5 days (the Palestinian gangsta vote)

So it's a COLD...and I mean COLD...autumn day here in northern Idaho and there is just a handful of days left until Tuesday.

The big news of the day is the health of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Apparently, he is suffering from a blood platelet deficiency and is being moved to Paris for additional tests to determine its cause. This trip to France will be the first time he has left his headquarters compound since December, 2001.

To try to ease fears or concerns, the Palestinian Authority released this photo and a video of Arafat smiling with his doctors and bodyguards complete with him wearing a gangsta-wannabe hat:

Damn it feels good to be a gangsta...

6 days (Red Moon Arisin')

So it's another beautiful autumn day here in northern Idaho and there is just six days left until November 2nd.

In honor of the upcoming election of John Kerry, and the Red Sox's upcoming World Series victory, the Gods have seen it fit to have a total lunar eclipse tonight:

Go Sox and Go Kerry!

7 days (What would the Founding Fathers do?)

So it's another beautiful autumn day here in northern Idaho and there is just one week left before the general election. In preparation for the election of the 44th president, I thought it might be fun to recall how the whole "electing" thing goes down.

So where do we look for this information? Well there is no where better than the "owners manual"... the Constitution of the United States of America:

And now we will read from Article II, Section 1:

The executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his office during the term of four years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same term, be elected, as follows:

Each state shall appoint, in such manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or person holding an office of trust or profit under the United States, shall be appointed an elector.

The electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot for two persons, of whom one at least shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves. And they shall make a list of all the persons voted for, and of the number of votes for each; which list they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted. The person having the greatest number of votes shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such majority, and have an equal number of votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately choose by ballot one of them for President; and if no person have a majority, then from the five highest on the list the said House shall in like manner choose the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by States, the representation from each state having one vote; A quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. In every case, after the choice of the President, the person having the greatest number of votes of the electors shall be the Vice President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal votes, the Senate shall choose from them by ballot the Vice President.

The Congress may determine the time of choosing the electors, and the day on which they shall give their votes; which day shall be the same throughout the United States.

No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty five years, and been fourteen Years a resident within the United States.

In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office, the same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by law provide for the case of removal, death, resignation or inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what officer shall then act as President, and such officer shall act accordingly, until the disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.

The President shall, at stated times, receive for his services, a compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that period any other emolument from the United States, or any of them.

Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall take the following oath or affirmation:--"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Ok, that's a mouthful...but it's not the end. You next have to take into consideration the Eleventh Amendment (ratified in 1804):

The electors shall meet in their respective states and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate;--The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted;--the person having the greatest number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability of the President. The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed, and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States.

Whew...but that's not the end. We must next look at the Twentyith Amendment (ratified in 1933):

Section 1. The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3d day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then begin.

Section 2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall begin at noon on the 3d day of January, unless they shall by law appoint a different day.

Section 3. If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the President, the President elect shall have died, the Vice President elect shall become President. If a President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of his term, or if the President elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act as President until a President shall have qualified; and the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein neither a President elect nor a Vice President elect shall have qualified, declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in which one who is to act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly until a President or Vice President shall have qualified.

Section 4. The Congress may by law provide for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the House of Representatives may choose a President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them, and for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the Senate may choose a Vice President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them.

Section 5. Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect on the 15th day of October following the ratification of this article.

Section 6. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several states within seven years from the date of its submission.

Ok...and now the Twenty-Third Amendment:

Section 1. The District constituting the seat of government of the United States shall appoint in such manner as the Congress may direct:

A number of electors of President and Vice President equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives in Congress to which the District would be entitled if it were a state, but in no event more than the least populous state; they shall be in addition to those appointed by the states, but they shall be considered, for the purposes of the election of President and Vice President, to be electors appointed by a state; and they shall meet in the District and perform such duties as provided by the twelfth article of amendment.

Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Ok, that about does it...let's take the next week and try to understand all this...it will take at least that long.

8 days (of wholehearted support)

So I wholeheartedly support John Kerry for president...and so does President William Jefferson Clinton (excuse the pun). So it's a beautiful autumn day here in Hog Heaven, Idaho and one day longer than one week before the 44th President of the United States is elected.

