I can't believe it's not a democracy!

Although this will likely go nowhere, Rupert can't be happy:

FBI to investigate News Corporation over 9/11 hacking allegations. Interestingly enough, Peter King (Douchebag R, Long Island) asked for the inquiry, so maybe it will go somewhere. After all, Obama's team would shit on a request by, say, Dennis Kucinich or Bernie Sanders, but this is a crazy asshole republican, so this phone hacking thing by an organization ruled by a savvy businessman may be worth doing after all (trying to channel Obama, so bear with me). That said, you are no doubt aware that Murdoch withdrew his BSkyB bid. Sad. He wants out of newspapers and in on tv/cable, so that had to hurt.

But something even more wonderful has happened. Namely, Rupert and James have learned that the politicians in the U.K. have managed to stand on their hind legs and they will no longer lick their master's hand: Phone hacking: both Murdochs agree to face MPs following jail threat. You see, both father and son said "no thank you, we're busy that day," when asked to appear before a Commons committee, and the now-standing-on-two-legs politicians said "we aren't afraid of you anymore." Oh my. I assume, but do not know, that lying to the committee is perjury which would be punishable in court. So, we need to find out whether witnesses before the committee can assert something like our fifth amendment right against self-incrimination when called to testify. And we need to get a bowl of popcorn.

The Dept. of Justice can't be bothered to investigate Wall Street, but they have time to do this:

BREAKING: DOJ files motion to reinstate DADT. Yep, I guess Obama doesn't care if the queers vote for someone else. Oh yes, I know, the Attorney General is independent and we wouldn't want the president to interfere with his decision making, blah, blah, blah. Well then, why did the Countrywide and AIG executives get a pass? Not to mention the mooks at Bear Stearns (remember them?), Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase...I could go on. But Eric Holder can't pass up the opportunity to piss on the queers. The whole fucking bunch of them are monsters. Oh, an Obama is still trying to cut your SS and medicare. And why not? He won't need it.

Job opening in New York for man or woman who isn't a supreme asshole:

New York town clerk quits over gay marriage licenses. You see, the clerk is a god fearing woman and she can't put her name on blah, blah, blah. And of course there is some professor who is urging an exemption for these sky god believers because "[f]orcing a public employee with a religious objection to facilitate a same-sex marriage would be intolerant in the extreme when little is to be gained by such rigid demands." Um, her fucking job includes giving out fucking marriage licenses. If her sky god tells her she can't do it, then she has to quit. I have no tolerance for this shit. At least this clerk is doing the right thing by quitting since she is seemingly unable to uphold the law. Anyone attempting to make her into a martyr over her decision is full of shit.

Guess what I saw on the street in front of my office this afternoon?

A bus with this logo on it: 

So I thought, on they missed the same-sex marriage vote by a few weeks.  But it turns out Nancy & Udean's Christian Tours has a five-day New York City summer special.   I hope no one got drunk and woke up gay married by accident. 

 

It's that time of the year.

Yes, time for the annual mammogram and sonogram for the girls.  I have to have a sonogram along with the mammogram because I have recurring cysts.  Cysts are simply fluid filled pockets.  They aren't pre- anything, and they are not a sign of future problems.  They just are.  Thing is, some cysts fill up slowly and steadily and do not get smaller.  Eventually, they press against muscle causing some soreness, so they need to be aspirated (guess how that's done).  It's quick and not that painful.  Well, this year, no aspirations were necessary.  I had a big cyst earlier in the year, but for the first time ever, it went down on its own.  And I apparently have fewer cysts now than when I was younger.  Finally, I got a clean bill of health.  It's all good.

So this is the time when I remind any women reading this, and any men who have adult women in their households or as friends, that a regular mammogram can be a life saver.  No one wants bad news, but bad news delivered early can make the difference between having a normal life expectancy or not.  No one looks forward to going for a mammogram, but just do it.  The relief you will feel after it's done with is worth it. 

Gee, I wonder why?

News International papers targeted Gordon Brown. I repeat: I think that this can bring Cameron down. How likely is it that Andy Coulson, his former communicatons director who was arrested last Friday, did not use or share information that News of the World obtained illegally about Brown for Cameron's benefit?

