Reminders

This guy reminds me why I'm proud to be from Iowa.




And this lady reminds me why I'm happy I'm not living in Texas.

The Few, The Proud, The Gullible

It seems the Nigerian businessman/government official has enlisted in the U.S. Marines and is now serving in Iraq:

From: Lieutenant Colonel William Adams
Reply-To: adams_williams111@ubbi.com
Subject: Re:From Lieutenant Colonel William Adams{A US MARINE IN IRAQ}

Attention Please!!!

Greetings to you!

I am Lieutenant Colonel William Adams...a US MARINE in Iraq.As you may Know,there areseveral cases of insurgents attacks and suicide bombing going on here.However We managed to move funds belonging to some deceased persons who were attacked and killed through insurgent attacks.The total amount is US$25 Million dollars in cash.

We want to move this money to you so that you may keep our share for us untill when we shall come over to meet You. We will take 70%, my partner and I while you take 30%.No strings attached.Just help us move it out of Iraq as Iraq we all know is a war zone.Note that We plan to use the British Diplomatic courier in shipping the money out in two large metallic Boxes,using diplomatic immunity.If you are interested I will send you the full details.

My job is to find a good partner that we can trust and that will assist us. Can I trust you? When you receive this letter, kindly send me an e-mail signifying your interest including your most confidential telephone/fax numbers for quick communication and also your contact details. This business is risk free. Get back to me immediately for more directives.

Respectfully,
Lieutenant Colonel Williams Adams

I had no idea the Marines used a dot com URL. But this marine is serving under the influence (Lit.Col.William). And this scheme of his doesn't sound very honorable. But at least we're assured the money comes from people attacked and killed through insurgent attacks.

Would accepting this offer be considered supporting the troops?

Friday Thought

I keep reading statements that creating laws prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation is evidence of religious persecution. The argument seems to be that adding "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" to categories like race and religion is an effort to legally enshrine homosexuality as morally legitimate. Such efforts "stigmatize anti-homosexuality religious principle."

I know plenty of people who've changed their religion but none who've changed their sexual orientation. So either gay-ness is legitimately protectable or religion isn't. Pick one.

If Only The Students Had Been Armed

Imagine the outcome of this:

MURFREESBORO, Tennessee (AP) -- Staff members of an elementary school staged a fictitious gun attack on students during a class trip, telling them it was not a drill as the children cried and hid under tables.

The mock attack Thursday night was intended as a learning experience and lasted five minutes during the weeklong trip to a state park, said Scales Elementary School Assistant Principal Don Bartch, who led the trip.

"We got together and discussed what we would have done in a real situation," he said.

But parents of the sixth-grade students were outraged.

"The children were in that room in the dark, begging for their lives, because they thought there was someone with a gun after them," said Brandy Cole, whose son went on the trip.

Some parents said they were upset by the staff's poor judgment in light of the April 16 shootings at Virginia Tech that left 33 students and professors dead, including the gunman.

During the last night of the trip, staff members convinced the 69 students that there was a gunman on the loose. They were told to lie on the floor or hide underneath tables and stay quiet. A teacher, disguised in a hooded sweat shirt, even pulled on a locked door.

After the lights went out, about 20 kids started to cry, 11-year-old Shay Naylor said.

"I was like, 'Oh My God,' " she said. "At first I thought I was going to die. We flipped out."

Principal Catherine Stephens declined to say whether the staff members involved would face disciplinary action, but said the situation "involved poor judgment."

The situation involved "poor judgment." Gee, ya think?! And what a lovely Mother's Day present the teachers delivered to those ELEMENTARY school moms.

I'm sure certain wingnuts will believe this was a good "learning situation" that ought to be used in all schools.

Look! A Muslim Daycare Center!

REUTERS/Jason Reed

Glenn Greenwald points us to a fascinating neocon disconnect from reality. Scroll down to update IV. On his site, Dave Gaubatz provides a long explanation of why all Muslims want to kill all Americans.

So the same people who vehemently argue against a national gun registry believe it essential to create a database of Muslim daycares. Never underestimate the stupidity of the neocons.

