Is any body really buying this scam? Even though you would be hard pressed to find a single rational voice in the media who thinks the suspension of the federal gas tax has merit, the proposal still seems to find traction with voters so hard-hit with the economy, if I didn't know any better I would say they are so bitter, they are clinging on to god, guns, and 30 cents a day of economic relief.
Not only is this proposal pandering at its best, the economics of it don't make sense. You can't even justify it with Reaganomics. Many economists have criticized it and made the simple case for why it won't work, but since I'm a Middle Eastern, I'm always expected to weigh in on matters concerning the price of oil. So here it is:
1) Hillary, even if she won the elections, would not be a president this summer. So you'd have to wait until next summer, and hope your pocket book is still hurting enough so that you would care about the 30 cents a day.
2) Hillary, next summer, should she win, will have to go through congress to make such a proposal happen, and even though capitol hill is full of hypocrites and other jerks, they have enough common sense to say no to such a stupid idea.
3) Should this thing pass, gas companies will be able to raise the price to fill that gap, since they have been able to successful squeeze every drop of the consumers' blood so far. They'll raise the price to at lease make up for the charge Hillary would make them pay to offset the lost tax revenue, which by the way is supposed to fix bridges and create construction jobs.
4) No body is asking Hillary how she would prevent the oil companies from raising the price to make up for the gap. And if Hillary does have a way to do so, then why doesn't she just employ her super powers to lower the gas price in the first place, instead of suspending the tax.
In any case, if 30 cents a day for three months is enough to buy your vote, then you have a hell of a deal here. You don't even have to make the 15-minute phone call.
[Tarboush Tip: Keith Olbermann for the Gecko inspiration]
Thank something, the choice is no longer a hard one.
We no longer have to choose between a black man and a woman for president, even if the latter is white. It seems like one of the candidate is actually an old reliable: Hillary has testicular fortitude. Those were the words of a male Indiana union leader as he endorsed the pantsuit-wearing senator from New York. I guess Pennsylvania voters were on to something.
So if your inner misogynist was clashing with your inner racist, you can retire one until 2012. But is it really smart to play up the importance of genitalia metaphors as a deciding factor in the presidential elections when you’re running against a black man? I’m not a racist; I’m just employing a stereotype.
Bush plans on visiting Israel next month to celebrate the catastrophe that drove much of the Palestinian population into exile, robbed their homeland, and subjugated them to generations of humiliation and oppression, and, if time allows, give Israel a whipping for spying on its biggest ally. Try to stop this one, Olympic flame dousers.
Needless to say, a meeting with any Palestinian leaders on said trip would be... Awkward. But have no fear; you can always remedy that with a consolation-prize meeting with Palestinian Authority chairman Abbashole in the divine oval office. Still, Abbashole apparently loves awkward.
During the meeting, Bush expressed confidence that Palestinian and Israeli leaders could reach an agreement on the definition of a Palestinian state before the end of the year. That's a one hell of a drop in expectations from the begining of the year when he though they could reach a peace deal in the same time frame, almost as steep of a drop as the one the US economy took.
Anyway, during the meeting, Bush laid out some signs of his vision for a Palestinian state: It should not be a "Swiss cheese" arrangement of land, the Decider anounced. While it was the first time president Bush publicly made such declaration, it was nothing new. KABOBfest’s special investigator Chaim Sugarman has recently uncovered memo that Bush had sent formerly Israel’s prim minister, and currently fuckin’ amazingly scary ghost, Ariel Sharon, that outlined the Top 10 Things A Palestinian State Should NOT Be:
SECRET LETTER: WHAT THE PALESTINESE STATE SHOULD NOT BE From: George W. Bush To: President Ariel Sharon
10. Swiss cheese.. or cheddar. It should be American... heh heh heh. 9. A hemorrhoid in the butt for us or y'all's. 8. A signer of the Kyoto agreement or the International Criminal Court. 7. A safe haven for Mormons, democrats, Gays, or Palestinians. 6. Named after the great town of Palestine, Texas. 5. A Democracy (unless pro-US politicians win the elections) 4. A junior member of the Axis of Evil. 3. Whatever AIPAC says it shouldn't be. 2. Too hard to obliterate if it attacks Israel. 1. Located in Eretz Y'Israel.
[Tarboush tip: Will, as he drowns in take-home exams]
"I want the Iranians to know that if I'm the president, we will attack Iran, In the next 10 years, during which they might foolishly consider launching an attack on Israel, we would be able to totally obliterate them."
