By GottaLaff
Weight-loss surgery for the obese may soon be widely usedNew York Times:
U.S. Sees an Opportunity to Press Iran on Nuclear FuelWaPo:
Foes of reform look to courts to halt legislationInteresting priorities... or what they think will attract readers.
By GottaLaff
Claims: UK interrogators ‘routinely’ used sexual abuse against Iraqi prisonersCan't get more UK'd up than that, unless of course you were a member of the Bush administration.
Former UK prime minister slams motives for Iraq invasion
Five individual prisoners singled out one female guard in particular, known to them as "Katy," according to British publication The Times. The paper said that prisoners alleged the sexual abuse was used "routinely."
The allegations, which range from the use of pornography, masturbation, sexual humiliation and even male rape, bring the total number of complaints against the British army's Joint Forward Intelligence Team (JFIT) to 40.
Sound familiar? No wonder BushCo and the UK-ups were BFF. They engaged in the same extra-curricular activities.
Let's toddle over to headline #2:
The more we learn, the more validation we get for demanding answers and the appropriate consequences.Former prime minister John Major said Saturday that the Iraq war inquiry appeared to be showing that the invasion was more about regime change than finding weapons of mass destruction. [...]
"The argument that someone is a bad man is an inadequate argument for war and certainly an inadequate and unacceptable argument for regime change." [...]
"I supported the Iraq war because I believed what the prime minister said."
******
All my previous posts on this subject matter can be found here; That link includes one specific to only Fayiz al-Kandari's story here. Here are audio and video interviews with Lt. Col. Wingard, one by David Shuster, one by Ana Marie Cox, and more. My guest commentary at BuzzFlash is here.
Lt. Col. Barry Wingard is a military attorney who represents Fayiz Al-Kandari in the Military Commission process and in no way represents the opinions of his home state. When not on active duty, Colonel Wingard is a public defender in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
If you are inclined to help rectify these injustices: Twitterers, use the hashtag #FreeFayiz. We have organized a team to get these stories out. If you are interested in helping Fayiz out, e-mail me at The Political Carnival, address in sidebar to the right; or tweet me at @GottaLaff.
If you'd like to see other ways you can take action, go here and scroll down to the end of the article.
Then read Jane Mayer's book The Dark Side. You'll have a much greater understanding of why I post endlessly about this, and why I'm all over the CIA deception issues, too.
More of Fayiz's story here, at Answers.com.By GottaLaff
A phony new email chain letter — one of the antiquated viral sort leftover from the AOL era — is claiming that the case against President Barack Obama’s citizenship has reached the Supreme Court, based on a forged and typo-riddled Associated Press “report.”If it's anything like this e-mail, then the typos are the norm rather than the exception.
There's more, including the full text of the e-mail. Go here for teh birther stupid in all its entirety and glory.The message claims that college records of Obama’s from Occidental (under the name Barry Soetoro) prove he was receiving aid as a foreign student from Indonesia. But there’s one problem: the “AP” can’t seem to figure out where to put periods, commas or capitalization. Well, maybe there’s more than one problem.
“Justice Antonin Scalia announced that the Supreme Court agreed on Tuesday to hear arguments concerning Obama’s legal eligibility to serve as President in a case brought by Leo Donofrio of New Jersey,” the report’s third paragraph begins. Talk about burying the lede. There is also the completely unsubstantiated claim that “Obama has spent upwards of $950,000 in campaign funds in the past year with eleven law firms in 12 states for legal resources to block disclosure of any of his personal records.”
By GottaLaff
By GottaLaff
Think Progress has a whole lot more, but that's the gist of it.Contradicting Rove and Rumsfeld, the historians blame the Iraq war for the lack of resources in Afghanistan, as well as top Bush officials and the president himself:
The historians also note that, as was the case in Iraq, Bush officials had neglected to properly plan for what to do after the government fell.The historians say resistance to providing more robust resources to Afghanistan had three sources in the White House and the Pentagon.
First, President George W. Bush and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld had criticized using the military for peacekeeping and reconstruction in the Balkans during the 1990s. As a result, “nation building” carried a derogatory connotation for many senior military officials, even though American forces were being asked to fill gaping voids in the Afghan government after the Taliban’s fall. [...]
Third, the invasion of Iraq was siphoning away resources. After the invasion started in March 2003, the history says, the United States clearly “had a very limited ability to increase its forces” in Afghanistan.
