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Joseph Raymond
Odds & Ends Archive--Volume 2 (October 2005-November 2005)
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 Wiki character assassination. Lord knows I love the internet: met my wife through it, make my living on it. However, any good tool can be turned to evil. Wikipedia is a cool concept--an open source encyclopedia--that I use almost daily. But let's say someone writes a bogus biography of me on Wikipedia suggesting that I had a hand in both Kennedy assassinations and might be a communist sympathizer. Sound far fetched? It happened to John Seigenthaler Sr. and the wiki slander stayed online for 132 days. Link. Despite hiring a lawyer, Mr. Seigenthaler has been unable to determine the identity of the whack job that pulled the prank. 11-30-2005. Add Comment Permalink Update: Wikipedia does the right thing and tightens its rules for user submissions; Update 2: The prankster is caught and loses his job in the process.
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 Generals revolting against Rumsfeld? A normally tight-lipped, "yes sir" Marine General today publicly contradicted Donald Rumsfeld during a Pentagon news conference relative to the duties of US troops if and when they observe prisoner abuse perpetrated by Iraqi forces. Despite a protest from Rumsfeld, Gen. Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, stood firm in his position that US forces must intervene and stop prisoner abuse by Iraqi forces should they observe it. Also, Seymour Hersh of the New Yorker is reporting that the call of Rep. Murtha for a complete pullout from Iraq was made at the urging of top US generals. Link. I think a full blown mutiny by the brass is underway against Bush / Rumsfeld. 11-30-2005. Add Comment Permalink Update: Do you think this guy is reading jjraymond.com?
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 Duke Cunningham goes down in flames. Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-CA) plead guilty today to charges of conspiracy to commit bribery, mail fraud, wire fraud, and tax evasion. He faces a potential sentance of 10 years in prison. Duke Cunningham, a former navy pilot, was the first American fighter ace of the Vietnam War. The indictments and convictions continue to pile up on the red team: Abramoff, Safavian, DeLay, Libby and now Cunningham. Whose next, Rove? 11-28-2005. Add Comment Permalink
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 Falwell: Stop those liberals from stealing Xmas! Has the Grinch moved to Boston? According to Rev. Falwell, he has. The City of Boston has renamed it's Christmas tree, the "holiday tree". "There's been a concerted effort to steal Christmas," Falwell told Fox Television. "Bah humbug," says I. First off, the Christians stole December 25 for the birthday of Jesus from the pagan sun-god Mithra. Scholars agree that the birth of Jesus cannot be placed in December. Although there is scholarly debate on the subject, the use of green trees as decorative objects within the home during winter holidays has pagan roots as well. Link 1 and Link 2. Ever notice how thieves are always the first to cry foul? 11-27-2005. Add Comment Permalink
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 Murtha is leading, whose behind him? Dem. Cong. John Murtha is a 37-year veteran of the Marine Corp. who rose through the ranks (former drill instructor at Parris Island) to get a commission and volunteered for service in Vietnam where he received two purple hearts. Recognizing that the US is merely refereeing a civil war, Murtha has displayed political stones and called for the immediate withdrawal of US forces from Iraq. Story. Where are the rest of the democratic coolaid drinkers? Hillary Clinton and John Kerry have their heads in the sand spouting Bush garbage about completing the mission. Sen. Obama has been a disappointment to me as well. The guy looks for the middle road instead of calling a spade a spade. As recently as last Friday he issued a statement that contained the words "winning the war in Iraq". Sen. Obama is uninformed or delusional if he thinks the US can "win" the war in Iraq. 11-21-2005. Add Comment Permalink
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 George does physical comedy. Annoyed at a question asked him during a Beijing press conference, Bush tried to flee a room of reporters but found himself instead tugging on a locked door. George as "accidental president" would be a hoot but for all the death and destruction that goes with the joke. 11-21-2005. Add Comment Permalink
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 Pentagon Used White Phosphorus At Fallujah. After first denying the fact but, then, upon confrontation with an Italian documentary showing horrific injuries to civilians, the Pentagon now admits that it used "White Phosphorus" (aka Willy Pete) as an anti-personnel device in the battle for Fallujah in 2004. WP burns its victims and cannot be extinguished merely with water. In some cases, an individual hit with a WP fragment will be burned right down to the bone. Link. Protocol three of the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCCW) prohibits WP's use against civilians and military targets located within a city, but the US has only ratified protocols one and two: meaning the majority of civilized countries view the use of WP as an antipersonnel device to be unlawful. I thought abu ghraib was the US low point in Iraq but I was wrong. 11-18-2005. Comments (2) Permalink
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 Fitzgerald Indicts Black. Our boy Fitz added another right-wing scalp to the wall yesterday--media mogul Conrad Black (aka Lord Black of Crossharbour)--on fraud charges. Lord Black founded the media empire Hollinger group which, coincidentally, owns the Chicago Sun Times, employer of Robert Novak who published the identity of Valerie Plame which ultimately lead to Fitzgerald's part-time gig as special prosecutor. He nabbed Black in his capacity as US Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Fitz's day job. 11-18-2005. Add Comment Permalink
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 25 year old Australian to be hanged in Singapore. Nguyen Tuong Van, born in a refugee camp while his Vietnamese mother awaited eventual acceptance into Australia, was arrested in the Singapore airport with 396 grams of heroine. For this, he was sentenced to death by hanging. Wife, remind me not to try and sell drugs in Singapore if ever we go to the Far East! Link 1 and Link 2. 11-17-2005. Add Comment Permalink Update: RIP Nguyen Tuong Van 12-2-05.
