By request

Maddie on the first night I brought her home.

And Maddie today.

They grow up so fast. So sad.

Friday!!

"Are you really going to play with me all weekend?"

Yes, Miss Madeleine, I promise I will not bring any work home and I will play with you until your little tail droops.

Maddie Palooza, Fired Justice Department Edition

I shall pounce on you as soon as you try to sleep.

Let's play fetch!

More Kitten

"Neener, neener....."

Hallllooooooooo!! Come play with meeeeee!!

Happy Goodfriday kitten blogging

She's grown just a little.

Happy Friday Kitten

This photo is a little bit soft, but I love her expression so I'm putting it up anyway. She was scooting along the edge of the sofa arm like a little monkey, and right after I snapped the photo she launched herself at me. Little scamp.

Well, d'uh.

Posted without comment in order to keep my head from exploding.

Hussein's Prewar Ties To Al-Qaeda Discounted

Oh, I can't help myself. You stupid fuckers, I could (and did) have told you that. I guess I should be happy that the WAPO is printing this story in part to refute Cheney's ridiculous assertions on Limpball's show yesterday, such as:

The report's release came on the same day that Vice President Cheney, appearing on Rush Limbaugh's radio program, repeated his allegation that al-Qaeda was operating inside Iraq "before we ever launched" the war, under the direction of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the terrorist killed last June.

"This is al-Qaeda operating in Iraq," Cheney told Limbaugh's listeners about Zarqawi, who he said had "led the charge for Iraq." Cheney cited the alleged history to illustrate his argument that withdrawing U.S. forces from Iraq would "play right into the hands of al-Qaeda."

But since the WAPO led the charge in pre-war hysterical reporting, I'm not letting them off the hook.

They can kiss my centaur ass.

Late night kitten

I got nuthing.

Chinese tigers

Reuters/Sean Yong

"You two don't make me come back there!!"

Okay, enough politics

Back to the kittenz.

Halllooooooooooooooooooo!!

How far can I throw ABC News?

I don't have much to add to this Glen Greenwald post on ABC News beyond what Atrios has had to say on the subject except for this.

ABC says that they only use sources that they've had a long-standing relationship with. So we should trust them. Now someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm betting they've had long relationships with Doug Feith, Ken Pollack, Dick Cheney, Ed Gillespie, Mary Matalin, and various assorted other assholes.

And guess what? I was flipping channels on my teevee last night and lo and behold! there was mustache man John Bolton, flogging this same scary "Iran almost has NUKES!! Run for your LIVES!!" bullshit.

Who wants to bet that Bolton was one of the sources for this story? Of course, I'm just a g-list blogger who mostly posts cute kitty pictures, so what the fuck do I know?

Let me clue you guys into one of the dirty little secrets of journalism, a lot of stories like this get pitched, meaning that the source calls a reporter and says, "hey, I got something for you you might be interested in, on the super-secret Q-T." There are people out there with a definite point of view who are flogging it to whoever will listen and print it (or broadcast it, as the case may be.) So Greenwald is correct, don't trust stories like this if they don't give you enough information so that you can evaluate the truthfullness of it yourself.

I'm not against anonymous sourcing (to a point), but this "you gotta trust us" shit needs is ridiculous.

Blind Loyalty

The WAPO reports today that Abu Gonzales is holed up, cramming, in preparation for his Capitol Hill testimony. He's also busily calling republican senators, trying desperately to shore up his support.

He's made the decision to fight like hell for his job.

Feh. What part of public service do these people not get? Abu should be less worried about himself and his overlord chimpy and more worried about the damage he's done to the US system of justice. He put his hand up and swore, under oath, at his confirmation hearings, that he would put the law above politics. He has not done that. Every prosecution that has taken place under his watch, every appointment, every decision is now suspect. Why can't he see how terrible that is?