Ex-President Jimmy Carter's planned meeting with Hamas is upsetting the spoiled imperialists in DC. Carter and Hamas officials are going to meet in Cairo, and send a little, badly needed FU to Israel's BFF's in Washington, DC.
His trip undermines the American/Israeli policy of negating the Palestinian elections after years of demanding them. It causes ripples in their brilliant peace-forwarding vision of ignoring half the Palestinians, the same half in charge of Gaza.
Hamas official Ayman Taha explained the purpose of the trip:
Mr Carter asked for the meeting. He wanted to hear the Hamas vision regarding the situation, and we are interested in clarifying our position and emphasizing the rights of our people.
Carter said that to have Hamas "completely excluded even from conversations or consultations, I think, is counterproductive." What a crazy idea!
(no really, it's better than the last one.) use whatever you want, just please write or fax something to:
Honorable Judge Gerald Lee U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia 401 Courthouse Square, Alexandria, VA 22314 Fax: (703) 299-3339
RE: The Unjust Imprisonment of Dr. Sami Al-Arian Your Honor,
I am writing to request that you restore some degree of integrity to the justice system of our country by releasing Dr. Sami Al-Arian in this month of April 2008. The plea agreement that was agreed to by both Dr. Al-Arian and the US Government in April of 2006 stipulated his release and expedited deportation on 11 April 2008. As you can see, this date has passed.
Dr. Al-Arian's case has made me lose a great deal of faith in the justice system of our country. It used to be the one branch of government that I was taught to believe was governed by principles. It turns out that this same justice system is willing to keep a man in prison for two and a half years after a jury of his peers failed to convict him of a single charge. It also kept him in prison, most of that time in cruel solitary confinement in a maximum security facility, before he was ever brought to trial. He was the lone pretrial detainee in that facility.
This is not the justice system that I grew up respecting. This is nothing more than a racially motivated abuse of justice for political ends.
Prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia have abused the grand jury process to keep Dr. Al-Arian detained more than a year beyond his original sentence. They continue to threaten further action with this latest court order seeking his testimony. This must not be permitted.
The plea agreement removed all standard language that would allow the government to pursue cooperation. Florida prosecutors have admitted, on the record, Dr. Al-Arian explicitly requested non-cooperation, and that they agreed to his request.
Dr. Al-Arian has been on a hunger strike since the 3rd of March. For the first 18 days, he abstained from both food and water. Since then, he has only taken water. He has lost 35 pounds and his life is in danger. His release is therefore requested not only on legal grounds, but humanitarian grounds as well.
The case of Dr. Sami Al-Arian has drawn international attention, and has dealt a severe blow to the United States of America’s domestic human rights record. Dr. Al-Arian is the most prominent political prisoner in the United States, and the only one currently on hunger strike. His release may restore some level of respect for our institutions in the world view, as well as at home. Only with the expedited release of Dr. Al-Arian can some measure of integrity be restored to our justice system.
Look, I'm drinking a shot of whiskey, I'm just like you! I mean, you drink whiskey, right? I'm totally just like you. That means you are a serial liar... err, i mean, serial misspeaker... stuck in a loveless marriage with a fatty, you have an annual joint income in the 10s of millions, and of course, you - too - wont be President any time soon.
It puzzles me why the soldier-throwing-puppy-off-cliff video has drawn far more outrage across the internet than any single video of US soldiers in Iraq committing indiscriminate murder. Perhaps this video, of American troops essentially behaving like assholes, (or children someone made the very poor choice to hand guns and who are drunk on power, or frat boys who would be much better served by being given scissors to run around with) can put the puppy video into a tiny bit of perspective.
At least in part, the sentiment that causes us by and large to focus on the puppy-over-the-cliff, as opposed to indiscriminate disregard for human dignity, property and life, may be due to the fact that many of us know people who have gone to Iraq. Take the town of Killeen, Texas for instance. Stars line the walls of the high school for the hundreds of parents who are in Iraq, they've had to dig an entire new cemetary, and 200 widows have been created by the war since 2003.
We know these people, they're our neighbors. How can we reconcile these images with our own communities, and as such, our own identities? Is it really possible that the victimizers are in fact also victims?
I've written before that I have little faith in human nature, and that each and every one of us is capable of the worst nightmarishly horrible violations, if only given the power, and the ability to think of others as subhuman.
Everyone believed that US troops should remain in Iraq to protect America from terrorists, to honour the dead, such as Gary, and to complete the job... even one whose definition was becoming less certain.
