Danny Doom’s Booze Cabinet

Salon’s Glenn Greenwald manages to do it again — every day this guy is all over it — and I am deeply impressed. His columns are always way long, usually updated twice or more, and so devastatingly right on the mark that I find him exhausting yet brilliant. If you have the time, I highly recommend his daily columns/postings.

Ouch. Keith Olbermann takes Condi Rice to school. It’s all facts and no heart. Actually, it’s pretty sweet.

Victory was not yet declared, but today a triumphant Dick Cheney said that the Taliban is “on the run” and “in its last throes,” as he hid in a bomb shelter in Afghanistan. “We’ve got ‘em right where we want ‘em,” said Dick, as the smoke began to clear and at least 14 dead bodies were lifted away from the scene. “What you see here is exactly why we went to war in Iraq. And it’s obviously a great success.”

Back home, Laura Bush demurred. “If it weren’t for that one bombing a day, I think you would see that the streets are actually very clean, and paved in shiny gold bricks. But the media doesn’t show that. I will most certainly come back one day to teach the children needlepoint.” When asked about Afghanistan Mrs. Bush smiled blankly and nodded her head. “Iraq, Afghanistan, what’s the difference, really?”

As he awaited the cleanup of the rubble in his securely guarded shelter, the VP began to build up a head of steam. “Once they let me out of this bunker I will show them what kind of a force they are reckoning with,” he began to rant, and then lifted a dirty hankerchief to his brow and dabbed the sweat, forcing a crooked smile before disappearing back into the darkness.

Update:

The death toll was eventually raised to 23 in the bombing that took place in Afghanistan yesterday. It also was notable in that Dick Cheney experienced his first ever “action,” having deferred from the draft five times during the Vietnam War (he turned 18 in 1959). Congratulations to Mr. Cheney for this remarkable service. Although whisked quickly to safety by armed agents into a bomb shelter, it may be stated that, for a few hair-raising seconds, Dick found himself in a combat zone situation.

I used to ride/wait for the worst bus in the world to get to the Blue Line (the infamous “50″). Now I simply walk to the Blue Line train and ride what has become The Worst CTA Line Ever. I was on this train last Tuesday, stuck at Damen for half an hour, just like the guy in this article:

On Tuesday, for example, defective rail equipment made contact with the third car of a southbound Blue Line train approaching the Chicago Station at the height of the morning rush period.

The incident stopped all O’Hare branch Blue Line trains inbound to the Loop for 33 minutes, the CTA said.

Many riders have lost patience.

“I’d like to hear today’s excuse for poor service,” Andrew Pekala said of Tuesday’s delays. “Last week it was the snow and cold weather. Today it was almost 35 degrees yet there I sat, stuck on a Blue Line train at Damen for a half-hour because of `equipment issues.’ I am tired of the same old excuses.”

One reason to vote against Daley tomorrow. There are more, here. But, as the title of the article says, he’s going to win anyway.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go on an overnight drunk, and in 10 days I’m going to set out to find the shark that ate my friend and destroy it. Anyone who wants to tag along is more than welcome.

As usual, I only saw one or two of the movies nominated, and after a few bottles of wine and some cheese and crackers what kind of insight can I offer? Shit, I forgot to eat dinner. That much is apparent after three/four hours of Oscars, as I’m hallucinating about taking a cross-country journey with Beyonce and Nicole Kidman. All I’m saying is, Jack Nicholson better be bald for his next role because I’m not ready to eulogize the greatest actor of all time. He’s okay, right?

This has to be the first Academy Awards that I watched from start to finish, and I’m not sure why. The elephant garlic, Italian bread and port wine cheese and crackers had to have something to do with it, as did the kangaroo wine. But I thought Ellen was pretty good. I like her girlfriend too, uh huh. There’s a terrible post-show with Richard Roeper and some other guy on right now as I drink the last drops and yes, of course they gave it to Scorcese to make up for Goodfellas and Raging Bull. I haven’t seen The Departed yet but I’m sure it’s genius as usual.

Where have you gone, Roger Ebert?

