Mr. Plushy thinks McCranky is an asshole

He's not amused.

I'd have to agree with him. What a wise feline!!

Help meeeeeeeeee!!!

Rueters/Yves Herman
Someone rescue me! my human is an asshole!!

Lost world

Photograph © Stephen Richards/CI

Via National Geographic News, scientists have found a treasure trove of new species in New Guinea. "Lost World" Found in Indonesia Is Trove of New Species

To boldly go where no one has gone before, one group of scientists didn't have to venture into space. They found a lost world right here on Earth.

"It really was like crossing some sort of time warp into a place that people hadn't been to," said Bruce Beehler of the wildlife expedition he co-led in December into the isolated Foja Mountains on the tropical South Pacific island of New Guinea.

"We were like kids in a candy store," said Beehler, a bird expert with Conservation International in Washington, D.C. "Everywhere we looked we saw amazing things we had never seen before."

Read the rest. Mother earth in all her glory!

On Bipartisianship

Just a couple of thoughts on the Obama/McCranky flap.

It seems to me that the problem here is the definition of "bipartisan." Remember that Grover Norquist said that, "bipartisanship is just another word for date-rape." Republicans have internalized that definition during the past 4 years. Their idea of "working together" is that the democrats shuffle in like good little ass-wipped chillens and get with the republican program.

Silly Obama, expecting to bring his ideas to the table. Whatever was he thinking? (/sarcasm)

And Sen. Joementum! yeah, I'm talking to you. Thanks for fucking nothing. You are now officially "part of the problem." It's time for you to get out of the way. You're hurting America.

Later that same night....

A post prowl nap. Sigh.

Why I can't get an action photo...

Mr. Plushy makes a break for it as soon as I walk in the door. Feh.

Come jump on my fucking razor sharp pitchfork....

Digby has the lowdown on that disgracefill waste of oxygen, Kate O'Beirne's appalling attack on Jimmy Carter this afternoon. Stop Making Sense

Kate O'Beirne isn't fit to wipe Coretta Scott King's shoes and criticizing her on the day of her memorial service is disgusting. What kind of unfeeling ghouls have Republicans become??

Why Digby! the soul sucking, brain-eating radioactive zombie type.

And O'Beirne? I don't really like this expression- but O'Beirne is a cunt. And the perfect ambassador for her party.

I miss my president...

At today's service for Coretta Scott King..

This is a woman, as well as a symbol, as well as the embodiment of her husband's legacy and the developer of her own.

The second point I want to make is the most important day in her life for everyone of us here at this moment in this church except when she embraced her faith, the next most important day was April 5, 1968, the day after her husband was killed. She had to decide, "What am I going to do with the rest of my life?"

We would have all forgiven her, even honored her if she said, "I have stumbled on enough stony roads. I have been beaten by enough bitter rods. I have endured enough dangers, toils and snares. I'm going home and raising my kids. I wish you all well."

~snip~

Because what really matters if you believe all this stuff we've been saying is what are we going to do with the rest of our lives?

What are we going to do?

This is the first day of the rest of our lives. And we haven't finished our long journey home.

Sometimes I get tired. The complete and utter stupidity and maliciousness of the other side just exhausts me.

Listening to Clinton today I remembered why we fight. And why the fight matters. Thank you President Clinton.

EEEEEEEK!!!!!!

Reuters/Yves Herman

The invasion has begun!

Feingold on Abu Gonzales

Russ Feingold, who is a plushy hero, discusses Abu and his curious relationship with truth and the constitution at Talking Points Memo Cafe: "What We Heard From the Attorney General".

Not surprisingly, it isn't flattering.

Conspiracy... eh?

Via firedoglake, we learn that John Dickerson, formerly of TIME Magazine, has spilled his guts in Slate on his role in l'affaire Plame. Where's My Supoena?

As Reddhedd says, he drops some bombshells. Dickerson Speaks...And Drops Some Bombshells

In Washington, the only thing worse than having to testify before a grand jury is not being asked to. I never wanted to go to prison or make hard choices about protecting my sources, but I thought I'd get more out of my bit part in the Valerie Plame saga than the overheated scrutiny of a few bloggers.

