Deek and I have been slacking on bringing you the most ghettolicious vehicles to every cross an intersection. I thought I’d bring back hard with this hoopty of a station wagon.

Ya’ll know I’m still dreaming of a threesome with John Stewart and Stephen Colbert. In the mean time I will have to content myself with clips from their respective shows dealing with the Foley scandal. Is it to naughty to admit that I am hoping the close up pants shot on the Stewart video is of Stewart’s own pants?

From my new dreamboat of a man Keith Olbermann:

But our winners, whoever in the Ottawa County Clerk’s Office proofreads the ballots in Ottawa County, Michigan, a typo will cost the county $40,000 to print new ballots because the old one misspelled the word, public. Left out the “L.” You can enunciate for yourself how the mistaken version of that word sounds.

Obviously the County Clerk’s spelling was just a hair off.

The Economist posted and article about immigration issues that Europeans face. You think we have problems, understand that Europe has much less space and provides a greater attraction to immigrants (better social support systems). This issue revisits a point I made during our immigration tiff: that immigration is a two way street that involves both the countries that shed populations and ones that take them in. I am not encouraged by the agency being proposed simply because it is being headed by Peter Sutherland, chairman of BP and Goldman Sachs, but at least the topic is on the table.

Almost all of us our products of immigrant. Let’s see it as the global, rather than local, concern that it is.

I’m sorry, but just because you’re holier than thou doesn’t mean your ass should be taking tax breaks simply because of your religious standing.

Seriously, maybe it’s time we all declared ourselves preachers in the church of the individual and took a tax break for our housing costs.

Let’s see, tax breaks for preachers, but not their less well paid staff. And no tax break for us non-religious types that do the same kind of work. I work in the inner city teaching vocational students how to write business letters and resumes so they are productive members of society, it’s alot more practical than saying prayers and has better results in the long run. Where’s my tax break for that?

Oh and the churches not paying unemployment crap- ah no. Seriously, just cause you think you got God on your side doesn’t mean shit. I think even Jesus said “render unto Ceasar”.

Everyday I hate organized religion just a little more.

I’m doing research on a new college grant that Bush instituted for critical math, science and language programs. It’s an extra $4000 a year for college juniors and seniors, and I could use the money. Besides, I’m bored studying political science (turns out there are really only 2 philosophies in the end) and learning a new language would make me a happy camper.

The deal is this- you study a critical area, they pay you. With the languages it’s pretty obvious why they picked the ones they did to call them critical. You have the languages of the places we are currently or soon to be at war with (Arabic, Farsi, Urdu) as well as the languages the BRIC countries (fastest growing emerging economies) Brazil, Russia, India and China. There are also grants for African and other Asian languages.

So I’m searching ye olde web and come across this program at UConn that has been funded by the Defense Department. It’s actually a really cool program to fund, giving students laptops and access to native speakers to increase their fluency.

But why is Haitian Creole on the list? It’s a language spoken by only 12 million people (compared to 220 million Portuguese speakers). Despite Haiti’s violent history (and present) it is not a military threat to the US. It is not an emerging economy, in fact it is the poorest country in the western hemisphere with poverty rates more in line with sub-saharan Africa. And, most of the people who speak Creole also speak French, a decidedly non-critical language (us Americans with our disdain for multi-lingualism don’t seem to have a problem taking a high school French or Spanish class).

What gives?

I should admit that I have a huge soft spot for Haiti. It is one of the 3 countries to have a successful democratic revolution in the 18th century. The other two were the US and France. We were instrumental in ousting Aristide (both times). The last time was when he was about to raise the minimum wage. Companies like Disney who had been getting their souvenier t-shirts made for cheap didn’t like the idea of having to pay reasonable wages. But that kind of stuff happens all the time. None of the Maya languages of Chiapas are on the program even though there are continuing struggles by the Zapatistas for land reform and an end to NAFTA (I should post some of the Zapatista propaganda photos I took and tell you all about the eljido tax- but that’s off topic).

So my little paranoid brain is tying to figure out why the defense department might need American citizens who can speak Haitian Creole. First person with a sensible theory gets a lip smacky kiss.

PS: I was looking for programs in Portuguese in a place where I might want to live, like say the Bay Area (has nothing to do with the boy who is making me grin, really;) and they are virtually non-existent. Which means I either have to study Russian or risk life and limb learning Farsi. I guess all I’ve got to say about that is “Dosvedanya comrades”.

Everyone on every side of the political spectrum knows the system is broken. Special inetersts trump voters in garnering attention of lawmakers. Now, even winning the popular vote does not assure victory. But even if we get “our” people in the lawmakers are more likely to listen those who lobby the best (i.e., can offer the most money and perks). The constant lament, with reasonable justification, is that our two parties have become one: the Republicrats. So how do we change this increasingly dangerous situation? Massive turner vote.

I know this seems counterintuitive since in the last thrity years we only seem to get to choose the ‘lesser of two evils’. But think of our situation this way. Politicians are doing everything to control who gets to vote for them. Between ballot rigging, gerrymandering and manipulation politicians want only enough people to vote for them to get elected. This assures them election and eases their job by letting them appeal to a limited base. This should offer the clue to our strategy as voters.

Another thought that should motivate us. Most of us realize that two parties, even if run optimally, are not enough. That is why most other democracies chose proportional voting. Getting proportional voting to even be considered we need viable third, fourth and fifth parties. Do any of you think these parties will come around with the paltry numbers that currently constitute our turnout? The first answer to change is to double turnout and maintain it. Then as a more representative populace we can demand changes.

The current state of low turnout is purposeful. Politicians do not want everyone to vote. Let’s scare the hell out of ’em.

Nancy Pelosi, the House Democratic leader, has vowed that if the Dems take back the House next month major changes would happen in the first 100 hours (not days- HOURS)!

Changes include:
Get lobbyists out of the legislation process
Implement all recommendations from the 911 commission
Raise the minimum wage to $7.25 per hour (maybe without doing the staggered increase that is typical)
Cut interest rates on student loans
Give Medicare negotiating power with drug companies

And last, but certainly not least

ROLL BACK THE WINDFALL TAX CUTS!

I’ll admit that I have been a bit skeptical of Pelosi since she took impeachment off the table (I really do hope that was just political maneuvering and will be re-examined with a Dem majority). If this 100 hour plan is what we get with the first female Speaker then I say “What the hell took us so long?”

PS: Future Speaker Pelosi would be 3rd in line for the presidency. If impeachment happened for Bush and Cheney she might not just be the first female Speaker, but the first female President. That is a happy making thought indeed.

To read this bit on impeachment. Seriously. And then I would like someone to explain to me why the Dems are such milquetoast babies that they can’t seem to do what Americans want them to do. I can’t see myself ever voting for a Republican (unless I could travel back in time and vote with the Radical Republicans after the Civil War) but I am having a hard time seeing how Democratic policies would be much better if they take control after the next elections. To date they haven’t shown how they would protect the people they claim to represent.

This is not the Clinton impeachment. This is not about a political power grab over a ridiculous charge that has nothing to do with a person’s capacity to run the country. This is about a president who committed actual crimes by lying about the war. This is about a president who is personally responsible for every American death in Iraq by falsifying the basis for the war. This is a legitimate, if not the most legitimate reason for impeaching a president, because he is putting the lives of Americans in danger without justifiable reason and under false pretenses. If Nixon was impeachable for bugging Democrats, how impeachable should Bush be for starting a war with a lie?

I dunno what to say. It’s like watching a car crash between a pinto and a nova. It’s so ugly you can’t help but watch.

A teletubby shakes it’s thang to MC Hammer’s 2 Legit 2 Quit.