The Twelve Days of Christmas Song Parodies continues…

These are a few noteworthy news stories that have been orbiting the stratosphere this week.

BREAKING NEWS: This week’s edition of, “It Makes Your Head Spin Like Linda Blair’s” features Sarah Palin. It was just announced that the former ex-quitting governor of Alaska will appear as a paid guest speaker at a fund raiser for a pair of Canadian “Socialized Medicine” hospitals. Huh? The Anchorage Daily News reports, “Sarah Palin has been booked for an April speaking engagement at a fundraiser for two Hamilton, Ontario, hospitals that, Think Progress reminds us, are part of Canada’s abortion-providing, single-payer health care system and offer the type of end-of-life counseling that Palin has attributed to death panels.”

THIS JUST IN: In other Sarah Palin related news we have a new tidbit from her once and future son-in-law Levi Johnston. Johnston’s manager, Tank Johnson called into a talk radio show on December 11th and said that his client plans to reveal startling incriminating information about Sarah Palin that will shock the nation. The details will be included in a book that Johnston plans to release in March 2010. Hey Sarah, beware the Ides of March. Will there be a matching book-hawking cross-country bus/jet tour also? Enquiring minds want to know.

BREAKING NEWS: In this week’s edition of “The Continuing Story of Tea-Bagger Lunacy” we have the group’s December 15th demonstration plans. Rather than describe it to you, here is a portion of the official release:

So here’s the plan. On Tuesday, December 15 at 8:45 AM thousands of us will meet in Washington, DC at the fountain in Upper Senate Park. From there we will march to the Senate offices, go inside, and demonstrate our opposition to the government takeover of health care. We call this plan “Government Waiting Rooms”. The intention is to go inside the Senate offices and hallways, and play out the role of patients waiting for treatment in government controlled medical facilities. As the day goes on some of us will pretend to die from our untreated illnesses and collapse on the floor. Many of us plan to stay there until they force us to leave. A backup location for this demonstration will be announced if they block us from entering the offices.

Government controlled medical facilities? Dying while waiting for treatment? Do these sophomoric morons realize that the more they exaggerate their false claims about health care reform, they more the rest of the nation ignores them?

THIS JUST IN: Jon Stewart of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show exposed a Glenn Beck conflict of interest this week. Stewart pointed out that Beck constantly advises his television and radio audience to buy gold as a safeguard against the collapse of the U.S. Dollar which will result from the Obama Administration’s policies. Indeed, Beck has said the following:

When the system eventually collapses, and the government comes with guns and confiscates, you know, everything in your home and all your possessions, and then you fight off the raving mad cannibalistic crowds that Ted Turner talked about, don’t come crying to me. I told you: get gold.

The sheer lunacy of that statement aside, Stewart revealed however, that Beck failed to disclose to his audience that he is a paid spokesman for Goldline International, a precious metals vendor. Why is it that Comedy Central does a better job of investigative journalism than the major networks? ABC, NBC, CBS and NPR should be ashamed of themselves.

BREAKING NEWS: Kudos to the television drama series Law and Order; Special Victims Unit for their honest no holds barred description of conservative right-wing pundits. in a recent episode, a character on the show said this:

Garrison, Limbaugh, Beck, O’Reilly, all of them. They are like a cancer spreading ignorance and hate. They have convinced folks that immigrants are the problem, not corporations that failed to pay a living wage, or a broken health care system.

THIS JUST IN: The Moonie-owned Washington Times has announced that it is cutting its work force by 40% and beginning free distribution of its product. The right-wing propaganda paper is so bereft of reliable news coverage that its circulation will most likely fall even further now that the paper is free. This is so because when its  few remaining paid subscribers realize that they no longer need to feel obligated to read the rag, they probably will forget that it ever existed.

BREAKING NEWS: In this week’s episode of “What The Heck Took So Long?” Jenny Sanford, the wife of South Carolina’s adulterous governor Mark Sanford, has announced that she is filing for divorce. She has been unable to successfully locate and serve divorce papers upon her husband however, because his staff believes that he is hiking somewhere on the Appalachian trail.

THIS JUST IN: In this week’s episode of “How Appropriate” we have Sarah Palin accepting an invitation to be keynote speaker at the Bowling Proprietors Association of America convention in Las Vegas next summer. Hmm, where to begin? Maybe she will bring a few spare copies of her book. Perhaps some of her supporters will have the chance to strike up a conversation with the unemployed social networker. Will Sarah be capable of keeping her language out of the gutter? Stay tuned.

BREAKING NEWS: Joke of the day. Why did Sarah Palin have a book signing in Sandpoint? Idaho, Alaska !!!

Please remember to click on the song link below to familiarize yourselves with the tune and to have more fun singing along with today’s song parody.

My Favorite Things song link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0KHb_xCHTI&feature=related

MY LEAST FAVORITE THINGS

(sung to the Julie Andrews song “My Favorite Things”)

Mike is called “Moses” and Romney’s called “Mittens”
Jindal is running but can’t raise a pittance
All of those candidates want to be kings
They are some of my least favorite things

Most of them phonies with brains made of noodles
Palin’s hairstyle reminds me of a poodle’s
The G.O.P. is filled with ding-a-lings
They are some of my least favorite things

Palin will bless us with winks of her lashes
Gingrich and Rudy just sit on their asses
Huckabee’s so holy he thinks he has wings
They are some of my least favorite things

“No civil rights”,
Pawlenty sings
He is raving mad
And when Michele Bachmann speaks aloud it stings
Yes that hurts my ears real bad

They are just posers so I say, “Good riddance”
Remind me of the inbred guy in “Deliverance”
All of them have extramarital flings
They are some of my least favorite things

They have no taste just like a bland egg noodle
They should be thrown out with the kit and caboodle
All of them acting like puppets on strings
They are some of my least favorite things

G.O.P. women have life-long hot flashes
The Grand Old Party is reduced to ashes
They cannot tolerate arrows or slings
They are some of my least favorite things

They’re not bright lights
Mental weaklings
Poor behaving cads
I wish they’d all congregate down in Palm Springs
And then I would be so glad.

My humble input;  If some of these terrorists at Guantanamo Bay have already publically admitted there guilt and want the death penalty.   Why in the world are we giving them a federal trail on US soil?  This is going to cost tax payers millions in court and attorney fees, not including the security costs.  We are looking weaker as a nation as by the Obama administration.

A top Senate Republican on Wednesday accused Attorney General Eric Holder of “making bad history” in his decision to send professed Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his co-conspirators to New York for trial in civilian court, as Holder defended his choice. 

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., raised concerns that Holder was imperiling national security by determining that war-time combatants, potentially even Usama bin Laden, might be sent into the criminal system. 

“We’re making bad history here,” Graham said. “The big problem I have is that you’re criminalizing the war. … I think you’ve made a fundamental mistake here.” 

US President Barack Obama’s decision to try the 9/11 mastermind suspect in a civilian court has been criticized by American citizens, a new poll shows.

The poll conducted by CNN found on Monday that 64 percent of respondents said Khalid Sheikh Mohammed should be tried in a military court.

Earlier on Friday, Attorney General Eric Holder said that five men linked to the Sept. 11 attacks, including Sheikh Mohammed, would be tried in a civilian court in New York.

Holder also announced that prosecutors would seek the death penalty for Sheikh Mohammed.

The survey said that 78 percent of respondents thought he should be executed if found guilty, almost a quarter of whom said they did not normally support capital punishment.

Families of the victims of the September 11 attacks and Obama’s political opponents have assailed the move.

Former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani said it was as an unnecessary risk to New York’s security that would give an unnecessary advantage to the accused.

New York Governor David Paterson as one of a few Democrats also slammed the Obama administration’s decision.

“This is not a decision that I would have made,” said Paterson. “New York was very much the epicenter of that attack; over 2,700 lives were lost.”

“It’s very painful,” he added. “We’re still having trouble getting over it. We still have been unable to rebuild that site, and having those terrorists tried so close to the attack is going to be an encumbrance on all New Yorkers.”

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1109/29646.html

As Sarah Palin, the ex-former quitting Governor of Alaska, prepares to embark on her nationwide rural hamlet book tour it reminded us here at Lynnrockets’ Blast-Off of all of those other former Republican office holders who now have nothing better to do than offer their warped opinions to whoever (or is it, “whomever”, I’m never quite sure) will listen.

Public enemy number one is Newt Gingrich, the former disgraced and dethroned Speaker of the House. This guy was unceremoniously thrown out of the leadership position by his own party which prompted his resignation in 1998. Nonetheless, if you scan through your television channels any night during primetime, you are likely to see this wife-cheating bag of gas bloviating to some talking head about his vision of the future for the G.O.P. Does he not realize that the words, “Newt Gingrich” and “future” are mutually exclusive?

Next we have former New York City mayor, Rudolph Giuliani. Like the aforementioned Gingrich, this wife-cheating disaster of a Presidential candidate can be found nightly opining on all things political with the Fox News host of his choice. Of course he has nothing of substance to say. Vice President Joe Biden put it best when he said, “There’s only three things he mentions in a sentence — a noun, a verb, and 9/11. There’s nothing else!” That truly sums up Rudy in a nutshell.

How about former Vice President, Dick Cheney? He of the “dithering” remark regarding President Obama’s contemplative and non-knee-jerk method of deciding what course of action to take in Afghanistan. We all know that Cheney’s trigger finger reaction would be to simply go in there with all guns blaring and no real plan. After all, didn’t he use that method when he shot his best friend in the face? We also learned last week that while being questioned by the FBI regarding the Valerie Plame identity leak, Cheney answered questions by saying, “I don’t recall” more than two dozen times. Consequently, should anyone be interested in getting advice from this forgetful old fool. He might consider checking into the Ronald Reagan Memorial Alzheimer’s ward.

Today’s song parody will pay tribute to these and some other unemployed Republicans who will not go away. Please enjoy.

Please remember to click on the song link below to familiarize yourselves with this great tune and to have more fun singing along to the parody.

Celluloid Heroes song link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oh23A2GptAQ&feature=PlayList&p=5AC4C35A0BBF1943&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=32

UNEMPLOYED ZEROES

(sung to the Kinks song “Celluloid Heroes”)

Everyone is a schemer and they are all fading stars
And everyone is so goofy, they all should be feathered and tarred
They’re not far from your own city
A creeping louse is on every street
They have no jobs so they walk the boulevard
Their careers ended in defeat

Just look at Scooter Libby,  George Bush spared him the jail yard
He lied for old Dick Cheney,  now finding work will be real hard
Condoleezza Rice was a princess
While she occupied her throne
But she lied about those weapons
Now no-one will throw her a bone

They ride in their nice cars as they drive down Unemployed Boulevard
Some that you recognize some that you wish you never heard of
People who lied and cheated while striving for fame
First they succeeded but now they suffer in vain

Rudolph Giuliani had a trio of wives
And if not for 9/11, White House dreams could not survive
Former Governor, Caribou Barbie
Was a lip-sticked dog with no bite
The blunders that Palin gave us
Will follow her the rest of her life

Cheney was thrown out like garbage
He shot his friend and he smiled
And then there’s George “Macaca” Allen
You’ve just got to love his style
And please don’t forget dear Larry Craig
With his stylish steel handcuffs
While in a Men’s Room stall he copped a feel
And then Idahoans had had enough

They ride in their nice cars as they drive down that Unemployed Boulevard
Some that you recognize some that you wish you never heard of
People who lied and cheated while striving for fame
First they succeeded but now they suffer in vain

Everyone is a schemer and they are all fading stars
And they all think they’re in show biz, trying to show on radar
And though some were successful
Now they must be on guard
Success walks hand in hand with failure
Along Unemployed Boulevard

Their sordid lives are a non-stop Hollywood tabloid show
A fantasy world of unemployed villains and zeroes
And those unemployed zeroes created so much pain
Those unemployed zeroes took us for a ride

They ride in their nice cars as they drive down that Unemployed Boulevard
Some that you recognize some that you wish you never heard of
People who lied and cheated while striving for fame
First they succeeded but now they suffer in vain

Those unemployed zeroes created so much pain
Those unemployed zeroes took us for a ride

Their sordid lives are a non-stop Hollywood tabloid show
A fantasy world of unemployed villains and zeroes
And those unemployed zeroes created so much pain
Those unemployed zeroes took us for a ride

We apologize for posting so late today, but some pressing matters required some tending to. So, without further ado…

The party of “No” is up to its old tricks again. Democratic Senator, Harry Reid has announced that he would like to open debate on the Senate version of the health care reform bill as early as this Tuesday, November 17th. Thereafter, he would like a vote on the bill prior to the winter holiday recess.

