reyonthehill

The uncannily-close election for governor in Washington state had a near surprise-twist just in time for the ending.

Edged out of the closest governor's race in state history, Republican Dino Rossi urged his opponent to accept a revote, saying the uncertainty surrounding the back-and-forth election was bad for the state.

Source: CBS News

Why didn't Al Gore think of that?!?

Well I'll be! A headline in today's online edition of the Washington Post: GOP's Soft Sell Swayed the Amish; Unlikely Voters Cast Lot With Bush

Image: washingtonpost.com

We have been so successful in Bush’s Little War on Terror (attempted pun) that we are now finally “denouncing” comments made by bin Laden.

President Bush on Wednesday denounced Osama bin Laden's call to boycott the Iraqi elections, saying the balloting offers a choice between free expression and a "dark vision of the world" viewed by the mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Source: Yahoo!

Hell, if only we would have denounced his terrorist actions before the tragedy of nine-eleven, none of this may not have happened. Isn't that a Clinton-tactic: feel-your-pain denounce-the-enemy? Or am I missing something here. Bush is supposed to be a cowboy.

From Simpsons episode "The Day the Violence Died."

Boy: [spoken] Hey, who left all this garbage lying on the steps of Congress?

Amendment: [spoken] I'm not garbage.

I'm an amendment to be

Yes, an amendment to be

And I'm hoping that they'll ratify me

There's a lot of flag burners

Who have got too much freedom

I wanna make it legal

For policemen

To beat 'em

'Cause there's limits to our liberties

'Least I hope and pray that there are

'Cause those liberal freaks go too far.

Boy: [spoken] But why can't we just make a law against flag burning?

Amendment: [spoken] Because that law would be unconstitutional. But if we _changed_ the Constitution...

Boy: [spoken] Then we could make all sorts of crazy laws!

Amendment: [spoken] Now you're catching on!

Boy: [spoken] But what if they say you're not good enough to be in the Constitution?

Amendment:

Then I'll destroy all opposition to me

And I'll make Ted Kennedy pay

If he fights back

I'll say that he's gay

Big Fat Guy/Politician: [running up] Good news, Amendment! They ratified 'ya. You're in the U.S. Constitution!

Amendment: Oh, yeah! Door's open, boys!

[many bills and amendments run in, guns a-shooting and bombs a-flying]

Source: The Simpsons Archive

This episode originally aired in March 1996. How well does it correlate to the recent gay marriage amendment proposed by Bush?

Keeping tabs with Dom.

Father Dominus,

I must confess to you my sinful past. I have recently

supported, emotionally and financially, liberal

candidates for public office. These liberals have, in

turn, supported gay marriage, euthanasia, secular

schools, and unlimited abortions on demand.

I find myself waking up trembling during my sleep. My

life has lost all meaning. I need you, my Father, for

I have sinned heavily against the House Ways and Means

Committee.

I have tried so mightily to pick up the pieces of my

life, and restore the essence of my soul. I need your

help, Father.

God's devoted, but recently and momentarily lost, son,

Jeff

ps, yes, me and emilia will be here throughout the

holiday season.

--- Dom wrote:

> jdog:

> glad to hear you've moved into your new house.

> I'm still at the same place in berkeley, doing the same thing in berkeley;

> so whereas your own existence is characterized by dynamic change, mine

> is representative of the traditional values this country desperately needs.

> As for my sister's influence, she quit her job last week in

> anticipation of attending princeton next fall. Till then she plans to travel,

> analyzing the various heathen cultures which threaten our national

> security (it's important to know the enemy).

> I'd love to drop by and see your new place.

> Headin for palo alto tommorrow but I'll be around during the first week

> of january. Are you guys both here over new year's? Bless you my children.

> May the lord jesus christ bless you.

> Recently ordained,

> Father Dominus

God bless you, Dom.

