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Louisville, Kentucky
www.jazzfactory.us

Lucy Bickett With The Paul Davis Trio

Featuring

Todd Hildreth--Piano Paul Davis--Bass Paul Culligan—drums

Wednesday, January 3, 2007
Sets at 7:30 p.m. & 9:30 p.m.

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Call ahead for reservations: 502-992-3242
(Full service bar, gourmet dinner menu & superb staff)

Posted by vicki at 05:16 PM

Go to Talking Points Memo and enjoy the whole tirade. Josh Marshall really distills the whole fiasco Bu$h created in Iraq and the hanging of Saddam.

One key reason we know Saddam's about to be executed is that he's about to be transferred from US to Iraqi custody, which tells you a lot. And, of course, the verdict in his trial gets timed to coincide with the US elections.

This whole endeavor, from the very start, has been about taking tawdry, cheap acts and dressing them up in a papier-mache grandeur -- phony victory celebrations, ersatz democratization, reconstruction headed up by toadies, con artists and grifters. And this is no different. Hanging Saddam is easy. It's a job, for once, that these folks can actually see through to completion. So this execution, ironically and pathetically, becomes a stand-in for the failures, incompetence and general betrayal of country on every other front that President Bush has brought us.

Try to dress this up as an Iraqi trial and it doesn't come close to cutting it -- the Iraqis only take possession of him for the final act, sort of like the Church always left execution itself to the 'secular arm'. Try pretending it's a war crimes trial but it's just more of the pretend mumbojumbo that makes this out to be World War IX or whatever number it is they're up to now.

The Iraq War has been many things, but for its prime promoters and cheerleaders and now-dwindling body of defenders, the war and all its ideological and literary trappings have always been an exercise in moral-historical dress-up for a crew of folks whose times aren't grand enough to live up to their own self-regard and whose imaginations are great enough to make up the difference. This is just more play-acting.

These jokers are being dragged kicking and screaming to the realization that the whole thing's a mess and that they're going to be remembered for it -- defined by it -- for decades and centuries. But before we go, we can hang Saddam. Quite a bit of this was about the president's issues with his dad and the hang-ups he had about finishing Saddam off -- so before we go, we can hang the guy as some big cosmic 'So There!'

Hundreds of thousands are dead and seriously wounded so Bu$h can say, "so there" to the old man. Think about it.

Posted by vicki at 03:16 PM

Jeepers H. Christmas, Leiberman is still spining Iraq as "winable" even after a recent visit to that devastated country. Check out his Bu$h-like defense of current war policy and call for a surge in Iraq. What a delusional asshole. The WaPo gives major ink to his dreck today

've just spent 10 days traveling in the Middle East and speaking to leaders there, all of which has made one thing clearer to me than ever: While we are naturally focused on Iraq, a larger war is emerging. On one side are extremists and terrorists led and sponsored by Iran, on the other moderates and democrats supported by the United States. Iraq is the most deadly battlefield on which that conflict is being fought. How we end the struggle there will affect not only the region but the worldwide war against the extremists who attacked us on Sept. 11, 2001.

Because of the bravery of many Iraqi and coalition military personnel and the recent coming together of moderate political forces in Baghdad, the war is winnable. We and our Iraqi allies must do what is necessary to win it.

Shut the bloody hell up!

Posted by vicki at 01:19 PM

It's not often we are given the straight story on the situation in Iraq, particularly from Bu$h's top military commanders. The Times is to be commended for reporting the reality on the ground in Iraq, because it's pointless to ask the brain dead WH for an honest assesment. More here

The soldiers who came upon the car in a Sunni neighborhood in Baghdad were part of a joint American and Iraqi patrol, and the Americans were ready to take action. The Iraqi commander, however, taking orders by cellphone from the office of a top Sunni politician, said to back off: the car’s owner was known and protected at a high level.

For Maj. William Voorhies, the American commander of the military training unit at the scene, the moment encapsulated his increasingly frustrating task — trying to build up Iraqi security forces who themselves are being used as proxies in a spreading sectarian war. This time, it was a Sunni politician — Vice Prime Minister Salam al-Zubaie — but the more powerful Shiites interfered even more often.

“I have come to the conclusion that this is no longer America’s war in Iraq, but the Iraqi civil war where America is fighting,” Major Voorhies said.

