Here's a little blurb from an Amazon.com review of John Gibson's book, "The War On Christmas." Gibson has been raking in the dough with his book that claims Christmas is under attack from people trying to be politically correct or, more specifically, from non-Christians. According to this story, Gibson himself has very little respect for the holiday, as he used the time to act like a drunk idiot and fondle an underage girl.
The Poor Man � A Very Wanker Christmas

Here's a great video that really makes me angry at Fox News, as if I needed another reason. John Gibson is the host of a "news" program on Fox News, and he's made a ton of money from his best-selling book, The War on Christmas. Jerry Falwell and Bill O'Reilly have all jumped on this bandwagon, claiming Christmas is under attack from liberals. The problem is, it's all a lie, and John Gibson knows that. He claimed the Plano, Texas school district banned red and green colors at a holiday party. It wasn't true, and John Gibson knows it wasn't true. When confronted with these facts he backtracks his original statements, claiming he didn't lie. Too bad he made those statements in a published book and on his nationally televised TV show. It's hard to say "I didn't lie" when anyone with the book or a Tivo can go back and check the facts for themselves.

Bill O'Reilly also helped spread the lies by claiming Saginaw, Michigan banned Christmas colors in the city. That's just not true, and it's unclear where O'Reilly got that information from. He's a notoriously poor fact-checker, so it could have from Jerry Falwell's blog, for all we know. O'Reilly will take any information from any source and present it as fact, and if someone discovers that the source was unreliable, then hey, it wasn't his fault, it was the source's. It's a fairly idiotic strategy, with all the fact-checkers out there, but if O'Reilly doesn't make a correction on his false news information, then his viewers never learn the truth. That's a major reason why Bill O'Reilly's viewers are among the worst-informed among news watchers, according to a poll last year on current events that revealed viewers of The Daily Show, a "fake news show" on Comedy Central, were more informed than O'Reilly viewers.

Let's say goodbye to this War on Christmas crap. I notice the same holiday cheer now as I did when I was 8 years old. The cashiers at the mall still say "Merry Christmas" as I leave, and the local public high school hosted a live nativity scene on its property and a Christmas program in its auditorium. The War on Christmas is a piece of fiction, written by John Gibson, a man who has made millions on his lies. Yes John Gibson, you ARE a liar.

Jack Abramoff, the Republican lobbyist who was likely involved in Tom DeLay's shady dealings, is preparing to testify against dozens of elected officials as part of a plea deal that might help him avoid prison time. His testimony could absolutely rock the Republican-controlled Congress, as he could implicate many GOP members for crimes that could send them to prison, assuming the Bush White House has no plans to pardon them. And to think, just a couple years ago, the GOP was at the highest point in its history. Now, with the cracks in the foundations growing bigger every day, one has to wonder how many years the Republican Party has left. We saw a wave of conservatism strike America following 9/11, and now we are seeing the liberal backlash take back all that was lost, and then some.
Lobbyist Abramoff discussing plea-deal terms, insiders say

Jeanine Pirro has decided that she will not run for senator of New York against Hillary Clinton. The Westchester County district attorney said she is better qualified to be attorney general. That position is currently held by Eliot Spitzer. He will have to run for a higher position if Pirro is to get a chance at attorney general, as there is no way Pirro can win a race against Spitzer, one of the more popular state attorney generals in history.

The thing about Pirro was that she had more personal baggage than Hillary Clinton. That's not easy to do. Her husband not only cheated on her, but had a child with his mistress. He also went to prison for tax evasion. Sure, those were his mistakes, not hers, but shouldn't a responsible spouse at least know what's going on with their taxes, even if the other person in the marriage is assigned to that particular job? If she couldn't keep track of her own husband's finances, would she really be responsible enough to be New York's senator?

