Joe Sixpack (aka Sarah Palin) vs The Volcano (Mt. Redoubt)

Imagine an eruption FIVE TIMES IN ONLY TWO HOURS!

Last night, at 10:30 PM, Mt. Redoubt in Alaska erupted. Actually, it erupted five times within two hours. Its plume was 50,000 ft. high. Although 103 miles southwest of Anchorage, the ash could settle in Anchorage if winds shift from north to northwest. With that ash, the chemical words that come up most often are: chlorofluorocarbon pollution, radiation balance, acid rain, carbon dioxide and sulfuric acid.

And the political name that could come up is: Sarah Palin. Isn't it rather scary thinking of Sarah Palin in charge after a disaster?

From Anchorage Daily News:

Ash is not expected in Anchorage or Wasilla at this time, the Weather Service said.

An ash cloud is headed up the Susitna Valley west of Willow and is expected to arrive in the Talkeetna area around 3 a.m., said Dave Stricklan at the Weather Service's Anchorage office.

“It looks like (Anchorage) might dodge the bullet,” Alaska Volcano Observatory geophysicist Peter Cervelli said.

We should hope so, but what about any people directly north of the eruption?

Wikipedia:

In 1990 The eruption also caused an airliner to have all four engines die after it flew into a cloud of volcanic ash. Damage from the eruption was estimated at $160 million, the second costliest volcanic eruption in United States history.

Hmmm. $160 million. How much did Sarah refuse from the stimulus package that would go to education? Maybe God's telling her something! Will the Alaska state legislature support her, saying "Go Sarah, Go - in 2012!" Or will they just say to her: "You gotta be kidding, Palin, we need all the goddamned money we can get right now!"

So far, there are three villages directly affected: Skwentna, Trapper Creek and Talkeetna, total population of all three: 1306. Since she has been criticized extensively for paying no attention to depressed and distressed areas of Alaska, I wonder of Palin will break down and send a fruitb asket. Or maybe she'll have Thomas Muthee exorcise evil spirits from the area. You can rest assured that Palin will weigh if a photo op is worth any largesse the governor dishes out. How will it help her in 2012? How would she do during a catastrophe like Katrina but with a volcano as the culprit? Would she like to fly over the houses covered in ash.? Would she slap the back of the Alaska FEMA-like agency head and say,

"You're doing a heckofa job, ah, whoever you are." ?

Just a thought.

UPDATE: As of 7:28PM, Redoubt erupted AGAIN, making it the sixth eruption and possibly the most dangerous: the plume of ash reached its highest point at 60,000 feet.

(Anchorage Daily News)

High-elevation winds above 40,000 feet are beginning to veer toward Anchorage, but no ash is expected to fall on Alaska's largest city at this time, Bob Hopkins, the meteorologist-in-charge of the National Weather Service office in Anchorage, said.

"Eight miles up -- that's going to stay there," Hopkins said. "But that will affect aircraft at that altitude."

It's the lower-elevation winds between 10,000 and 20,000 feet, currently blowing north by northeast, that are most likely to carry ash to the ground, Hopkins said.

Is George Bush Coaching Michael Steele?

Maybe, Maybe Not - He's Very Busy Writing His "Book" While Learning His ABC's At The Same Time!

Today, Michael Steele gave evidence to the fact that he doesn't know much about the Constitution:

(HT: Think Progress)

This morning, RNC Chairman Michael Steele came out of isolation and guest-hosted Bill Bennett’s Morning in America. During the program, a caller asked Steele about the constitutionality of the 90 percent bonus tax passed by the House yesterday. The caller said that he believed that the tax was unconstitutional because “the first amendment…specifically states that a law cannot be passed to specifically target a person or a group of people.”

And Steele said: "Right!"

CALLER: And we’ve got a president who is supposedly a constitutional scholar.

STEELE: Right. Right.

Even non-scholars of just about any discipline would tell you that the First Amendment is not about targeting specific people:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

By now, we know that Michael Steele beats Joe Biden for gaffes. It seems impossible that The Republican National Committe could not have known about this man's past faux pas. Then again, Sarah Palin... Steele's gaffes seem almost staged. Could he...? Nah. Bush is too busy writing his book "Connect The Dots" no wait, it's something about his being The Decider:

President Bush has signed a book deal with Crown to publish his memoir, tentatively titled “Decision Points.” The deal is worth a reported $7 million — a hefty sum, but it pales in comparison to the rumored $11 million Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) might fetch.