By GottaLaff
If Janet Napolitano should be fired for her role in the Christmas bombing plot, George W. Bush should have been impeached for being warned about planes flying into buildings in New York and ignoring those warnings, and Dick Cheney should have been impeached for his role in the CIA leak case and prosecuted for his role surrounding torture.That cannot be be stated often or more strongly enough.
[...] Napolitano could have handled this better, but the consequences of her mistakes are nothing compared to the consequences of mistakes by Bush, Cheney, Alberto Gonzales and many others.BushCo could have puffed themselves up, donned their codpieces, and strutted around spewing their fear mongering and threats for another decade, but that wouldn't have compensated for the thousands who died on their watch. They didn't follow through, people were killed, and yet they boast like 8-year-olds about "keeping America safe".
Right now the thought of shave ice makes me want to scream. We're going to hit a high of about 17 degrees today.
The blame game will only backfire if the D's find some cojones and start getting in front of these memes. Send Eric Massa, Joe Sestak and Alan Grayson on a media blitz and go from there. Via Taegan-
Mike Allen notes that the GOP is blaming the Obama administration for the failed Christmas Day airplane attack. "But Republican lawmakers, candidates, pundits and commentators -- and the Bush administration -- blamed the CLINTON administration for 9/11."
Flashback to September 2006, Secretary of State Rice told the New York Post editorial board: "Nobody organized this country or the international community to fight the terrorist threat that was upon us until 9/11... We just weren't organized as a country either domestically or as a leader internationally. But what we did in the eight months was at least as aggressive as what the Clinton Administration did in the preceding years... We were not left a comprehensive strategy to fight al Qaeda."
That logic would mean the Bush administration is also culpable for the intelligence failures discovered over the last week.
The vid says it all.
Official price of vodka goes up in Russia
Farmer shows his love through manure
Pictured: The amazing wall of ice that makes Britain look more like Narnia
Irish atheists use Bjork, Mark Twain to challenge blasphemy law
Sleepy teens may be more prone to depression, study says
Celebration of emancipation proclamation remembers history
By GottaLaff
Alaskans getting fatter at an alarming rateREPORT: Two-thirds of adults in the state have weight problems.Is this a result of staying indoors a lot? Seriously, that is an extremely high number. The related health issues are nothing to sneeze at...
By GottaLaff
Rep. Jeremiah Haraldson (R-AL) was the only member of Congress to be killed and eaten by wild animals.Go here for more trivia, but IMHO, that one was the best ever.
After Haralson’s final bid for Congress, he lived in Louisiana and Arkansas before returning to Selma, Alabama, in 1912. Haralson later wandered through Texas and Oklahoma, finally settling in Colorado, where he became a coal miner. In 1916, he was killed by a wild animal while hunting near Denver. No death certificate was ever filed.34R.I.P.
By GottaLaff
Since it's a relatively slow news day, I thought I'd post a few snaps that I took in San Francisco, and on the drive home.
I don't take typical photos of typical things, as you can see. I hope you like 'em. We had a fantastic time:
By GottaLaff
Media giant News Corp. has struck a new deal that will keep its Fox-owned television stations -- including KTTV Channel 11 and KCOP-TV Channel 13 in Los Angeles -- and several of its cable networks on Time Warner Cable systems.
The agreement was reached late Friday afternoon well after the current contract between the two companies expired at midnight Thursday. Both sides initially agreed to a three-hour extension after midnight hit the East Coast, and then they just kept on extending.
More soon at: http://www.latimes.com/
Oh good, because I'd hate it if Rupert and co. lost one cent. That would break him. He'd never survive, poor thing.
By GottaLaff
Walter Shapiro: "For all the campaign talk of transparency, the Obama White House is, at best, translucent and often opaque. An unheralded but politically significant accomplishment is Obama's success in imposing Republican-style loose-lips-sink-ships discipline on normally garrulous Democrats. Sure there have been press leaks... But for the most part, Obama is either presiding over the most boring White House in human history or else he has been adroit in keeping internal doubts and divisions out of the headlines."So what are we missing?
"Nothing will remain hidden forever -- if the publishing industry has anything to say about it... For the moment, though, this is still a White House shrouded in bubble wrap. Even though Obama dominates the TV screens and news headlines, there are surprising gaps in our knowledge of his 11-month presidency."
Shapiro served in the Carter administration as a presidential speechwriter (1979) and as press secretary (1977-78) to Secretary of Labor Ray Marshall. In 1972, as a graduate student at the University of Michigan, Shapiro sought the Democratic nomination for a U.S. House seat and finished second in a six-way primary. Since 1979, his only partisan activity has been voting.
