Al Gore and Filibusters

If you have a good half hour, take a look at VP Gore's comments on the GOP's attempt to change rules to kill the filibuster. Republicans too should watch this, how could any enlightened American disagree with his arguments?

If I... tell you somethin'.. I think you'll understaaaaand

Dallas Morning News makes a funny.

Evolution Under Attack, Again

Kansas State Board of Education, now more conservative, is scheduled to re-debate the teaching of evolution in its schools. So-called intelligent design (a/k/a "creationism") advocates seek change.


If there were such a thing as stock in a state's public schools, Kansas's just dropped, preciptously.

Bush is Gay?

Bush, visiting the Galveston Bay Area in Texas today, may have let us all into a private world between him and Dick Cheney. Here is the exchange as reported by Drudge, I would like to hear the conversation between him and Delay on the way back to D.C. in Air Force One:
President Bush raised eyebrows on Tuesday when he asked locals in Galveston, Texas: "Do you still have Splash Day?"
"Splash Day" is the annual "adult oriented enormous beach party" celebration on the Gulf Coast.

BUSH: Do you still have Splash Day?
(LAUGHTER)
BUSH: You have to be a baby boomer to know what I'm talking about.
(LAUGHTER)
BUSH: I'm not saying whether I came or not on Splash Day. I'm just saying, Do you have Splash Day?
(LAUGHTER)

Bush was unaware "Splash Day" is now a fully gay and lesbian event on the beaches.

Regulating Blogs Through Campaign Finance Reform

Kos has an interesting debate going on with Sen. Feingold. The entire blogosphere should be interested. It could be just the beginning.

Soda + Candy Bar = Fire

Going camping anytime soon? Be sure to add a can of coke and a chocolate bar to the survival kit. A couple of survivalists show you step-by-step how to make fire with your junk food.

Superb!!

Fremont Ohio Represent Represent zent

A very good friend finally steps into the ring with his ongoing manifesto: Judgment Proof. ARM intends to focus on legal issues, particularly those which arise in his native Ohio. However, if history is truly a prelude, we can also expect some dissertations on the national political scene. I'll warn you, this gentleman is a died-in-the-wool Republican. However, I expect that his libertarian foundation is jostled by the Bush nanny state and the rise of the theocons, so you may be treated to something more than the LGF-style unthinking salute to all things GOP. On the other hand, my esteemed colleague ARM has a serious reserve of venom for one William J. Clinton, so expect an occasional backward-looking potshot in that direction. All in all, he's a welcome voice, and we at 2GL are glad to have him across the aisle of the sphere.

Haunting

"I am an innocent man, convicted of a crime I did not commit."

--Cameron Todd Willingham, while strapped to a gurney shortly before being executed by lethal injection in 2004 for the arson murder of his 3 daughters.

I guess he was right.

Sullivan on Scarborough

Nothing to add to this.

"Whether the debate centers around a Presidential election, the right to die movement, the gay agenda, prayer in school, or simply letting our children recite the Pledge of Alligence, the teachings of Jesus Christ always seems to thwart the agenda of America's left wing elites. Forget what you heard in the 1960s. God is not dead. In fact, he is very much alive and beating liberal elites on one political issue after another. Maybe that is why so many of them hate the Prince of Peace." - Joe Scarborough.

Is Scarborough honestly saying that Jesus Christ had a position in the last presidential election, that only Republican voters were true Christians? Is he
saying that criticism of a Pope's style or record is somehow identical to "hatred" of the Gospels? Did a Jesus who never mentioned homosexuality take a position on gay politics in the 21st century? The complete conflation of politics and religion among today's Republicans just gets deeper and deeper. And dumber and dumber.

Sweet Friday

Ahh.. the end of the week comes at last, with the first spring weekend to bring 60+ weather in Chicago and a lock on tickets to a Saturday afternoon Cubs game. Today, I'll let David Hasslehoff illustrate how I feel. Ahhh, yes. That's nice.

From Murder to Miller: The Downfall of a Gangsta Rap Icon

I am taking this word for word from A2 of the Austin American Statesman:

"C-Murder is no more.
The rapper, whose real name is Corey Miller, will now go by C Miller, his publicist said Tuesday.
Miller, borther of Master P and Silkk the Shocker, is being held in the Jefferson Parish (La.) jail on a second degree murder conviction.

Miller was convicted in 2003 in the death of a 16 year old who was shot in a nightclub in the New Orleans suburb of Harvey. He faces a mandatory life sentence without a parole."

This is one of the biggest ironies of our lifetimes. I blame this all on Professional Wrestling. Didn't anybody tell C-Murder, rrrrrrr, excuse me, C Miller that gangsta rap is supposed to be fake?