Hear that, Chimp? A commander on the ground in Iraq has basicly said the situation is out of control. It's over. Lost. You blew it

Posted by vicki at 03:52 PM

My head has been exploding all day over our collective media's united front in the fiction that a partial term, un-elected President, Gerald Ford, helped this country "move on" or "heal" from Nixon's many crimes, deceptions and criminal actions during "Watergate." Ford roiled this country by pardoning Nixon and his criminal, unconstitutional WH operation and put a grinding halt to the wheels of justice for a clearly criminal administration. Nixon wouldn't have had a shot in hell of victory in a court of law for his crimes, and both Nixon and Ford knew it. Spare us the sanctimony! Atrios had this to say, and linked to Matt Yglesias' site

[T]he only alternative to a full and blanket pardon wasn't putting Nixon in chains, though that was a possibility. The important thing was to find out the truth. Our elites repeatedly redefine "getting past it" as "sweeping it under the rug" based on their apparent opinion of themselves as necessary moral and spiritual leaders for the riffraff. If they are revealed to be greatly flawed then without them as a shining beacon to light the way the riffraff will go astray and the country will collapse.

They are our betters and we need them they think, and so their class must be preserved even if the occasional unpleasantness must be swept under the rug.

The sideshow will continue until a Dem Prez dies, then it will be all about the BJs.

Posted by vicki at 11:20 PM

Let's hope the coming year brings a move toward peace and against the dangerous, deluded warmongers who think they can bomb their way towards Democracy while crushing it at home. The Times does a nice job of examining the meaning of Christmas

And yet to really explain Christmas you would also have to try to answer the question that seems more pressing every year: how do those emotions and memories connect to the frenzied commercial machinery of the weeks that lead up to Christmas? What does all that retailing and wrapping paper have to do with peace on earth? There is no glossing over the problem — not to a puzzled stranger and not to ourselves. What matters is not just the disjunction between the majesty of those old hymns and the immodesty of this shopping season. It is that all those presents did not really catch the feeling we were looking for, did not say what we hoped to say.

A stranger might well wonder, don’t you always hope for peace on earth? Does good will really have a season? And if you genuinely love one another — truly hold one another in your hearts — wouldn’t simply saying it be far more eloquent than any other gift that you could give? These questions point to something most of us already know, that for all the push and pull of the Christmas rush, for all the sputtering of the commercial volcano that erupts at the end of every year, this is truly a holiday of modest spirit, a day of humble aspirations. What we want is to love and know we are loved and to imagine a world that lives up to the purity of that feeling.

Peace!

Posted by vicki at 11:04 AM | Comments (2)

Is this what Bu$h is complaining about when he whines about reporters not reporting all the good things happening in Iraq?

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Baghdad's vicious sectarian war has claimed another victim; a Christmas tradition that used to bond the city's Christian community closer to their Muslim neighbours is dying.

Until this year, Muslim farmers from Baghdad's outskirts would descend on Sadun Street in downtown Karrada to sell Christmas trees to the area's large Christian community and exchange season's greetings.

Prices were low and, for the remaining Christians in an increasingly dangerous district, it was as much an inter-religious social event as a market.

"They used to wish me Merry Christmas before selling me the tree I chose," said mother-of-two Mary Hanna. "I miss them and their trees this year."

Reporters who visited Karrada in the build-up to Christmas found very few tree stalls, where once Sadun street would have been decked with green boughs.

Posted by vicki at 11:36 AM

Click this link for a lovely 12 Days of Christmas treat.

Peace On Earth, Liberals!

Posted by vicki at 11:51 PM

Let's hope the new Democratic Congress puts an end to throwing OUR tax dollars at Big Oil. Just take a look at This New York Times article

The United States offers some of the most lucrative incentives in the world to companies that drill for oil in publicly owned coastal waters, but a newly released study suggests that the government is getting very little for its money.

The study, which the Interior Department refused to release for more than a year, estimates that current inducements could allow drilling companies in the Gulf of Mexico to escape tens of billions of dollars in royalties that they would otherwise pay the government for oil and gas produced in areas that belong to American taxpayers.

But the study predicts that the inducements would cause only a tiny increase in production even if they were offered without some of the limitations now in place.

