Concert Tonight



So my friend Sickabod Sane is performing tonight at the Sullivan Room in Greenwich Village, NYC. 10 pm, free vodka and redbull, cheap beer. He's on a bill with Yah Supreme and Brohemian and some other other DJs. If you're around, and want to see an fun hip-hop show, come check it out.

He was profiled in Underrated Magazine. They called him "One Bad Ass Nursery Rhymer." You can hear some of his tracks here: www.SickabodSane.com.

He's also on MySpace, which I wrote an article about for MSNBC. What sets MySpace apart from Friendster and Facebook, other fun social networking sites, is that MySpace has a large emphasis on music. Everyone from major artists like Weezer to unknowns like Pallas Athena have pages where fans can check out the latest releases and get info directly from band members. I realize I sound like an ad for MySpace here, but it's really done the best job of bringing big acts down to a personal level with fans, while allowing unknowns to collect a groupie base as well. Purevolume, Soundclick, and the former MP3.com all allow independent artists to present music to the masses (and they pull it off well). But MySpace is more interactive, even if they did sell out to media mogul Rupert Murdoch.

Ok, well. So that's all the selling I'll be doing today. See you at the show.

My Strategy For Winning The War

by George W. Bush



Congress told me that I need to communicate with the American people about how we're going to win this war in Iraq. They told me people don't understand what we're doing there. So I'm here to tell you what we're doing, and share with you the detailed strategery that will accomplish our mission.

Step 1: Work Hard.

I know I've been working hard. And so has Dick Cheney. And Donald Rumsfeld. And all our troops over in Iraq. Spreading freedom is hard work. And we need to work hard to make it happen.

Step 2: Keep Working Hard.

This is an important addition to step one. We must keep working hard. Even if it gets hard to work hard. I'll tell you, it was tough this summer to stay focused, with all the hard work that had to be done on my ranch. But I kept working hard. That's the most important thing. We can't cut and run. If we don't keep working hard, how are the Iraqis supposed to?

Step 3: Make Fun Of People Who Say We Don't Work Hard

I haven't been to too many hospitals, visiting wounded troops. In fact, I haven't gone to any. But when someone who has gone to those hospitals, and fought in a war (I didn't do that either) starts to say we're not working hard, we have to make fun of that person so people think he's not working hard. Because we're the ones working hard. No one works harder. I don't have time to visit memorial services or listen to soldiers complaining. I'm too busy working hard.

Step 4: Take A Vacation

The thing about hard work is, it makes you tired. So those of us who work so hard need a vacation. No, not our troops... Me. I've spent more time on vacation than any other President. That's because I work harder than any of them ever did. Especially that Clinton guy. He barely took any vacation. Because he didn't work hard.

Step 5: Success

If we keep working hard, and making fun of those people that say we don't work hard, then Iraq will be a beacon of freedom in the Middle East, and the world. And Jesus himself will return to Earth and gather up us hard workers, leaving behind only the Democrats, the Log Cabin Republicans and John McCain. And then we won't need to work hard anymore. Because in heaven, coke is good for you and there are no dirty stinking lying journalists poking fun of your bad vocabularization.



So that's the plan. It's not a timetable. No war has ever been won on a timetable. The only way to win a war is through hard work. And we're working hard. We are. A lot harder than Osama. What's he done recently? Bring it on!!!

If The Election Was Tomorrow

Instead of last year... it would be a quite different story.

The map below, courtesy of DailyKos:

Bush Approval Ratings:

Bush's Crusade

There's something deeply disturbing about this New Yorker article:

Current and former military and intelligence officials have told me that the President remains convinced that it is his personal mission to bring democracy to Iraq, and that he is impervious to political pressure, even from fellow Republicans. They also say that he disparages any information that conflicts with his view of how the war is proceeding.

Bush’s closest advisers have long been aware of the religious nature of his policy commitments. In recent interviews, one former senior official, who served in Bush’s first term, spoke extensively about the connection between the President’s religious faith and his view of the war in Iraq. After the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the former official said, he was told that Bush felt that “God put me here” to deal with the war on terror. The President’s belief was fortified by the Republican sweep in the 2002 congressional elections; Bush saw the victory as a purposeful message from God that “he’s the man,” the former official said. Publicly, Bush depicted his reëlection as a referendum on the war; privately, he spoke of it as another manifestation of divine purpose...

“The President is more determined than ever to stay the course,” the former defense official said. “He doesn’t feel any pain. Bush is a believer in the adage ‘People may suffer and die, but the Church advances.’ ” He said that the President had become more detached, leaving more issues to Karl Rove and Vice-President Cheney. “They keep him in the gray world of religious idealism, where he wants to be anyway,” the former defense official said. Bush’s public appearances, for example, are generally scheduled in front of friendly audiences, most often at military bases. Four decades ago, President Lyndon Johnson, who was also confronted with an increasingly unpopular war, was limited to similar public forums. “Johnson knew he was a prisoner in the White House,” the former official said, “but Bush has no idea.”

Congrats America. You wanted a moral leader-- you got a nutcase who will sacrifice our troops for his own personal crusade.

Don't Let The Bedbugs Bite

Terrifying

Supporting Our Troops

Excellent L.A. Times piece about the suicide?/murder? of a colonel in Iraq.