Office of the Independent Blogger

Paris Hilton should fire her PR people. Unless she really does want to be perceived as an idiot and a skank. Her newest: an attempt to help drunk elephants out of alcoholism.

Sorry to say, Dear Reader, but I don’t have an opinion on drunken elephants. (And yes, I know that her publicist denies that she ever made any comments about binge-drinking elephants but that doesn’t matter in the name of humor.)

Awhile ago, I questioned whether or not Pat Robertson was truly relevant or indicative of the rest of the Republican Right; “does this endorsement mean that the Christian Right would prefer a pro-abortion candidate to a Mormon?” Today, I guess not. They’d prefer a former Senator and bad actor:

The National Right to Life Committee, a key anti-abortion group, endorsed Fred Thompson for president Tuesday, saying the former senator was the best candidate to beat Republican front-runner Rudy Giuliani. Thompson trails Giuliani, a former New York mayor who supports abortion rights, in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, according to most national polls. National Right to Life Executive Director David O’Steen suggested that Giuliani’s lead played a part in the committee’s decision to endorse Thompson.

“We look at the fact that while there are various polls, and some are up and down, the overwhelming consensus has been that he is best positioned to top pro-abortion candidate Rudy Giuliani for the Republican nomination,” O’Steen said, “and also, looking at polls against the likely Democrats, he is well-positioned, and we believe best positioned, to win the presidency of the United States for unborn children.”

This’ll be quite the campaign to watch, won’t it? If you’ve ever wanted to watch snails drag anchors behind them in hopes of winning whatever it is every snail wants to “win.” Can you think of anything? Besides sex?

Our American government is angry with the British for not being more like the French. There’s an argument you don’t see every day!

Specifically: the French are unequivocally against Iranian armament. The British aren’t so strong. (Another contrast you don’t see all that often.) So the American government is upset with the Queen and her little Prime Minister, too! (I think they’ll all get over it and work together. England most certainly understands, although it is possible that their appeasement is showing. Who would the British want the Iranians to conquer, though? Haven’t you heard — Neville Chamberlain wasn’t afraid of Hitler or pro-peace: he wanted Hitler to destroy the Soviets. No, I don’t think there’s anything like that going on here. I just think the British are politicking as their people are tired of American-Briton intervention in the world.)

Can’t imagine how they’ll feel about this:

While wrestling with wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Pentagon is preparing weapons to fight the next battle from space, according to information in the 621-page, House-Senate conference report on the fiscal 2008 defense appropriations bill.

The $459 billion bill, which awaits President Bush’s signature, provides $100 million for a new “prompt global strike” program that could deliver a conventional, precision-guided warhead anywhere in the world within two hours. It takes funds away from development of a conventional warhead for the Navy’s submarine-launched Trident Intercontinental Ballistic Missile and from an Air Force plan for the Common Aero Vehicle.

Then you couple that with the news that Sam Donaldson likes prostitutes and there might not be anything left to believe in anymore.

Let’s not misconstrue the message behind New Jersey’s defeat of a stem-cell funding initiative. Some might argue, even Liberal New Jersey is afraid of the moral questions raised by stem cell research! and others might claim that this is a positive sign for the Right-wing opinion on this issue. The truth is that the voters voted against increasing debt in favor of stem-cell research, as they should. We don’t need more debt at the state or federal levels, at this moment, at these levels.

I just wish the federal government would make it moot by practicing fiscal responsibility and scientific sanity. Guess it’s too much to ask of the Bush Administration.

It was good to see the Venezuelan President told to shut up by the Spanish King. See, Chavez was referring to a democratically elected official as a “fascist” because he didn’t agree with their support of Bush. I don’t support Bush, either, but I’m far more opposed to this belief around the world that you can go around referring to people as fascists or communists or idiots just because you disagree with them. Life is nowhere near that simple and neither are politics. Take the “King” of Spain: in a lot of places, a King is fascism — a King is a disgrace, an enemy, an evil. But like with “terrorist” and “freedom” fighter there are distinctions, and since the Spanish King presides over a relatively peaceful, democratic society, he isnt a bad guy. Even “censorship” can be seen as an issue worth address: the King told Chavez to “shut up” but that’s not censorship: that’s, contextual courtesy. You don’t have the right or reason to be a loudmouth jerk and cut people off, sorry Mr. Chavez.

