Oh, I can taste the calories right now, sweet meaty sticky non-vegitabily mouth stuffin’ goodness, with plenty of calories in bowls that you can dip into the calories in other bowls before admitting them to the exclusive stomach fiesta inside all of us, the same one saying over and over in a pre-diabetic stupor “more booze…more booze”.
The Seahawks and Steelers are both about to engage in a series of rituals only Don King could truly appreciate. Indeed, an offensive lineman took to the ‘media/party blitz’ so well that he never even played in the game, but I’m sure he’s still alive somewhere, unless of course, he isn’t…on that note, the burning question in my mind is whether or not Pittsburgh will finally get real about Cowher when he loses it yet again. His team is favored going in, and in spite of past post-season failures where his crew went in embarassingly over confident, it’s most likely gone to his head already.
Ben Rothlisberger is the best player he’s got, and with him behind center, they can beat anybody on any given day. That said, Seattle’s rush defense may force him to play like Brady. They stuffed everyone they’ve faced with the front seven, and that’s the basic factor most likely to determine the outcome on Sunday. Is Seattle tough enough to stop the run? In spite of my East Coast locale, the only two things I like about the Steelers are Ward and Ben…their fans deserve nothing less than a crushing defeat, and I expect that will be the outcome.
Posted by Al Swearengen as Words at 5:36 PM UTC
7 Comments »
Looks like our President has his work cut out for him.
Posted by Al Swearengen as Words at 1:07 PM UTC
No Comments »
Russell Batiste Jr, Brian Stoltz, George Porter Jr, Art Neville
The Funky Meters Read the rest of this entry
Posted by Al Swearengen as Words at 8:33 PM UTC
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America has led the way, and the rest of the world is falling in line. Because of our brilliant, resolute, might-makes-right brand of leadership, elections are taking place, and Democracy is finally fixing all of the Middle East’s problems. And to think that for the last few millennia, nobody realized it was just that easy.
More satisfying than the elections taking place though, is knowing how grateful they all are for what we’ve provided them at gunpoint. So grateful in fact, that Palestinians elected Hamas to run their government!
Oh, can you feel the warm glow of Democracy at work? It feels so good. I’ve got to say, our efforts are definitely making a difference in the Middle East, and anyone who says otherwise hates the troops. It’s that simple.
Do you hate the troops? Alright then. Terrorists may be the elected leaders of choice in Palestine, but that’s alright. Who cares anyway? Really…why the head scratching? Do you hate the troops?
FREEDOM IS ON THE MARCH!
Posted by Al Swearengen as Words at 12:55 AM UTC
30 Comments »
I’m overjoyed to announce that our dear friend Right Thinker’s wife has given birth to their first child, a daughter!
Message from Right: Susan Brynne was born 11:21 a.m. PST 6lbs. 14oz. and 20 inches. Working on the photos :- )
Can’t wait to see them!
Posted by Al Swearengen as Words at 12:46 PM UTC
4 Comments »
This picture is Chris playing ‘Nice Guy Eddie’ in Resevoir Dogs, my favorite character of his. ‘Overshaddowed by his brother Sean’ is a line you’ll see in many articles on his death, but those writers don’t know what they’re talking about. Here are a list of my Chris Penn favorites.
At Close Range, All the Right Moves, True Romance, Rumble Fish, The Funeral
Posted by Al Swearengen as Words at 12:16 PM UTC
3 Comments »
This picture is too funny!
Army troops from Fort Riley, Kan., listen to President Bush deliver a speech about the war on terror during the Landon Lecture at Kansas State University Monday, Jan. 23, 2006 in Manhattan, Kan.. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
WASHINGTON – Stretched by frequent troop rotations to Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army has become a “thin green line” that could snap unless relief comes soon, according to a study for the Pentagon.Andrew Krepinevich, a retired Army officer who wrote the report under a Pentagon contract, concluded that the Army cannot sustain the pace of troop deployments to Iraq long enough to break the back of the insurgency. He also suggested that the Pentagon’s decision, announced in December, to begin reducing the force in Iraq this year was driven in part by a realization that the Army was overextended. Read the rest of this entry
Posted by Al Swearengen as Military at 11:50 PM UTC
5 Comments »
If not, you’re missing out!
