The origin of the word 'enthusiasm'

Just thought I'd share this, from Wikipedia:

Enthusiasm (from Gr. enthousiasmos possession by a god) originally means inspiration by a divine afflatus or by the presence of a god.

Best BBC headline....EVER!

'Sex hungry roaches lured to death'

NY Times Op-ed on Gannon

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

'Iran, Syra "form common front"'

Just what I've always wanted. A nuclear war. Really, you guys shouldn't have.

Gay prostitutes in the White House

No, really!

This is probably a bit out of the blue for all of you, but this is a story that has been developing over the past couple of weeks in the blogosphere. The mainstream press is starting to sit up and take notice of it. The basic outline is that it came to light that one of the reporters in the White House press corps who always seemed to be asking really easy questions--and helping the Press Secretary or the President get out of sticky situations--might not have been who he said he was. Questions started being asked when it was noticed that his news articles were almost word-for-word copies of internal Republican documents. With a minimal amount of investigation, it turned out that Jeff Gannon was not in fact who he said he was. But in fact someone else. That he had been allowed to use a fake name--something that no one else is allowed to do--to gain access to the White House on a seemingly daily basis.

Oh, and the cherry on top is that there is mounting evidence that he is/was a male escort.

So in the end, why does this matter? Why does it matter that Jeff Gannon may have been a gay hooker named James Guckert with a $20,000 defaulted court judgment against him? So he somehow got a job lobbing softball questions to the White House. Big deal. If he was already a prostitute, why not be one in the White House briefing room as well?

This is the Conservative Republican Bush White House we're talking about. It's looking increasingly like they made a decision to allow a hooker to ask the President of the United States questions. They made a decision to give a man with an alias and no journalistic experience access to the West Wing of the White House on a 'daily basis.' They reportedly made a decision to give him - one of only six - access to documents, or information in those documents, that exposed a clandestine CIA operative. Say what you will about Monika Lewinsky - a tasteless episode, 'inappropriate,' whatever. Monika wasn't a gay prostitute running around the West Wing. What kind of leadership would let prostitutes roam the halls of the West Wing? What kind of war-time leadership can't find the same information that took bloggers only days to find?

None of this is by accident.

Someone had to make a decision to let all this happen. Who? Someone committed a crime in exposing Valerie Plame and now it appears a gay hooker may be right in the middle of all of it? Who?

Ultimately, it is the hypocrisy that is such a challenge to grasp in this story. This is the same White House that ran for office on a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. While they are surrounded by gay hookers? While they use a gay hooker to write articles for their gay hating political base? While they use a gay hooker to destroy a political enemy? Not to mention the hypocrisy of a 'reporter' who chooses to publish article after article defending the ant-gay religious-right point of view on gay civil rights issue.

Who in the White House is at the center of all of this? Who allowed this to go on in the People's House? Who committed the crime of exposing Valerie Plame? Jeff Gannon has the answers to these questions, and boy we know he loves to talk.

ps The link is not exactly work-safe as it contains images of Jeffy in the buff (even if his not-so-little soldier has been cut out). You may, however, certainly enjoy them in the privacy of your own home.

It's good to know that Janet Reno is keeping busy these days...

...at the Grammy's! (wtf?)



ps Note the lovely halo effect. 'Nearer my god to thee... (certainly nearer than Alberto Gonzales).'

Damn that history...

Each day, the United States must borrow billions of dollars from abroad to finance its enormous budget and trade deficits. Without a steady stream of huge loans, the country would face rising interest rates, higher inflation, a dropping dollar and slower economic growth. The lenders want to see less of a gap between what the government collects in taxes and what it spends, because a lower budget deficit always eases a trade deficit. A lower trade deficit also implies a stronger dollar. And a stronger dollar would reassure foreign investors that dollar-based assets remain their best choice.

I've been reading a fair bit of nineteenth-century Latin American history over the weekend, getting ready for a midterm tomorrow. This quote might well have been taken from one of the articles that I've read. A government reliant on foreign investment and foreign loans simply to function day-to-day. The only difference, perhaps, is that the current United States government doesn't face a well-armed populace headed by strongmen waiting for the central government to misstep to pull of a coup in their favour.

