Dixie Chicks fly to No. 1 on album charts

I'm so glad that despite the lack of play from country radio, the Dixie Chicks new cd is a smashing success. From CNN:

Despite a cool reception from country radio, the Dixie Chicks returned to No. 1 on the pop and country charts with their first album since publicly criticizing the president three years ago.

The album "Taking the Long Way" took the top spot on country albums chart and the Billboard 200 overall chart -- which are based on sales rather than radio airplay -- with 526,000 units sold in its first full week.

For the year, the Chicks' first-week showing is behind only Rascal Flatts' "Me and My Gang" (722,000 units), according to Wade Jessen, director of Billboard's country charts.

The new album hit stores May 23, and its first-week sales are the trio's best since "Home" sold 780,000 units in its first week of release in September 2000.

First-week sales on "Taking the Long Way" were better than Toby Keith's "White Trash With Money" (330,000) and Tim McGraw's "Greatest Hits Vol. 2: Reflected" (242,000).

Country radio programmers have been slow to embrace the group since lead singer Natalie Maines told a London audience in 2003 on the eve of the war in Iraq that the group was ashamed President Bush was from their home state of Texas.

Back in the U.S., their music was boycotted and the Chicks said they received death threats, leading them to install metal detectors at their shows.

Associated Press caught misleading readers about Democrat Harry Reid

From Media Matters:

Summary: Associated Press writer John Solomon reported that Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (NV) had attended three Las Vegas boxing matches as the guest of the Nevada Athletic Commission while the agency "was trying to influence him on federal regulation of boxing." But Solomon failed to inform readers that, rather than taking any actions favorable to the NAC, Reid allowed the specific legislation that the agency had opposed to pass.

John from Americablog has more on this story.

Bigfoot mystery solved?

These two pics were posted at Bartcop.com.

War on terror a sham?

Firedoglake has a must read post about how there is no war on terror.

Right wingers owe Al Gore an apology

From working for change:

Indeed, Mr. Gore became a safe, easy target for every Republican politician and every right-wing commentator, who brandished Earth in the Balance as if it were The Communist Manifesto. “This is a book written by an extremist, and it's filled with extremism …. He wants to do away with the automobile as we know it today,” complained Jim Nicholson, then the Republican national chairman (and now the Secretary of Veterans Affairs). What was once the most controversial recommendation in Mr. Gore's book-phasing out that infernal combustion engine- is today the official objective of the Bush administration.

And, of course, the same hacks who shrieked back then about the damage this radical change would inflict on the American economy would surely praise President Bush for his farsighted leadership.

Now that nearly everyone else acknowledges Mr. Gore's point, however grudgingly, those who attacked him so viciously owe him copious apologies. He would be wiser, unfortunately, to anticipate further assaults instead. The inevitable intrusion of reality has restored his stature, but the mean character of his enemies remains depressingly the same.

I remember during the 2000 campaign that was the right wingers main arguement against Gore, that he was some sort of environmental extremist. If Gore does decide to run for president in 08, and that's a huge if, i wonder how they'll try to smear him since their biggest arguement against him has been taken away.

Country radio disses Dixie Chicks

This is no big surprise. From CNN:

By picking the defiant "Not Ready" as the first single, they've reopened a wound that was particularly deep for country radio fans, and left many country programmers with the burning question: Why on earth would the band choose to do this?

After hearing the album, WKIS Miami program director Bob Barnett says he was "excited about the opportunity to introduce some great Chicks music to the listeners." But the group's decision to come with "Not Ready" as the lead single left him "stunned, especially in light of the fact that, when asked, programmers and consultants that listened to the project were virtually unanimous in saying we should put the politics behind us and concentrate on all this other great music we were hearing."

KUBL/KKAT Salt Lake City PD Ed Hill criticizes the song's "self-indulgent and selfish lyrics."

Barnett played the song for a week, but pulled it after listeners called to say it sounded like the Chicks were "gloating" or "rubbing our noses in it," he reports. "We didn't need to pick at the scab any longer."

He and other country programmers were upset that the group chose to launch its new album with a single that rehashed all the angst of three years ago.

CD and download sales will be the determining factor of the success or failure of the Dixie Chicks latest release, not whether country radio refuses to play their songs. Corporate america is one of Bush's biggest supporters so it's no surprise that they're going to do all they can to derail the Dixie Chicks success.

Conservatives unhappy with Bush and Republican Congress

From the Washington Post:

The current record of Washington Republicans is so bad that, without a drastic change in direction, millions of conservatives will again stay home this November.

And maybe they should. Conservatives are beginning to realize that nothing will change until there's a change in the GOP leadership. If congressional Republicans win this fall, they will see themselves as vindicated, and nothing will get better.

If conservatives accept the idea that we must support Republicans no matter what they do, we give up our bargaining position and any chance at getting things done. We're like a union that agrees never to strike, no matter how badly its members are treated. Sometimes it is better to stand on principle and suffer a temporary defeat. If Ford had won in 1976, it's unlikely Reagan ever would have been president. If the elder Bush had won in 1992, it's unlikely the Republicans would have taken control of Congress in 1994.

At the very least, conservatives must stop funding the Republican National Committee and other party groups. (Let Big Business take care of that!) Instead, conservatives should dedicate their money and volunteer efforts toward conservative groups and conservative candidates. They should redirect their anger into building a third force -- not a third party, but a movement independent of any party. They should lay the groundwork for a rebirth of the conservative movement and for the 2008 campaign, when, perhaps, a new generation of conservative leaders will step forward.

I've never seen conservatives so downright fed up as they are today. The current relationship between Washington Republicans and the nation's conservatives makes me think of a cheating husband whose wife catches him, and forgives him, time and time again. Then one day he comes home to discover that she has packed her bags and called a cab -- and a divorce lawyer.

As the philanderer learns: Hell hath no fury. . . .

This bodes well for the Democrats chances of taking back the House, maybe even the Senate. Let the Republicans stay home in November, they owe the country that much for getting behind a guy who was unqualified to be President. The wanted another Ronald Reagan but instead got Richard Nixon.

Corporatations under increased pressure to release customer information

From WSJ.com:

Since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, law enforcement efforts to secure corporate information about clients and suppliers have reached such levels that some companies have had to create special units that do nothing but deal with these demands, a process often called "subpoena management."

Banks, Internet-service providers and other companies that possess large amounts of data on their customers say that police and intelligence agencies have been increasingly coming to them looking for tidbits of information that could help them stop everything from money launderers to pedophiles and terrorists.

"Corporate counsel that used to see law-enforcement-related requests five times a year are now getting them sometimes dozens of times a day," says Susan Hackett, a senior vice president and top attorney for the Association of Corporate Counsel, which represents the legal departments of leading U.S. companies.

In short, phone companies currently caught up in a controversy over reports that they gave the National Security Agency access to records of customers' calls are hardly the only businesses fretting over how to cooperate with the government in the war on terror. Internet and financial companies also are frequently targeted by intelligence and law enforcement agencies, forcing them into situations where they must choose between customers' rights to privacy and their own corporate desire to help the government without being seen as agents of the government.

The situation is made even more complicated when the companies are government contractors, vying for federal business or in an industry subject to complicated regulation.

Is it any wonder why americans rights to privacy are being so blatantly violated when we have a President who has probably never read the Constitution much less have an understanding of it. What it all comes down to is that this president believes that american citizens have no right to privacy. As i've said before, a president takes an oath to defend the Constitution. Just wait til a Democrat wins the presidency, Republicans who are now willing to accept all of this president's powers will do a complete 180 and start preaching about Constitutional rights.

TV ad blitz targets Gore, warming ‘alarmists’

From MSNBC.com:

A little girl blows away dandelion fluff as an announcer says, “Carbon dioxide: they call it pollution; we call it life,” in a new ad campaign targeting global warming “alarmists” — especially Al Gore.

The television ads, which will air in 14 U.S. cities through May 28, are part of a campaign by the conservative Competitive Enterprise Institute to counter a media spotlight on threats posed by worldwide climate change.

The spots are timed to precede next week’s theatrical release of “An Inconvenient Truth,” a documentary film on global warming that features Gore, the former vice president and Democratic presidential candidate.

Against backdrops of a park, a beach and a forest, one ad celebrates the benefits of greenhouse gas-producing fuels.

“The fuels that produce CO2 (carbon dioxide) have freed us from a world of back-breaking labor, lighting up our lives, allowing us to create and move the things we need, the people we love,” the ad runs. “Now some politicians want to label carbon dioxide a pollutant. Imagine if they succeed — what would our lives be like then?”

I'm at a loss for words as to how to reply to something like this given the ovelwhelming scientific evidence that global warming poses a very real threat to our planet. Stealing a famous quote from John McEnroe the only thing that comes to mind is you cannot be serious.

Please help Jesus' General promote his cheetos for chickenhawks program.

Murtha: Iraqis Were Killed 'in Cold Blood'

From Fox News:

A Pentagon investigation will show that U.S. Marines killed 15 civilians in Iraq in cold blood a U.S. congressman said in Washington.

Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., confirmed Wednesday that Iraqis in Haditha said Marines killed the unarmed Iraqi civilians, including seven women and three children, NBC News reported. Military officials told NBC the Marine Corps' own evidence appears to confirm Murtha's statement.

A Marine spokesman issued a statement in November saying a roadside bomb had killed 15 civilians and a Marine, but U.S. military officials later retracted that account.

Murtha said military sources have told him the Pentagon investigation will show the troops overreacted because of the pressure on them, and they killed innocent civilians in cold blood.

Three officers in a California-based Marine battalion involved in the incident were relieved of command. A spokesman for the 1st Marine Division said the officers were removed due to lack of confidence in their leadership abilities stemming from their performance during a recent deployment to Iraq, the Marine Corps Times reported last month.

The officers were Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, commander of the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, and two of his company commanders, Capt. James Kimber and Capt. Luke McConnell.

The attacks on John Murtha have begun.

Bushlandia

This was posted at billmon.org. I came across it via Americablog. Bush has a positive approval rating in only three states. It's too bad it took america so long to realize that Bush is a lousy president.

More Evidence of Evolution

From the Washington Post:

According to the new theory, chimps and humans shared a common apelike ancestor much more recently than was thought. Furthermore, when the two emerging species split from each other, it was not a clean break. Some members of the two groups seem to have interbred about 1.2 million years after they first diverged -- before going their separate ways for good.

The research is the latest fruit of the Human Genome Initiative, the effort to transcribe and read out the entire genetic message of human chromosomes, which was completed in 2003.

The evidence of ancestral chimp and human interbreeding emerged from comparing parts of their genomes to each other and to those of gorillas, orangutans and macaques. The scientists now want to know whether similar "hybridization events" happened between other emerging species.

Don't these scientists realize that the earth is only five thousand years old? This is really going to piss off the religious right. Science must have a liberal bias, no wonder conservatives show such disdain for it.

Republican adulterer Don Sherwood wins GOP nomination

Adulterer and accused mistress beater Don Sherwood has won the GOP nomination to run for re-election. Republicans love to bring up Clintons morals but they want everyone to ignore their immoral behavior. When it comes to family values, there seems to be a double standard with the Republicans. Somehow i can't help but think that if a guy like Sherwood was a Democrat, he'd be toast.

I think i've found one of the 29% that supports Bush

I just thought i'd share a post from one of the message boards i'm a member of. This comment was posted in response to a little debate i was having with this person over whether or not we'd be better off with a Gore Presidency, of course you know what my position is. Well the war in Iraq came up and i stated that Gore would have kept the focus on Al Qaeda and not gotten distracted with Iraq. Here is the response i got:

Iraq may have had nothing to do with 9-11. But it certainly had something to do with terrorism. There was numerous links to terrorist groups. That, alone, is justification enough for the invasion of Iraq. Iraq hasn't created any more terrorists than it would have otherwise. You have no way to prove such the outlandish accusation that millions more were created. There is much more to the global War on Terrorism than merely Al Qeada. A fact that the left conveniently forgets. Under a Gore presidency we wouldn't be in Iraq because we would be busy fighting the terrorists on the streets of America. Would you prefer that? That never seems to be an issue with the left.

Sometimes i wonder why i even bother debating people who seem to live in another universe. The scary thing is that there are more people than you would think who believe the same thing he does and would vote for Bush all over again if they had the chance.

As usual Specter caves to the Bush administration

Courtesy of Glenn Greenwald:

A front-page article in this morning's The Hill reports that Sen. Specter has finally made enough concessions to secure the support of the more right-wing members of the Judiciary Committee for his legislation that (along with a bill from Sen. DeWine) would render legal the NSA warrantless eavesdropping program. As part of this negotiation, what were these Bush allies (Hatch, Sessions, Cornyn, Kyl) holding out for? The removal from Sen. Specter's bill of a clause that would mandate that the FISA court rule on the legality and constitutionality of the NSA program. As usual, the thing which Bush supporters fear most - and which they most desperately seek to avoid - is a judicial ruling on the legality of the administration's behavior.

Why are Republicans so afraid of this failed President with an approval rating hovering around 30%? This is yet another reason why anyone running with an R next to their name in November must be voted out. The only way Bush will be held accountable is if the Democrats gain control of the House or Senate, preferably both.

