Perjury,
Obstruction of
Justice
Saturday,
July 23, 2005 - 9:15pm cst: Today's
LA Times has the scoop. I
have to admit, I'm surprised at the intensity of the reporting
on Karl Rove and the Plame affair. After years of watching the
American news media roll over and play dead for the most corrupt
Presidency in American history, the reporters are acutally doing
thier job. It's
about damn time. Once
again, if you have any questions, ask Karl Rove at the White
House: (202) 456-2369. Bush
Attempts Abu
Graib and Gitmo Coverup
Friday,
July 22, 2005 - 11:55pm cst: The
White House is scrambling to prevent any serious investigation
into the rape, torture, and abuses at Guantanamo Bay and prisons
around the world, including the infamous Abu Graib. Here yet
are more terrible crimes committed by the Bush Administration. Hunter
at Kos has the scoop. As always, pass it on. The
RoveGate Scandal
Primer
Friday,
July 22, 2005 - 11:45pm cst: Have
you been fully paying attention to the growing RoveGate scandal?
You better. Thank goodness for the terrific writing on the weblogs
and, surprisingly, the major newspapers. Here's a short primer
to bring yourself up to date. As
always, Daily Kos is essential. Here's
a detailed recap of where things stand over the past few
days. After
that, read Lawrence O'Donnel's latest article at The
Huffington Post. Read all of his columns. The
Independent UK offers their brand of English cynicism to
the table, remind us that, in the end, it's all reall about
Iraq. John
Dead offers an
analysis, suggesting Rove may face charges of Conspiracy. The
Washington Post's front-page
article in Saturday's paper. And here's Dan
Froomkin's piece in Friday's Post. Thursday's front-page
story discusses the State Dept. memo, labelled "Secret," at
the center of the storm (the memo may actually be "top secret," according
to Friday's Wall Street Journal and MSNBC's Keith Olberman. An AP
story on Friday covering hearings attended by former US
intelligence officers. Eleven
former intelligence officers criticized GOP talking points on
the Plame affair in a letter to Congress. Johsua Micah Marshall
has the full
letter (Acrobat file). Friday's
New York Times has a great
article on the scandal; another must-read. As
I wrote, this is just a primer, a small sampling of the past
few days' developments. If you have friends or family who need
to be persuaded of the facts of the case, or if you've just been
too busy this week, dig in and start reading. Above
Average Presence
Thursday,
July 21, 2005 - 1:30pm cst: I
often check my site's progress at marketleap, an excellent website
that offers free link popularity and search enginge stats. It's
a great resource. This week, danielthomas.org finally broke through
into the "Above Average Presence" category, with over
5,000 external links tracked through the major search engines. I'm
really not fond of boasting or tooting my own horn, but it's
really great news and shows how this site continues to grow,
and I wanted to share that. The next category is "Contender," at
20,000 external links. The long slog forward continues. Listen
to 'The
Dalek Song'
Wednesday,
July 20, 2005 - 6:15pm cst: Found
this little
tune at yakyak.org, the message board on Jeff Minter's (Tempest
2000) website. Everybody sing along with the Daleks! Truck. Beam
Me Up, Scotty
Wednesday,
July 20, 2005 - 1:15pm cst: James
Doohan, aka "Scotty" on Star Trek, has just died. Site
and Ghibli
Ramblings
Saturday,
July 16, 2005 - 1:30am cst: Just
a couple quick notes for everyone. First, the traffic to this
site is terrific, never been better. I've been averaging almost
7000 hits per day in July, with three days this week topping
8,000. This is double the numbers from May, and the numbers of
Sites and Visitors reflect this as well. So
to everyone, thanks for visiting danielthomas.org, sending me
emails, and stealing all my photos and artwork. Now if I can
just get the kids at fark.com to link to my site again (they
generated almost 17,000 hits in one day), we'll really be cookin'. Second,
I'm supposed to be finally writing that Howl's Moving Castle
review this weekend. For some reason, I've struggled to find
the words to finish it since the US theatrical, ahem, "release" six
weeks ago. But David Neiwart is going to write his impressions
of the movie at his Orcinus blog, which means I have to get mine
finished (I also sent him and his family a pile of Ghibli DVD's
and videos that aren't available in the US). Third,
take a moment to give the raspberries to Disney, who once again
sat on a Miyazaki film and refused to give Howl's more than a
token release. Week one: 36 screens. Week two: 202 screens. And
that, friends, was it. The best movie you'll never get to see,
thanks to the stiffs at Disney. And Hollywood wonders why attendence
is the lowest in 20 years. Our
only consolation is knowing that Pixar will soon be leaving when
their contract expires, and don't think for a minute that Disney's
treatment has been received as anything less than a slap in the
face; Pixar was responsible for Howl's superb American dub, which
I'd say is 95% as good as the original Japanese soundtrack. This
is how they were rewarded. Finally,
America Blog is the best place to go to stay up-to-date on Karl
Rove and Traitor-Gate. Kos and TPM have some great posts, too;
I'll try to add my two cents in whenever I'm not working this
weekend. The ghetto bank beckons. Let's
Call Karl
Rove
Wednesday,
July 13, 2005 - 11:00am cst: Do
you have questions for Karl Rove, about his role in Valerie Plame?
Here's his number at the White House. 202-456-2369. Three
New Advance Wars Custom
Maps
Saturday,
July 10, 2005 - 11:35pm cst: Just
finished the three newest Custom Maps for Advance Wars 2: Gauntlet
Lives, Sunburst,
and Twin City War.
All three are for 2 players, and feature the great competitive
gameplay that you've come to expect from me. Enjoy. "I
Think That Works to
Our Advantage"
Thursday,
July 7, 2005 - 3:35pm cst: Fox
News' assessment of the London terror bombings. The cynic
in me would say this has always been the Right's attitude towards
terrorism since 9/11. Yeah,
who cares about African poverty or global warming, anyway? You
don't need to know that Karl Rove outed an undercover CIA spy
for political payback. Move along. London
Struck by Terrorist
Bombings
Thursday,
July 7, 2005 - 3:00pm cst: This
morning, six bombs exploded around London, killing at least 37
and injuring as many as 1,000. The bombings coincide with the
start of the G8 summit in Scotland. While the persons responsible
and their motives are currently unclear, a European group has
claimed responsibility in the name of Al Qaeda. As
always, our thoughts and prayers go to everyone in the UK. I
think it's time to start demanding some answers from Tony Blair
and George Bush. Why, when you had Osama Bin Laden cornered in
the mountains of Tora Bora, did you suddenly let him walk away,
along with his top aides and Taliban leaders? Mr.
Bush, when the nation's airplanes were grounded in the days following
the September 11 attacks, why did you arrange for members of
the Bin Laden family to be flown out of the country, without
even being questioned by the FBI? Mr.
Bush, you once claimed you wanted Bin Laden "dead or alive," then
you later said you don't think about him that much; you're "just
not that concerned about him." What's your explanation? CIA
Director Porter Goss claimed in Time Magazine that he has a very
good idea of where Bin Laden is. Here's a question: why don't
you get him?! Why
is it that the Coast Guard is falling apart, with ships that
date back 50 years? Shouldn't protecting America's ports be a
priority? Shouldn't incoming ships be inspected? And,
finally, why are we really in Iraq? What is it, really? Mr. Bush
and Mr. Blair, you both lied about this war. You took your eyes
away from the bad buys - Bin Laden and Al Qaeda - in order to
invade an unarmed Muslim country; a nation without WMD's, without
ties to international terrorism, without any connection to 9/11. Every
justification given for the war has been a lie, a terrible fraud
propped upon America and the world. And today's terrible bombings
in London only show how utterly absurd this "flypaper strategy" has
become. It insults our intelligence. And
the Republicans still can't be bothered to give our soldiers
proper body armor, armored vehicles or even an exit strategy.
They could suddenly whip themselves in a frenzy over Terri Shiavo.
We hear all this empty rhetoric about "supporting the troops," but
it's all just that: empty rhetoric. Instead,
the White House promotes those who advocate tearing up the Geneva
Conventions, promoting and justifying rape and torture in Guantanamo,
Iraq, Afghanistan, and around the world. And Mr. Blair looks
the other way, in the hopes that his loyalty will be rewarded
at the G8 summit. Another pipe dream. And,
once again, we the people are paying the price. Time
For the Pro-War Crowd to Enlist
Wednesday,
July 6, 2005 - 5:30pm cst: Atrios
today posts a link to a, sigh, right-wing weblog throwing a fit
for being asked to actually enlist and fight the Iraqi war they
so fiercely claim to support. Here's
a link if you want to visit, although you'll likely end up
shaking your head and wondering what's happened to parenting
in America. Sigh. Okay,
children. I'm taking away your alcohol. You obviously cannot
handle the liquor. Maybe when you've grown up you can handle
the responsibility. And
since the fact seems lost on you kids, I'll repeat it very slowly.
If you're gung-ho for the Iraq war, then get off your ass and
fight it. The military is seriously undermanned, is failing to
reach its recruitment goals, and is suffering on the ground as
a result. We need soldiers. You want to puff out your chests
and get all drunk and violent about everything, then fine. Suit
up and start playing. This
is the catch, isn't it? The most macho, dude-I'm-gonna-kick-yer-ass
children are the least willing to actually fight the damn war.
What am I and others left to conclude, other than this is a sham?
You don't buy into any of this. You're not willing to sacrifice
anything, while our friends and family are risking their lives. But,
uh, you....uh, hate America...or somethin'. Of
course, what do I know? I wrote a scating review of "Boondock
Saints" on my website. Obviously I must love suicide
bombers. So
no more booze for you. It's just not working out. |