As for Eliot Spitzer (a democrat), that man can run for whatever he wants in New York state and have a great shot at winning. He's attacked every corporation that has dared to stray from the law, and nobody seems to have him in their pocket. His campaign would be very unique, in that it would have very little corporate support, but the candidate would be popular with the masses anyway. I think he's preparing to take over Hillary's position if she becomes the next president. From there, he would probably make his own attempt at the White House.
WCBSTV.com: Your Source For New York News, Weather, Sports

In what has been hailed as momentous achievement for rich Americans, the Republican-controlled Senate approved, by a 51-50 margin that included Vice President Cheney as the tie-breaker, measures to cut the federal deficit by slashing Medicare and student loan programs. This caps a series a great wins by the rich during the Bush presidency, which has seen the poor reach lows not seen in America since the dustbowl days of the 1930s. Cheney commented after the vote, "I"m rich, biotch," before firing two pistols into the air while doing a jig. His shots struck two 6-year-old girls from one of Washington D.C.'s poorer neighborhoods in the head. After hearing this news, Cheney replied "two less mouths to feed, woo hoo."
Cheney Breaks Senate Tie on Spending Cuts - Yahoo! News

Tom DeLay is a senator, making a few hundred thousand dollars every year, yet his lifestyle is grander than that of most billionaires. Public documents reveal how Tom DeLay has spent his time over the past few years. Keep in mind that this is the public's time. He is paid by taxpayers to represent their interests, yet it seems that he's hardly ever near the people he represents. He's made 48 trips to some of the top golf courses and resorts in the world, 100 non-domestic flights, and had 500 restaurant meals averaging $200 apiece. So how does he afford all this? Did he use one of those currency exchange schemes advertised at 3:00 in the morning on cable TV? Of course not. His extravagent lifestyle is funded by the corporations that he claims have no influence over him. Those 100 flights were all on company planes. Sure, it saves the taxpayers money (because they would not stand for it), but it also puts an elected official in the pockets of corporations he could end up regulating. Don't you think DeLay's a little more likely to favor a company that gives him free vacations?

This won't matter much, anyway. Jack Abramoff is scared of the possibility of prison time, and the word is out that he's prepared to tell prosecutors everything within the next few days. That's bad news for DeLay, who should start getting fitted for a brand new orange jumpsuit.
Donors underwrite life of luxury for DeLay - Politics - MSNBC.com

The Republican scandals just keep adding up. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist started an AIDS charity that has apparently been used for money laundering operations. The charity paid "consulting fees" adding up to hundreds of thousands of dollars to various members of Frist's political circle. The tax exempt charity did donate some money to other "real" AIDS charities, but the rest was used up as overhead, which means it was paid to various rich people who were in charge of it. Donations made to tax exempt charities do not require public disclosure, as opposed to political donations, which require a name to be given if over $250.

Just a little background on Bill Frist:
1) He comes froma very rich family which runs a chain of hospitals.
2) He is a medical expert. He examined videos of Terry Schiavo before her death last year, and without ever seeing her in person he was able to determine that she was not braindead. Most respected doctors would require a full brain scan to come to a conclusion like that, but not Bill Frist. His right eye has X-Ray vision, while his left has MRI vision and can detect cancer. Amazing!
AP: Frist AIDS Charity Paid Consultants - Yahoo! News

The Department of Homeland Security paid a visit to a UMass Dartmouth senior recently, sending two agents to question the student after he requested a copy of Mao Tse-Tung's "The Little Red Book," which features quotes from the famous communist leader. The student was doing a report on communism. It seems that his research had also led him to call some foreign countries, and it would appear likely that Homeland Security agents were listening in on those calls. It was revealed last week that President Bush approved searches and spying of US citizens without a warrant in 2002, and he has been allowing the tactics since then, despite the fact that spying on transmissions from US citizens may be unconstitutional, and spying on transmissions from one US citizen to another US citizen is definately a violation of federal law. Of course, when has this president ever cared about the Constitution or federal law? Whatever, he does what he wants.
Agents' visit chills UMass Dartmouth senior: 12/ 17/ 2005

President Bush has made it clear that he will not comment on an ongoing investigation. He has said this numerous times when asked about the PlameGate scandal. Then he made a comment about the Tom DeLay scandal, saying he thinks DeLay is not guilty (he did not say innocent, because that's probably a whole other matter). So why will he comment about the DeLay scandal, but he remains tight-lipped about the investigation that could bring down many of the people around him? I thought it was policy not to comment on current investigations. Does that only mean investigations of your friends?
Press Briefing by Scott McClellan and Senior Officials on Levee Reconstruction

President Bush has allowed the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on thousands of Americans' emails and telephone calls since 2002. The agency did not need a warrant to begin spying activities on any people they deemed posed a risk to national security. Have we reverted back ot the days of J. Edgar Hoover? Is every controversial figure going to have a special file detailing all their activities at the Pentagon? They did this in the past to John Lennon, Malcolm X, and even Martin Luther King Jr. Why MLK? Oh, he was a threat to national security. If that civil rights thing ever caught hold, white people might lose some power.

