Afghan ambush claims lives of Michigan natives
On Friday, [November 9] at age 28, Marine Sgt. Phillip Allen Bocks, formerly of Troy, was killed in an ambush during a mission in Afghanistan's Nuristan province. Also fatally wounded was U.S. Army Pfc. Joe Lancour, 21, who grew up in Ludington. He died Saturday. He graduated in 2004 from Ludington High, which honored him Monday with a moment of silence.Still searching for two of their own
BAGHDAD - Hundreds of American and Iraqi troops backed by helicopters descended yesterday on a remote desert area southwest of Baghdad to root out Al Qaeda in Iraq and search for two US soldiers missing since a deadly insurgent ambush six months ago. US officers said there was no sign of the missing soldiers - including Army Specialist Alex R. Jimenez of Lawrence, Mass. -- Jimenez and Private Byron W. Fouty of Waterford, Mich. , were seized May 12 when insurgents attacked and overran a checkpoint in the volatile area south of Baghdad known as the "triangle of death."
They would never 'plant' a question
"But Rove's dominance of White House and Republican politics, Gannon's aggressively partisan work and the ease with which he got day passes for the White House press room the past two years make it hard to believe that he wasn't at least implicitly sanctioned by the "boy genius."[Fake journalist, Karl Rove's rumored 'top', and male prostitute, Jeff Gannon, spent two years lobbing softballs at Bush's and his administration's White House briefings. Did wingnuts ever write about that? I wonder how many news stories FOX did on Gannon?]
Diaper David Vitter subpoenaed
WASHINGTON - When questioned about his links to a Washington escort service, Sen. David Vitter has chosen his words carefully. He apologized for a "very serious sin in my past," but said the details were best left between God and his family. Now, the woman accused of running a high-end prostitution ring wants the Louisiana Republican to dish the salacious details in court.
[You gotta love a phony conservative 'family-values' Republican Senator, who likes to wear diapers]
'Plan' didn't work out so well
"My plan reduces the national debt, and fast. So fast, in fact, that economists worry that we're going to run out of debt to retire." -- Bush radio address, Feb. 24, 2001
On fourth thought ...
Soldiers strained by six years at war are deserting their posts at the highest rate since 1980, with the number of Army deserters this year showing an 80 percent increase since the United States [unnecessarily] invaded Iraq in 2003.
Nice block - And, about fucking time!
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has decided to keep the chamber in session over the Thanksgiving break to block Bush from making any unsavory recess appointments while Senators are out of town.
It's the way Dick and Henry saw it
Nixon: What's your evaluation of Reagan after meeting him several times now.
Kissinger: Well, I think he's a--actually I think he's a pretty decent guy.
Nixon: Oh, decent, no question, but his brains
Kissinger: Well, his brains, are negligible. I--
Nixon: He's really pretty shallow, Henry.
Lot of evil glares been on that globe
A desktop globe a U.S. soldier recovered from Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler's residence in 1945 sold at auction for $115,000 on Tuesday, a San Francisco-based auction house said. John Barsamian, 91, said he took the globe as a souvenir after entering Hitler's Berghof residence in Obersalzberg in southern Germany as a U.S. Army soldier. He decided to sell this year as he advanced in age.
They've got my neighbor's TV!
... a Houston-area man in his 70's killed two apparent burglars he observed breaking into his neighbor's house ... The man called an emergency dispatcher when he first saw the alleged burglars, saying "I've got a shotgun, do you want me to stop them?" <> "Nope, don't do that," replied the dispatcher. "Ain't no property worth shooting somebody over, ok? I've got officers coming out there. I don't want you to go outside that house." <> "I understand that," the caller replied, "but I have a right to protect myself too, sir, and you understand that. And the laws have been changed in this country since September the 1st, and you know it and I know it."
What did you think would happen?
GULFPORT, Miss., Nov. 14 — Like the other Gulf Coast states battered by Hurricane Katrina, Mississippi was required by Congress to spend half of its billions in federal grant money to help low-income citizens trying to recover from the storm. But so far, the state has spent $1.7 billion in federal money on programs that have mostly benefited relatively affluent residents and big businesses. The money has gone to compensate many middle- and upper-income homeowners, to aid utility companies whose equipment was damaged and to prop up the state’s insurance system. Just $167 million, or about 10 percent of the federal money, has been spent on programs dedicated to helping the poor, mostly through a smaller grant program for lower-income homeowners.
Republican economic results
When our dollar isn't good enough anymore
The dollar could collapse if Opec officially admits considering changing the pricing of oil into alternative currencies such as the euro, the Saudi Arabian foreign minister has warned. Prince Saud Al-Faisal was overheard ruling out a proposal from Iran and Venezuela to discuss pricing crude in a private meeting at the oil cartel's conference. In an embarrassing blunder at the meeting in Riyadh, ministers' microphones were not cut off during a key closed meeting, and Prince Al-Faisal was heard saying: "My feeling is that the mere mention that the Opec countries are studying the issue of the dollar is itself going to have an impact that endangers the interests of the countries. "There will be journalists who will seize on this point and we don't want the dollar to collapse instead of doing something good for Opec."
[Just wait until the dollar stops being used as the international currency. And when our 'credit' isn't accepted]
Knew it was there somewhere ...
This undated photo provided by the International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery, known as TIGHAR, shows historic aircraft specialists inspecting a World War II fighter plane recently found on the Welsh coast. The American P-38 aircraft had made an emergency landing in 1942 after it ran out of gas, and was buried under water and sand for 65 years until revealed by beach erosion in July.
