Harley Howl-idays!

I'm taking the week off from most everything, including blogging, but here's Harley wrapped in swaddling clothes wishing everyone a Harley New Year's!

pawning the war off on the next prez

Bush finally admits, will leave 100,000 troops in Iraq when he leaves office - and that's if things go well
(Americablog)

the end of the world

video on Americablog

Happy Harley-days!

attacking Edwards for sticking up for the less fortunate

Tucker Attacks John Edwards For Remembering Homeless Vets In Holiday Ad
(Crooks and Liars)
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Yeah, gawd forbid we remember the less fortunate over the holiday season! It's not like that's something that Jesus would have done, is it?!
WTF is tucker's problem?

good for Reid

THIS JUST IN: Reid to again block controversial Bush holiday recess appointments
(Americablog)
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I wouldn't think that they would even think twice about this - it's obvious that it should be done.

The Dems have failed in some important issues, but at least they are trying to do some good.

i guess he's trying to lose!

Romney embraces Bush.

Despite attempts to distance himself from the President in the past, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney has now become one of Bush’s biggest defenders:

I support our troops, and I support what our troops are doing. I also support our president. I believe that the president has acted in good faith and out of a desire to protect this country to do everything in his power to keep America safe. […]

The president is a person who is deeply devoted to this country and doing what’s right for this country, and protecting American lives.

Romney also recently called on former governor Mike Huckabee to apologize for criticizing the administration’s foreign policy, and he delivered a major speech on religion at the library of former president George H.W. Bush.

(Think Progress)

repugs' record-breaking obstructionism

Senate conservatives break all-time obstructionism record.

After Senate conservatives “filibustered an omnibus budget bill” yesterday, they set “a modern-day record for blocking the most legislation during a congressional session,” according to a new report by the Campaign for America’s Future. In just the first year of the 110th Congress, conservatives have used the filibuster 62 times, topping the record set by the entire 107th Congress. Bill Scher notes some of the legislation conservatives have worked to block.

(Think Progress)

completely disconnected from reality

Bush: ‘I go around spreading good will.’

Former President Bill Clinton recently stated that in a new Clinton administration, he and former President George H. W. Bush would travel around the world together to help restore the international reputation of the United States. In his press conference today, President Bush said he already does this in his current job:

It’s what I do during my presidency. I go around spreading good will, talking about the importance of spreading freedom and peace.

(Think Progress)
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Wow! If this is good will, i'd hate to see him spreading ill will! Yikes!
Does this man even live in the same world as the rest of us? He can't actually believe that, can he?

a cool new evolutionary find

Whales may be related to deer-like beast

WASHINGTON - The gigantic ocean-dwelling whale may have evolved from a land animal the size of a small raccoon, new research suggests. What might be the missing evolutionary link between whales and land animals is an odd animal that looks like a long-tailed deer without antlers or an overgrown long-legged rat, fossils indicate.

The creature is called Indohyus, and recently unearthed fossils reveal some crucial evolutionary similarities between it and water-dwelling cetaceans, such as whales, dolphins and porpoises.

For years, the hippo has been the leading candidate for the closest land relative because of its similar DNA and whale-like features. So some scientists were skeptical of the new hypothesis by an Ohio anatomy professor whose work was being published Thursday in the journal Nature.

Still, some researchers have been troubled that hippos seem to have lived in the wrong part of the world and popped up too recently to be a whale ancestor.

Newer fossils point to the deer-like Indohyus. The animal is a "missing link" to the sister species to ancient whales, said Hans Thewissen, an anatomy professor at Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine.

"As a zoo animal, it looks nothing like a whale," Thewissen said. But, he added, when it comes to anatomical features, the Indohyus "is quite strikingly like one."

Thewissen, who earlier published papers on fossils of what he called the first amphibious whale and the skeleton of the oldest known whale, studied hundreds of Indohyus bones unearthed from mudstone in the Kashmir region of India. From that cache of bones he created a composite skeleton of a 48 million-year-old creature.

The key finding connecting Indohyus to the whale is its thickened ear bone, something only seen in cetaceans. An examination of its teeth showed that the land-dwelling creature spent lots of time in the water and may have fed there, like hippos and whales. Also, the specific positioning and shape of certain molars connects Indohyus to the earliest whales, which are about 50 million years old, Thewissen said.

"The earliest whales didn't look like whales at all," Thewissen said. "It looked like a cross between a pig and a dog." They lost their legs and ability to walk on land about 40 million years ago, he said.

And the Indohyus? "A tiny little deer maybe the size of a raccoon and no antlers," Thewissen said. He said it most resembles the current African mousedeer, which has a rat-like nose and "when danger approaches, it jumps in the water and hides."

India and Pakistan were the general region where early whales lived. That matches with the Indohyus but not the early African hippos, Thewissen said. While modern-day cetaceans are known to be smart, early whales and Indohyus had small brains, the researcher said.

Other scientists were intrigued, but far from convinced, especially since the case for hippos has looked good, they said.

"While this new hypothesis for the origin of whales is compelling, it will require further testing, especially since other recent studies have suggested both hippos and Raoellids were involved in whale ancestry," San Diego State University biology professor Annalisa Berta said in an e-mail. Raoellids are the larger grouping of species that include the Indohyus.

Kenneth Rose, a professor of functional anatomy and evolution at Johns Hopkins University, said Thewissen didn't provide enough evidence to merit his conclusions. He also questioned the use of the composite skeleton. The ear bone thickness, the key trait that Thewissen used, was difficult to judge and seemed based on a single specimen, Rose said. Much of the work is based on teeth, and overall the remains preserved from this family of species are poorly preserved, he said.

