Picture of the day

The UK's Shaun Clark, a former soldier in the the 8th Battalion Light Infantry Regiment, who, on Armistice Day, tattooed on his body the names of the 232 UK soldiers who died in Afghanistan. Luckily for him he wasn't an American, otherwise, at 232 names a body, would have needed 4 friends to join him in honoring those who died in Afghanistan. If he was an American who fought in Iraq, he'd need 19 additional friends to honor those who died in Iraq.

Of course, those are just the figures so far. Mr. Clark is unfortunately going to have to add more names to his body before everything is said and done, as will any of his American equivalents.

Cheap Blogging Crutch 09.25

Banks fight to kill proposed consumer protection agency
This is part 3,874 in our Not Learning Anything: The Global Financial Apocalypse and You series, in which banks decide that since almost nonexistent and un-enforced regulation worked out so well for banks and the public at large last time, why not try to handicap any efforts to provide any new oversight. Sounds like a good plan. Maybe next go around we can have every bank fail, or at least be consolidated into one super bank. This seems like the smartest way to go.

Democrats Are Jarred by Drop In Fundraising, Complacency, Absence of Big Donors Cited
Yes Democrats, after a summer in which you spent all your time fucking over the priorities of your base, dicking around on health care, not doing all that much to overturn Bush terrorism policies, and generally just spitting in the face of people who would be willing to give you money, you want to say it's complacency that's making your coffers a little light. That's half right. It's complacency from Democratic leaders, who think they can piss on everyone's shoes and tell them it's raining, that's the reason people can't seem to find money for people who can't seem to find the time to try to do what they ran for election on.

Mount Vernon council distances itself from honor for talk-show host
This is odd. Who would have ever thought that there would be people who would be mortified that their mayor was going to honor Glenn Beck with a Glenn Beck Day and a key to the city? I mean who wouldn't want to tie that crazy albatross around your neck and promote the fact that America's foremost aardvark lover was born and raised in your fair town? Build a statue to him, he's earned it.

Water Found on the Moon
You thought the Fiji and Voss water people were insufferable beyond all belief, wait till you meet the Moon Water people who drink their water from a moon aquifer that has never even touched an atmosphere, let alone air impurities. That's right, the friggin' moon has friggin' water on it. Don't worry, they're going to investigate this in the best way they know how: by crashing a spacecraft called LCROSS into it. Eat it Japan! We're the moon smashing water kings now.

Ford China Plant: Automaker Will Build $490 Million Facility
That's how you rebuild the American car industry....by packing it up and putting it in Chongqing, which I'm pretty sure was named after the villain in Van Damme's Bloodsport. Let's see, they have a plant in China, with Chinese labor, making cars under Chinese manufacturing standards, for sale in the Chinese market. Those goddamn things must be so cheap they actually give you money to take one. But I guess Ford are the smart ones, they're the ones we didn't have to bail out.

Art of the day

A portrait of Glenn Beck by artist Michael Murphy. i know what you're saying, "What's so great about this? It's just a painting of America's shame." But in this case dear readers it's not so much the subject as it is the medium. You see the painting was rendered using a mixture of "bull shit and pigment". Finally, art worthy of Beck's contribution to our society.

I think we can all appreciate Murphy's efforts and commend what must have been an unpleasant aromatic endurance as he collected a 'specimen' and proceeded to paint with it. In any event it's a lot easier than actually enduring an episode of Beck's program. I just hope that the painting can be auctioned off to benefit Glenn, as he's fallen on some hard times recently.

Asshole declared honorary asshole

Sean Hannity made the latest stop in his Freedom Tour in Texas. There he hobknobbed with secessionist advocate and hater of federal money (unless he decides that he likes it) Governor Rick Perry, who had a special honor bestowed upon the Hannatee whilst he was rambling confusedly.

Standing on-stage with the Fox News host, Perry awarded Hannity a certificate declaring him to be “an honorary Texan.” In accepting the award, Hannity incoherently told the audience, “I promise you, as of Monday morning, we’re back on the mission. We’re going to stop this move towards America and socialism. I promise you with all my heart.”

Ahh Rick, you actually looked around Texas and thought to yourself "There aren't enough right-wing blowhards living here. I think I need to get out my special honorary certificates." First Rush, now Hannity. Is Glenn Beck too busy?

Still though, this raises an interesting question: What is the value of a promise Sean Hannity makes on the false pretense that he has a functioning human heart? Less value than a regular Hannity promise or the same, but with an extra lie thrown in? At least he's vigilant in his continued stand to not understand what socialism is and to stop this heinous move.....towards.....America. What? Good...luck...with...that? Fuck it, he's a Texan now, he doesn't have to make sense.

This is why all decent people should hate Joe Lieberman

On making things worse:

LIEBERMAN: And therefore, I think our three Republican colleagues — Olympia, Susan Collins, and Arlen Specter — are really the heroes in this for making a stimulus possible. […]

Again, I really can’t say enough about Olympia Snowe and the other two Republicans who really deserve the Congressional Medal of Honor on this one.

The Congressional Medal of Honor

The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed on a member of the United States armed forces who distinguishes himself "conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States".[1] Because of the nature of its criteria, the medal is often awarded posthumously.

US Awards Season

Bush Chooses Uribe, Blair, Howard For Medal Of Freedom

President George W. Bush is giving the nation's highest civilian award to three foreign leaders who have been among his most loyal partners on the world stage, particularly in the Iraq war.

Bush is awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and to two former leaders: former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and former Australian Prime Minister John Howard. Bush is conferring the prestigious award on his friends in an East Room ceremony on Jan. 13 _ exactly one week before he leaves office, White House press secretary Dana Perino said Monday.

"The president is honoring these leaders for their work to improve the lives of their citizens and for their efforts to promote democracy, human rights and peace abroad," she said. "All three leaders have been staunch allies of the United States, particularly in combating terrorism."

Ah yes, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Cable Ace Award of American honors. Whenever you need to attempt to save face for your terrible policies you hand out the Medal of Freedom in an attempt to pretend you're awarding them for success and not a one day headline. Blair and Howard are being awarded for their complete and total sycophancy during the war on terror and the extreme lengths to which they would ignore their own people and governments in their fruitless support of our boy wonder and his Iraqi adventure. In an unrelated observation, both of them were driven from office. Howard by the voters and Blair by his own party in an attempt to stave off retribution by the voters.

Alvaro Uribe is getting the award because Bush really wants Congress to pass a free trade agreement with Colombia. A man with drug trafficking links, paramilitary links, and bribery charges, getting an award for his human rights work. Which is good, unless you are a worker in his country trying to unionize, then you get your skull cracked. But you know who I feel sorry for? Everyone who got this award from Truman's creation of it to Clinton. These people were honored and probably genuinely excited to receive the honor. Then Bush ran in and turned it into a punchline. So congrats, you've received a devalued honor. Maybe you can sell it for scrap if you fall on hard times.