It also suggests that the cost of that additional oil could be as much as $80 a barrel, far more than the government would have to pay if it simply bought the oil on its own.

“They are giving up a lot of money and not getting much in return,” said Robert A. Speir, a former analyst at the Energy Department who worked on the report. “If they took that money, they could buy a whole lot more oil with it on the open market.”

Oil closed Thursday at $62.66 a barrel in regular trading.

The headline is misleading. It is clear that incentives are hurting taxpayers

Posted by vicki at 09:04 AM | Comments (1)

Blowhard hate radio host, Dennis Prager and Reps. Duncan Hunter and Virgil Goode are having a cow over the mere assumption that incoming Democratic Freshman, Keith Ellison might take a CEREMONIAL oath of office with his hand on the Koran. Rep. Ellison is the first Muslim elected to Congress. As such, this chorus of GOP bigots have been getting their freak on over this for days now, in what appears to be the latest GOP meme of defiant intolerance. From the Times

— The board that oversees the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum here publicly distanced itself on Thursday from a member who recently condemned the first Muslim elected to Congress for planning to use a Koran during the private part of his swearing-in ceremony.

In November, the board member, Dennis Prager, a conservative commentator and radio show host, said that Keith Ellison, the newly elected Muslim member of Congress, should give up his post if he could not take his oath on a Bible, which Mr. Prager said was the traditional religious text of the United States. [my bold]

In its resolution, the council’s executive committee criticized Mr. Prager’s remarks as “antithetical to the mission of the museum as an institution promoting tolerance and respect for all peoples regardless of their race, religion or ethnicity.”

Mr. Prager, one of 68 members of the board, known as the Holocaust Memorial Council, was appointed to the unpaid post by President Bush, and is serving a five-year term, which expires in 2011, said Andrew Hollinger, a spokesman for the council.

Mr. Hollinger said Mr. Bush had the sole power to remove Mr. Prager.

Posted by vicki at 08:38 AM

I got this from www.crooksandliars.com

Free copies of "An Inconvenient Truth" for educators
50,000 copies of the climate change documentary An Inconvenient Truth which were rejected by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) after apparent pressure from Exxon and oil industry advocates are now offered free of charge to teachers via Participate.net.

Random trivia snippet: I went to a cool Current.tv event hosted by Al Gore last week in Los Angeles, and at one point Gore told the audience that Inconvenient Truth should have been named "Kill Al Volume 1," because the producers pretty much worked him to death to make and promote the movie.

While you're there, check out the John Lennon FBI files. CLick here

Posted by vicki at 11:08 AM | Comments (1)

Here's a bit of the article in the Times today showing another glimpse of just how badly the US has lost all control in Iraq. Read the whole sorry tale here.

Iraq’s former electricity minister, the most senior official arrested on corruption charges here, made a brazen escape Sunday afternoon from an Iraqi jail in the heavily fortified Green Zone.

There were conflicting reports about how the former official, Aiham Alsammarae, who is a citizen of both the United States and Iraq, was able not only to break out of jail but also to elude capture in the four-square-mile area that includes the American Embassy, Iraq’s Parliament and the homes of politicians and members of the American military command. . .

While the Green Zone is the most protected part of this country — a maze of massive concrete blast walls and military checkpoints with thousands of armed guards working for private security firms and American soldiers — Mr. Alsammarae was hardly kept under tight security.

He was not even locked up in a cell. Instead, he was quartered in a spare officer’s room near the lobby of the prison. He had at least two cellphones and a computer with access to e-mail. He behaved more as a friend to his jailers than a prisoner.

During a recent visit by a reporter and a photographer from The New York Times, Mr. Alsammarae was allowed to walk out in front of the jail and guide a tour of sorts around the facility. He went to where the cells are located and chatted with a deputy finance minister who was also in jail.

So, there you have it. And Bu$h wants to "double down" in Baghdad to waste more time and lives over his gigantic SNAFU. It's over.

Posted by vicki at 02:33 PM | Comments (2)

You are the Time Magazine Person of the Year. You can make a difference.

It is becoming more likely that Bush will send more troops to Iraq in the New Year and keep the war going for years.

In order to stop this escalation please call congress and the president as soon as possible. Calls do have a big impact.

President is 202-456-1111. You may have to leave a message.