Thewissen said there are problems with not enough well preserved fossils, but he said what's left makes a strong case for Indohyus as the closest land ancestor — with hippos as the closest living land relative.

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repug porkers

Criticisms don't slow GOP pork projects

WASHINGTON - The demise of the bridge to nowhere notwithstanding, Sen. Ted Stevens and other Republicans remain the kings of pork-barrel spending, proving that GOP mastery of "earmarks" can withstand public scorn, a president's rebuke and even a Democratic takeover of Congress.

The Senate's two biggest sponsors of this year's pet spending projects are Republicans Stevens of Alaska and Thad Cochran of Mississippi, according to preliminary reviews of fiscal 2008 spending bills by Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonpartisan group. Two of the House's three biggest claimants of earmarks also are Republicans: Bill Young of Florida and Jerry Lewis of California, the group found.

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what year is this?

Man cries 'Heil Hitler,' beats American

BERLIN - An American was attacked in western Germany by a man who shouted "Heil Hitler," police said Thursday.

The attacker confronted the 54-year-old American for speaking in English with a woman at a McDonald's restaurant in Gelsenkirchen, in the industrial Ruhr region, police said.

The man demanded to know why the two were not speaking German. The woman said her friend did not speak German well, and the American asked, "What's your problem?"

Police said the assailant then said: "We are in Germany. German is spoken here," before shouting "Heil Hitler" and raising his right arm. The Hitler salute is illegal in Germany.

The American, who was not identified, threatened to call police. As he reached for his cell phone, police said, the stranger head-butted him, and he fell to the floor. The assailant then repeatedly kicked his left ankle.

The attacker fled and the American was taken to a hospital for treatment, police said.

Police released two video surveillance photos showing the suspected assailant and appealed to witnesses to come forward.

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once again the Dems are truly supporting the troops

House passes Veterans Guaranteed Bonus Act.

Last month, Iraq war vet Jordan Fox revealed that some wounded soldiers were being asked by the Pentagon to return part of their enlistment bonuses. Today, the House passed the Veterans Guaranteed Bonus Act to ensure that future soldiers aren’t treated like Fox. The legislation will ensure that members of the armed services who are discharged as a result of combat-related wounds receive the full compensation to which they are entitled by the Department of Defense.

(Think Progress)

as if "godless" is a bad thing!

Vatican blasts "Golden Compass" as Godless and hopeless
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There are a lot of things that are "godless" without being hopeless!
It's a freakin' story fer chrissakes!
Why do these idiots make such a big deal the few times when someone writes something that isn't fawningly religious?
It's not as if god actually exists or anything!

finally doing something about fuel standards

Bush signs bill boosting fuel standards

WASHINGTON - President Bush signed into law Wednesday legislation that will bring more fuel-efficient vehicles into auto showrooms and require wider use of ethanol, calling it "a major step" toward energy independence and easing global warming.

The legislation signed by Bush at a ceremony at the Energy Department requires automakers to increase fuel efficiency by 40 percent to an industry average 35 miles per gallon by 2020. It also ramps up production of ethanol use to 36 billion gallons a year by 2022.

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fire on white house grounds

Fire burns on White House grounds

WASHINGTON - Thick black smoke billowed from a fire Wednesday on the White House compound in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.

The blaze appeared to be located in Vice President Dick Cheney's suite of ceremonial offices on the second floor of the building. Cheney and President Bush were across the street in the West Wing of the White House when the blaze broke out. It appeared to be under control within an hour.

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Personally, i think that Satan was a little careless with the fires of hades after visiting his son, Dick...

assholes defending scumbag

NFL fines 5 Falcons for Vick tributes
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I cannot comprehend how anyone could defend this murdering scumbag...disgusting...

well, he would say that, wouldn't he?

Bush says US economy is safe and sound

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. - President Bush worked to reassure Americans on Monday about the economy but said "there's definitely some storm clouds and concern" because of the nation's credit crunch and mortgage problems.
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Bush tried to position himself as an advocate for working families by taking aim at his favorite target: the Democratic Congress.

"The Congress cannot take economic vitality for granted," Bush said.

"The most negative thing Congress can do in the face of economic uncertainty is to raise taxes on the American people," Bush said.

The audience of roughly 80 people listened to Bush with respectful silence. Yet a line that normally gets him applause — "I'll veto any tax increase" — drew no reaction at all.

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Bush spoke at the Yak-A-Doo's restaurant inside a Holiday Inn.

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So, he wants to do nothing for the economy and he wants the Dems to do nothing, as well?

Unfortunately for him, the American people want someone to do something other than make the rich get richer - it would be nice if someone did something for the average Americans for a change.

snow the nutjob

Tony Snow: ‘The Second War In This Country’ Is ‘The War On God’
(Think Progress)
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Yeah, there is such a "war on god" that every politician has to babble on about his mythological beliefs in order to be taken seriously and religion is in our faces everywhere we go and in everything we see and hear.
I'd hate to be in a country where there wasn't a "war on god" if this is what it's like when there is one!

thank goodness!

Saudi King Abdullah has pardoned a teenage gang-rape victim who had been sentenced to 200 lashes and a six-month jail term for “being alone with a man unrelated to her.” A Saudi appeals court had punished the rape victim for going to the media with her story.

(Think Progress)
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I can only assume that this was done because of the media outrage. Too bad that bush didn't have the balls to stand up to his good friend and denounce this atrocity.
But no matter why it was done, thank goodness that it was...maybe eventually the Saudis will join the rest of us in the modern world...

