Archive for October, 2005
John Scalito Alito, motherfucker
Posted in Evil, Grrr..., Law by Chris at 12:32
As the Rude Pundit points out… he’s a motherfucker.
One of the keys to note here is that Alito is an activist judge. An activist judge with no respect for stare decisis. He is precisely the kind of judge that the KKKonservatives rail against when that judge does not share their opinions. For example, as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in 1986, this neanderthal said:
discrimination based on insufficient medical knowledge was not prohibited by federal laws protecting the handicapped. Employers, it said, may legally fire AIDS victims because of a ‘fear of contagion whether reasonable or not.’
Given his dissent in Bray, today’s bullshit parade of Scalito in front of Rosa Park’s body was the most crass, abhorrent thing I’ve seen since… the Pentagon’s “Freedom” March.
You’d better fight this, Dems. Fight now, or the reaper’s coming.
Remember how the Dems didn’t fight Roberts because they were “saving their ammo” for the next one? Remember how Roberts didn’t need to be fought since he was replacing Rehnquist, who was a authoritarian nutjob anyway?
Well, that time is over, and the time to fight is now or never. No more go along to get along. No more appeasement. No more roll-over-and-play-dead crap. Fight, you little weenies, fight.
Dodger ownership is peopled by morons
Posted in Baseball by Chris at 12:19
is that moronii? Moroni is that Mormon cult’s favorite angel and all, so you’ve got to toss the second i in to avoid confusion and angry mobs of hidden underwear-wearing polygamist cultists at your door. Or maybe not. Fuck it, it’s moroni as the plural for “moron” now. Bring it on, bitches.
Where was I? Oh yes, the Dodgers fired Paul DePodesta, who is pretty much the ideal old school/new school GM out there. If I were an owner, I would have had an offer on the table for him within 30 minutes of the news breaking. Or 1 minute if I was forewarned.
Essentially, DePo was undone by injuries to his team and a poisonous LA media that couldn’t stand the out of towner. Ignorant pigfuckers that they are, sports journalists tend to like people who are nice to them and take them out for steak dinner and give them easy homilies and cliches to regurgitate as inside wisdom. DePo might have dined them, but he was his own guy, and in Chavez ravine that’s a death sentence these days.
But back to the cluelessness of the Dodger managment. Here’s their offseason plan (coming off of a 71-91 season): 1) fire the PR people; 2) fire the manager (this one was justified, if only for his handling of Hee Seop Choi); 3) wait three weeks; 4) fire the GM.
Idiots.
So, M’s, somebody… call this guy. He’s a good GM.
Everything you need to know about Alito and why his nomination needs to be stopped
Posted in Law by Chris at 10:12
Looks like the fundie mouthbreathers are getting their nominee after all. If the Dems don’t filibuster this caveman, they may as well just start lining up against the wall now for when the American Taliban’s revolution comes. At the very least, they need to start polishing their Vichy badges up.
Summary of Alito’s philosophy (cribbing all of these from Think Progress):
Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey - Goodbye Roe, goodbye right to choose, husbands have a property interest in their wives’ uteruses.
Bray v. Marriott Hotels - goodbye affirmative action, lessened civil rights
Nathanson v. Medical College of Pennsylvania - Goodbye Americans with Disabilities Act, goodbye accomodation for the lesser abled.
Chittister v. Department of Community and Economic Developmen - Goodbye family leave and medical act
Doe v. Groody - Goodbye fourth amendment protections
Dia v. Ashcroft; Ki Se Lee v. Ashcroft - Goodbye protection for immigrants and non-citizens
They don’t call him Scalito for nothing.
Scalia-Lite Nominated to SCOTUS
Posted in Law by KeithS at 06:41
The sleazy little shit from Crawford, TexASS has nominated Samuel Alito to fill O’Conner’s slot on the supreme court. Many consider the 55-year-old Alito so ideologically similar to Justice Antonin Scalia that he has earned the nicknames “Scalito” and “Scalia-lite”.
Lets hope that the Democrats have grown a spine. This is the fight that is important enough to take a stand on and risk the nuclear option. This is also the time that the Preznit is least able to marshall all of his forces because of recent setbacks. If we can’t beat this nomination back at this time, then we can never hope to block ideologue judges in the future.
In Planned Parenthood v. Casey, Alito was the sole dissenter on the Third Circuit, which struck down a Pennsylvania law that required women seeking abortions to consult their husbands. SCOTUS struck down the law in a 6-3. Chief Justice Renquist used Alitos reasoning in his dissenting opinion.
In my opinon, even though Harriet Miers lacked qualificaiton to be a supreme court justice, the main reason she pulled out as the preznit’s nominee was because she was not Radical enough for Dobson and the WrongWing of the GOP. If the Alito nomination is sucessful, there will be no one on the Supreme Court who will be to the right of him.
Friday, 28 October 2005
Bid on Natalie Portman’s Yearbook!
Posted in Eye Rollers, Pop Culture by Chris at 12:44
Some people have too much time on their hands, but not this guy!
Wow. I really need to contain my enthusiasm.
Her last name is “Hershlag,” by the way.
All US passports to use RFID within a year
Posted in Freedom, Grrr..., News by Chris at 11:06
Hey, I’ve got an idea! How about we use insecure technology that can be scanned from 4 meters away for identity documents of primary importance? Huh? Sounds like a great plan, doesn’t it?
As previously reported, the State Department has been struggling with concerns over privacy and security in developing new passports. The struggle has ended, and by “October 2006, all U.S. passports, with the exception of a small number of emergency passports issued by U.S. embassies or consulates, will be electronic passports.” Of course, by “electronic” it is not meant that passports will be paperless, rather the paper will have embedded RFID.