Posted by Al Swearengen as Words at 1:03 AM UTC
6 Comments »
It’s difficult to tell by the mainstream media’s coverage of his most recent video. I’ve seen Chris Matthews, Tucker Carlson and Pat Buchanan all analyze his latest message by drawing comparisons between his statements and those of Democrats. More than four years since Osama murdered thousands of Americans, the right-leaning paid babblers seem to care less that he’s still making videos at all. To them this guy is no longer a murderer.
Read the rest of this entry
Posted by Al Swearengen as Words at 11:06 PM UTC
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“I pledge allegience, to the flag, of the War Profiteers of America. And to the stock prices, for which it stands, one portifolio, under Armed Conflict, indivisible, with dividends and waterfront property for some.”
Read the rest of this entry
Posted by Al Swearengen as Words at 7:20 PM UTC
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What I hope for is a Super Bowl featuring Denver vs. Seattle. What I think will happen…Denver vs. Carolina, with the Panthers winning it all.
Posted by Al Swearengen as sports at 4:54 PM UTC
10 Comments »
It’s a new site that aims to do with blogs what Ebay did with online auctions. The categories are vast, and the user base is expanding. In the future they intend to compensate users with consumer credits or cash, but the true draw for me is the wide range of users (all age groups, interests, etc.) and the site’s useability. I encourage all of you to check it out!
www.gather.com
Posted by Al Swearengen as Words at 7:21 PM UTC
3 Comments »
Having written this about 6 months ago, I was drawn back to it for some reason. Perhaps it’s the military theme of my writing this past week, but for anyone who hasn’t read it, I feel it’s just as apt today as it was last June. I’m very proud of this one. For the sake of having finally met (all of us I feel) at a point we agree on to a person here at deadissue, I’m bringing this one back for a second run. Read the rest of this entry
Posted by Al Swearengen as Military, Words at 10:26 PM UTC
4 Comments »
By James Webb, a secretary of the Navy in the Reagan administration, was a Marine platoon and company commander in Vietnam.
IT should come as no surprise that an arch-conservative Web site is questioning whether Representative John Murtha, the Pennsylvania Democrat who has been critical of the war in Iraq, deserved the combat awards he received in Vietnam. Read the rest of this entry
Posted by Al Swearengen as Military at 1:37 AM UTC
9 Comments »
I’ve never been coy or remorseful in my feelings on revenge. People who’ve done me wrong often occupy my thoughts when the AM minutes and hours are so slowly ticking away Read the rest of this entry
Posted by Al Swearengen as Religion, Words at 5:28 PM UTC
7 Comments »
Soldiers preparing for deployment to Iraq were told on Friday that the Dragon Skin body armor that some had spent over $4,000 on, could not be used once they touched down in theater. Penalty for using non-issue body armor ‘could’ include forfeiture of the $400,000 life insurance payment their families would be owed if their life ended on the battlefield. These soldiers, along with one of their mothers confirm that the unit’s commander “expressed deep regret” in issuing the order, explaining that he “had no choice because the orders came from very high up”. Having been a US Army soldier myself, when the word ‘very’ is attached to ‘high up’, it’s basically code for ‘some civilian punching a timecard’. Because no man or woman who’d ever been in those soldiers’ shoes at some point would sell out like this.