By GottaLaff
Aren't screen grabs fun? They do all kinds of things, like, well, documenting items that disappear from news reports:
Radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh said he's fine and leaving the hospital with plans to return to work on Wednesday. The combative conservative said tests show nothing wrong after he was hospitalized with chest pains.And by "no plans for a news conference from the hospital or Limbaugh on Thursday", they must have meant Friday was a go.
He remained at a hospital in Hawaii Thursday night, a day after being admitted for chest pains.
According to his radio program, Limbaugh underwent a complete examination on Thursday that gave doctors more information about his condition. [...]
Doctors said there were no plans for a news conference from the hospital or Limbaugh on Thursday. [...]
Citing privacy issues, doctors at Queens Medical Center won't talk specifically about Limbaugh's conditions.
A 911 call was made from the Kahala Hotel and Resort Wednesday afternoon and paramedics responded at 2:42 p.m. Hawaiian Time - 7:42 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. A source tells KITV:According to rawls, who tipped me to this, the painkiller story was "whitewashed except on Google. The lawyers may have attacked."
Limbaugh was sitting in a chair in his ninth-floor hotel room at the Kahala when emergency crews arrived... He told medical crews that he was taking medication for a back problem. [...]
The conservative radio host, who is in Hawaii the same time as powerful left wingers Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi, hadn't, to the public's knowledge, been hospitalized since 2003, when he underwent treatment for an addiction to painkillers. His chronic back problems were reportedly at the root of the addiction.
By GottaLaff
Limbaugh was going to sit but will now stand at podiumI guess he realized a chair couldn't hold him and his enormous, oozing spillover.
Limbaugh will make statement but does not plan to take questionsAnswering questions under pressure might, you know, give him a heart attack.
It's been a humbling experience. I never had a heart attack... pain like nothing I'd ever experienced before. I called security staff, underwent extensive tests. Pain gone in half hour. Had angiogram, they found nothing.
It was a blessing. No arterial, coronary disease whatsoever. Stayed for observation. Don't know what caused the pain. I'm almost 59. Don't mess with it, any time you have chest pain, turn it over to professionals [Laffy Note: Yeah, if you have insurance coverage].
I don't think there's one thing wrong with the health care system. I got nothing special, no special treatment. The care was confidence inspiring... extensive, comfortable. The treatment I received here was the best. The nurses, aides have made this stay almost like a hotel.
I wish I knew what it was. Maybe a spasm in an artery. It's a blessing in disguise that it happened, because it might prepare you for the eventuality that you are getting older, not as invincible.
Thank you for accepting no questions, because you'd ask questions I don't want to answer in this setting... political. I'm thankful to be an American having this thing happen to me.
By GottaLaff
Minnesota State Senate candidate Mike Parry removed more than 43 racist and homophobic tweets from his Twitter feed after progressives began researching and responding to him.
By GottaLaff
Former Vice President Al Gore, citing tobacco industry campaigns of years past, told CBS that disinformation from industrial polluters has made achieving political agreement on climate change more difficult.People pollute. Industries pollute. And now their words pollute.
“Some of the largest carbon polluters have been vigorous and try to convince people — as the tobacco industry did years ago on the link between smoking cigarettes and lung disease — that there really isn’t a link between global warming pollution and global warming,” Gore said in an interview broadcast Thursday on CBS’s “The Early Show.”
By GottaLaff
At midnight, New Hampshire became the fifth state to allow same-sex couples to marry, joining Connecticut, Vermont, Massachusetts and Iowa.I love bringing good news for a change. And this is very good news.
By GottaLaff
As is traditional, our first wish is for even more wishes to come true. We also wish for:One of my fervent wishes is for more truth and less sensationalism/propaganda on the Tee Vee Machine. In other words, real news reporting that educates the public in order to nourish democracy. No more dumbing down, no more tabloid infotainment.
* Global warming deniers to have a banner year as the Arctic ice pack returns to its normal size. Unfortunately, we're not holding our breath on this one.
* The U.S. Senate to pass a climate bill that puts a price on carbon emissions, a critical step in preventing a catastrophic rise in global temperatures. [...]
* Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform. (Another hardy perennial.) [...]
* A better response from banks to the relentless rise in mortgage defaults. Although the nature of the problem has shifted from poorly underwritten loans to high unemployment, the result hasn't changed: Too many homes are going into foreclosure. [...]