Friday Beagle Blogging!

The most spoiled dog in the world resting on "his" silk pillow on "his" chair!

the joys of religion

Was the Colorado shooter a failed "ex-gay"?
(Americablog)

well i damn well hope so!

Reid may block Bush recess appointments again at Christmas
(Americablog)

almost like they don't want to be associated with him!

0:

Number of times President Bush was referenced in yesterday’s Republican presidential debate.

(Think Progress)

banning torture - what a novel concept!

House passes ban on waterboarding.

In a 222-199 vote, the House today passed the FY2008 Intelligence Authorization bill, which bans waterboarding and confines the CIA “to the interrogation tactics permitted by the Army Field Manual on Human Intelligence Collector Operations. Rep. Jerrold Nadler’s (D-NY) remarked, “[This] means no more torture, no more waterboarding, no more clever wordplay, no more evasive answers, no more dishonesty.”

(Think Progress)

But of course:

Bush will veto torture ban

(Americablog)

wha?!

Savage: 90% of Nobel board is ‘into child pornography.’

On his radio show yesterday, right-wing talker Michael Savage attacked former Vice President Al Gore’s recent Nobel Peace Prize, saying that it was awarded to him by “the socialist perverts in Norway.” “90 percent of the people on the Nobel Committee are into child pornography and molestation,” proclaimed Savage.

(Think Progress)
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Really, the repugs have just gone totally and absolutely batshit insane these days....

so does this mean that we don't have to hear about this nonsense any more?

O’Reilly declares victory in war on Christmas.
(Think Progress)
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Forgive an old-timers' anaolgy, but this kinda reminds me of the Doors declaring the "war is over" in their song "The Unknown Soldier" and stoned hippies celebrating this! Except, of course, that they were referring to a war that was happening in the real world back then.

This is just an idiot who made up a "war" and then declared victory in it - who else would be able to? He was the only one who knew it was happening!

"principled" unless it could hurt him

O’Reilly Exempts Barnes & Noble From His ‘War On Christmas’: ‘They Sell A Lot Of Books’
(Think Progress)
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what a jackass...

almost as if they have something to hide - the never-ending saga

600: Percent

the cost of government paper-shredding has increased since President Bush took office. USASpending tracked how the government spent $452,807 on contracts for
paper-shredding services in 2000, only to see that number rise astronomically to over $2.9 million in 2006.

(Think Progress)

funny, but far from surprising

Perino: It’s ‘Awkward’ Having ‘Other Channels’ Besides Fox News At White House Parties
(Think Progress)
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I think it's about time that Fox gives up on the absurd "fair and balanced" logo and just calls inself the "republican channel" or something...

i sure hope that the Dems capitalize on this

"It's the economy, stupid" Take II

Bad news from the GOP who created our current round of economic problems.

Higher prices for gasoline and home heating oil, stock market volatility and rising mortgage foreclosures all account for some of the pessimism, in the view of political pollsters.

Significantly, they also cite the recent drop in real estate prices as a major worry for millions who have long viewed their homes as a source of retirement income.

“People feel less secure these days,” and their concerns turn to issues such as education, health care and retirement security as well as the economy, said Sara Taylor, a former White House political director not aligned with any of the Republican presidential hopefuls.

(Americablog)
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People need to be reminded that it is the incompetent repugs and their war-mongering ways that have brought us to this point. Just because it is obvious does not mean that the Dems should not hammer this point often!

another looney christian who thinks he is being oppressed

Rep. King Decries ‘Assault On Christmas,’ Calls On Americans To ‘Stand Up’ And ‘Worship Christ’

Rep. Steve King recently (R-IA) introduced legislation recognizing the “importance of Christmas and the Christian faith,” despite previously opposing resolutions recognizing the Muslim celebration of Ramadan and the Hindu Diwali.

(Think Progress)

and more on hypocritical repugs

FLASHBACK: Conservatives Tried To Kill The Senate ‘Minority’s Right To Filibuster’ Three Years Ago

In The New York Times this morning, reporter David M. Herszenhorn analyzes the “muscle flexing” by conservatives in Congress, who he says “effectively have a stranglehold on the Senate.” Herzehhorn notes that Senate conservatives are now “so accustomed to blocking measures” that they reflexively objected to an AMT patch they wanted, forcing them to scramble “to approve it later”:

In fact, the Senate Republicans are so accustomed to blocking measures that when the Democrats finally agreed last week to their demands on a bill to repair the alternative minimum tax, the Republicans still objected, briefly blocking the version of the bill that they wanted before scrambling to approve it later.

Herzehhorn goes on to explain that the conservatives believe they are “merely exercising the minority’s right to filibuster“:

The Republicans are not shy about their strategy, which they say is merely exercising the minority’s right to filibuster, which has existed since the earliest days of the Senate.

He does not mention, however, that just three years ago, many of the same conservatives (then in control of Congress) threatened to use the “nuclear option” to remove “the minority’s right to filibuster” judicial nominations.

Conservative Senate leaders who are now doing everything they can to obstruct critical legislation, were “not shy” three years ago about their willingness to do away with the filibuster:

Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS): “[Filibustering] is wrong. It’s not supportable under the Constitution. And if they insist on persisting with these filibusters, I’m perfectly prepared to blow the place up.”

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) spokesman: “Senator McConnell always has and continues to fully support the use of what has become known as the ‘[nuclear]’ option in order to restore the norms and traditions of the Senate.”

