h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Found this quote a long time ago... don't remember if it's from Frameshop or Firedoglake or what-have-you...

"We went through the looking glass a long time ago. We went through the looking glass, walked around the looking glass world for a while, and then went through a couple of looking glass looking glasses we found in there, and we’ve all been flipped inside out and upside down so many times we don’t know if we can believe anything anymore."

I thought it was pretty funny.

that is a good one.

Wry humour perhaps? It seems to be so close to reality and real truth that it don't seem all that funny.

Kinda reminds me of a series of "Marverick" shows where he or perhaps the person being spoken about would say, "If you can't trust your Dad who can your Trust?" And of course as it turns out his Dad did him wrong. Maverick or the other person also said the same thing about his brothers, and other people such as sheriffs and of course in each case he got the wrong end of he stick.

So -- If you can't trust your leaders.........??

A rather scatalogical bumper sticker popular with female voters that I saw around town during the 2004 election season read: "The only Bush I trust is my own".

::ahem::

I'll make no comments to that, other than that I fully agree

here is an interesting article. may not be american politics fodder but.... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=405056&in_page_id=1770

I'm pretty sure their methodology is flawed. They used SAT scores. Mensa hasn't used those since the 80s, I think. If they had taken scores on a variety of IQ tests, I might be more convinced.

However, I know where my IQ stands.

Back on topic:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/15/washington/15ney.html?ex=1315972800&en=b3e34bbaa3ea72c3&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

This article is about Bob Ney, the Ohio congressman implicated in the Abramoff scandal. Apparently, he's going to plead guilty to the charges being brought against him.

I have a few thoughts about this.

To say I didn't like the guy's policies would be a massive understatement. I wanted to take most of them, burn them, and store the ashes in Yucca Mountain. He's dropped some major stinkers in his days as my rep, including the "Freedom Fries" embarrasment. But on the other hand, he's fought for education in Ohio. Plus, it's harder to hate someone you've met, and even more difficult to hate someone who's made a good first impression on you.

He doesn't deserve to go to prison.

well.. first this: the article said "Men are more intelligent than women, claims new study" ... I assume this holds for mammals? good ..

Then -again- something completely different: This morning's papers in the Netherlands opened with the statement that george w bush wants to change the Geneva convention so that American troups are allowed to detain, interrogate and torture prisoners. I myself assume he referred to potential or suspected terrorists, however this wasn't clear in the newspaper article. Changing the treaty was the main issue.

I just thought I'd mention it. I'll not translate any comments to the article, some of those are .. definitely unfriendly.

Plenty of unfriendly comment going on right inside the borders of the country, babette!

A topic that was raised earlier in this thread was that of the Establishment clause, the separation between church and state, and a complaint was voiced about prayer being forbidden in public schools.

I've just learned of this story: the website is a bit cluttery at the top, but the story itself is legible --
http://www.jewsonfirst.org/06b/indianriver.html

Isn't it amazing that the very ideals that brought us here and were developed so that we could all live together in peace are now destroying us by adding intolerance, bigotry, ignorance, and hate.

Forgive them Mother, for they know not what they do.

oh brave new world that has such people in it

Babette, several prominent members (Senators John McCain, John Warner, Lincoln Chaffee and Lindsay Graham) of the President's own political party are fighting him on the use of torture and changing prisoner status to avoid Geneva Convention rules. Their main argument is that it sets a dangerous precent for human rights around the world and the future treatment of American troops by enemy combatants. So the Administration's pro-torture policy is not wholly embraced by Americans--even those who consider themselves conservatives and Republicans.

From Lil's article:

<> When I remember what my high school's cafeteria offered for lunch (gristle sticks, mystery casserole and jelled goo) I have to admit I wouldn't include that on the long list of grievances were I the Jewish student. Good riddance to bad rubbish--er, food.

Also, the Rutherford Institute is the name of the legal foundation sticking up for discrimination in that article. They're the folks who represented (and encouraged) Paula Jones in her lawsuit against Bill Clinton. Look who provides the Institute's funding:

http://www.mediatransparency.org/recipientgrants.php?recipientID=3144

DeVoss? AMWAY?!? NOOOOOOOOO!

Just when you needed further confirmation that Amway is the tool of Satan.

Did anyone listen to the speech today?

He called the people in Pakistan "Paks."

How many more days until November 7? All I want then is a left-leaning congress.

While listening to the news this mourning it dawned on me the main reason we need to get out of Iraq. Whether we leave on our own or get kicked out the country is going to turn on us. Just as almost every country world wide has in the past for helping them.