I did not need to see Al Gore or his film to realize that we missed out on having a great president for the past six years. But his film won and as he said, it has nothing to do with politics, despite the pathological need of the right-wing nuts to demonize his efforts (I said that, not him). Now my girlfriend is blurting out random thoughts mid-sleep and there are cats everywhere. The wine is gone and it’s time to sleep it off.

The clip at this link on Andrew Sullivan’s site is, as he says, impressive. Note the date, 11.25.2002, and the clear-headedness of the speaker. Not only does he disagree with the war resolution vote but also has the foresight to imagine the events that may follow if such actions are taken. The prescience regarding civil war scenarios in this interview serves to highlight Mr. Bush’s total lack of regard for history, in that it was obvious even back then how this would unfold. How could this have occurred with such little preparation by the masters of war? If the current president had any such imagination, or diligence, we would very likely be looking at a very different situation in Iraq. And how many lives not lost?

The speaker, of course, is Mr. Barack Obama.

loans home acquired auloan mortgage processor florida administratorloan adoption grantelectronic approval advance loan cashdairy loans agricultureaircraft bank loanloans aircraft bankruptcyloan airplane Map

It’s funny. I scoured right-wing nuthouse The Corner today for anything about today’s front page story in the Chicago Tribune (and any other newspaper you might have seen) and I can’t seem to find a mention. It’s the one about that British withdrawal from Iraq and what it really means for Tony Blair, and the city of Basra (where the British troops were largely concentrated). Not even a mention! Maybe this is why:

Though the security situation in Basra is far better than in Baghdad, it could hardly be described as satisfactory.

In Basra, the local government is controlled by a coalition of fundamentalist parties who have enforced a form of Islamic law. Few women dare go out without a head scarf. Secularists say they don’t feel safe from the periodic assassinations of those who challenge the official line. The threat of kidnapping has put Basra off-limits to Westerners unless they stay within British compounds.

“Those who have their own opinions, and those who don’t have an Islamic attitude, they are in danger,” said Adel al-Thamery, who runs a journalism training program in Basra. “And Basra is not a safe place for foreigners at all. There are gangs on the roads, and there are political factions who use violence to achieve their goals, and then of course there are our neighbors, the Iranians.”

Iran’s influence is heavily felt in Iraq’s second-largest city, just a few miles from the Iranian border, and Iran is considered the dominant power in the city, he said. “The British have never controlled Basra,” he said.

Ah ha. I see. Sounds like they’ve got that under control! So this is what Bush and Cheney call progress? I can see why The Corner, and any right-wing nut, would ignore this story.

As for the Pentagon, in its most recent quarterly report to Congress, it listed Basra as one of five cities outside Baghdad where violence remained “significant,” and said the region was one of only two “not ready for transition” to Iraqi authorities. Well, who you gonna believe anyway?

Perhaps Mr. Howard wants to step up and fill the void left by the coming British withdrawal?

Not a chance, mate. But what does this mean, when Mr. Bush says that the British leaving is a sign of success, and Mr. Cheney says it’s a sign of progress? In fact then, wouldn’t bringing the American troops home be a sign of success as well? I do not understand why it is a success for one and not the other. It would appear then that the right plan is to bring them home. Things are going great, says Cheney.

One thing is for sure, when it’s finally time for our troops to come home it will be because Mr. Bush says so, and not the Democrats. The conditions may not change one bit, but you can guarantee that one. One day it will change, magically, from “retreat is not an option” to “mission accomplished (part II),” and the right-wing nuts will suddenly insist that it’s the right thing to do. “Cut-and-run? That’s only what we call it when the Democrats say it!”

As for the conditions, how is the “surge” going anyway?

Blackhawk down and a dirty bomb today. Hey! They finally have chemical weapons in Iraq! Sounds like “progress” to me. No wonder the British are getting out.

The British are leaving! They obviously want to lose in Iraq! America? We’re gonna stay until the bitter end! I mean, uh, until “victory” is at hand. Even if that means another hundred or another thousand come home in flag-draped caskets. This is because we have the stupidest motherf’er ever as president.

Kurt would have been 40? This is all just preposterous. How old does that make the rest of us? Almost that old? No friggin way.

video 3gp sexfilms adult sexporno movies amateursex aggressive300 sex scene videosex amateur freeteen video alljobs 13 teen up Map

Mr. Townshend is putting his memoirs together on blogger. That is cool, but I like that he lists The Life Aquatic as one of his favorite films. This movie just gets better and better every time you see it. What’s this Wes Anderson up to next?

