906. Bush denies using performance enhancing drugs

Nation responds, "We know, we know...."

907. Take 2

  
Bolton again before the Senate....

908. Now is the summer of our discontent

Now is the summer of our discontent
Made ne'er glorious by this son of privilege;
And all the clouds that lour'd upon our house
In the deep wounds of a nation buried.

909. Metamorphosizzle

As Gregor W. Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a caring and responsible person, an honest and faithful leader, a trustworthy and beloved president accountable to all Americans and mutually respected throughout the world.

What has happened to me? he thought. It was no dream.

No, wait... yes it was.

910. "American Idol" world court

From The New Yorker:

RYAN SEACREST: Welcome, everyone. I’m your host, Ryan Seacrest. Thanks to the overwhelming success of “American Idol,” our panel of judges has been asked, by the international community, to rule on issues affecting us all. So let’s get started: What’s the deal with Iraq?

PAULA ABDUL: You know, I love the Shiites and the Sunnis and all of the other sects. I just think they are all so special and I just wish they could all get together and realize how special they are.

RANDY JACKSON: But, man, that Saddam Hussein dude—I was not down with that. He would not be my choice for Iraqi Idol. For a bloodthirsty tyrant, he was just average, just so-so.

and the rest...

912. The party of George and the party of Lincoln

George Lincoln Rockwell (1918-1967). Founder of the American Nazi Party.

915. Maybe there's hope for us..... maybe not

Ralph Reed loses in the Republican primary for Lieutenant Governor of Georgia.











Bush vetoes the embryonic stem cell bill.

916. Freedom on the march

AP: The Afghan government announced plans Tuesday to re-establish a Vice and Virtues Ministry, but it assured the public the office would not resemble the Taliban version that became a symbol of the brutal regime toppled by U.S. forces in 2001.

Afghanistan's powerful religious and tribal leaders have been pressing U.S.-backed President Hamid Karzai to reinstate the ministry, which many considered the most powerful in the ousted Taliban government. It employed 32,000 people to enforce the Islamic zealots' bans on girls' schools, on television, on card-playing and other gambling, even on kite-flying and women's public baths.

New York-based Human Rights Watch said the move "raises serious concerns about potential abuse of the rights of women and vulnerable groups."

and the rest....

916. No, thank you

Money Magazine announces its "10 Best Places to Live 2006". And the winners are...

1. Fort Collins, CO	6. Overland Park, KS
2. Naperville, IL	7. Scottsdale, AZ
3. Sugar Land, TX	8. Boise, ID
4. Columbia/Ellicott City, MD	9. Fairfield, CT
5. Cary, NC	10. Eden Prairie, MN

I think I'll pass on any place that can produce and proudly promote Tom DeLay.

917. Rapture anyone?

The Rapture Index only rose 2 points this week, to a still relatively moderate 157. Millions must be disappointed.

919. Soul brothers?

During a joint news conference Saturday in St. Petersburg, Bush said he raised concerns about democracy in Russia during a frank discussion with the Russian leader.

"I talked about my desire to promote institutional change in parts of the world, like Iraq where there's a free press and free religion, and I told him that a lot of people in our country would hope that Russia would do the same," Bush said.

To that, Putin replied, "We certainly would not want to have the same kind of democracy that they have in Iraq, quite honestly."

CNN....

920. War-Shmwar. Where do I get one of those Air Force One jackets?

AP: "Bush Rejects Lebanon's Call For Cease-Fire"

921. I Miss Monica

Check out Dean Friedman's new video.

923. Sour grapes

But there's lots of cheap acreage in Greenland now. Stop whining and get out your checkbook.

L.A. Times:

Global Warming May Shrink Vineyards: A climate projection shows 'enormous losses' in the state's prime wine regions this century.

Global warming could wither many premium vineyards in California and across the nation by the end of the century, according to a new computerized climate projection released Monday.

A predicted rise in the number of days hotter than 95 degrees during the growing season could sharply reduce the amount of areas suitable for vintage wine-grape production, an international team of scientists concluded in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Marginal vineyards nationwide might be eliminated and those capable of producing the most expensive premium wines may be reduced by half, the researchers reported. Although wine is produced in 48 states, California's $16.5-billion industry, with more than 500,000 acres of vineyards, accounts for almost 90% of the nation's wine grapes.

"We found that at elevated greenhouse gas concentrations, the frequency of extremely hot days increases to the point where it is impossible to grow premium wine grapes in many areas of the country," said Noah Diffenbaugh, one of the study's researchers at Purdue University who studies the impact of climate change.

"Certainly, the Napa Valley, the Sonoma Valley and the Santa Barbara area all exhibit enormous losses of production in the future climate," Diffenbaugh said.

and the rest....

925. Sic semper ironnis

Sic semper tyrannis is a Latin phrase meaning "Thus always to tyrants". It is the state motto of Virginia in the U.S. The Seal of the Commonwealth of Virginia shows Virtue, sword in hand, with her foot on the prostrate form of Tyranny.

Recommended by George Mason to the Virginia Convention in 1776, the phrase is attributed to Brutus at the assassination of Julius Caesar. According to some witnesses, John Wilkes Booth shouted it after shooting Abraham Lincoln in 1865. In his mug shot following the Oklahoma City bombing, Timothy McVeigh wore a shirt with a picture of Lincoln on it and "Sic Semper Tyrannis" written below.

927. We're sending them over there so we don't have to fight them over here

NY Times: Hate Groups Are Infiltrating the Military, Group Asserts

A decade after the Pentagon declared a zero-tolerance policy for racist hate groups, recruiting shortfalls caused by the war in Iraq have allowed "large numbers of neo-Nazis and skinhead extremists" to infiltrate the military, according to a watchdog organization.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks racist and right-wing militia groups, estimated that the numbers could run into the thousands, citing interviews with Defense Department investigators and reports and postings on racist Web sites and magazines.

"We've got Aryan Nations graffiti in Baghdad," the group quoted a Defense Department investigator as saying in a report to be posted today on its Web site, www.splcenter.org. "That's a problem."

and the rest....

927. Dubya's "listening" tour

Beware of new-found friends wearing figurative headphones....

Bose™ Quiet Comfort 2 Headset features active noise reduction plus amazing audio quality

This headset has improved airline travel for thousands of frequent-flyers, making flights quieter and helping passengers arrive less fatigued. Its proprietary TriPort™ headphone technology electronically reduces ambient noise but still allows you to listen to your favorite music or movies. You hear only the sound you want to hear.

more....

928. Hugs and kisses on your birthday, Mr. President

929. Lay in peace

Kenneth Lay compared to....

Perov's "Portrait of the Merchant Ivan Kamynin" (1872)
(The Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow)

Images from
Double Lives: Celebrities Who Look Like Works of Art

930. Independent days

Eldon Dedini, The New Yorker, 7/9/2001

My wonderful boys.....


Louie & Lenny

931. And for my next trick...

Edward Sorel depicts Shooter's monstrous glee as his chief of staff and principal legal adviser David Addington calmly and facilely shreds the Constitution. (No apparent complaints from W either.)

In this week's The New Yorker, Jane Mayer tells us all about Addington in "THE HIDDEN POWER: The legal mind behind the White House's war on terror." (Alberto Gonzales? Nah!)