Rove Indicted this week?

Rumor has it that Karl Rove will be indicted this week. If and when it happens watch Bush's approval ratings drop even further. Bush may even set the record for the lowest approval rating of any President. Couldn't happen to someone more deserving.

More speculation on Gore running in 08

An Andrew Sullivan reader speculates about Al Gore running for President in 08. As i've said, i believe Al Gore has the best chance among Democrats of winning the Presidency. Check out the Draft Gore 2008 blog.

Dixie Chicks interviewed on 60 Minutes

From cbsnews.com:

It’s no surprise that the backlash is still there, given the demographics of country music — generally speaking, country's core audience resides in states where support for President Bush and the war is the strongest. So why risk insulting an audience that gave you fame and fortune in the first place?

"I think I know where your question's leading and it just goes back to the answer that we don't make decisions based on that. We don't go, 'OK, our fans are in the red states.' So I'm gonna play a red, white and blue guitar and put on my I Love Bush T-shirt and … we're not like that because we're not politicians. We're musicians," says Maines.

"Anybody ever tell you one of the big rules of the music business, or business in general, is never try to antagonize your customers?" Kroft asked, laughing.

"Well, that's what music is. That's what the music I always admired and liked was. I didn't like, I saw no honesty in people being safe or opinionless. Is that a word? I always loved the music that was about something," says Maines.

They have already paid a huge price for their outspokenness, and not just monetarily. A half-hearted apology for the London comments three years ago didn’t help much, and neither did posing for a magazine cover several weeks later. The worst part was the threats.

"There was one specific death threat on Natalie. [It] had a time, had a place, had a weapon. I mean, everything," banjo player Emily Robison recalls. "This was at our show in Dallas. 'You will be shot dead at your show in Dallas' on whatever the date was," she says.

Gotta love Natalie Maines, still taking a shot at Toby Keith. Anyone who cares about free speech ought to buy their new cd or download it from Itunes.

Al Gore on SNL

Al Gore was in the opening skit on Saturday Night Live last night in which he addresses the nation as if he was the President of the United States. Crooksandliars has the video. Here's a rough transcript:

Announcer:
And now, a message from the President of the United States.

President Al Gore:
Good evening, my fellow Americans.

In 2000 when you overwhelmingly made the decision to elect me as your 43rd president, I knew the road ahead would be difficult. We have accomplished so much yet challenges lie ahead.

In the last 6 years we have been able to stop global warming. No one could have predicted the negative results of this. Glaciers that once were melting are now on the attack.

As you know, these renegade glaciers have already captured parts of upper Michigan and northern Maine, but I assure you: we will not let the glaciers win.

Right now, in the 2nd week of May 2006, we are facing perhaps the worst gas crisis in history.

We have way too much gasoline. Gas is down to $0.19 a gallon and the oil companies are hurting.

I know that I am partly to blame by insisting that cars run on trash.

I am therefore proposing a federal bailout to our oil companies because - hey if it were the other way around, you know the oil companies would help us.

On a positive note, we worked hard to save Welfare, fix Social Security and of course provide the free universal health care we all enjoy today.

But all this came at a high cost. As I speak, the gigantic national budget surplus is down to a perilously low $11 trillion dollars.

And don't get any ideas. That money is staying in the very successful lockbox. We're not touching it.

Of course, we could give economic aid to China, or lend money to the Saudis... again.

But right now we're already so loved by everyone in the world that American tourists can't even go over to Europe anymore... without getting hugged.

There are some of you that want to spend our money on some made-up war. To you I say: what part of "lockbox" don't you understand?

What if there's a hurricane or a tornado? Unlikely I know because of the Anti-Hurricane and Tornado Machine I was instrumental in helping to develop.

But... what if? What if the scientists are right and one of those giant glaciers hits Boston? That's why we have the lockbox!

As for immigration, solving that came at a heavy cost, and I personally regret the loss of California. However, the new Mexifornian economy is strong and el Presidente Schwarznegger is doing a great job.

There have been some setbacks. Unfortunately, the confirmation process for Supreme Court Justice Michael Moore was bitter and devisive. However, I could not be more proud of how the House and Senate pulled together to confirm the nomination of Chief Justice George Clooney.

Baseball, our national passtime, still lies under the shadow of steroid accusations. But I have faith in baseball commissioner George W. Bush when he says, "We will find the steroid users if we have to tap every phone in America!"

In 2001 when I came into office, our national security was the most important issue. The threat of terrorism was real.

