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Blog Box
August 12, 2005
Compiled by Delilah Boyd, A
Scrivener's Lament
 Origin Of The Specious
While Kansas debated the merits of adding "Praise The Lord" to
its state science curriculum this week, bloggers did what they do
best: chart the known evolutionary paths of several specious "creations,"
including TomDeLaymus Sleazoidimus, Cowardus PigFarmum
HideOuticus, and Boughticus Babies Blondii (genus RobertsAdoptus).
Bloggers also discovered a couple of scientifically sound theories
this week, as well.
 TomDeLaymus
Sleazoidimus
When Tom DeLay opens a foster home for abused and neglected children,
there's gotta be a gimmick. Sure enough, the foster home's builder
(Bob Perry, who financed the Swiftboaters) just happened to deposit
$350,000 into DeLay's PACs and $10,000 into his defense fund.
The payoff? $33 million in builder's fees. American Family Voices
has the
scoop. By the way, their "Morning Snark" comments are priceless!
 Vietnamus
Flashbackio
I love the smell of IFILM
in the morning. Video blogging is really catching on!
IFilm.com hosts all kinds of citizen-made videos and clips from
TV and movies, but their new "Warzone" section, where home movies
from Afghanistan and Iraq are posted, is sure to draw fire (pun
intended) from BushCo's desk-bound warmongers.
 Rumsfeldo
Muzzle-Us
Hello darkness, my old friend. A
Liberal Dose slices and dices BushCo's outrageous
blackout of information, which A Liberal Dose calls "The Rumsfeld
Muzzle."
In this
post A Liberal Dose connects the dots to expose the connections
between Rumsfeld and several slain war reporters. Chilling.
 Marchus
Neoconus (Democrati Non Needient Apply-ere)
Via Atrios,
we learn that the Department of Defense is planning a "freedom walk"
in Washington DC on September 11th 2005. To me, this makes about
as much sense as convicted Nixon administration officials marching
to preserve their right to subvert the U.S. Constitution.
This is so wrong on so many levels.
In order to participate in this so-called Freedom
Walk, you have to register ahead and show up at 7:00 a.m. for
intense security screening. The most pathetic POS requirement?
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After you submit your registration, you will
receive a receipt with a registration number.
Please print out this receipt and bring it with
you to the Pentagon South Parking to check-in
before the event. You MUST have your registration
number to check-in!
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Now that's what I call freedom!
 Cowardus
PigFarmum HideOuticus
Along with the rest of us, Fish
Wars On Cars asks: "Why Is George Bush Hiding from
Cindy Sheehan?"
Fish Wars On Cars, who tracks American culture wars better than
most bloggers, adds:
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The cowboy president who urged the terrorists
to "bring it on" sends the children of others
to their deaths while he cowers behind his security
team at his faux ranch playing cowboy, a man so
afraid of dissent, his audiences are carefully
screened. Inside that cowboy facade is a quivering
little coward.
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God says to be a good neighbor. Here's a keepsake photo demonstrating
the "welcoming attitude" of the property owners across the road
from Camp Casey outside Crawford:
For real-time updates on Cindy Sheehan's quest to ask the president
a simple question ("What is this noble cause you claim my son died
for?"), visit MeetWithCindy.org.
Be patient! Site traffic is through the cyber roof right now.
 Dickis
MorrisSuckyUptimus (Of Courseus!)
Is Dick Morris sucking toes again? Maybe, but he always just plain
sucks. The
Gadflyer asks: "I know there's a lot of competition,
but is there a stupider columnist than Dick Morris?"
The Gadflyer quotes Dick's latest New York Post (cough)
column (cough):
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Dick Morris writes that against Pirro, Sen. Clinton
will be "disarmed of all her best issues" and
that if Pirro posts some early gains, particularly
upstate, where it is cheap to do early advertising,
Hillary and Bill may read the handwriting on the
wall and she may pull out of the race."
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How sad. Dick's predictions are always wrong, yet his sucky editors
continue to approve his sucky speculation. Oops, I forgot. It's
the Post. Never mind.