It was great to see President Clinton on the mend and back on the stump today. Neo-cons in congress couldn't take him down, and neither could clogged heart arteries:

As the signs in the photo say: 8 days to A FRESH START.

11 days (and there is "progress" in China)

It is REALLY wet and REALLY cold today and eleven days until the Tuesday following the first Monday in November. And while is is cold and wet here in Moscow, it is hot, hot, hot in Shanghai:

The Hooters restaurant chain has opened its first establishment in the People's Republic of China.

Besides adding to the booming commercial hub of Shanghai, Hooters arrival underscores how growth is challenging China's traditional conservative views on sexuality.

For decades after the founding of the People's Republic in 1949, traditional male-dominated culture and communist prudishness combined to make showing skin or publicly displaying affection verboten.

These days, however, Shanghai boasts hundreds of hostess bars, massage parlors, sex shops and telephone chat lines. Couples kiss and hug openly, while public opinion surveys show broad acceptance of premarital sex among young people. from MSNBC.com

Don't think that Hooters is the first western food interest in communist China...Kentucky Fried Chicken already operates 1,000 stores in the country, McDonald's 567, and the TGI Friday's chain five.

I guess progress of any size is good...as long as it's a "c" cup or larger.

12 days (Fall is officialy here)

So it's cold, rainy, windy again and one day less two weeks until we get to see the beauty of "democracy" in action. Because of the weather (and the continually shorter days) I think we can say Fall is here.

And if the weather wasn't enough, Fidel Castro (A.K.A. friendly dictator of Cuba) gave us another fall:

Castro fractured a knee and an arm in the fall off a stage at a graduation ceremony.

When Richard Boucher, U.S. State Department spokesman was asked if the United States wished Castro a speedy recovery, he answered:

"NO. We, obviously, have expressed our views about what's broken in Cuba."

I don't know about you, but I love the cordiality of diplomatic nuance.

In retrospect of his 45 years of peaceful rule over his beautiful socialist paradise, let me share with you a moment of a Simpson’s episode “The Trouble With Trillions”:

Castro: Comrades, our nation is completely bankrupt! We have no choice but to abandon communism!

All: [sighs]

Castro: I know, I know, I know... but we all knew from day one this mumbo jumbo wouldn't fly! I'll call Washington and tell them they won.

Man: But presidente, America tried to kill you!

Castro: Ah, they're not so bad. They even named a street after me in San Francisco!

Man 2: [whispers in Castro's ear]

Castro: It's full of what?!

14 days (Vote, JC is telling you to)

Not Jesus Christ, but Jim Caviezel. So it's slightly warmer, a lot windier and two weeks until the general election.

While we continue to wait for the first Tuesday in November, a group of evangelical Christians have decided that Rock the Vote is a bit too secular for its own good. They have founded Redeem the Vote.

My favorite part about Redeem the Vote.com is not the video with "JC" himself, or even the "official RTV song by Jonah 33. My favorite part is their "SNAPSHOT: CHURCH AND STATE." It says:

72% of Americans say the president should have strong religious beliefs

65% say churches should not endorse candidates

51% say churches should express views on political matters

41% say there is too little expression of faith and prayer by political leaders

Right on...

15 days (America, Fuck Yeah!)

So it's cold, rainy, windy and one day over two weeks until the people of Idaho elect Pete Cenarrusa, Debbie Fild, Sandra Patano and John Sandy to vote in the electoral college for President Bush.

While we wait for the first Tuesday in November, let us enjoy some hard core sex courtesy of the new blockbuster film, Team America: World Police.

See ya tommorrow.

$9,532 of SIN

After a week-long hiatus, I'm back baby!

In case you were wondering, the hiatus was due to a labor dispute…f***ing management wouldn’t let us use their bathroom. My legal council advised me to kick management in the shins, but that just pissed them off. After that, my legal council charged me $200,000 for his “services” and told me to “eat s**t and get back to work.” I just have one thing to say…Workers of the World Unite!

Anyway, get a hold of this...