Other sums for memoirs:
Bill Clinton - $12 million Hillary Clinton - $8 million Tony Blair - $9 million

Late last year, some publishers were suggesting that Bush hold off writing a book, because of his dramatically low approval ratings. “[G]iven how the public feels about him right now, I think patience would probably be something that I would encourage,” Paul Bogaards, executive director of publicity for Alfred A. Knopf, said.

But let's be honest: Bush can't really afford to wait fifty years. By that time, the $7 million will be worthless.

Most of the comments on the blogosphere haven't been so much about Bush as they have been wondering just who is going to get the odious task of writing it, editing it, and changing history books so that the Katrina disaster will only get a paragraph ("It was fun seeing all that water from a plane.") while other issues will get...nothing. (Read Our previous post about his Presidential Library's Website). It will be interesting to see if the "ghost" will slip in words that George doesn't know, like Afghanistan, Iraq, Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, torture, diplomacy, accountability.

BTW: Does anyone know that George W. Bush actually HAS BOOKS WITH HIS NAME GIVEN AS AUTHOR?

We Will Prevail: President George W. Bush on War, Terrorism and Freedom
George W. Bush on God and Country: The President Speaks Out About Faith, Principle, and Patriotism
A Charge to Keep

You can get the last two for ONE PENNY each. We Will Prevail will cost you much more: 47 cents. Other books favoring George Bush that you can get for ONE PENNY:


Rebel-in-Chief: Inside the Bold and Controversial Presidency of George W. Bush by Fred Barnes
A Matter of Character: Inside the White House of George W. Bush by Ronald Kessler
The Right Man: An Inside Account of the Bush White House by David Frum
A Man of Faith: The Spiritual Journey of George W. Bush by David Aikman



But cheer up, George, the book will make money. You're so solid with the State of Texas (except Arlington, of course) just think how many Texans will read it ...at gunpoint.

Other cheap and interesting George W. Bush books:

The Two Biggest "Hate Crimes" Of All: Prop 8 and Tony Perkins

What Tony Perkins Actually Thinks

Tony Perkins of Family Research Council puts just about everything in quotes: "protect" homosexuals, "decriminalization," "principal of non-discrimination," "sexual orientation," "gender identity," "stigmatization and prejudice," "The Agenda," "Fairness Doctrine," "Hate Crimes," and, of course, "diversity." By putting them in quotes, Perkins stresses that these things either don't really exist or that they're other than how he (the "normal" person) would define them.

All of the above words and phrases came from two missives today: Perkins' daily screed, today's titled "Queer Eye For The State Guy." (For terrible pun-like, nonsensical titles, absolutely nobody beats Tony Perkins) and a donation plea entitled Stand Up To "The Agenda" Now! Both emails are basically conspiracy-theorizing, fear-mongering letters.

The first email points to the U.N. declaration (non-binding) concerning decriminalizing homosexuality. Bush refused to sign it as did African and Arab nations that still have homosexuality on the books as a capital offense. The Obama administration may sign it. Perkins is frightened out of his wits that signing such a declaration legitimizes homosexuality, a "policy already forced on the U.S. by a 2003 Supreme Court decision." (emphasis my own).

The second email possits something Perkins swears is true: "The Agenda." This is a mysterious, secret cabal intent on destroying his America.

As you probably know by now, the Obama-Pelosi-Reid government is moving swiftly to silence you and everyone else who disagrees with "The Agenda" . . . a blueprint of their dangerous vision of an anti-faith, anti-family vision for America. The so-called "Fairness Doctrine" is just the tip of the spear. They'll stop at nothing to strip Christian and conservative Americans of their voices.

And later:

Silencing the moral voices of America is critical for the Left to place America under government control, except when it comes to moral or sexual restraint.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch called Reality:

(From the San Jose Mercury News)

Hate crime cases involving anti-gay sentiment shot up in Santa Clara County last year, a striking increase that a leading prosecutor attributes to controversy over Proposition 8, the voter-approved ban on gay marriage.