Congress Switchboard. 800-828-0498/ 202-224-3121. Ask the operator for Senator and/or Representative you would like to message.

Key Senators are Mcconnell, Bunning, Warner, Graham, McCain, Collins, Specter, Lugar, Levin, Bayh, Reid, Obama, Clinton etc. There may be others you favor.

Key Represenatives are Murtha, Chandler, Yarmuth, Kucinich, Shays, Pelosi, etc.

Talking Points:

End the War Now. Stop the escalation now. No more troops. Bring our troops home now. The Iraq War was a huge mistake. We are close to 3000 American military dead and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis. Bush and Cheney lied about our progress in the war. Iraqis want us gone. Terrorism is overstated. The adverse impact of our leaving Iraq is overstated. Bush will sacrifice our troops to keep the war going and try and justify his decision to go to war.
The White House is laying the groundwork for an escalation of fighting including the possibility of a new draft.

Please support this effort to help ensure that the Iraq War ends soon and we do not escalate the war by sending more troops.

Harold Trainer, USAF, Ret

Posted by Maria at 03:00 PM | Comments (2)

There's an excellent discussion going on at Fire Dog Lake (see blog links DL Louisville approves on right side) and here for the best roundup ever for why we need to ditch the corrupt, racist electorial college and get with a one person, one vote system of honest Democracy in this country. Here's a snip:

Now, before everyone gets upset and thinks that we are saying all southerners are racists: the data does not say that. But when it comes to conservative white southerners, I'm sorry to say that the evidence is clear. When all is said and done, the thing that separates them from the rest of the nation is racism. All the racial codes, the slick misdirection, even the appeals to homophobia and religion are in some sense directed at this one simple characteristic. And that characteristic is the thing that trumps all the other concerns about economic justice that Democrats persist in believing they can use to persuade white southern males to vote for them. Democrats simply cannot thread that needle.

Schaller does not "write off the south" as so many assume. Indeed, he explicitly endorses Howard Dean's 50 state strategy to build for the future and ensure that Democrats are prepared to step in where opportunities present themselves. What he is saying is it is impossible for Democrats to currently win nationally by trying to appeal to the southern conservative majority, which seems to me to be an obvious point. You can't be all things to all people.

Word! But you can be the true moral voice for all the people when you stand up for equality and against oppression. KKKarl Rove is an ass who's time has passed.

Posted by vicki at 11:19 PM | Comments (1)

In case you missed this letter to the Ed. in today's paper, here it is for your reading pleasure:

Duty to impeach

Fisherville, Ky. 40023

Hahahahahahahahahahaha. Write on!

Posted by vicki at 05:14 PM | Comments (2)

Yikes! The Times doccumented the increase of rampaging elephants recently. Poachers, cruel humans and encroaching developement are most likely to blame. You can read more here: Osama the elephant

An elephant named "Osama bin Laden" that has killed 27 people in northeast India, has been shot dead, triggering protests by conservationists who say forestry officials had probably shot the wrong animal.

Some animal rights activists fear other elephants might seek revenge for "Osama's" death.The 10-feet tall male elephant had been terrorising villagers in Assam state for the past two years, destroying hundreds of homes and trampling scores of people -- prompting locals to name him after the elusive al Qaeda leader.

The animal was accused of killing 14 people in the past month. A forestry official said on Sunday "Osama" had been shot dead on Saturday in a tea plantation on the outskirts of Behali town, about 140 km (90 miles) north of Guwahati, Assam's main city.

"The elephant was killed after villagers identified him," a senior forestry official said, adding the animal could be identified because it had no tusks.

Despite efforts by local authorities to hunt him down, "Osama" had evaded them moving from place to place, hiding in forests and tea estates in the northern parts of Assam.

The real Osama bin Laden remains at large.

Posted by vicki at 04:57 PM | Comments (5)

Need to get that perfect Liberal a perfect gift? The DL store has the goods! Click here Today is the last day of the SALE and free, guaranteed to arrive before Christmas shipping.

Be a Do-Gooder and Give Liberally.

Peace On Earth!

Posted by vicki at 04:34 PM

We should all keep Sen. Johnson in our thoughts and prayers. I find it appaling that the talking heads and various media folks are morbidly talking about what might happen if he dies or is mentally incapacitated. How sick! There is nothing more heartbreaking than to have a family member or loved one in critical condition during the holidays, in what should be a time of happiness and celebration. My heart goes out to the Johnson family and I hope they know that DECENT people hope the Senator makes a full and speedy recovery.