Dave Gaubatz is also evidently a white supremacist. Jim Henley provides information about Gaubatz's organization devoted to celebrating the unique "White Christians" -- "a distinct people and privileged as such" -- who founded the country.

Rights? What Rights?

Evidently, if you've ever protested for peace, or made public speeches criticizing the Bush administration your name may well appear on the Terrorist Watch List. Doesn't matter if you've served in the military, are critical of Roe v. Wade, and supported the Alito nomination. You still may be classified as an enemy of the people. Read what happened to Professor Walter F. Murphy, emeritus of Princeton University:

"On 1 March 07, I was scheduled to fly on American Airlines to Newark, NJ, to attend an academic conference at Princeton University, designed to focus on my latest scholarly book, Constitutional Democracy, published by Johns Hopkins University Press this past Thanksgiving."

"When I tried to use the curb-side check in at the Sunport, I was denied a boarding pass because I was on the Terrorist Watch list. I was instructed to go inside and talk to a clerk. At this point, I should note that I am not only the McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence (emeritus) but also a retired Marine colonel. I fought in the Korean War as a young lieutenant, was wounded, and decorated for heroism. I remained a professional soldier for more than five years and then accepted a commission as a reserve office, serving for an additional 19 years."

"I presented my credentials from the Marine Corps to a very polite clerk for American Airlines. One of the two people to whom I talked asked a question and offered a frightening comment: "Have you been in any peace marches? We ban a lot of people from flying because of that." I explained that I had not so marched but had, in September, 2006, given a lecture at Princeton, televised and put on the Web, highly critical of George Bush for his many violations of the Constitution. "That'll do it," the man said. "

"After carefully examining my credentials, the clerk asked if he could take them to TSA officials. I agreed. He returned about ten minutes later and said I could have a boarding pass, but added: "I must warn you, they're going to ransack your luggage." On my return flight, I had no problem with obtaining a boarding pass, but my luggage was "lost." Airlines do lose a lot of luggage and this "loss" could have been a mere coincidence. In light of previous events, however, I'm a tad skeptical."

"I confess to having been furious that any American citizen would be singled out for governmental harassment because he or she criticized any elected official, Democrat or Republican. That harassment is, in and of itself, a flagrant violation not only of the First Amendment but also of our entire scheme of constitutional government. This effort to punish a critic states my lecture's argument far more eloquently and forcefully than I ever could. Further, that an administration headed by two men who had "had other priorities" than to risk their own lives when their turn to fight for their country came up, should brand as a threat to the United States a person who did not run away but stood up and fought for his country and was wounded in battle, goes beyond the outrageous. Although less lethal, it is of the same evil ilk as punishing Ambassador Joseph Wilson for criticizing Bush's false claims by "outing" his wife, Valerie Plaime, thereby putting at risk her life as well as the lives of many people with whom she had had contact as an agent of the CIA. ..."

"I have a personal stake here, but so do all Americans who take their political system seriously. Thus I hope you and your colleagues will take some positive action to bring the Administration's conduct to the attention of a far larger, and more influential, audience than I could hope to reach. "

I wonder if tossing a snowball at the vice-president's car 20 years ago has my name on the Terrorist Watch List?

Cease and Desist

So, Nine Inch Nails label Interscope intentionally "leaked" an advance track of NIN's new album, deliberately giving it away to drive new sales. Fans who got the track spread it around the web.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), which has become notorious for suing anyone from high school students to retirees for downloading music from the web, is going after web sites which posted the INTENTIONALLY and LABLE APPROVED LEAKED track for piracy.

Nope, the RIAA isn't out of touch. No more than aWol, Darth Cheney or St. John McCain.

[mortar-board tip Steve DeGroof]

Olbermann on Rice

No, not a recipe.

On Sunday, commenting on evoking the 2002 Iraq authorization, Sec. of State Rice said: “It would be like saying that after Adolf Hitler was overthrown, we needed to change then, the resolution that allowed the United States to do that, so that we could deal with creating a stable environment in Europe after he was overthrown.”

MSNBC's Keith Olbermann provided a "Special Comment" tonight in response. If you haven't seen it, Think Progress has the video.