Conspiracy theorists like Perkins don't seem quite as formidable as an effort like Prop 8. After all, $40 million is a lot to spend for discrimination. But don't discount him, either. The people who shelled out those millions listened to "somebody."

Just a thought.

The GITMO Victims: A Scandal As Bad As Abu Ghraib!

A "Mosaic" should consist of pieces of tile -

NOT pieces of men!

This is as bad as Abu Ghraib.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Many detainees locked up at Guantanamo were innocent men swept up by U.S. forces unable to distinguish enemies from noncombatants, a former Bush administration official said Thursday. "There are still innocent people there," Lawrence B. Wilkerson, a Republican who was chief of staff to then-Secretary of State Colin Powell, told The Associated Press. "Some have been there six or seven years."

Wilkerson, who first made the assertions in an Internet posting on Tuesday, told the AP he learned from briefings and by communicating with military commanders that the U.S. soon realized many Guantanamo detainees were innocent but nevertheless held them in hopes they could provide information for a "mosaic" of intelligence.

Who knew?

Whose Money Is It Anyway? AIG Exec's? Tax Payer's? Hannity and Limbaugh's?

Showing The Right's Disdain For
The Poor and The Middle Class

Do the AIG people who got bonuses actually believe in "trickle down" economics? Do they believe in anything besides themselves? Do they care that the entire country looks upon them as less than pond scum? As Republicans and Democrats alike scream "foul!" at AIG's largesse with government bailout money, it's hard to conceive anyone standing up for the ones who got the bonuses. Enter Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity.

Plum Line Greg Sargent's blog:

Split Emerging Between Conservative Media And GOP Leadership On AIG Mess

Mitch McConnell recently blasted AIG’s bonuses as an “outrage.” John Boehner said that the “American people are rightly outraged.” And Eric Cantor bemoaned the “stunning lack of accountability” on AIG’s part.

But...

Rush Limbaugh recently said: “I am all for the AIG bonuses” and attacked the Obama administration for trying to undo them. He also blasted Dem efforts to get the names of the AIG bonus recipients as “McCarthyism.”

Fox News followed suit, also comparing Dems to “Joe McCarthy.” And Sean Hannity has now derided efforts to tax the execs by saying: “In other words, we’re going to just steal their money.”

Yes, the bonuses were a direct slap in the face to the poor and the middle class. AIG was hideously stupid in presenting them without any attempt to seek government approval. The money they gave out as "rewards" was simply not theirs to give. They did not earn it. It was loaned to them by the government and, by extension, the United States taxpayers.

Loans are never free. Talk to the people whose homes are being foreclosed on. The largesse of the American taxpayer should never be discounted: it comes with a certain condition THAT SHOULD BE EVIDENT without putting it in writing: ithe money loaned to AIG was money to help a business pay off debts. Bonuses are not debts. A bonus may be promised to an employee, but it is not in any way considered a debt. A bonus is just what it means: a stipend above and beyond a salary to be given out at the discretion of the employer for employees he deems worthy of something extra. A bonus (we learned in school) was NEVER to be counted upon because it is discretionary. The Puritan ethic allows us to strive for a bonus, but comes with the caveat that we should be proud in the fact that we earned more than a bonus. We earned self-respect in doing our best.

And let's face it: the American public is O.K. with athletes and actors getting enormous contracts but they aren't entertained by executives getting extra money for doing something they didn't do: MAKE money for the company.

And now Rush and Sean want us to believe that these "AIG Bonusers" actually deserve the loaned money and that they are being singled out by the government for the sake of persecution. They are attacking Democrats as "McCarthyites." Hmmm. Strange. The McCarthy I learned about was more in line with Rush and Sean in the department of ideology. Joe McCarthy persecuted people for being what he considered un-American. Limbaugh and Hannity have called people un-American countless times. Now it's un-American to loan a business money and tell them what they can do with that loan.

High finance and politics - they're both getting wierder and wierder.

