The Life of a Teenage Liberal...

Cheney Shoots a 78 year old man.

2006-02-12T15:37:00.000-06:00

The Rag

2006-02-12T09:46:00.000-06:00

Shades of the 1960's, some high school students in Florida have started an underground paper to tweak the nose of their school system and some of their follies. In this day and age, though, it's a blog called The Rag, a throwback to the good old days of student unrest.
A QUICK ANNOUNCEMENT...
HEY SCHOOL OFFICIALS, THE RAG CAN'T BE BOUGHT, BLACKMAILED OR FOOLED, GOOD LUCK AND ENJOY STALKING STUDENTS AND SEARCHING YOUR COMPUTERS.
The publishers of The Rag have been threatened with disciplinary action and suspension, although I'm not sure on what grounds the school system has for making their case. Perhaps the ACLU would have something to say about it.

It takes me back to the time when I was in high school and a few friends tried to start an underground paper at my school in 1969. It was called The Clenched Foot and they ran it off on a mimeograph. It was supposed to take satirical swipes at our school and teachers, but much to our chagrin, the administrators loved it. It folded after two issues. Better luck to these guys.

Awesome. All I have to say. But look at more via Wikipedia.

ALITO MUST BE FILLIBUSTERED!

2006-01-30T08:14:00.000-06:00

Fellow Floridians: Call Senator Bill Nelson and tell him to filibuster Alito!

But, Quick Go To Main Street USA
And Via Out In Left Field, The Info Below ;)
*****************************************
Below are numbers for the various offices. However, many of the voicemails are full, so use other numbers, fax, and e-mail. Please do this no matter where you live in the U.S. (And no, you don't need to lie about where you live. If they ask, be honest. If they don't, fine.) Also included in the list: people on the fence or people that we need to work on, indicated by various offices. Robert Byrd already said he would vote in support of Alito. Some offices have given out these names. We need them. If they don't want to vote "No" on cloture, ask them to "Abstain". Don't vote at all - stay home.

Here we go: Senators You Can Contact:

* (Reports are Mary may vote for cloture!!!): Mary Landrieu (D-LA) - PHONE: (202) 224-5824 . FAX: (202) 224-9735 OR New Orleans FAX: (504) 589-4023 . OFFICES: http://landrieu.senate.gov/services/offices.cfm WEB FORM: http://landrieu.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm

* Kent Conrad (D-ND) - PHONE: (202) 224-2043 . He has indicated he may even vote YES on Alito! NO! At the very least, do not vote at all, Conrad! OTHER OFFICES: http://www.senate.gov/~conrad/contact.html WEB FORM: http://www.senate.gov/~conrad/webform.html

* Tom Harkin (D-IA) - PHONE: (202) 224-3254, FAX: (202) 224-9369, http://harkin.senate.gov/contact/contact.cfm District Offices: Des Moines - (515) 284-4574, Cedar Rapids - (319) 365-4504, Davenport - (563) 322-1338, Dubuque - (563) 582-2130, Sioux City - (712) 252-1550 .

* Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) - PHONE: (410) 962-4510 and FAX: (410) 962-4760 for the Baltimore office, PHONE LINES: 410-263-1805, 410-269-1650 and FAX: 410-263-5949 for the Annapolis office. PHONE: 202-224-4654 and FAX: 202-224-8858 for the D.C. office.

* Ken Salazar (D-CO) PHONE: 1-888-355-3588 press 2, or (202) 224-5852 . FAX: (202) 228-5036 OR FAX: Denver, CO (303) 455-8851 .

* Maria Cantwell (D-WA) - PHONE: (202) 224-3441 . OFFICE LOCATIONS AND NUMBERS: http://cantwell.senate.gov/contact/office_locations.cfm WEB FORM: http://cantwell.senate.gov/contact/

* Mark Pryor (D-AR) - PHONE: (202) 224-2353

* Mark Dayton (D-MN) - PHONE: (888) 224-9043 . (He will vote no. But he's unsure about a filibuster.)

