arse poetica

Pants On Fire

Goddamn liars and thieves.

Bush Told 10 Days After 9/11 In Highly Classified Briefing: No Evidence Linking Saddam Hussein To Attacks, Al Qaeda....

Ten days after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, President Bush was told in a highly classified briefing that the U.S. intelligence community had no evidence linking the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein to the attacks and that there was scant credible evidence that Iraq had any significant collaborative ties with Al Qaeda, according to government records and current and former officials with firsthand knowledge of the matter.

The information was provided to Bush on September 21, 2001 during the "President's Daily Brief," a 30- to 45-minute early-morning national security briefing. Information for PDBs has routinely been derived from electronic intercepts, human agents, and reports from foreign intelligence services, as well as more mundane sources such as news reports and public statements by foreign leaders.

I'm not the least surprised by this information; I am merely surprised that it has taken only 4 years and 1 month to get into print. I am also surprised that anyone thinks it is of any consequence whatsoever that dumbyass was told this information. The potted plant in the corner heard it, too, and it had about as much capacity to respond. The question is: what did Acting Preznit Ch*ney know?

Mr Cheney has been under fire for his role in assembling evidence of weapons of mass destruction. Mr Wilkerson told the Associated Press that the vice-president must have sincerely believed Iraq could be a spawning ground for terrorism because "otherwise I have to declare him a moron, an idiot or a nefarious bastard".

Nefarious bastard it is! [This is probably Darth's code name, actually.]

"Sorry, sir. I'm not trainable."

God help me, that detestable boil on the ass of humanity Donald R*msfeld has done it again. He scales heights of hubris heretofore unscalable by mere shame-faced humans. I mean, I hate him. He's done it. He's rendered me helpless in hate. I don't want to hate him. I don't want to hate anybody. I don't want this throat-constricting feeling of disgust, of pure, visceral antagonism and fury to invade my every pore thinking about his verbal tap-dancing and smirk-faced assholery. I don't want to feel violent. I don't want to be like the object of my detesting. So I hate him for that, too.

Don't Call It an 'Insurgency': Rumsfeld.

Asked at a Pentagon news conference why he did not think the word insurgency applied to enemy forces in Iraq, Rumsfeld said he had "an epiphany."

"I've thought about it. And, over the weekend, I thought to myself, you know, that gives them a greater legitimacy than they seem to merit," Rumsfeld said.

Rumsfeld instead referred to the guerrillas in Iraq as "the terrorists" and "the enemies of the government." U.S. military statements also have referred to insurgents as "anti-Iraqi forces."

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary defines an insurgent as "a person who revolts against civil authority or an established government."

Well, that's just a dictionary, so what? A definitive (ha) compendium of proper usage? Pfft. Whatev. The Bringer of Death prefers to tapdance on the skulls of the dead. Real Men Love Semantics!

Plus, look over here! Quibbling nonsense! Trifling twaddle! Pusillanimous pap!

[Pay no attention to the dead/lack of planning/war crimes behind the curtain.]

It is not the first time Rumsfeld has quibbled with words describing the enemy in Iraq. In June 2003, for example, Rumsfeld said the conflict was not a "guerrilla war," only to have his top commander in the region two weeks later call it "a classical guerrilla-type campaign."

[snip]

During the briefing, the top U.S. military officer, Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace, slipped up twice and said "insurgent." With Rumsfeld standing at his side, Pace told reporters, "I have to use the word 'insurgent' because I can't think of a better word right now."

"'Enemies of the legitimate Iraqi government' -- how's that?" Rumsfeld told Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

How's that? How's that?? Oh, I'll f*cking tell you how's f*cking that, you sick f*cker. Let's compare notes:

The Death Merchant sez: "enemies of the legitimate Iraqi gubmint."
Merriam-Webster sez: "insurgent: a person who revolts against civil authority or an established government."

Mr. Johnson he is not.

Moments later, Pace again referred to "the insurgents," then told his boss, "Sorry, sir. I'm not trainable today."

Pace, I'll kick your ass, too, you toadying twerp. What's worse than being the #1 Asshole? Being the Assistant Asshole.

You know, people are dying while Rummy tries to improve his Scrabble score. Actually dying, think of it, in circumstances more horrible than we can imagine. These are not abstractions, and they're worthy of more respect and serious engagement and burn the candle at both ends-level problem solving than this man (sic) can muster in 10 lifetimes. Where is the Hague when you need it? He is beyond despicable.

Miscellany

I want this wallpaper for the bar/club I just decided I would have to open if I had this wallpaper. This song would play in the background.

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Don't you love that time in bed when everybody (er, both of you?) is punchy and the other person is just falling asleep and you lunge at them to tickle them and they do that scrunch-necked trying-not-to-laugh laugh, which renders them powerless, like it's impossible to guard against tickling and fight back at the same time? Wait, surely it's not just me?

