Molly Ivins has died.

Molly Ivins is “raising hell” in heaven now, the Grand Dame has left us.

Molly Ivins has left this earth. But she will not be forgotten, not by me at least. Her sass, her spunk, her spirit all made Molly what she was, a fighter that stood up to the ‘good ol boyz’ in TX politics. Give Molly credit..standing toe to tow with the likes of Tom DeLay and all the other republicans who hated her with a passion.

My heart is breaking as I write this..she was a Grand Dame. I still can not think straight, my room is cold, I have goose bumps. Molly fought so hard, years of fighting her breast cancer and still writing her syndicated column, she refused to be cowed by this disease.

She was the one that referred to the President as the Shrub. I got it from her. It quickly became the only way I would refer to that sumbitch.

Over 400 newspapers subscribed her to column. One of her last columns has this quote:

“We are the people who run this country. We are the deciders. And every single day, every single one of us needs to step outside and take some action to help stop this war,” Ivins wrote in the Jan. 11 column. “We need people in the streets, banging pots and pans and demanding, ‘Stop it, now!'”

Molly was a fighter to the end, promising to return and fight the good fight. That was a promise she couldn’t keep this time around. Usually 3 times is a charm..but not in Molly’s case. This was her third bout with breast cancer.

Molly raised hell with the best of them. She was humorous and at the same time biting and spot on..attacking those in power that didn’t take care of the powerless.

The following is from the Texas Observer when told of Molly’s death. Molly loved the T.O. and still raised money for them whenever she could,please visit their website for a glorious remembrance of Molly:

“Molly was a hero. She was a mentor. She was a liberal. She was a patriot. She was a friend. And she always will be. With Molly’s death we have lost someone we hold dear. What she has left behind we will hold dearer still.”

Sleep well Grand Dame..I hope you get some great audiences up in heaven.

Another blogger over at BIO has turned me on to the following YouTube video entitled the “Dildo Diaries” its adult content as noted by the title..but its a laugh to hold you over if your sad right now. Molly explains Texas’ sodomy laws..its a must see my dear reader.

Tags: Molly Ivins

The new face of the anti-war crowd: Protesting ain’t just for hippies anymore.

Salon.com has a good writeup about the March on DC here. It points out many of the groups that engaged in civil disobedience Saturday were not the usual left “wingnuts” and hippies:

“Regardless of size, the protest felt different. The demographics of the crowd had changed. As opposition to the war in Iraq mounts, sparked by the president’s decision to send 21,500 more troops, protesting against it has become mainstream. There were plenty of professional protesters in evidence Saturday, the kind for whom protests are a lifestyle choice, but there were also more yuppies, more families with small children, more older people and even a fair number of stylishly dressed young girls in North Face jackets and Ralph Lauren sunglasses. Just as important, the confused, off-topic rhetoric of so many past protests was noticeably muted.”

Salon then goes on to point out the diversity of the speakers but puts it in a negative light, as if its a bad thing. They also poke fun at the extremists or “wingnuts” in attendance.

I have a problem with this because the peace groups and activists are not about narrow vision. We, in the anti-war movement, welcome everyone that agrees on one thing: GET OUT OF IRAQ NOW! If they bring their own causes to the march, so be it. Some people don’t like that the left welcomes people of dubious mindset, and some think this detracts from our message. I do not think it does. I think it shows that we welcome diversity and even if some folks don’t agree that freeing “Mumia” is the right thing to do..we agree on a bigger issue that affects every man, woman and child..the War in Iraq is wrong.

Nonetheless, it is a good article to read, it has interviews with first time protesters, and one point is very clear..The President is helping our numbers grow. His escalation of the war in Iraq is bringing out more people who have never protested before and from all walks of life. For an independant POV on the March, along with some great pics, DCIndyMedia has a good read as well.

So, like Bush did in Iraq, he does here at home..he has created a situation that sparks involvement and people are not afraid to speak out, they feel they must speak out and I agree with that assessment completely. Bush is his own worst enemy. Thanks, you jackass.

Tags: Politics, Bush, Iraq, March+on+DC

Videos from DC on UFPJ website.