* Evan Bayh (D-IN) - PHONE: (202) 224-5623

* Ben Nelson (D-NE) - PHONE: (202) 224-6551 or FAX: (202) 228-0012. Ben Nelson originally stated that he would vote Yes for Alito. His office even stands by it. But they are taking a tally of people supporting the filibuster. So call.OTHER NUMBERS: Omaha - PHONE: (402) 391-3411, FAX: (402) 391-4725. Lincoln - PHONE: (402) 441-4600, FAX: (402) 476-8753. Chadron - PHONE: (308) 430-0587. Scottsbluff: (308) 631-7614 . WEB FORM: http://bennelson.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm

* Bill Nelson (D-FL) - PHONE: (202) 224-5274 . Bill Nelson says that he is not getting enough calls from his constituency. Even if you don't live there, call. The Republicans are calling him continously to ask him to oppose a filibuster. OTHER OFFICE NUMBERS AND FAX NUMBERS: http://billnelson.senate.gov/contact/offices.cfm WEB FORM: http://billnelson.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm

* Robert Byrd (D-WV) - PHONE: (202) 224-3954 or (304) 343-7144 or (304) 342-5855, OR FAX: (202) 228-0002 OR FAX CHARLESTON, WV OFFICE: (304) 343-7144. http://byrd.senate.gov/byrd_email.html

* Daniel Akaka (D-HI) - RECONSIDER PLEASE! 1-888-355-3588 ask for Akaka. OTHER OFFICES: http://akaka.senate.gov/offices-b.html E-MAIL ADDRESS: senator@akaka.senate.gov

* Joe Lieberman (D-CT) - PHONE: (800) 225-5605 OR FAX (860) 549-8478 . WEB FORM: http://lieberman.senate.gov/contact/

* Lincoln Chafee (R-RI) - PHONE: (202) 224-2921 . WEB FORM: http://chafee.senate.gov/webform.htm

* Joe Biden (D-DE) - PHONE: (202) 224-5042 . E-MAIL FORM: http://biden.senate.gov/contact/emailjoe.cfm

* Frank Lautenburg (D-NJ) - PHONE: (202) 224-3224 http://lautenberg.senate.gov/webform.html

* Robert Menendez (D-NJ) - PHONE: (202) 224-4744

* Tim Johnson (D-SD) - PHONE: (202) 224-5842

* Barack Obama (D-IL) - PHONE: (202) 224-2854 . FAX: (202) 228-4260 . PHONE (SPRINGFIELD, IL): (217) 492-5089, FAX (SPRINGFIELD, IL): (217) 492-5099 . EMAIL FORM: http://obama.senate.gov/contact/contact.cfm?cat=legal

* Olympia Snowe (R-ME) - PHONE: (202) 224-5344 · Toll Free in Maine: (800) 432-1599 · Fax: (202) 224-1946 OR FAX BANGOR, MAINE OFFICE: (207) 941-9525 .

* Susan Collins (R-ME) - PHONE: (202) 224-2693 OR FAX (202) 224-2693 . FAX: (202) 224-2693 or FAX BANGOR, MAINE OFFICE: (207) 990-4604 .

* Byron L. Dorgan (D-ND) - PHONE: 202-224-2551

* Republican Lamar Alexander (R-TN) - Not likely, but he's a moderate. Try? PHONE: (202) 224-4944

Guess What Tomorrow Is?

2006-01-23T16:11:00.000-06:00

MY SIXTEENTH BIRTHDAY! ! !

Out...

2006-01-20T17:36:00.000-06:00

...Partying
Need I Say More?

Comment If You Think You It's Cool...

What? Gore with his Balls?

2006-01-16T14:56:00.000-06:00

Yeah I couldn't believe it either. But Gore was stickin' it to the man! And it's excellent.

In an address delivered in Washington to multiple standing ovations, Vice President Al Gore repeatedly attacked the Bush Administration for the expansion of executive power -- the ability of the government to wiretap its own citizens without legal authority and kidnap Americans abroad.

His speech -- which compares the wiretapping of Martin Luther King to the broad surveillance now imposed on Americans by President Bush -- called on Congress to resume its oversight responsibilities, and enjoined Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to appoint a special prosecutor. Gore was to be introduced by former Rep. Bob Barr, a Georgia Republican who has advocated for the constitutional right to privacy.

Well, Here's a snippet :

...The President and I agree on one thing. The threat from terrorism is all too real. There is simply no question that we continue to face new challenges in the wake of the attack on September 11th and that we must be ever-vigilant in protecting our citizens from harm.

Where we disagree is that we have to break the law or sacrifice our system of government to protect Americans from terrorism. In fact, doing so makes us weaker and more vulnerable.

Once violated, the rule of law is in danger. Unless stopped, lawlessness grows. The greater the power of the executive grows, the more difficult it becomes for the other branches to perform their constitutional roles. As the executive acts outside its constitutionally prescribed role and is able to control access to information that would expose its actions, it becomes increasingly difficult for the other branches to police it. Once that ability is lost, democracy itself is threatened and we become a government of men and not laws...

A Day of Remembrance...

2006-01-16T11:49:00.000-06:00

“Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear-drenched communities, and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty.” Martin Luther King Jr. - April 16, 1963

MLK DAY

2006-01-16T00:04:00.000-06:00

Sunday Papers

2006-01-15T10:49:00.000-06:00

Florida Sunday Papers via FLA Poltics

Way To Go Bobby!

2006-01-14T15:28:00.000-06:00

Wow, check out Bobby's yell to Democrats to wake up, Republicans will not be fair! Here's what he says :

The big mistake the Democrats and progressives have made since the days of Richard Nixon is that they expect their opponents to play fair; to grant them the same courtesies and level playing field in their ideological battles for the hearts and minds of the American people. But they are always caught off-guard, like Charlie Brown and the football; they never learn that the Republicans play politics like guerrilla warfare; they never play fair. They lie, cheat, and steal and brag about it because they know they can and they never, ever break ranks unless it directly effects them or their political standing. This is not news, this is a fact of life. Oh, sure, there may be an honorable or ethical Republican out there -- I know several -- but when a party leads by cultivating the culture of victimhood and paranoia that has marked the last eleven years in the Congress and five years in the White House, they can justify their actions with a straight face and make even the desecration of the Bill of Rights a necessary bit of collateral damage in order to preserve their hold on political power. They sold their souls to win and they will not give it up without a fight to the death using every tool and shill at their disposal.

Awesome, Awesome.

Florida Kid Shot by SWAT Team, and Died.

2006-01-14T15:12:00.000-06:00

I have to say this is probably the saddest story I have heard yet.
In case you didn't know, a Florida eighth grader brought a pellet gun to school, that looked like a semi-automatic handgun. Well he reportedly pointed a gun at a deputy, and the chase began.
Officials stated that they tried to negoiate with him, but to no avail.
So they "took him out" and the story broke a few minutes ago that he had died.

But I'm Curious, how hard did they try to negotiate, I mean he's in Middle School, how hard is it to trick an eighth grader? Who all did they bring in to negoiate, a local police officer? Or did they bring a child psychologist? When an obviously troubled kid risks, not only his own life, but the lives of other students and teachers, It's a big deal. And I heard nothing about who tried to negotiate with him. And isn't it about 9 times out of 10, that students like this one, tell somebody that they are bringing a gun to school? And it's the SWAT team, trained professionals, isn't there some way to tell the difference between a semi-automatic handgun, and a pellet-gun look-a-like?

Just curious...

Alito Hearings 2!

2006-01-11T16:35:00.000-06:00

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) is now apologizing for calling him "Scaltio" yesterday...
Yeah, isn't that strange? I wonder why in the world he would say that? Slip of the tounge?

He's now almost flaunting Alito, "What about Brown v. Topeka?"
Come On! Who in their *^@!#$ right minds would actually say, "Over-turn it."

Jesus Christ, Man?!?!

Alito Hearings...

2006-01-11T16:20:00.000-06:00

Watching it on CSPAN Baby, and Schumer's aking some mighty-fine questions.
Tried to watch it yesterday in class, but as soon as Kennedy started tearin' him a new one, my teacher changed it!
But fight the good fight Schumer, fight the good fight ;)

Oh, Monday, Monday...

2006-01-09T15:47:00.000-06:00

Monday, monday (ba-da ba-da-da-da)

So good to me (ba-da ba-da-da-da)

Monday mornin', it was all I hoped it would be...

(If you can't tell I'm really hyper and enjoying The Mamas and The Papas at the same time, Good Combo? Decide For Yourself...)

Blog Break

2006-01-08T12:28:00.000-06:00

Gonna Take A Blog Break Today To Spend Time With The 'Rents.
Have an Awesome Sunday Y'all ;)

Holy...

2006-01-07T15:52:00.000-06:00

Crap.
John from AMERICAblog has the story:

In a nutshell, the Chicago Sun-Times ran a story two days ago about a Web site that sells phone records, for cells and land-lines, for $110 a pop. The company boasts on its own Web site:

Give us the cell phone number and we will send you the calls made from the cell phone number.

So I went to their site, plopped down $110, and within a day I had a list of every single phone number that called my cell, or that I called from my cell, for the month of November. I even had the dates the calls were made, and for a premium I could find out how long the calls were.

WOW. Someone's Ass is Grass...

DeLay Gives Up!

2006-01-07T15:41:00.000-06:00

From CNN

-- Embattled U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay will not attempt to regain his post as House majority leader, DeLay spokesman says.

Wow, what would make him do that?
Ya, Know other than the fact that he commited an illegal act.

Possibly the fact that the Republicans will suffer a major blow this year at the polls, and at the election booths?

I think it's a little of both...

UGH, Uniforms!

2006-01-06T17:50:00.000-06:00

Ughh, emailing the ACLU, my school board's trying to push the uniform issue, again.
It really pisses me off.
All we students ever hear is the administration saying, "they dress so scanty, look at the holes in the pants, cut your hair, flip-flops?"
If they had it their way, there would be no "disturbing" (a.k.a. non-conforming) articles of clothing, hair, etc.
We'd all be good little suburbian school children, with our stain-free dockers, white polos and snappy polished shoes.
Yeah right, they're sure as hell not going tell me to take off my hole-ridden jeans, flip-flops, John Lennon t-shirt, and they're definitely not going to cut my hair.
Ohh, I can smell my license! The places to drive and buy picket signs, posters, markers, and the people to pick up...
I don't know if the School Board wanted a full-out protest.

But They're Sure As Hell Going To Get One!

Ohh, Mail!

2006-01-06T17:39:00.000-06:00

Oh, Yeah!
Well I was emailed about a post I made on School Vouchers.
To which my "e-mail-ee" wrote and filled 9/10 of the page with quotes.
(Hint: Dude, I can barely sit still long enough to watch t.v. What makes you think I can read 4 pages worth of quotes?)
Oh well, I'm going to get this out there in case anybody else was interested :

"...vouchers are less about 'school reform' or 'school choice' and to me, seem nothing but an attempt to get money away from public schools and into private schools. Instead of trying to fix the mess that is the Public School System."

Any opinions?
Please comment, God knows I haven't seen a comment on a post in forever...

Jon Stewart To Host Oscars!

2006-01-05T16:29:00.000-06:00

Alright! My main man, Jon Stewart, is going to host the Oscars! ! !

The best line from the press release comes, not surprisingly, from Stewart himself.

"'As a performer, I’m truly honored to be hosting the show,' said Stewart. 'Although, as an avid watcher of the Oscars, I can’t help but be a little disappointed with the choice. It appears to be another sad attempt to smoke out Billy Crystal.'"

Find out more here, from the LAtimes.

Pat Roberts Gone Wild 3!

2006-01-05T16:23:00.000-06:00

Well, my old buddy Pat Robertson is at it again, now he's saying God hates Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. From today's 700 Club.

ROBERTSON: I have said last year that Israel was entering into the most dangerous period of its entire existence as a nation. That is intensifying this year with the loss of Sharon. Sharon was personally a very likeable person. I am sad to see him in this condition. But I think we need to look at the Bible and the Book of Joel. The prophet Joel makes it very clear that God has enmity against those who, quote, "divide my land." God considers this land to be his. You read the Bible, he says, "This is my land." And for any prime minister of Israel who decides he going carve it up and give it away, God says, "No. This is mine." And the same thing -- I had a wonderful meeting with Yitzhak Rabin in 1974. He was tragically assassinated, and it was terrible thing that happened, but nevertheless, he was dead. And now Ariel Sharon, who was again a very likeable person, a delightful person to be with. I prayed with him personally. But here he is at the point of death. He was dividing God's land, and I would say woe unto any prime minister of Israel who takes a similar course to appease the EU, the United Nations or United States of America. God said, "This land belongs to me, you better leave it alone."

Florida Supreme Court: Vouchers? Hell No!

2006-01-05T16:18:00.000-06:00

Well, I'm glad this happened, the Supreme Court released an opinion today on Jeb Bush’s Opportunity Scholarship Program and the decision immediately outlaws any further use of taxpayer funds for private or church based schools.

By BILL KACZOR Associated Press Writer

January 05,2006 | TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida Supreme Court struck down a voucher system that allowed some children to attend private schools at taxpayer expense, saying Thursday that it violates the state constitution’s requirement of a uniform system of free public schools.

The 5-2 opinion struck down the Opportunity Scholarship Program, championed by Gov. Jeb Bush, which was the nation’s first statewide system of school vouchers.

Under the 1999 law, students at public schools that earn a failing grade from the state in two out of four years were eligible for vouchers to attend private schools.

Judges had allowed the state to continue the program while the case was on appeal, and about 700 children are attending private or parochial schools through the program.

About 24,000 more attend such schools under more recently created programs, including one for children with disabilities. Thursday’s ruling did not directly affect those programs but could eventually be cited as a precedent.

Chief Justice Barbara Pariente, writing for the majority of the court, said the Opportunity Scholarship Program “diverts public dollars into separate private systems parallel to and in competition with the free public schools,” which are the sole means set out in the state constitution for educating Florida children.

NBC Deleting Transcripts?

2006-01-04T16:35:00.000-06:00

Ooh, this story is good, I'll give you a link to AMERICAblog where they're uncovering more, I wish I didn't already have crap to do.... but anyway here it is:

Well this is getting interesting. NBC just delete two paragraphs from its Andrea Mitchell interview, the paragraphs that talked about whether Bush was wiretapping ace CNN correspondent Christiane Amanpour (kudos to Atrios for spotting this).

Here's what the NBC "official" transcript used to say (I copied this text from NBC's own page only 2 hours ago):
Mitchell: Do you have any information about reporters being swept up in this net?

Risen: No, I don't. It's not clear to me. That's one of the questions we'll have to look into the future. Were there abuses of this program or not? I don't know the answer to that

Mitchell: You don't have any information, for instance, that a very prominent journalist, Christiane Amanpour, might have been eavesdropped upon?

Risen: No, no I hadn't heard that.
Here's what it says now:
Mitchell: Do you have any information about reporters being swept up in this net?

Risen: No, I don't. It's not clear to me. That's one of the questions we'll have to look into the future. Were there abuses of this program or not? I don't know the answer to that

Mitchell: You are very, very tough on the CIA and the administration in general in both the war on terror and the run up to the war and the war itself Â? the post-war operation. Let's talk about the war on terror. Why do you think they missed so many signals and what do you think caused the CIA to have this sort of break down as you describe it?

Risen: I think that, you know, to me, the greater break down was really on Iraq. It's very difficult to have known ahead of time about these 19 hijackers. They were, you know, probably lucky that they got through and they did something that no one really assumed anybody would ever do. And I think that made 9/11 a lot like Pearl Harbor. That even when you see all the clues in front of you that it's very difficult to put it together.
Since when is NBC in the business of deleting entire paragraphs from their official transcripts? What's going on here?

Donate Your Socks!

2006-01-03T13:56:00.000-06:00

(If I was about two-shades less hippie, and actually wore something other than hemp/pleather flipflops, I would donate mine)

If you send Martha Powers, founder of Operation Happy Sock, a bunch of your old socks, she'll organize Girl Scouts or other community childrens' groups to fill them with a bit of catnip and fluffy fiberfill. The children will then deliver the toys to cats at the local animal shelter, where a staff member will educate the children on the importance of spaying and neutering.

Contact Martha at happysock@cox.net to find out how you can donate your socks and bring some comfort to lonely cats.

Christine Quinn Wins Council Speaker

2006-01-03T13:20:00.000-06:00

In what is considered to be the second most powerful position in NYC, Council Speaker Quinn makes history being the first out lesbian to hold the position.
More here at Pam's.