Here's the latest statement put out on his condition:

Admiral John Eisold, Attending Physician of the United States Capitol said, “Subsequent to his admission to George Washington University Hospital yesterday, Senator Tim Johnson was found to have had an intracerebral bleed caused by a congenital arteriovenous malformation. He underwent successful surgery to evacuate the blood and stabilize the malformation. The Senator is recovering without complication in the critical care unit at George Washington University Hospital. It is premature to determine whether further surgery will be required or to assess any long term prognosis.”

Posted by vicki at 02:21 PM | Comments (1)

A second staffer for former Lt. Governor, Steve Henry has resigned. Like Jake Payne ( DL friend)before her, campaign spokesperson/manager resigned to look "for other opportunities." But check out the www.bluegrassreport.com and try to understand what's going on here. This deserves some serious investigative reporting.

I [Nickolas] contacted Jacob Payne yesterday by e-mail and asked about his departure. In response, Payne e-mailed me the following statement:

For the past six months I have had the pleasure of working with Steve Henry. I was afforded the opportunity of meeting hundreds of people across the Commonwealth and am quite thankful for that. While it is true that I made the decision to discontinue work with Steve last week, that decision was wholly my own and in the interest of pursuing other opportunities. I wish Steve and his family all the best.

These departures raise a host of questions of whether Henry is skirting Kentucky election laws by hiring and paying campaign staff without filing any candidacy papers with the Secretary of State's office. . ..

I'm [ Mark Nickolas] not going to go farther than this right now, as I'm still unearthing some fairly damning evidence, but certain questions should be asked of Henry:

* How did Henry pay his staff?
* Which entity paid them and what were their job assignments?
* Did any staff do any work relating to a potential gubernatorial bid?
* Why is Henry still utilizing a 1998 Senate campaign account when he's not a candidate?
* Which entity is he deeming as "exploratory" as it relates to the recent $10,000 purchase of the KDP voter file, since there was no detail information on the KDP's FEC report?
* What activities did Henry undertake with the voter file purchased from the KDP?

This pathetic state needs someone to run who has an unblemished record. Anybody out there?

Posted by vicki at 01:21 PM | Comments (1)

Our Hacktacular assclown Governor is still running away from owning up to his criminal behavior. Get right with the Lord and tell the truth for a change, Ernie! From the C-J

The whole point of Ernie Fletcher's campaign for governor was supposed to be a restoration of respect for law, a new commitment to propriety and order in Frankfort. But here he is, thumbing his nose at a subpoena to appear during today's personnel hearing in the case of fired Transportation Cabinet investigator Mike Duncan. Gov. Fletcher would have voters believe that the merit system scandal, which has cost taxpayers millions of dollars and an even greater measure of confidence in government, has been a learning experience. He admits mistakes were made, although by unspecified somebodies. Well, those somebodies may or may not have learned any lessons, but Gov. Fletcher clearly has failed to grasp the big one: When you do wrong, plead guilty and pledge reform. By refusing to appear at today's Personnel Board hearing, he has done precisely the opposite. And he didn't even offer a credible excuse.

Time to throw the bum out.

Posted by vicki at 07:36 AM | Comments (1)

The WH is desperately trying to keep whistleblowers and inspecters general from trying to uncover government waste, fraud and abuse of taxpayer dollars. Does it get any more disgusting and obvious where Bu$hCo's loyalties lie? Heckuv a job, BushCo

One of the many areas of government neglect that needs urgent fixing is the lack of supervision of dollar burners like the Iraq war and homeland security: the Pentagon says it has 100,000 civilians now in Iraq on government contracts. Yet the new head of the General Services Administration — an executive agency that manages over $55 billion in contracts for Iraq, homeland security and other areas — is intent on cutting the budget of her agency’s inspector general.

The inspector general is one of the independent watchdogs created by Congress to make sure taxpayers get their money’s worth from mammoth agencies like the G.S.A. But the G.S.A. chief, Lurita Alexis Doan, plans a $5 million cut for the inspector’s office, aiming to replace some government auditors with hires from the private sector

Posted by vicki at 06:53 AM

With all the focus on Iraq, not many seem to realize how badly we've blown it in Afghanistan as well. The Taliban are back to their old ways and whatever "routing" of them we did after 911 is a distant memory. All that cheap talk about liberating women from oppression and opening schools is over. Done. Forgotten. Read it and weep.