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db has taken to calling Finn "Kreachen," after the house elf in the 110th Harry Potter book. Oh hell, I've forgotten how many there are and which one db is reading. Sorry. Kreachen, sounding like a mixture of creature and urchin, and Finn, being a mixture of creature and urchin, we thought it only appropriate that we riff on a riff and call her KreachFinn. Lord, she is an urchin, the little bugger.

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What is stopping me from reading this book? Peace and quiet, responsibilities, work, the phone, the library not having it, the internets, the leaves in the backyard, my damn brain.

I blame the Republicans.

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Last night at approx. 9:15 p.m., when I realized that today was a "school day," I had that shock-to-the-system sinking feeling that we used to get when we were younger, like how did my life spin so out of control that I have little say over what I do w/ my days? How is it that I actually have to get up during that time of day known as "morning" (shudder) to go into a windowless office to work for other people? This did not hit me well last night. I'm still reeling from it today. As a result, it's been all art all night. I need an alternate view.

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Art!

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Sometimes this is just the song you need to hear.

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Hello, My Name Is

What's in a name? A powerful simple idea.

Project Hello.

Project Hello aims to build awareness of the world's growing homeless problem. To create discussion and a platform for solutions. To give homeless individuals a name, and in the process, encourage others to treat them with dignity, respect, and compassion. To use our mass communication and problem-solving skills for the forces of good. And to inspire and assist others in creating more selfless, random acts of kindness.

HELP!

Rx or Sex? We Report. You Decide.

Not having copious amounts of free time at work in which to rant about every awful conflation of sex and death in the world (thank you, Mr. Freud), I'll just say that I'm truly groaning w/ pain at this headline: Gimme an Rx! Cheerleaders Pep Up Drug Sales. Kill me now.

This Hurts Me More Than It Hurts You

I almost hesitate to post this, knowing db's preference for Target over all other shopping venues, what with all that well-lit space and cute cheap crap and non-offensive music and no McDonald's on site stinking up the joint and is it just me, or are people cheerier there? For some reason, walking into Target does not suck my will to live. The vampiric effects of megacorp crapitalism, usually so profoundly debilitating, are surprisingly absent. Hmm. Anyhoo, that's all behind us now. This must be done -- quickly, as if ripping off a band aid. (Hey, kids, back in my day, ripping off a band aid hurt. A lot. Go with me on this.) Sorry, db!

Alas, we will not be shopping at Target this holiday season or any season, for that matter. Why, pray tell? Because they're a bunch of moralistic goons meddling in my and millions of other women's private affairs, that's why. According to Planned Parenthood:

Target does not guarantee that all prescriptions for birth control, including emergency contraception, will be filled in-store, without discrimination or delay.

Yes, while you and I are innocently shopping for wasabi paste and bath mats, Target is nefariously plotting against our reproductive health needs. F*ck you very much, Target!

So buh-bye it is for ol' Target. We hardly knew ye. Well, okay, we knew ye a wee bit. I knew Target was trouble, but since we went there so rarely, and since my entire waking life seems to be devoted to NOT supporting the Repugs on any level, I just needed one little teensy eensy break from hyper-vigilance. Plus, they built a Super Target like 2 miles from our house, and we needed a dust buster, people! Are we not human?! Do we not bleed?!

Ahem.

Well, that's turned into the question I want to ask Target. What business do they have refusing to fill prescriptions for their female customers? Are their female customers' privacy rights and medical needs in a separate category from the privacy rights and medical needs of their male customers? And if so, why? What is Target's policy on male contraception? Are they inconveniencing and potentially compromising the health of their male customers w/ recommendations to nearby pharmacies for their medications? On what medical grounds are these refusals made? And if they are not medical grounds, how are they possibly justified?

Ask Target directly, or fill out the easy-peasy form that Planned Parenthood created for just this purpose. Keep up w/ it all at SaveRoe's Target action page. And after you've let Target know they're full of shit, head on down to CVS, who just barely squeaks by w/ 51% contributions to Dems, and to CostCo., who are blue as the day is long, for your prescription needs.

Well, That's Just Sad

Alright, the guy's the easiest target on the planet, and I'm not ordinarily one for kicking a criminally incompetent crony when he's down, but jeez. You'd think Mr. Heckuva Job would shaddap and skulk away, but noooooo. He's got to chinwag about "how bad disasters can be" (I mean, really), and how "there's an incredible need for individuals and businesses to understand how important preparedness is."

If it weren't all so tragic, it would be laughable. It's like being schooled in how not to destroy a civilization in seas of molten lava by Vesuvius. Dude, shut up and go back to whatever cushy, cronied position the Repugs have nest-egged for you. Just go away. Even CNN called you their "Political Turkey of the Year," and they have no credibility whatsoever.

