ledge of liberty

Oddments: Third worldization edition

• Touchscreen voting machines aren't the only Venezuela/US bond these days.  A law just passed giving the Venezuelan government control over radio and television broadcasting.  [AP]
• The Canadian Supreme Court officially redefined marriage, approving a bill legalizing gay marriage.  [CP]
• Siting principles, Bush has flat-out refused an increase to payroll taxes -- an effort to save Social Security.  Bush nor Mcclellan have offered any answers as to where the trillions needed to save the program will come from.  [AP]
• Oh-my-God stop the f*cking presses -- Al Sharpton was paid by the Kerry camp!  Why is this news?  [AP]
• The House has approved the 9/11 intelligence bill.  This should get really interesting once we start reading through the 600 pages that weren't submitted until yesterday afternoon.  [WP]
• "I am an innocent man, convicted of a crime I did not commit... I have been persecuted for 12 years for a crime I did not commit", were the final words of Cameron Todd Willingham as he was tied down and executed in a Texas prison.  As it turns out -- he was telling the truth.  [Chicago Tribune]
  

Oddments: Sacrilicious edition

• Once, twice, three times a voter... Ohio discovers thousands of duplicate votes.  [Yahoo/AP]
• "I want my 2 dollars!"  Last month's 25 buck donation would be nice too.  It seems Kerry's got 15 million in left-overs  [Yahoo/AP]
• We've always known it to be true, but know it's actually legal -- House Republicans approve crime.  "House Republicans voted on Wednesday to change their own rules to allow their powerful Majority Leader Tom DeLay to keep his post even if he is indicted in connection with illegal fund-raising activities."  [Reuters]
• "Falluja was relatively calm on Thursday. Groups of Iraqi men under U.S. military control gathered bodies from the street."  Hmm... Falluja calm... I wonder why?  Maybe it's because everyone's dead?  [Reuters]
• There's clearly something wrong with the economy water, when half of a 10 year old grilled cheese sandwich is selling on Ebay for nearly $20,000.  [Ebay]
• Old sandwiches not your thing?  You can get a brand-new customized grilled cheese on Ebay for $75,000.  "I will personally create this sandwich for you within 24 hours after the auction ends. Unlike most popular Virgin Mary cheese sandwiches, yours will be BOTH customized AND made to order! You get to choose from among three cheeses (cheddar, Swiss and the ever popular American)."  [Ebay] ремонт стиральных машин киев
• "When the average citizen hears the phrase 'presidential election,' he thinks of long lines at polling places and agonizing waits as election results are tallied," U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) told reporters Monday.  "Putting the election of our public officials into the hands of private industry would motivate election officials to be more efficient."  [The Onion] одежда оптом

Oddments: Get your vote on edition

• Torture Bush. [Liquid Generation]
• Apparently Ann Coulter isn’t the only one with pie in her face these days..."You've got no shame!" screamed Chu Fong-chih of the opposition Nationalist Party, after throwing a take-out box of chicken and rice at Chen Tsung-yi...Chen responded by accusing Chu of sympathizing with Taiwan's arch-foe China, and flung his own lunch box at her. [Yahoo/Reuters]
• Call 212-875-7000. "You're just a phone call away from hot one-on-one chat with a few Weapons of Mass...Seduction." [LieGirls via Wonkette via Fleshbot]
• Eminem's new patriotic music video MOSH [Real Player] [Windows Media]
• Missing weapons. Nope, no weapons over there...maybe under here? [NY Times]
• "When it comes to accusations, we don't know who's telling the truth, so I'm not going to get on the Bill O'Reilly bandwagon. But one of his producers is suing him for unwanted phone sex with her while he was using a vibrator on himself. To me, that doesn't sound like Bill O'Reilly, because usually he's pulling stuff out of his ass." --Bill Maher [Bill O’Reilly Jokes]

Oddments: Democracy happens edition

• "Hello my name is Jake and I made this webpage to support George W. Bush for president. Take a look at this webpage to find out more about our president and why he is the best president of America. This webpage is actualy more like a fan page because Bush will be elected again so easy that it doesnt even matter if we vote or not. So just take a look and see why George W. is the greatest!" [W4Prez]
• What? What bulge? Nope... noooo, that’s just my uh colostomy bag. Shhhhhh...don't ask, don't tell. [Bush Bulges]
• Jon Stewart tells Tucker Carlson where to stick his bowtie on Crossfire live. [randomfoo.net]
• Uh, just click the link ---> [Gradis]
• "150 DV cameras distributed across Iraq for the Iraqi people to show the world who they are and what Iraq will be." [Voices of Iraq]

Oddments: Freedom fries or terror treats edition

Overheard on a Train in New York [Political Wire]

Q. Do you really think George Bush would scare New Yorkers about a potential terrorist attack if it was only based on four year old information?

A. They invaded a country based on 12 year old information.

Katherine Harris (R-FL 13th) spreading bogus terror threats. [AP/Yahoo]

She told the audience that while in the Midwest recently, a mayor told her about a plot in Carmel and how a man of Middle Eastern heritage had been arrested and hundreds of pounds of explosives were found in his home.

"He had plans to blow up the area's entire power grid," she said, according to the newspaper.

City officials in Carmel said they know of no such plot.

Bullying at Bush event. [AP ]

When gatekeepers announced final seating for those with tickets, protesters with tickets tried to get in, but their tickets were grabbed and torn up, and police threatened them with arrest if they argued back. One woman screamed, "You're tearing up my ticket," and hit back at the man when he started shoving her with his chest, trying to shut her up. The police arrested the woman.

Oddments: 'Just say no to terror' edition

Turkmenistanians will now be tested on scripture when applying for a driver’s license. [Reuters/Yahoo] Lets just hope John Ashcroft doesn’t get any ideas – like singing “ Let the Eagle Soar” when applying for a liqueur ID.

Is it coincidence – the day Tom Ridge sends New York into a police state panic zone with 3-4 year old intelligence , Bush launches a campaign ad called “Together ” featuring images of September 11th?

A Japanese man was arrested for writing down the words "suicide bomb" while flying en route to Ohio. Apparently, he was teaching himself English by copying the newspaper. A Transportation Security Administration employee offers, "We caution people not to write about bombs because if they're going on vacation, their travel plans will be disrupted." [AP/Yahoo] Maybe a ban on pencils? Boycott France?