WCCO has an interesting story on their web site today about where all the good news in Iraq is being reported or not reported. Check it out.
This may come as a shock to many of you but there are people in our country that believe we are living on Fantasy Island. You know....a magical place where there are no repercussions for anything we do. A place where there is no responsibility....especially if you are a conservative.
I used to have a lot of respect for Bob Davis. His old show came on right before Art Bell late at night and he always had many interesting things to say. I didn't always agree with him...he is a conservative after all....but I enjoyed his show. Listening to him spew his litany of half truths last week made me decide is was high time I wrote a column about global warming and what is really going on. To do that, I must first explain the definition of a scientific theory.
Take for example, the theory of evolution. Yes, that's right, folks evolution is a theory. You didn't read it wrong. It just so happens that evolution is a theory that has a lot of evidence behind it and is more than likely accurate in explaining how we evolved. One of the common misconceptions about evolution is that it explains the origin of life. It does not. It simply explains how homo sapiens evolved over time. Unlike the faith based explanations of life, science allows for future discoveries to lead to alternate theories. 
scientists of the world agreed, with 90 percent certainty, that global warming is happening as a result of carbon dioxide emissions from mankind. Does that mean that it is happening unequivocally beyond a doubt? No. But it is highly probable. And what I got from the reports is that we need to do something about it. For sake of brevity, I am not going to list the full report and evidence but you can click here for that. 
Several media outlets have reported that more than 120 scientists across 7 federal agencies have been pressured by members of Bush Co. to remove references to "climate change" and "global warming" in reports, press releases, and even intra-office memos. NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) and NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) scientists have basically been living in fear for the last six years and have seen much of the work buried if it had anything to do with global warming. It is because of these stories that I don't believe President Bush when he says that he now believes in global warming.
Hallelujah! Ted Haggard is cured!
For those of you who don't know, this video will catch you up on the saga of Ted Haggard, President of the National Assoication of Evangelicals. After the news came out about his meth amphatimine fueled gay sex escapades last fall, he declared that he would be entering a treatment program, much like AA, that would cure his gayness.
Initial estimates put his detoxifiction at 1-3 years but the Lord works in mysterious ways and Pastor Haggard has been cured in only three weeks! So, no more drugs, cocksucking, anal love, and large buckets of oil for Teddy. I guess he will just have to content himself with missionary position sex with his wife.
What a bore....
I thought I would throw up this video so we could see the "real conservative" response to President Bush's State of the Union address. What I find most interesting about his comments is how he views the Democrats--which dovetails into my topic from yesterday.
How can people like Tony Perkins think that the Democrats are "non family" when all of the bills they pushed through the House ultimately help the family AND had Republican support?
Buried deep within the back pages of most major newspapers and aired at the end of each news hour on all of the major news networks was a story that only the "liberal" media could air.
Nancy Pelosi, the current Speaker of the House of the United States House of Representatives, promised the American people that if they Democrats were elected in November of 2006, shit would get done. It has gotten done. And they even got it all done in only 42.5 legislative hours. For those of you keeping score on this so called "do nothing" political party, here are the facts:
January 18, 2007: Passed a new Energy Policy which will roll back 14 billion dollars of tax breaks and subsidies for US Oil companies. The money will go into a reserve which will fund alternative energy. Probably the saddest one of all...because my life's goal is to make sure that this fat fuck to the left (recently retired Chairman of ExxonMobil, Lee Rayomond ) gets to continue to stuff his face full of one hundred dollar pastries. (Passed 264-163, GOP Support 36)
Well, not exactly a rampage but President Bush toured a Caterpillar plant in Peoria, Illinois two days ago and apparently got a little wacky. It seems our esteemed leader had some difficulty maneuvering the heavy machinery and almost took out some of those "liberal" media members.Some of you have wondered why I call people stupid. Some of you wonder why people around the world hate us so much. Some of you may also wonder one of the chief reasons why I decided to become a teacher.
This video is your answer.