“Not so fast”, say the Republicans. “What is the hurry”? You see, the G.O.P. leadership plans on utilizing some arcane Senate rules to delay the process to some time well into the new year. The reason for the expected delay tactics is that the Republicans will do anything in their power to derail health care reform so as to retain the status quo. They would rather see a broken system which costs thousands of lives per year persist so that the private insurance industry, which funds their campaign coffers, can continue to reap astronomical profits while denying health care benefits to policyholders. Of course the current system also leaves millions of people uninsured altogether. By delaying any vote on the Senate health care reform bill until 2010, an election year, the Republicans believe that many more blue-dog Democrats will vote against the bill in order to  avoid the massive campaign funding of their opponents by the insurance industry.

It is obvious that the Republicans are playing a game in which human lives are the pawns. They offer no solution to the health insurance crisis. Indeed, their inaction would allow the crisis to grow exponentially greater in the very near future. That is not a concern to the Republicans however. They would rather line the pockets of the insurance industry which in turn translates into huge campaign contributions. Let’s hope that the Senate Democrats hold strong to their convictions and move forward as quickly as possible on health care reform legislation. The passage of such a bill which will have massive voter support will not only help to alleviate some of the most egregious effects of the current broken system, but it will also help to solidify the branding of Republicans as the party of “No”. That is a title that may doom the G.O.P. to minority status for quite some time.

Today’s song parody takes a rapid-fire look at Republicans past, present and future. Please remember to click on the song link below to familiarize yourselves with the tune and to have more fun singing along with the parody.

We Didn’t Start The Fire song link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKu2QaytmrM

WE DIDN’T START THE LYING

(sung to the Billy Joel song “We Didn’t Start The Fire”)

Ronald Reagan, Larry Craig, Mark Sanford, Tom Delay
Michelle Malkin, Michele Bachmann, “Goin’ with the flow”

Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Howard Baker, lack of vision
Spreading Fear, Acting queer, and ole Sixpack Joe

No icebergs, H-Bomb, “Pay for play”, “Hockey Mom”
Landrieu, Hamid Karzai, and that Michael Savage guy

Ivy tower, Van Flein, Tea-bagger party scene
Party of “No”, Tim Pawlenty, Let’s watch Glenn Beck cry

These are G.O.P. liars
Shy away from learning
Keep our stomachs turning
Burning their cross of fire
We watched them light it
And they can’t deny it

Vitter’s fallin’, Ginny Foxx, Boehner and Inhofe
Mitch McConnell, small umbrella, Talking the talk

Spin Zone, Rent to own, Straight martini, Bank loan
Russian view and Pastor Haggard’s flock

Sex crimes, Grassley, John McCain is “Mavericky”
Lining pockets, health care plan, Giuliani, Limbaugh Land

Barrasso, Fake protest, Tom “The Hammer”, Chambliss
Senate race, Lack of grace, and Melvin Martinez

These are G.O.P. liars
Shy away from learning
Keep our stomachs turning
Burning their cross of fire
We watched them light it
And they can’t deny it

Loaded Glock, SarahPAC, Sam Alito, Johnny Mack
Jindal, Right to die, Tripp’s father is Levi

Pentagon, Border wall, We must deport them all
Bed-wetters, genocide, No assisted suicide

Bush’s folly, Torture, Dick Cheney, Blackwater
Hate groups, Castro, John Ensign and his ‘ho

First Dude, Hannity, Mann Coulter and O’Reilly
Scooter Libby, Karl Rove, Sarah Palin’s “Sixpack Joes”

These are G.O.P. liars
Shy away from learning
Keep our stomachs turning
Burning their cross of fire
We watched them light it
And they can’t deny it

Kay Bailey, Muslims, K Street is full of bums
Villains, Pearlman, Iraqi Invasion

Health reform hysteria, Sarah Palin mania
Shameless G-Men, War in Afghanistan

Ron Paul, Airport sex, They don’t want no litmus test
Kneel and pray, Always “nay”, Can’t get married if you’re gay

These are G.O.P. liars
Shy away from learning
Keep our stomachs turning
Burning their cross of fire
We watched them light it
And they can’t deny it

Birth control, Lives of sin, They like folks that have white skin
Buckshot, Dow stock, Loud mouthed chicken-hawks
Takin’ Bacon, Palestine, Palin is no friend of mine
Now they have nukes in Iran, Couldn’t stop the Taliban

Makin’ fortunes, Soldiers die, Did we mention Glenn Beck cried?
Foreign debts, Homeless vets, Exposed by three jets
We voted them out the door, Now they’re just a mouse that roars
Spider holes and unjust wars, I can’t take them anymore.

These are G.O.P. liars
Shy away from learning
Keep our stomachs turning
Burning their cross of fire
We watched them light it
And they can’t deny it
(repeat chorus to fade)

Useampi kongressin jäsen on julkisesti kyseenalaistanut presidentti Obaman syntymisen Havaijilla, kuin tukenut kannabiksen laillistamista. Tämä huolimatta Honolulu Advertiser-lehdessä elokuussa 1961 julkaistusta syntymäilmoituksesta ja kannabiksen syvästä juurtumisesta kulttuuriseen valtavirtaan.

Lähes jokainen alle 65-vuotias äänestäjä Yhdysvalloissa on joko käyttänyt kannabista tai kasvanut sitä käyttäneiden ihmisten kanssa. Sen aiempien käyttäjien joukossa on kolme viimeisintä presidenttiä, yksi korkeimman oikeuden tuomari ja maan suurimman kaupungin pormestari. Hampunlehden kuva on levinnyt kaikkialle populaarikulttuuriin, Bob Marley -t-paidoista suositun Weeds -tv-sarjan tienvarsimainoksiin.

Joten miksi sen tosiasiallista laillistamista pidetään yhä marginaalin asiana? Mikseivät useammat poliitikot — erityisesti he jotka vetivät henkeen — ole astuneet esiin ja sanoneet “Kieltolaki on absurdi ja rikollinen. Aletaan kohdella kannabista alkoholin tapaan”?

Kannabislakien uudistamista ajavan NORML:n johtaja Allen St. Pierre syyttää “suurten ikäluokkien eliittiä.” Washingtonin politiikan ja median piirissä on paljon ihmisiä “jotka tietävät kumman pään sytyttää jointista, mutta häpeävät myöntää tietojaan,” hän sanoo. On kongressin jäseniä, hän lisää, jotka tervehtivät häntä juhlissa sanoen “Allen, löytyykö yhtään pilveä?”, mutta ovat liian pelokkaita pistämään itsensä likoon laillistamisen puolesta.

Ainoastaan kaksi nykyistä kongressin jäsentä ovat avoimesti puhuneet kannabiskieltolain lopettamisen puolesta: edustajat Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio ja Ron Paul, R-Texas (Jotka molemmat olivat mukana kilvassa puolueensa presidenttiehdokkaan paikasta viime vaaleissa -toim.huom.).

Vaikka kongressissa majailee Tom “lesbot terrorisoivat lukioitamme” Coburnin, Oklahomasta, ja Michelle “hiilidioksidi on luonnollista, se ei ole haitallista” Bachmannin, Minnesotasta, kaltaisia Republikaaneja, vasemmistoliberaali Kucinichia ja libertaarikonservatiivi Paulia ivataan edustajista kenties yleisimmin kahjoiksi.

Kourallinen muita, kuten Dana Rohrabacher, R-Kalif., on antanut joitakin merkkejä, että he tukisivat laillistamista. Edustaja Barney Frank, D-Mass., on esitellyt lakiesityksen liittovaltion rangaistusten lopettamisesta alle 100 gramman hallussapidosta, mutta hänkään ei ole suoranaisesti antanut tukeaan kannabiksen kohtelemiselle samoin kuin alkoholia.

Toisaalta, Salon-lehti esitteli heinäkuussa 17 kongressin jäsentä, jotka ovat avoimesti asettaneet kyseenalaiseksi presidentti Obaman syntymäpaikan, tukeneet esitystä aiheesta, tai kieltäytyneet vastaamasta myöntävästi kun heiltä on kysytty, uskovatko he presidentin olevan syntyperäinen USA:n kansalainen.

St. Pierre paheksuu erityisesti median tapaa kohdella laillistamisasiaa vitsinä, jossa miltei jokaisen siihen liittyvän otsikon tulee sisältää kehnoa sanaleikkiä “pilvestä”, “sätkistä” tai “lunkiudesta”.

Hänen mukaansa on erittäin vakava asia, että 800 000 ihmistä vuodessa joutuu pidätetyksi kannabiksen takia. Obaman “hekottelu”, sanoo hän, oli tunnuskuvallista. Kun uuden presidentin Muutos-verkkosivuilla kannabiksen laillistaminen osoittautui suosituimmaksi kysymykseksi, Obama sivuutti aiheen vitsillä, antaen ymmärtää että internetissä täytyy olla todella paljon pilvessä olevia ihmisiä.

“Se on yhä asia, jolle ihmiset kikattelevat, vakavasti ottamisen sijaan,” sanoo Noelle Davis, entinen Texans for medical marijuana -järjestön johtaja.

Osavaltioiden lainsäätäjät, jotka ovat tukeneet kannabisaiheisia lakiesityksiä, sanovat että kaksi suurinta estettä ovat pelko ja kulttuuriset stereotypiat.

“Vaaleilla valitut viranomaiset ovat valtaosaksi erittäin huolestuneita että heidät leimataan ‘pehmeiksi huumeita kohtaan’”, sanoo New Yorkin osavaltioedustaja Richard Gottfried. Hän on manhattanilainen Demokraatti, joka puolsi osavaltion vuoden 1977 dekriminalisaatiolakia, ja on esitellyt useita aloitteita lääkekannabiksen laillistamiseksi.

Mielipidekyselyjen mukaan 70 – 80 prosenttia New Yorkin asukkaista on lääkekannabiksen puolella, sanoo Gottfried, mutta “useimmat lainsäätäjät pelkäävät koskea aiheeseen.”

Washingtonin osavaltion senaattori Jeanne Kohl-Welles sanoo että monet viranomaiset, etenkin osavaltion konservatiivisemmilla syrjäisemmillä alueilla “uskovat kannabikseen liittyviin kultuurisiin stereotypioihin”, kuten ajatukseen että se on porttihuume kovempiin aineisiin.

Seattlelainen Demokraatti Kohl-Welles, joka on esitellyt lakialoitteen joka alentaisi alle 40 kannabisgramman hallussapidon rangaistuksen rikkomuksesta siviilirikkeeksi, kertoo että osavaltion syyttäjien tuki lääkekannabiksen laillistamiseksi antoi konservatiiveille poliittisen suojan äänestää sen puolesta, mutta että lainvalvonta on laajalti vastustanut hänen dekriminalisaatioaloitettaan.

Break the chains-järjestön Deborah Small kertoo, että eräs syy kiireellisen poliittisen painostuksen puuttumiselle on se, että todennäköisimmin pilven takia pidätetyiksi joutuvat ovat ihmisiä “joilla ei ole poliittista ääntä” — nuoria värillisiä henkilöitä köyhiltä asuinalueilta. Hän mainitsee, että esimerkiksi Atlantassa, Baltimoressa ja New Yorkissa, joissa kannabispidätysten määrät ovat valtakunnan suurimpia, 75% kiinninapatuista on mustia tai latinoita ja iältään alle 25-vuotiaita. Aikuiset ja varakkaampien alueiden nuoret ovat suurelta osin turvassa ongelmilta lain kanssa, hän lisää.