Who knew that six years later, Afghanistan would be the most popular Spring Break destination? Or that Six Flags Tehran is the fastest growing amusement park in the Middle East?

And the scariest thing we Americans have to fear is ... Live From New York, its Saturday Night!

You can also view the video on YouTube.

Scarborough tries to tie Bush's illegal spying to Clinton

The transcript isn't up on MSNBC.com yet but on last night's Scarborough Country Joe Scarborough tried to place the blame on Clinton for Bush's unlawful data mining of americans cell phone records. I don't know if Joe Scarborough actually believes that or he was just invoking Clinton's name to give him cover with his conservative viewers for criticizing President Bush. Statements like that are so outrageous that you have to question the sanity of those making them. It's about time Republicans give Bill Clinton credit for his accomplishments as President and get over their hatred of a man whose biggest mistake while in the White House was getting a blow job from a chubby intern. Do Republicans seriously want to compare Bill Clinton's record with George W. Bush's record? I say bring it on. It's time for a Republican reality check. Republicans need to join the majority of americans who are reality based, you know the ones who think that President Bush is one of the worst Presidents this country has ever had.

Update: The transcript is now online.

SCARBOROUGH: You know, Brad, I‘ve got to say this. Hold on a second, guys. When I was on the Judiciary Committee, I was shocked by all the presidential directives that Bill Clinton passed in the late 1990s. I said it was a dangerous thing then. Paul Begala had said, It‘s pretty near, you don‘t have to pass laws anymore, just a stroke of the pen and it has the effect of law.

Now we‘ve gotten to a point in 2006 where the president can decide on his own he‘s going to get all of our phone records, and Congress isn‘t involved! This is an imperial presidency, started with Bill Clinton, and it‘s dangerous!

Gore still very popular

From the Washington Post:

Former vice president Al Gore sent an e-mail to Democratic donors recently to "commemorate" the final 1,000 days of the Bush administration.

"I am here to tell you that we simply cannot afford to wait 1,000 days to put the brakes on the Bush agenda," wrote Gore, adding that "the level of cynicism and crass political calculation . . . is truly breathtaking."

The goal of the appeal was to collect $150,000 for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee -- or $10,000 for each of the 15 seats the party needs to regain the House majority in November. Aides at the committee said the e-mail -- the first Gore had done on behalf of House Democrats this cycle -- brought in more than $200,000.

"He is the most successful signature on an e-mail that we have ever had," said DCCC Chairman Rahm Emanuel (Ill.). Emanuel added that Gore, who many think still has presidential ambitions, has agreed to campaign for House candidates this fall as long as they favor measures to curtail global warming, long his pet issue.

Al Gore is the Democrats best chance at regaining the Presidency in 08 as far as i'm concerned. Red staters simply will not ever vote for Hillary. Don't get me wrong i think Hillary would make a fine President but it's impractical to think that she could win in a general election. Those living in all but the most liberal of blue states view her as the devil and would turn out in droves just to vote for whoever is running against her. Hillary energizes the Republican base, there's no denying that.

Al Gore's capital has gone up since the global warming issue has become a concern for americans and the rest of the world. No one took Al Gore seriously when he was talking about global warming years ago, they are now. Another important point to remember is that Al Gore got more votes in 2000 than GW Bush. There's also the issue of all the shennanigans that went down in Florida. Al Gore deserves another shot at the presidency. Many, including myself feel that Bush stole the presidency from Al Gore in 2000. Gore to his credit did what he thought best for america and that was to concede the election to Bush. Somehow i can't ever imagine a guy like GW Bush doing that if the situation was reversed.

Third Anniversary of 'Mission Accomplished'

Media Matters takes a look back to when President Bush landed on that aircraft carrier and proclaimed victory in Iraq under a banner that said mission accomplished. It tells you a lot about the press by some of the statements they made at the time. Of course they include many of Chris Matthews "man crush" type comments about how great President Bush looked in that flightsuit. G. Gordon Liddy even commented on the size of the President's "package".

The next time some right winger cries about the liberal press, give them the link to the Media Matters article. Even today the press is still covering for this disaster of a President. Chris Matthews and all the others who fawned over the President when he did that ridiculous publicity stunt, which by the way the american taxpayers paid for, should be ashamed of themselves. I was going to post some of the comments they made from the media matters article but there is so many over the top comments i had a hard time choosing which ones to post. Go and read the whole article, if they weren't shilling for one of the worst President's this country has had, the comments would be pretty funny. It's hard to find the humor when our country is in such sad shape.