United for Peace and Justice has some good videos up from Saturdays march. Check out all of them here. The people of America against the war spoke loud and clear and continue to do so today when many of the marchers will visit Senators and Congressmen and women in their offices reminding them that over % of Americans are against the war and want out of it.

I wonder if the “I” word will be dropped on them? I know I would..even if its not on the “table” as Pelosi as stated.

Tags: Politics, United for Peace and Justice, March on DC

Vice President is the talk of the town lately, and for good reason.

The Vice President of the United States is the center of attention lately, and he doesn’t respond well to being in the limelight.

I have to say that I have been sidetracked this week from many of the issues I usually follow. There has, however, been a common thread running through many of them..it can be identified by one word, that brings fear and loathing into the hearts and minds of many a liberal-minded person.

Cheney.

Like some of our most famous public figures, just one word identifies our current Vice President. Prince, Roseanne, Streisand, Nixon, Reagan…You only have to say one part of their names and you know who someone is speaking or writing about.

Deadeye Dick Cheney is one man that, thank God, isn’t in a position to push the nuclear button. I fear that if something happened to Bush, Cheney wouldn’t have a problem with nuking first and answering for it later. I am sure his mentality pleases the war-mongering crowd, but it just sends shivers down my screwed up spine. His willingness to play dirty, lie his ass off and divide our nation for his own agenda never ceases to amaze me. He is contemptuous of anyone that questions or does not agree with him. It’s the “daddy syndrome” in many ways. His interview with Wolf Blitzer this week at CNN was a shining example of how he bullies people and stretches the truth to fit his POV. He is always confrontational when not in front of a flag-waving Neocon crowd, military organization or speaking to someone on his favorite propaganda channel..Fox News. Blitzer must have been ready to tear his hair out when he found out he was tasked with interviewing everyone’s favorite hunter last week. Some excerpts from this weeks “Situation Room” interview with Cheney:

When Blitzer asked whether the administration’s credibility had been hurt by “the blunders and the failures” in Iraq, Cheney interjected: “Wolf, Wolf, I simply don’t accept the premise of your question. I just think its hogwash.” Funny, but even the President himself has seen fit to admit to failures in Iraq in his two most recent speeches this month. But not ol Dick, no sir..Dick ain’t admitting to anything. Wait..Dick did admit this gem during the interview:

“Bottom line is that we’ve had enormous successes and we will continue to have enormous successes.”

I almost bit off the edge of the glass I was drinking out of when I heard that line coming out of his piehole. I sat there and thought a bit about what he could be alluding to with regard to enormous successes…and I thought..and I thought some more. Nope..no “enormous” successes came to mind for me, my dear reader. Unless of course you count the money Halliburton, Blackwater, CACI, and all the other contractors have made off the war in Iraq. His cough*intelligent* cough response when asked why Hillary Clinton wouldn’t make a good President really impressed me; “Because she’s a Democrat.”

Nothing partisan there right? Just a nice narrow-minded assessment without one word based in factual reality. Being a democrat does not automatically make one a lousy President, I don’t care what this fuckwit says. The lack of any substance was downright maddening. I would really like to hear him verbalize what exactly is wrong with Hillary in his view. Give us something to ponder, don’t expect the rest of society to buy your bullshit based on her party affiliation you pathetic old gasbag. Try to use a little deductive reasoning when telling us why a democrat wouldn’t make a good president. Is it too much to ask? To me, this statement smacked of a partisan political attack, something Cheney excels at. If he thinks the world revolves around party affiliation, I got news for him then: over 65% of American’s must now be registered Democrat since they no longer support the war in Iraq as part of the Global War on Terror. The vast majority of American’s also do not think the current administration is worth squat when it comes to doing the job we elected Bush and Cheney to do. That is the universal “we” btw..I didn’t vote for either of them personally. As one writeup about Cheney notes this week: As least Dick didn’t tell Wolf to go “fuck himself”, a favorite comeback of Cheney’s when pressed for answers or responses on given subjects.

Another article, over at E&P likened Cheney to “Baghdad Bob”. Its an amusing read, giving you quotes from Bob and asking you to visualize them coming out of Cheney’s mouth..its not a stretch believe me.