* Congress to close the "gun-show loophole," which allows sales of used guns without federal background checks. [...]
* The closure of the detention center at Guantanamo Bay.
* An end to "don't ask, don't tell." [...]
* A unanimous decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to enter the 20th century (that's right) and allow its arguments to be televised.
* Erstwhile Vice President Dick Cheney to return to a secure, remote location.
* Advancements in battery technology that would make electric cars a viable alternative to the internal combustion engine. [...]
* A reality show in which contestants compete to expand their knowledge rather than reduce their waistlines. Call it "The Biggest Reader." [...]
* Passage of a comprehensive healthcare reform bill that slows the increase in costs, sharply reduces the number of uninsured and improves the quality of care. [...]
* A spike in newspaper circulation.
By GottaLaff
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq expressed its disappointment on Friday with a U.S. federal court ruling that threw out all charges against five Blackwater Worldwide security guards accused of gunning down Iraqi civilians in 2007.New Years resolution: Cut Blackwater off. Xe ya later.
Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said the five men had committed a "serious crime" in the September 2007 shooting in Baghdad, which strained U.S.-Iraqi relations and became a symbol for many Iraqis of foreign disregard for local life.
Dabbagh said Iraq may sue the private security company, now known as Xe Services.
Wow. That's almost unbelievable. Now if we could only say the same about civilian deaths in Iraq.
BAGHDAD (AP) — December was the first month since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq nearly seven years ago in which no U.S. forces died in combat in the country.
Gen. Ray Odierno called it a significant milestone and said it speaks to how the violence in Iraq has diminished. Odierno is the commanding general in Iraq.
There were three U.S. troops who died in December as a result of non-combat related incidents.
According to an Associated Press count, 149 U.S. troops died in Iraq in 2009. That includes combat-related deaths and those not related to fighting.
That's the lowest number of U.S. deaths for a year since the Iraq war began in 2003.
From the Globe and Mail no less.
If Barack Obama ever gets tired of being President, he might have a future in the investing game.
In March, as share prices plumbed new lows and the economic malaise seemed impossible to shake, Mr. Obama was one of the few to call the bottom for the stock markets. At those levels, with U.S. stocks down by half from their 2007 peak, he said that “buying stocks is a potentially good deal if you've got a long-term perspective on it.”
About the only thing the forecaster-in-chief got wrong was the time frame. Nine months later, stocks have staged a recovery that is nothing short of incredible. Around the world almost every major market finished the year up about 20 per cent or more – much more in the case of Brazil, at 83 per cent.
(snip)
Anyone who took Mr. Obama's advice to buy in March had a very good year indeed. However, many investors had trouble ginning up the nerve to dive back into the markets after their punishing fall.
I knew you were concerned, plus these headlines made me giggle.
Conservative diet suggested for Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh felt pains similar* to heart attack
*You'd need a heart to have a heart attack.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Slow start to the day here, hope all of you are feeling okay.
Convenience stores linked to child obesity
Hawaii first in nation to require home solar water heaters
Lucky New Year's foods also healthy
New York Times: C.I.A. Takes On Expanded Role on Front Lines The deaths of seven Central Intelligence Agency operatives at a remote base in the mountains of Afghanistan are a pointed example of the civilian spy agency’s transformation in recent years into a paramilitary organization at the vanguard of America’s far-flung wars.
California police building rigged to explode
Gay Couples Start 2010 With N.H. Weddings
Detroit, LA on list of 'Cities You Hate'
Daily Telegraph: New Mexico town to host world's first spaceport Fifty years after a small desert town in southern New Mexico put itself on the map by re-naming itself after a quiz show, the inhabitants of this remote corner of America and neighbouring townships are pinning their hopes on an even more radical transformation.
By GottaLaff
I can't believe it. In only a few hours, it will be an election year. Hang onto your hats!
Meanwhile, I took a shine to this sparkly, clocky, balloony New Years gif:
By GottaLaff
Gryphen has the whole story behind this appalling photo. Please go read, and bring your Pepto with you:
And just to give the people who support this kind of thing a little reality check. Barack Obama is our president, while Sarah Palin is a woman who quit her job, wrote a book full of lies, and is so terrified of me that she had me banned from a public event.These disgusting, doctored photos never fail to turn my stomach and make me wonder how the cretins who find them so amusing became so pathetically racist. Why were they taught to be that way? Why couldn't they evolve... just a little?
