NJ Makes Slums

I had no idea our local government could be as corrupt, stupid, and morally bankrupt as our federal one. I guess you learn things as you get older.

Neighboorhoods Destroyed To Make Crack Dens -From the New York Times.

Eminent Domain has to be stopped. It's such an awful, despicable practice that has more often than not been used by greedy, corrupt officials in order to line the pockets of themselves and their rich supporters and screw the poor and middle class. Find someplace else to build a school, a port, a shopping mall. Don't remove the very residents that you claim will be helped by urban renewal. Urban Renewal is a sham anyway. It's always been code for, lets kick the poor people out of here so we can build condos.

In cases like this debacle in jersey, the zeal and rush to urban renewal actually made the situation far worse. How is this a free country when people's homes are taken away because of politics?

London Zoo's New Exhibit

This is where reality TV has led us... Weird.


Update from yesterday: Republicans Close Bases In Democratic Areas, Save One In South Dakota

Is this part of a plan to slowly leave the blue states open to attack? Or do the Republicans just want to ruin their economies?

Baby Baby



Britney Spears has a baby shower. NBC comes through with the pictures.

Support Our Troops

...by closing their bases.

Obviously Bush doesn't expect our troops to return home anytime soon, because he's closed hundreds of bases nationwide. (Although suprisingly few in Texas and his brother Jeb's Florida)

One of the casualties will be Fort Monmouth, the base near my hometown. This is what happens when your state's senators are Democrats in a Republican congress.

"Yahoo!" exclaimed Joe "D stands for Republican" Lieberman, who saved a base in his home state of Connecticut. "Submarine base New London lives, and I think that it will live forever."

The base closing thing is a perfect example of what's wrong with the Democratic party. Instead of rising up together to fight these base closings (which are hugely unpopular), they only fight for the bases in their individual states. Meanwhile, our country goes weaker because our congress gave hundreds of millions of dollars to build a bridge in Alaska but won't provide that same money for our national defense.

Fort Monmouth may not be the largest of military bases, but closing it will have a big impact on my area. So yeah, I'm pissed off.

How do you think soldiers in Iraq right now feel about the fact that when they get home, they'll have to move because their base was closed?

Way to support the troops, Bush. Bastard.

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Plus: Pentagon Spends Millions Making Facility Terrorproof, Then Closes It

And:

'While We're Closing Bases, Let's Close Hospitals As Well,' Says Pentagon

And Finally, Televangelist Pat Robertson Apologizes For Demanding The Assasination Of A Democratically Elected Central American Leader... Sort Of:

"Wait a minute, I didn't say 'assassination.' I said our Special Forces should 'take him out,' and 'take him out' can be a number of things, including kidnapping."

(For the record, Robertson said previously: "If he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think we really ought to go ahead and do it.")
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Awesome Concert

Saw System of a Down and The Mars Volta @ Brendan Byrne Arena. Totally awesome. We were up on the 200 level, straight back from the stage, and we formed a mosh pit on the walkway behind the top row of seats. I was mashed by strangers. Andrew punched me several times. Totally awesome. We saw some old guy get in a verbal altercation with some kid in the beer line. The kid accused the old dude of cutting. Then we saw this totally awesome scene:

Kid: "Dude, there's a line."

Old Guy: "What are you insinuating?"

Kid: "Listen Gramps, you have to wait in line just like the rest of us."

Me and Andrew tried not to laugh.

Old Guy: "You ruined this whole experience for me."

Yes. He actually said that. Then he walked off. Probably left the concert.

Then me and Andrew managed to scam the one drink maximum rule (they only let you get one beer at a time). A magician never reveals his secrets.

There was also a lot of things I'm not at liberty to say here, but if you've ever been to a concert, an awesome concert, you have a pretty good idea what went on. Totally awesome.

It's always so disappointing when the lights come up and the crowd starts filing out, and you're the only person around left screaming for an encore, hoping against hope that they'll play one more song. And you're drunk and bruised and you realize you've got to somehow find a bus to take you home.

But that concert was totally awesome. Did I mention that?

(I'll post the pictures once I figure out how to get them off my phone)

Out of Sync

Ashlee Simpson, Mili Vanili not welcome in Turkmenistan:

Leader Bans Lip Synchers

Finally, a law from a repressive regime that makes sense!

Bigot Gets Booted

Radio Host canned for hate speech

You may remember this guy. I wrote about him a couple weeks back.

Basically, he argued that Islam is a terrorist organization.

The whole of Islam.

Every single member of it, a terrorist.

To this day, he insists that it's not an opinion, it's a fact. Nevermind that it's an opinion. A prejudiced opinion. A wrong opinion. A wrong opinion that he insists is fact.

Now he's been fired.

If only all of the bigots, liars, and hyperbolic pundits would meet a similar fate.

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Plus: They won't allow photos to be taken of coffins, but the Bush White House has no problem using soldier's graves for propoganda..

This Is Surprisingly Relevant To My Life

Goalie Attends Concert, Team Loses 50-1

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Belgian women's soccer team SK Berlaar had to stomach a 50-1 defeat against rival KV Mechelen on Saturday because their goalkeeper had opted to attend a music concert instead, a local newspaper said.

"Our keeper went to Pukkel Pop. That's why," substitute goalkeeper Charlotte Jacobs told Het Laatste Nieuws daily on Monday.

Ok, so the starting goalie went to a concert. Maybe she let the team down. But 50-1? Is the backup goalie in a wheelchair?*

*No offense to those in wheelchairs

"That's why"???! Geez, sounds like the goalie who let in 50 goals is trying to pass the buck.

I'm going to a concert Tuesday. System of A Down. I've been looking forward to it for weeks. Unfortunately, turns out that my company softball team has a playoff game that day as well. So I was in a brief dilemma. Game or concert?

Now I doubt the team will miss my contribution as much as this team did. I just hope no one blames me if we lose.

If I were the goalie who missed the game, I'd give a big "Fuck you" to the substitute goalie who ducked all responsibility for the loss.

I mean, come on 50-1? Did the sub stop anything? A blind, deaf, quadrapelegic monkey could do better.*

*No offense to blind, deaf, quadrapelegic monkeys.

Freedom Is On The March

Beheadings, Terror, and Fear in an Iraqi Town:
Mission Accomplished?