Thank you, President Bush. You've taken our country back to the early 1960's. The only difference is now we have this man-child in the White House. Oops, I probably shouldn't have said that, now I'm going to have The Man listening in on my calls. At least I know I can always pick up the phone and have someone to talk to.
Bush Secretly Lifted Some Limits on Spying in U.S. After 9/11, Officials Say - New York Times

A football stadium in Austria, named after the famous actor and current governor of California, will be renamed following Schwarzenegger's decision to not commute Tookie Williams' sentence to life in prison. Austria, like most civilized countries, does not have capital punishment. The city of Graz, where Awwwwnold was born, has been continually disappointed with his actions as governor, and they are starting to distance themselves from the image of the once-popular actor.
Arnie's terminated - People - Entertainment - smh.com.au

This hasn't been making the mainstream news, but it seems that a coke dealer at a Chinatown bar claims he spent a night of hard partying with Jenna Bush, the president's daughter, and he has some of her belongings to prove it. There is a tape of the interview with the dealer, and those who have seen it claim the ID is clearly visible in the tape, including the first daughter's name and college ID number. The tape has not made it to the internet yet, but it has been shown to several reporters, although none have been allowed to take possession of a copy of it. A spokesperson for the Bush family has denied that Jenna was ever in the bar, but the evidence here will be hard to deny, especially if the college ID is a match for Jenna's. So apparently someone who looks just like her is partying hard with drug dealers, then leaving authentic Jenna Bush personal items behind. Those criminals sure are clever. I'm so glad we finally got a Republican in the White House, I'm a big fan of family values. Let's add this incident to the list: Jenna hangs out with dealers, George W. has a DWI and was a known cokehead, First Lady Laura was a dealer in college and also once ran a stop sign and hit a car driven by her ex-boyfriend, who was killed in the crash. Laura was never charged or ticketed for that incident.

Eat that Ann Coulter. Or just write another 1,000 words about that time Bill Clinton got a hummer. I'm sure there are some idiots out there who would love to read it.

President Bush, while trying to cool a firestorm of scandals that have jeopardized the Republican party, said yesterday that troubled lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who will likely be seeing the inside of a prison cell very soon, gave money to both parties. The facts tell a different story. Records of political contributions are available to the public, and they show Abramoff gave over $200,000 to Republicans from 1992 to 2005. He gave exactly $0 to Democrats during that time. Abramoff was even a Bush Pioneer, meaning he raised over $200,000 for the president during the last election. But I guess both parties are to blame, because... well... the president says they are.
Hotline On Call: Abramoff Was A Republican

Katherine Harris, who was made famous by her whole Cruella Deville routine during the 2000 Presidential recount in Florida, will not give up her bid to become the next senator from the state. Robert Novak, a conservate columnist who has been a thorn in republican's sides ever since he outed a CIA agent and exposed a leak in the White House two years ago, speculated that Harris would be ending her bid in the near future, as her fund-raising efforts have failed and she has had problems maintaining her campaign staff. Seriously, who would support that woman?
Novak says Rep. Harris may quit race; she denies

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the most wanted man in Iraq, was captured by US forces last year... and then released. Al-Zarqawi is the alleged mastermind of the insurgent forces, and there is a $25 million bounty on his head. It seems that US forces were not familiar enough with his head, as he was let go because they were able to identify him as al-Zarqawi.
CNN.com - Terror mastermind mistakenly released, official says - Dec 15, 2005

I was amused by this column written by conservative hitwoman Ann Coulter. She asks why she has not been arrested by liberals, who apparently run the justice system (ummm, really? Should we do a count of prominent judges? I didn't think so). I'll tell you, Ann, there are two reasons:
1) Unlike Tom DeLay, Rush Limbaugh, and Ollie North, it does not appear that you are guilty of any crimes. Just because you are a controversial writer does not mean that you should be jailed.
2) Nobody cares what happens to you. The people you mention in your column are elected officials. The decisions they make affect our everyday lives. When they embezzled money, or use government resources for unapproved purposes, they compromise our system of government. When you make a decision, the only one who notices is the teller at the bank who sorts the checks you receive from your publisher.