By GottaLaff
This is what a schmuckola looks like:
Eddie Burke, the local radio hatemonger on KBYR 700-am and Sarah Palin’s golden boy had his show chopped by an hour, and his time slot moved.A whole hour? Pity.
By GottaLaff
Gotcha:
Aww, someone had to answer actual questions from an actual Tee Vee Machine questioner with actual Tee Vee Machine questions? Unheard of!
Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) does his first CNN interview expecting to discuss terrorism but gets grilled on his sex scandal instead. It's must-watch video."Sir, that's an illegality." Why, it most certainly is.
By GottaLaff
Via a Yahoo e-mail alert:
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) North Korea calls for an end of hostile relations with the U.S. in New Year's message.\I hope 2010 is better than 2009 in many ways. In some ways, it was wonderful, but this news is more than welcome.
By GottaLaff
WASHINGTON (AP) Judge dismisses all charges against Blackwater guards in deadly Baghdad shooting.More when I get it. Meantime, Cable Guy is here, and I'll be offline for a few, so this is all I can post on this for now.
A federal judge has dismissed all charges against five Blackwater Worldwide security guards charged in a deadly Baghdad shooting in 2007.
U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina said today the Justice Department overstepped its bounds and wrongly used evidence it was not allowed to see. He said the government's explanations have been contradictory, unbelievable and not credible.
Blackwater contractors were hired to guard State Department diplomats in Iraq. Prosecutors say the guards fired on unarmed civilians in a busy intersection, killing innocent people.
More soon at: http://www.latimes.com/
UPDATE: Here is the document dismissing Blackwater. This should go over well with already-angry-at-America types.
By GottaLaff
(GoogleEarth)
FOB Chapman is also home to Khost's Provincial Reconstruction Team
The Associated Press has learned that the suicide bomber who killed seven CIA employees at a remote outpost in southeastern Afghanistan had been invited onto the base and was not searched.A former senior intelligence official says the man was being courted as an informant and that it was the first time he had been brought inside the camp.
By GottaLaff
By GottaLaff
To the men and women of the CIA:I write to mark a sad occasion in the history of the CIA and our country. Yesterday, seven Americans in Afghanistan gave their lives in service to their country. Michelle and I have their families, friends and colleagues in our thoughts and prayers.
These brave Americans were part of a long line of patriots who have made great sacrifices for their fellow citizens, and for our way of life. The United States would not be able to maintain the freedom and security that we cherish without decades of service from the dedicated men and women of the CIA. You have helped us understand the world as it is, and taken great risks to protect our country. You have served in the shadows, and your sacrifices have sometimes been unknown to your fellow citizens, your friends, and even your families.
In recent years, the CIA has been tested as never before. Since our country was attacked on September 11, 2001, you have served on the frontlines in directly confronting the dangers of the 21st century. Because of your service, plots have been disrupted, American lives have been saved, and our Allies and partners have been more secure. Your triumphs and even your names may be unknown to your fellow Americans, but your service is deeply appreciated. Indeed, I know firsthand the excellent quality of your work because I rely on it every day.
The men and women who gave their lives in Afghanistan did their duty with courage, honor and excellence, and we must draw strength from the example of their sacrifice. They will take their place on the Memorial Wall at Langley alongside so many other heroes who gave their lives on behalf of their country. And they will live on in the hearts of those who loved them, and in the freedom that they gave their lives to defend.
May God bless the memory of those we lost, and may God bless the United States of America.
President Barack Obama
By GottaLaff
Oh how I love it when Babzter fowards me these e-mails. They bring a smile to my face, warmth to my heart, and evil laughter from deep within:
Thank the lordy that Bill is "monitering" this story! For a minute there, I thought nobody cared.A message to all members of Team Sarah
Team,
I come to you this evening with serious news about a great American who needs our prayers.
Rush Limbaigh, champion of values such as life, liberty, and the free market, was rushed to the hospital in Hawaii this evening and, according to reports, may be in "serious" condition.
Appranetly, pramedics were called when Rush complained of chest pains and he has been taken to an area hospital.
Members of Team Sarah in the Rush Limbaugh Fans for Sarah Group are following this and you can visit their group to learn more or to offer your own thoughts.
May God be with Ruish Limbaugh and his friends and family, and at this critical hour when voices such as his are refreshing and badly needed, may God be with his fans and the nation.
May Rush recover quickly,
Bill Collier
Team sarah Governace
PS we will be monitering this story and will, hopefully, be sending you and update when we learn that Rush is recovering.
