Arlen Specter: Asshat
Senator Specter is "incensed" about the NFL's Spygate (non) scandal: Apparently, soaring oil prices, war, economic uncertainty, a presidential election, and his own fight against recurring cancer just aren't enough to fill his plate. He has to defend the honor of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Pennsylvania Republican was unforgiving of his criticism of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, saying that Goodell has made “ridiculous” assertions that wouldn’t fly “in kindergarten.” The Senator said Goodell was caught in an “apparent conflict of interest” because the NFL doesn’t want the public to lose confidence in the league’s integrity. “They are enormous role models for everybody,” Specter said. “If you can cheat in the NFL, you can cheat in college, you can cheat in high school, you can cheat on your grade-school math test. There’s no limit as to what you can do. I think they owe the public a lot more candor and a lot more credibility.”
If he really wants to involve himself in NFL business, maybe he could get a law passed banning Bill Belichick's ratty sweatshirts.
Thank You Sir, May I Have Another?
a report by the Pentagon inspector general has finally confirmed that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s do-it-yourself intelligence office cooked up a link between Iraq and Al Qaeda to help justify an unjustifiable war.
At what point do we actually have the onions to impeach the boy president?
Election Note
Even so, we should vote Democratic, because it's the clearest protest vote we have. But if we elect Democrats, we should be prepared not to stop there.
Doctor I've Got This Pain...
Okay, the vote was 6-3, with O'Connor writing for the dissenters, but still
Oh. Lung cancer, emphysema, cirrhosis, blindness, et al...all determined by “science and research” to be side-effects of indulgence in perfectly legal products, those are okay. But pain numbing, slight euphoria, and the munchies...no can do.“Our national medical system relies on proven scientific research, not popular opinion. To date, science and research have not determined that smoking marijuana is safe or effective,” John Walters, director of National Drug Control Policy, said Monday.
Hippie.
To quote Dickens: The law is a ass.
Contempt
Priorities
I'm just sayin.
Wil Wheaton has written a deeply felt response to GWB's latest bonehead move. Read it, and read the follow-up comments from his visitors. Then, make sure you're registered to vote.
What Did You Do In The War, Daddy?
For the fifth straight year, members of Congress will see a jump in their paychecks in 2004, with election-year salaries rising from the current $154,700 to about $158,000. The Senate, on a 60-34 vote Thursday, rejected a proposal to exempt senators from a cost-of-living increase going to all civilian federal workers and military personnel. Last month the House, by a similar convincing margin, also turned back an attempt to deny lawmakers an automatic share of the COLA increase.
Note to Congress: Belt tightening only works if the whole belt is tightened! What a wonderful way to thank the troops for their sacrifice.
Ach, Mein Gott
Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?
From The Washington Post via AlterNet comes
this sobering thought:
The Washington Post notes that “the $87 billion request is nearly triple the amount the federal government plans to spend on elementary and secondary education this year, and more than twice as much as the budget for homeland security.”
The $166 billion that has already been spent or requested exceeds “the inflation-adjusted costs of the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Civil War, the Spanish American War and the Persian Gulf War combined” and “approaches the $191 billion inflation-adjusted cost of World War I.”
I'm sure, with very little prodding, we can up this
to include WWI, WWII, Korea, and Viet Nam.
We are a determined society, after all.