The Taliban gunmen who murdered two teachers in eastern Afghanistan early Saturday were only following their rules: Teachers receive a warning, then a beating, and if they continue to teach must be killed.

The new list of 30 rules, decided on during a high Taliban meeting in September or October and since circulated over the Internet, span from the organizational - no jihad equipment may be used for personal means - to the health conscious - militants are not supposed to smoke.

They also contain a grave warning for aid workers and educators.

Rule No. 24 forbids anyone to work as a teacher "under the current puppet regime, because this strengthens the system of the infidels." One rule later, No. 25, says teachers who ignore Taliban warnings will be killed.

Taliban militants early Saturday broke into a house in the eastern province of Kunar, killing a family of five, including two sisters who were teachers.

The women had been warned in a letter to quit teaching, said Gulam Ullah Wekar, the provincial education director. Their mother, grandmother and a male relative were also slain in the attack.

The two sisters brought to 20 the number of teachers killed in Taliban attacks this year, said Education Ministry spokesman Zuhur Afghan. He said 198 schools have been burned down this year, up from about 150 last year.

[my bold] More money and lives down the drain because we don't have a strong enough force in place to do more than tred water. *Sigh*

Posted by vicki at 08:55 PM

Jeepers H. Christmas. I'd cry my ass off too if I gave birth to a son who wrecked the great United States of America in 6 short years. But what an un-manly man Senior has been these last 6 years. 41 makes a great deal of money speaking at Insurance Conventions and other GOP favorite special interest events around the world and frequently blubbers (folks I know who have attended these events have been telling me they saw it with their own eyes) when talking about his miserable failure of a son, GW. Check out the video Salon has of the former Crier-in-Chief here and marvel at what brings tears to his eyes. This nation has been brought low by W and Jeb, yet 41 is very, very sad about about his poor, mis-understood family. What a legacy of destruction of everything we ought to hold dear: not acting as thugs on the world stage, killing free and fair elections, lying the country into war and shredding the Constitution to cover up criminalty. Makes you wanna weep.

Politics
The week that was -- in 4 minutes or less! Click it and weep.

Posted by vicki at 08:10 PM | Comments (1)

I had the misfortune of seeing this on www.thinkprogress.com MY EYES!!!!!

Posted by vicki at 10:28 AM | Comments (2)

I got this quote from www.crooksandliars.com which got it from an interview Keith Olberman had with Russ Feingold on "Countdown" last night. Can I hear an Amen?

Unfortunately, the Iraq Study Group report does too little to change the flawed mind-set that led to the misguided war in Iraq. Maybe there are still people in Washington who need a study group to tell them that the policy in Iraq isn’t working, but the American people are way ahead of this report.

While the report has regenerated a few good ideas, it doesn’t adequately put Iraq in the context of a broader national security strategy. We need an Iraq policy that is guided by our top national security priority – defeating the terrorist network that attacked us on 9/11 and its allies. We can’t continue to just look at Iraq in isolation. Unless we set a serious timetable for redeploying our troops from Iraq, we will be unable to effectively address these global threats. In the end, this report is a regrettable example of ‘official Washington’ missing the point.

No kidding. These wankers are so proud of their "work" that they are incapable of seeing just how pointless an excersise it was. But it was BIPARTISAN! [/swoon]

Posted by vicki at 12:02 PM | Comments (2)

The entire Iraq Study (sic) Group. What a bunch of wankers. They came up with a "plan" that Dems have been floating for ages. They fiddled for 8 months while Iraq burned and thousands died in that hell hole of Bu$h's making. I'm not impressed. The most remarkable thing to come out of their "study" was their smug self-satisfaction about how non-partisan they were. It was nausea inducing to watch the self-congratulatory stance they took when appearing before the cameras to bravely pronounce the situation in Iraq "dire." Gee, ya think? The public has known that for an entire year. Thanks, oh great and wise men (and one woman) of beltway wisdom.