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 'The Last True Story I'll Ever Tell'. I have a new book review up FWIW: The Last True Story I'll Ever Tell: An Accidental Soldier's Account of the War in Iraq by John Crawford. Good read. 11-15-2005.
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 Are Pat Robertson and Bill O'Reilly morphing into one? Pat Robertson to a city that rejected "intelligent design" from its school carriculum: "I'd like to say to the good citizens of Dover: if there is a disaster in your area, don't turn to God, you just rejected Him from your city." Bill O'Reilly to the city of San Francisco that is voting on whether to ban military recruiters from city schools: "If al-Qaida comes in here and blows you up, we're not going to do anything about it. We're going to say, look, every other place in America is off limits to you, except San Francisco. You want to blow up the Coit Tower? Go ahead." Why are insane persons allowed to host TV programs? 11-14-2005. Add Comment Permalink
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 Republicans: investigate ... wait, don't investigate? The Red Team has lost it's mojo of late. But this week brought them a chance to reclaim the high ground: somebody leaked the existence of illegal CIA prisons in Eastern Europe. Thinking it was the Democrats, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and House Speaker Dennis Hastert triumphantly called for a congressional investigation of the leak. Then, Rep. Sen. Trent Lott went on CNN and said it was probably a Republican Senator who leaked the CIA jail story. Oops! Now Sen. Pat Roberts, Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, is stonewalling an investigation called for by his own party leaders. When asked how long it would take to start an investigation, Roberts quipped, "decades". Priceless! 11-10-2005. Add Comment Permalink
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 Big Day For the Blue Team! The Blue Team captured the governorships in New Jersey and Virginia yesterday. New Jersey has been trending blue for some time and yesterday's vote confirms it. Virginia is interesting. A former slave state, it was the seat of the confederacy during the Civil War; however, the relatively liberal Washington, DC suburbs found in northern Virginia have grown exponentially in recent years shading the state purple. Sweetest of all was a sweep of Schwarzenegger’s ballot initiatives in California which were all rejected by voters. Arnold is dead as a political force in California. Amen. Story. Hey George, whatever happened to that political capital you were boasting about 1 year ago? It's gone baby. 11-09-2005. Add Comment Permalink
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 Royal Fascination, Please! America was founded through force of arms in a bloody revolutionary war to free ourselves from the tyranny of a monarchy. Why would any American care in the least bit that 2 middle aged, dysfunctional British citizens claiming puffy "royal" titles show up in our midst? I'd just as soon spit at them as beg for their autograph. Honestly, if I had the authority, I'd ban any person claiming royal title from making an official state visit to the US. It's an insult to what our country is supposed to stand for--"equality". 11-8-2005. Add Comment Permalink
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 US does not torture but CIA must be legally allowed to torture? Speaking in Panama today, President Bush declared, "We Do Not Torture". Obviously, VP Dick Cheney did not get the memo. Per the Washington Post, he has been vigorously lobbying the Senate not to investigate torture by the US military and, also, to exempt the CIA from an anti-torture bill sponsored by Sen. John McCain. Dick, relax, listen to your president. The US does not torture so there is no need for a CIA exemption nor will the Senate find anything if it investigates, right? 11-7-2005. Add Comment Permalink
- Help, my butt's been superglued! Kenneth Slaby is suing his X-girlfriend for gluing his dingaling to his stomach and his butt cheeks together plus spelling out a profanity on his back in nail polish while he slept. OUCH!!! 11-4-2005. Add Comment Permalink Update: Jury awards Slaby $46,200 in dick glue case.