Back when I was at Time, I co-wrote the July, 2003 story that has made the last two years of Matthew Cooper's life so difficult. After the special counsel went after Matt so enthusiastically, the arrival of men in trench coats asking what I knew seemed imminent. But I never got to try out any of my Dashiell Hammett lines on them. When my other former Time colleague Viveca Novak got tangled in Fitzgerald's hunt last year, I thought, OK, they're coming now for sure. Nope. No Fitzgerald; no FBI; no nothing.

~snip~

But it turns out the special counsel was on to me all along. Last week, Scooter Libby filed a motion requesting materials from Patrick Fitzgerald's investigation.

~snip~

Though Fitzgerald threw out the tidbit about me (thanks, Pat), he turned down Libby's request to pick through his investigative material. Now it's up to the judge to decide whether Libby gets to take a look. While the wheels of justice grind, here's my story....

Go read the rest, and reddhedd's excellent analysis. The WHIG group has got some serious 'splaining to do.

Show me, don't snow me...

Digby has a great post up about how the democrats communicate and why they're so fucking bad at it. Process Talk I'm going to quote at length so bear with me:

Via Armando over at Kos I see this statement from Tom Vilsack today:

Gov. Tom Vilsack said Monday that Democrats risk political backlash if they object to the Bush administration's wiretapping but cannot show that Americans' civil liberties are at risk.

The Democratic governor, who is weighing a 2008 presidential bid, said the party will suffer if it continues to be perceived as weaker than Republicans on national security.

. . . "If the president broke the law, that's unacceptable. But I think it's debateable whether he did," Vilsack told Des Moines Register editors and reporters. "And I think Democrats are falling into a very, very large political trap," he said. "Democrats are not going to win elections until they can reassure people they are going to keep them safe."

There are many things about this statement that are bullshit. I don't have to lay them all out for you. But I would like to expound on one aspect of this statement that drives me crazy: it's a process answer.

A process answer is saying what "we should say" instead of just saying it. Nothing drives me more nuts than a politician who talks process instead of engaging voters directly. In this instance it's a backstab equal to anything one of those run-at-the-mouth strategists says to the NY Times to boost his cool factor among the mediatarts. He's positioning hemself as a "reasonable" centrist on national security, but he clearly has nothing to offer on the subject at hand so he just talks about what "we should be doing."

A fucking men. Go read the rest, it's brilliant.

Let me just add that any good writer what the key to great prose is - you never want to tell your reader (or your listener) anything. That's doubly true for politicians.

Have something to say and say it clearly and directly. Quit fucking around. And STOP stabbing us in the back with this "dems are weak on national security crap." It's not helpful.

Come hither plushy

You'd think that all he does is lay on the sofa....oh well. Still teh cute.

Just for beauty's sake

Rueters/Babu

Isn't this gorgeous? Birds at sunset in India. Lovely.

Buuurrrrrp!!

This illustration by space artist Lynette Cook shows a planet ingestion in the HD 82943 system, a solar-type star in the constellation Hydra. HD 82943 has been shown to contain a significant amount of lithium-6, inferring that it swallowed one or more large planets during its history. Since astronomers detected the first planet outside our solar system in 1995, Cook has been illustrating what their instruments reveal about distant unseen worlds.

Beware the dreaded ocelot!!

Teh wild and plushy.

Dark Matter

Scientists are beginning to understand the properties about the strange stuff of the universe known as "dark matter." Via BBC, Dark Matter Comes Out of the Cold

Last Updated: Sunday, 5 February 2006, 23:25 GMT
Astronomers have for the first time put some real numbers on the physical characteristics of dark matter.

This strange material that dominates the Universe but which is invisible to current telescope technology is one of the great enigmas of modern science.

That it exists is one of the few things on which researchers have been certain.

But now an Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge, team has at last been able to place limits on how it is packed in space and measure its "temperature".

What's fascinating is that scientists believe that instead of being cold, as current theory suggests, dark matter probably is at least 10,000 degrees, but still doesn't radiate. And bricks! space bricks of 1000 light years across! who knew god had been so busy these past 6,000 years?