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX): “I support the [nuclear] option, I support a rule change, Isupport elimination of the unconstitutional filibuster by any legal means.”

Just because conservatives aren’t “shy” about their obstructionism doesn’t mean they’re not hypocrites.

(Think Progress)
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This is amazing - the repugs are now not even paying attention - they are just objecting as a reflex - even when the Dems cave in to their demands!
F'k'ing jackasses...What a way to represent the American public...

contempt for rove and bolten

Judiciary Committee approves contempt resolutions.

In a 12-7 vote this morning, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved contempt resolutions against Karl Rove and White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten for their refusal to comply with the U.S. attorney investigation. Bush, citing executive privilege, has “refused to allow Rove and Bolten to testify or turn over documents to the panel.” Republican Sens. Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) both supported the resolutions.

(Think Progress)

stupid

Clinton adviser: Obama drug use concern

CONCORD, N.H. - A top adviser to Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign said that Democrats should give more thought to Sen. Barack Obama's admissions of illegal drug use before they pick a presidential candidate.

Obama's campaign said the Clinton people were getting desperate. Clinton's campaign tried to distance itself from the remarks Wednesday, and the adviser said later he regretted making them.

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Who gives a f'k what anyone did as a teenager? A little pot and alcohol?! Ohmigawd! He's human!

Bill Clinton admitting to smoking pot - whoop-de-doo. Our current president is an addled alcoholic and drug abuser - the repugs can hardly talk...

one of the strangest headlines ever

SKoreans clone cats that glow in the dark: officials

SEOUL (AFP) - South Korean scientists have cloned cats by manipulating a fluorescent protein gene, a procedure which could help develop treatments for human genetic diseases, officials said Wednesday.

In a side-effect, the cloned cats glow in the dark when exposed to ultraviolet beams.

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more from the obvious squad

Led by the military, war-weary US awakens to 'soft power'

WASHINGTON (AFP) - After six hard years of war, the United States is awakening to the idea that "soft power" is a better way to regain influence and clout in a world bubbling with instability.

And nowhere is the change in thinking more advanced than in the US military, which is pushing for greater diplomacy, economic aid, civic action and civilian capabilities to prevent new wars and win the peace in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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Man, who could ever think that diplomacy is a better idea than fear and violence?! What a novel concept!
You would think that no one has been saying this for the past 6 years! jeez...

Gore stating the obvious

Gore: US blocking climate talks progress

BALI, Indonesia - Nobel laureate Al Gore accused the United States on Thursday of blocking progress at the U.N. climate conference, and European nations threatened to boycott U.S.-led climate talks next month unless Washington compromises on emissions reductions.

The former vice president urged delegates to take urgent action to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases blamed for global warming, and told them that the next U.S. president will likely be more supportive of international caps on polluting gases.

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I guess sometimes it actually is news when someone states the obvious like this. Our "liberal media" isn't likely to do it.
Hopefully, the rest of the world will understand that the American people aren't the ones being obstructionists - it is our idiot "leaders".

proving once again that bush hates children

Bush vetoes kids health insurance bill

WASHINGTON - President Bush vetoed legislation Wednesday that would have expanded government-provided health insurance for children, his second slap-down of a bipartisan effort in Congress to dramatically increase funding for the popular program.

It was Bush's seventh veto in seven years — all but one coming since Democrats took control of Congress in January. Wednesday was the deadline for Bush to act or let the bill become law. The president also vetoed an earlier, similar bill expanding the health insurance program.

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And of course, he hates Dems and anything that they propose - no matter how many Americans are behind it.
He's simply a spiteful, hateful little gnome that despises the rest of the human race...

making decisions based on nothing

Thompson: ‘I Don’t Care’ What The Intelligence On Iran Says, The NIE Is ‘Foolishness’
(Think Progress)
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I know that our current prez doesn't care about facts when making decisions, but do we really need another looney like that as president?

romney dishes it but can't take it

Romney: Attacks on religion go too far
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He seems to have no problem attacking other people's faiths (or lack thereof) and rewriting this country's religious history, but he doesn't like it when people ask about his religion.
(I don't think that Huckabee's question was fair, either, but be consistent.)
Personally, i don't think that anyone should be talking about religion at all since it should not have anything to do with their political job, but that's just me...

insanity in Iraq

Triple car bombs in Iraq's south kill 41

BAGHDAD - Three car bombs exploded in quick succession in the market district of a southern Iraqi city Wednesday, killing at least 41 people and injuring 150 in an oil-rich Shiite region that has largely escaped sectarian bloodshed, authorities said. It was the country's deadliest bombing in four months.

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This certainly seems to hurt the assertion that this war is "over"!

whawhaWHAT?!

Tom Tomorrow:
Babbling Brooks

Brooks’ columns invariably remind me of Roy Edroso’s recurrent line about Jonah Goldberg, which I am paraphrasing from memory and probably mangling: this is the stupidest thing he has ever written, until the next thing he writes. Still, this morning’s was a real contender.

The most idiotic campaign punditry in recent days has been the assertion that the Iraq war as an issue is so over. Like, so last summer. It reached a climax today, Tuesday, with David Brooks’ column in The New York Times declaring that we are now in the “postwar” period. Brooks calls this suddenly “a postwar election.” The public, he suggests, is changing from “a war mentality to a peace mentality,” exhausted by “the war over the war.”

Postwar? Peace? Try telling that to the soldiers in Iraq, and the families whose kids are still coming home minus a limb or part of their brain. Last I checked we were still spending billions of dollars a month Over There and I haven’t heard about any bases, or the grand embassy, being dismantled.