- Libby's dirty book. For many of us, Fitzgerald's 5 count indictment of I. Lewis Libby was our first introduction to the Vice-President's now former chief of staff. But did you know Mr. Libby is a published author? A review in the New Yorker has this to say about his book: "The narrative makes generous mention of lice, snot, drunkenness, bad breath, torture, urine, 'turds,' armpits, arm hair, neck hair, pubic hair, pus, boils, and blood (regular and menstrual). One passage goes, 'At length he walked around to the deer’s head and, reaching into his pants, struggled for a moment and then pulled out his penis. He began to piss in the snow just in front of the deer’s nostrils.' Homoeroticism and incest [and bestiality] also figure as themes." Scooter is a sick puppy. 11-4-2005. Add Comment Permalink
- America's Overseas Gulags. Guantanamo Bay, Cuba was Cheney / Rumsfeld's prison of choice for its torture operations. A legally dubious Bush 2001 executive order determined the Geneva Convention did not apply to prisoners labeled as terrorists, thus, green lighting torture. In 2004, the US Supreme Court slightly upset this apple cart by ruling that the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay have limited rights under US law to challenge their detention. With defense lawyers and media clamoring for access to Guantanamo Bay, it has now come to light that the Cheney / Rumsfeld cabal simply moved their torture operations to secret oversees locations where the rule of law is ignored. Don't these idiots understand the damage they are doing to America's standing in the world? Does not America stand for liberty and justice for all? 11-4-2005. Add Comment Permalink
- Alito brawl? There are 55 Republicans in the senate and 60 are needed to break a filibuster. Thus, to override a prospective Democrat filibuster on Alito, only 5 Democrats need cross party lines. My prediction: no filibuster will take shape. At least 5 Democrats in the senate will announce their support for Alito ahead of any future floor vote, end of story. Here is a summary of the case against Alito: Link. Are we going to keep the guy off the S.Ct. because he wants husbands to be notified before their wives have abortions? Don't think so. The best ammo against Alito is probably his 1997 dissent in the case of Bray v. Marriott Hotels wherein he argued for a more restrictive standard under which plaintiffs survive summary judgment in Title VII discrimination actions (and get their case to the jury a/k/a "the money tree"). That means Alito is pro business, surprise! Did you expect something different from Bush? Here is an article about a self-professed liberal who worked for Alito and is in favor of his nomination. I'd rather see progressives lick their wounds on this one and use their political capital for fights where they have real momentum--i.e., the Iraq War. 11-01-2005. Add Comment Permalink
- The Pornification of American Women. Read a hard-hitting, though unfocused, piece this evening suggesting that our society is pressuring women to pornize themselves. Is the porn industry now main stream? Why celebrate fake boobs and the plastic surgeons who implant them? Why is Howard Stern's display of women degrading themselves amusing or acceptable? Why is Pamela Anderson (a creation of plastic surgery and presented as slut incarnate) worshipped? The glorification of pimps in the rap industry? "In effect, the logic of the raunch culture is eerily similar to that Christian ideal of femininity, the Surrendered Wife [versus the barbie doll captive slut, two sides of the same coin]. Both preach empowerment through acquiescence, promising greater happiness through the fulfillment of archetypal female roles." Link. 10-31-2005. Add Comment Permalink
- WCWJB? Saw a bumber sticker today that read: "What country would Jesus bomb?" Excellent question. 10-30-2005. Add Comment
- Mini Scalia. According to the NYT, the leading candidate for nominatation to the S.Ct. is Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. of the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Here is a profile that paints Alito as a mini-Scalia. Expect a bruising Senate battle if this nomination is made, however, the guy is highly qualified and less of a dick than Scalia or Bork so he'd get confirmed IMHO. 10-29-2005. Add Comment Permalink
- Schwarzenegger Street. The best political animation I've seen since "This Land" by JibJab--Arnold's Neighborhood. 10-29-2005. Add Comment
- Plamegate redux--it ain't over. Libby was indicted today on five counts containing charges of obstruction of justice, perjury (before the grand jury), and making false statements (to the FBI). See Fitzgerald press release. Just one neocon head Fitz? Not so fast. The present grand jury has expired without the possibility of extension; however, Fitz stated in his press conference that his investigation is not over. A vague "maybe, maybe not" was his only comment on empaneling a new grand jury for additional charges (which, for the understated Fitz, means he's chomping at the bit for more scalps). There is a report that Fitz's office just signed a new lease for more office space. IMHO, the game is still on. 10-28-2005. Add Comment
- Plamegate. The suspense is killing me! There are reports out that Fitzgerald has already indicted as many as 4 people (including Libby and Rove). Supposedly the indictments are sealed while Fitzgerald offers plea bargains. Further, there has been speculation that Fitz has asked to extend the grand jury (due to expire tomorrow) allowing him to widen the scope of the investigation. If so, this deal is ballooning into Watergate proportions. There's a story Fitz sought the report of an Italian investigation into the forged Niger yellow-cake documents. Is Fitz going to hunt down the neocon spooks who forged these documents (which Bush relied upon in his State of the Union Address in '03)? I pray it is so. 10-27-2005. Add Comment