Debatin etulinjassa

Kalifornia on se osavaltio, missä laillistaminen on lainmukaisesti asialistalla. “Obama saattoi sivuuttaa sen, mutta me käymme vakavinta keskustelua 35 vuoteen,” sanoo Quintin Mecke, kongressiedustaja Tom Ammianon puhemies. San Franciscolainen Demokraatti Ammiano on esitellyt lakiehdotuksen joka laillistaisi kannabiksen Kaliforniassa. Se sallisi osavaltion asukkaiden kasvattaa enintään 10 kasvia omaan käyttöön, tekisi kaupallisesta viljelystä ja myynnistä luvanvaraista, säätäisi käytön alaikärajan 21 vuoteen ja esittelisi 50 dollarin veron kannabisunssille.

Lakiesityksen kuulemisten on määrä alkaa Tammikuussa. Esitys olisi ilmiselvästi ristiriidassa liittovaltion lakien kanssa, mutta Mecken mukaan “tarkoitus on saada aikaan keskustelua osavaltioiden oikeuksista. Hyvin monet katsovat Kalifornian suuntaan asian esilletuomisessa.”

Monet seikat tekevät laillistamisesta poliittisesti mahdollista Kaliforniassa, Mecke selittää. Ensinnäkin, osavaltio on laillisesti säännöstellyt lääkekannabista 13 vuoden ajan, ja “ihmiset ovat nähneet että taivas ei pudonnutkaan. Kalifornia saattaa olla talouskriisissä, mutta se ei tosiaankaan ole kannabiksen syytä.” Kannabisverot ja -maksut voisivat kerätä 1.4 miljardin tuotot rahavaikeuksissa rypevälle osavaltiolle, arvioi rahoituslautakunta. Lisäksi, hampunkasvatus on olennainen osa paikallisekonomiaa monilla alueilla, erityisesti maalaismaisessa osavaltion pohjoisosassa.

“Emme odota että tämä tapahtuisi yhdessä yössä,” Mecke sanoo. “Mielipidekyselyiden tulosten mukaan, se kuitenkin tulee tapahtumaan.”

Lokakuun alun galluptulos tukee tuota ennustetta. Sen mukaan 44 prosenttia kyselyyn osallistuneista on laillisen kannabiksen puolella, vastustajien määrän ollessa 54 prosenttia. Aikaisempien kyselyiden mukaan amerikkalaiset olivat laillistamista vastaan prosentein 73 – 23 vuonna 1985 ja 64 – 31 vuonna 2000.

Valtaosa liberaaleista kannattaa laillistamista, kuten myös yli puolet läntisten osavaltioiden asukkaista, Demokraateista ja alle 50-vuotiaista. Vastustus on voimakkainta Republikaanien, konservatiivien ja yli 65-vuotiaiden kohdalla. Silti näissäkin ryhmissä yli neljännes vastaajista kannattaa laillistamista.

“Kansalaisten mielipiteet kannabiksen laillistamisesta ovat muuttuneet tällä vuosikymmenellä ja ovat nyt suvaitsevimmillaan viimeisten 40 vuoden aikana”, ilmoittivat gallupin suorittajat. “Jos yleinen tuki jatkaa kasvamistaan 1-2 prosentin vuosivauhtia, kuten se on tehnyt vuodesta 2000 alkaen, enemmistö amerikkalaisista saattaa olla laillistamisen puolella jo neljän vuoden kuluttua.”

Katkennut yhteys valtion ja sen pääkaupungin välillä

Washingtonin vallan käytävien ja muun Amerikan välillä on “valtava katkos”, väittää Allen St. Pierre.

Tänä päivänä kaikkein kovimman linjan kieltolain puolustajatkaan harvoin ovat sitä mieltä että ihmisten pitäisi joutua vankilaan hallussapidosta. Jeanne Kohl-Wellesin mukaan Washingtonin poliisi ja syyttäjät olivat sitä mieltä että dekriminalisointi olisi tarpeeton, koska he eivät käytä juurikaan resursseja noin pienen luokan rikoksiin.

New Yorkissa, jossa omasta henkeenvedostaan ja siitä nauttimisesta kertonut pormestari Michael Bloomberg on jatkanut edeltäjänsä Rudolph Giulianin sotaa pilvenpolttajia vastaan, poliisin edustaja yritti vakuuttaa toimittajia että moista tehoiskua ei ole olemassa, koska kannabiksen hallussapidossa annettujen haasteiden määrä laski viime vuosikymmenen aikana. (Rangaistus alle 25 gramman hallussapidosta on osavaltion lain mukaan 100 dollarin sakko, mutta julkinen hallussapito on rike. New York Cityn viranomaiset ovat pidättäneet vuosittain yli 40 000 ihmistä tuolla syytöksellä, lähinnä mustia ja latinomiehiä.)

Liberaalit poliitikot joiden mielestä lait ovat liian tiukkoja, mutta jotka eivät halua ottaa riskiä pilviveikkojen puolelle asettumisesta, kannattavat usein dekriminalisaatiota keskitienä. Dekriminalisaatio onkin ehdottomasti ollut parannus — kuten Gottfried huomauttaa, se on tehnyt eron pienen pilvimäärän takia putkassa vietetyn yön ja vankilassa vietetyn vuoden välille — mutta se on itse asiassa ankarampi järjestelmä kuin alkoholin kieltolaki oli. Kieltolain ollessa voimassa kotiviinin teko ja alkoholin lääkinnällinen käyttö oli sallittua, ja ihmiset saivat pitää hallussa viinaa joka oli hankittu ennen lain voimaantuloa 1920. (New Yorkin pormestarin kartanossa olikin tällainen viinakätkö, ja Manhattanin Yale Club varmuusvarastoi 14 vuoden tarpeita.)

Obaman lokakuun 19. päivän ohjeistus jonka mukaan liittovaltion syyttäjien ei tulisi ottaa syytettäväkseen lääkekannabistapauksia niissä osavaltioissa joissa lääkekannabis on sallittua, on rohkaiseva. Toisaalta, kuten niin moni asia Obaman virassaoloaikana, kyseessä saattaa olla enemmänkin symbolinen kuin todellinen linjaus. Ohjeissa on tarpeeksi liikkumatilaa joka sallii liittovaltion avun paikallisille syyttäjille, jotka käyvät lääkekannabiksen kimppuun, kuten Steve Cooley Los Angelesissa.

Obaman kannat ovat ylipäätään kehittyneet tyypilliseen tekopyhään tapaan. Hän antoi tukensa dekriminalisaatiolle kampanjoidessaan Illinoisin lainsäätäjänä yliopistokampuksilla, mutta nyt hän sanoo suoraan että ei kannata laillistamista — vaikka hän kirjoittikin muistelmissaan että vaikka pilvi ei ratkaisekaan ongelmiasi, “se saattaa ainakin auttaa sinua nauramaan maailmassa käynnissä olevalle hulluudelle ja näkemään kaiken paskanpuhumisen ja halpahintaisen moralismin läpi.” (Obamasta on valokuvia olkihattuisena opiskelijana polttamassa moniselitteistä savuketta peukalo-etusormiotteella, näyttäen autuaan ymmyrkäissilmäiseltä.)

“Laillistaminen ei kuulu presidentin sanavarastoon, eikä minun,” liittovaltion huumetsaari Gil Kerlikowske on painottanut, vaikka hän onkin suhteellisen vapaamielinen monissa muissa huumeisiin liittyvissä asioissa.

St. Pierren mukaan edustajainhuoneen puhemiehen, kalifornialaisen Demokraatin Nancy Pelosin virkailijakunta  on nimenomaisesti varoittanut kannabiksen laillistamista ajavia tahoja, ettei näiden tule painostaa Obaman hallintoa tai kongressin Demokraatteja, koska he ovat kiireisiä taloustilanteen, Irakin ja Afganistanin sotien ja terveydenhuollon uudistuksen kanssa. St. Pierren mukaan viesti oli “Me emme tule edistämään tätä asiaa, ja teidän pitää lopettaa meidän niskaamme hönkiminen.”

Muutos jonka voit laittaa piippuusi

Mitä siis voidaan tehdä? Mikä voisi muuttaa poliittista ilmastoa jotta järkevä keskustelu laillistamisesta ja säännöstelystä voi alkaa?

Deborah Small sanoo että se vaatisi yhteiskunnan joka välittää mustista ja latinonuorista, heidän rikollisiksi tekemisensä “elämänlaatu”viranomaisvalvonnalla, sijaan.

Poliitikot puhuvat nuorten koulussa pitämisen ja heille töiden varmistamisen puolesta, mutta sitten he kannattavat “valvontataktiikoita jotka takuuvarmasti ajavat heidät rikousoikeudellisen järjestelmän käsiin suhteellisen pienistä rikkeistä.” Jos Obama olisi jäänyt kiinni pilvestä nuorena miehenä, Small kysyy, olisiko hän presidentti tänä päivänä? “Ei tosiaan.”

Hän pitää merkittävänä että hip-hop-sukupolvi joka tuli esiin 80-luvun loppupuolen crack-epidemian jälkeen, vältteli kovia huumeita suosien kannabista — ja systeemi vastasi pidättämällä heitä yhä enemmän, käytännöillä jotka palkitsivat suurista määristä mitättömiä hallussapitojuttuja.

Kohl-Welles sanoo että laillistaminen vaatisi kriittisen massan lainsäätäjien joukossa, ja että budjettiongelmat saattavat auttaa muuttamaan mielipideilmastoa siihen suuntaan. Gottfriedin mukaan vaatii “erittäin voimakasta julkista tukea jotta asia tulee valtavirran debattiin, puhumattakaan sen lainsäädännöksi päätymisestä.”

Saadakseen kannatusta, St. Pierre sanoo, laillistamisliikkeen täytyy pystyä pitämään yllä ruohonjuuritason aktivismia ja tulla yhä monivärisemmäksi, kun se nykyään on lähes kokonaan valkoihoisten ja miesten kansoittama. Laillistamisaatteen edistäminen vaatisi myös uransa alkuvaiheessa olevien karismaattisten poliitikkojen tukea, koska “on mahdotonta saada viisi-kuusikymppistä washingtonilaista alfaurosta vaihtamaan puolta.”

St. Pierren mukaan eräs vaara ovat poliitikot jotka muuttavat mielipiteitään urakehityksensä mukaan. Hän huomauttaa että San Franciscon pormestari Gavin Newsom oli varhaisessa vaiheessa äänekäs lääkekannabiksen puolestapuhuja, mutta tavoittelee nyt Kalifornian kuvernöörin pestiä ja vastustaa laillistamista.

Noelle Davis sanoo että Teksasissa aktivistit joutuvat pelottavaan tehtävään yrittäessään suostutella Republikaanienemmistön lainsäätäjiä — ja perusäänestäjiä jotka valitsevat nämä valtaan. Tämä vaatii heidän valistamistaan kannabiksen turvallisuudesta suhteessa alkoholiin ja taloudellisista hyödyistä joita kannabiksen kasvattaminen ja myynti toisi osavaltiolle.

Hänen mukaansa eräs suureksi osaksi sivuutettu asia Teksasissa on raja-alueen huumeväkivalta. Keskenään sotivien salakuljetusryhmittymien väliset taistelut ovat vaatineet satoja elämiä meksikolaisissa Nuevo Laredon, joka sijaitsee joen toisella puolella Laredosta, ja El Pason vastarannalla sijaitsevan Juarezin, kaupungeissa.

Vaikka voimakas kotimaassa kasvatettu kannabis pyörii otsikoissa, alemman laadun meksikolainen pilvi hallitsee kannabiskaupan halvimpia markkinoita, ja “erittäin paljon marihuanaa tulee maahan IH-35 -valtatietä pitkin,” Laredosta San Antonion läpi Austiniin ja Dallasiin.

“Me painamme yhä vielä kädet korvillemme ja toistelemme ‘la-la-la-la’”, Davis sanoo. “Jos kannabis olisi laillista liittovaltion tasolla, se vähentäisi dramaattisesti huumeiden salakuljetukseen liittyviä kuolemia.”

Davisin mukaan pilvenpolttajien “hiljaisen enemmistön” on päästävä yli peloistaan ja alettava äänekkäiksi. “Kun keräsin nimiä vetoomukseen lääkekannabiksen puolesta, ihmiset usein tirskahtelivat ja sanoivat ‘minähän en laita nimeäni mihinkään listaan’”, hän muistelee. “Älkää pelätkö lainsäätäjiänne. Käyttäkää aikaa ja rakentakaa suhde heihin.”