(This Modern World)
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Wow! What reality do these freaks live in?! There is not even a hint that this war is even close to being over for the forseeable future - certainly not before another president takes office. This is bizarre in the extreme!

does anyone really think the WH does not know about this?

Former CIA Interrogator: We Carried Out Torture Because The White House Told Us To
(Think Progress)

stretching to the point of a non-sequitor

FRC ties Colorado shooting to ’secular media.’
(Think Progress)

but he'll be damned if he thinks that anyone else should have it!

New Health Care Ad: If Dick Cheney Didn’t Have Government Care, ‘He’d Probably Be Dead Now’
(Think Progress)

scary

Huckabee wants to ‘take this nation back for Christ'
(Think Progress)
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I didn't know that Christ was a citizen now. Shouldn't this nation belong to the people who live here?
We certainly don't need another fanatic who takes advise from an imaginary friend in the White House. Are there any sane candidates?
And more from Crooks and Liars:
Mike Huckabee: Women Should Submit To Their Husbands
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is he actively trying to alienate everyone except for evangelicals?

WH climate lies and manipulations

White House’s manipulation of climate science.

A new report by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee concludes that the Bush administration has “engaged in a systematic effort to manipulate climate change science and mislead policymakers and the public about the dangers of global warming.” Highlights from the report:

– The White House censored climate change scientists. When Dr. Thomas Karl, Director of National Climatic Data Center, appeared before the House Oversight Committee in 2006, he was barred from saying in his written testimony that “modern climate change is dominated by human influences.” His “assertion that global warming ‘is playing’ a role in increased hurricane intensity became ‘may play.’”

– The White House extensively edited climate change reports. At one point, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) “made at least 294 edits to the Administration’s Strategic Plan of the Climate Change Science Program to exaggerate or emphasize scientific uncertainties or to deemphasize or diminish the importance of the human role in global warming.”

– The White House muzzled environmental administration staffers. “The White House also edited a 2002 op-ed by EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman to ensure that it followed the White House line on climate change. Despite objections from EPA, CEQ insisted on repeating an unsupported assertion that millions of American jobs would be lost if the Kyoto Protocol were ratified.”

(Think Progress)

human evolution speeding up

Researchers: Human evolution speeding up

WASHINGTON - Science fiction writers have suggested a future Earth populated by a blend of all races into a common human form. In real life, the reverse seems to be happening. People are evolving more rapidly than in the distant past, with residents of various continents becoming increasingly different from one another, researchers say.

"I was raised with the belief that modern humans showed up 40,000 to 50,000 years ago and haven't changed," explained Henry C. Harpending, an anthropologist at the University of Utah. "The opposite seems to be true."

"Our species is not static," Harpending added in a telephone interview.
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"Rapid population growth has been coupled with vast changes in cultures and ecology, creating new opportunities for adaptation," the study says. "The past 10,000 years have seen rapid skeletal and dental evolution in human populations, as well as the appearance of many new genetic responses to diet and disease."

And they found that different changes are occurring in Africans, Asians and Europeans.

Most anthropologists agree that humans first evolved in Africa and then spread to other areas, and the lighter skin color of Europeans and Asians is generally attributed to selection to allow more absorption of vitamin D in colder climate where there is less sun.

The increase in human population from millions to billions in the last 10,000 years accelerated the rate of evolution because "we were in new environments to which we needed to adapt," Harpending adds. "And with a larger population, more mutations occurred."

In another example, the researchers noted that in China and most of Africa, few people can digest fresh milk into adulthood. Yet in Sweden and Denmark, the gene that makes the milk-digesting enzyme lactase remains active, so almost everyone can drink fresh milk, explaining why dairy farming is more common in Europe than in the Mediterranean and Africa, Harpending says.

The researchers studied 3.9 million gene snippets from 270 people in four populations: Han Chinese, Japanese, Africa's Yoruba tribe and Utah Mormons who traced their ancestry to northern Europe.

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more horror

Car bombs in Algerian capital kill 45

ALGIERS, Algeria - Car bombs exploded minutes apart Tuesday in central Algiers, heavily damaging U.N. buildings and ripping the facade off the wing of a government office. Officials said 45 people were killed, and that 12 U.N. employees were missing.

Suspicions quickly focused on the North African wing of al-Qaida. The date — the 11th — could point to an Islamic terror link. Al-Qaida in Islamic North Africa claimed responsibility for attacks on April 11 that hit the prime minister's office and a police station, killing 33 people.

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employee suing because he doesn't believe in evolution but wants to work with evolution

Christian biologist fired for beliefs, suit says

BOSTON (Reuters) - A Christian biologist is suing the prestigious Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, claiming he was fired for refusing to accept evolution, lawyers involved in the case said on Friday.
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The Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination dismissed the case this year, saying Abraham's request not to work on evolutionary aspects of research would be difficult for Woods Hole because its work is based on evolutionary theories.

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Lots more on this from Pharyngula.
Basically this moron doesn't believe in evolution but wants the prestige of evolutionary-based research.

good!

Vick gets 23 months for dogfighting
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I certainly hope that he never works again - scumbag...

more faulty memories in this admin

Cheney: ‘I’d Have To Go Back And Do A Lot Of Research’ To See If Rove Is Right About War Vote
(Think Progress)
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I think the American people have a right to be concerned for the mental capacity of this administration's people since they can't seem to remember anything that they ever did or said. Can't officials be impeached when shown that they are of dimished mental ability?

House doing some good - so of course bush wants to veto it

House passes energy bill.

