MOsanthrope

From Germany comes this important advice for controlling the spread of the bird flu:

BERLIN (AP) — The deadly strain of bird flu was confirmed Tuesday in a cat in northern Germany, the first time the virus has been identified in a mammal in the 25 nations of the European Union.
* * *
Mettenleiter said […]

Filed under: Humor, Health

According to a new CBS News poll, President Bush’s job approval rating has declined by eight points to 34 percent. For the administration, that’s the good news:

CBS says the “bright spot for the administration” is that “most Americans appeared to have heard enough about Vice President Dick Cheney’s hunting accident. . . .
“Still, the […]

Filed under: Politics, U.S.

But I believe this is the fourth sign of the apocalypse:

WASHINGTON (AP) — Dressed in all black, former stripper turned weight-loss promoter Anna Nicole Smith fought her way through a throng of photographers and autograph-seekers Tuesday on her way to a Supreme Court showdown in her bid to inherit her late husband’s fortune.

By the way, […]

Filed under: Culture, U.S., Law

Governor Matt Blunt supports legislation authorizing pharmacists to refuse to fill prescriptions for emergency contraception. Supporters of the measure equate emergency contraception with abortion. That’s nonsense, of course; emergency contraception works just like any other birth control pill:

Plan B works like other birth control pills to prevent pregnancy. Plan B acts primarily by […]

Filed under: Politics, Missouri

Via Sadly, No!, I surfed over to townhall.com to read uber-wingnut Ben Shapiro’s column advocating legislation criminalizing criticism of the government.
Shapiro’s frothing prose was rudely interrupted by this advertisement:

It’s actually an anti-smoking campaign, but it struck me as a rather pithy critique of Shapiro’s work.
Read the post and remind yourself of the right’s vision for […]

Filed under: Politics, U.S., Humor

Scary stuff:

Whatever the outcome of Bush’s warrantless NSA surveillance program, it seems clear that government surveillance of our communications and even our social networks is only going to increase. The New York Times reports on recent “shopping trips” by NSA officials to Silicon Valley to purchase new data-mining tools.

Read on….

Filed under: Politics, U.S., Internet

From The Debate Link:

In Ohio, a bill has been [introduced] by state Republicans to bar homosexuals from adopting children. It’s a spectacularly stupid idea–if not outright unconstitutional–and only serves to harm underprivileged children who need a family more than they need to be political playthings.
So, in response, Ohio State Senator Robert Hagen (D) has drafted […]

Filed under: Politics, U.S.

BAGHDAD Gunmen hold sway over streets lined with concrete bomb-blast barriers and razor wire. Entire neighborhoods are too dangerous for police to enter.
The government, holed up in a fortress behind layers of checkpoints, huddles in emergency meetings and issues proclamations that draw little attention on the streets or in foreign capitals.
And this may […]

Filed under: Politics, U.S.

RICIN! RICIN! RICIN!

Never mind.
However, we ask that you please remember for whom to vote if you want to be safe from RICIN. They might sell U.S. RICIN manufacturing facilities to foreign investors if the money’s right, but you may rest assured that they’ll bomb the crap out of somebody when the RICIN terrorists strike.
Thanks […]

Filed under: Politics, U.S., Humor, Health, Media

It’s about time:

The I.R.S. said yesterday that it saw a sharp increase in prohibited political activity by charities and churches in the last election cycle, a trend that it aims to reverse as the country heads into the midterm elections.
* * *
The agency said it was seeking to revoke the exemptions of three organizations but […]

Filed under: Politics, Religion, U.S.

The first of four defense contractor representatives who steered millions in bribes to former Republican Congressman Randy “Duke” Cunningham pleaded guilty yesterday:

WASHINGTON (AP) — A defense contractor admitted Friday that he paid a California congressman more than $1 million in bribes in exchange for millions more in government contracts.
* * *
Wade is one of four […]

Filed under: Politics, U.S.

Then I remember this.
Keith Olbermann had great fun at Bill O’Reilly’s expense last night. Crooks and Liars has the video.

Filed under: Politics, U.S., Media

Via Rising Hegemon:
FBI and British Intelligence agents recently questioned Morrissey after he publicly criticized the U.S. and British governments.
Be careful what you sing. These days, people name names.