St. Pierre on samaa mieltä. “Emme ole saavuttaneet homo- ja lesboyhteisön poliittista legitimiteettiä,” hän summaa. “Niin kauan kun 0,1% kannabiksen käyttäjistä on mukana omassa vapautuksessaan, muutos on epätodennäköinen.” Jos vain 1 % USA:n arvioidusta 36 miljoonasta pilvenpolttelijasta tulisi mukaan, hän sanoo, se muodostaisi 360 000 aktivistin vahvuisen joukon.

Kannabiksen laillistaminen ei ehkä ole niin suuri elämän ja kuoleman kysymys kuin terveydenhuolto, ilmastonmuutos tai Afganistanin sota, mutta se ei myöskään ole vähäpätöinen asia. Ei ainakaan vähäpätöisempi kuin kieltolain kumoaminen oli suuren laman syövereissä.

Kun kansakunta on taloudellisen ja ympäristökriisin kourissa, miksi meidän pitäisi tuhlata elämiä ja rahaa alistaviin, rasistisiin ja rikollisuutta luoviin lakeihin? Maaliskuussa 1932 tuhannet ihmiset marssivat New Yorkin, Detroitin ja muiden kaupunkien kaduilla vaatien oluen laillistamista. He kantoivat kylttejä joissa luki “Me haluamme olutta ja me maksamme veron” ja “Me haluamme olutta mutta haluamme myös töitä.”

Myöhemmin tuona kesänä, edellisissä presidentinvaaleissa “kosteaksi” syytetty Demokraattinen puolue kannatti kieltolain purkamista. Joulukuun 5. päivä 1933 21. lisäys tuli voimaan, ja amerikkalaiset saattoivat jälleen juoda laillisesti.

Sitten tietysti oli fanaattinen entinen kieltolakiviranomainen nimeltä Harry Anslinger, joka oli vastikään noussut liittovaltion huumeviraston johtajaksi — ja hän etsi uutta keinoa edistää uraansa.

Lähde:

http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n983/a07.html

Dans un interview avec la TV danoise, l’ancien Premier ministre du Danemark Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, affirme qu’il fut prévenu à l’avance de l’effondrement du World Trade Center.

Dans cet interview à la télévision danoise, l’ancien Premier ministre du Danemark Poul Nyrup Rasmussen (actuellement député européen et président du Parti socialiste européen PSE.) révèle qu’il savait que la première tour allait s’effondrer. La partie intéressante et ce que nous voudrions savoir est qui le lui a dit ?

Ce témoignage est très troublant, car l’effondrement des Twin Towers du WTC selon la version officielle n’étaient bien entendu pas programmé, et personne ne s’y attendait ; ni même les pompiers qui n’avaient pas été retiré avant les effondrement non plus.

Cela confirme les propos de Rudolph Giuliani qui fut, lui aussi, informé de l’effondrement du World Trade Center quelques minutes avant …

Poul Nyrup Rasmussen convoqua des élections anticipées à la suite des attentats du 11 septembre 2001. Il sortit grandi de cette initiative, considérée comme une décision d’homme d’état, et il connut sa côte de popularité la plus haute depuis des années.

Did you ever wonder what it must feel like to admit that you are a Republican these days? How it must feel to say that you are not only in the same party but also subscribe to the same political policies as some of the craziest wingnuts ever to group together under one banner? Can you imagine trying to say with a straight face that you voted for any of the criminal Banana Republicans shown above or the philandering perverted Republicans such as:

Ronald Reagan, Newt Gingrich, John McCain, David Vitter, Mark Foley, Larry Craig, Rudolph Giuliani, Ted Haggard, Bob Allen, Glenn Murphy, Jr., John Ensign, Sarah Palin (maybe), Mark Sanford, Paul Stanley and Mike Duvall.

We here at Lynnrockets’ Blast-Off believe that it would make you want to cry. That my friends, leads us right into today’s song parody. Please remember to click on the song link below to familiarize yourselves with the tune and to have more fun singing along with the parody.

It’s My Party song link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRbsz1Ha7Zo

IT’S OUR REPUBLICAN PARTY

(sung to the Lesley Gore song “It’s My Party”)

It’s our party, and we’ll cry if we want to
Lie if we want to, die if we want to
You would cry too if you had who we do

Nobody knows where Mitt Romney has gone
Delay had to resign
McCain was one we can’t stand
The rest just wallow in slime

It’s our party, and we’ll cry if we want to
Lie if we want to, die if we want to
You would cry too if you had who we do

Naughty Mark Sanford’s romancin’ tonight
Michele Bachmann’s spewin’ bile
We don’t like Mike Huckabee
Cheney will soon be on trial

It’s our party, and we’ll cry if we want to
Lie if we want to, die if we want to
You would cry too if you had who we do

(musical interlude)

Aw, Sarah Palin behaves just like a whore
She’s a mean ding-a-ling
Jindal should open his eyes
He’ll never be our king

It’s our party, and we’ll cry if we want to
Lie if we want to, die if we want to
You would cry too if you had who we do

Oh, It’s our party, and we’ll cry if we want to
Lie if we want to, die if we want to
You would cry too if you had who we do

Oh, It’s our party, and we’ll cry if we want to
Lie if we want to, die if we want to

Former G.O.P. Senator, Arlen Specter at Town Hall Meeting

We all believed after the last two election cycle defeats for Republicans that the party would disappear as the result of voter defections. We did not anticipate that the party would implode from within as the result of numerous party member resignations triggered by so many tawdry sex scandals. OK, to be honest, maybe we did think that could happen also, too. Nonetheless, we did not think it would happen so rapidly.

Let’s take a look at our list of Republican philanderers and perverts. Ronald Reagan, Newt Gingrich, John McCain, David Vitter, Mark Foley, Larry Craig, Rudolph Giuliani, Ted Haggard, Bob Allen, Glenn Murphy, Jr., John Ensign, Sarah Palin (maybe), Mark Sanford and Paul Stanley.

Oh wait, now we have another one. Let’s have a warm welcome and a stream of hearty applause for California State Assemblyman, Mike Duvall. This guy’s accomplishments in the field of sexual depravity rank right up there with Senator David Vitter and his diaper wearing trysts with hookers. Duvall abruptly resigned from office last week after it was revealed that he inadvertently broadcast descriptions of his sexual conquests over a live microphone feed which recorded his boasting. If that weren’t embarrassing enough, it was discovered that these sexual liaisons took place with women other than his wife. You see where this is going don’t you? That is correct, Duvall is a strict “family values” Republican and strong supporter of the sanctity of marriage. But then again, aren’t they all?

In the recording, Duvall describes in graphic detail about the women he said he slept with including one of whom that was a lobbyist with an energy firm with business before the utilities committee on which Duvall sat as vice chairman. Here is Mike Duvall telling us all about it in his own words:

“I’ve been getting into spanking her,” he said on the recording. “I like it!”

And as for his girl’s panties’

“She wears little eye patch underwear.”

The frequency of his trysts?

“The other day she came here with her underwear. And so we made love on Wednesday a lot.”

And as for his other mistress,

“Shar—oh, she is hot. I talked to her yesterday. She goes, ‘So are we finished?’ I said no. And I go, ‘You know about the other one, but the other one doesn’t know about you.’”

Trust us, these tapes go a lot further but we would like to keep this blog at least somewhat decent.

Now it is time to update our list of Republican philandering perverts. Ronald Reagan, Newt Gingrich, John McCain, David Vitter, Mark Foley, Larry Craig, Rudolph Giuliani, Ted Haggard, Bob Allen, Glenn Murphy, Jr., John Ensign, Sarah Palin (maybe), Mark Sanford, Paul Stanley and Mike Duvall.

Today’s song parody deals with how it must feel to be a member of the Republican Party these days. Please click on the song link below to familiarize yourselves with the tune and to have more fun singing along.

Oh, almost forgot. We realize that there is nothing new in today’s post about Sarah Palin but we still like to mention her in the title of blog posts because it gets everyone’s spirits up. Also, too, did anybody watch that thrilling 4th quarter come from behind victory of my beloved Green Bay Packers last night. I love when they beat the Bears. Go Pack, Go!

Bad Boy song link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtwiY11xeus

BAD BOY

(sung to the Beatles song “Bad Boy”)

A bad little perv resigned his office for good
He’s loyal to the right when he’s not busy sporting wood
He sounded just like a fool on that live open mike
I really hope his spouse doesn’t know he’s spanking young girls all night
Well, he likes it when their bottom’s bare
And all those stories he does share
Hey, Duvall, behave yourself.

Buys every S & M book on the magazine stand
Every dime that he gets is spent on softener for his hand
There is no telling how low Mike Duvall is willing to stoop
From slut and mistress trolling to joining a support group
He used a spatula as a prop
To spank those rear-ends nonstop
Now, Duvall, behave yourself

Now your lovin’ momma’s gonna throw you out of bed
She was watching television when she learned what you said
It’s pretty scary that your kids know that you are a rat
You lost everything you had as a result of that one chat
You may still get the “Bobbitt chop”
Cuz your head is hard as rock
Mike Duvall, behave yourself

Red Sox pitcher Kurt Schilling with Bush (is that Teddy Roosevelt in the crowd?)

Let me begin by saying that I am a proud member of Red Sox Nation. That being said however, I also believe that former pitcher and future Hall of Fame inductee, Kurt Schilling is a whack job of the highest order. I will forever be indebted to Mr. Schilling for all that he did on the baseball diamond. He was one of, if not the most, instrumental player in the Sox’ remarkable four game sweep of The Evil Empire (a/k/a New York Yankees) after having been down by three games. Take that, pinstripers! He then carried on his masterful pitching in the 2004 World Series sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals to bring the first championship to Boston since trading Babe Ruth in 1918. We will always remember the “bloody sock.”

Nonetheless, it is Schilling’s politics that cause me to doubt his sanity. He has decided to make Massachusetts his lifetime home despite the fact that he is a Republican. He campaigned for both George W. Bush and John McCain. OK, so he has guts. He is also delusional, however. This week he has floated the idea that he may run for the recently deceased Ted Kennedy’s senatorial seat. Dream on, Kurt. You do not have a chance at winning that election. First of all, Schilling cannot run as a Republican because he is presently registered as “unenrolled” and he has missed the deadline to re-register as a Republican. Secondly, and more importantly, however, he is likely to compete against a field of Bay State political heavyweights such as Joe Kennedy (yes, that Joe Kennedy), Marty Meehan (former member of House of Representatives and current Chancellor of the University of Massachusetts at Lowell), Martha Coakley (Massachusetts Attorney General) and potentially, Vickie Kennedy (Ted’s Widow). He simply does not have the pedigree to compete with these contenders especially if he is not a Democrat. All I can say to you, Kurt is “I knew Ted Kennedy and you’re no Ted Kennedy.” Stick to your right wing blogging.

Please click on the song link below to familiarize yourselves with the tune and to have more fun singing along with the parody.

I Get A Kick Out Of You song link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtwO2tKZmwQ

I GET A KICK THAT WE’RE BLUE

(sung to the Frank Sinatra song “I Get A Kick Out Of You”)

My state, thank God is not red, it is blue
We’re truly progressive, liberal yes it’s true
The only exception I know is the case
A few reps from the G.O.P., boy the Statehouse must be so lonely
Re-pub-licans now clearly see
They have been outpaced

I don’t care much for McCain
Giuliani doesn’t appeal to me
Jindal is without a damn clue
And Sarah Palin, “also, too”

Collins and Snowe they’re from Maine
It would be rich if they both made the switch
“Vacation-land” would be totally blue
Republicans would be so few

I get a kick every time the Grand Ole Party implodes before me
I get a kick cuz it’s clear to see, they obviously simply bore me

I don’t care much for McCain
Mike Huckabee doesn’t do much for me
Mitt Romney commands the flip-flopping crew
So I get a kick
Oh, it gives me a boot
I get a kick that we’re blue

Vedo che nei cinema italiani è appena uscito The Wackness, col titolo: Fa la Cosa Sbagliata (come, ad esempio, tradurre un titolo intraducibile). Il film però è molto carino e ve lo straconsiglio.