[From All Hat No Cattle]
Where's Laura now?
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia: A Saudi court sentenced a 19-year-old woman victim of gang rape to six months in jail and 200 lashes — more than double than in her initial sentence for being in the car of a man who was not her relative, a newspaper reported Thursday.
[Where's Laura Bush and her old man now? She goes to Saudi Arabia to support breast cancer awareness and her old man has bent over and grabbed his ankles for the Saudi royal family his entire life, so maybe they ought to cash in on all that ass-kissing and save this woman from this injustice]
Guess who's coming to dinner?
Seven years ago, it was Bush v. Gore. Now, Bush is hosting former Vice President Al Gore at the White House — this time as a Nobel laureate. [Bush] has invited this year's U.S. winners of Nobel prizes to the White House on Nov. 26.
Piling on!
Barry Bonds, baseball's home run king, was indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice Thursday and could face prison instead of the Hall of Fame for telling a federal grand jury he did not knowingly use performance-enhancing drugs.
[Come on. You have a president who lied through his ignorant teeth at the cost of nearly 4,000 lives, close to 30,000 wounded and who knows how many trillions of dollars and we're going after a baseball player for lying about taking steroids? What the fuck!]
Our sadistic VP and his blow-up doll
Dick Cheney just spent a day shooting up pen-raised birds. Some hunters liken the sport -- killing tame animals that offer no resistance -- to having sex with a blow-up doll.
120 a week?
[Helluva job, George]
Collateral Damage
FBI Says Guards Killed 14 Iraqis Without Cause
Federal agents investigating the Sept. 16 episode in which Blackwater security personnel shot and killed 17 Iraqi civilians have found that at least 14 of the shootings were unjustified and violated deadly-force rules in effect for security contractors in Iraq, according to civilian and military officials briefed on the case. One official said, “I wouldn’t call it a massacre, but to say it was unwarranted is an understatement.”
Gator eats robbery suspect
A man fleeing from police near Miami, Florida, jumped in a pond and was eaten by a large alligator. [Video]
And he said it with a straight face
Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert bid his colleagues farewell in a final speech Thursday, expressing worry about the "breakdown of civility" in politics. "I continue to worry about the breakdown of civility in our political discourse," Hastert said. "I tried my best, but I wish I had been more successful."
[Lying fatass!]
Speaking of liars ...
The Limbaugh Award
The selection of the winner of this week's Limbaugh Award was pretty easy and for a man who has been such a 'lying tool' for Republicans for so long, it's surprising that this is the first time Matt Drudge has won this, 'prestigious, but infamous', award -- given here weekly at 'done that', for the biggest and the most audacious, lie of the week.
The 'esteemed' and 'world renown', selection committee also considered giving the award to Chris Matthews, but when it was pointed out that Drudge also lied about the same subject as Matthews, as well as the other lie that he ultimately won on, then it was a slam dunk.
Congratulations, Drudge --- It's long overdue, scumbag -- You're #38.
Past winners of the prestigious, but infamous,
Limbaugh Award
Their Favored Liar - Rudy Giuliani - 11/11/07
Fox News Liar - Chris Wallace - 11/4/07
Uncultured Wussy - Bill O'Reilly - 10/28/07
Phony Patriot Liar - Rush Limbaugh - 10/21/07
Old Kentucky Homo - Mitch McConnell - 10/14/07
Liar-In-Chief - George W. Bush - 10/7/07
Phony Patriot Pig - Rush Limbaugh - 9/30/07
Big Stretch 'the truth' - Bill Sammon - 9/23/07
Mr. Straight Talk - John McCain - 9/16/07
Sycophant - General Petraeus - 9/9/07
His own Idaho - Sen. Craig R-Idaho - 9/2/07
Turd Blossom - Karl Rove - 8/26/07
The Exterminator - Tom Delay - 8/19/07
Big 'Rooster' - Mitt Romney - 8/12/07
Total Suck Up - Glenn Beck - 8/5/07
General Gonzo - Alberto Gonzales - 7/29/07
Pro Liar - Tony 'Snowjob' Snow - 7/22/07
Bush bin Lyin - George W. Bush - 7/15/07
Freed Felon - Scooter Libby - 7/8/07
Mr. Overrated - Rudy Giuliani - 7/1/07
Crazy Lying Okie - James Inhofe - 6/24/07
Pro Liar - Tony 'Snowjob' Snow - 6/17/07
Mormon Moron - Mitt Romney - 6/10/07
Bye Week - 6/3/07
Commander Guy - George W. Bush - 5/27/07
Pat's Brother - Bay Buchanan - 5/20/07
Used Car Salesman - John Boehner - 5/13/07
Uncultured Wussy - Bill O'Reilly - 5/6/07
Mr. Overrated - Rudy Giuliani - 4/29/07
Turd Blossom - Karl Rove - 4/22/07
The Decider - George W. Bush - 4/15/07
Lying Chickenhawk VP - Dick Cheney - 4/8/07
Mr. Straight Talk - John McCain - 4/1/07
Attorney General - Alberto Gonzales - 3/25/07
Fox mouthpieces Sean Hannity and
Victoria Toensing - 3/18/07
Fox News guy - Brit Hume - 3/11/07
VA Secretary - Jim Nicholson - 3/4/07
Rep. Michele Bachmann - (R-MN) - 2/25/07