From Ann Coulter's webpage:

To The People Of Islam:

Just think: If we'd invaded your countries, killed your leaders and converted you to Christianity YOU'D ALL BE OPENING CHRISTMAS PRESENTS RIGHT ABOUT NOW!

Merry Christmas

Source: anncoulter.org

God bless you, Ann Coulter. (I hope people know when I use sarcasm; I wonder if I should italicize my attempts at sarcasm.)

Note: "God bless you, Ann Coulter," was an attempt by me to be sarcastic.

Starring Congo Philips. Returning home from the Civil War in 1865, a farmer finds his ranch looted and his town overtaken by an unruly church. Trouble ensues. Starts this Friday at theaters everywhere; check your local listings for details.

Did Bush mean toe-to-toe, as in toe-to-toe combat, or "Toto," the dog from the Wizard of Oz, or did Bush cut himself off from saying, "Total Recall," the great Schwarzenegger film? (From yesterday's press conference.)

Again, I repeat, we're under no illusions that this Iraqi force is not ready to fight. They're -- in toto, there are units that are, and that they believe they'll have a command structure stood up pretty quickly; that the training is intense; that the recruitment is good; the equipping of troops is taking place. So they're optimistic that as soon as possible it can be achieved. But it's -- I'm also wise enough not to give you a specific moment in time because, sure enough, if we don't achieve it, I'll spend the next press conference I have with you answering why we didn't achieve this specific moment.

Source: The White House

And if governing the largest state in the Union isn't enough headache, and adding to that the time to be managing editor of two muscle/fitness magazines, why not throw in a web-site. Yes, Schwarzenegger.com.

A return to the evolution of the elimination of the teaching of evolution in Kansas, Arkansas's younger and dumber sister.

In Kansas, conservatives now hold 6 of the 10 seats on the State Board of Education. All of them favor teaching theories that compete with or criticize evolution, said Jack Krebs, a member of the State Science Standards Writing Committee and vice president of Kansas Citizens for Science.

In 1999, the Kansas board voted to erase any mention of evolution from the state science curriculum, opening the door for the teaching of creationism. That was reversed in 2001, after three board members who supported the move were defeated in a Republican primary. Kathy Martin, a newly elected member of the board who favors teaching alternatives to evolution, said the board would probably take a different route this time, like introducing the teaching of "intelligent design," a theory that holds that the development of the universe and earth was guided at each step by an "intelligent agent."

Source: New York Times

And meanwhile in Missouri, the bastard son of the Confederate States of America.

"It's like when the hijackers took over those four planes on Sept. 11 and took people to a place where they didn't want to go," [State Representative Cynthia Davis of Missouri] added. "I think a lot of people feel that liberals have taken our country somewhere we don't want to go. I think a lot more people realize this is our country and we're going to take it back."

Source: New York Times

Poignant.

The news that Time's Person of the Year was President George W. Bush, who recently was re-elected to another (and his last) four-year term, had some juicy tidbits, if anyone cared to notice.

"Many, many Americans deeply wish he had not won," [Managing Editor Jim] Kelly said. "And yet he did."

Bush was recognized for "reshaping the rules of politics to fit his 10-gallon-hat leadership style," according to Time.

The magazine's editors recognized Bush "for sharpening the debate until the choices bled, for reframing reality to match his design, for gambling his fortunes — and ours — on his faith in the power of leadership."

Bush attributed his victory over Democratic candidate John Kerry to his foreign policy and the wars he began in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Source: CBS News

So you didn't win because of your leadership or leadership style. You didn't win because of your economic choices or the effort to defend our homeland. And you didn't win because of your grand ideas, or your work on education, the environment, and civil rights. You couldn't win on any of these issues, because you aren't a leader, you made poor choices, our nation was attacked, you have no ideas, you have neglected education and civil rights, and you are in the mist of destroying the environment.

You won, just as you said, because you started two wars. (Over 1,300 Americans have lost their lives in the War in Iraq since March 2003.)