According to estimates from Box Office Mojo, F911 was the #1 movie on Friday night, making about $8.3 million on 868 screens. White Chicks was second with approx. $6.7 million on 2,726 screens.

Pre-show ramble

Tickets for F911 have been purchased and I am so ready. As I have said 6 million times, I don't always agree or even like Michael Moore, but I have respect for his determination to shine a light on what he thinks is important about the government.

I recently watched an old clip of him on The Daily Show and he was talking about how he ran for, and won, a seat on his school board when he was 18 and still in high school. He did it because he wanted to shake things up and he certainly did. He served for two years and, finally, his opposition got so tired of him, the held special elections just for him. More people showed up for that school board vote than ever had before. And then he won. Is that a true story? Maybe. I am going to choose to believe it for now and give him credit.

He may piss me off and you off and 50% of the people in this country off. But if this film starts an honest debate about what is really going on and it entices one more person to get involved politically and get one percent of the more than 50%!! of voting age Americans who do not vote to come out to the polls, than I think he deserves some credit and praise, dammit.

I am looking forward to seeing it and I will certainly share my thoughts. *g*

Word x 2

I am asking myself again today: Where was this Al Gore three years ago?? The fact that he quotes The Daily Show makes him pretty much wicked awesome in my book forever more. But then he goes and says exactly what I am thinking these days:

...President Bush and Vice President Cheney have evidently decided to fight to the rhetorical death over whether or not there is and was a meaningful connection between Iraq and al Qaeda. They think that if they lose that argument and people see the truth, then they will not only lose support for that controversial decision to go to war against Iraq, but also lose some of the new power they have picked up from the Congress and the courts, and face harsh political consequences at the hands of the American people. As a result, President Bush is now intentionally misleading the American people by continuing to aggressively and brazenly assert a linkage between al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein.

If he actually believed in the linkage that he asserts, that would by itself, in light of the available evidence, make him genuinely unfit to lead our nation's struggle against al Qaeda.

If they believe these flimsy scraps, then who would want them in charge of anything? Are they too dishonest or too gullible? Take your pick.

Ding ding ding! We have a winner. No matter how you look at them, they are either incredibly dishonest or they have absolutely no clue what is going on. Either way, they are unfit to be running the country.

Now, unlike Mr. Gore, Mr. Morford has been speaking out against the administration since the beginning. His most recent colum is not about BushCo, per se, but he still echoes some of my own thoughts about what's going on in this country lately. He discusses the bill passed by Congress allowing the FCC to fine broadcasters for airing profanity. The fact that we are at war and people are being tortured and beheaded and all Congress can do is pass shit like this and argue about who is allowed to be married makes me kind of ill. Especially when it's all based on such hypocrisy. Mark says:

This is what you are not to forget, ever: We are a nation wherein it is perfectly OK to show a dozen vaguely nauseating ads for erection pills and a hundred more touting the merits of slamming a sixer of Bud Light at halftime as you and your frat buddies ogle that chick at the bar as meanwhile the wife stays home and prances around the kitchen, high on the fumes from her new Swiffer WetJet. But a shot of a woman's breast? Inappropriate and traumatizing, pal. Don't like our hypocrisy? Move to France with the other perverts.

See? That makes all the kind of sense that isn't. Hide the children from the boobies but if you don't make them love war and killing, you are a traitor! *blink*

I look forward to the day when making sense is a requirement to be American.

Why get your news from anyone else?

I recently joined the Jon Stewart Intelligence Agency because I love him more than life itself. Some days, he is the only thing that keeps me from packing up all my shit and moving to Canada. I may still end up there if this country doesn't pull the collective head from the collective ass, but I digress.

Jon Stewart is worthy of much worship, yes? Well, today, I got a memo briefing historical document e-mail from the JSIA and it had wonderful news! Coming soon (no release date yet) to a bookstore near you:

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America (The Book) : A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction

Oh. I am so buying that. Actually, what I will probably do is buy the audio version read by Jon.

This is some nice news on what has become another craptastic day!

You keep saying that word. I do not think it means what you think it means

Rashomon posted some e-mails that theaters have received in the wake of F911's release. This one really struck me:

This movie is a bunch of liberal anti-American propaganda and is a slap in the face to all of the men and women who have given their lives so that we can enjoy freedom.

I don't know how this person defines freedom. I don't understand how in the same sentence you can call for a person to be silenced for having a different view than you and then cry foul for people who have died to protect the right to do so! It is the First Amendment. First. Number one. Uno importante for a good reason, folks.