“I’ve never seen so many electric jellyfish in all my life!”

Australian Prime Minister John Howard is hilarious. Like in a “beloved-croc-hunter-getting-fatally-stung-by-a-sting-ray-kind-of-way.” Crikey! Good news for Barack Obama: someone’s scared. When a conservative prime minister (albeit a Bush lackey like Howard) starts calling out a just-announced Democratic presidential candidate, you know there’s fear in Right-Wing Nutball Land.

“If I were running al-Qaida in Iraq, I would put a circle around March 2008 and be praying as many times as possible for a victory, not only for Obama but also for the Democrats.”

Really? You’re gonna stick with that? That old rehash from the last election? OK, tough guy. I get it: voting Democrat means voting FOR terror. Blah, blah, blah… Is this really the prime minister of Australia engaging in such intelligent discourse? I expect this from the Apologists on Fox, but really, Mr. Howard? Now listen up, mate:

“If Prime Minister Howard truly believes what he says, perhaps his country should find its way to contribute more than just 1,400 troops so some American troops can come home,” Obama said. “It’s easy to talk tough when it’s not your country or your troops making the sacrifices.”

Nicely put. Proud to have Mr. Obama from Illinois.

UPDATE:

Glenn Greenwald, newest member of Salon.com, expands upon the Obama-Howard debacle. I’m kind of bummed that Greenwald has moved, as now it is required to watch an ad before entering the site (or a subscription), but he is such a good writer and I suppose this will bring him to an even larger audience. Or not, I don’t know. I used to read Salon all the time and now I never do. Now I’m back.

I am a “24″ watcher. I’ve watched all 5 seasons on dvd and am now watching the 6th season in “real time,” for the first time. It sucks, watching tv in real time with commercials and whole weeks passing by to wait for another episode. I don’t agree with that. But here I am, doing it.

Yesterday I read this article in the New Yorker about the right-wingin’ nut who’s behind the show, and it’s almost enough to make you want to stop watching. But then, it’s just a tv show. At least, for me it is. Some people, though, like to have their feelings vindicated by the events that take place on the show. Like torturing people to get information. Now I see that Sullivan has written about it today (if only I was getting paid to blog, I wouldn’t been all over it yesterday!).

The thing is, besides the torture stuff they’ve had two black presidents (presumably Democrats), one of whom was an unmistakably strong and effective leader (the other remains to be seen this season), and a Nixon/Bush II hybrid president who was in cahoots with terrorists and removed from office. Furthermore, this current season has a chief of staff who is completely off his nut, trying to put Muslims in detainee camps, enforce martial law, and curtail all civil rights while this thing blows over. If this is somehow supposed to make those ideas look sane, I would say that it’s not working.

It may be that the results of acting (or not acting) in an extreme manner will attempt to prove a point — if the terrorists succeed and President Palmer did not take the advice of his nutball adviser or Cheney-like VP – but the bottom line is that this is a tv show, and has no basis in any kind of reality. None of this shit would happen like this. Jack Bauer is gonna save the day no matter what – copy that — and he will do whatever it takes!

The one obvious downside is that the too-large percentage of folks who absorb this show as more than entertainment may possibly believe that America should torture its enemies and detain Muslims because of what they saw on “24.” These folks may also believe that Jim Belushi is funny and “American Idol” rocks.

And there really is not much we can do about that anyway.

UPDATE:

The Tribune carries on with this in today’s Watcher with Mo Ryan, a true student of “24:”

…by making the weak, inexperienced Palmer virtually the only advocate for civil rights, the show is making it seem as though only indecisive, wishy-washy people are against setting up internment camps and against severe, open-ended restrictions of civil liberties. That’s just ridiculous, not to mention condescending.

Some good criticisms and observations about the show in her column. If you’re a “24″ nut, that is. Because thousands and thousands of lives are at stake. Copy that, over.

ending movie sim girl tolicking sex free ball moviestit free moviesmovies twink freemechine movies fuckeggs easter moviexxx samples moviemovies sapphic coedmovie disney pervertmovie female squirt