Let me express my disappointment — Senators Clinton, Dodd, Biden and Obama skipped Mukasey’s Confirmation Vote in the Senate. Now we have a new Attorney General and while I would’ve voted to confirm him, I’m disappointed that these Senators refused to show their support or contempt because of petty politics. I take their refusal as an indication that these men and women would rather politick than govern effectively and it’s events like these which make me want to chew out everyone who speaks of any of these candidates as if they were saints or true leaders.

Okay, so I’m at the University, reading the news via Wi-Fi when all of a sudden I start laughing and can’t help myself. It’s embarrassing! But there’s no other reaction to this blog entry from Rosie O. She is a blast, a riot and a poet. Not bad for an idiot, eh?

I’d like to also take this opportunity to give a “shout out” to my “boy” Governor Ryan as he finally entered prison yesterday. And I’d like to assure you, Dear Reader new or old, that I don’t often and won’t ever refer to someone as “my boy” again.

To politics!

Pat Robertson has endorsed Rudy Giuliani. I’m not so sure what it means. Right-wing Conservative Christians prefer womanizing abortionists to Mormons? I think that’s a genuine lesson to be learned and something to watch out for — would Conservative Christians prefer to vote for a man who stands for everything they hate or would they vote for the Mormon? I’ve long said, “I dont’ think a Mormon is electable, but is he more electable than a non-Conservative Conservative?” There’s another important question to ask, about that endorsement, too: just how important is Pat Robertson? The Christian Coalition isn’t what it once was and there are a lot of other Religious leaders besides Robertson now, most of them far more influential.

Will they follow? Is Robertson alone? We shall see.

There was a major school shooting in Finland today. I just want to send my best wishes and sincerest karma to the people affected by it.

This news made me sick — Chicago, and the State of Illinois, have the money to fund a fucking popsicle but we can’t give long-term funding to the CTA and we have to go through the same old song-and-dance every year? “Doomsday! Cut everything!” (Insert short-term plan.) (Time passes.) “DOOMSDAY!”

What a joke!

This is good and awful to hear.

QUEENSLAND police sparked an international operation that smashed an international child pornography ring and netted nine local suspects who are facing a total of 188 charges.

A 47-year-old Kallangur man who allegedly filmed himself sexually assaulting his four-year-old granddaughter is among those so far charged after more than two million images were found in their collective possession.

NSW police yesterday confirmed 11 separate investigations were under way, but no arrests had been made. West Australian police also are investigating but have not yet laid charges.

Some other states and territories are understood to be co-operating with the Australian Federal Police in an Australia-wide search for those who subscribed to a European website that sold home-made videos of underage girls that customers were able to order tailor-made or even appear in themselves.

Detective Superintendent Peter Crawford yesterday revealed how Queensland officers had sparked the investigation involving 28 countries when they uncovered a European-made pornographic video on the internet in late 2006.

The operation led to the arrest of a 42-year-old Italian filmmaker who was running a website from his Ukrainian studio.

From that arrest, police identified 2500 subscribers across the world, and in Europe alone have made 92 arrests and located 23 child victims aged between nine and 16.

It’s awful because child sex abuse is awful; it’s good because a sex ring has been broken up. I just hope The Law keeps it up, everywhere.

The Chinese have finally agreed to set up a 24 hour hotline with the American government so that we can instantly communicate during a crisis.

Now let’s hope that whoever picks up the phone speaks English!

I’ve been watching football this evening and resting away my delirium. It’s been a long weekend and so I’ve taken the time to relax. I’m happy to say that the New England Patriots, whose Coach, Quarterback and System I idolize, Won, but I’m happier to report non-football news about the games tonight on NBC: the studio lights are off so that they can conserve energy. But more important, they are raising awareness about environmental issues, and I’m glad to hear it.

Now let the NFL pay its battered old players and give them health insurance!

The AP is running a fine report this weekend about the growing use of coal and its effect on the world. Didn’t know that pollution from China arrives here in five to ten days? Have never heard of the Chinese Museum dedicated to the greatness of coal? Check it out and realize that fossil fuels aren’t just an American evil. Everyone is guilty, and everyone has to play a part in fixing the problem.

Will be gone tomorrow.
Tell you more on Sunday.
Will probably delete this Sunday.
And tell you more then.

