Last night Jon Stewart had what I thought was one of the best lines heard on TV in a very long time.  I haven't seen it diaried anywhere here so I figured I'd give it a whirl.   The line occured during an interview with Prime Minster Blair's long-time Press Secretary Alastair Campbell who has a new book of his diaries.  So, essentially this was like having Scotty McClellen talking about Bush.   At one point in the interview they had this exchange.  

Sadly I'm not an expert on marijuana use or a brain chemist.  I'm just a cynic and I don't believe the government about anything.  Check out this article from CNN.

Using marijuana seems to increase the chance of becoming psychotic, researchers report in an analysis of past research that reignites the issue of whether pot is dangerous.

I always like a story that starts out this way

A federal judge dismissed criminal charges Monday against 13 former partners of accounting giant KPMG, including two in Southern California, gutting what had been billed as the largest tax fraud case in U.S. history.

The ex-partners and other defendants were accused of helping wealthy KPMG clients, including Global Crossing Ltd. founder Gary Winnick and former Treasury Secretary William Simon, evade more than $2 billion in income taxes through complicated shelters that allegedly concocted enormous investment losses from 1996 to 2002.

Largest tax fraud case in U.S. history just got thrown out.  I feel better.   Now, I'm all for that innocent until proven guilty stuff I hear about.  Especially when I read this.

The case dates to 2005, when the government charged 17 former KPMG partners, two other people and KPMG itself. The firm was spared criminal charges by agreeing to pay a $456-million fine and cooperate with prosecutors.

I just heard a piece on NPR about Experian selling your credit history to collection agencies.  They constantly monitor your credit activity and if you start to pay off your credit and are getting back on your feet, they notify the collection hounds and let them have at you.  This sounded pretty damn wrong to me so I got on Google and found out some more about this.  

Full disclosure.  Thirty years ago my mom was the secretary for a company called Northeast Carry in Hallowell, Maine.  This company sold wood stoves and bean sprouting devices and other shit that back to the earth types liked. Like Solar Collectors. (the amazing part is my parents didn't smoke weed or sell it, which is how i understand these types of places did business).  So, since no one really bought the stuff and they couldn't afford to pay my mom they just made her a partner in the company.  Like a Republican corporate takeover without the money!!  And after a few more years of us being broke (my dad was an organic carrot farmer...we were ahead of the curve on that as well...sold our farm to people who stopped growing carrots and starting growing weed..they went to jail) they sold the business.   It went belly up a few years later.  So, if you want to accuse me of being a shill for the solar power industry, fire away, but that is the extent of it.  (although I did make a solar collector to heat hot water for a science fair when i was in 6th grade).   To the diary.

Now it won't take you long to find out that I am not in the Hillary camp.  It will be a sad day for me when Hillary wins any election other than for her current Senate seat.   No need to get into the details here.  But even I find this to be a fine example of the media's bias.  Right now on CNN's home pagethey are linking to this spoof video with the link titled "Funny Lunch:Real nuts for Hillary '08 "



Now, since I think both Clinton and Obama's team aren't doing top notch work on the web, and I'm anti-Clinton, I find this video to be quite funny.  But in no way do I think it should be on the home page of CNN.  The guy mentions raping monkeys.   Check it out.

I've recently been presented with an issue I know nothing about.  I'm getting myself educated on the issue but figured there might be people on Dkos with good advice.

With the recent discussions about Melamine in the food supply I thought I'd throw out another tidbit for you that I learned a few weeks ago that absolutely blew my mind.  Which is that it has been illegal for private beef producers to test all of their animals for Mad Cow disease.  It was illegal to test to see if their meat was safe.  Last month a federal judge said that this could no longer stand:

The federal government must allow meatpackers to test their animals for mad cow disease, a federal judge ruled Thursday.

Creekstone Farms Premium Beef, a meatpacker based in Arkansas City, Kan., wants to test all of its cows for the disease, which can be fatal to humans who eat the tainted beef. Larger meat companies feared that move because if Creekstone tested its meat and advertised it as safe, they could be forced to do the expensive test, too.

The Agriculture Department regulates the test and administers it to less than 1 percent of slaughtered cows. The department threatened Creekstone with prosecution if it tested all its animals.

Originally posted at MYDD but I figured I should go for my first crossposting.

I've spent the last six years working as a search engine optimization (SEO) consultant.  Prior to that I was running an online marketing group for an advertising agency.  While running the group I realized that search engines had a very bright future and I focused on SEO.  It's kept me quite busy for those six years.  Many companies still are not utilizing search engines to their full potential.  I also strongly believe that no one is using them properly on political campaigns.  And thus I started doing some research to try to make a case for some of the democratic candidates on what they could/should be doing.  While doing that I uncovered some interesting information on how search engines are being used to get information on candidates.  I also believe there may be potential to use this type of information as a new form of polling.  

Recently Devilstower had a great idea.

I'd like to propose that Democratic candidates for president demonstrate their boldness by taking a different approach to their campaign spending this year.  I want them to give it away.  Not all of it, mind you.  Just 10%.

Now, I'm sad to say that there is a reason that Democratic candidates won't do that.  They already give 10% of their money away.  To consultants who help them lose.   Just ask Joe Trippi

So what does it take to get some time with Hillary Clinton if you are one of her constituents?  How about a fundraiser?

Hillary Clinton defended her warming relationship on Tuesday with Rupert Murdoch, the conservative media mogul. Commenting on Mr Murdoch's decision to host a fundraiser for her Senate-election campaign, Mrs Clinton said: "He's my constituent and I'm very gratified that he thinks I'm doing a good job."

And we know Murdoch wanted War with Iraq because it would be good for the world economy.  And Senator Clinton is very gratified that he thinks she is doing a good job.  

I love me some Bonddad advice.  And I'm not really expecting him to respond to this shout out.  But I do enjoy the mainstream media telling us that everything will be ok.

• Stocks inched higher Friday morning after strong reports on personal income and spending, and manufacturing in the Chicago area, reassured investors about the strength of the economy.

Perhaps I have a tin foil hat.  But I've been down this road before.

There was a fascinating show on Frontline World last night with Greg Barker.  War of Ideas.   Here is their summary:

In the fourth hour of News War, FRONTLINE/World reporter Greg Barker travels to the Middle East to examine the rise of Arab satellite TV channels and their impact on the "war of ideas" at a time of convulsive change and conflict in the region. His report focuses on the growing influence of Al Jazeera, and the controversy around the recent launch of Al Jazeera English, which U.S. satellite and cable companies have declined to carry. Barker also visits the "war room" of the State Department's Rapid Response Unit, which monitors Arab media 24 hours a day, and meets with U.S. military officers whose mission is to engage the Arab news channels in debate.

Here are the top six headlines listed on CNN.com right now.

Near-simultaneous truck bombs kill 50 in Iraqi city

U.S. commander: No civil war in Iraq

Shepperd: Army did Tillman family a disservice

Blair warns Iran about captured troops

U.S. begins big show of force in Persian Gulf

As political battles rage, Bush steers to ethanol

Anyone remember David Stockman?

Stockman headed the Office of Management and Budget during the Reagan administration. He became famous as a promoter of supply-side economic policies, dubbed "Reaganomics."

Or this from Slate

David Stockman was President Reagan's budget director, a true believer in supply-side economics and the last powerful conservative to make a serious attempt at radically shrinking the size of government.

Look what David is doing these days

So today AIPAC is outraged by an article appearing in the UK media.  What is AIPAC's problem?

In an article in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's weekly paper Subhi Sadek, Reza Faker, a writer believed to have close links to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, threatened that Iran will kidnap Americans and Israelis in Europe, The Times of London reported.  "We've got the ability to capture a nice bunch of blue-eyed blond-haired officers and feed them to our fighting cocks," Faker said. "Iran has enough people who can reach the heart of Europe and kidnap Americans and Israelis."  The State Department consistently lists Iran - a prime benefactor of Hamas, Hizballah and terror groups in Iraq - as the world's leading state sponsor of international terrorism.

They are calling it a more nuanced position in the article  Here is what Hillary said

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton foresees a "remaining military as well as political mission" in Iraq, and says that if elected president, she would keep a reduced military force there to fight Al Qaeda, deter Iranian aggression, protect the Kurds and possibly support the Iraqi military.

But here is the real kicker for me.

She said in the interview that there were "remaining vital national security interests in Iraq" that would require a continuing deployment of American troops.

We aren't building those fourteen permanent bases in Iraq just to leave them unstaffed.  And Commander in Chief Clinton will be more than happy to keep them staffed, or as I like to say, occupied.

She declined to estimate the number of American troops she would keep in Iraq, saying she would draw on the advice of military officers.

Vote Hillary.  Vote for continued occupation.   Call it nuance if you like.  I call it war.