Ambassador Cellucci: Canada's tsunami response too slow

To US Ambassador, and former Massachusetts governor, Paul Cellucci, with all due respect, Sir:

Fuck you.

Bill Would Place Homeland Security Above All Law

The provision in the REAL ID Act would expand this waiver beyond environmental law to include all laws. It would thus place the D[epartment of] H[omeland] S[ecurity] Secretary above all federal laws, environmental or otherwise...

Well, democracy was nice while it lasted.

Um. Yeah.

Bad procrastination

You know it's bad when I start clicking around the White House website to procrastinate. Oddly enough, I've discovered that the Office of National AIDS Policy seems not to exist anymore: http://www.whitehouse.gov/onap/

Personality quiz

Wackiness: 46/100
Rationality: 44/100
Constructiveness: 76/100
Leadership: 52/100

You are a SECF--Sober Emotional Constructive Follower. This makes you a Hippie.

You are passionate about your causes and steadfast in your commitments. Once you've made up your mind, no one can convince you otherwise. Your politics are left-leaning, and your lifestyle choices decidedly temperate and chaste.

You do tremendous work when focused, but usually you operate somewhat distracted. You blow hot and cold, and while you normally endeavor on the side of goodness and truth, you have a massive mean streak which is not to be taken lightly. You don't get mad, you get even.

Please don't get even with this web site.

Of the 91978 people who have taken this quiz since tracking began (8/17/2004), 10.4 % are this type.

I didn't need a quiz to tell me this. Check out the link.

And in other news...

My mother just phoned to ask if I planned to watch the Super Bowl tonight. Apparently she hasn't been paying attention for the last decade.

Also, my little brother has begun to use the term 'washroom' instead of 'bathroom'. Score one for the subversive Canadian brainwashing.

Anyone from Boston remember that annoying commercial with the 'Faaaaantastic!' guy selling furniture or cars?

In Omaha on Friday, a divorced single mother named Mary Mornin tells the president, 'I have one child, Robbie, who is mentally challenged, and I have two daughters.'


'Fantastic,' the president exclaims, and he tells her she has 'the hardest job in America, being a single mom.'


Later, the 57-year old Mornin tells Bush that she works three jobs, which the president deems 'uniquely American' and 'fantastic.' He asks her if she gets any sleep.

Aside from the obvious here, I want to know why there isn't more being written about the fact that all of Bush's public appearances are now carefully scripted and ticketed. Only supporters can get tickets. 42 people in Fargo, ND, were blacklisted and refused tickets to Bush's appearance there last week. Coincidentally, they were all members of Democracy for America, the spin-off organisation from Howard Dean's presidential bid.

I (heart) American democracy.

Huzzah

Tens of thousands of gay and lesbian couples who live in New York City are one step closer to walking down the aisle—with a marriage license in their hands.

Today, a New York trial judge handed down an unprecedented ruling that says the state must grant gay and lesbian couples the right to marriage. The court's decision, stemming from a case filed by Lambda Legal, a national LGBT civil rights organization, on behalf of five plaintiff couples, says that the state's constitution guarantees gay men and lesbians the same basic freedoms available to straight couples.

There will be an appeal, of course, but if the higher court stays the decision, then same-sex marriage will be legal in the Empire State.

Slowly but surely...

What will we tell the children?

And Laura, for that matter?

I think we need to start a letter-writing campaign against this kind of sordid behaviour in public. I mean, innocent children could see this and be scarred for life!

This is amazing

Gmail.

I seem to have FIFTY Gmail invitations now. So, um, if you or anyone you love/hate want a gmail account, by all means let me know.

Oh, look, it's working...

Over a third of American high school students believe that the First Amendment goes 'too far' in protecting freedom of speech, press, worship and assembly. Only half believed that newspapers should be allowed to publish stories that were not approved by the government. 83% of students believed that people should not be allowed to express unpopular views. Half believed that the government had the right to censor the internet. Two-thirds believed that it was illegal to burn the flag.

I'm going to go find a corner to cry in now.

What the fuck?

It seems that everyone I went to high school with now listens to country music.

I was ostracised because I listened to country music in high school (there were other reasons, too, but that's beside the point).

It's amazing what you can find out via friendster.

Gawd

We always knew that Americans had no fashion sense, but for chrissake! Doesn't this man have handlers?

(click the link)