That said, the bastards hacked Brown's bank records. But there was something more that they did that is so despicable that I know that you will agree that justice will not be served unless Rebekah Brooks' filthy ass is hauled to jail:

Confidential health records for Brown's family have reached the media on two different occasions. In October 2006, the then editor of the Sun, Rebekah Brooks, contacted the Browns to tell them that they had obtained details from the medical file of their four-month-old son, Fraser, which revealed that the boy was suffering from cystic fibrosis. This appears to have been a clear breach of the Data Protection Act, which would allow such a disclosure only if it was in the public interest. Friends of the Browns say the call caused them immense distress, since they were only coming to terms with the diagnosis, which had not been confirmed. The Sun published the story.

Five years earlier, when their first child, Jennifer, was born on 28 December 2001, a small group of specialist doctors and nurses was aware that she had suffered a brain haemorrhage and was dying. By some means which has not been discovered, this highly sensitive information was obtained by news organisations, who published it over the weekend before Jennifer died, on Monday 6 January 2002.

String them all up. Then go after the ones here.

I think Murdoch has lost his hold on the U.K. This editorial highlights why his influence just went bye-bye:

Murdoch's malign influence must die with the News of the World. But no worries, I'm sure that Obama, if asked about this scandal, will respond that Rupert Murdoch is a savvy businessman. Sigh. Still, if News Corp loses its sway and a chunk of its stream of income from the U.K., it's a start.

Oh my:

Andy Coulson to be arrested over phone hacking tomorrow. Andy Coulson, former editor of News of the World AND David Cameron's former communications director. Yes, Cameron must realize that things got a bit dicier. Apparently another arrest will be made in the next few days. I hope it's Rebekah Brooks ("It's inconceivable that I knew..."). Then, will they point upward?

Honestly, I find this so fucking exciting. Why? I have a friend who says that nothing in this country will change until we have publicly funded elections. I countered that nothing will change until we do something about the media. The last couple of decades have resulted in a media engaged in cheap diversion and an increasing coarsening of political discourse. And I believe the two main players responsible for the horrible state of our media are News Corp, via Fox, which has given us O'Reilly, Hannity, Beck, etc., and Clear Channel, which feeds that evil fat fuck Rush Limbaugh. No doubt Murdoch will try to limit his losses, but I think he has a huge fucking problem in the U.K. And one must ask the obvious: did Fox or the Ny Post or any of News Corp's other American assets do here what News of the World did in the U.K.?

Of course he is putting social security and medicare on the table. He won't need them:

Obama puts Medicare, Social Security cuts on the table. If Obama screws social security and medicare, and Pelosi and other democrats with more than two neurons let it happen, I will never vote for another democrat ever. And I won't be alone. It's time for the democrats to act like democrats. If they don't, fuck 'em. The pundits and naysayers who claim that voting third party is a waste of your vote have a stake in things as they are. Obama needs to be stopped, and 2012 is the right time to do it. Ok, now is the right time, but he doesn't give a shit what most Americans want. He'll care next year, but it will be too fucking late. Personally, I'd like to see the house go back to the democrats and Obama lose to the republicans. Maybe then the democrats will finally act like the party they claim to be and they can stop everything the republican president tries to pass. Hey, it's better than having Obama out republican the republicans. And I almost forgot: he's a monster.

Holy fucking christ!!!!

News of the World to close on Sunday. The headline and subheads at the Guardian read:

• News International closes paper in wake of scandal
• Government announcement on BSkyB will take several weeks
• News of the World paid £100,000 bribes to Met police officers
• Miliband questions Cameron's 'close relationships with NI
• Met police going through 11,000 pages containing 4,000 names

This story just exploded. I will say what I've hinted at for the last few weeks: I think this could bring down Cameron. Again, if Nick Clegg has any self-respect left and a working testicle (doubtful, but who knows?) he is chatting with Ed Miliband about the next coalition government. And Murdoch? Just wait until the hedge fund boys go after him. By the way, you can't short News Corp on E*Trade because they can't get shares to borrow. Yeah, I checked last night. And this morning. Champagne on me if Murdoch goes down in flames.