Filed under: Politics, U.S., Music, World

On the afternoon of September 11,2001, mere hours after the 9/11 attacks and more than a year before the administration trotted out Colin Powell for his PowerPoint presentation to the U.N., Donald Rumsfeld instructed his staff to consider an attack on Iraq, according to Department of Defense notes obtained via a Freedom of Information Act […]

Filed under: Politics, U.S., Media

Subject: Hoodlum vote
Date: Friday 24 February 2006 7:26 pm
From: Chris Quinn
To: Rita@msnbc.com
Dear Ms. Cosby:
Did you actually remark to Chris Matthews that Democrats sift voter rolls to target the “hoodlum vote?”
As you know, many states do not permit convicted felons to cast ballots. Others allow felons to vote only upon completion of a burdensome and […]

Filed under: Politics, Culture, U.S., Media

A MOsanthrope tradition since last Friday!
If you’re looking for obtuse political commentary and trite observation, I suggest that you skip to the next post using the scroll bar at right. There’s no one here but us shenanigans.
Heresy!
Tired of being roadkill on the high road? Become a Republican!
If you’re in the public relations business, […]

Filed under: Humor

I don’t believe that God hates these people or this guy.
I suppose that’s for the best.

Filed under: Politics, Religion, U.S.

It’s gratifying to learn that someone shares your thoughts, even if he is able to better articulate them:

David Brooks, the high-minded conservative pundit, dismissed the Dubai Ports controversy as an instance of political hysteria that will soon pass….
* * *
A conservative blaming hysteria is hysterical, when you think about it, and a bit late. Hysteria […]

Filed under: Politics, U.S.

Via No More Mister Nice Blog:

PLATTSBURGH — A candidate for Congress has been put on a federal watch list as a possible terror suspect, and he wants to know why.
Dr. Robert Johnson, a Democrat from Sackets Harbor, near Watertown, who is challenging incumbent Republican John McHugh in the 23rd District, said he was denied access […]

Filed under: Politics, U.S.

Crooks and Liars has the video.

Filed under: Politics, U.S.

While we’ve been busy converting Iraq’s secular dictatorship into a radical Shiite theocracy, the granddaddy of militant Islamic states next door has had a grand time:

BAGHDAD — The Islamic government in neighboring Iran watched with trepidation in March 2003 when U.S.-led troops stormed Iraq to overthrow Saddam Hussein’s regime and start remaking the political map […]

Filed under: Politics, U.S., World

What happens when a man no longer possesses any semblance of a soul?
Wingnut radio.
Speaking of racism….

Filed under: Politics, U.S., Media

I’ve made a few disparaging remarks about the insurance industry. Perhaps I’ve been unfair. I’ll offer this without additional commentary:

Victims of the Ethan Allen tour boat tragedy that killed 20 people, including 19 from Michigan, have suffered a final indignity, one more cruel twist.
* * *
Jim Quirk, whose company owns the Ethan Allen, […]

Filed under: Business, U.S., Law, Michigan

CNN is reporting that a New York City man has contracted ANTHRAX! Inhalational ANTHRAX is often difficult to diagnose because it manifests itself as a flu-like illness!

ANTHRAX! ANTHRAX! ANTHRAX!
We’re awaiting a press conference with city officials!
ANTHRAX! ANTHRAX! ANTHRAX!
Stand by! More details are emerging!
The guy is a […]

Filed under: U.S., Humor, Health, Media

This is making the rounds:
More Cheney hunting gossip.
It’s poorly sourced, so I suggest that you utilize your best critical thinking skills in reading it.

Filed under: Politics, U.S.

It’s frightening enough that we live in a screenplay based loosely on Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four. We’re now stealing material from A Clockwork Orange:

FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida (CNN) — Three Florida teenagers pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges of first-degree murder in connection with the beating death of a homeless man in January.
The teens also entered […]

Filed under: Culture, U.S.

I’m currently job hunting, so I’ll heed this advice.

Filed under: Employment, Humor, Law

Consumers who are not microbiologists must now go on a steer hunt to assure themselves that their meat is fresh:

WASHINGTON - Shoppers who judge the freshness of meat by its pink color may be deceived by a relatively new industry practice of treating meat with carbon monoxide, critics say.
* * *
Berdahl said Tuesday that carbon […]

Filed under: Business, Food & Drink, Health

For the benefit of the two of you who do not read Fafblog!, I’ll remark that it’s consistently very funny:

Q. The reason we’re in Iraq seems to change every time I ask about it.
A. It’s always the same reason. It just mutates in response to different stimuli in different environments.
Q. Like the bird flu! Oh […]

Filed under: Politics, U.S., Humor

It strikes me as deliciously ironic that the “raghead” xenophobia the administration and its right-wing media lap dogs have stoked for the past four years may prove to be its undoing. As Jack Cafferty explained this afternoon on CNN, the administration is taking some serious heat over its secret Dubai ports deal:

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN […]

Filed under: Politics, U.S.