In a 235-181 vote, the House approved the Energy Independence and Security Act today.

The bill would raise the corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) level for cars and light trucks to 35 miles per gallon by 2020, require utilities to generate 15 percent of their energy from renewable sources, and increase funding for biofuels like “cellulosic” ethanol. The White House has threatened to veto the bill.

(Think Progress)

idiot

Bush gives out wrong mortgage hotline phone number.
(Think Progress)

standard for this admin

‘Banished’ State Dept. official still overseeing embassy in Iraq.

A “State Department project manager banished from Iraq by the U.S. ambassador and under scrutiny by the Justice Department continues to oversee the construction of the much-delayed new American embassy in Baghdad from nearby Kuwait,” State Department officials disclosed yesterday.

(Think Progress)

learning more baout our solar system

'Flying Saucers' Around Saturn Explained

The formation of strange flying-saucer-shaped moons embedded in Saturn's rings have baffled scientists. New findings suggest they're born largely from clumps of icy particles in the rings themselves, an insight that could shed light on how Earth and other planets coalesced from the disk of matter that once surrounded our newborn sun.

Saturn's rings orbit the planet in a flat disk that corresponds to the planet's equator. Likewise, Earth and the other planets orbit the sun in a fairly flat plane that relates to the sun's equator. The planets, at least the rocky ones, are thought to have formed when bits of material orbiting the newborn sun stuck together, forming larger and larger objects that collided and coalesced.

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wouldn't it make more sense for everyone to just work together?

China: US should take lead on climate

BALI, Indonesia - China said Friday it will not consider mandatory cuts on greenhouse gases, saying the United States and other industrialized countries should take the lead in fighting climate change by embracing a less-extravagant lifestyle.

China, which some believed has surpassed the United States as the world's top emitter of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases, also questioned the fairness of binding cuts when its per capita emissions are about one-sixth of those by the U.S.

It also noted that it's only been pumping pollutants into the atmosphere for the last few decades, whereas the West has done so for much longer.

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I know - i'm asking a silly question, but you would think that the idiotic leaders would want to work together to save the planet rather than playing some silly game of who should do what first. But, unfortunately, it seems to be a rarity when a leader wants to work for the benefit of the people...

more chaos in Iraq

22 killed in 2 suicide attacks in Iraq

BAGHDAD - A female suicide bomber attacked the offices of an anti-al-Qaida group that has joined forces with the U.S., killing 12 people Friday in one of Iraq's most violent provinces, police and the U.S. military said.

A second attack at a checkpoint manned by Iraqi soldiers and another of the U.S-backed groups killed 10 people, an Iraqi army officer said.

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Friday Beagle Blogging

Harley looking indignant at being bothered on his favorite ottoman.

if it wasn't true, that should be easy to prove

Bush's puppet Specter says Harry Reid is mean for calling the GOP Senators Bush's Puppets

How many times have we heard that some GOP Senator was going to take a brave stand, then see them cave after they get the slightest pressure from Bush? Many, many, many times. One of the worst offenders is Pennsylvania's Arlen Specter. That's probably why he's so upset that Harry Reid spoke the truth about the Bush puppets in the Senate:

Taking offense at being described as a “puppet” of President Bush, Sen. Arlen Specter fired back at Majority Leader Harry Reid on Wednesday, suggesting the Nevada Democrat isn’t up to running the Senate.

Reid on Dec. 4 had blamed what he called Republican obstructionism in the Senate on allegiance to Bush.

“He is the man who is pulling the strings on the 49 puppets he has here in the Senate,” Reid said, referring to the chamber’s GOP members.

Specter, R-Pa., cried foul and declared that Reid had not only violated Senate Rule XIX, which prohibits the questioning of a senator’s integrity, but was just flat wrong.

Specter protests too much.

(Americablog)

fair and balanced - as long as it favors bush

3 out of 4 Fox primetime shows ignored NIE.

Early Monday afternoon, the Bush administration released a new National Intelligence Estimate revealing that Iran had halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003.

Though the blockbuster revelation was featured prominently that night in all three network newscasts, it was all but ignored on Fox News. Steve Benen reports that on Monday night, only one of Fox’s primetime shows — Special Report with Brit Hume — even mentioned the report. On Tuesday, after President Bush held a news conference, the shows did cover it, but with only conservatives and administration supporters discussing it.

(Think Progress)
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Once again, this is certainly not a surprise, but it is funny just how afraid Fox is of bad news for bush...

hardly surprising

Like The State Department, DoJ Policies Discriminate Against Gay And Lesbian Employees
(Think Progress)

wha?!?!

Bartlett: WH reporters are too tough on Bush.

In an interview with the Texas Monthly, former Bush counselor Dan Bartlett said the White House press corps is too “critical” of Bush:

I think White House correspondents have been tagged, unfairly, with not being tough enough on the administration and President Bush in the run-up to the war. If you go back and look, they asked all the right questions. The problem is, they’re acting now like they have to be five times more critical, and I think they’ve gone overboard.

Like Karl Rove, Bartlett also claimed that “Iraq is not going to be the front-burner
issue in the way that everybody initially predicted.”

UPDATE: TPM and Kevin Drum note that Bartlett also said the White House enjoyed communicating with right-wing bloggers because “they regurgitate exactly and put up on their blogs what you said to them.”

(Think Progress)
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Wow! If someone thinks that the press are being too tough on bush, i'd sure hate to see it if they were being soft on him! My gawd, he gets a free ride constantly - no matter how many times he is caught in lies or caught hiding facts.

I wonder what it's like living in Bizarro-world?

as if there were any reason to believe a word he says

Cheney: By Jan. 2009, Iraq Will Be A True ‘Democracy In The Heart Of The Middle East’
(Think Progress)
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Of course, coincidentally enough, he will be out of office by then, so that he will not be called on this baseless prediction.

the continuing saga of obstructionist repugs

Specter blocks contempt vote.

Following an objection by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), a vote has been postponed on “contempt resolutions against White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and former presidential political guru Karl Rove for failing to respond to subpoenas” regarding the U.S. attorney scandal. Specter, who asked Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) for a chance to “revise the draft resoltions, warned that the whole matter could end in federal court.”

(Think Progress)

i can't imagine why!

Poll: Hispanics shift toward Democrats

WASHINGTON - Hispanics are returning to the Democratic Party after several years of drifting toward the Republicans, with many saying Bush administration policies have been harmful to their community, a poll showed Thursday.

By 57 percent to 23 percent, more Hispanic registered voters say they favor Democrats than Republicans, according to a survey by the nonpartisan Pew Hispanic Center.

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Who could ever have guessed this? Just because repugs tend to be bigoted assholes who vote against the Hispanics any chance they get - why would that change their minds?

I just can't understand how any Hispanic would ever vote repug - except, of course, the wealthy ones who think that the Dems will increase taxes and that is the only reason they ever vote.

the other ignored war

Afghanistan bombing

How’s the other front going, Mr. Bush? This is only going to get much worse, but you already know this…

NY Times:

A suicide bomber smashed his car into a bus carrying Afghan army personnel in the capital early this morning, killing 13 people. The chief military spokesman Gen. Zaher Azimi, who visited the scene, said the dead included seven army officers in the bus, and six civilians on the street. Among the civilians killed were four children, according to a spokesman for the Ministry of Public Health.

Another 17 people were wounded, eight soldiers and nine civilians, hospital officials said.

The car bombing was the second in two days, and occurred while Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates was visiting Kabul. The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the first bombing on Tuesday morning, in which a suicide car bomber crashed into a two-car NATO convoy on the Kabul airport road, wounding 22 Afghan civilians in a nearby bus and on the street.

(Crooks and Liars)

wow this is sick

How Huckabee's Clinton-hatred led him to help parole a convicted rapist who then molested and murdered another woman

I'd heard about this story, but never fully understood it until reading this CBS News piece out today. It's horrendous.

Huckabee basically helped secure the guy's release because the convict had raped a distant relative of Bill Clinton - and being a distant relative of Bill Clinton, the right-wing attack machine said the woman who was raped wasn't credible (even though the guy was convicted), and they demanded that the rapist be set free because, after all, he only raped a Clinton. Well, it seems that Governor Huckabee agreed. He set the rapist free, and then the guy molested and murdered another woman. But even better? Huckabee now denies that he had anything to do with the release of the rapist/murderer. Funny, then why did Huckabee meet with the parole board on behalf of the rapist/murderer?

(Americablog)
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I've been glossing over this story because i thought it was simply a horrible mistake on Huckabee's part, but if this is true, then this is one of the most twisted things i have ever heard.

because bush doesn't care about real science and research

Prominent Stem Cell Researcher Praised By Bush Rips White House’s Stem Cell Policies
(Think Progress)

that's some defense!

Bush On Saudi Rape Case: I ‘Don’t Remember’ If I Brought It Up With King Abdullah
(Think Progress)
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This administration is certainly known for its faulty memory! Everyone seems to have that problem - and they seem to hope that the American public does, as well.

But, far be it from bush to piss off one of his closest friends, no matter how vile they are...

yeah, that's realistic!

Bolton Calls For Congressional Witch-Hunt Into Anti-Bush ‘People In The Intelligence Community’
(Think Progress)
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My gawd, the persecution complex their looneys have is incomprehensible!

But, as Colbert says, facts have a liberal bias, so it's always bad news for the cons and repugs when facts come to light!

we'll see what actually happens

Contempt vote against Rove set for Thursday.

The Crypt reports:

Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) has scheduled a committee vote Thursday on contempt resolutions against White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and former presidential political guru Karl Rove for failing to respond to subpoenas.

Under Judiciary Committee rules, the vote could be postponed for a week, but Leahy said he intends to move the criminal contempt resolutions as soon as possible. Last week, he rejected the White House’s executive privilege claim in preventing Rove and Bolten from appearing before his panel, calling it “overbroad, unsubstantiated, and not legally valid,” setting the stage for Thursday’s showdown.

(Think Progress)
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It would be pretty phenominal to see a little accountability finally though...

more administration failures

Report: ‘massive failures’ at DHS.

Government watchdog CREW today released a report, Homeland Security for Sale — DHS: Five Years of Mismanagement, “detailing massive failures and billions wasted at the Department of Homeland Security.” Some highlights:

– $24 billion has been spent, and at least $178 million wasted, on the failed Coast
Guard Deepwater program;

– over $600 million has been allocated for unworkable radiation border scanners;

– $1.3 billion has been lost on the USVISIT program, which was never fully implemented; and

– projected $2 billion loss on the SBInet “virtual fence” border program.

(Think Progress)

impressive

Joe Scarborough Rips Bush On Iran NIE: He’s Either ‘Lying’ Or ‘Is Stupid’
(Think Progress)

still another cool fossil find

'Monster' Arctic reptile remains found

OSLO, Norway - Remains of a bus-sized prehistoric "monster" reptile found on a remote Arctic island may be a new species never before recorded by science, researchers said Tuesday.