Ann, for some reason you still seem to think you are a threat to liberals. Why don't you step into the political rink and actually take them on, rather than just writing about it? Maybe then you'll get that rap sheet you so desperately want.
WHY CAN'T I GET ARRESTED? - Yahoo! News

I was shopping at Wal-Mart today (don't worry, I'm planning on returning the stuff I purchased within 3 months to get my money back, I just use Wal-Mart as a free rental store) and the cashier wished me a merry Christmas as I left. It was a simple statement, but given the uproar this year over the use of such terms as "Happy Holidays" and many Christians alleging that Christmas is being attacked by liberals and satanists, it struck me as quite profound. The link for this article goes to a page that tells of other times in American history when Christmas came under attack. In Massachusetts, celebrating Christmas was actually illegal for over 20 years. Who was behind this "anti-Christian" legislature? Christians. That's right, Christians once went out of their way to denounce the Christmas holiday. Puritans could not find any mention of celebrating December 25th anywhere in the Bible, so they chose to fight the decadence of the holiday, urging people to practice the values taught in the Bible, not those created by Roman heathens who once celebrated a wintertime celebration at the same time of year. Isn't it odd how values have changed, and Christmas has now become associated with madness at Wal-Mart and $1,000 XBox 360 systems on eBay? Yet Bill O'Reilly, a native Long Islander (of course), defends the holiday as if it were the core of the Christian religion. I hope he gets that brand new loofa he's been praying for.
The Yellow Dog: A Puritan Christmas | lawrence.com

This is one of the best columns about the republican scandals that are currently threatening the American government. It is not an attack piece, with a bunch of inflammatory remarks about Tom DeLay and lobbyist Jack Abramoff. This column looks at the facts of the case, the evidence that has been gathered, and carefully presents it to the reader, so even the most die-hard GOPer can see that these are bad apples in their basket. The Tom DeLay defense fund is getting lots of big donations every day, but I question whether all the donors really know who they are defending, and if he really needs their money.

DeLay has spent much of his political career trying to climb higher, and in doing so he has done many things that much of the nation would find appalling. He has diluted the voting power of minorities, because he knows they don't vote for him. Similar actions were taken in Georgia, where a scheme attempted to require voters to purchase identification cards. What's so wrong with that? The cards weren't going to be sold in the Atlanta area, where many minorities in the state are located.

What's the connection between DeLay's voting scheme and the one in Georgia? Political pressure, bought with large amounts of lobbying money. Jack Abramoff is one of the best-known GOP lobbyists, and it now appears a lot of his tricks crossed the legal boundary. To get around laws that limited amounts of money that could be spent on a single lobbying action, Abramoff started laundering money, $9,000 at a time. His total laundering in that particular case, which involved a bill giving the Guam Supreme Court juridiction over the superior court, was $324,000. This is not some conspiracy theory, this is actual evidence that has been collected, not by Ronnie Earle, but by federal investigators.

The same Jack Abramoff is tied to the Tom DeLay scandal, and it exposes a side of DeLay that is hard for even his greatest supporters to defend. The evidence shows that DeLay was using his political power to corrupt the federal government, and particularly the justice system, because he was given large amounts of money from lobbyists, particularly Abramoff. For several elected politicians, it appears that Abramoff supplied a "secondary salary" of sorts, although for most that secondary salary ended up being more than the money paid to them by US taxpayers as their primary salary.

It appears that this scandal (or series of scandals, if you prefer) will bring down Abramoff, who obviously has very close ties to some of the most powerful members of the GOP. What remains to be seen, however, is how many politicians are going to go down with him.
Columns: A whiff of Watergate in the air

Former Minnesota Senator and Presidential candidate Gene McCarthy has passed away. He ran for president in 1968, 1972, 1976, and 1988, but his 1968 campaign was his most-noted. He shocked the democratic party by winning the New Hampshire primary. Lyndon Johnson recognized that times were a-changin', and he, the sitting president, dropped out of the race. The democrats were forced to acknowledge that the United States did not want to be in the Vietnam War. The anti-war movement took up McCarthy as the candidate that represented them. Many of them even went "clean for Gene", a campaign for hippies to clean up and look more appealing to the middle class. The effort ended in failure, as Richard Nixon found a way to smuggle himself into the White House, where he stayed until the cleaning staff emptied him along with a half-full dustpan in 1974.

By the mid-1970's, it was clear that McCarthy was the man who Americans should have voted into office in 1968. He was right about the Vietnam War, and his presidency probably would have brought it to an end a lot sooner, saving tens of thousands of American lives. Instead, we gave the key to the bank vault to a lifelong burgler, an evil force who would have gladly walked on the heads of 1,000 babies to get himself into office.