So why would the Department of Defense shift from a policy of reimbursement up to $1000 for this body armor, to a policy of “if your corpse is found wearing Dragon Skin, your family is in the poor house”? Look no further than the Pentagon’s own secret report, leaked to the media, that stated 80% of Marine casualties could have been prevented with top of the line body armor. As politically insensitive as these findings may have been, to someone with access to the study, it was obviously too serious to keep under wraps. Perhaps the release of this information had something to do with the internal perception of its results. After all, for the past several years, the US Army Soldier Systems Center-Natick has known that the Interceptor body armor it had developed (standard issue for troops deploying) was significantly less effective than other civilian alternatives. Read the rest of this entry
Posted by Al Swearengen as Military, Words at 12:03 AM UTC
14 Comments »
Some of these GOP Congressmen…you give them something for free, they’ll join your religion, hawk your products, help you get rid of a body…
Ohio Rep. Robert Ney personally lobbied the then Secretary of State Colin Powell to relax U.S. sanctions on Iran. Who asked him to? A convicted airplane broker who had just taken the congressman and a top aide on an expense-paid trip to London, NEWSWEEK has learned. Ney’s lawyer confirmed to NEWSWEEK that federal prosecutors have subpoenaed records on Ney’s February 2003 trip paid for by Nigel Winfield, a thrice-convicted felon who ran a company in Cyprus called FN Aviation. Winfield was seeking to sell U.S.-made airplane spare parts to the Iranian government—a deal that would have needed special permits because of U.S. sanctions against Tehran. Read the rest of this entry
Posted by Al Swearengen as Words at 12:28 AM UTC
7 Comments »
“You go to war with the Army you have, not the Army you’d like to have in the future” – Donald Rumsfeld
“You go to war with the Laws you have, not the Laws you’d like to have in the future” – Chris Austin
Right wing talking points are now bouncing around in defense of President Bush’s decision to ignore federal law by allowing the NSA to illegally eavesdrop on taxpaying Americans, that invoke an idea that Clinton essentially did the same thing and how the press gave Clinton a pass as opposed to what the NYTimes did to Bush by breaking the story. To the true-believer this will suffice, but in fact, all this argument aims to do is trick us into viewing this three story colonial house as only a one story bungalow. Read the rest of this entry
Posted by Al Swearengen as Words at 1:54 AM UTC
17 Comments »
Despite signaling that it would no longer tap the Individual Ready Reserve, the Army calls up more troops just in time for the holidays.
My father was at the house for Christmas and in the spirit of nostalgia, beers, whiskey or whatever, we sat down at the table and talked politics into the AM hours. I brought up IRR and stop-loss…his response was, “we’ve got an all volunteer military”. Saying that once either of these retention options are exercised, the individual is no longer a volunteer, he pointed out that everyone signed on the dotted line and the fine print is part of the contract. To me this argument has always sounded like a way of calling the soldier a sucker, without actually saying it. Read the rest of this entry
Posted by Al Swearengen as Words at 1:41 AM UTC
1 Comment »
Posted by Al Swearengen as sports at 10:19 PM UTC
14 Comments »
For this first ever awarding of the ‘Itchy’, I felt the honor had to go to someone special. A person who truly represents the values and foot-in-mouth qualities the award is all about. So without futher adieu, the envelope please…AND THE ITCHY GOES TO…HARRY BELAFONTE!!!
Harry could not be here to accept this award, unfortunately, he’s down in Columbia today encouraging coca farmers to “Keep up the good work, America is behind you 100%!”
For more on Harry, and why he’s been honored here at deadissue as the Itching Hemorrhoid of the Month, click on this link:
Harry Belafonte calls Bush ‘terrorist,’ praises Chavez in Venezuela
Posted by Al Swearengen as Words at 2:14 PM UTC
5 Comments »
Ah…credibility, the tragically jealous mistress that she is, has just informed the Bush Administration that their indescretion(s) from early 2001 produced a child. As anti-abortion as this man is, the question now is whether or not he’ll attempt to change course and propose authorizing elimination in the 6th trimester. National security after all, so crucial to our survival, with enemies all around sporting not only more money, but larger militaries as well, it should be obvious to everyone why Bush launched his illegal domestic wiretapping PRIOR TO 9/11. Of course, from the ranch he deemed it necessary to get serious about terrorism. Between bike rides and photo ops, he came up with the idea of somehow turning America into a police state. Bravo! Constitution be damned, we elected a KING in 2000, whether we like it or not!
According to the online magazine Slate, an unnamed official in the telecom industry said NSA’s “efforts to obtain call details go back to early 2001, predating the 9/11 attacks and the president’s now celebrated secret executive order. The source reports that the NSA approached U.S. carriers and asked for their cooperation in a ‘data-mining’ operation, which might eventually cull ‘millions’ of individual calls and e-mails.”
Sock it to meeee?!?!