Al-Pieada

Ha. This if funny, the one on Ann Coulter (6th link down) was the best. You conservatives keep mouthing off a bunch of lies, I will not be surprised to see more attacks by Al-Pieada.

An Alien Marriage: Not Unconstitutional!

Tomorrow I will be traveling to Fremont, Ohio through Cleveland for a space wedding. Fremont is home of 1 of 3 of our US Presidents who did not win the popular election, W. Bush being another. Yes, after knocking his girl up, Zonka, a space alien, will be getting married on Saturday. I was designated as the token Hispanic and was provided free airfare, hotel and meal expenses. I love affirmative action, thanks for the handout you dumb liberals. Congratulations Zonka Shocka, may your little space alien also be 9 feet tall and may you have a healthy alien family.

Cheerleaders in Texas are "Shaking their behinds" and "Breaking it Down": Enter Stage Left: Super Congressman Al Edwards

The Texas Legislature is busy at work.
Are they trying to secure our Gulf Coast ports against The War on a Verb? No.
Are they passing through committee a life without parole bill? No.
Are they attempting to find funding for the President's Every Child Left Behind legislation? No. Are they attempting to figure out a way to get health insurance for Texas' 1.5million children without coverage? Of Course Not.

But they are attempting to pass legislation that would make it illegal for cheerleaders in our public schools to gyrate their hips or to dance in sexually suggestive ways. No, I am not kidding, Al Edwards(D) from the Houston area says, and I quote,

"It's just too sexually oriented, you know, the way they're shaking their behinds and going on, breaking it down,"

Maybe this congressman needs to shake and break it down a bit and get off this ridiculous waste (half way down this page) of taxpayer time and resources. Here is Al's home page email link, send him an email and let him know he will be losing re-election. God Bless Texas! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-HAWWWWWWWWWWWWW

Evolution...

no longer a theory.

Tick, Tick, Tick...

The clock is ticking for old Tom DeLay. The question is no longer whether he'll step down (be forced out), but when.

So, drop your guess in the comments section, and give Tom's Wheel of Cronyism a spin. Guess a date, and the circumstances surrounding his departure. Date wins, reason's the tiebreaker.

I say he "voluntarily" steps down on April 28, after it is disclosed that he stole money from an Indian tribe to pay his family to convince lobbyists to bankroll his trip to view the pope lying intestate.

Winner gets eternal enlightenment and ten hours of free legal services from 3GL.

Republican "War On Judges" Ramped Up a Notch

John Cornyn, Republican, United States Senator from the Great State of Texas, and box turtle bigot, asks the question on all of our minds: are our judges being killed because they aren't following the conservative agenda?

Yyglesias takes a hard look at the good Senator's comments.

UPDATE: Cheers to some on the right for condemning Senator Cornyn's irresponsible and idiotic comments. Like I said before, the libertarian right won't follow blindly forever.

UPDATE II: Cornyn stands down. Good job sir. Now about me and my box turtle...

Hearts Full of Hate for Gay People Watch

Just when I pop off about Montana's progressive (or at least libertarian) impulses, we learn that there is an uproar over Senate Bill 199, which, if passed, would include sexual orientation as a protected group under the Montana Human Rights Act. Discrimination based on race, creed, religion, color, gender, physical or mental disability, age or national origin is already illegal under state law. Well, it appears that some Montanans think that gays should not only be denied the right to marriage, but also denied access to government work because of what they do in their bedrooms.

Who opposes treating gays equally? Well, among others, the Montana Family Foundation. Why? Check this out. This is their position:

We strongly oppose this bill. SB199 would add sexual orientation as a protected class to a slew of human rights and other laws in Montana. We believe all Montanans should be treated equally.

Yep, that's their whole explanation. Confused? Let Republican Senator Dan McGee clear it up for you:

"I believe this whole issue is about behavior, even if someone wants to argue that a person is inclined to be that way," McGee said. "Well, that gives them no right to act that way."

Oh. Thanks, Dan. Unfortunately, the fact that you are inclined to be absurd gives you the right to act that way.

Longtime reader Johnny Piano weighs in via a letter to the editor of our hometown paper:

George Orwell once wrote, "If thought can corrupt language, language can also corrupt thought." This came to mind as I considered the doublespeak that opponents to Senate Bill 199 spouted in the recent House Judiciary Committee hearing.

The bill would place sexual orientation under the protection of the Montana Human Rights Act. The Act already prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, marital status, disability, and other characteristics.

Opponents to SB199 decried that this act would discriminate against their religious beliefs. It would prohibit them from discriminating against a person who represents an "abomination" to the employer's creed. What hooey!

If an employer's religion commanded that another faith is "heresy," could the employer refuse to hire people of that religion? Or an atheist? No, that would be illegal discrimination.

If an employer's religion commanded that a woman may not work outside the home, could the employer refuse to hire a woman? No, that would be illegal discrimination.