"You want to know why small-town America is losing so many of its people in Iraq?" he asked, his voice quivering. "It's because small-town America still believes in this country, still believes in fighting for the freedom to worship whichever God you believe in. Our young men and women - like Gary - have been sacrificing their lives for this for 200 years. This is America."
"You know, some people now continue to teach their children and their grandchildren. It’s part of culture. It’s part of a way of life. People enjoy hunting and shooting because it’s an important part of who they are."
Who Gonna Save Us? Smif-N-Wessun was a group I listened to back as a teenager and plus some. This expressly political song is full of the type of content I never heard from them.
Best line:
"the world ain't ready for a black President Obama I stand beside ya Gun in hand, in body armor"
Best Moment: Tek and Steele kick it with a white family at the end.
Al-Jazeera English's investigative newsmagazine, Frontline, produced an episode devoted to exploring the power and pull of the Israel Lobby in the US called "Lobbying for Israel." Here is the story on the "programme's" website:
It is said to be the most powerful interest group in Washington DC - but what is the Israel lobby? And how exactly does it operate?
As the race to the White House heats up, there is one policy on which all the presidential candidates can agree - the US relationship with Israel.
Israel is the world's largest recipient of US aid, taking in roughly $3bn in direct assistance every year.
It is an aid relationship unlike any other in the world - and by far the most generous foreign aid programme ever between any two countries.
Yet for decades, the US has criticised Israel for its policy of building settlements on occupied Palestinian land.
Every president from Jimmy Carter to George Bush has warned Israel to put a halt to its settlement expansion - and yet the settlements continue to go up, and the aid money continues to pour in.
How could this be? Many have attributed it to the so-called Israel lobby - a powerful coalition of interest groups working to promote a pro-Israel agenda in Washington DC.
For Israel's friends on Capitol Hill it can mean tens - sometimes hundreds - of thousands of dollars worth of campaign contributions from political action committees.
For Israel's enemies? It can mean the end of a political career.
So just how powerful is the pro-Israel lobby in America, and where is US policy heading from here?
That is the question for this week's Frontline USA.
The "ethnic" guys who spent all night trying to find White Castle made a new movie in which they do something more miraculous than find the fast food chain in New Jersey. They escape from Guantanamo Bay.
Though I laughed at the parody of airport security and American xenophobia, I am caught in the classic conundrum over slapstick humor forays into serious, timely issues -- and America's extra-territorial holding pen/torture booth for "suspected illegal combatants" is no laughing matter. Does the commentary get lost in the sauce? Probably. Though I may see it because I still do not believe pre-judging art is a good idea. but I am well aware this will be just another vapid cultural product from the nation that so easily forgets it is in war.
It has been requested recently that letters urging Dr. Al-Arian's release be sent to Judge Gerald Lee of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, to Attorney General Michael Mukasey and to congressional leaders.
Supporters are also being asked to write letters directly to Dr. Al-Arian.
Please write:
Attorney General U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20530-0001 (202) 307-6777 Fax askdoj@usdoj.gov
Glenn A. Fine, Inspector General Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Ave. Washington, DC 20530-0001
House Judiciary Chair: The Honorable John Conyers, Jr 2426 Rayburn Building Washington, DC 20515 (202) 225-5126 (202) 225-0072 Fax john.conyers@mail.house.gov
Senate Judiciary Chair: Senator Patrick Leahy 433 Russell Senate Office Building United States Senate Washington, DC 20510 (202) 224-4242 senator_leahy@leahy.senate.gov
To contribute to Dr. Al-Arian's legal defense, please send checks to: National Liberty Fund P.O. Box 1211 24525 E. Welches Road Welches, OR 97067
Two men, same religion, same haircut but with very different pointing tones.
KABOBfest readers are convinced Barack HUSSAIN Obama is trying to pull a fast one here. Not only are they sure he is an undercover Muslim brother, but they have the undeniable logic figured out: his haircut very much resembles Malcolm X's. How can you argue with that?
he lacks foreskin.
6 (10%)
his middle name is Hussein.
7 (11%)
his wife always stands behind him when he's seen in public.
15 (25%)
the Jihadis will dance in the streets if he wins.
16 (26%)
he has a Malcolm X haircut.
22 (36%)
he attended madrassahs in Indonesia.
8 (13%)
Please vote in the newest KABOBpoll (at the top right)
The Associated Press reported that a US Navy-contracted ship fired at a small Egyptian boat. Its crime was going through the Suez Canal. They killed a person.
USS Cole, you're thinking. However, I am thinking that "small boats selling cigarettes and other products often swarm the civilian ships moving through the canal. These waterborne merchants know not to approach military vessels but the 'Global Patriot' looked like a civilian vessel, said the security official, speaking on customary condition of anonymity."
