Monday, July 26 Issue #37

TODAY'S ACTION ALERTS
Let the Forest Service know you oppose logging roads in formerly protected areas.

FEATURED ARTICLES
Sunday's NYTimes op-ed from Richard Clarke offers the former Terrorism Czar's critique of the 9-11 Commission's report, and suggestions of his own on reforming security and intelligence.

Bill Moyers, doing what he does best.

Lawsuit brought by ACLU in Ohio set to go to trial. Punch-card ballots get a first case in court.

Rick Perlstein considers the differences between the right-thinking and the right-wing.

ADDITIONAL ARTICLES
Barbara Ehrenreich, ever the fiery commentator, rips in to the alien Wal-Mart invasion.

NYMagazine offered a long article into the growing campaign to build a vast left-wing conspiracy.

Bob Herbert takes a moment to look at Sen. Edward Kennedy prior to the launch of the Democratic Convention today.

Massive human-chain protest in Israel signifies serious disapproval for the "security" barrier.

With friends like these...

Drug lawsuits undermine FDA??? Are you Nucking Futs? Short answer: Yep.

QUOTE OF THE DAY
"I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time."
-Jack London

TODAY'S BUSHISM
"And, most importantly, Alma Powell, Secretary of Colin Powell, is with us. "
-January 30, 2003

BLOG OF THE DAY
Nightmares For Sale is written by one of the smoothest opinionaters in the blogosphere. Joel Caris, a regular judge for Iron Blog, has long focused NFS on politics, but has recently decided to hedge his bets and include more of his everyday life, a change that has been reflected in writing that is incredibly genuine and personal. Whether looking for political rants or intellectual reflection, check out NFS often (Joel has been on vacation, lucky bastard, but should be posting again this week.)

BLOGWORTHY
Keith at The Invisible Library caught an important story missed by the CEM and all other media outlets save his source Government Executive. The WaPost did not pick this up til Sunday evening, 3 days later, and no other news coverage is reported on a Google News search of the subject. If Bush can place his own man as archivist, he can literally rewrite history. 1984...1984...1984...2004...2004...What 2000 election controversy???

The General provides satirical comfort to a fellow General in need.

When the jobs disappear at home, they are likely available for the taking in Iraq, as Green Voicemail's tinheart makes clear.

The Road to Surfdom is on target again, this time considering the consequences of the Philippine withdrawal from Iraq. CEM penned a similar opinion for Claps in Issue #30

DRUG WAR UPDATE
Former assistant principle plants drugs in student's locker = gets charges dropped = teaches our children what???

Man, I've been so stoned that I lost track of a roach or two, but I've never been this stoned.

LINK OF THE DAY
One the most useful links you will use, especially if you want to view foreign porn sites, AltaVista's Babelfish can translate between English, French, German, Japanese, and a handful of other language. Translate a cut-and-pasted block or an entire page at once. Wait, nevermind on that foreign porn site stuff...they work just fine without the translation :)

SITE OF THE DAY
Bob Brigham, someone the General would recognize as "probably French", operates as a co-conspirator of CEMonitor over at BlogShares and is working hard to bring down the cabal in Washington. His new site, Blogswarm, is a new dynamic distribution site for political campaigns. Blogswarm has teamed up with dozens of campaigns, political parties, and PACs to distribute press-releases, action alerts, and campaign information through a central server. By signing up for email update, or by simply visiting the site daily, you can read the latest releases and stay up-to-date during Campaign 2004.

COOL SITE OF THE DAY
One Word: TooStupidToBePresident

ONLINE VIDEO OF THE DAY
Jon Stewart wonders if Bush thinks the American People are safer.

CLAPS, SLAPS, AND THE MIDDLE FINGER

Claps to Teresa Heinz Kerry for telling annoying conservative editor Colin McNickle to "shove it" after McNickle repeatedly asked Heinz Kerry about an earlier comment. I had no problem with the principle of Cheney uttering "fuck yourself" to Sen. Leahy, though I objected then to the reason behind the insult, and I have no objection to Teresa's slap-down here. In this case, McNickle pestered Kerry long past the point where Cheney would have Cheneyed. McNickle, told what to do with his fist, carkeys, or any other inanimate object which could be shoved, once compared progressives to socialists in the Coulter-light tradition. I hope Heinz Kerry shows up on the White House lawn with a bull horn telling Bush to "shove it" on November 2. Then, just to rub it in, the Kerry daughters could strip naked and mud wrestle for a homosexual charity....

Sorry, got a bit off target...

Slaps go to the city of Boston for waiting until the last minute to settle a labor deal with firefighters. While both sides contributed to the stalemate, the city spent thousands of dollars which could have been better spent providing PortaJohns for the Democratic Convention. Firefighters deserve everything they get and more. They're up there with police officers, teachers, and medical personnel: they should make much more than they are willing to accept, not less than they clearly deserve. Boston residents have seen thousands of lives and billions of dollars in property saved by the excruciatingly difficult labor of the firefighters. The city has a fiduciary duty to protect the tax investment of its citizens, but treating firefighters like greedy swindlers is no way to handle business. Boston owes its firefighters too much for such nonsense, and it should not such take a hostile situation to award them decent compensation.

My Middle Finger should poke Robert Rhodes blind for severely beating a Chinese tourist he had mistaken for a drug smuggler. The amount of marijuana "suspected" was minimal, and even if she were guilty of distribution..cough.cough..complete bullshit..cough...Rhodes tactics were well beyond what should be used, especially considering his opponent. I'll bet this bastard was the sick puppy that beat up freshmen during all seven years of his high school career. Should I ever meet Rhodes on the street I'll.....well, I'll look the other way, hoping he doesn't think I'm stoned, but you better believe that once his back is turned, he'll feel the wrath of my Middle Finger.

ANIMAL RIGHTS WATCH
The lions of Saddam's dead son Uday move from a dictator's prison to a democratic one.

Animal healer finds letting go tough.

CANDIDATE OF THE DAY
Peter Clavelle represents one of the few candidates to win the backing of two political parties. The Burlington, Vermont mayor is seeking the Governorship of that state in a bid backed by both the state's Democratic and Progressive parties. Burlington is consistently one of the most highly regarded communities in the nation, and known internationally as an example of sustained growth meeting responsible government. The unity of the two parties has propped Clavelle up as a serious challenge to incumbent Jim Douglass. Clavelle is currently favored in the heavily Democratic state, and the seven-term mayor looks to bring a progressive voice to the helm of the state of Vermont.

DAILY PHOTO
Biz Markie and Al Sharpton: "Oh Baby you...you got what I nee--eeed"

TODAY'S POLITICAL CARTOON



HISTORY LESSON
The horror taking place in Sudan is nothing new to the devastated nation. Take a quick look at a short history of the Sudanese.

STRANGE HAPPENINGS
If these are the people protecting Dubya, what hope is there for the rest of us?

Look, I didn't buy it when Bill Clinton saying it, don't think I'll believe you instead!