- Rosa Parks (1913-2005). I watched a replay of Rosa's 1995 interview with Larry King and was amazed by her quiet dignity plus the details of her famous 1955 Montgomery bus ride. Rosa had no real desire or plan to be a civil rights crusader that day. She was seated in the front row of the "colored" section as the white section filled to capacity causing a white man to have to stand. The bus driver then ordered Rosa and 2 other black passengers seated in the first colored row to stand in the back so this one white person could sit alone (i.e., heaven forbid he sit in the same row with black people). Only the ridiculousness of the bus driver's demand pushed Rosa over the edge, spur of the moment. God does work in mysterious ways. 10-26-2005. Add Comment
- The $241,000 strip club bill. The CEO of Savvis Communications plunked down his corporate American Express card at a New York strip club and, at the end of the night, was presented a bill for nearly 1/4 of a million dollars. You could buy an entire village of sex slaves in Thailand for that kind of jack. Mark McCormick, the CEO, says he was the victim of fraud and that the correct bill was $20,000. Great explanation Mark! It's like trying to tell your wife that your affair was no big deal, "we only sex a half-dozen times, not the hundreds you heard about from the shameless gossips." 10-23-2005. Add Comment Update: The married Mr. McCormick is now on unpaid leave from Savvis. Can service of divorce papers be far behind?
- Harriet good at kissing Bush's ass, bad at lying to the Senate. Here's the deal. If your nominee to the Supreme Court has never been a judge nor law professor nor argued a case before the S.Ct., then this person better be able to throw up strong credentials demonstrating a superior command of constitutional law. That's what the S.Ct. does, interpret the constitution. Harriet has no such credentials of experience. Puffing her experience in questionnaire responses to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Miers referred to "the proportional representation requirement of the Equal Protection Clause". "'There is no proportional representation requirement in the Equal Protection Clause,' said Cass R. Sunstein, a constitutional law professor at the University of Chicago." Story. Ooops. 10-21-2005. Comment (2)
- Howard Stern Unleashed. This coming January, Howard Stern moves his radio and TV shows away from FCC censors and onto satellite radio / pay-for-view cable. Something tells me this is the beginning of the end for Howard. The drama of how far Howard can go with his overly willing (seemingly brain impaired) female guests under the lurking eye of the FCC is gone. It'll be no-holds-barred, a younger, more prurient, classless Hugh Hefner. Big deal, we already have porn on cable. 10-20-2005. Add Comment
- Catwoman? God strike me dead for cracking a smile but I couldn't resist. Apparently a man in St. Louis returned home from work Tuesday evening to find a dead woman stuck in the window of his house. According to the article, the woman is presumed to have been trying to burglarize the home when she got stuck and died. Catwoman she was not. Adding insult to injury, the story goes on: "In her struggle to free herself, her pants came off." Imagine you come home to find a dead, pantless female burglar hanging out your window?!? I'm no detective but this story does not add up. The home owner should have some serious "splaining" to do. 10-19-2005. Add A Comment
- It's nut crunching time at the Grand Jury. After 2 long years, it's finally time for Special Prosecutor Fitzgerald to either bust some balls or let the nuts out of the sling. The grand jury will be in session tomorrow with less than 10 days in their term. News reports have the focus shifting from Rove to Lewis Libby and, interestingly, on up the chain to VP Cheney. There is even a tantilizing report that a mid-level official in Cheney's office is now a cooperating witness in the investigation. Will Santa Fitzgerald leave neocon heads in our Christmas stocking? 10-18-2005. Add A Comment
- Bush talk with troops staged ... NO! Bush's handlers scripted a teleconference with the troops in Iraq by carefully vetting the troops (even planting an Army public affairs officer with the troops), creating questions for them to ask, and selecting which troops would ask the questions. Link to sample story. Tell me something I didn't already know. The entire Bush presidency has been scripted. The real story is why it took the MSM five years to wake up to the reality of the Bush hoax. 10-17-2005. Add A Comment
- How low can they go? According to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, just 29 percent think nominee Harriet Miers is qualified to serve on the US Supreme Court. What exactly are those 29% thinking? As to George, can you say lame duck? He is getting weaker with each passing day. Can't wait to see the poll numbers after Rove and Libby are indicted. 10-13-2005. Add Comment
- King Mike? Check this out--the rightful king of England drives a forklift in Australia according to a new documentary. The current occupants of Buckingham Palace, per the report, are descendants of a bastard royal (or royal bastard, depending upon your point of view). 10-12-2005. Add Comment
- Can Harriet Miers' Nose Get Any Farther Up Bush's
Ass? "U.S. Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers told George W. Bush in a 1997 birthday card that he was 'the best governor ever' and, in a separate note to her boss, said she hoped his twin daughters recognize their parents are 'cool'." Story. Apparently brown nosing does pay off. This woman completely lacks credentials for service on the Supreme Court and is a long-time Bush crony. What didn't George understand when attacked for appointing an unqualified political hack as head of FEMA? 10-11-2005. Comment (2)
- Baseball anyone? Interesting comments from my old friend John Pirkle on the marathon Houston v. Atlanta game last night. 10-10-2005.
