Time For Biting is the debut album from one of Boston's best punk bands, The Dents, who, unfortunately split up last year. "Goodbye" is a kick-ass song and it reminded me of another Dent, Charlie Dent from Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley. Hopefully after Sam Bennett gets through with him in November he'll be saying goodbye and we'll never hear from him again.

Hillary Clinton doesn't bite when BillO tries to bully her into admitting that her health care plan would "bankrupt the country." In fact, she quickly shuts down his straw man argument and schools him on why providing quality health care to all Americans is a moral issue while explaining clearly how she intends to pay for it.

Download | play Download | play

"If we don't [pass universal health care], we'll meet here again in five or ten years, we'll have more uninsured people, the prices will have continued to go up because we will not have put into place the safeguards and the accountability that our health care system needs."

John Amato: BillO tries to use the age old "socialism" conservative talking point when describing any form of universal health care, but that doesn't hold up to the realities of everyday life in our country because people are struggling just to fill up their gas tanks let alone trying to carry incredibly high health care insurance costs for their families. And the idiotic tax break proposed by John McCain will have zero impact on the problem.

Continuing to be the most respectable name in (fake) news, The Daily Show put Wright's comments in context last night...well, in the context of controversial things former pastors of all stripes and presidential allegiances have said over the years. Kinda odd that only a Democrat comes under fire, no?

Download | play Download | play

"Billy Graham remains a beloved figure. Jeremiah Wright said things I don't imagine are much worse than that. Why is he such a flashpoint for controversy?"

Digg It!

John McCain takes home the silver after getting called out by Senator Webb for dragging his feet on the bipartisan GI bill and claiming Webb hasn't reached out to him. And after five years of admitting the United States "invaded" Iraq, Bill O'Reilly takes home the gold for changing his mind by now saying we didn't. Oh, Bill.

Download | play Download | play

Download | play Download | play (h/t BillW)

Actually, I don't know that the Bush administration ever thinks things through, come to that...

First up in our ongoing scandal rotation is the shameful way that soldiers and returning vets have not had their medical needs met by the Bush administration. The RAND group recently testified before Congress of yet another reason that may pique the interests of the Corporatists in office: providing medical treatment earlier significantly cuts the long term costs, not to mention the collateral costs of drug use, marital problems, unemployment and suicide.

So now will you take care of the wounded? There’s profit in it.

And then there is the ultimate card of the fear-mongering set: the Global War on Terror™. Unfortunately, for all their talk of wanting to combat terrorism, studies released this week have found that incidents of terrorism have remained unchanged from last year, although anti-American sentiment amongst terrorist safe havens in Somalia, Algeria, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Chad, Mali, and Yemen increases, as does al Qaeda's ability to plan another attack on us, thanks to their undisturbed presence in Pakistan. Heckuva job, Bushie.

And finally, the pathetic No Fly List. It turns out that even the blatantly partisan Washington Times finds the No Fly List worthy of ridicule, not just because of the 9,000 false positives that occur daily, but especially with the news that several flights have gone out without the promised Federal Air Marshalls because these same FAMs have found their names (along with everyone who goes by Mohammed or Ali) on the list and have been refused entry onto the planes they've been charged to protect.

You heard me. Because of this always-growing, all-consuming terrorist no-fly list, some of the people that are supposed to be on the plane to stop the terrorists on the plane are getting mistaken for suspected terrorists and being kept from getting on the plane.

My Eye Witness News:

Memphis, TN - Attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union say Daphne Beasley, the principal of Hollis F. Price Middle College High School in South Memphis, went way beyond her role as educator.

The ACLU says in September 2007, Beasley asked her staff to give her the names of students who were couples, heterosexual and homosexual, because she wanted to keep an eye on them to cut down on public displays of affection.

She's accused of publicly posting the names of those students, including two boys, Andrew and Nicholas, who had just started dating. The ACLU says that in doing so, Beasley revealed their relationship to other students, teachers and even their parents.

Nicholas says his teachers and other students treat him differently as a result of Principal Beasley's decision and that he and Andrew have both had to deal with verbal assaults. Nicholas was also not allowed to go on a trip to New Orleans to help rebuild homes because, as one of his teacher's explained, he would "embarrass" the school by engaging in gay affection. Read on...

The article also states that the male students had NOT been showing "gay affection" anywhere in the school, and that Nicholas had just made the Dean's list and is an exemplary student. What a rotten, hateful thing to do to those guys. These are some sick people and this principal needs to be held accountable for her deplorable behavior.

Jon Stewart took off the gloves and pummeled the media last night for it's non-stop, wall-to-wall coverage of The Most Important Issue Facing America, things a Presidential candidate's former pastor said.

Download | play Download | play

"Who will end this vicious cycle of questions with no answers?!"

Check out The Daily Show website for all the clips from last night's hilarious show.

Digg It!

And kudos to our own Jamie for this perfectly on-point cartoon:

Continue reading »

In his "Beat the Press" segment Wednesday night, Dan Abrams awarded all three dishonorable mentions to FOX News, which continues to prove itself as an utter joke.

Download | play Download | play

"It's not like we tune in to FOX for facts."

Wow:

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) made good on its threat to stage a virtual strike on May Day, effectively shutting down all U.S. and Canadian West Coast ports. The one-day “work-stoppage,” said ILWU officials, is to protest the war in Iraq and comes at a time when the union is in the middle of contract talks with the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA).

For shippers, however, the event may signal that more trouble lies ahead. “Longshore workers are standing-down on the job and standing up for America,” said ILWU president Bob McEllrath. “We’re supporting the troops and telling politicians in Washington that it’s time to end the war in Iraq.”...read on

There's also a march planned.

On May Day 2008, longshore workers and other trade unionists will join together in a march starting at 10:30 AM at Mason St. & Beach St. and will rally at the Justin Herman Plaza. They will also join with the immigrant rights marchers. At 6:00 PM there will be a potluck at ILWU Local 34 which is located at 2nd St and Embarcadero next to the AT&T ball park.

Yes, happy Mission Accomplished Day or happy Tweety Day. I'm glad the war is over, our troops are home safe and sound and the Iraqi people are living comfortably as they rebuild their country with all those oil profits. Sorry, I was day dreaming for a second:

A pair of suicide bombers blew themselves up amid a wedding convoy Thursday in northeastern Iraq, killing 35 people and wounding 65 others, Iraqi authorities said.

A wedding convoy was driving slowly when the first suicide bomber detonated an explosive vest, the official said. When bystanders and police gathered, a second bomb exploded.

One of the bombers was a woman, the official said.Women and children were among the casualties.This attack involved the fourth female suicide bomber in Iraq in 11 days...read on

And then there's this too: "Casualties Mount in Ongoing US Assault on Sadr City."

The ongoing US assault on the Sadr City area of Baghdad continues to claim civilian lives. At least eight people, including two children, were killed in overnight clashes between US troops and Shia fighters. The deaths come one day after local hospitals reported at least fifty dead and dozens more wounded from US attacks. On Wednesday, funerals were held for some of the victims. A Sadr City resident said the Iraqi government is unable to stand up to the US occupation.

Meanwhile, US casualties have also reached their highest point in seven months. At least six US troops were killed in the past two days, bringing the April toll to forty-eight, the highest one-month toll since September.