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I get so tired of the GOP schoolmarms who pee themselves at the thought of people actually exercising their civil liberties. “They hate us for our freedoms - so let’s get rid of them.”
Way to go, scaredy cats.
UPDATE: Link fixed.

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From the Hill, yet another shining example of Bush’s sociopathic lack of empathy. “What do you mean, you want your kid back? My life’s a lot easier when the twins are off partying someplace else…”
President Bush has pledged to work with the new Democratic majorities in Congress, but he has already gotten off on the [...]

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Link:
Jimmy Carter on Charlie Rose says, “I think Al Gore is the best qualified to be president. And I agree with him on the environment and his critique of the Iraqi war. I don’t agree with him on everything. He would be my preference, yes. I think he would do well in the South. And [...]

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George Harrison, live at the Concert for Bangladesh:

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Just heard on the TV Mayor Street’s wacky brother Milton (a character from way back when) has just been indicted. Details later.
UPDATE: Tax fraud.

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With the last recount, looks like the Dems control the Pennsylvania state house. Via MyDD:
Smith pulled ahead of Royer by 23 votes in the final tabulation.
“This will change control of the state House,” said Clifford Levine, the Democratic attorney.
The whole Republican crew immediately bolted from the building.
“I don’t know, I don’t know,” one of the [...]

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Special guest this week! It’s Shelley Lewis, author of “Naked Republicans.” She’ll have books for sale and will be reading a selection too.
6 - 8 PM, at Tangier, 18th and Lombard Streets in Philadelphia. Free wings for the early birds and drink specials! Shelley expects to arrive at 6:30, so save her some of the [...]

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Anyone have some tubes of acrylic artist paints they don’t want anymore? There’s a free painting class I’d like to take, but I can’t afford supplies.

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Oh, look. Contrary to often-quoted and apparently imaginary data claiming women use more words than men, we speak about the same. (Although men usually speak 2% faster.)
I talk like a guy, which seems to bother some people. I talk quickly, vehemently, and I don’t put an imaginary question mark? at the end? of every thought?
I [...]

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Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature,
nor do the children of men
as a whole experience it.
Avoiding danger is no safer
in the long run than outright exposure.
Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.
–Helen Keller

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I know someone wrote me a while ago in comments, asking if there was any connection. Well, here’s one:
Future smokers may be programmed in the womb to take up the habit later in life, research published on Tuesday said.
Scientists in Australia have discovered that children of women who smoked during pregnancy were more likely to [...]

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If you live in North Carolina, and you want to volunteer for Larry Kissell’s manual recount tomorrow, here’s the information.

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Well, sure. I know a lot of people who are Christmas shopping at the Dollar Tree this year:
WASHINGTON (AP) — Orders for big-ticket manufactured goods plunged in October by the largest amount in more than six years, in another sign of a slowing economy.
The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that demand for durable goods fell a [...]

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An early Christmas present just arrived - the Phil Spector “Back to Mono” boxed set, including the Christmas album. Many joyous hours to come, immersed in the Wall of Sound…
Thank you, Santa baby!

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It’s about time:
WASHINGTON — A government watchdog group Monday called for an official investigation into whether House Speaker Dennis Hastert broke the law by pushing for federal funding of a highway project near land he owned west of Chicago.
Hastert (R-Ill.) and two partners turned a profit of more than $3 million last year on land [...]

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Since this happened last week, the brakes and tires malfunctioned on Air Force One while landing in Vietnam. One Bush twin had her purse snatched and a Secret Service Agent was beaten in Argentina, a White House aide was assaulted in Hawaii, a motorcycle cop from Bush’s Hawaiian motorcade was killed, and another one was [...]

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I have to say, “The Wire” just may be the best television series ever, and this season is the best yet. If you have HBO and you’re not watching this, you’re missing something unique. This series, originated by David “Homicide: Life on the Street” Simon, is messy, chaotic, upsetting and sometimes uplifting. Set in Baltimore, [...]

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Via Corrente, time is running out in Iraq:
* Iraq - The accelerating violence in Iraq will lead to the complete collapse of the Iraqi government by year end. The atrocities to come will make the Balkan Wars pale in comparison. This in turn will accelerate the separation of Iraq into three ethno-religious fiefdoms (Kurdistan in [...]

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Fox News wingnut pundit Bob Kohn cautions Jon Stewart. Oo, I’ll bet Jon stays up nights worrying about whether he meets Bob’s standards:

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Good will toward all:
DENVER A Colorado woman can display her Christmas wreath shaped like a peace sign after all.
The homeowners’ association in the Pagosa Springs subdivision where Lisa Jensen lives has withdrawn its threat to fine her 25 dollars a day unless she removed the wreath.
Several residents had complained, saying the wreath was either an [...]

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And yet, we’ve been told this is yet another slam dunk:
A top Iraqi official has said Baghdad has no evidence to link Iran with aiding the Al-Qaeda operations in his country though Tehran may be assisting extremist groups to fuel problems there.
“We don’t have solid evidence that Iran is helping Al-Qaeda in Iraq. They are [...]

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It’s not complicated. Their lives used to be fairly predictable, and now they’re in a living hell:
The U.S. military is no longer able to defeat a bloody insurgency in western Iraq or counter al-Qaeda’s rising popularity there, according to newly disclosed details from a classified Marine Corps intelligence report that set off debate in recent [...]

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Paul McLeary at CJR Desk wonders why the corporate media virtually ignored the K Street Project until the Abramoff revelations forced it into the limelight, yet are suddenly vigilant:
After that innocuous mention in November 2004, it took Time well over a year — until two articles ran in January 2006 — to get back to [...]

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Very sad:
Honolulu motorcycle police officer Steve Favela died yesterday, five days after he was critically injured while escorting President Bush’s motorcade.
He died at 9:55 a.m. with relatives at his bedside at the Queen’s Medical Center, according to the Department of the Medical Examiner.
Favela was 30 years old and had been with the department for [...]

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Eric Alterman on Bush admitting he lies to get the press off his back (which shouldn’t be all that difficult, considering their usual position is on their knees):
But because Bush couldn’t be bothered to pretend this time, he created a conundrum for much of the media. The press claims all kinds of special privileges for [...]

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I’m happy to see Glenn Greenwald deconstruct the whole media fascination with Jane Harman, because I’ve been too stressed and distracted to spell out what he said. He concludes:
There is nothing “credible” about Harman. Yes, she is smart and knowledgeable, but she has been wrong about everything that matters, particularly in the intelligence area. But [...]

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By the way, I’ve invited Maya and Dr. S. to chime in here anytime. They’re both damned good writers and fine thinkers, so I’m sure you’ll enjoy them.
Their posts will have their name at the top, so do be sure to check before blaming someone for something someone else actually said.

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The same gang of criminals, the same tactics, the same old solutions that never work:
Robert M. Gates, President Bush’s nominee to lead the Pentagon, advocated a bombing campaign against Nicaragua in 1984 in order to ‘bring down’ the leftist government, according to a declassified memo released by a nonprofit research group.

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Sometimes I feel like I’m living through a really bad rerun of the Sixties:
A homeowners association in southwestern Colorado has threatened to fine a resident $25 a day until she removes a Christmas wreath with a peace sign that some say is an anti-Iraq war protest or a symbol of Satan.rnrnSome residents who have complained [...]

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