The highest (dis) honor goes to Lee Hamilton, that useful tool of the right, who never misses an opportunity to debase himself in the service of corrupt and incompetent Republican administrations. He's made a career out of giving cover to the major players of the botched Iran-Contra affair, the failure to prevent 9/11 and the current mess in the Middle East by never asking tough, relevant questions or truly holding offending administrations accountable. It doesn't get any more shameful than that.

So, keep patting yourselves on the back, ISG. You told the Bu$h administration what voters told him a month ago. Iraq is a fiasco and nothing you have to offer will change that. Your work is finished and so is this mis-administration. Thanks for nothing.

Posted by vicki at 09:54 AM | Comments (3)

I know the fundies have selective outrage over these types of things, but this means Mary Cheney's baby will have two mommies. Hahahahahahaha. This was reported in the WaPo but I like (((GAY BLOGGER))) John's take on it at here

Oh, man, is this gonna be fun. Just watching the religious right try to bite their tongues and not slam the vice president's family. I'm very happy for Mary and Heather, and in their own way they're breaking new ground and making a difference for gay people in this country, finally. But still, this is gonna be priceless just to watch the collective heads of the religious right explode.

Mary Cheney, the vice president's openly gay daughter, is pregnant. She and her partner of 15 years, Heather Poe, are "ecstatic" about the baby, due in late spring, said a source close to the couple.

Posted by vicki at 08:49 AM

Woo Hoo! Yarmuth's pick for chief of staff, Ms. Carr, has long worked for Rep. Louise Slaughter, (D-New York) a KY native and one of the best Liberals in Congress. Slaughter has lived in New York for decades now and is one of the most awesome Liberal members of Congress there is. Way to go, John!

U.S. Rep.-elect John Yarmuth has named Julie Carr, a Louisville native with more than a decade of experience on Capitol Hill, to be his chief of staff.

For the past two years, Carr, 35, has been chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Louise Slaughter, a Kentucky native and veteran Democratic congresswoman from upstate New York.

Carr “brings a unique combination of experience and contacts on Capitol Hill and knowledge of and love for Louisville,” Yarmuth said in a statement issued Monday.
Carr said she will start work for Yarmuth on Jan. 3.

She predicted Yarmuth’s first two years will be intense, and she is eager to help him establish a solid record.

“You have to prove yourself to constituents that you can do the job,” she said of freshman congressmen.

I've blogged about Rep. Slaughter several times in the past. This should be wonderful for Louisville.

Here is the link

Posted by vicki at 10:14 PM

Congress needs to start impeachment proceedings NOW! We can't take 2 more years of disaster. You're going to need to sit down for this one. Osama-been-forgotten is still on the loose and things in Afghanistan are going backwards. The Times brings us this news:

Five years after the fall of the Taliban, a joint report by the Pentagon and the State Department has found that the American-trained police force in Afghanistan is largely incapable of carrying out routine law enforcement work, and that managers of the $1.1 billion training program cannot say how many officers are actually on duty or where thousands of trucks and other equipment issued to police units have gone.

In fact, most police units had less than 50 percent of their authorized equipment on hand as of June, says the report, which was issued two weeks ago but is only now circulating among members of relevant Congressional committees.

The sickening level of corruption in Afghanistan rivals the GOP in the US. How sad.

Posted by vicki at 08:07 AM

From Planned Parenthood:

Come to planned parenthood of Louisville
1025 S. Second street,
On December 6th and receive free EC*
And please forward this email to let other women know
About this exciting event!
If you would like to support this event, please contact Emily Burroughs at 502-584-2471 ext. 236 or emily.burroughs@ppfa.org.
*EC should not be used as a substitute for regular contraceptives. It does not protect against HIV or other sexually transmitted diseases.
+one dose per person at the 1025 south second street health center

Posted by vicki at 07:39 AM

Why are we still fighting this battle?

By Chris Kenning
ckenning@courier-journal.com
Dozens of Louisville activists, parents, teachers and college students will demonstrate Monday outside the U.S. Supreme Court as it hears arguments in two challenges to voluntary school desegregation.

At a press conference yesterday, members of the Kentucky Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression said they will travel by bus to join other groups, including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, to urge the challenges be rejected.

"We don't want a rollback of civil-rights gains," said Gracie Lewis, a member of the group.

At issue is whether districts can voluntarily desegregate schools, absent a court order, by using race as a factor in assigning students.