Initial excavation of a site on the Svalbard islands in August yielded the remains, teeth, skull fragments and vertebrae of a reptile estimated to measure nearly 40 feet long, said Joern Harald Hurum of the University of Oslo.

"It seems the monster is a new species," he told The Associated Press.

The reptile appears be the same species as another sea predator whose remains were found nearby on Svalbard last year. His team described those 150-million-year-old remains as belonging to a short-necked plesiosaur measuring more than 30 feet — "as long as a bus ... with teeth larger than cucumbers."

The short-necked plesiosaur was a voracious reptile often compared to the Tyrannosaurus rex of the oceans.

Mark Evans, a plesiosaur expert at the Leicester City Museums in Britain, said he not know enough about the Norwegian find to comment on it specifically. But he said new types of the sea reptiles are being found regularly.

"We are regularly seeing new species of plesiosaurs popping up — in a way because, in the past 10 or 15 years, there has been what we call a renaissance in plesiosaur research," Evans said by telephone.

Hurum said the team had only managed to excavate a 3-meter (yard) area of the find. The Norwegian-led team plans to present more detailed findings early next year, and return to Svalbard, 300 miles north of Norway's mainland, to excavate further next year.

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good luck - bush doesn't want to save lives - he wants to start wars

Scientists beg for climate action

WASHINGTON - For the first time, more than 200 of the world's leading climate scientists, losing their patience, urged government leaders to take radical action to slow global warming because "there is no time to lose."

A petition from at least 215 climate scientists calls for the world to cut in half greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. It is directed at a conference of diplomats meeting in Bali, Indonesia, to negotiate the next global warming treaty. The petition, obtained by The Associated Press, is to be announced at a press conference there Wednesday night.

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but bush thinks that abstinence is working!

Report: U.S. teen births rise
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Gawd forbid that we educate high schoolers or give out condoms because of course it's better that they get pregnant than that they learn about s-e-x at school!

still chaos in Iraq

25 dead in Iraq bombings as Gates visits

BAGHDAD - A car bomb exploded in a largely Shiite neighborhood of Baghdad on Wednesday and killed at least 16 people, police said, while Defense Secretary Robert Gates said during a visit to the capital that security and stability were within reach, although more work is needed.

It was the deadliest of least four car bombs in Iraq on Wednesday that killed 25 people across the country. Earlier, a blast went off in the northern city of Mosul, where Gates had landed on his sixth trip to Iraq.

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deja vu anyone?

Bush calls on Iran to 'come clean'

OMAHA, Neb. - President Bush, trying to keep pressure on Iran, called on Tehran Wednesday to "come clean" about the scope of its nuclear activities or else face diplomatic isolation.

Two days after a new intelligence report said that Iran had halted its nuclear weapons program four years ago, Bush demanded that Tehran detail its previous program to develop nuclear weapons "which the Iranian regime has yet to acknowledge."

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So, bush has been caught lying (again) and witholding information (again) and yet he still thinks that he can convince people that he - alone - is right about Iran and that we should start another war just on his say-so, despite all the evidence to the contrary.

I know it's a lot to hope for, but i sure f'k'ing hope that the idiots don't fall for it yet again!

but not surprising for a repug

A not very good week in the campaign of Rudy Giuliani
(Americablog)

and more on obstructionist repugs

GOP Senators break record for filibusters
(Americablog)

wow!

12,000:

Number of American flags on the National Mall this weekend, as part of a “3-day salute” honoring the “12,000 members of the United States military who have been discharged under the practice of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’” Marking the law’s 14th anniversary, 28 retired generals and admirals yesterday sent a letter urging Congress to repeal the legislation.
(Think Progress)

is this guy nutz?

FLASHBACK: Huckabee Claimed Jesus ‘On The Cross’ Supported The Death Penalty
and
FLASHBACK: Mike Huckabee’s Phone Call From God
(Think Progress)

why didn't he say any of this when it would have helped?

Fleischer Contradicts Rove: We ‘Determined The Timing,’ Karl ‘Just Has His Facts Wrong’ On Iraq
(Think Progress)

does he really think that anyone believes him anymore?

Craig: I’m still not gay.

After the Idaho Stateman reported five separate new accounts of gay men claiming to have encounters with Larry Craig (in addition to three earlier reports), the Idaho senator has responded by sticking with his claim that he’s never been gay. A statement from Craig:

It is unfortunate that the Idaho Statesman has chosen to continue to lower itself to the standards of what can best be described as tabloid journalism. Like its previous coverage, these latest allegations are completely false and have no basis in reality.

In fact, the paper itself states that these baseless accusations contain no definitive evidence yet they still decided to print them anyway. However, despite the fact the Idaho Statesman has decided to pursue its own agenda and print these falsehoods without any facts to back them up, I won’t let this paper’s attempt to malign my name stop me from continuing my work to serve the people of Idaho.

In August, Craig said it was the Idaho paper’s fault that he pled guilty to disorderly conduct.

(Think Progress)

gawd help us all!

Wolfowitz Returns To Bush Administration As WMD Adviser
(Think Progress)

sounds about right

Daschle Rebuts Rove: He’s A ‘Joke’ Who Is ‘Trying To Sell Some Books’
(Think Progress)

this admin lying about Iran - what a surprise!

NIE: Iran ‘Halted’ Nuclear Weapons Program In 2003, Unlikely To Develop A Weapon In This Decade
(Think Progress)
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Funnily enough, this morning on Yahoo News was the headline (that has since been changed) reading "Iran Has Nuclear Capabilities". Our 'liberal media" at work once again!