- Republican Pres. Hopefuls Want Off Bush Wagon. As set forth in an article from the Philadelphia Inquirer, Bush's political weakness is causing all the 2008 presidential hopefuls in the Republican party to distance themselves from the president rather than sidle up along side. Out of the group mentioned in the article, Chuck Hagel of Nebraska is the most palatable to me. He's an old-line conservative (before the word got confused with cultural warriors)--i.e., balance the budget, smaller government, stay out of foreign wars at all costs. Against those measures, tell me Bush is a conservative! 10-10-2005. Comments (0)
- Jeb Bush Unleashes His 'Chang'. In a solemn ceremony naming Rep. Marco Rubio the Florida House Speaker, Gov. Jeb Bush stepped to the podium and told a short story about "unleashing Chang": "I rely on Chang with great regularity in my public life. He has been by my side and sometimes I let him down. But Chang, this mystical warrior, has never let me down." He then presented Rep. Rubio with a ceremonial golden sword said to be Chang's sword. And I thought his brother was a nut job. 10-8-2005. Comments (0)
- Rove is going down! The DeLay double indictment was sweet but reaching into the White House for this pompous turd would be gonzo. Karl is voluntarily going back to the grand jury to testify for a fourth time. According to Lawrence O'Donnell, Rove has been all but told he will be indicted and, rather than cut a plea deal, he is making the risky and unusual move of attempting to plead his case directly to the grand jury (i.e., talk his way out of it). Arrogance leads to poor decision-making. That's why our military has its butt locked in the Iraq quagmire and Rove's butt shall be in the grand jury witness chair for a 4th time. 10-7-2005. Comments (0)
- CNN's Daryn Kagan dates Rush Limbaugh?!? The thought makes me want to puke. Rush reportedly has referred to CNN anchor Daryn Kagan as "my mistress in Georgia". According to this report, it's no joke, the two are dating. Story. Somebody needs to check to see if this woman is mentally competent. I wonder if she shall stand by her man when he goes to jail? 10-7-2005 Comments (0)
- Want to turn grandma into a diamond? In America, tackiness is in our blood. Given time, we'll pervert any new technology that comes along. Story. 10-7-2005. Comments (0)
- McCain Knifes Bush On Torture. In a 90-9 vote, the US Senate passed a McCain sponsored amendment to a military spending bill banning the use of "cruel, inhuman or degrading" treatment of any prisoner in the hands of the United States. Colin Powell was joined by 28 other retired senior military officers in endorsing the McCain amendment. How can any American be for torture? Apparently 9 Republican US Senators are and our dear President Bush is so committed to military torture that he is threatening to veto this bill. Isn't torture something terrorist do? 10-6-2005. Comments (0)
- Columbine Revisited. Was it just a random fluke that the deadliest student perpetrated violence in American history occurred at Columbine High School or did a jock / macho mentality pervade the school leading to toleration of perpetual hazing of the weak and outcast of the school? Were Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold pushed over the edge by years of school sanctioned torture by their fellow students? Here's a link to an interesting article that argues the latter. 10-4-2005. Comments (0)
- The Dude With The Best Toys. There is a guy in Quincy, IL with a private airforce comprised of several dozen Soviet-built fighter aircraft (L-39, L-59, MiG-21, and MiG-29). Get this: the weapons systems are still operational. Hum, thought that was against the law? Apparenty he has contracts with the US Department of Defense to fly simulated combat exercises against United States forces. Some people watch movies, other people live them. 10-4-2005. Comments (0)
- Odds & Ends Archive--Volume 3 (December 2005 - April 2006)
- Odds & Ends Archive--Volume 1 (March 2005 - September 2005)
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