Tag: politics

Government as TV Movie: Gonzo tries to strongarm Ashcroft

It’s not just that they insisted on violating the law and the Constitution. It’s not just that they tried to pressure the Attorney General to approve it when he had already refused. And it’s not just that they did it while he was ill and not acting as Attorney General.

They did it at night in his hospital room, causing the acting Attorney General and the director of the F.B.I. to go lights-and-siren through the nation’s capital and run upstairs to the hospital room and stop them.

And then tried to refuse a witness to the discussion afterwards.

And then, after Ashcroft had walked over the whole deal, they got what they wanted anyway because Gonzo got the job.

How close are we to a coup, anyway? Who’s got five bucks on it?

Reference: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/15/washington/15cnd-attorneys.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

SAVE THE CHOCOLATE

via la_lisa, an appeal to save the integrity of chocolate from adulterous chocobusiness scheming.

I’m not a huge fan of cocoa butter myself (hurf white chocolate bleah) but it’s PART OF CHOCOLATE. You can’t replace it with partially hydrogenated neat’s foot oil or something and call it chocolate. It Would Be Wrong.

I BOLGED about it over at buzznet: http://ignatz.buzznet.com/user/journal/191271/ to get the TEENS involved.

Yes, this is weak stupid bourgeois activism. I’m a suburban white kid who likes to cook. Go stuff it.

useless parks

The city government here wants to build a new shiny city hall. The residents are skeptical. To avoid a vote on the subject, the government first tried funding the new city hall without a bond issue. This was noticed. Then, there was an election.

The new city council has three times shot down a proposal to build the new city hall on land previously designated as “open land, future park.” The last news was that they directed the city government specifically to finalize plans for theh park.

After the angry meeting that resulted in this decision, our Mayor, who supports the new city hall, made a career suicide statement:

“Personally, I don’t think it’s the end of this. I think there are people who are committed to … not building useless parks,” Mayor Steve Rosansky said at the end of a lengthy, impassioned speech in which he accused fellow council members of caving to “political expediency.”

Orange County Badass of the Month Award

Yesterday I visited South Coast Plaza, one of the two huge shiny shopping malls here. I visited Johan at Book Soup, where they keep the porno mags on the bottom shelf for the kids. I browsed a bit and bought a snobby intellectual magazine.

On the way out I saw a young Middle Eastern guy, skinny scraggly kid, who was wearing a black logo t-shirt. The type said something like ONE STRUGGLE, ONE CAUSE and on one side said PLO. I couldn’t quite see the other side; it might have said something in Arabic, or said “Hamas,” or something. It might have been some Israeli left-wing group for all I know.

And there he was with the PLO Struggle shirt just kickin’ it in the big Orange County shopping mall. Now that’s some free speech. Hope he made it home okay. Bad-ASS.

Blogquote of the day

From torgo_x in another thread, the answer to the question: “What do those right-wing evangelicals want, anyway?”:

~ What they want ~
I'm in your HOUSE!
They wanna meet the President of Jesus and tour the Holiness Factory and all the oompa loompas are wearing nice suits and smiling and it looks like a set from Dynasty on the TV except it’s real, and then James Baker runs up and gives them a kissykiss and everyone giggles, and everyone gonna getta big chocolate Jesus with magic gold USA flag wrapper yaaay.

Then all sortsa Jewwwws and gayinese commniststs and Alkalaidas show up and say “gawwd, we were so… [sobbing] SO WRONG! And you were right! SUPERSORRY!” and there’s hugging and crying and Dr Phil is there to make sure it’s all very solemn/joyous. Except the Alkalaini, he goes “yalalala” and hits his detonator button, ohno! But his chestbomb thing comically goes “PFFFT!”, and he cries and runs away all spazzy and everyone laughs at him REALLY LOUD. (The Oompa Loompas will catch him and lynch him. Applause.)

Then everyone gets a gift bag of “victory swag” and they’re all instantly [special effect!] wearing the clever “GOT JESUS???” etc t-shirts. So from now on, everyone will treat them like they’re smart and popular! And the air conditioning never breaks.

And one of the ‘Loomps gives a happy speech and everyone smiles and claps.

And then it’s off to a special advance screening of Apocalypto!!

In an aquarium full of lube. Forever. nevar fogret

Candidate’s Statement

I am proud to represent Orange County and I hope that you, the citizens, will return me to my legislatorial chair this year. As a long-time resident of our residential areas I have pursued a bottoms-up form of communication that extends the grass roots into the statehouse.

This year I have concenterated on domestic issues close to those which threaten our families. At the implementation level I have implemented the Dairy Protein Extension Act which allows low-income families to substitute edible pork plasma-based nondairy dairy products. I was a co-sponsor with Senator Diebold on H.R. 3331, the 2006 Picket Fences Act, otherwise known as “Tom Sawyer’s Law.” Together we’ve made a big step towards ending the whitewashing.

I am proud to say that I have visitated many businesses in our business district and worn their hats. And I have heard what you say. You said: go back to Sacramento, and I did. In Sacramento I have sat on committees as well as in my office. I want to bring back to you the knowledge that we are having great meetings with some dynamic and forward-looking movers and shakers, and that the future still lies ahead.

Here are the key issues I’m facing for you today while sitting:

  • Toxic parricides in your water supply
  • No more rubber-stamping of pork barrels
  • Mandatory abstinence education for newlyweds
  • Appropriate taxation for refrigerator magnets
  • State-funded monotreme reserves
  • No more abortions in public libraries
  • Whither baleen?
  • Secure online dating
  • Restricting sex offender access to Garanimals
  • Federal notaries on all airline flights
  • Ending nepotism in the drywall industry once and for all

I hope you’ll join the Union Ironworkers, Ruth Buzzi, Opus Dei, and three out of four osteopaths in our osteopathic district in supporting my return to Sacramento this year.

Election notice: Costa Mesa, CA

Attention all who are eligible to vote in Costa Mesa:

Your city council election is of international importance.

Please vote for Garlich and Scheafer and against Mansoor and Leece.

The choice is between typical Costa Mesa small-business conservatives, who are concerned with things like where to put roads and how many more athletic fields the city might need, and insane power-hungry racist demagogues who hang around with Minutemen and white supremacists and want to wage war on Mexicans.

Garlich and Scheafer are backed by the police and fire departments, the newspaper, the ex chiefs of the police and fire departments, and business people all over town. Mansoor and Leece are backed by Minutemen nuts, local neo-nazi Martin Millard, and lots of dubious out-of-town money.

Please vote. I don’t need a race war in the town next door. Thanks.