most news outlets don't find credible. (Their new poll is due Thursday).

In all those polls, the race has remained basically unchanged during the past few weeks -- weeks where the Governor has been dominating the airwaves, drawing banks of cameras to his state-financed campaign events, and blitzing voters with direct mail (a Democratic woman friend of mine in Placer County has gotten 5 -- count 'em 5 -- mail pieces in the last week).

Certainly that's not great news for Angelides; he needs to close the gap. But there is a glimmer of hope, as the Governor can't seem to crack the 50 percent ceiling.

The pollsters and pundits I talked to today say there are a few reasons for that.

While Arnold has certainly recovered from last year's special election debacle, the 'trust' factor isn't there yet, they say. Voters are uneasy about their support for him. It's an inch deep and not even a mile wide.

They still don't know much about Angelides, and his negatives have been driven sky-high by the Governor's record-shattering negative ad campaign. Hence his failure to gain any bump (except for the PPIC's +12 percent movement from Latinos, no doubt the result of the Governor's "assimilation" comments about Mexican-Americans).

So while they aren't wild about Arnold, Angelides hasn't won their vote either. And time is running out.

Arnold has been acting like a green moderate, twitching about -- maybe he has gone off his meds. After all he is an actor.

Voting for Schwarzenegger?

Before you do check out Dave Letterman's: Top Ten Questions To Ask Yourself Before Voting For Schwarzenegger

10. 'Do I feel comfortable having a governor who oils his chest?'

9. 'Have I thoroughly considered Stallone, Van Damme and Seagal?'

8. 'Is 'Come on, it'll be funny' a good reason to vote for someone?'

7. 'Has he done enough to make California a laughingstock?'

6. 'How can I be sure he'll be just as Schwarzeneggy this time around?'

5. 'Can I bench-press more today than I could three years ago?'

4. 'What would Predator do?'

3. 'Will he cut taxes on steroids?'

2. 'He won't embarrass us, will he?'

1. 'Have I lost my mind?'

In other news, Mary Carey has dropped out of the race.

Rumsfeld is inspired by God ?

I grew up quite religious. First as a Catholic then part of a Bible-reading fundalmentalist group. At age 10 in could name every book of the Bible (King James version, of course) faster than anyone else in our junior bible study group.

When I grew older and matured, I noticed that their political activism had little to do with the message of helping the poor, protecting the weak, or even charity.

I saw the hypocrisy between the private and political messages that leaders in the ministry expoused. Using God for personal aims is plain wrong and, if you believe, there is a special place in hell whether you go for the Dantesque version or the Karma they created for themselves.

That why this crap terrifies me: Top US general says Rumsfeld is inspired by God:

MIAMI (AFP) - The top US general defended the leadership of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, saying it is inspired by God.

"He leads in a way that the good Lord tells him is best for our country," said Marine General Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

For some Christian groups there is God, and there is the god of this world, i.e. Satan.

So is Rumsfeld working for the Prince of Peace or working for the gods of wars and pestilence?

Wolves in sheep's clothing and all that...

Prop 89- Must See TV

This is a show worth watching tonight:


My two favorite reasons for passing this legislation are:

1) It puts the idea of running for political office back in the reach of the common person. Enough with the wealthy and well-connected, already.

2) It would cut down on the amount of time politicians spend on fundraising and allow them to to do their jobs - represent the people who put them in office and not be beholden to their donors!

5 Stages of Republican Scandal

From the reader PT at Talking Points Memo

5 Stages of Republican Scandal

1. “I have not been informed of any investigation or that I am a target”

2. “I am cooperating fully, but this whole thing is a political ploy by the Democrats”

3. “I’m SHOCKED by the mistakes made by my subordinates”

4. “I’m deeply sorry for letting down my friends and family. I now recognize that I am an alcoholic. I will be entering rehab immediately, so I have no time for questions”

5. “Can I serve my time at Eglin Federal Penitentiary (aka Club Fed)?”

If you've ever wondered why politicians avoid raising the penalties on white collar crime it's because those are the crimes they're most like to commit.

Glitch-Free, or out of Touch?

Just another development in the Diebold saga of incompetence. This time in Maryland:

Apparently Diebold has gotten the machines to work relatively well together, but only when using a mouse. If the touchscreen is tapped, the machine loses contact with its peers. Diebold is touting this mouse thing as a fix, and is offering to provide 5,500 mice for their e-poll books if state officials in Maryland give the go-ahead. Unfortunately, during a recent mock election, a poll-worker tapped the touchscreen despite repeated warnings to the contrary, and screwed up the system, requiring a reboot which took 30 seconds. Critics say this fault could allow some voters to vote twice, because if the machine loses contact with its fellows when the voter checks in, their voting status might not be registered.

See it works, just don't touch it. Better yet, don't even look at it...

Sailing the Ship of State

Newsflash -
In New Poll on Ethics, Public Ranks Congress Lower Than Pirates:

Bloodthirsty Bandits of the High Seas 'Twice as Trustworthy' as Lawmakers, Survey Says

In a troubling omen for the upcoming midterm elections, a new poll on ethics released today indicates that the public for the first time ranks congressmen lower than pirates.

