MsQotW and more

When I was in Ohio last week, I met up with a handful of evilDUers, and we talked about Paul Hackett and "Mean Jean" Schmidt and Coingate and their (now-indicted) governor's 13% approval rating and a few other things.

But the most interesting thing -- really! Out of all of that Midwestern Republican madness! -- was the rumor (already vehemently denied) that Congresswoman-elect Schmidt's first order of business was going to be the Blogger's Reform Act of 2006, which would hold blog publishers criminally liable for the truth and accuracy of that which they post.

I can't wait to see the denizens of FreeRepublic.com's reaction to this news.

Americans are Dumb ( I have to check it every day since I found it):

1. Rush Limbaugh says that humans can't be responsible for holes in the ozone layer (from Media Matters)


2. They seem afraid to create the .xxx suffix lest someone put porn on the internet (from Wired)


3. Some SUV drivers think they can clear their conscience for $274 (from Slate)

And the Moneyshot Quote of the Week comes from another local right-wing hyena:

"I love these (gasoline) prices. The higher, the better," said Frank Gafke, of Galveston, a senior service leader for Halliburton on the Texas Gulf Coast.

Gafke said Halliburton's profits - and his savings account - had increased markedly since fuel prices began rising. He predicted that prices soon will reach $3 per gallon for automobile drivers, as well as for recreational boaters.

And, he said, relief at the pump probably won't come anytime soon.

Well, who ought to know better than Frank?

A lot for me to catch up on

I'm going to be keeping my P, for starters.

Some goon ran over the wooden crosses alongside the road in Crawford. He was arrested when they found one of them stuck in his truck tire.

A cousin of the Keystone beer fan who was "getting ready for dove season" earlier in the week offered an acre of his ranch to relocate Camp Casey. So it will be moved out of the ditches beside the road to a spot closer to Bush's dirt farm. Now that's poetic justice.

Chris Bell's launch was widely covered by various blogging compadres while I was gone.

When I was in Austin last week about this time, I asked someone who would know about Walter Umphrey's contribution to Carole Keeton StrayWhore'n, and he said that it was payback to Rick Perry for the legislation limiting lawyer's fees in tort litigation (presumably tobacco and asbestos and implant surgery, since that's where Walt made his millions) .

I think that's pretty funny.

I'm really the last to know: the Democrats now have two candidates for Lieutenant Governor.

Cindy's Victory

W.R. Pitt writes:

“This thing, the wheels are coming off it.”- Gen. Barry McCaffrey, after returning from an inspection of Iraq, 08/12/2005

They are sunburned and storm-lashed. They sleep in tents that sit along the muddy earth of drainage ditches by the side of the road. They have been heckled by ‘counter-demonstrators’ who chanted “We don’t care!” during a rendition of ‘God Bless America.’ They have been attacked by fire ants and hassled by local health inspectors. On Thursday morning, at about 5:30am, they were blasted awake by a fourteen-car convoy of Secret Service SUVs which roared through the camp at high speed while leaning on their horns the whole time.

They have been jolted with fear when a local resident fired his weapon into the air several times to make them go away. When the shooter, a Larry Mattlage, was asked why he was firing his gun, he said, “We're going to start doing our war and it's going to be underneath the law. Whatever it takes.” It is safe to say, therefore, that their lives have been threatened.

The thing is, they’ve already won.

Cindy Sheehan and her ever-growing band of supporters intend to stay in those ditches outside Bush’s Crawford “ranch” until he comes out to talk or until August 31st, whichever comes first. They have been there for more than a week now, garnering more and more attention from the national and international press. Yes, they are tired. Yes, they are uncomfortable. Yes, they have already won.

Rest here.

Moneyshot Quote of the Week

"But whether it be here or in Washington or anywhere else, there's somebody who has got something to say to the president, that's part of the job," Bush said on the ranch. "And I think it's important for me to be thoughtful and sensitive to those who have got something to say. But," he added, "I think it's also important for me to go on with my life, to keep a balanced life."

The comments came prior to a bike ride on the ranch with journalists and aides.