The US military responded, "Our team did take the appropriate steps to take those measured steps to warn the vessels that were getting too close." Plus, what is one more dead Arab father, really?
In related news, Hillary Clinton claimed to land on the 'Global Patriot' in the midst of sniper fire and small explosions. Mission accomplished.
It's not surprising that the intersection of religion and politics may occassionally beget controversy. Really, though, have we ever seen anything that nears the pandamonium surrounding Obama's family minister and spiritual advisor, Jeremiah Wright? I genuinely wonder if this is at least partially a product of White people wanting to feel indignant at the Black man. I mean, it's not like he's the first to use fiery rhetoric to convey ideas that can be considered offensive or inflammatory to some sector of society. Presidential spiritual advisors - past and present - openly preach anticipation for America's destruction (i.e., the rapture), the threat of Jews, the evil of homosexuality, and a desire to eradicate the Muslims. McCain's spiritual guide refers to Allah as a "demon spirit" and calls on Christians to wage a war against Muslims. A Bush advisor blames the Church for 9/11 and calls on Christians to pray for bin Laden. Hardly a whisper is ever heard about these pontifications. Undoubtedly there is a double standard being applied, and I think it may be beneficial to investigate the reasons.
On a sidenote, I was reading this Washington Post blog on faith, where the Author enters Jesse Jackson (an advisor to the Clintons during that Presidency) into the equation: "The Clintons did not repudiate Jackson... for accepting Arab money for two of his organizations." For those of you who (inexplicably) do not see what's wrong with this statement, imagine if she had said "Black money" or "Jewish money." Just another example of how anti-Arab racism has become a form of acceptable discourse in this country.
With all the media coverage of the Quaker state as the next US primary election battleground, KABOBfest wanted to survey its readers about what they think is the best thing about the state.
And the winner is "Noam Chomsky," who is from Philadelphia. He was followed by, "it's not New Jersey," and "the Roots and Erykah Badu.' Badu as it turns out is from Texas, but Pennsylvania will take what it can get.
Notable Islamophobe Daniel Pipes only got one vote (from me).
Dr Sami Al-Arian, who has been imprisoned by the United States Judicial System since 2003, held in prison long before his trial and long after a grand jury failed to find him guilty of even a single charge against him, is now in danger of suffering irreversible kidney failure. Law Professor Peter Erlinder writes:
This is Dr. Al Arian’s third hunger-strike during his 5 years of imprisonment. The first was in 2005 and lasted 140 days on liquids only, before he was permitted the lawyers of his choice. In early 2006 he drank only water for 60 days, when the court refused to require the Bush-administration to honor their “no grand jury cooperation” promise, the first time. Now, he is refusing all food and liquids was transferred to the prison hospital on March 5. But he is not getting necessary medical treatment.
As of Monday, March 10, Dr. Al Arian has not received any intravenous liquids, and he is in danger of irreversible renal failure - yet another kind of torture, that could be ended with proper medical care. If Dr. Al Arian dies, AUSA Kromberg will have accomplished his stated “mission”, so the question is, will anybody else respond, before it is too late?
In 2005, I stood in front of a class made up of students from eight or nine different countries. We all had to present news articles, and my article covered the verdict of the jury in the trial of Dr Sami Al-Arian. He was not found guilty of a single charge brought against him by the government, I said. The government spent millions of dollars trying to make a case against Dr Al-Arian over a six month trial, I said. Dr Al-Arian's lawyers, when it came their turn to argue, stood and said simply that clearly, the government has failed to make a case against this man, whose only crime is saying what he believes. The jury found him not guilty on many of the charges, and hung on the rest, I said.
I fully expected him to be released. After all, a man found not guilty by a jury of his peers can't possibly stay in prison, right?
This was the same class in which a woman from Turkey asked me to speak as a citizen of the US to the human rights abuses of the US government, because this was of great concern to her as other governments worldwide look to the US for leadership. I was unclear as to whether she was talking about abuses within the States or outside.
She was talking about within. I wonder if the people who were in that class have any idea that the topic of my article is, in fact, still in prison, and threatened with kidney failure a few weeks before his scheduled release date.
Is any body really buying this scam? Even though you would be hard pressed to find a single rational voice in the media who thinks the suspension of the federal gas tax has merit, the proposal still seems to find traction with voters so hard-hit with the economy, if I didn't know any better I would say they are so bitter, they are clinging on to god, guns, and 30 cents a day of economic relief.