Siamo a New York, nell’estate del 1994. Kurt Cobain si è suicidato da poche settimane, la scena hip-hop sta dilagando mentre ci si scambiano ancora le musicassette. Non voglio scrivere troppo della trama e togliere la voglia di vedere il film, dunque vi basti sapere che Ben Kingsley è spettacolare nel ruolo dello psicologo hippie Dr. Squires e il co-protagonista Josh Peck, nei panni del paziente Luke Shapiro, non è da meno. Shapiro, che è solo un teenager, paga lo strizzacervelli con buste di erba spinella: presto i due diventano amici, con molti più punti in comune di quello che credono e i ruoli di paziente e dottore si ribaltano. Poi c’è la solita gnocca di turno, Olivia Thirlby, e l’amore tormentato, altrimenti il film non si chiamerebbe “The Wackness”.

Cos’è la wackness? Bisogna andare indietro nel vocabolario degli anni ‘90 per capirlo, quando “wack” significava cattivo, criminale, o qualcosa del genere. Forse è riferito alla teoria sul crimine delle “broken windows” che imperversava in quegli anni? Ovvero quando Rudolph Giuliani sosteneva una politica di “0 tolleranza” contro ogni genere di criminalità, dicendo che anche un vetro rotto per strada poteva generare altra delinquenza? Non saprei, è solo la mia teoria, magari sbagliatissima, ma non avendo trovato riscontro online, dovrò accontentarmi; dopotutto, guardando il film, ha senso.

Qualsiasi cosa significhi, The Wackness rimane una divertentissima commedia, per molti aspetti, più profonda di quel che sembra. Ma ciò che davvero fa impressione, è vedere quegli anni attraverso la telecamera di Jonathan Levine: un’era abbastanza vicina per ricordarla come fosse ieri e così diversa dal presente da sembrarci già preistoria. Fate la cosa giusta: dimenticatevi il titolo in italiano e andatelo a vedere.

Fred Derf (R) Funkytown, President of the Birther Movement

If the Republican Party truly desires to return to relevence in American politics, it will first need to distance itself from many of the moon-bat sub groups which comprise its base. The most recent example of one of these conservative reich wing fringe groups is “The Birthers.” You know these crackpots. These are the folks that claim that Barack Obama is not the President of the United States because he was born in Kenya. Of course, they choose to ignore the fact that the State of Hawaii has certified his birth; the fact that his birth announcement appeared in two local Hawaii newspapers in 1961; the fact that that the Republican Governor has stated that he was born there and the fact that the most recent Republican nominee for President, John McCain has stated that he was born in Hawaii (which is interesting itself in light of the fact that McCain was born in Panama).

Facts simply do not matter to”The Birthers.” They would rather ignore facts and simply continue spreading baseless inaccuracies in an attempt to thwart the Obama Presidency. Here is a good example of Birthers in action. Hilarious. Turns out the crazy red shirted woman (why do these nuts always wear red shirts?) is known by local radio station callers as “Crazy Eileen” and has been banned from calling shows on WGMD.

Thankfully, the whole “Birther” brouhaha was finally put to rest yesterday. The House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill declaring Hawaii the birth place of President Obama.

Now on deck for the Crazy Republican Right Wing Base…?????

As you know, we here at Lynnrockets’ Blast-Off have a fondness for music. The “Birther” controversy piqued my interest in finding not only the #1 song played on the day of my birth, but also the #1 songs on each of my successive birthdays thereafter. After a bit of research, it was learned that this information can be found here. Try it. It is fun. The following is a list of the #1 songs on my first ten birthdays:

Go Away Little Girl – Steve Lawrence

There! I’ve Said it Again – Bobby Vinton

Come See About Me – The Supremes

We Can work it Out – The Beatles

I’m A Believer – The Monkees

Hello Goodbye - The Beatles

I Heard It Through The Grapevine – Marvin Gaye

Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head – B.J. Thomas

My Sweet Lord/Isn’t It A Pity – George Harrison

American Pie – Don McClean

You’re So Vain – Carley Simon

Staying on topic, today’s song parody will be derived from the first song on the list and will address our favorite right wing nut job. You guessed it, Sarah Palin.

Click on the song link below to have more fun singing along.

Go Away Little Girl song link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0OrTZd5KM0

GO AWAY SARAH GIRL

(sung to the Steve Lawrence song “Go Away Little Girl”)

Go away, Sarah girl
Go away, Sarah girl
We’ve had enough of you and the First Dude
You quit because of the heat
On Twitter now you can tweet
We’ve moved on to someone else
We’re all done with you

Oh, go away, Palin girl
Go away, Palin girl
Don’t think for even one minute that you can stay
Please fulfill our biggest wish
“Go with the flow like dead fish”
So, go away, Palin girl, and leave as soon as today

Go away

Make our day

That smile now is a pout

There’ll be no more hissy fits
Let’s have one last goodbye kiss
So, go away, Sarah girl
Call it a day, Sarah girl
Oh, please, go away, Sarah girl
And make it a happy day

Go away

Republicans, the gift that keeps on giving. Now batting, Tennessee state senator Paul Stanley (no, not the make-up adorned rock star from Kiss). Where do we begin? Stanley is a 47 year old married (to a woman, of course) father of two who campaigns on an “abstinence only” platform. Last April, he told a Planned Parenthood representative that he could not support the organization because he, “didn’t believe young people should have sex before marriage.”

Really, Senator Stanley? Now, isn’t that special? Fact is however, that Stanley, like so many other Bible thumping, “family values” Republicans, is a hypocritical philanderer. His sexual tryst with his 22 year old legislative intern was revealed this week when he admitted that he was blackmailed into purchasing explicit photographs and video evidence of the affair by the girl’s boyfriend. Only surprise here is that further details did not reveal a trip to South America or a sit-in at an airport Men’s room stall. But stay tuned. These Republican adultery stories always seem to veer off into the absurd.

We can now update our list of Republican “Family Values” adulterers.

Ronald Reagan, Newt Gingrich, John McCain, David Vitter, Mark Foley, Larry Craig, Rudolph Giuliani, Ted Haggard, Bob Allen, Glenn Murphy, Jr., John Ensign, Sarah Palin (maybe), Mark Sanford and now, Paul Stanley.

Batting next for the Republicans…?

Please click on the song link below so as to have more fun singing along.

The Addams Family television theme  song link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVRX_5tGOlo&feature=related

THE HORNY G.O.P.

(sung to the television theme song “The Addams Family”)

They’re creepy and they’re horny
Their dialect is corny
Morality is phony
The shady G.O.P.

If you’re in a museum
It’s real easy to see ‘em
With pants down to their knees’m
The dodgy G.O.P.

(Cheat)
(Beat)
(Their meat)

They always get their ball on
And that’s the sword they fall on
Another gal to crawl on
The horny G.O.P.

I read Leadership by Rudolph Giuliani about a month ago.  It gave me a new respect for 9/11 and public service.  It made me want to have powerful and productive staff meetings.  You don’t have to read it, but you’ll be better for it if you do.

Let’s take a little break from Sarah Palin and draw some attention to her Republican partners in crime. You know, all those hypocritical “family values” adulterers. The list goes something like this: Ronald Reagan, Newt Gingrich, John McCain, David Vitter, Mark Foley, Larry Craig, Rudolph Giuliani, Ted Haggard, Bob Allen, Glenn Murphy, Jr., Mark Sanford and John Ensign.

Shall we take a little look-see at what some of the members of this rogues gallery have said about philandering.

Newt Gingrich

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich acknowledged he was having an extramarital affair even as he led the charge against President Clinton over the Monica Lewinsky affair, he acknowledged in an interview with a conservative Christian group.

“The honest answer is yes,” Gingrich, a potential 2008 Republican presidential candidate, said in an interview with Focus on the Family founder James Dobson to be aired Friday, according to a transcript provided to The Associated Press. “There are times that I have fallen short of my own standards. There’s certainly times when I’ve fallen short of God’s standards.”

and

“I think you can write a psychological profile of me that says I found a way to immerse my insecurities in a cause large enough to justify whatever I wanted it to” – Newt, speaking to Gail Sheehy.

How about this doozy from his former mistress:

“We had oral sex. He prefers that modus operandi because then he can say, ‘I never slept with her.’” – Anne Manning (who was also married at the time.)

David Vitter

After telephone records revealed that he had frequent visits with prostitutes in the DC Madame, Deborah Jeane Palfrey’s employ he said:

“This was a very serious sin in my past for which I am, of course, completely responsible.” “Several years ago, I asked for and received forgiveness from God and my wife in confession and marriage counseling.”

We can understand that his wife may have told him that she forgives him, but how did he receive this message of forgiveness from God? Are we to believe that they are on speaking terms? Even the alleged forgiveness from his wife is questionable in light of a statement from her about adultery which she uttered prior to her knowledge of the Vitter philandering. She was asked by a reporter: If her husband were as unfaithful as Livingston or former President Bill Clinton, would she be as forgiving as Hillary Rodham Clinton? Her response:

“I’m a lot more like Lorena Bobbitt than Hillary.”  “If he does something like that, I’m walking away with one thing, and it’s not alimony, trust me.”

“I think fear is a very good motivating factor in a marriage,” she added. “Don’t put fear down.”

Mark Foley

This is the upstanding Republican that sent the sexual emails to a 16 year old boy that went like this:

Congressman Mark Foley (R-Fla.): “Do I make you a little horny?”
Teen: “A little.”
Foley: “Cool.” –from the transcript of a sexually explicit IM chat Foley had with a 16-year-old male, the revelation of which prompted him to resign (read full transcript; warning: contains explicit language)

Prior to his sexual predilections becoming public, Foley said:

“Anybody even contemplating a sexual offense against a child, understand your life will be ruined.” –Rep. Mark Foley, co-founder of Congressional Missing and Exploited Children’s Caucus

and

“It’s vile. It’s more sad than anything else, to see someone with such potential throw it all down the drain because of a sexual addiction.” –Mark Foley, on Bill Clinton, in 1998 (Source)

And here is our final Republican culprit for today.

John Ensign

This is the Republican that called upon President Clinton to resign as the consequence of an extramarital affair. He said:

“I came to that conclusion recently, and frankly it’s because of what he put his whole Cabinet through and what he has put the country through,” Ensign said Thursday, becoming the first member of the Nevada delegation to call for Clinton to quit. “He has no credibility left.”

Now that Ensign has admitted to an affair however, he refuses to resign and has confirmed that he will seek re-election in 2010. How much credibility does he have left?

We believe that you will find today’s song parody quite fitting. Enjoy.

Remember to click on the song link below to have more fun singing along.

Walk Like An Egyptian song link: http://www.clipshack.com/Clip.aspx?key=65143F523EF415C0

WALK WITH AN ERECTION

(sung to the Bangles song “Walk Like An Egyptian”)

All the G.O.P.s in bedrooms
They do the sex dance with their hoes
They’re getting their kicks (oh whey oh)
They think that their wives will never know

There sat Larry Craig with a smile
Hoping to score a tete-a-tete
He set for awhile (oh whey oh)
On the airport Men’s Room toilet

Cleans his pipe with a Handy Wipe play
Ay oh whey oh, ay oh whey oh
Walk with an erection

Mark Sanford goes missing for days
In South America for a score
He’s got the moves (oh whey oh)
But he’s a fink and his gal’s a whore

John Ensign met his while at work
Along with her son and her husband
He paid them like kings (oh whey oh)
No talking of his erection

All the guys in the G.O.P. say
Ay oh whey oh, ay oh whey oh
Walk with an erection

(musical interlude)

Newt Gingrich left his wife with no tact
In the cancer ward on her back
Life is hard you know (oh whey oh)
He even took her new Cadillac

Mark Vitter pulled out all the stops
His escorts charged him the very tops
They sing and dance (oh whey oh)
Spent his way right into hawk

Then there’s Mark Foley with his men
He says he won’t do it again
But those heinies know (oh whey oh)
He works with a big erection

All the boys in the G.O.P. say
Ay oh whey oh, ay oh whey oh
Walk with an erection
Walk with an erection

Nothing like good old Christian values GOP Politicians telling you how to live your life, while busy robbing and shagging everything going. Incest, paedophilia, mules, boys, girls, women, you name it, the Party of Good Old Christian Tradition has done it. Add in fraud, corruption, and drugs, the GOP certainly knows how to Party. Kind of takes the edge of UK politicians for their expenses scandal.