Don't even try to use the first amendment about showing this piece of crap. I believe that people who want to bash this country don't have a right to the first amendment

Oh, stupid me! The First Amendment only applies to people you agree with. I get it now. Except totally not.

I really think these people forgot to read the whole "F" section of the dictionary. They might want to check out "fool" or maybe get "fucked" and they might understand the way things actually work a little bit better.

One of these things is just like the others...

I've been checking out some new blog links today and I came across a very interesting post from bobsawyer. He quotes this article on the characteristics of fascism and, really, it's quite frightening.

Dr. Lawrence Britt states the following:

For the purpose of this perspective, I will consider the following regimes: Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, Franco’s Spain, Salazar’s Portugal, Papadopoulos’s Greece, Pinochet’s Chile, and Suharto’s Indonesia. To be sure, they constitute a mixed bag of national identities, cultures, developmental levels, and history. But they all followed the fascist or protofascist model in obtaining, expanding, and maintaining power. Further, all these regimes have been overthrown, so a more or less complete picture of their basic characteristics and abuses is possible.

Analysis of these seven regimes reveals fourteen common threads that link them in recognizable patterns of national behavior and abuse of power. These basic characteristics are more prevalent and intense in some regimes than in others, but they all share at least some level of similarity.

Okay, I think I can safely say that those governments are pretty much the poster children for evil people you never want running your country. Pretty sure everyone can agree with me.

So we are with the good doctor so far, yes? Now, on with what all of these governments have in common. And why the United States is totally not fascist in the least.

1. Powerful and continuing expressions of nationalism.

Shut up and sing or I am going to sic Toby Keith on your ass.

2. Disdain for the importance of human rights.

Whatever. Detainees and war prisoners are so totally not human.

3. Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause.

The most significant common thread among these regimes was the use of scapegoating as a means to divert the people’s attention from other problems, to shift blame for failures, and to channel frustration in controlled directions. The methods of choice—relentless propaganda and disinformation—were usually effective. Often the regimes would incite “spontaneous” acts against the target scapegoats, usually communists, socialists, liberals, Jews, ethnic and racial minorities, traditional national enemies, members of other religions, secularists, homosexuals, and “terrorists.” Active opponents of these regimes were inevitably labeled as terrorists and dealt with accordingly.

Look, everything is Saddam's fault and we caught him, so just shut up! And the economy is rebounding. Bush said so!

4. The supremacy of the military/avid militarism.

If you don't like war, you hate the troops. And our troops rule so you must love war!

5. Rampant sexism.

Shut up about your damn uterus, already! I can't hear this important Viagra commercial.

6. A controlled mass media.

What about FAIR and BALANCED confuses you?

7. Obsession with national security.

It's yellow! It's RED! No, wait, orange. Okay, just yellow. Now go buy some duct tape.

8. Religion and ruling elite tied together.

God Bless America and no one else.

9. Power of corporations protected.

Rupert Murdoch Halliburton Microsoft

10. Power of labor suppressed or eliminated.

NEA=terrorists!!

11. Disdain and suppression of intellectuals and the arts.

That Commie Bitch totally had it coming for hanging up that crap in her gallery!

12. Obsession with crime and punishment.

Mr. Ashcroft is just looking out for your safety.

13. Rampant cronyism and corruption.

Some people call you the elite, I call you my base!

14. Fraudulent elections.

Diebold: A name you can trust!

I am very sad that I have not heard back from Right March. I mean, I took the time to thank them and everything. You would think they would have the curtesy to acknowledge me. How very rude and unsurprising!

One of the things that has been bothering me lately is that I seem to have turned in to a raving partisan. If it isn't something I can use to convince people to boot the monkey out of office, I just don't want to hear it. This makes me sad, because I used to be a bit more balanced. I can still see both sides of most issues, I just don't want to. Get him out of office and I'll debate whatever you want. Until then, everything that is not Bush is good.

I am a little embarrassed, honestly. But he just makes me so damn angry. More bad stuff keeps coming out and there are still people, seemingly normal, rational, nice people who still thing he is a good president. I cannot comprehend! No explination makes sense to me. It's very frustrating.

See? See what he does?!?! Evil. He has warped my brain. Please remove him from office before I become completly insane.

Get your insanity out of my box score!

One of the perks of working in this office, is the daily paper being provided in the break room. I get to wander in, make myself a warm, soothing cup of Earl Grey and catch up on the latest sports scores in USA Today.

Imagine my surprise when I came across a full page ad by some organization called Right March. You can see the ad in pdf here but I advise against. Let me just share how it begins:

RightMarch.com Says Fight Back Aginst "Liberal Hand-Wringers of America"

Then it goes on to quote the full text of "Democratic" Senator Zell Miller's floor statement on Abu Ghraib where he accuses those of us appalled by what happened there as giving aid and comfort to the enemy.

Now, I could go on and on here about how 90% of the prisoners there where released because there was no evidence linking them to any wrong-doing, but that would be pointless. You either care about your fellow human beings or you don't. Now I have to come across their hate in the fucking sports section?

I visited the site because how could I resist? I mean, I have to remind myself that people like this exist and that they have the money and the means to screw with my sports scores! These people seem to see themselves as the Right's response to Moveon.org. These are the fucksticks that tried to make a giant deal out of the one ad submitted to Moveon's ad contest. ONE AD! Their self-righteousness and their hypocracy is beyond compare. They just care so very much about the Holocaust. Can't you just feel their warmth and compassion?

Of course, if they had been around during WWII, they might have had a few issues with the Jewish influx of immigrants, since they seem so damn opposed to anyone other than, uh, Americans living here.

And don't even get me started on this ad. Do you know why all these people believed that Saddam had WMDs? BECAUSE BUSH LIED AND MANIPULATED THE FACTS AND THEN FUCKING TOLD THEM THAT HE DID! And I really think you have sunk to the bottom if you quote people to support you in one breath and then call them traitors in the next. Fucking pick on and MOVE ON!

*ahem*

Now, to cleanse myself of that horrible site, I am going to go read Move On dot org for awhile. In fact, I think this Liberal Hand-Wringer is going to donate some money in honor of that ad.

Thinky links

I've added some new links to the read list:

Electablog

Body & Soul

Political Aims

Winning Argument is an interesting site, as well. It's not something I want to read every day, which is why I didn't include it in the list. But! It's a good place to go when your Conservative co-workers/family members/friends/etc. try to argue politics with you. It breaks the arguments down nicely in to "why you are right" lists.

Liaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar

From Eric Alterman, Hit and Run, Al Kamen of the WaPost:

Transcript, CNBC’s “Capital Report,” June 17, 2004

Gloria Borger: “Well, let’s get to Mohammed Atta for a minute, because you mentioned him as well. You have said in the past that it was quote, “pretty well confirmed.”

Vice President Cheney: No, I never said that.

BORGER: OK.

Vice Pres. CHENEY: Never said that.

BORGER: I think that is...

Vice Pres. CHENEY: Absolutely not. What I said was the Czech intelligence service reported after 9/11 that Atta had been in Prague on April 9th of 2001, where he allegedly met with an Iraqi intelligence official. We have never been able to confirm that nor have we been able to knock it down."

Transcript, NBC’s “Meet the Press,” December 9, 2001.

Vice-President Cheney: “"Well, what we now have that's developed since you and I last talked, Tim, of course, was that report that -- it's been pretty well confirmed that he did go to Prague and he did meet with a senior official of the Iraqi intelligence service in Czechoslovakia last April, several months before the attack. Now, what the purpose of that was, what transpired between them, we simply don't know at this point, but that's clearly an avenue that we want to pursue."

But he wasn't under oath so it's totally okay to tell a complete and utter baldfaced LIE, especially since sex was not involved in the least. The mind continues to boggle.

Hyp ocracy, heeeey, hoooo!

Americablog is bringing it this morning, so I am going to share some of the good stuff and add my own pissed off commentary. ;)

Since ``don't ask, don't tell'' was adopted in 1994, nearly 10,000 military personnel have been discharged -- including linguists, nuclear warfare experts and other key specialists.

Does that make any sense whatsoever? Talk about cutting your dick off to spite your wife! According to the article, 770 people were discharged last year because of that policy. So, while the idiots in DC are quietly debating the draft and service men and women are being kept from coming home, even when their tours are technically over, we are tossing people out of the army because of who they are attracted to. Forgot equal rights, as I know right wing nutjobs are fond of doing, and just look at it practically, for crying out loud. You'd think they would be overjoyed at the prospect of a few good gay men and women dying to serve their unjust war. Lord, those people make no sense! NONE!

I also love how Catholic Bishops are running around talking about how communion shouldn't be given to Kerry and anyone who votes for pro-choice politicians. I mean, you can still get communion if you don't support any other Catholic doctrine, but that pro-choice nonsense gets you no body of this Christ, dammit. Of course, the Catholic Church cares oh so very much about children before they are fully formed and developed, but once they are out of the womb, well, they are fair game. According to a new piece by the Dallas Morning News, the Catholic Church is still shuttling around priests accused of abuse. This is happening all over the world. How much do you want to bet those men are still receiving communion?