But Brownie can't help it. He's the poor, misunderestimated rich kid, unaccustomed to criticism, coming back to plead his case. None of these idiots lives in the real world, apparently. A person living in the real world would understand the magnitude of their error, would understand the concept of shame. Not this guy. He just keeps giving money quotes like this one:

"My wife, children and my grandchild still love me. My parents are still proud of me."

I'm guessing this is because they're not from New Orleans. Hey, I calls 'em as I sees 'em.

Bill!

I came across Bill C. on BookTV this afternoon delivering a speech (extemporaneous, as always -- sob!) at the Texas Book Festival in Austin on Oct. 29. Simply put, Bill's brilliant. I've forgotten what that looks like. It makes my head swim. The sheer enormity of the information he was synthesizing (and all effortlessly) is mindboggling, and always he pulls out a personal anecdote that perfectly encapsulates his point. Genius. Honestly. It's enough to make a grrl want to give up her plans to move to her fantasy homeland(s).

He said many things about the need for more rigor in engaging ideas in political writing, discourse, and engagement, but perhaps my favorite thing he said was in response to when he thought we might have political candidates who would again be able to run on their education and intellectual ability -- the audience member obviously making reference to dumbyass's unparalelled idiocy and the anti-science turn to Jeebus in recent schooling and other decisions. Bill noted that such a candidate could win if s/he weren't intellectually snobby and stiff; that the candidate needed to be comfortable in his understanding of the democratic platform (quit apologizing, shirking, playing to the other side's strengths) and in his own skin.

Then I think Bill lit upon my favorite thing. From the mouth of the only success story you idiots have had in what seems like millennia:

"You can't say, 'Please don't be mean to me. Please let me win sometimes.' Give me a break here. If you don't want to fight for the future, and you can't figure out how to beat these people, then find something else to do."

Hear F*cking Hear! 

The dead weight has got to go. All of it. All of these too-cautious morons who couldn't find the democratic platform (sic) w/ a flashlight and a map. All of these poll-watching hacks who wouldn't know their own mind if it sat up and recited the Bill of Rights. All of these mealy-mouthed wannabes voting to support an arrogant, ill-tempered buffoon w/ nary a blink of regret, concern, or regard for consequence. What happened to the idea of a person of conviction? What happened to convictions? Get. Out!

Politics requires* sense of self, strength of conviction, rhetorical competence, persuasion, diplomacy, compromise, and strategic maneuvering for advantage, not to mention a pesky little thing known as a coherent philosophy. It also requires courage to make the hard decisions and to do the right thing, which leads us to sacrifice. It ain't fair, y'all, and it's not terribly likely to make one the belle of the ball. So what? More important things are at stake, like education, health care, social justice, environmental protections, economic viability, community stability, and job equity. If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen.

Thank you, Bill C. I hope the Dems (in whom I have little faith) are paying attention. And if they're not, screw 'em. I hope the Greens are paying attention.

[*Obviously not in the case of Dim Son, who exhibits none of these qualities. He's an exception, having had his way bought and paid in advance by an influential daddy at first and moneyed influence-peddlers second. Woe be unto us for falling for the obvious con.]

Why I Never

Why I never buy my gas at Shell.

Why I never misunderestimate the tabloids. Hee.

Why I never thought it wasn't about oil.

Why I never thought of this, I don't know! =D

Why I never get a full night's sleep.

Why I never really give up.

Why I never really put away that copy of 1984.

Why I never stop asking water from the moon.

Why, I never!

[Photo credit: moi, flowers purchased by the side of the road, Greensboro, NC.]

Now Read This

I love this time of year. Sweaters and blankets and hunkering down, blue-gray skies, the smell in the air. When I was in school, I'd plan all the fiction I would read during the too-short break, gobbling it up and savoring it both. Getting it all in before homework and other distractions set in. I miss that. It feels as if I haven't had a minute's fictional rest since that black day in Nov. 2000. My concentration is shot -- mental faculties are taxed trying to puzzle out how gullible, frightened, reactionary, uninformed, patridiotic, whatever, whatever, whatever our neighbors had to be to actively vote for that colossal idiot, and what in the bleepin, farkin hell we've got to do to ensure it NEVER happens again. It takes up a lot of time, friends. But let's think good thoughts today. Now that the days have gotten shorter, and we're snuggling in, and there's a fire in the fireplace (yaay!), here's a nice long list of suggested reading in the Guardian: Speaking volumes.

UPDATE: The NYT gives us more choices w/ their 100 Notable Books of the Year. 

[Photo credit: JM, Prague, October 2005.]