S.C. Governor Mark Sanford – Disappeared for a week without telling anyone, including his wife and State Law Enforcement Division, which provides security for him. Later Sanford’s spokesman told the press that Sanford was hiking the Appalachian Trail. After returning to duty, he admitted he had actually been in Argentina having an affair.

John McCain – Left his first wife after she had been severely injured in an car accident for a rich former rodeo queen 18 years his junior. Investigated by the Senate Ethics Committee for attempting to influence federal regulators investigating Lincoln Savings and Loan, owned by Charles Keating, McCain’s friend and a campaign fundraiser. Between 1984 and 1986, McCain failed to disclose over $15,000 worth of trips and gifts from junk bond king Charles Keating on his financial disclosure forms, and only reimbursed Keating after the scandal broke. The Senate Ethics Committee cleared him for stupidity.

Cindy McCain – Stole drugs to feed her drug habit, including Percocet and Vicodin, from the American Voluntary Medical Team. An AVMT employee, who had discovered her illegal drug use, tipped off the DEA. McCain had to pay the costs of the investigation.

George W. Bush – Convicted of drunk driving. Lied to Congress and US citizens about Iraq’s “Weapons of Mass Destruction” to justify an illegal war. Covered up Saudi aid to 9-11 hijackers. Allowed the Bin Laden family to leave the US on 9/11. Lied on a juror form about his arrest record, a felony in Texas. Christian book writer Margie Schoedinger had claimed in a law suit that Bush raped and harassed her. She was found dead of a gunshot wound 9 months after filing the lawsuit.

Neil Bush – Fined for his “ethical disability” in Silverado savings and loan investigation. A scandal that cost US taxpayers $1 billion dollars. The Bush family got of without financial penalty as the $50,000 fine was paid by banking deregulation lobbyists. Has admitted to using prostitutes in Hong Kong.

Jeb Bush – Defaulted on a $4,56 million loan from Broward Federal Savings in Florida. After regulators closed the S&L board down, the $4.56 million was reappraised by the regulators to $0.5 million, which Bush and his partners paid. Leaving the taxpayers with a $4 million LOSS.

Columba Bush – Smuggled $16,000 worth of clothes and jewellery into the US after a trip from France.

George P. Bush (yeah there is another George Bush) – Broke into ex-girlfriend’s house and drove circles in her front yard with his car during a fit of rage.

John “Jebby” Bush – Caught by the police with his pants down in a parking lot, having sex with a teenage girl.

Noelle Bush – Arrested for prescription fraud. Ordered by a judge to attend a rehabilitation program. During her time at the facility, Bush was found in contempt of court twice – once after being accused of stealing pills from a nurse and then after she was caught with cocaine.

Barbara and Jenna Bush – Arrested at an Austin restaurant, Jenna for trying to use a fake ID and Barbara for being in possession of alcohol. Jenna had received a citation in April 2001 for possessing alcohol. Her boyfriend was jailed in March, 2001, and was released to the Secret Service.

Dick Cheney – Convicted at least twice for drunk driving. Received five draft deferments from serving in Vietnam because he “had other priorities in the sixties than military service.” Sent 1000s of Soldiers to die in an illegal war. His former company, Haliburton, was awarded no bid contracts in Iraq worth $$millions.

Tom DeLay – Had to resign in disgrace as House majority leader after a Texas grand jury indicted him on a conspiracy charge stemming from campaign finance investigations.

“Scooter” Libby – Indicted on five charges related to the CIA leak probe: one count of obstruction of justice, two counts of perjury and two counts of making false statements. He was convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice. He obstructed a grand jury investigation of the outing of a CIA operative Valerie Plame. The trial also implicated Karl Rove and Dick Cheney for their personal attempt to discredit her husband, retired diplomat and Iraq war critic Joe Wilson.

Paul D. Wolfowitz – Served as U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense for George W Bush. The architect of the Iraq War. Nominated by GW Bush for president of the World Bank, where he became involved in a relationship with World Bank Senior Communications Officer (and Acting Manager of External Affairs) for the Middle East and North Africa Regional Office Shaha Ali Riz. World Bank employment policies strictly forbade this. So Wolfowitz promoted her to a job at the State Department under Liz Cheney, the daughter of the Vice-President. She got a $60,000 raise, as well as guarantees of future increases, more than double the amount allowed under State Department rules. Despite all of this – Wolfowitz kept her on the World Bank payroll as well.

Larry Craig – Idaho’s homophobic Republican Senator was found to be not so homophobic after getting caught soliciting gay sex in an airport toilet in June 2007.

Glenn Murphy Jr. – Chairman of the Clark County Republican Party and president of the Young Republican National Federation attempted to perform oral sex on two men while they slept.

David Vitter – A “family-values far-right conservative” Senator from Louisiana, had an affair with a prostitute in 1999. He was then outed by the so-called “D.C. Madam” in 2007 forcing him to admit to a “serious sin” after his telephone number was disclosed by her. Lost a lawsuit for assaulting a woman at a town hall meeting. Had a pact with the racist David Duke to suppress the black vote.

John Ensign – Another “good Christian Conservative” admitted he had an affair with a member of staff after the threat of being blackmailed.

Republican Congressman Mark Foley abruptly resigned from Congress after “sexually explicit” emails surfaced showing him flirting with a 16-year old boy. The legal age of consent in the States concerned are 17 & 18. In addition Mark Foley was at the time heading up the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children.

Ted Haggard – Adviser to George W Bush on “spiritual matters”. Another homophobe who also found himself to be not so homophobic after being forced to admit to having a three year affair with a male prostitute and using methamphetamine. He resigned as Leader of the National Association of Evangelicals and stepped aside as Pastor of his church

Bob Allen, another homophobic Florida Republican a member of the State House of Representatives was arrested in November 2007 for solicitation after tried to solicit an undercover male officer inside a public toilet, offering to perform oral sex for $20. Representative Bob Allen sponsored a bill that would have tightened the State prohibition on public sex. He campaigned for amending the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage and opposed a bill to curb the bullying of gay students. He blamed his arrest on a fear of African Americans.

Coy Privette, the president of The Christian Action League, a North Carolina ultraconservative Christian political group based in Raleigh, was arrested in July for soliciting prostitution after paying for his prostitutes with cheques and then reporting then stolen. Privette served as a Republican in the North Carolina Legislature from 1984 to 1992 and has been a member of the board of commissioners in Cabarrus County since 1998.

Philip Giordano, Republican mayor of Waterbury, Connecticut., was convicted of paying a crack addict prostitute to bring her 8 and 10 year old daughters for sexual encounters in 2000 and 2001. He was sentenced to 37 years in prison for sexually abusing the two girls.

Matteo Fontana – Department of Education official under George W Bush, the regulator of the student loan industry, was put on leave after it was disclosed that he owned at least $100,000 worth of stock in a student loan company.

Philip Cooney – admitted to a House committee that he edited three government reports to eliminate or downplay links between greenhouse gases and global warming. He was a former oil-industry lobbyist who became Chief of Staff for the White House Council on Environmental Quality under George W Bush. He left the government in 2005 to work for Exxon.

J. Steven Griles – The Deputy Interior Secretary under George Bush was convicted as a result of the fallout from the Abramoff scandal. He pleaded guilty to obstructing justice by lying to a Senate committee about his relationship with Abramoff. Abramoff repeatedly sought Griles’ intervention at Interior on behalf of Indian tribal clients.

Darleen Druyun – was an Air Force procurement officer under George W Bush. She served nine months in prison in 2005 for violating conflict-of-interest rules after she leased Boeing refuelling tankers for $23 billion. Pentagon studies showed the tankers were unnecessary. After making the deal, she quit the government to join Boeing.

David H. Safavian – lied to government investigators about his links to Jack Abramoff. A former White House aide for George W Bush he now faces an 15 year prison sentence.

Claude Allen – pleaded guilty to theft in making phony returns at discount department stores. He was George W Bush’s domestic policy advisor. He was sentenced to two years of supervised probation and fined $500.

“Jeff Gannon” – was a pseudonym for a James Guckert — who worked for fake news agency Talon News. He obtained “daily passes” from the Secret Service and FBI allowing Guckert access to White House press briefings and to parse questions to President George W. Bush. Guckert was later exposed as a gay prostitute.

John Doolittle, a Deputy Whip for the Republican party in the House, had to resign from the Committee on Appropriations in response to a raid by the FBI who were investigating his involvement with Jack Abramoff. His wife worked for Abramoff and was paid via a company called Sierra Dominion Financial Solutions, founded just after Congressman Doolittle gained a seat on the Appropriations Committee and based from his North Virginia home. The firm employed only his wife.

Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA), was caught by police with a prostitute in a parked car in California. Subsequently, Calvert repeatedly tried to cover up the incident for nearly a year, publicly denying that it ever occurred.

Republican Congressman Dan Crane had sex with minor aged girl working as a congressional page.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist – a particularly evil Republican who adopted cats from animal shelters so he could kill them.
He is under investigation by the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission about the sale of his hospital company one month before its price fell sharply. He accepted over $23,000 from tobacco lobbyists, even though he is a doctor.

Randall Harold “Duke” Cunningham – Pleaded guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to commit bribery, mail fraud, wire fraud, and tax evasion. He resigned from the House after pleading guilty to accepting at least $2.4 million in bribes and under-reporting his income for 2004. He was sentenced to eight years and four months in prison and ordered to pay $1.8 million in restitution.

Bob Dole – another good family man Republican, cheated on his first wife, his mistress became his current wife Elizabeth Dole (also another “good family Conservative” who ran vicious and fake Christian right wing smear campaign against her opponent – she lost her seat).

Newt Gingrich – left his ex-wife while she lay in a hospital bed getting cancer treatment. While sitting in judgement of President Clinton he was screwing his aid. He resigned as Speaker of the House. While claiming to be a “fiscal Conservative”, he funnelled hundreds of millions of dollars to his campaign donors. His district received more taxpayer’s money than any other district in America.

Gov. John Rowland – Had to resign after it was disclosed he illegally accepted gifts from state contractors. Plead guilty to federal charge of criminal conspiracy.

Rep. Bill Janklow – a habitual speeder and reckless driver was convicted of manslaughter.

Jack Ryan – Forced his wife to perform sex acts in front of strangers, the public outcry caused him to drop out of a Senatorial race.

Jeanine Pirro – was subject to a Federal investigation as a result of being caught on tape asking Bernard B. Keriks security consulting firm to investigate if her husband was having an affair, the same firm she ordered a grocery chain hire in 2004 to settle charges brought by her office.

Bernard Kerik – the NY police commissioner had more than one affair at a time starting with Judith Regan, the publisher of his recent memoir, and a City correction officer.

He also accepted unreported gifts of thousands of dollars in cash and other items from associates at a New Jersey construction company and was Ordered to pay a conflict-of-interest fine for using 3 Police Officers to do research about his mother for his autobiography.

Rush Limbaugh – Cheated on at least two of his four wives. He used his maid as a drug runner. He accepted a plea agreement to avoid charges of prescription fraud. He was put on probation with mandatory drug screening. He avoided draft during Vietnam by saying he had an anal cyst.

Rudolph Giuliani does not keep his vows. He has been married 3 times so far. His first marriage was to his second cousin. While married to his first wife he lived with the woman who became his second wife. His second wife found out he was leaving her after he announced it at a Press Conference. His second wife, through that Press conference found out Giuliani was leaving her for his assistant who he had having an affair with. His son Andrew and his daughter Caroline are estranged from him.

Richard A. Delgaudio – A major Republican Party findraiser on the National scene, plead guilty to producing child pornography after paying two under age teenage girls to pose for sexual photos in a Baltimore hotel.

Nicholas Elizondo – Director of the “Young Republican Federation” was sentenced to six years prison for molesting his 6-year old daughter.

Earl “Butch” Kimmerling – A Republican anti gay activist who campaigned to “save an 8 year old girl” from being adopted by a gay couple, then molested her. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison.

Rep. Bob Barr – Used Anti Abortion campaign money to get elected and then forced his wife to have an abortion. He has cheated on all three of his wives.