If an ... well, enough of that silly game. It's time for some common sense. Pass SB199 and pay deserved attention to more serious issues.

Amen.

The Most Important Political Issue of the Century: The Elmination of the Filibuster

After the 2004 election, us Democrats were left bewildered. How could that guy actually win reelection in light of the multiple debacles in foreign policy and the current anemic American economy? After the election, there were generally two reactions by the Democrats, 1)anger and resentment and 2)a desire to study the situation and "fix" the problem. The Republicans are currently in a state where they are shooting themselves in the foot. From the Schiavo case to Social Security reform to the present elimination of the filibuster, the Republican arrogance is attempting to act without strong support. I personally love to see it. CAN I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE: The Republicans will attempt to eliminate the effect of the filibuster in coming weeks. The obvious appearance from watching the spinning of Republican Senatorial leadership is that they have not yet received the 51 votes necessary to exercise the "nuclear option" . Democrats need to educate themselves on the rules and the history of judicial appointments. When we arm ourselves with facts, we will at the very least argue our position with confidence. So here is what is going on:

Under Senate Rule XXII, it takes sixty senators, 3/5ths of the full membership, to cut off debate and proceed to a vote. During a debate on a judicial nominee, a Republican senator would ask the Presiding Officer to rule that further debate is out of order. The Presiding Officer, VP Dickless Cheney, would so rule. The ruling would likely be challenged, but the challenge would be killed by a simple majority. (there are currently 55 Repub. Senators).

That is the procedural mechanism that will be used and from what I hear, Republicans are more than willing to use it, but they might be a vote or two short as of today. Everyone should put pressure on their senators. Republican leadership is already organizing their lies and spin. And lying they are doing with reckless abandonment. I heard the propaganda to gain support. You know the same old BS, our courts being hijacked by activist judges(The 11th circuit, the court that heard the Schiavo fed appeal, was composed of 8 rep. appointed judges, BTW) and the dems taking unprecedented moves to block Bush's appointments. Here are the facts kids and NOBODY can spin this because they are truth.

During Bush's first four years as President, he nominated 52 men and women for seats on the Circuit Court of Appeals. The Senate confirmed 35 of them. During Clinton's second term, 51 men and women were nominated and 35 were confirmed. Damn near a tie if you ask me. Furthermore, the Senate has confirmed 204 of 214 trial and appellate judicial nominees. It looks to me like the Democrats are being pretty reasonable and are blocking only the extreme nominees.

Why would Senate Republicans take such a bold move considering that this option has been available since the early 1800s, sort of? The most likely reason is their preparation for Chief Justice Renquist's vacancy. These folks want Roe v. Wade overturned and other smart decisions that are not in line with the ultraconservative platform. Here is an excerpt from The New Yorker, March 15, 2005:

"The fillibuster has been a favored tactic of the conservatives who have used it in service, successively, of preserving slavery, perpetuating white supremacy, and frustrating what Lady Bracknell, disapprovingly called "social legislation." By the same token, liberals, historically, have passionately called for its abolition. Lately the roles have reversed."

Democrats in Washington let the assault weapons ban expire without a fight, but the filibuster issue needs to be fought with everything we have. I think our biggest weapon is blocking everything in the future if they utilize the "nuclear option". So all you so called Democrats out there, take a second to write a letter or an email or blog a position statement, this is important and I am tired of seeing all these spineless Democrats lie down in fear of losing reelection: Stand up for what is right for once you little bitches.

Montana Calls It: Patriot Act Unpatriotic

There's a fortunate political wind blowing back in the Big Sky State this year. As we've mentioned before, although Montana went for Bush in the last election, they also elected a Democratic governor and Democratic majorities in the House and Senate for the first time in decades. Now they've passed a resolution (with bipartisan support, no less) which condemns the Patriot Act.

Senate Joint Resolution 19, sponsored by Sen. Jim Elliott, D-Trout Creek, says that while the 2005 Legislature supports the federal government's fight against terrorism, the so-called Patriot Act of 2001 granted authorities sweeping powers
that violate citizens' rights enshrined in both the U.S. and Montanan constitutions.

. . . "Sometimes we just take liberty for granted in the country," said Rep. Roger Koopman, R-Bozeman, who keeps a plant called "the Liberty Tree" on his legislative desk. Koopman said his Liberty Tree was "blooming for this bill."

It's refreshing to see Montana Republicans actually standing up for the stuff Republicans are supposed to stand up for, rather than shouting support for anything the Bush Administration decides to do, blindly and loudly.

Look for more of this across the country in the wake of the embarassing circus the Republican party made of the Schiavo ordeal and Bush's failure to propose a Social Security plan after all his blustering. You'll see thinking Republicans turn away from this administration in shame. They can only take so much.