There’s also a requirement that all other countries must use chipped passports as well.
Biometric data is limited to a digitized photograph of the passport holder at this time. The holder’s name, nationality, gender, date of birth, location of birth, are also recorded, as well as information about the passport itself.
Even with anti-skimming material in the passport, a reader still need only get within 10cm of your passport to rip the info.
Sure. This is a good idea. Oh yeah. I can see this turning out well. Definitely.
Fitzmas: Libby indicted
Posted in Law, News, War, Yay! by Chris at 09:46
Shocking no one, Scooter’s going down.
Patrick Fitzgerald, the special prosecutor in the CIA leak probe, plans to ask members of the grand jury to indict I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff
This makes it the first time in 130 years that a member of the White House staff has been indicted.
Honesty. Integrity. Honor.
Conservative Criminals.
Update: here’s the indictment (single-page text and pdf version). 5 counts for Scooter: obstruction of justice, two false statements, and two perjuries.
Libby has resigned. Why are you still protecting “Official A” Cheney, Scooter?
Lest we forget, this is not about perjury, this is about our government taking us into an illegal war through lies, deception, and subterfuge, and then covering the whole thing up. This is a small step toward addressing that, but it is both insufficient and too late. This is one of the darkest periods of our nation’s history.
I guess in such times, even a pinprick of light can look like a blazing sun.
Also, in an attempt to be less Xian-centric, the next two indictments will be under the headings of Fitznnukah and Fitzaa. I like Fitzaa. Needs an exclamation point and a few more a’s, though - Fitzaaaaaa!
They call him Flipper… Flipper… queen of the seeeaaaa
Posted in Evil, Law, News, Politics by Chris at 09:35
Rove’s a rat… probably.
As I noted earlier, the news reports on Rove are conflicting. But this statement by one “non-legal” member of his team, who I assume is the P.R. specialist Mark Carballo who signed on to Rove’s team the other day, leads me to believe Rove took a deal and Fitzgerald has agreed not to announce it immediately
A fink. A stool pigeon. A canary.
Even if he did flip to save his own skin, he should be fired. Just remember:
For two years, the White House has insisted that presidential adviser Karl Rove had nothing to do with the leak of a CIA officer’s identity. And President Bush said the leaker would be fired.
Humor Friday - Onion edition
Posted in Humor, Yay! by Chris at 08:09
The Onion to the White House: Fuck me? Fuck YOU!
(this is in response to the White House sending a C&D to the Onion over use of the Presidential Seal)
Thursday, 27 October 2005
Books!
Posted in Misc by Chris at 19:45
Spent most of the eve updating my library on LT. Got through one of my bookcases at least. One more bookcase and a million boxes to go!
If he ever links this with movies/DVDs and a way to sell them (via Amazon, I would suspect), this could be dangerous. And powerful.
Wingnuttia’s lost it - Fitzmas edition
Posted in Eye Rollers, Humor, News, Politics by Chris at 08:21
Wow, breaking news. No indictments for Rove or Libby, but Joe and Valerie Wilson are going down!!!!1!1!!!11
If I had to lay odds, I would say it was put up by one of the General’s soldiers. Good times.
BREAKING: GOOD NEWS IN PLAME CASE!!!
By: DC Insider ยท Section: DiariesMy sources are relaying to me information that may be very good news re: the Plame Case.
Although I cannot substantiate this info 100%, I am receiving this from sources very close to the investigation and grand jury:1. No indictments for Rove, Libby or any member of the administration.
2. Pobable indictments for Vallerie Plame, Joseph Wilson and one as yet unknown high ranking Congressional Democrat.
3. No wrong doing or misuse of intelligence on the part of the administration.
4. Possible criminal conduct in an attempt to smear the White House on the part of Congressional Democrats, Plame and Wilson.
(Again, take this with a grain of salt but this is what I am hearing from my sources and the D.C. grape vine)
Yeah… definitely a parody.
Update: awwwww, apparently Tacitus doesn’t like being called a moron. Poor baby. I remember when s/he/it used to be worthwhile reading. Before s/he/it sold out and became a partisan hack on the level of an assrocket or those corner people. Now s/he/it’s just a minor hack regurgitating talking points with a thin skin, a narcissistic bent, and a penchant for onanistic pompasity just this side of hitchens-ville.
So, I take back the moron part, Tacky. Sorry if I upset you. I was wrong. You’re not a moron. You’re a tool. A tiny, overcompensating tool at that. But not a moron. Nope. I hope you get all the scaife goodies for which you’ve ever longed and given your integrity. And a pony!
Miers run off for the wrong reasons……
Posted in Law by KeithS at 08:13
Well, its official, Harriet Miers has withdrawn her name for consideration for appointment to SCOTUS. I’m not upset that she doesn’t get to wear the black robe, because she clearly was not someone who is qualified to sit on the highest court in the land, I am upset about the real reason she isn’t able to get this nomination.
There was one litmus test for the Republicans on this one, and she failed to convince the faithful that she would overturn Roe v Wade. If it were clear that he would vote to overturn Roe v Wade, the GOP would put Forrest Gump on the court. Heck, they have already elected his less intelligent cousin as Preznit because of his religious leanings.
Library Thing
Posted in Misc, Pop Culture by Chris at 08:07
I kind of brushed past it yesterday when I was talking about Delicious Monster, but Library Thing is pretty cool too. If you’re an obsessive geek with a large book collection, that is. Which I am.
So if you’re a book lover and want to see your real community (as opposed to the one you just think you’re a part of)… sign up and/or look around. I’m curious to know how many other Terry Pratchett - Eiji Yoshikawa readers there are out there.