The other night I closed my eyes and started to think about all of the challenges we face as a nation. The turmoil in the Middle East, changing climate, and health care. Education. Poverty. Inequality. Abortion. All of these things floated through my mind as I was heading off to dreamland. With the exception of the Middle East, very simple solutions entered my mind and I began to wonder why they can't be implemented. It's a simple question with simple answer.
Conservatives do a good job of creating conflict when there should be consensus.
Environment: Conservatives in this country, for the most part, think that global warming is a fantasy. They think, and this just makes me want to hit my head against a brick wall, that liberals created global warming to make money. The lap dogs of right wing radio spew lies so vile about this that it is hard for me to fathom the unreality that is unspooled. Ultra conservative industry leaders will never give an inch on the horror that they are creating and the people they have bought off (the Michele Bachmanns of the world) brainwash us into believing that global warming is a myth and everything will work out just fine.
So, now who is open minded again and how is intolerant? Why should I accept them for who they are when they are part of the continuance of the problem? And, finally, look at all of the issues listed above and the atypical conservative response: doesn't it all revolve around money and keeping people stupid?
She is such a little hottie...gawd, I wish I were her. My daddy says she is the best. She does all the right things like when those people...like in our capital and stuff....those bad guys that now run things....when they tried to take my daddy's money away and give it to the spics and niggers, she voted against it. I don't see why they can't buy what they need for the 5 dollars an hour daddy pays them. Besides, how am I going to get my Mercedes for graduation and stuff?
Al-ilahat is from Iran and has been living here in Minnesota for the last 40 years or so. She travels back and forth to the Middle East quite frequently and, in the last three years, has been talking to "the person on the street" in various countries in the Middle East quite a bit lately. I consider her to have much more knowledge of the area then I do so I have decided to make her the first official correspondent for Notes From The Front and have given her the opportunity, this week, to post as a guest writer.
The language of the conversation about Iraq needs to change not the course. George Bush has wanted the people of the United States to believe that there is a danger to the United States and that Iraq represents every bit of danger that we face in the world. This is the lie and the total false cover for his personal need to remove Saddam from the picture. Saddam was the Bush family henchman just like Noriega and the Shah of Iran and perhaps even Musharraf if he is not careful. These people were recruited, trained and did all the dirty deeds in the name of “protecting our national interest”. It was a good cover for our arms sales, controlling OPEC, and eavesdropping on the good old Soviet Union.
If Saddam Hussein had been interrogated any more he would have had to admit to the fact that he waged War with Iran war on behalf the Bush family. We have all seen the pictures (left) of Rumsfeld visiting him in Iraq to provide him all the arms, aerial reconnaissance and tactics for that 9 year war. They bombed the oil fields in Southern Iran to retaliate for the Shah for wanting to raise oil prices and getting OPEC unified around him.
of their heritage and history. They have always lived with their rules and religious order. They are God fearing and mean it. The United States destroyed that social and moral web and abandoned them. Our modern methods were imposed on them without reason and without basis. The natural evolution of social and political self discovery has been disrupted by our greed and want of control. Much of this has been done in the hands of one Bush or the other. The arrogance and disdain for the humanity of that region had brought on all this hatred. Let’s change the language and call it what it is.
WCCO has a semi regular piece they run called Reality Check. They look at a story, dissect the spin, and then tell you what the facts actually are. In concert with that idea, I am going to start a new feature at Notes From The Front. We are going to have a fairly regular themed column which I lovingly call....The Shitsack.
. favorable to progress or reform, as in political or religious affairs. 
To begin with, if you are going in actual dollar amounts, atheists win hands down and people of faith don't have a fucking prayer:) Why? Because the biggest donors to charity in our country are Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, who have donated billions of dollars to charity. Both of them are self-proclaimed atheists. Buffet even donated 90 percent of his fortune to Bill Gates's foundation. But, y'know, let's be fair to religious people because they can't really be expected to keep up with the likes of Buffet and Gates....monetarily speaking. 