It's the first time the high court has considered the issue.

Louisville parent Crystal Meredith has argued in a lawsuit that it was unconstitutional for the district to deny her son entry to Bloom Elementary because he is white. Her case is being heard with a companion case from Seattle.

A decision is expected next year.

Posted by vicki at 07:25 AM

You can visit Clifton Unitarian Church live or online at www.cliftonunitarian.org or at 2231 Payne Street.

Here is an excerpt of DLer, Rev. Todd's sermon on dogs. (How cool is THAT?) Then go to the NOVA site.

There’s an old 1960’s song about “Puppy Love” that uses the term in a way that diminishes the feelings of love between young people. But just this week I was myself blessed with the lavish kisses of an eight-week-old bloodhound, and I can assure you, there is nothing diminutive about a puppy’s love—it’s the real McCoy! As I reached my hand into its playpen, while shopping at a nearby Feeder Supply store, the tiny black and brown bundle of fur immediately stood and leaned against my arm, letting me know it wanted to be held. After eagerly obliging, it began abundantly licking my face, until it finally squirmed high enough to rest its head upon my shoulder. It then opened its mouth and lightly panted, appearing as if it were smiling, content, instinctively understanding that, for that moment, at least, all was well with the world

If, as Jesus said, “God is love,” then I have no doubt this encounter was an expression of the divine love that permeates and sustains the entire Universe.

Read the rest of Todd's sermon here and then check out then check out The Nova site on Dogs here.

Thanks, Rev Todd! Thanks Hank!

Posted by vicki at 09:43 PM

Woo Hoo! This voting block may not vote in large numbers, but those who do reject the gay bashing, race baiting and blurring of Church and State issues in huge numbers. So much for "genius" KKKarl Rove. Sid Blumenthal offers his take on the latest election data.

Bush has been the formative political experience for the youngest generation of voters, those 18 to 30. Studies of voting preferences show that the experience imprinted on a generation in its 20s largely determines its future political complexion. This generation is the most Democratic generation ever -- more Democratic than the youngest voting generations of the New Deal and the 1960s. In generational terms, their political alignment is also logical. As the children of the 1960s generation and the grandchildren of the New Deal generation, they have inherited those generations' political genes. The in-between, more conservative generations -- the so-called Silent Generation of the 1950s and their children -- are smaller in numbers and weaker in cultural and political influence.

Looks like a GOP "permanant majority" is another fantasy in the mind (sic) of George Bu$h.

Posted by vicki at 12:41 PM

DL buddy gets props for sending me this. Make a difference.

Bono Video Here

Thanks, Ken! You kick ASS!

Posted by vicki at 06:04 PM

Crikey! It is pure mayhem in a Middle East destabilized by George W. Bu$h. Close to a million pro-Hezbolla protesters in Lebanon are attempting a coup to overthrow the government. Last week the Saudis summoned Dick Cheney to discuss the dangers in the reigon. Israel is itching to use all the military power power (the nukes?) they have to crush Hezbolla. Just imagine the hell on Earth that could spark. No more foreign oil! From CNN

BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) -- At least 200,000 people packed the streets of Beirut Friday, responding with cheers and applause as Christian opposition leader Michel Aoun called for Prime Minister Fouad Siniora to step down.

The rally -- which included Hezbollah and other groups opposed to Siniora's government -- stretched for blocks. Security sources said at least 200,000 people were involved, but video suggested the number was even higher. The Associated Press cited police estimates of 800,000 protesters.[. . . ]

Friday's rally was called by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, whose pro-Syrian ministers have resigned from the Lebanese Cabinet.

"This government will not take Lebanon to the abyss. We have several steps if this government does not respond, but I tell them you will not be able to rule Lebanon with an American administration," he told Hezbollah's al-Manar television.

Opposition supporters streamed into the center of Beirut for the rally. "We're here to bring down the government. We, the resistance, don't want any influence from the United States," Najwa Bouhamdan, 41, told Reuters.

Following up a threat to challenge Siniora's government if it did not give in to key demands -- including giving Shiites enough Cabinet seats for veto power -- Hezbollah and other powers showed their strength in a battle for control of the Middle Eastern nation. (Watch security forces on high alert Video)

Posted by vicki at 12:57 PM