Rep. Dan Burton – Had at least six adulterous affairs. In 1990, Burton introduced legislation that would require the death penalty for drug dealers. “We must educate our children about the dangers of drugs,” Burton said, “and impose tough new penalties on dealers.” In 1994, son Dan Burton, Jr. (Danny) was arrested while transporting nearly eight pounds of marijuana from Louisiana to Indiana. Just five months later, while awaiting trial in that case, police raided his Indianapolis apartment and Danny was arrested again for growing thirty marijuana plants. Police also found a shotgun in the apartment. Under federal law, Danny faced a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison just for the gun, plus up to three years in prison under state law for all the marijuana. Federal charges were never filed, and Indiana prosecutors got his charges dismissed. In Louisiana, he wound up receiving a mild sanction: a term of community service, probation and house arrest.

Rep. Robert Bauman – Another not so homophobic homophobe Congressman charged with soliciting sex from a 16-year old boy he picked up at a gay bar. He also admitted that he had been the victim of an extortion scheme by a man who had a sexual relationship with him.

Sen. Strom Thurmond – Proves you do not have to be young to cheat, he cheated on his fourth wife at the age 88. His history goes right back. Thurmond fathered an illegitimate baby back in 1925. The mother was his “maid”. Thurmond, icon of the Bible-bashing, family-values-promoting right, not only contradicted his segregationist credo by impregnating a young Carrie Butler in 1925, the mother was at most 16 at the time of birth.

Gov. Kirk Fordice – Got so “excited” up by his mistress that he crashed his car.

Beverly Russell – The Christian Coalition coordinator and Republican activist molested his stepdaughter Susan Smith, who later killed her own children.

Gov. George Ryan – Was found guilty by a federal jury of all 18 counts of corruption charges against him.

Rep. Donald “Buz” Lukens – Found guilty of having sex with a minor and sent to jail.

Rep. Sue Myrick – a woman this time, ableit another bible basher, cheated on her husband and left him for another man.

Bob Livingston – Who had a failed attempt at becoming the GOP Speaker cheated on his wife Bonnie – with at least four women.

Michael Huffington – The Former GOP Congressman who cheated on his wife Arianna – with other man.

Oklahoma Lt. Gov. Mary Fallin – Had an adulterous affair with her a state trooper who also worked as her security guard.

Edward Schrock – was caught searching for sex on a gay telephone service, he resigned from Congress.

Rep. Helen Chenoweth – Attacked President Clinton for the “sordid spectacle” of an extramarital affair and aired campaign advertisements in which she said “personal conduct and integrity does matter”. She then went on to admit that she had engaged in a long-term affair with a married man.

Rep. John Schmitz – Extreme right-wing Republican fathered two children by a mistress, a former student named Carla Stuckle whom Schmitz taught when he was a professor at Santa Ana College. His daughter, Mary Kay LeTourneau, made national headlines when as a school teacher, she was arrested twice for having sex and producing two children with an underage student of hers. The affair started when the boy was 13.

Rep. John Boehner – Distributed money from tobacco industry lobbyists on the House floor to members who had voted to support tobacco interests.

Gov. Bob Taft III – Plead no contest in Aug. 2005 to charges that he violated state ethics laws, becoming the first governor in the history of his State to be convicted of a crime.

Spokane Republican Mayor Jim West – a Homophobic mayor admitted to meeting men online for sex – as well as offering gifts, he gave a City Hall internship to a young man for sex.

West Hartford Republican Mayor Philip Giordano is serving a 37-year sentence for sexually abusing 8- and 10-year old girls.

Edison Misla Aldarondo – A Republican legislator was sentenced to 10 years in prison for raping his daughter while she was between the ages of 9 and 17.

Donald “Buz” Lukens – Republican Congressman was found guilty of having sex with a female minor and sentenced to one month in jail.

Neal Horsley -Republican anti-abortion activist admitted to having sex with a mule.

Matthew Glavin – President of the GOP linked Southeastern Legal Foundation, which sought to have President Clinton disbarred in Arkansas; resigned in shame after he was charged with public indecency for fondling himself and a park ranger in Georgia’s Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area.

Republican Pastor Mike Hintz, commended by George W. Bush during his 2004 presidential campaign, surrendered to police after admitting to a sexual affair with a juvenile girl.

Pat Robertson – the bastion of Christian Conservatives impregnated a girl and refused to marry her until her parents threatened to contact the press. He owns interest in gold mine in Liberia and supported the dictator there to ensure his mine was protected.

Lou Beres – Republican chairman of the Oregon Christian Coalition confessed to molesting a 13-year old girl.

Richard Nixon – Forced to resign the Presidency in disgrace. Covered up Watergate. Pardoned by Gerald Ford for “for ANY and ALL crimes” that he might have committed while President.

G. Gordon Liddy – Convicted of conspiracy, burglary, and wiretapping for his role in Watergate.

Spiro Agnew – Forced to resigned the Office of Vice-President after pleading guilty to tax evasion.

Ronald Reagan – Star of Republican hearts, whose hstoric budget and trade deficits got dwarfed by GW Bush, dumped Jane Wyman by cheating on her. He sold weapons to terrorists and enemy nations.

Oliver North – While guest host on the Rush Limbaugh show he advocated the assassination of President Clinton. Lied to congress. Sold arms to enemy States of America. Guilty of obstruction of justice, shredded Iran Contra documents, ordered his secretary to smuggle out incriminating evidence in her panties.

Republican South Carolina Governor, Mark Sanford tries to remember whether he went to Appalachian Trail or Argentina

Republicans, the gift that keeps on giving. Now batting, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford. Where do we begin? Sanford disappears for six days and neither his family nor his staff have any idea as to his whereabouts. The press catches on to the case of the missing governor and so his staff makes up a story that Sanford needed to clear his head by means of hiking the Appalachian Trail.

That fabrication unravels, however when an unidentified South Carolina law enforcement official informs CNN that Sanford’s vehicle has been parked at the airport for several days. Next, airport officials confirm that Sanford has just re-entered the United States from Argentina. What up with that? Finally, we learn today that Sanford has lately been borrowing law enforcement vehicles in the middle of the night for sojourns to parts unknown. Sounds like a little head shrinking may be in order. Or, perhaps he just has a girlfriend like so many other of the “Family Values” Republicans. In any event, this example of irrational behavior should put an end to any Presidential aspirations that Sanford may have harbored for 2012.

UPDATE

Suspicions confirmed. Mark Sanford was traveling with his mistress. We can now update our list of Republican “Family Values” adulterers.

Ronald Reagan, Newt Gingrich, John McCain, David Vitter, Mark Foley, Larry Craig, Rudolph Giuliani, Ted Haggard, Bob Allen, Glenn Murphy, Jr., John Ensign, Sarah Palin (maybe) and Mark Sanford.

Batting next for the Republicans, Mittwit Romney.

Please click on the song link below so as to have more fun singing along.

Sweet Caroline song link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmV_YJm5jAc

SOUTH CAROLINE

(sung to the Neil Diamond song “Sweet Caroline”)

Where he began, we can’t begin to know where
But we do know that something’s wrong
Does Sanford drink?
Is this guy dumb or dumber?
Will Mark next fly off to Hong Kong?

Vans, minivans, roams about
Losing me, losing you
South Caroline
Why did Sanford leave the hood?
He should resign, that would do your state some good

Why, oh why?
Is he all-right, is the guv’nor so lonely?
Where will he next wander off to?
Maybe Frankfurt?
Frankfurt or maybe Boulder?
Not Pennsylvania Avenue

Done, he’s now done, petered out
He should be, in the zoo
South Caroline
Is Sanford misunderstood?
He should resign, that would do your state some good

(musical interlude)

South Caroline
Why did Sanford leave the hood?

South Caroline
Is Sanford misunderstood?

South Caroline

“Life is a process of becoming, a combination of states we have to go through. Where people fail is that they wish to elect a state and remain in it. This is a kind of death.”

- Anais Nin

Allen Vaught said of SB 1000, no way lady, that’s a voucher. No way am I going to support something that would reiterate existing federal disability law at the state level. No way am I going to support something that says if your crappy neighborhood school cannot or will not provide FAPE to your child with autism they must fund that child’s FAPE in a private setting. Vaught was perfectly aware of the major regression our son faced after only 3 months trapped in an inappropriate classroom. Our son and our family have been through a lot in his short life, and that is one huge nightmare we should never have been put through. Like thousands of others, we were stuck with a suffering child and a school that was daring us to sue.

From the Supreme Court:

Court says public must pay for private special ed

Associated Press Writer Jesse J. Holland,

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court has ruled that parents of special education students who opt for private school instead of trying the public system cannot be barred from seeking public reimbursement for their tuition costs.

The court ruled 6-3 Monday in favor of a teenage boy from Oregon whose parents sought to force their local public school district to pay the $5,200 a month it cost to send their son to a private school.

Federal law calls for school districts to reimburse students or their families for education costs when public schools do not have services that address or fulfill the students’ needs. Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the nation’s special education students are entitled to a “free and appropriate public education.”

Schools have argued that the law says parents of special education students must give public special education programs a chance before seeking reimbursement for private school tuition.

But advocacy groups and parents of some special education students contend that forcing them to try public schools first could force children, especially poor ones, to spend time in an undesirable situation before getting the help they need.

Justice John Paul Stevens said in his majority opinion that the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires a school district to pay for private special ed services if the public school doesn’t have appropriate services.

“We conclude that IDEA authorizes reimbursement for the cost of special education services when a school district fails to provide a FAPE and the private-school placement is appropriate, regardless of whether the child previously received special education or related services through the public school,” Stevens said.

In the case before the Supreme Court, the family of a teenage Oregon boy diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder — who was identified only as T.A. — sued the school district, saying the school did not properly address the student’s learning problems. The family is seeking reimbursement for the student’s tuition, which cost $5,200 a month. The family paid a total of $65,000 in private tuition.

In its appeal, the Forest Grove School District said students should be forced to at least give public special education programs a try before seeking reimbursement for private tuition. If not, parents would bypass public schools and go directly to private school — and then ask for reimbursement from school systems already burdened by ever-increasing costs.

The court’s decision does not require reimbursement, but Stevens said school officials “must consider all relevant factors, including the notice provided by parents and the school district’s opportunities for evaluating the child, in determining whether reimbursement for some or all of the cost of the child’s private school education is warranted.”
Justice David Souter, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas dissented.

“Given the burden of private school placement, it makes good sense to require parents to try to devise a satisfactory alternative within the public schools,” Souter said in the dissent.

This is the court’s second attempt at resolving this issue. The high court split 4-4 on a similar case fromNew York City two years ago. Justice Anthony Kennedy recused himself in the New York case but was among those who ruled on the Oregon case.

Nationwide, the number of special education students placed in private schools at public expense has not changed significantly over the last two decades, Justice Department lawyers said, citing statistics from the U.S. Department of Education. Just under 67,000 pupils were in private placements in 2007 — just 1.1 percent of the country’s nearly 6 million special education students.

The case is Forest Grove School District v. T.A., 08-305.

And there you have it.

Click here to read a Wright’s Law analysis of the Supreme Court’s decision.

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I am editing this post to add my own opinion since my phone is ringing off the hook, and my email is full of “Hooray” messages.

This ruling was a decision on a disability law that has been in existence since the 70s. Here’s what this decision does:

1. It gives publicity to the fact that children with disabilities should not have to suffer and be punished with an inappropriate educational environment. People who have not walked a mile are now wiggling their necks and saying why shouldn’t *those* kids have to at least try public school. The answer to that, of course, is FAPE, but that is complicated for the world at large to understand, and the press has not bothered with an explanation.

2. This decision reinforces the fact that you must sue your way to the U.S. Supreme Court to receive FAPE.

[An Ohio family had to go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court just to get the right to sue their school district without hiring an attorney (which they could not afford after all those school taxes and the massive expense involved in raising a child with a disability). ]

3. In Texas this means in order to receive FAPE you must sue and appeal and appeal and appeal. To get to the U.S. Supreme Court you must make it past the 5th Circuit in New Orleans. Look up the decisions coming out of that court, and best of luck to you. This court is hopelessly biased toward schools and their private attorneys.