Condom Papa: The Pope Blinded By The Fantasy of Abstinence

The pope joins the ranks of
Tony Perkins and James Dobson

Late again. The Vatican always comments on things so late in the game you wonder why it bothers at all. Any important statement by the Vatican on AIDS should have been made in 1982 or the latest 1984. Then again, what can you expect from a spiritual guide that apologizes to Galilleo for putting him under house arrest (because of his solar-centric theory) 400 years after the fact. The Vatican also dragged its heals during the Holocaust at the cost of a great many lives. When John XXIII, Paul VI and John-Paul I uttered words about change, all the prelates recoiled in horror! (Note: the death of John-Paul is still questioned to this day). Now it comments on something killing people by the millions trying to prove prevention techniques are not effective:

Pope: Condoms not the answer to fighting AIDS

By The Associated Press
03.17.2009 12:33pm EDT

Pope Benedict XVI said Tuesday that the distribution of condoms is not the answer in the fight against AIDS in Africa.

Benedict has never before spoken explicitly on condom use although he has stressed that the Roman Catholic Church is in the forefront of the battle against AIDS. The Vatican encourages sexual abstinence to fight the spread of the disease.

“You can’t resolve it with the distribution of condoms,” the pope told reporters aboard the Alitalia plane headed to Yaounde, Cameroon. “On the contrary, it increases the problem.”

Some priests and nuns working with victims of the AIDS pandemic ravaging Africa question the church’s opposition to condoms.

The pope also said that he intends to make an appeal for “international solidarity” for Africa in the face of the global economic downturn.

Since Africa has lately become what the Americas were back in the 16th century, the Church espouses abstinence and "legitimacy" (Roman Catholic marriage) to burgeoning countries with big, healthy, Catholic convert populations. Might it be that Benedict wants to get a sizable share of the continent before Rick Warren goes for the gold (South Africa)? Maybe. So what if people die because their country's prevention programs sucked. The moral righteousness of the Roman Catholic Church must be maintained. It's picking itself up from child abuse scandals, dusting itself off, and standing proudly erect for morality. A rather warped morality, but a morality nonetheless.

This morality comes from an arch-conservative mind that started out in life as a Hitler Youth and wound up (before the papacy) becoming the prefect of The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, previously known as the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Universal Inquisition (wikipedia) Isn't ironic that a German Hitler Youth should become head of the Inquisition? What theologian and scholar Hans Kung wrote about the papacy of John-Paul II would be doubly applicable to the current one:

A mediocre, rigid, and more conservative episcopate will be the lasting legacy of this papacy.

He could also have said avaricious, hidabound, narrow minded and fascist. Perhaps Kung's most famous quote applies to Benedict as well:

"There will be no peace among the nations without peace among the religions. There will be no peace among the religions without dialogue among the religions."

I seriously doubt that Benedict will initiate any serious dialogue with anyone who goes up against his stance on condoms and abstinence.

Just a thought.

Scandal! Cheney Confesses Undying Love for Limbaugh!!

Will The Tabloids Be Able To Tell The WHOLE Story?

I swear the entire net is laughing about Cheney's statement that he LOVES Rush Limbaugh! Google "Cheney Loves Limbaugh" and you will find (I swear) the first 100 entries dedicated to that one statement. As if people didn't know they were twins separated at birth!

And, yes, people are laughing. They are not coming to the defense of either party. They are content to carry the joke further and further. You think Michael Steele - the perpetual gaffe machine - was entertaining. These two might wipe him off the front pages of The Onion.
Cartoonists are already exhausted and have taken up enough ink and lead to sink a battleship. Just view them today... and for the next week.

Ridiculous? I hope they profess love for each other forever! When a V.P. who had an approval rating below 20 and a broadcaster who thinks he's the head of the Republican Party, but is thought of NEGATIVELY by over 65% of the American public, they can't help but drag each other down! These two guys who glory in a kind of fascism of their owning making should be pictured in "love nests" in every paper in America!


And the love Dick feels for Rush is not unrequited!: (from Salon.com - Cheney's interview on Limbaugh's show in April, 07)

According to an official transcript released by the White House, Limbaugh asked, "You and the President both have decried the theatrics of Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi and a number of the Democrats, and ... I, frankly, need to ask you if you really think it's theatrics, or is this who they really are? Is this what they really intend, to lose this war, to make sure we come home defeated?"

Yes, the love shines through! Will Dick leave Lynn? Will Rush give Dick an engagement ring and the keys to his (very) secure Palm Beach residence?

Stay tuned...

But while your waiting, here are two very funny (and very revealing) videos for you to enjoy.