(ed. note- the above picture is of the Triangular Nebula and has nothing whatsoever to do with dark matter. It is pretty though)

Pajamaline

Atrios has the transcript of the hilarious encounter between powerline mega-wanker and Senator Durbin: Great Moments in Powertoolery

DURBIN: I’ll check out Pajamaline, but I’m not familiar with your publication.

I wonder how his investors are feeling today? What a baffoon.

NSA Hearings- Riddle me this?

Reuters/Kevin Lamarque

Firedoglake, Glen Greenwald and others have been liveblogging the hearings. I just can't get past one thing- why the hell didn't they put him under oath? Why?

He said he would go under oath voluntarily, and they still declined on a party line vote.

I find this outrageous. Simply outrageous.

Reform, Boner Style

We learn from the WAPO this morning that Rep. Boner (R- Fuckyuistan) is all for lobbying reform, as long as it doesn't actually involve, ummmm..... reform. Boehner Opposes Sweeping Changes in Lobbying.

Newly elected House Majority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) said he opposed efforts to ban privately funded travel for members of Congress and provisions in spending bills that fund lawmakers' pet projects.

~snip~

"In the past, when these scandals have erupted, what's happened is Congress has overreacted, and two days later nobody knew what happened," he said on "Fox News Sunday." He said he would favor more disclosure of dealings with lobbyists but would not seek complete bans on travel or "earmark" provisions. "Bringing more transparency to this relationship, I think, is the best way to control it. But taking actions to ban this and ban that, when there's no appearance of a problem, there's no foundation of a problem, I think, in fact, does not serve the institution well."

Shorter Boner, "We loves us some earmarks! so let's not get carried away by this ethics stuff."

As Billmon would say, meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

SuperBowl? who cares. Super Plushy!!

I know I promised action photos, but I've been standing in a darkroom for the past 8 hours and I'm too tired to chase Mr. Plushy around. Maybe tomorrow.

One must post with the plushy one has, not the plushy one wishes one has.

Sunday Snow Cat

Hidey-ho! out in the snow!

(yes, there will be plush later, when I get back from the darkroom)

Plame not actually "just a housewife"

Gee, what a surprise! It turns out that the CIA actually knew what they were talking about when they referred the matter of Plame's outing to justice. Newsweek is reporting that Plame was still covert, and that the CIA was taking affirmative action to protect her identity.

Feb. 13, 2006 issue - Newly released court papers could put holes in the defense of Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis (Scooter) Libby, in the Valerie Plame leak case. Lawyers for Libby, and White House allies, have repeatedly questioned whether Plame, the wife of White House critic Joe Wilson, really had covert status when she was outed to the media in July 2003. But special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald found that Plame had indeed done "covert work overseas" on counterproliferation matters in the past five years, and the CIA "was making specific efforts to conceal" her identity, according to newly released portions of a judge's opinion.

I wonder what libby defense crowd will come up with next? Perhaps Libby can blame the matter on a manimal conspiracy.

Magoo!!

Lion kitty Maxx's long-lost beautiful sister.

Update: I neglected to say that Magoo lives with Barry in Alaska.

Saturday kitty fix

Still no action photos. Maxx escaped outside while I was sleeping on the sofa.

His furry appendage

Hold still so I can poke holes in you!

Some other kitty

AFP/Mustafa Ozer

Turkey has taken precautions to protect their famous turkish vans from the bird flu.

Competence? ethics?

Go read Harold Meyerson in the WAPO, Republican Wedge Issues, 2006

Old lies die hard. We grow inured to the administration's howlers in defense of its Iraq policy, so much so that the preposterous case the president made in his State of the Union address for our continued presence in Iraq went almost unnoticed. But he actually said this:

"A sudden withdrawal of our forces from Iraq would abandon our Iraqi allies to death and prison, [and] would put men like bin Laden and Zarqawi in charge of a strategic country. . . ."

Is there one person anywhere inside the administration who really believes that Abu Musab Zarqawi's murderous band of outsiders would emerge as rulers over the vastly larger and very well-armed Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish legions if we pulled out?

