Racist Sotomayor

Excite News - White House: Sotomayor says she chose word poorly: "By BEN FELLER

WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House says Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor acknowledges she made a poor word choice in a 2001 speech in which she said that a Latina judge would often reach a better conclusion than a white male judge who hasn't lived the same life."

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Yes, racists generally use poor word choices. Not only is she racist, she's genderist. Yes, genderist, wonder if that's even a word yet. Or maybe she's one of them Femi-nazis.

But, poor word choices all throughout that one little sentence actually. In fact, it's just a poor statement. Even the idea it tries to convey is a poor one. I haven't hear anything positive about her yet, is she even considered an accomplished judge? The answer is... I've been busy but I'll find out.

Busy with what... a batshit crazy neighbor who wants to get rid of my dog.

Excite News - Cheney defends Bush's national security policies

Excite News - Cheney defends Bush's national security policies

By PAMELA HESS

(AP) Former Vice President Dick Cheney speaks at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington,... Full Image

WASHINGTON (AP) - Former Vice President Dick Cheney on Thursday defended the interrogation methods used against suspected terrorists and said the Bush administration obtained specific information critical to combatting would-be attackers.

In a speech challenging President Barack Obama's policies, Cheney said the national security decisions made by former President George W. Bush kept America safe and were rooted in a determination to ensure the Sept. 11 attacks didn't become "a prelude to something worse."

Responding to critics of the interrogation tactics, Cheney said the United States did obtain useful information.

"It is a fact that only detainees of the highest intelligence value were ever subjected to enhanced interrogation. You've heard endlessly about waterboarding. It happened to three terrorists," Cheney told an audience at the conservative American Enterprise Institute.

The former vice president bristled over the complaints about interrogation from lawmakers, pointing out that leading members of Congress, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., were briefed on the programs and methods.

"Yet for all these exacting efforts to do a hard and necessary job and to do it right, we hear from some quarters nothing but feigned outrage based on a false narrative," Cheney said. "In my long experience in Washington, few matters have inspired so much contrived indignation and phony moralizing as the interrogation methods applied to a few captured terrorists."

Pelosi has said the CIA misled her in 2002 about whether waterboarding, which simulates drowning, had been used.

Cheney delayed the start of his address until after Obama's speech defending his plan to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for suspected terrorists and transfer some detainees to U.S. facilities.

Cheney criticized that move as one made with "little deliberation and no plan."

In the fight against terrorism, Cheney said, there is no middle ground. "Half measures keep you half exposed," he said.

Cheney said the Bush policies were intended to prevent attacks similar in scale to the hijacking of the Sept. 11, 2001, that killed more than 3,000 people.

"To the very end of our administration, we kept al-Qaida terrorists busy with other problems. We focused on getting their secrets, instead of sharing ours with them. And on our watch, they never hit this country again," Cheney said.

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Congrats to Pamela Hess and/or her editor for not screwing up anything in the story. I actually doubt the AP has editors, so hats off to Pamela! Well written, well done. Maybe with this economic downturn, AP can afford good people who are now willing to work for AP wages.

But about the story: Shortly after giving his speech, Cheney went home, got a shotgun and shot his neighbor in the face. He then had a heart attack but was revived in what Joe Biden calls, "Cheney's medical department under his house that everyone knows about." When asked why he shot his neighbor, Cheney replied that shooting people in the face has kept this country safe, and that not one terrorist has happened in the US since he started shooting friends in the face.

In unrelated news, Treasury Secretary Geitner has approved 15 billion in stimulus money to shotgun manufacturers.

A Game of Thrones

George R. R. Martin's Official Website

A Game of Thrones is the first book in a series by George R. R. Martin. I loaned my copy to my dad for him to read, months ago. I asked him about it recently and even chided him ever so slightly, and he said the book was too "hard" for him.

Ok, well, my dad got a BS in biology and his MS in Environmental Engineering. So, he's not dumb... but geez... too hard? No, it's not.

I told him from the get-go that he needed to get past the first 100 pages, because that's where you are introduced into the world in which things take place. The genre is epic fantasy, though it seems more like a medieval legend than anything else. It's not fireballs from wizards or anything Harry Potterish... it's much more adult than that, much harsher than that.