Apparently, this is what it takes for Idaho to get into the national news spotlight:

During these tough budget times, schools don’t often pass up a check for $10,000. But that’s just what one Idaho charter school has done — to set a moral example for students.

The North Star Public Charter School [in Eagle] turned down the money because it came from the Idaho State Lottery and school officials decided that taking gambling money would conflict with the school’s mission of developing virtuous citizens. (from MSNBC.com and the Associated Press)

The co-founder and chairman of the charter school's board, Gale Pooley, said: "We couldn’t in good conscience take the money. It’s the less fortunate and the poor in the communities who are buying these tickets, and children are the ones who will pay for it."

In response, Chuck Strutt, executive director of the Multistate Lottery Association, did his best to elevate the national discourse: "It’s hard to argue with those holier-than-thou types, but that’s just not true. Imagine yourself starting a business — who would you target, people with money or the poor? Lotteries bring in $40 billion a year in this country, and poor people don’t have $40 billion."

Regardless of the rhetoric, there appears to be no precedent for the North Star Public Charter School's action...no public school has ever turned down free money...ever:

Allison Westfall, Idaho Department of Education spokeswoman, said North Star is the first Idaho school to turn down lottery funding;

Tom Dunn, spokesman for the New York State Department of Education, said he has never heard of a school turning down its share of the more than $21 billion in funding provided by New York’s state lottery;

California’s state lottery has provided more than $14 billion in school funding and California State Department of Education spokeswoman Deborah Kennedy said no public school there has turned down the money.

Behold Idaho, Mississippi of the Northwest…

UPDATE (10:15 am): I have located the school's web site here: North Star Charter School. You can read about the schools hatred of hoodies, denim jeans and logos larger than three inches in it's dress code. You can also learn the school's belief that "The greatest threat to a free and open society is the lack of virtuous citizen leaders." It's strange, I always thought censorship and regressive programs were the greatest threat to a free and open society. (and yes, to you purists out there, I guess King George "imposing Taxes on us without our Consent" is a great threat to a free and open society too)

Warmonger in Chief

Charles Duelfer, head of the Iraq Survey Group (the American weapons inspectors in Iraq) presented his final report on Iraqi WMD programs and WMD's themselves. His conclusion:

Saddam was a bad guy, and Iraq was a threat, but Saddam did not have chemical and biological stockpiles when the war began and his nuclear capabilities were deteriorating, not advancing.

Furthermore, there is no evidence suggesting that Iraq produced any weapons of mass destruction after 1991 or that Saddam Hussein’s weapons capability grew during a dozen years of U.N. sanctions before the U.S. invasion last year.

You can read the key findings of the 1000+ page report here.

So what can we infer from this? Well, I infer that President Bush and his administration lied to me, lied to you and lied to the world to rush us to a meaningless war which has cost 1064 American lives, tens of billions of dollars and American security around the world.

Lying is a strong accusation, but I think it fits. Here are just a few examples: President Bush, in a speech on October 7, 2002, said:

“It [Iraq] possesses and produces chemical and biological weapons. It is seeking nuclear weapons.” and

“We’ve also discovered through intelligence that Iraq has a growing fleet of manned and unmanned aerial vehicles that could be used to disperse chemical or biological weapons across broad areas.” and

“Iraq possesses ballistic missiles with a likely range of hundreds of miles — far enough to strike Saudi Arabia, Israel, Turkey and other nations — in a region where more than 135,000 American civilians and service members live and work.”

All of those statements are lies.

Vice President Cheney (the true Warmonger in Chief) said in a speech on August 26, 2002:

“Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction. There is no doubt he is amassing them to use against our friends, against our allies and against us.”

Cheney didn’t say “there is little doubt,” he said “there is no doubt.” If he wasn't sure, why didn't he said that? You know why? He was lying.

Remember on November 2nd:

Blind Faith in Bad Leadership is not Patriotism.

Gesundheit once again

For the second time in as many days, Mount St. Helens in Washington let out some more steam. Remarkably, the "eruption" or "steam emission" happened at roughly the same time as yesterday's 9 am eruption:

Global Test

I've lost my patience with My 2 Cents and the 10th Cents and their regurgitation of the RNC "global test" issue. You know what I'm going to combat their spoon-fed crap with? THE TRUTH (I know it's a novel concept for pro-war neo-cons):

Jim Lehrer asked Senator Kerry, "What is your position on the whole concept of pre-emptive war?"