~snip~

Warrantless wiretapping and immigrant bashing as the Republican wedge issues of '06? Well, what else can they run on?

Their competence? Their ethics?

Heh.

Amazing

When I saw the headline for this story, I just knew it was about a republican. The NYTimes is reporting that aides to republican gubnatorial candidate William Weld re-edited news stories to remove negative references to their boss.

As William F. Weld runs for governor of New York this year, his campaign has put a new spin on the old political rule of having a positive message.

Campaign aides have significantly altered two newspaper articles on his Web site about his bid for governor, removing all negative phrases about him, like "mini-slump" and "dogged by an investigation," and passages about his political problems.

Also removed were references to a federal investigation of Decker College, a Kentucky trade school that Mr. Weld led until he left to run for governor last fall; the college collapsed into bankruptcy weeks later amid allegations of financial aid fraud. And criticism of Mr. Weld by a former New York Republican senator, Alfonse D'Amato, was removed.

Scrub, scrub, scrub. If they can't get the media to play ball, they just do it themselves.

More republican morals on display.

Late night plushy fix

Well, no action photos for tonight. Someone was not being cooperative, then the batteries in my speedlite died. Maybe tomorrow.

Wild Plush

Teh cute!

Mr. President, your pants are on fire....

Dan Froomkin makes the point today that not only is bush nekkid, he's developed a severe credibility problem that the press seems unwilling or unable to explore:

President Bush's fundamental challenge as he tries to regain his political footing is that most Americans don't trust him anymore.

In the latest Washington Post/ABC News poll, for instance, 53 percent of Americans said they do not consider him honest and trustworthy. A recent New York Times/CBS News poll found 52 percent of Americans believe the Bush administration intentionally misled the public in making its case for war in Iraq. Serious stuff.

And yet, when Bush faces the press corps -- either en masse, in a news conference, or in the occasional sit-down interview -- the central issue of credibility typically goes unexplored.

Froomkin's prescription? the next major media figure who gets the big interview with chimpy should devote the entire time to the credibility issue and the various whoppers the administration spews on a daily basis.

He's also going to put together a list of sample questions, to, ummm, help the press get started on this project. You can help!! Email Froomkin with your sample question at froomkin@washingtonpost.com.

My question? "Exactly when did you become aware that Karl Rove was, in fact, involved in leaking Valerie Plame's name to journalists and why haven't you lived up to your promise to fire anyone involved in the matter?

Bonus question!! ($1,000,000 quatloos to the reporter that asks this one) "Just who, exactly, told you that your dick would grow if you invaded Iraq?"

Forget the dancing kitty...

Lion kitty Maxx, the lord of all cats, has arrived.

"You'll find....

Reuters/Jonathan Ernst

".... that sucking Karl's dick gets easier with time. BTW, are you gonna finish that donut??"

Why?

Reuters/Jonathan Ernst

Why do all republicans have dick heads and the fashion sense of a 50's reject? Is it a requirement to get into the club?

Psycho scary-eyed dancing kitty!!

He's a dancing machine....

Blair- Bush's butt buddy

AFP/Shawn Thew

Via The Guardian, Blair promised to be behind little king Georgie's excellent adventure before he'd gotten legal advice on the legality of the war, or a new UN resolution.

Tony Blair told President George Bush that he was "solidly" behind US plans to invade Iraq before he sought advice about the invasion's legality and despite the absence of a second UN resolution, according to a new account of the build-up to the war published today.

A memo of a two-hour meeting between the two leaders at the White House on January 31 2003 - nearly two months before the invasion - reveals that Mr Bush made it clear the US intended to invade whether or not there was a second UN resolution and even if UN inspectors found no evidence of a banned Iraqi weapons programme.

Note that bush made clear that he was invading whether or not there were WMDs found.

He lied to Congress, the american people, and the world.

Welcome back Watertiger....

Sez lion kitty Maxx, "I'll share my carrot with you. PUUUUURRRRRRRR!!!!"

He missed his girlfriend while she was gone.