Michelle Bachmann, left, our esteemed congresswoman from the Sixth District here in Minnesota, voted against increasing the minimum wage. Huh? She is very religious person who espouses hard work to get ahead. So the people who are working hardest in this country should make less money? According to her, the minimum wage hike will hurt businesses....well, maybe the conservative ones that give all their money to charity as opposed to the liberal ones that pay more to their employees and thus have none left over for charity, right?
In addition, Blue states give more to the federal government in taxes....red states give less. Yet, most of the this money goes to the red states. For example, between 1991 and 2001 California paid $253.5 billion in federal taxes over the amount it received from the federal government. These subsidies went to red states like Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, who received $100.1 billion, $86.93 billion and $84.3 billion, respectively, above what they paid to the federal government. So, liberals in California are funding conservatives in the South now? Hey, waitaminute....suddenly I have decided that I want to be a conservative!!! No more taxes!!!
Before we get to the insanity that was the president's address to the nation last night, I want to respond to those conservatives, who I know read this blog but don't post, who have harangued me for "hating" Bush and stopping at nothing to destroy him. I do not hate President Bush... personally. Chances are, he and I, both sharing a love for the St Louis Cardinals, would get along famously at a ball game. It's not him personally that I detest. I loathe his actions.
Clearly, there was no thought in President Bush's speech last night. More or less, it was the same rhetoric with little movement in his position. His military commanders on the ground, most of Congress, and at least 80 percent of the American Public are against adding additional troops. Both the incoming and outgoing generals in charge of the operation say it's a bad idea.Before we get to my picks, let's break out the hankerchiefs and bid a hearfelt farewell to those that we lost in 2006
2006 was a wondrous year for music, television and film. Some really cool stuff came out this year and, in thinking about my annual tradition, it was hard for me to pick my favorites. So many artists and filmmakers stand out as doing exceptionally interesting work in 2006.
I think this is the first year that the Best CD of the year came out two weeks after the year started. I have talked about it all year and even got to see them play live in Chicago right after my birthday. There has not been a CD that came out since January 16th that has equalled Arctic Monkey's Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I Am Not. In fact, the only release that come close is Leave Before The Lights Come On.......the latest single by Arctic Monkeys which does not appear on the CD.
This one was tough. Battlestar Galactica got better, 24 got way better, The Sopranos returned after a long hiatus with some great shows, and Lost is just plain insane right now. So, needless to say, the choice was tough.
Heroes is the Best Show on TV. Saving the cheerleader and saving the world only scratched the surface of this incredibly exciting, multi layered character driven story. There are mysteries just like the ones on Lost but there are 
more answers. And people talk more like ordinary people talk. It drives me nuts on Lost because people don't spend their entire days talking in riddle language.
Emilio Estevez's Bobby is the best film of 2006 because it shows us the last time we had a leader (or almost had a leader) that wanted to change things for the better. The central message of the film is that Bobby Kennedy was the "last one" in a serious of extraordinary men (JFK, Dr. King) who would've made our country better. They were all killed by men who were seriously threatened by these plans to achieve parity in our country and this film shows us, through the eyes of fictional characters, how RFK represented that final, last hope.
Alright, so I know that I said I was going to post my Best of 2006 this week. I will...it's just going to be a bit later in the week. I know you are all waiting with bated breath to see what my picks are for the Best CD, Best TV Show and Best Film of 2006 but you are just going to have to wait.
would explain to him that, sitting in my chair at home or at the Spring Street Bar, where I watch Vikings games, I can tell which of the six offensive plays, from his grand playbook, he is going to run. If I can tell what he is going to do, then imagine what someone who watches sixty hours of film a week can see. I bet Bill Bellichik wrapped his film day after about one hour of viewing. In addition, having a tough run defense is great. Giving up an eight yard passing cushion over the middle of the field on every single play is not great.
I may not even need 5 minutes with dumbfuck. I would simply say to him that a B- average is not failing and if he wants to recruit decent athletes to come to the U, he should hold them to a standard of...say a 70 percent or better which I think is fair. But I don't think the man can tell where he is half of the time so it might be pointless. He certainly doesn't have any clue how to win.