By GottaLaff
Many of you may wonder why I chose to use the “ 72 year old friend” as the introduction to my Special Comments. I selected the moniker so readers could see that from my age and life experiences I give a different perspective to the issues of today.Now for his Special Comment:
Time and time again the Republicans have proven they care more about party ideology than working with President Obama and the Democrats for what's best for the American people.Many thanks again for another interesting, relevant piece, 42bkdodgr. You never fail to say what so many of us are thinking and feeling, and we thank you for your unique perspective.
We have seen this behavior in their delaying for almost a month, the extension of unemployment insurance, dearly needed by many Americans, before they all voted in favor; and we also saw it during the debate on health care reform in both houses of Congress.
Now we are seeing it again with Republicans trying to make political hay out of the attempted Christmas Day bombing of a U.S. airliner. Instead of working with and standing by the President, they are sniping at him.
One can only imagine how the Republicans would have acted on September 11, 2001 if any Democrat had acted like Rep. Peter Hoekstra did in using the incident of Christmas day as the basis for sending out a fund raising letter. They would have been called unpatriotic.
Then there is Senator DeMint who is holding up Senate approval of Erroll Southers to head the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Agency. The reason given by DeMint is that Mr. Southers might unionize the TSA agents.
So for DeMint, it seems unions are a greater terrorist threat than Al-Qaeda terrorists. One can only shake ones head at this logic. What is even scarier, Senator DeMint is still saying he is doing the right thing, but now he is saying the Democrats are trying to rush the nominee vote; even though its been over 3 months since Obama nominated Southers for the position.
Republicans and Dick Cheney keep saying that Obama is not aggressively fighting terrorists to protect the country. I guess they don’t consider U.S. aided attacks in Yemen, on December 24th and another one the previous week, against Al-Qaeda and possibly killing two of its leaders, as not being aggressive enough.
Dick Cheney and the Republicans seem to forget President Bush let bin Laden escape from Afghanistan while his administration prepared for an unnecessary war with Iraq, based on lies and misinformation.
Not only was the war unnecessary but it help recruit more terrorists for Al-Qaeda around the world.
From the Republican outcry, I can only assume they prefer a President who uses color coded alerts before holidays and elections, that scare and frighten the American public, for political advantage in order to make it appear his administration is on top of terrorists' activities.
I certainly don’t want a president to act in such a manner; but if President Obama had used such tactics, I can assure you that Republicans would have found fault with him anyway. What we don’t need at this time are fear tactics, but some sane reasoning to resolve the difficult problem of travel security for American citizens and how to protect this country against future terrorist attacks.
Its time for the Republican Party to act as true patriots, that they always claim to be, and work with President Obama to ensure our country and all Americans around the world are safe from terrorist attacks.
By GottaLaff
A week after U.S. and Yemeni officials said the radical Yemen cleric Anwar Awlaki may have been killed in a U.S.-backed Christmas eve air strike, a Yemeni journalist says Awlaki has surfaced to proclaim, "I'm alive."We need better aim.
By GottaLaff
Evangelical pastor Rick Warren appealed to parishioners at his Orange County megachurch Wednesday to help fill a $900,000 deficit by the first of the year.[...] "Dear Saddleback Family, THIS IS AN URGENT LETTER."
"With 10 percent of our church family out of work due to the recession, our expenses in caring for our community in 2009 rose dramatically while our income stagnated," the letter reads.
"Stagnation". What a perfect word to associate with Rev Ricky.
"On the last weekend of 2009, our total offerings were less than half of what we normally receive - leaving us $900,000 in the red for the year," the letter reads.I guess the invisible man upstairs didn't feel someone who doesn't love some of his fellow men as much as others was worth it.
By GottaLaff
I was going to make a list of Best and Worst Lists of the Decade's Top 10 Lists, but thought the better of it.That was today's Shallow Thought. Thank you for wading in.
Via Politico, but this list seems pretty comprehensive.
Obama gets sworn in — twice
Sarah Palin resigns
Sheila Jackson-Lee addresses Michael Jackson's funeral
Patti Blagojevich teams up with Heidi and Spencer on reality TV
The White House beer summit
Sanford confesses — and confesses, and confesses
Tom DeLay goes on "Dancing With the Stars"
Bloomberg, Gingrich and Sharpton team up
Who's the leader of the GOP?
Doug Hoffman says ACORN stole his election
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