A character you like, can and will die. Quite a few characters come on the scene and eventually die. Good characters that you like and would want to live. Dead.

But that's the point really. It's an epic fantasy and thus far, it's the best I've seen out there. Though, I heard from a friend that there may be another even better author in some respects, some guy by the name of Bakker I think. I'll read him soon enough.

But back to my dad. I told him to get through the first 100 pages, even I found it somewhat difficult at first but that's only because you are thrown into a new world, and you learn about it as you go. There's nothing in the book, like a forward or whatnot, to give you background or tell you what's up. You learn as you go, that's part of the fun. So you just have to be patient for the first 100 pages and you'll be well rewarded from that point forward.

Anyway, I think he read 11 pages. He's used to silly Clive Cussler novels, ugh, so yeah, it was definitely a different read than that shallow crap. Clive Cussler is the type of book I'd try to get some juvenille who isn't used to reading books as something to start on. I mean, that crap is barely one step above Dick and Jane (and Spot!). Even funnier is that a movie was made from one of his novels, Sahara.

Did you see that movie? Not likely, it was a flop of course. The dumbshit actually advocated to his readers that they boycott the film. Yep. Apparently the movie didn't follow the book closely enough. Umm... Mr. Cussler... most movies adopted from books are no different. That's why people leave theaters and say, "I thought the book was much better," erm... umm... you dumbass. So of course he got sued and he sued them for not following the book closely enough. In the end, guess who paid. Yep.

Anyway, all you out there within the sound of my... blog, err, whatever... get through the first 100 pages before giving up! Don't be like my dad and only read the bible, religious books, and Cussler-like crap. (Bible and religious stuff is, of course, ok... unless it's that crap that says the world is going to end in 1984... no, 1990... no, 2000... etc.)

The series is called A Song of Ice and Fire. The first book, A Game of Thrones, will soon be an HBO movie or something like that. Read it. That is all.

Grammar Nazi

Supreme Court denies Demjanjuk's deportation plea: By THOMAS J. SHEERAN "'The U.S. government will continue to work in cooperation with the Government of Germany to affect the removal of Mr. Demjanjuk to Germany,' spokeswoman Laura Sweeney said in an e-mail."
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I've been trying my best to avoid reading stories written by the AP because they all have stupid shit like the above. Journalists should know the difference between the words "affect" and "effect" and should be able to recognize when someone is saying one instead of the other. They should be an asset to the language instead of a liability. I'm so sick of easy-to-correct mistakes that make it in popular print. It's pretty sad that we Americans produce such shit.

Pakistupid

Pakistan pounds Taliban; fighters pour into Swat: "In recent days, however, there have been signs the mood toward the Taliban is changing. Many politicians, commentators and religious leaders now say the movement s true nature was exposed by its refusal to go along with the peace deal despite the government s best efforts."

Ok... so back in 2001 when the Taliban was helping Osama bin Laden, that wasn't a clue? How about before then, when the Taliban took over the Afgahn government to impose its own rule? No clue? Hmm... ok, how about when they refused to lay down their arms, even when they weren't asking for the latest demands?

A solution for Pak:
Step 1 - Get your heads out of the sand, stop being ignorant;
Step 2 - Grow a pair if Step 1 frightens you, else you're dead;
Step 3 - Deal with the problem most likely to kill you within the next few months, instead of India.
Step 4 - Stop thinking you can resolve the Taliban's wanting to rule over you by doing what they want you to do, (Duhh... yet it has happened. Ugh.) and, instead, kill them until they give up or are totally incapacitated.
Step 5 - After defeating the Taliban, make sure this type of thing is never allowed or tolerated again.

Come on Pak, time to either do something right or die.

Gitmo Detention Center Staying Alive

It's being reported that in the latest War bill, there is no money being allocated for the closure of the Gitmo (Guantanamo Bay) Detention Center for the Civilly-Challenged (Terrorists). To be honest... THANK GOD. Who the hell wants to house them? If Gitmo closes, all that means is that ANOTHER one will have to be built. Even if we found another country that would house them, we'd have to give them aid or pay for it one way or another. I'm hoping Obama follows the reasoning and starts to see Gitmo less as a symbol and more as a practicality. NIMBY!