Now, we also saw Cheney’s name in the news repeatedly for another issue..PlameGate. With the beginning of Lewis “Scooter” Libby’s trial this week, Cheney would be a rich man if he were handed a buck for each time his name was bandied about by the defense, the prosecution or the witnesses in this case. Already, witnesses are tossing Dick under the bus by stating Cheney personally directed the effort to discredit Joseph Wilson by having calls made to reporters in 2003. Catherine J. Martin, who was the vice president’s top press aide at the time, testified that Cheney dictated detailed “talking points” for his chief of staff, I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, and others on how they could impugn the Wilson’s credibility. Cheney outright lied about Wilson’s trip to Niger and who instituted the trip and why, on the failed hunt to tie Saddam to uranium purchases. Scooter has no intention of going down for PlameGate quietly. His lawyers made that abundantly clear during their opening argument. Ms. Martin testified as a prosecution witness, so both sides are interested in what Cheney said and directed others to say when the war against Joe Wilson was declared after his infamous NYT OpEd piece shortly after Bush’s SOTU speech in 2003. Cheney was evidently the one to spearhead the movement to discredit Wilson, which shows one of two things. The man needed more important and reality-based work to do..or he was pissed off that he couldn’t personally ask Joe Wilson if he wanted to go hunting one weekend in the near future. An LAT article on the trial has the following summation on Martin’s testimony with regard to Cheney’s role:

“The vice president ordered press aides to start tracking press coverage closely, while Libby was directed to contact reporters. At one point, the vice president gave a note card to Libby with information to give to a Time magazine reporter covering the case, while Cheney and Libby were returning on Air Force Two from the christening of an aircraft carrier.”

Joe Wilson did not lie in his OpEd piece. The man told the truth. He and his wife have continued to speak truth to power since that fateful SOTU speech in 2003. Cheney has been caught in so many half-truths and down right specious lies..it would take another article to set them all before you. How this man has one scintilla of credibility is beyond me. To have the brass balls to sit in his office, on taxpayer time, and plan a smear campaign to discredit Joe Wilson is a political move that rivals Nixon’s attempt to spy on the Democrats at the Watergate Hotel. It was all about hiding the truth from the American public at ANY cost. Outing Valerie Plame did not cost her life..and for that Cheney and the rest of us should be thankful. It’s against the law to do what was done to Valerie Plame and for good reason…as an employee of the CIA, nasty people could be pissed and wish to kill her, as witnessed by what happened to former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko in England last year. His death was a horrible, painful one. It’s hard to say if that was Cheney’s intent. The man has no conscience and no moral compass as many in the West Wing of the White House have exhibited over the last 6 years. To spend their time trying to find ways to discredit the TRUTH is disgusting on every level. It’s an act that should not be tolerated in a civil and democratic society.

We should not be watching Libby’s trial, we should be watching the trial of the individual that perpetuated this bullshit, who started the ball rolling in the race to make Joe Wilson look like a liar and a fool. To spend hours and days in the employ of the citizens of the United States, spinning lies and innuendo is enough to show me that Cheney is an underhanded sumbitch. He will stop at nothing to further his agenda of deceit, including sacrificing Libby to save himself and Karl Rove, and telling Wolf Blitzer that a valid question is nothing more than “hogwash”. I might actually have a twinge of respect if Cheney had actually told Blitzer to go “fuck himself”. At least that can not be construed as anything more than what it is..a childish taunt when you have no other comeback or defense of your position.

Tags: Politics, Cheney, Iraq, Plamegate

Cross-posted @ Bring it On and The Blue Republic

Todays March on Washington has great turnout.

WaPo has a good writeup about it here. Hundreds of thousands turned out. There are plenty of articles out there to read about todays events. I just chose them since they were the most detailed. Pictures so far are courtesy of the LAT writeup. I created a Youtube video of them all, including pics from Ms. Liberty’s march in Palm Springs, thank you girlfriend! No crowd estimates since the DC cops do not wish to provide that info when its a huge turnout..And..the White House issued a statement on the March:

The White House issued a statement in response to the demonstration. “The president believes that the right to free speech is one of the greatest freedoms in our country,” said Gordon D. Johndroe, a White House spokesman.

Over at Carbon Paper, a first hand account of the March in DC as well. Good pictures too.

tags: Politics, United for Peace and Justice, March on Washington, Protest