This just in! Hey, Dick! Did you catch your candidate's "Ashley
Simpson Moment" during her kickoff speech? I expect the video to
be posted at Crooks
and Liars any minute now.
 Blogus
Importantus
According
to MediaChannel.org, blog use is up 45% from last year. Blog
readers account for 30% of Internet users and 1/6th of the U.S.
population.
No wonder Rupert Murdoch bought MySpace.com. After all, his motto
has always been, "Don't join 'em - buy 'em!"
Speaking of blogging, Zoli's
Blog wants to know: "How can a Hoax Become the #1
Search Item on Technorati?"
Hmm. Could the answer have anything to do with tagging posts in
multiple categories and crossposting from here to kingdom come?
Just asking...
 Boughticus
Babies Blondii?
Speaking of origins, bloggers are wondering where U.S. Supreme
Court nominee John Roberts really got those Stepford-looking children,
supposedly adopted 4 � months apart in Latin America. Mark
Maynard writes, "But they're blond," and links to
the New York Times' background investigation of The Supreme
Court wannabe, as well as the new article in Time Magazine.
According to Mark, the New York Times claims that the kids
hail from somewhere in Latin America. Time, however, claims
they were born in Ireland.
Mark continues:
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So, it would appear that although born in Ireland,
the kids were adopted in Latin America because
Irish law doesn't allow foreign adoption. I know
that sounds bad, like they must have twisted and
broken laws in order to get their hands on these
kids, but apparently, at least according to what
I'm reading, it's an accepted practice.
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Accepted practice? By whom? The eternal brotherhood of the fraternal
order of the religious right to buy babies? I suppose such adoptions
are possible (like a Jetsons lifestyle is possible). But which "Latin
American" country? Like Ireland, most countries either don't allow
foreign adoption at all, or they impose strict residency and parental
age requirements... stricter than out-of-state tuition rules. Yikes!
According
to the U.S. State Department, if Roberts is telling the truth,
the children had to come from one of these five countries south
of our border:
Dominica: Could be done here, but tricky (4 to 6 months
per adoption).
Guatemala: Extremely complicated process, but possible.
Haiti: Simple process, but few adoptions (100-200 per year).
Jamaica: Easy process (50 per year).
Mexico: Adoption laws are governed by individual states (106
in 2000 CE).
I have to ask: if everything is on the up and up, why not prove
it? It doesn't take unsealing adoption records to prove it, either.
Phone and travel records would do the trick. Come on, Roberts! Isn't
the cover up always worse than the crime and/or ethical lapse? Maybe
not this time, huh?
 Pincus
Smarticus
(aka Horseus Mouthicus)
Needlenose blogger Swopa
may have found the missing link, or holy grail, or whatever metaphor
seems most appropriate, of the Valerie Plame investigation.
Swopa writes:
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Who cares if Karl Rove, Lewis Libby, and whoever
else may have blabbed about Joe Wilson's wife
all told a version of events that the CIA denies?
Pincus coyly explains in a paragraph toward the
end of his story:
Two other sources appear to support the view
that Wilson's wife suggested her husband's trip.
One is a June 2003 memo by the State Department's
Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR). The
other, which depends in good part on the INR
document, is a statement of the views of Sen.
Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), chairman of the Senate
Select Committee on Intelligence, and two other
Republican members.
In other words, in the course of an apparent
inquiry into who sent Joseph Wilson to Niger,
Pincus seems to "accidentally" stumble onto the
discovery that the only document backing up the
White House/Republican viewpoint is ... the State
Department memo.
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Hmm. Since Walter Pincus was one of the original reporters contacted
by Rove and his plumbers leakers, wouldn't it make
sense for him to light the path for Special Prosecutor Fitzgerald
if he can? Makes sense to me.
Whether you support the inclusion of divine design (not to be
confused with the HGTV show) in science classes or not, one thing
is certain: classic research methodology is sadly lacking in our
mainstream news sources. The evolution of modern news coverage,
without continued free and unrestricted Internet access, will surely
lead us into a second "Dark Age" - a term true believers consider
insulting - and which they'd prefer to be "blacked out." It just
never ends, does it?
Know a hot blog that needs some coverage? Send your recommendations
to Delilah.
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