Take a look at the illustration. In this country, justice is supposed to be blind. That is the ideal that we strive for, that we are a nation of laws, not of men. Bush and Abu have put that principal on its head.

Feh. My contempt for the two of them knows no bounds. Abu should resign immediately, for the good of the country and the good of our system of justice. (I'd also like to see the rest of the apparachiks tossed out on their ears.)

In related news, former Asscrack spokesman Mark Carallo calls for Gonzales to resign as well.

In a piece on Bush's loyalty to Gonzales, USA Today reports that Corallo thinks Gonzales should step down over "mismanagement" of the U.S. attorneys firings. As he put it, "Alberto Gonzales' loyalty to George Bush has got to trump George Bush's loyalty to Alberto Gonzales."

Nice try, Mr. Carallo. Loyalty to Bush? fuck that. How about if for once in your fucking lives, you insane yahoos in the republican party, you put your loyalty where it belongs- with the United States of America.

Is that too much to ask?

Again, I ask, what part of the term "public service" don't you get? Try, try, try to remind yourself that you serve the people of the United States of America. Not the republican party and certainly not George Bush.

Frisky!

It was chilly this morning and this kitten was feeling quite frisky. Zoom! Pounce! Charge!! Leap! Growl! meow!!

Quite entertaining.

Late Night Maddie

At the risk of spoiling you guys, I guess I'll give you another Maddie pic.

Failed State

NYTimes/Stephen Crowley

When I heard this quote on Countdown last night, I nearly fell off the sofa. From chimpy's presser yesterday:

That's one of the major lessons of September the 11th. In that case, there was safe haven found in a failed state, where killers plotted and planned and trained, and came and killed 3,000 of our citizens. And I vowed we weren't going to let that happen again.

Seriously, does he listen to himself?

I wish someone would ask him this: "You do realize that YOU'RE the reason there's a failed state in Iraq, don't you? So aren't you the one who, under your own definition, has made America less safe?"

I think that's a legitimate question.

And just what the fuck was Cheney doing creeping out there behind the bushes?

Early evening kitten

Halloooooooooo!! We loves us some feather toys!

Aurora!!

A solar wind hit the earth on March 31st, sparking high altitude geomagnetic storms for three days, resulting in fantastic auroras in the great white north. Take off!!!

Photo by Ginger Cooley, photographed over Wasilla, Alaska.

Photographed over Indian, Alaska by Daryl Pederson.

Wednesday Maddie

She's been kind of out of control the past couple of days. I'm definitely going to have to get her a friend.

Little Scamp

I could hardly get her to hold still so I could take her picture tonight.

Daily Maddie

Maddie thinks I work too much these days. I agree with her.

Yes, this is a repeat. Busy week for this centaur.

Also, I'm having trouble getting into haloscan comments. If anyone with some technical expertise wants to email me, I'd be most appreciative. (My problem is on all blogs using haloscan comments and I'm on a Mac, using Safari).

More Maddie

She has kind of a big snout.

Hallooooooo!!! PLAY WITH ME!!!!

Poor little thing, I was busy working over the weekend so she didn't get nearly enough playtime with me. Last night she kept coming up to me at my desk and dropping toys at my feet. Then she'd wander off, sadly, to bat at her toys by herself. When I finally quit work for the night around 12:30 am, and settled in with her for a serious game of fetch, she went berserk with joy, bounding about purring her furry little brains out.

It ain't easy out there for a kitten.

Uhhh, dude.

AP/Esteban Felix

See what happens when you're too busy putting clothes on your dog to dress yourself?

Fluffy kitten

You're going to have to trust me when I tell you that's actually a kitten.

Notice the fluffy tummy. And how huge she is. Oy. She's turning into a cat at lightning speed.

Simmer Down Now!!

Your Sunday kitten fix is now available.

Huzzah for Rorschach!!

Our very own Rorschach of NoCapital is now a Ph.D.. Now he'll have to quit fucking around and get a real job.

Well done, you!!