Edit, Sunday night: I have returned! I spent the weekend at a Catholic Retreat, with my Confirmation Class, which I take as a favor of love to my mother. It wasn’t a lousy experience, and I mentored some children. Hopefully, it’ll make a big difference in their lives. I know a few of them took heart in mine. There is nothing more to say about that.

Fred Phelps’ church has been defeated in Court: they owe a man 11 million dollars for emotional damages caused by their protest of his dead son’s military funeral.

I have two thoughts: the first — “Eleven million dollars is a lot of money and I don’t think I could award someone such a sum for emotional damages unless there were some damage to their reputation, which I don’t think is the case here”; the second is around the block:

It’s unclear whether Snyder will be able to collect the damages.

The assets of the church and the defendants are less than a million dollars, mainly in homes, cars and retirement accounts, defense attorney Jonathan Katz said. The church has about 75 members and is funded by tithing.

Craig Trebilcock, one of Snyder’s lawyers, had asked jurors to question the truthfulness of the defendants’ financial documents, one of which show Phelps-Davis having only $306 in the bank. He noted that Phelps-Davis is a practicing attorney, who could afford to travel to spread the church’s message.

“Rebekah Phelps-Davis has $306? She must be using Priceline.com. It doesn’t make any sense,” Trebilcock said.

Phelps’ church better be careful. They might get busted for tax fraud and money laundering, if they keep pissing off the wrong people. (Not that I know what kind of money they have or don’t or hide, but I’d guess it’s a lot. “Slush funds” aren’t all that uncommon, and it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that something illegal’s going on. Trebilcock seems to concur.)

You’re aware, Dear Reader, that Washington D.C. is an incestuous place, right? You think you know, anyway. But if you’ve never even considered it, never heard of the Iron Triangle, then check this out and have yourself a nice day.

Blackwater Worldwide, its reputation in tatters and its lucrative government contracts in jeopardy, is mounting an aggressive legal, political and public relations counterstrike. It has hired a bipartisan stable of big-name Washington lawyers, lobbyists and press advisers, including the public relations powerhouse Burson-Marsteller, which was brought in briefly, but at a critical moment, to help Blackwater’s chairman, Erik D. Prince, prepare for his first Congressional hearing.

Blackwater for a time retained Kenneth D. Starr, the former Whitewater independent counsel, and Fred F. Fielding, who is now the White House counsel, to help handle suits filed by the families of slain Blackwater employees. Another outside public relations specialist, Mark Corallo, former chief spokesman for Attorney General John Ashcroft, quit working for Blackwater late last year because he said he was uncomfortable with what he termed some executives’ cowboy mentality.

Blackwater is pursuing a bold legal strategy, going so far in a North Carolina case as to seek a gag order on the lawyers for the families of four Blackwater employees killed in an ambush in Falluja in 2004. The company argues that the dead men had signed contracts that prohibited them from talking to the press about Blackwater and that this restriction extended to their lawyers and their estates even after death. One of Blackwater’s Washington lawyers is Beth Nolan, who served as White House counsel for the last two years of the Clinton administration. (Ms. Nolan is leaving private practice at the end of November to become general counsel at George Washington University.) Another is Stephen M. Ryan, a top white-collar defense lawyer and former general counsel of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee.

The company’s chief Washington lobbyist is Paul Behrends, who worked at the now-defunct Alexander Strategy Group, a Republican firm with close ties to the jailed lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Mr. Behrends, who now works at C & M Capitolink, a Washington lobbying firm, declined to discuss his work for Blackwater, which has paid his company $300,000 since last year.

Lots of Republicans but even one Democrat, who worked for Clinton, is hanging around the man who impeached him! I’m sure there are many more Democrats. Then you’ve got Fred Fielding, who was around during Watergate; Prince, who is big on the Christian Right and funds Republican causes all the time with his own money; Jack Abramoff’s ghost. It’s kind of funny, in a way.

I don’t think I’ve ever commented on Blackwater before. I’m not sure I have a problem with their existence, even though they are mercenaries. It keeps us from having a draft, but I do think they should be reined in by the government and regulated during war to keep them from overstepping their bounds. Blackwater itself, however, seems incompetent and bumbling but not unforgivably evil. Except their Incest is going to get them a ticket to hell.