The poll, which was conducted by the University of Minnesota's Opinion Research Institute and asked likely voters to rate one hundred different professions according to their ethics, showed congressmen near the bottom of the list, besting only crack dealers and lawyers.

But the fact that pirates, who have not fared well in earlier incarnations of the ethics poll, were considered twice as trustworthy as members of Congress sends an alarming message to lawmakers seeking reelection this November.

'Over and over again, pirates received higher marks than congressmen in this survey,' said Crandall Pritchard, who supervised the poll for the University of Minnesota. 'We heard comments like, 'Sure, pirates make people walk the plank and will slit their throats for a doubloon, but at least they would keep their hands off congressional pages.'

Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, under fire of late because of the congressional page scandal, said that the poll showing that pirates are more ethical than congressmen is mush ado about nothing: 'I don't think this reflects the unpopularity of Congress so much as it reflects the surging popularity of pirates.'

(via Other Crap)

Pages and Pages of GOP Hypocrisy

Last week, Paul Begala writing on Washington Monthly's new blog, SHOWDOWN 'O6, pointed out the main repercussion of the Mark Foley (R-lol;) scandal is that it shatterded the myth of GOP moral superiority:

I’ve long believed each party has its wrongheaded conceit. Many Democrats have a need to feel intellectually superior, while many Republicans have a need to feel morally superior. Both aggravate the hell out of me (a not-so-bright sinner); neither is remotely true.

But let us now say that as of the Third Day of the Tenth Month in the Year of Our Lord 2006, the Conservative Myth of Moral Superiority has been crushed.

ABC News reports that as long as five years ago, key Republican staffers knew that Foley was a potential danger to children, so they warned pages to stay away from him. And as we’ve all learned in the past few days, House GOP leaders from Dennis Hastert (R-Fat Hypocrite) on down knew something about Foley’s inappropriate behavior and did nothing.

GOP Congressional Campaign Chair Tom Reynolds (R-Soon-to-be-Minority) learned that Foley had been sending inappropriate emails to an underage boy who had been a page in the spring of this year. He did not call the cops. Did not call the FBI. Did not even call the toothless hounds at the House Ethics Committee. But he did take $100,000 from Foley for the NRCC, a contribution the New York Daily News called “unusually large.” Think about that. Reynolds knew Foley was having some sort of inappropriate contact with a child, but he took $100,000 from him. And his spokesliar says he’d be willing to take the rest of Foley’s remaining $2.7 million war chest. Reynolds’ flak didn’t say the money ought to go for counseling and compensation for the children and families this animal harmed. He said Reynolds would like to get his greedy, slimy political mitts on it.

Why? Power, baby. As Henry Kissinger (R-War Criminal) once said, “Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac.” Like his colleagues in the GOP elite, Reynolds is so enamored with power, so seduced by the money that buys power, so enthralled with the Republicans’ one-party rule that he turned a blind eye to a red flag every dad in America would have noticed.

Back when I was in high school, a very popular teacher and head of the athletic program alledgedly propositioned a student during an away weekend game. The parents complained and he was gone by Monday morning, never to seen again. Boy, the school buzzed with gossip that week.

This was back in the feel good 70's. I can only imagine if Hastert was our principal and what would have happened if he let the teacher stay on.

The mob of parents would have gotten together to macrame a noose and strung 'em both up.

Begala goes on to say:

The Capitol needs a change. Hell, it needs to be fumigated. And as the stench and filth of GOP sleaze slowly oozes away, let us never forget that these slimeballs, these dirtbags, these moral midgets think they’re better than you and me.

Before you say A pox on both houses, think about this: the party of morals just doesn't seem to have any -- Meanwhile the party of intellectuals actually has a few.

Like most people, I find people who act like they are smarter than me annoying, but then again, they may be right. Yet when self-righteous pricks (and prickettes)lecture me it is beyond infuriating. Especially when these fanatical pharisees are mocking the splinters in my eyes while they are blinded because of all the timber in their own.

These GOP moralists a just a bunch of jackanpes. Glen Greenwald pointed this out in how Hastert ran for cover and absolution to the puss bag of morals, Rush Limbaugh :

If the term "moral degenerate" has any validity and can be fairly applied to anyone, there are few people who merit that term more than Rush Limbaugh. He is the living and breathing embodiment of moral degeneracy, with his countless overlapping sexual affairs, his series of shattered, dissolved marriages, his hedonistic and illegal drug abuse, his jaunts, with fistfulls of Viagra (but no wife), to an impoverished Latin American island renowned for its easy access to underage female prostitutes.

For the last week I have been studying this train wreck and haunting the right-wing blogs; wading through the muck their commenters left behind. Deflection, delusion and generally denigrating the Democratic Party was the standard fare (like always) but I was struck by their fervent faith that it did not matter as the biggest threat in the world (and of all time) was terrorists were coming to convert them to Islam and only the Godly GOP could save them.

The egotism of their world view is compounded by their tunnel vision and, maybe outstripped by their panic.


(all emphasis added)