Our fearless leader

AP/Matthew S. Gunby

After this morning's prayer breakfast, little king georgie decided to go for a swim.

Manimal II - Hey Now!!

Self portrait.

You know... I was so busy at work today that it didn't even occur to me that no one should be more insulted by the "manimal" crack than yours truly, four legs good.

We hear a lot about women's rights and the glass ceiling, but no one ever mentions the barn ceiling. It is truly the last acceptable form of descrimination. What does Bush think? that my existence is going to cause good christian babies to grow an extra set of legs and lose an eye?

What utter nonsense.

We'll marinate, grill and snack on them first. Everyone knows that they're much more tender before the second set of legs comes in anyhoo.

Alright already!!!

Sheesh. I get no rest.... being a plushypornographer is an exhausting business.

You'll learn to like it...

Reuters/Jim Young

"Ya just reach in and massage it real nice, heh heh. Next week we'll move on to hummers."

Photo of the Day

AP/Peter Petrov

Just because it's beautiful.

Size does matter

"Yes, my dick really is that small," said the preznit."It matches my teeny brain. Heh heh."

Plushy v. Alien Life Form Deathmatch

My guess is that Mr. Plushy wins this round.

Manimal!!

The preznit seems to finally have recognized the terrible threat of the Hammerhead Shark Frenzy and Mansquito.

A hopeful society has institutions of science and medicine that do not cut ethical corners, and that recognize the matchless value of every life. Tonight I ask you to pass legislation to prohibit the most egregious abuses of medical research -- human cloning in all its forms -- creating or implanting embryos for experiments, creating human-animal hybrids and buying, selling, or patenting human embryos.

I, for one, welcome our manimal overlords. Saturday nights are so much more entertaining with them around.

So long Tom!!

I've been wondering about this. The Houston Chronicle is reporting that the bugman is having a wee bit of trouble funding his legal defense. Delay's Defense Fund in the Red

WASHINGTON - Embattled U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay raised more money for his legal defense in 2005 than ever before but still owes hundreds of thousands of dollars to lawyers, according to documents released Tuesday.

DeLay, fighting an indictment in Texas on charges of illegal fundraising while facing scrutiny by federal prosecutors in Washington for his ties to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, raised $181,851 between Oct. 1 and the end of the year. That amount brought the total raised for his legal defense fund in 2005 to $590,520 — significantly more than the $439,550 recorded in 2004.

~snip~

DeLay, of Sugar Land, raised $318,000 in the third quarter of 2005, during which he was indicted in Travis County. Perry said the falloff in the final three months should not be interpreted as a lack of enthusiasm among donors.

Yeah, I'll bet. Big contributors include Robert McNair (owner of the Texans) and Lonnie and Ken Pilgrim, and Pilgrim's Pride.

No pilgrim's pride chicken for the 4legger household.

The Gift

I cannot go to bed without linking to this lovely post by Hecate, The Gift.

It's amazing, isn't it, how a kind act can help us to remember that we live in an enchanted world, in spite of the George Bushes and the Haliburtons, and the cold germs? Once, when I was doing chemotherapy, had just been abandoned by my lover of twenty-some years, and was about as sorry for myself as it was possible to feel, I was sitting in a restaurant trying to make myself eat something. I called for the check and the waitress said, "A man saw you sitting in the window, came in and paid for your meal. He left this." It was a tiny, dirty scrap of paper, torn off of an envelope and it said: "Believe." I still have that scrap of paper and it keeps me going sometimes when I feel like giving up.

A little ray of hope and magic for these dark times. Thank you.

Bipartisanship? Civility?

Hey, I know this tune. And it's time to change the beat.


We were civil when they stole the 2000 election.

We were civil when they trashed Max Cleland.

We were civil while they swiftboated John Kerry.

We were civil while they dragged america into a war of choice.

We were civil when they outted a CIA agent and trashed the reputation of her husband.

It got us nowhere.

Now they want us to be civil while they trample civil liberties, shred the constitution, loot the treasury, and pack the highest court in the land with right wing ideologues. "Can't we just all get along?"