So long, Gene. You always seemed to know what was right for us, even when we had no idea.
St. Petersburg Times Online

Here's an interesting twist on the whole right to die cause: what if the person in a vegetative state was beat into that state by an abusive man who could face capital punishment if the girl is taken off life support. This will be a tough case to fight for republicans, who love to argue in front of television cameras that people on life support should be kept alive at all costs, but at other times, in front of different television cameras, condemn a criminals right to life by supporting the death penalty. So which will they choose, keep the 11-year-old girl alive, or let her die so the man who did it can face the ultimate penalty?
Court hears "right to die" case of battered girl - Yahoo! News

The link for this article goes to a rather disturbing (but not gory) video taken by some contractors in Iraq. These people are paid with American tax dollars, and they are supposed to be rebuilding this country that we pretty much leveled a couple years ago. On the video you'll see them driving around, picking off civilians at random, Grand Theft Auto style. While they are stopped in traffic, watch as another car approaches from behind. Then hear the crackling noise of automatic gun fire, as the car slows down and eventually rams into another car stopped in the road, the driver apparently incapacitated. Some would say that the United States is not at fault for this kind of behavior. I say this is just the kind of behavior that we have been fostering since the war started. With fat pay checks, little oversight, and a "shoot first and ask questions later" environment, these things are bound to happen.

American news publications were blanketed with news of the 2000th American soldier killed in Iraq, but they rarely report on the massive Iraqi civilian death toll. These numbers are staggering, easily in the tens of thousands. The media needs to drive home the point that these are civilians, not insurgents. They had nothing to do with Saddam Hussein's regime. They suffered more from Saddam than any American ever did. Now he's been taken out of power, and they are suffering as much now as they were with Saddam. So who is the better ruler, Saddam Hussein or American forces and contractors?
Too Shocking.com - Shocking Videos, Games, Jokes, Images, Flash, And So Much More...

William C. Bradford, an associate professor at Indiana University of Law who became famous after he claimed he was denied tenure due to his good military record, has resigned after it was revealed that most of his military background was a lie. Bradford's attempt to gain tenure was made a cause by conservatives such as Bill O'Reilly, who had Bradford on his Fox News show, The O'Reilly Factor. Bradford claimed to be a veteran of 11 yeras who saw combat in Desert Storm, was awarded the Silver Star, and attained the rank of major. Some curious law students checked that record, and found that he was in the Army Reserve for 6 years, received no medals, and has never seen combat. Bradford admitted that he made up the credentials, and he also pretended to be a supporter of himself on school websites to make it seem like he had more supporters than he really did. This is about the 1000th time this year that The O'Reilly Factor has been duped, and I'm guessing they won't ever reveal to the viewers that the whole Bradford affair was actually a con. They will probably never mention the name Bradford on their telecast again. Good thing they aren't spinning.
Truth comes out about professor's background | IndyStar.com

No long write-up is necessary for this story. I just would like to point out something about Fox News host John Gibson that people might forget: he's a NEWS anchor. A NEWS anchor. One more time: a NEWS anchor. This man is supposed to be telling people what's happening in the world, yet he's only tolerant of a portion of it (about 1/3, if you clump all Christians together). This is why Fox News is so popular (with that 1/3), and why society is in the toilet.
Fox's Gibson: Christians tolerate those who are ... [Media Matters]

David H. Brooks, CEO of DHB Industries, the company that makes faulty body armor for US troops, threw his daughter a $10 million Bat Mitzvah, featuring 50 Cent, Don Henley, and Tom Petty, among others. I find it amazing that this man can round up so many headliners for his daughter's birthday, yet his company is unable to make a vest that can take a round from a measly 9mm. DHB vests cost our government more than a bullet-proof vest available to 50 Cent and his posse, yet they let bullets from rather weak guns pass right through. I find it amazing that they are still allowed to use the term "bulletproof," as they provide just slightly more protection than my t-shirt. American soldiers have lost their lives because of this man's company and their war profiteering, yet he still made $70 million last year, and was more than able to spend a small portion of that on his little girl's birthday party. I hope people throw rotten eggs at her at whatever private school she's able to attend.
50 Cent, the War Profiteer and the $10 million Bat Mitzvah