In the news

Here's a little something to keep you all hip to what's going on in the news:

USPS: United States Postal Spying

According to this article, your boy Dubya has secretly given himself the authority to go through our mail without getting first getting a warrant. Apparently, the President added a "signing statement" that affords him the right to go through people's mail in the case of an emergency. Maybe somebody should remind him that the year is 2007; not 1984.

Snickers pulls controversial ad
Just two days after airing during the Super Bowl, Snickers was quick to remove one of its ads after receiving heat from several gay advocacy groups. The commericial, which I thought was actually pretty funny, involved two mechanics in a shop working on car. One mechanic starts eating a Snickers bar, while the other starts at the other end, clearly a spoof of the famous scene in “Lady & the Tramp”. When their lips meet, they panic and – in response – do something “manly” by ripping hair off their chests. As gay activists cried ‘foul’, Snickers got rid of the ad. But not before I was able to find it here (though I’m not sure how long it will be up).

On one hand, I get the whole uproar from the gay community thing. But seriously, where is the same outrage against flamboyant, boisterous and affeminate homosexuals who parade around; providing the most impetus for discrimination against the homosexual community? I mean, they're the ones who are the antitheses of the "manly" persona. If you want to blame anybody, blame them.

Praise the Lord! He's healed!

Speaking of homosexuals, Ted Haggard, the evangelical minister who purchased crystal meth from a male prostitute with whom he was sexually involved; has apparently been cured. I wish I was making this up.

Pumping in the $$$

According to reports, Exxon Mobil Corporation has just surpassed the previous held record for annual profits. Beating out last year's numbers from...uh...itself, Exxon amassed an astonishing $39.5 billion dollars of profit; resulting from a yearly revenue of $377 billion. Let's keep that in mind the next time one the oil execs goes on CNN to inform consumers that outrageous oil prices are simply the product of the high costs of refinery and exploration. Riiiiight.

Congress skeptical of Bush's Iraq Budget
After reading this article, who can blame them? After the president recently outlined his $2.9 trillion budget (which includes $625 billion for defense), both Dems and the GOP have grown decidely skeptical with Bush. When, according to Henry Waxman; Chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, our government "drops" 363 tons of cash in Iraq with no stated purpose, people are a little more likely to be critical of its fiscal moves.

Stories like this remind me of why oversight is important. Most of us can already see that Bush and his buddies have been failing us miserably with this nonsensical war. Maybe Congress will finally open their eyes and take action.

Kerry won't run
This bit of news is a little old, but worth mentioning since it will impact the outcome of the 2008 president election. John Kerry, whose botched presidential run served as a prelude to other botched stuff, removed himself from consideration as a presidential candidate. Whew! That was close. Even though I don’t think he had a chance of gaining the same momentum that he had (and lost) in ’04, I’m relieved to see that he won’t be attempt to run again.

Don’t get me wrong: I personally like Kerry and I supported most of his agenda. But he clearly didn’t have what it took to win an election. He lost to the worst president in history. As a war hero, he lost to a draft dodger. He essentially lost an ‘open and shut’ case. To think that he’d be able to win against a candidate even HALF as insipid as Bush would be far reaching.

More loss in Iraq
The military has reported that another helicopter has been downed; bringing the count to five in a little more than three weeks. Not only does this spell the loss of valuable and expensive resources but, more importantly, the loss of more human life. When will the President get it? If an American death toll of 3100 + doesn't do it, what will?

Scientists bribed to counter global warming claims
Even I was shocked to hear this story. Apparently, the American Enterprise Institute has offered scientists $10,000 in cash if they can refute any claims of global warming. This bribe was done in response to the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report; which indicates that human activity is the largest culprit of global warming. I wonder how far 10 grand will go when the global warming that you claimed didn't exist just caused the flood that's washing your home away.

Compliments: The new insult
Those silly Democrats; always putting their feet in their mouths. This time it's not John Kerry and his bad jokes about Iraq, or Howard Dean with...well...just about everything he says. Rather the culprit now is Senator Joe Biden (D-DE), regarding statements made about fellow Democratic senator Barack Obama.

In an article submitted to the New York Observer, he noted that Sen. Obama was "...the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy..." Bush's comments about an "articulate" Obama also grew criticism; but not to the extent of Biden's.

Writers all over the blogosphere have been weighing in on this story. Frankly, I could care less either way; but I can see the viewpoints of both sides. I get the idea that whites feel "damned if they do, damned if they don't" regarding complimenting blacks. But, I also understand how Biden's comments; especially calling Obama the "first mainstream black who is articulate..." can get intepreted as racist; implying that Obama's positive attributes are somehow a unique exception to the rule of his race. All I know is that the best way to avoid situations like this is to leave the politically correct bulls**t at the door.

There. I said it.

**Update**

Anna Nicole Smith found dead

Former Playboy model Anna Nicole Smith was found dead in Florida hotel. The cause of death was not determined, but I've got my theories. Let's see: wealthy aflluent family in a legal battle over an estate. Smith's son is mysteriously found dead. She mysteriously dies soon thereafter. Hmmm.

Truth be told, I'm not in the least bit interested in what happened. Now please don't interpret what I'm about to say as being heartless, but there wasn't much to her life that bore any real significance to me. I will admit, however, that stories like this do tend to get a little more interesting if they open themselves to a good conspiracy theory...

**Update (last time, I promise)**

Abu Grab-ass

When I heard this story, I had to blog on it. According to this report, President George H.W. Bush sought some sexual healing from somebody other than Barbara. After having lunch with Despearate Housewises star Teri Hatcher, the Prez got himself a slice of pizza; a piz-za Teri's ass (I can't take credit for this joke. I stole it from this SNL skit.)

Anyway, you can check out the video of your perverted president here. Laugh away...

I guess that's about it for today. There's tons more to discuss, but a brotha's gotta get some work done. Until next time, be easy...

- ACL