Bush Authorized Domestic Spying Before 9/11 Read the rest of this entry
Posted by Al Swearengen as Words at 8:25 PM UTC
14 Comments »
These guys were, and continue to be screwed over in this situation. I haven’t had the stomach to tackle the whole body armor revelation from the Pentagon just yet, but this story surely kicks my appetite up a notch…in the throes of some chilly insomnia, remembering people I did wrong 15 years ago…it’s all adding up for me in a weird way this week. Medicare having to be bailed out by governors across the country, self-righteous blabery at the Alito hearings, and Jim Rice gets snubbed again.
Then there’s this story. Hard working men with families, driving 3 hours round trip to and from a guard post every day for however long, and the government stiffs them. Yea, that’s right…you put on that uniform and drive from New Hampshire to Cape Cod and back every day, because we’re not paying for a hotel room, food or anything else for that matter. Oh, and here’s some free ‘Support the Troops’ and ‘Bush/Cheney 04′ bumperstickers. Carry on suckerrrr, I mean SOLDIER!
Guardsmen seek pay for post-9/11 duty Read the rest of this entry
Posted by Al Swearengen as Military at 5:12 AM UTC
6 Comments »
Came across this tonight, and it made sense as there hasn’t been a military commander yet who has come out against the congressman.
The Bush Administration first attacked Rep. Murtha for his Iraq views by associating him with the filmmaker Michael Moore and Representative Jean Schmidt likened him to a coward on the floor of the House of Representatives. When those tactics backfired, Dick Cheney called Murtha “A good man, a marine, a patriot and he’s taking a clear stand in an entirely legitimate discussion.” Though the White House has backed off publicly, administration officials have nevertheless recently made calls to military leaders to condemn the congressman. So far they have refused.
Source
Posted by Al Swearengen as Military at 1:25 AM UTC
3 Comments »
Test
Bush Tries to Escape
Posted by Al Swearengen as Words at 12:52 AM UTC
No Comments »
Instead of having the American people vote in primaries, that unfairly exclude voters in states where the date is weeks after Iowa and New Hampshire, go back to the system where delegates meet and decide on a candidate at the convention. ‘One person one vote’ having dropped itself back into the news cycle after a typically long hiatus, I thought it was only right to give it a twirl before it’s once again covered in moth balls. Why does a voter in Iowa have more of a say in who represents my party in a Presidential race than I do? Read the rest of this entry
Posted by Al Swearengen as Words at 9:33 PM UTC
15 Comments »
Paul: Chris, New England will not win the Super Bowl! Bank it!
Read the rest of this entry
Posted by Al Swearengen as Words, sports at 8:20 PM UTC
13 Comments »
1857 – Dred Scott Case – Chief Justice Roger Taney:
“(Blacks) are not included, and were not intended to be included, under the word ‘citizens’ in the Constitution…neither the Declaration of Independence nor the Constitution had been intended to apply to blacks…(blacks) were so far inferior that they had no rights which the white man was bound to respect.”
This being one of the few things I actually learned and then remembered until the age of 27, to me it’s the furthest our Supreme Court has ever gone to desecrate the idea that ‘all men are created equal’. My study of history (a mere speck of what I’ll know by the time I’m 50), has brought me to the conclusion that the Supreme Court will always exist as a mechanism to balance the level of inequality in our society.
In the upcoming years I expect the shrinking middle class, and the disparity of earnings from middle to upper class will become a winning political issue. Alito seems to stand on the side of business over the individual, as well as government over the individual. That being said, he’s a product of the conservative movement, which has legislated in the same way.
So it comes as no suprise that in the year 2006, Alito is the nomination to fill O’Connor’s seat. I’ve purposely stayed out of this debate until the confirmation hearings began, and now that my house is wired for sound from those hearings, it’s time to debate his positions on some of the cases he’s decided on. Personally, from all I’ve read about him, executive priviledge is the one thing I’m most concerned with.
It makes a lot of sence to me, with the past ten years of elections turning out as they have, for Alito to be confirmed. He’s a hell of a lot better than Janice Rogers Brown!
Posted by Al Swearengen as History, Words at 2:55 PM UTC
10 Comments »
“It is a fact, that the United States Army, in marching to the Rio Grande, marched into a peaceful Mexican settlement, and frightened the inhabitants away from their homes and their growing crops.” (Lincoln) Read the rest of this entry
Posted by Al Swearengen as History, Words at 10:11 PM UTC
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