Kerry responded, "The president always has the right, and always has had the right, for pre-emptive strike. That was a great doctrine throughout the Cold War. And it was always one of the things we argued about with respect to arms control.

No president, though all of American history, has ever ceded, and nor would I, the right to pre-empt in any way necessary to protect the United States of America.

But if and when you do it, Jim, you have to do it in a way that passes the test, that passes the global test where your countrymen, your people understand fully why you're doing what you're doing and you can prove to the world that you did it for legitimate reasons.

Here we have our own secretary of state who has had to apologize to the world for the presentation he made to the United Nations.

I mean, we can remember when President Kennedy in the Cuban missile crisis sent his secretary of state to Paris to meet with DeGaulle.

And in the middle of the discussion, to tell them about the missiles in Cuba, he said, "Here, let me show you the photos."

And DeGaulle waved them off and said, "No, no, no, no. The word of the president of the United States is good enough for me."

How many leaders in the world today would respond to us, as a result of what we've done, in that way?

So what is at test here is the credibility of the United States of America and how we lead the world. And Iran and Iraq are now more dangerous -- Iran and North Korea are now more dangerous.

Now, whether pre-emption is ultimately what has to happen, I don't know yet.

But I'll tell you this: As president, I'll never take my eye off that ball.

I've been fighting for proliferation the entire time -- anti-proliferation the entire time I've been in the Congress. And we've watched this president actually turn away from some of the treaties that were on the table.

You don't help yourself with other nations when you turn away from the global warming treaty, for instance, or when you refuse to deal at length with the United Nations.

You have to earn that respect. And I think we have a lot of earning back to do."
(bold italics my own)

There is nothing wrong and everything right with that position, and I thank Senator Kerry for sharing it with us.

It's now time for the neo-cons to continue Spinning Away!

Gesundheit

For the first time in 18 years, Mount St. Helens in Washington state erupted today, sending a plume of ash and steam thousands of feet into the sky. The eruption was short lived and probably won't be the last:

Jeff Wynn, a scientist with the United States Geological Survey called the eruption a "throat-clearing."

"It's dead — bone-still right now," he said. "There's nothing happening at this stage, so this may have been a single event. But the history of the volcano suggests it could be an opening salvo and we'll see more events like this."

You can read about it here.

Spinning a "Draw"

So, my peer over at My 2 Cents believes, in his "professional opinion", that last night's Presidential Debate was a "near-tie." He is more than able to have any opinions he want, but I think his opinion is about as accurate as the Rasmussen Report and PBS tracking polls he told us about last night.

I actually think Kerry clearly won the debate. Coincidently, that's what every major national (and not made-up) poll has shown. Kerry was clearer, more concise, more informed and most importantly, MORE PRESIDENTIAL.

I know the Lone Ranger is going to share with us all the Kerry debate flip-flops he can pull off of Drudge, GeorgeWBush.com or RNC.org. Before he does, I have to share with you a true gem I found on GeorgeWBush.com today. On their page: "John Kerry's Inaccurate Statements During Last Night's Debate," number Eight was beautiful, I must say. It starts saying:

Kerry Claimed U.S. Soldiers Are "90 Percent Of The Casualties In Iraq"...

First of all, Kerry actually said: "And we pushed our allies aside. And so, today, we are 90 percent of the casualties and 90 percent of the cost: $200 billion -- $200 billion that could have been used for health care, for schools, for construction, for prescription drugs for seniors, and it's in Iraq." Here's the rest of the Bush campaign's number eight Kerry inaccuracy:

But The Wall Street Journal Puts U.S. Casualties Closer To 50% When You Include Iraqis Helping To Secure Their Own Country.

That's an interesting way of looking at the situation. I guess the Iraqis are part of the coalition of the willing, right up there with the United Kingdom, Australia and ourselves...

Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot Poland...

Now let's all watch the neo-cons attempt to spin their way into a win. In fact, only one expression can fully explain my take on the neo-con spin: