Ignoranus & The Perpetraitor (w/Poll)

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Monday July 18, 2005 · 1:18 PM PDT

2005/07/18 · 13:18

Every year The Washington Post asks readers to take a word and alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter to create a new definition. Two favorites:

Ignoranus (n): A person who's both stupid and an asshole.
Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.

(C'mon, tell me you didn't immediately think of our Dufus in Chief.)

Just noodling around on my own I found words so obvious they don't even need definitions; pix are just peachy: Perpetraitor...Gasshole...Dicktator...Crapogandist.

Got you thinking? Wanna play? Flip over!
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Iraqis sell blood to survive; wingnuts sell happy news

Juno

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Wednesday July 13, 2005 · 10:17 AM PDT

2005/07/13 · 10:17

So this is what it's come to. I couldn't believe my eyes when I read this story. I knew things were bad--so much blood spilled already. And now this:

Iraqis are selling their own blood to people who are buying supplies for relatives in need, due to a shortage, doctors say. This has caused concern over the spread of disease since the supplies are not checked for blood-bourne infections... [P]eople in the queue willing to donate for free are being intercepted before they reach the centre. Donors are approached by so called 'negotiators' who pay them between US $ 15 - $20 per blood bag. At a time when unemployment stands at 33 percent and most of the country is still dependent on food rations, the sale of blood may be an attractive option for many.

Meanwhile a group of rightwingers have organized a "Truth Tour" to scour Iraq for happy news...

(continued) Read More

Don't just do something, sit there! (Action & Poll)

Juno

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Tuesday July 12, 2005 · 9:55 PM PDT

2005/07/12 · 21:55

I don't know about y'all, but I am getting BOMBARDED with desperate e-mails from politicians and all kinds organizations to sign petitions, send letters, spread the word--a pretty good indication of how truly f-d up things are these days.

I can't respond to every e-mail (I'd never get away from this damn computer!), so please bear with me in this half-assed attempt to lend a hand. Below the fold are a variety of very worthy causes, any one or more of which you may be interested in. Check 'em out, do yo' thang and tell 'em Juno sent you.

No obligation, no salesman will call, void where prohibited, yadda, yadda, yadda. Read More

What's on YOUR bumper?

Juno

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Monday July 11, 2005 · 8:55 PM PDT

2005/07/11 · 20:55

And what does it say about you? It's been said we are what we eat, but aren't we also what we wear--what we show to the world? And don't we, in a sense, "wear" our cars and the bumper stickers we put on them? We know why we have the cars, but why do we have the bumper stickers? What are we trying to convey?

What's the impression you get when you see an SUV barreling down the road with an American flag flying high and a "Support the Troops" sticker? And who do you think is behind the wheel of that old VW Bug with the Greenpeace sign? Two very different reactions, for sure.

So, what are YOU telling the world with your bumper sticker? Is it political, cultural, environmental, educational? Is it in your face or gently philosophical? Do you "Imagine World Peace" or "Imagine Whirled Peas"? Did you get friendly feedback or belligerent blowback? What kind of vehicle is it on? And what do you think it says about you? Inquiring minds want to know!
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How Sandra Day O'Connor busted our union

Juno

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Thursday July 07, 2005 · 10:04 PM PDT

2005/07/07 · 22:04

The accolades heaped on retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor by politicos of every stripe ring hollow for thousands of us who once worked at Western Airlines. O'Connor, you see, busted our union and did it in a way that reeked of collusion and conflict of interest.

I was a co-founder and officer of Air Transport Employees (ATE), an independent union formed by ground service workers at Western's facilities throughout the West, Midwest, Hawaii and Canada. Our membership, about 5000, included everyone who moved on the ground except maintenance and food service: reservations, ticket counter, customer service, air freight, baggage, computer services, clerks, ground hostesses--you name it.

We also had the best contract in the industry, bar none. It included a guarantee that, in the event of a merger, our contract would be recognized by the surviving entity, until a representation election could be held to determine whether workers in the new company wanted a union. Fairly straightforward, one would think. But there's an old saying in the labor movement: "A contract is a contract unless it's a union contract." Read More

Jeepers Creepers, What's With Those Freepers?

Juno

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Sunday June 26, 2005 · 11:09 PM PDT

2005/06/26 · 23:09

"I see stupid people...
they're everywhere...
they walk around like everyone else...
they don't even know that they're dumb"

The first time I ever came across the term "freeper" was the day I joined the Daily Kos. A Kossack explained in comments that it referred to a member of the rightwing blog, Free Republic. I knew immediately that was a place I would never want to go, even for the sake of idle curiosity. There's enough of that mindless drivel coming out of our media as it is, thank you very much. I don't need to pollute myself further.

Today, however, after doing a web search, I was compelled to click on a link and check something out over there. It had to do with a subject I've been writing about for over two weeks: the US tour of six union leaders from Iraq. I couldn't believe what I was reading. How could these fellow human creatures--the top of the food chain, the epitome of the evolutionary ladder--be so colossally dumb?
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Get Your Sunday Funnies on Saturday Night

Juno

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Saturday June 25, 2005 · 7:38 PM PDT

2005/06/25 · 19:38

...because you know what will happen tomorrow. SUNDAY TALK SHOWS! And that's all we'll see on the D/Kos. Who said what. Yadda, yadda, yadda. Blah, blah, blah. Have fun while you can.

CARTOONS
...by Gary Huck and Mike Konopacki. I'm not imbedding the images for quicker access by folks who only have dial-up. Check out the Huck/Konopacki website for more fun stuff.

ANIMATION: LYING SACK O' BUSH
Choose a lie and hear him tell it here.

(Flip over, I'm not done with you yet.)
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Iraqi student unions demand end to occupation

Juno

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Friday June 24, 2005 · 1:28 PM PDT

2005/06/24 · 13:28

From Professor Juan Cole's blog Informed Comment

Gilbert Achcar kindly sends along his translation of this newspaper article:

Student Unions [in Iraq] Call for Withdrawal of Occupation Troops

Baghdad - Abdel-Wahed Tohmeh - Al-Hayat, June 24, 2005

11 Student Unions approved the call made on al-Jaafari's Government to set a timetable for the withdrawal of multinational forces and considered that the request made [by the Government at the UN] for the extension of their presence is "an infringement on Parliament's prerogatives."

The 11 Unions issued yesterday a statement, of which Al-Hayat got a copy, supporting the members of the Independent National Bloc and other MPs [see the article by the same author dated June 20] and calling on "al-Jaafari's Government, the United Nations and its Security Council to adopt these demands." The statement also said: "We have taken part in the election and voted, risking our lives going to the polling stations, only for one essential issue that the electoral slates adopted and put in their political programs, and that is the demand for the withdrawal of occupation troops from Iraq."

Juno

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday June 21, 2005 · 5:22 PM PDT

2005/06/21 · 17:22

MADISON, WI--Amjad Al-Jawhary is a man with one heart divided between two nations: Canada, his adopted country, where he can keep his family safe; and Iraq, his homeland, where he and his fellow trade unionists are challenged by insurgents, occupation forces, corruption and greed in their pursuit of economic justice through union organizing.

It's an uphill battle, and it shows. At Monday's noontime gathering at the Madison Labor Temple, the 100 or so who came to hear him saw a brave, dedicated, frustrated and tired man who spoke eloquently about the harsh realities his people face every day in occupied Iraq.

"The occupation has achieved nothing but devastation, death, instability, and economic devastation" he said. "Human value is down the drain... Soldiers raid homes, take people captive, hold them captive for a month, a year, two years... There is no court. This is the occupation."

(Cont'd...)
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Persistence is futile

Juno

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Sunday June 19, 2005 · 1:13 PM PDT

2005/06/19 · 13:13

For over a week now, I've been posting diaries about the six Iraqi labor leaders who have come to the US to talk about what they and the people of their country are going through. (Just go to my homepage, it's all there.)

These are extremely brave people, who are targeted by both the military/industrial occupation and the insurgents. Yet very few here in the Daily Kos seem interested.

One story made an impression, but the follow-ups apparently didn't. Most recently, I posted diaries urging those in the D/Kos to either write comments expressing support of the Iraqis or sign on to a general message of solidarity.

The response has been underwhelming. And embarrassing.
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SIGN HERE NOW: Solidarity message to Iraqi unions

Juno

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday June 18, 2005 · 12:31 PM PDT

2005/06/18 · 12:31

Please take a time-out from DEAN, DSM and other important issues to "sign" the solidarity message, below, to the six Iraqi trade unionists who risked life and limb to come to the US for a two-week tour. One of them has fallen ill and is currently hospitalized. They could all use a show of support from us. They're not going to be in the US for long, so do it now.

PLEASE add your name to the solidarity message below by recommending this diary. And, by all means, post a personal message in the comments section. It will all be put onto CDs for presentation to the Iraqi union leaders to take back home and share with their members.

Many of us post things here in D/Kos that go by the wayside. You can be assured that your show of support here will be read and appreciated by the Iraqis.

More...
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Verbal Wedgie: PUT UP OR SHUT UP!

Juno

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Friday June 17, 2005 · 9:02 PM PDT

2005/06/17 · 21:02

I'm ready to give all but a handful of you a verbal wedgie.

Could you PLEASE take a break from DEAN, DSM and other--AGREED--important topics to send a personal message of support to the six Iraqi trade unionists who risked life and limb to come to the US for a two-week solidarity tour?

Except for the first story about their historic tour, they might as well have stayed home and gotten shot at for all the interest shown here. Yet there seems to virtually unlimited tonnage on the same-old same-old, while these folks can't even get their propers. One of them is hospitlized in an ICU at this very moment! He could use a kind word or two.

We owe the Iraqis BIG TIME. You know why. So, please, get those articulate brains in gear and send a solidarity message to these brave souls before they go back into the fray.

And if you don't, kindly shut up about Iraq, because it doesn't mean squat if you can't take a time-out to tell the Iraqis--who've risked their lives to be here--that you support them.

GO HERE NOW! Or I'll sic Sister Mary Discipline on you!

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