Not after what you've done to my country, motherfuckers. Never again. And to you turncoat washington establishment democrats who want us to be quiet and stop making waves.... well, come right over here and jump on my razor-sharp fucking pitchfork. Bitch!

Plushy Palate Cleanser

Maxx even gives you guys a little tongue. What a good kitty.

State of The Plush

For those of you who need it, here's a dose of plushy, pre-SOTU. Lion kitty and I will find something else to watch, thank you.

Just a reminder...

Jean Louis-David, 1793. Oil on canvas.

On my bad days, I remind myself of the messy ends of both Marat and Robespierre, the architects of the Terror during the French revolution.

(And no, I am not advocating assassination of anyone, just making the point that tyrants are often consumed by the terror they create.)

Floaters

Reuters

An artist's conception of an alien planet. Posted just because it's beautiful, and we certainly need some beauty today.

Monday plushy fix

I'm pretty pissed off tonight, but how can I turn down the plaintive plea of flory for her nightly plushy fix?

Thanks for fucking nothing

The gang of 14 and any senate democrats who voted for cloture today made their position crystal clear.

Make no mistake. They put politics over the welfare of the nation.

I, for one, will not forget it.

Not for One. Single. Solitary. Second.

I, for one....

Reuters/Rick Wilking

welcome our spikey headed overlords.

Solitary Stars

Credit: David A. Aguilar/CfA

In today's Monday Space Mysteries, we find that, contrary to previous thought, Astronomers Had it Wrong: Most Stars are Single.

For more than 200 years, astronomers thought that most of the stars in our galaxy had stellar companions. But a new study suggests the bulk of them are born alone and never have stellar company.

Interesting stuff- go read!

Democracy for me but not for thee

Rice says that the US won't provide foreign aid to a government formed by Hamas. Rice Rules Out Aiding Hamas She also says that they "underestimated the strength of Hamas."

That seems a little short sided to me. We insisted on the timing of these elections and we have to live with the results. Cutting off the Palestinians now will just harden resentment against the US and further derail the peace process. Everything Bush has done in the past five years has served to strengthen the radicals and marginalize the moderates. What a mess.

Worst. President. Ever.

Get right with Jeebus and get HEALTHY!

Jeez, those silly poor people. If they'd just get right with the lord they wouldn't be poor so they'd be able to pay those higher premiums. And they'd stop this nonsensical idea that rich people shouldn't get more tax cuts. And they'd be well too! Cause everyone knows that when jeebus is your bestest friend forever you never get cancer or heart disease.

Sheesh, get with the program you poor folks.

The New York Times has the details. Budget to Hurt Poor People on Medicaid, Report Says

Whose conscience?

The WAPO is reporting that at least a dozen states are considering legislation that will shield doctors, pharmacists and nurses who want to refuse to provide treatment based on their faith. Health Workers' Choice Debated

Notice the headline on that story,"Health Worker's Choice Debated" and not what it should be: "Christofacists refuse to provide care to some patients they think are icky."

What's next? some doctors refuse to treat democrats because they're not in a state of grace?

Bonus sunday kitty goodness

Maxx hopes that senate dems ruin little king georgie's week with a bit fat filibuster tomorrow.

Sunday cat blogging

Since I'll be in the darkroom today, an early lion kitty fix.

About that civility...

I saw a promo today about Bob Schieffer's interview with the preznit. Apparently one of the things he's going to do during the SOTU is decry the loss of civility in Washington, and make a plea that the political discourse become more gentile, less partisan .

Well, poppycock.

It occurs to me that we see all the president's minions trotting out and dolorously decrying this horrific lack of decorum whenever Bush is in the most trouble. "Why, it uncalled for!" they cry. "It's partisan, uncouth... uncivil!" What nonsense.

It matters not whether I say politely, "Excuse me, Mr. President, but it appears that your buttocks are exposed and that I can perceive your, ahem, genitals... could it be that you are unclothed?" or if I holler, "Hey! Chimpy McFlightsuit, you dumbfuck! I can see your puckered asshole, your shriveled up balls and your microdick!" The emperor is still naked.

King George can kiss my ass. When he quits fucking up the country, I'll learn to be civil again.