If you win in Texas, this is no cause for celebration. You will get your appeals papers in the mail. The private law firms like Bracewell & Giuliani (yes, that Republican Giuliani’s firm) and Jim Walsh’s WABAGS that the schools hire with our education dollars will appeal. The private law firms know that sooner or later you will be in the 5th Circuit, and that’s the end of the line.

[The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act puts the burden of proof for FAPE on the schools, but it allows states to tighten that and put it on the parents. Most states have not done this, but Texas has.]

Someone on here asked me to do even more of Allen Vaught’s job for him than I already have. Someone in comments asked me to stop whining and give him some ready-made bills to file.

Here’s one, boys: Switch the burden of proof for FAPE back to the schools.

I am not an attorney or living off the backs of tax payers, but I would be happy to write the bill for you, too, Representative Vaught. Then you will have something substantial to wave around during your next campaign on proactive solutions for neighborhood schools.

Republican Senator, John Ensign feels the heat from his extramarital affair.

A few weeks ago, Congressional Republican leaders considered voting on a resolution to re-name the Democratic Party the “Democrat Socialist Party.” In light of the most recent revelation of another G.O.P. member’s extramarital affair, it might be time to pass a resolution to re-name the Republican Party. Perhaps, the “Party of No Family Values” would be appropriate.

The latest Republican adulterer is Nevada Senator John Ensign. This week we learned of his affair with one of his staff members. Ensign truly believes in keeping it in the family, so long as the family in question is not his own. You see, while having the affair with his mistress-employee, he also employed her husband and their son. Boy, does that ever make for tense staff meetings.

Mr. Ensign has also followed in the hypocritical footprints of former Republican Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich. Both of these impostors called for the resignation of President Clinton when the Lewinsky affair came to light. Neither of them, however was man enough to resign as the result of their own identical indiscretions. Ensign however, doubled down on the hypocrisy when he also called for Republican Senator Larry Craig to resign in light of Craig’s extramarital homosexual airport tryst.

Our list of recent Republican “family values” adulterers now includes Ronald Reagan, Newt Gingrich, John McCain, David Vitter, Mark Foley, Larry Craig, Rudolph Giuliani, Ted Haggard, Bob Allen, Glenn Murphy, Jr., and John Ensign.

This, of course leads to our newest song parody. Hope you enjoy.

Remember to click on the song link below to make singing along a lot more fun.

A Day In The Life song link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWjVffR5EdM

A DAY IN THE LIFE (OF THE G.O.P.)

(sung to the Beatles song “A Day In The Life”)

I read the news today oh, boy
About a senator who made the grade
And though the news was rather sad
Well, I just had to laugh
Is there a photograph?
John Ensign’s tryst will leave a scar
A “family values” guy who’s values changed
His dirty laundry will be aired
We’ve seen his kind before
In hypocrisy the G.O.P. wins all of the awards

I watched the news today oh, boy
Seems David Vitter spent time with a whore
It was a girl so he’s not gay
But here’s the funny hook
It’s all in her book
He’d love to make her gone

Horned up and out of bed
Larry Craig needed some head
Went to the airport to find a pup
Things looking up, he thought he found some bait
Found a leg to give a pat
Caught a bust in seconds flat
Gave a poor excuse when the news broke
Just another joke in the dirty G.O.P.
Ah, ah,ah, ah, ah, ah ,ah ……….

I read the news today oh, boy
The Sunshine State’s Mark Foley is a queer
These guys spew hate but have no balls
The party’s sure to fall
Hypocritical A-holes heading straight into a wall
They’d love to turn you on

Republican Crybaby

Now that Democrats have seized control of the White House, Senate and House of Representatives, and since Republicans can now only claim 21% of registered voters, it appears that the United States has evolved into a “Blue Bayou” (Yes, Republicans, we said “evolve”). Things look even bleaker for the G.O.P. when, by their own admission, they must recruit many more females and Hispanics, yet they have chosen to brand the first female Hispanic Supreme Court nominee as a racist. Ouch!

The Republican voice has truly become a lonely cry in the wilderness. The party infighting certainly does not help matters. At this point there are two distinct groups which claim ownership of the Grand Ole Party. One of them is what is left of the conservative Christian right wing base. This faction insists that the party must continue to cling to old-school policies which advance the free market with little to no governmental regulation and at the same time must hold strong on social issues such as freedom of choice and same sex marriage. The other faction believes that the party must move more to the center in order to stem the flow of fleeing members. This disagreement as to direction has caused a large schism in what is left of the party. Furthermore, the party’s group of potential nominees for President in 2012 is weak at best.

All good news for the Democratic Party.

Be sure to click on the song link below because it makes it a lot more fun to sing along.

I Get A Kick Out Of You song link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtwO2tKZmwQ

I GET A KICK THAT WE’RE BLUE

(sung to the Frank Sinatra song “I Get A Kick Out Of You”)

My state, thank God is not red, it is blue
We’re truly progressive, liberal yes it’s true
The only exception I know is the case
A few reps from the G.O.P., boy the Statehouse must be so lonely
Re-pub-licans now clearly see
They have been outpaced

I don’t care much for McCain
Giuliani doesn’t appeal to me
Jindal is without a damn clue
And Sarah Palin, “also, too”

Collins and Snowe they’re from Maine
It would be rich if they both made the switch
“Vacation-land” would be totally blue
Republicans would be so few

I get a kick every time the Grand Ole Party implodes before me
I get a kick cuz it’s clear to see, they obviously simply bore me

I don’t care much for McCain
Mike Huckabee doesn’t do much for me
Mitt Romney commands the flip-flopping crew
So I get a kick
Oh, it gives me a boot
I get a kick that we’re blue

Me llama poderosamente la atención la relevancia que adquiere el contexto en  nuestra percepción del liderazgo. Después de los ataques terroristas del 11 de septiembre en Nueva York la percepción que tenían los neuyorkinos sobre el liderazgo de Rudolph Giuliani era sensacional. La opinión pública lo elogiaba de manera unánime: un gran líder, si señor, un tipo asertivo, firme, con determinación, con la habilidad de poder transmitir seguridad en tiempos de crisis y terror. Sin embargo, cuando el mismo Giuliani se postuló como candidato a la presidencia de los Estados Unidos la misma opinión pública que tanto había alabado su gestión cuando sucedieron los atentados del 11-S lo tildó de ser un líder de perfil bajo, vehemente, terco y muy dado a tomar decisiones de manera unilateral. En la historia reciente de España también vemos casos igualmente llamativos. Me viene a la cabeza la figura del ex-presidente del gobierno, Jose María Aznar. A mediados de la década de los noventa, en el ocaso del felipismo, y con una coyuntura económica negativa  (cada vez menos me atrevo a decir que similar a la actual porque la que nos viene encima es de aupa…), en la que la economía española se encontraba en una etapa de fuerte desaceleración del gasto privado, y que estaba llevando a caídas de dos dígitos en los principales indicadores del consumo a corto plazo como las matriculaciones de vehículos, la producción de cemento o las ventas del comercio minorista (pequeño comercio, súper e hipermercados)… , en la que los ingresos tributarios se estaban desinflando, afectados por los menores beneficios empresariales (impuesto de sociedades) y por la falta de confianza de los consumidore en que hubiese un repunte de la economía (afecta a la recaudación del IVA), en la que la seguridad social inició una escalada hacia el abismo y el entonces, al igual que hasta hace un mes, ministro de economía Pedro Solbes animó a los españoles a acogerse a planes de pensiones privados … Pues en aquella época, Aznar,  jefe de la oposición -por el que nadie daba un duro frente a la carismática figura de Felipe González-, fué capaz no sólo de ganar unas elecciones ante el descontento general reinante en la sociedad española, sino de remontar el vuelo de una economía en caída libre y cumplir con los criterios de Mastrique para hacer converger la antigua moneda nacional, la peseta, con el euro. En los primeros años de oposición Aznar tenía fama de antipático, de ser poco carismático, y el gobierno, del PSOE, se metía con él por el bigote (disque por simbolizar autoritarismo…), por su forma nasalidad pronunciada al hablar y por recurrir siempre a la machacona frase “!Váyase Sr. González!“… Con el devenir de los acontecimientos, la crisis del 93, la progresiva dificultad para entrar en la eurozona, la crispación social por el creciente desempleo, la recesión económica creciente, el escándalo de los GAL, y la falta de de credibilidad de un Felipe González apático y sin energía para seguir gobernando aquellos “defectos” de Aznar se volvieron “virtud”. La opinión pública española pasó de la mofa a la admiración en un periodo de cuatro años. En el 95 Aznar era un autoritario, en el 2000,  el presidente por mayoría absoluta. Su asertividad, la fuerza que transmitía a la hora de tomar decisiones, su vehemencia y su estilo político -atar a todo el mundo en corto- resultó en un liderazgo tan eficaz que además de recuperar la senda positiva de la economía, generar muchísimo empleo, cumplir con los criterios de convergencia de Maastriche, desgastar profundamente a ETA, y algún que otro logro más, fué capaz de convencer a todo un país para ser reelegido presidente del gobierno por mayoría absoluta. Tras su primera legislatura, ejemplar en muchos aspectos, y ya recuperada la economía, con muy poco paro y prosperidad por doquier, contaba con el apoyo de millones de españoles. En ese mismo instante, en el momento de su reelección, se produce un punto de inflexión en la hasta entonces gran biografía política de Aznar. El contexto en el año 200o era muy distinto al que él se encontró cuando entró a vivir en el palacio de la Moncloa. El líder que España necesitaba en ese momento, enfilando esa segunda legislatura, distaba mucho de aquél Aznar asertivo y autoritario en petit comité que había sido capaz de darle la vuelta a una situación tan adversa cómo la de la crisis de los noventa. En esa etapa de crecimiento, España ya no necesitaba que su presidente fuera omnipresente, no necesitaba ese liderazgo tan fuerte, no necesitaba tanta asertividad, ni que las decisiones se tomaran de forma tan unilateral. Todos estos rasgos del liderazgo de Aznar, además, se percibían de forma magnificada por la opinión pública española, en parte por el llamado síndrome de la Moncloa, y en parte porque el propio ego de Aznar se encontraba por las nubes. Todo ello tuvo su reflejo en aquella nefasta decisión de casar a su hija en el Monasterio de San Lorenzo del Escorial (con todo lo que ello implica: casar a una hija, en un edificio de históricamente vinculado a la realeza, con un elenco de invitados entre los estaban personajes tan detestables como el afamado -por supuesto corrupto- Francisco Correa o el siempre inoportuno Silvio Berlusconi). Aznar le dió rienda suelta a su lado más autoritario cuando lo más oportuno hubiera sido disimularlo más. Yo creo que no es cierto, como se comentaba en algunos círculos, que la mayoría absoluta había cambiado a Aznar. Lo que cambió fué el contexto. Y la percepción de esos rasgos por parte de la opinión pública también cambió. Lo que en momentos de crisis se valoraba como bueno, en momentos de bonanza ya no lo era tanto. Aznar siempre fué autoritario, su eslogan lo delata. Otra cosa es que en un contexto de crisis ese tipo de liderazgo pueda servir para salir del atolladero ya que ante la incertidumbre generalizada se necesitan líderes que transmitan convicción y generen cambio. Esta nefasta actitud refleja la inflexibilidad ante el cambio y la falta de talento en temas de marketing político del que tradicionalmente padece el PP, marketing, por otro lado, que el PSOE maneja con maestría. Aznar fué incapaz de hacer una lectura de aquel contexto, se dejó llevar por su lado más oscuro y, a pesar de sus grandes logros, su imagen ante la opinión pública española tras estar ya 6 años alejado de la Moncloa sigue siendo bastante mala. Y no sólo es consecuencia del “cerco sanitario” al que es sometido por parte de algunos medios de comunicación más próximos a la izquierda, sino que hay miembros de su propio partido y muchos afiliados al PP que no aprueban aquella actitud del ex-presidente. Pero todos, sin discusión, reconocen sus logros y méritos en aquella primera legislatura. Y aquél liderazgo hábil, con un gobierno en minoría, es algo que quizás echemos en falta hoy de nuestros actuales dirigentes políticos, ya sean del gobierno o de la oposición.