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plato_451
29 June 2009 @ 01:44 pm
I'm still here, I will be posting again soon...
 
 
plato_451
11 December 2008 @ 12:29 pm



Most fun I've had in quite a while.


 
 
Feels Like: calm
 
 
plato_451
11 December 2008 @ 11:18 am
Can't believe it's actually snowing here. 2nd time in 17 years that I've lived here. The last time it snowed was in '04. Then the next year we got Katrina. What's gonna happen in '09?
I think that '09 is going to be a wonderful year full of travel and adventure. Probably a lot of dancing too. Met someone that could actually keep up on the dance floor. My goal is to go on several cool trips. I would really like to go somewhere in Central America, maybe Belize. That was a plan before the storm. The Caribbean would be cool too. Haven't been snorkeling in a while. I would also like to go back to New Mexico and hang out. Odd numbered years have always been good ones for me.
 
 
plato_451
03 November 2008 @ 09:38 am
dirtycoast.com/home.php



 
 
plato_451
03 November 2008 @ 09:13 am
By all accounts this year's Halloween was a huge success. This city was positively jumping this weekend. On top of a costume event on a Friday night, we also had the opening of Prospect.1. The largest contemporary art exhibit in the history of the U.S. 81 artists, 30+ countries represented, about 30 exhibit spaces, all here in NOLA. I went and got my pass yesterday, they are free. The quarter was pretty crazy even yesterday. It will stay like this til Thanksgiving and then the lull til Christmas. Then it's Carnival season. Got to start working on my costume soon. Thinking about a dragonfly. Or maybe the flying pig.




 
 
plato_451
31 October 2008 @ 11:12 am


I will be costuming tonight for Halloween. Won't be out late though. Workin a double tomorrow.

 
 
plato_451
31 October 2008 @ 10:52 am
Back at the machine. Crazy couple of months I just went through. Thought I would drown my sorrows. As it turns out my sorrows seem to be able to swim quite well. Denial. Back to getting what I really want. Found a shiny object back in September and figured it would be fun. More like a disaster in reality. Shame. It was really pretty and shiny and fun and loud and obnoxious and bitchy and manipulative and an alcoholic and quite often had to be drunk just to go to work. Yeah, just what I needed. What is it with that? I was warned but I still did it. I said I didn't want to date a bar star and what did I do? Straight into the abyss. I was allowing myself to be with someone that was constantly putting me down. Negative attention is what I think I was drawn to. I was thinking that before I met her I was just going to be comfortably single for a while. Not go out much, save some money, maybe even buy some new furniture for the apartment. Then she came in. Of all the gin joints in the world, she had to come in to mine. Like I said, I was warned. Well now I have my opportunity to start that process again. Won't be seeing her again. Not going to do that to myself anymore.
 
 
Feels Like: melancholy
 
 
plato_451
22 December 2007 @ 11:32 am
Yeah, still here. Merry Christmas.
 
 
plato_451
29 September 2007 @ 02:20 pm
Been thinking about Colorado lately. Love the mountains and the weather. I've been considering the fact that I never get to do outdoors types of things much anymore. Kinda sad. I personally love to get out in the wilds. Don't have to worry about getting mugged when your camping out at 11700 feet above sea level. I highly recommend it. In fact I'm putting up a picture of Lake Catherine above the Santa Fe ski basin. It's actually up and over to the Pecos River side of the range. It's a very strenuous hike and in July it was very cool at night. Having 2 dogs and a good tent made all the difference.

I


It was a hell of hike to get there. I'd say it was a good 6 hrs from the trailhead. I came up from the ski basin but you can use the Windsor trailhead from the Pecos side. I've hiked a good portion of Windsor but missed a turn and ended up somewhere out there in the wilderness,  not an issue though when you camp next to  stream and have a hand pump water filter. At the time, July 05, there were some wild fires nearby and you could see the smoke. It truly is a beautiful place.
 
 
plato_451
12 September 2007 @ 04:23 pm
Wow. No posts since June. Lots to catch up on. Iraq is breaking our military and I will restate my original conspiracy theory now. We were drawn into that mess to weaken our country militarily and it's working. Surely Bin Laden figured that we would come over there to retaliate for Sept. 11th. I'm not sure he could've anticipated us going into Iraq. But the Muslims we are dealing with have been fighting for several thousand years so to sweat us out for 4 or 5 yrs to wear us down doesn't seem that odd. I still think we will see a major attack against our country. I really don't worry that AQ will establish themselves in Iraq as they did in Afghanistan. I think Iran will handle that. Those in power in the Middle East sure do give the impression that they are all a little unstable, as to just how much is hard to say. I guess it comes down to me suspecting that we are some how going to get hammered in Iraq, probably in the next 12 to 18 months. Even if we begin drawing down our troop levels in the next 6 months.
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Feels Like: bitchy
 
 
plato_451
From nola.com:

Jefferson faces a maximum of 235 years in prison if convicted on charges of racketeering, fraud, money laundering and obstruction of justice, an allegation stemming from what investigators say was the congressman's attempt to hide a potentially incriminating document when the FBI raided his New Orleans home in August 2005. He is the first member of Congress to be indicted under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act which was designed to prevent bribery of officials in other nations.

Just sit back and boil some crawfish, this is gonna be fun.
 
 
plato_451
05 June 2007 @ 10:57 am
After reading a good post over at americablog, I started thinking about the viability of a 3rd party bid for the Whitehouse next year. I really can't think of too many good ideas for candidates but I may just check into it. Either way, the growing frustration over the condition of this country, specifically Iraq, could significantly change the landscape of the election cylcle. I don't know, who out there is responsible but moderate? That's really the only criteria I have.
Tags:
 
 
plato_451
31 May 2007 @ 02:38 pm
Here's the list:

abjure
abrogate
abstemious
acumen
antebellum
auspicious
belie
bellicose
bowdlerize
chicanery
chromosome
churlish
circumlocution
circumnavigate
deciduous
deleterious
diffident
enervate
enfranchise
epiphany
equinox
euro
evanescent
expurgate
facetious
fatuous
feckless
fiduciary
filibuster
gamete
gauche
gerrymander
hegemony
hemoglobin
homogeneous
hubris
hypotenuse
impeach
incognito
incontrovertible
inculcate
infrastructure
interpolate
irony
jejune
kinetic
kowtow
laissez faire
lexicon
loquacious


lugubrious
metamorphosis
mitosis
moiety
nanotechnology
nihilism
nomenclature
nonsectarian
notarize
obsequious
oligarchy
omnipotent
orthography
oxidize
parabola
paradigm
parameter
pecuniary
photosynthesis
plagiarize
plasma
polymer
precipitous
quasar
quotidian
recapitulate
reciprocal
reparation
respiration
sanguine
soliloquy
subjugate
suffragist
supercilious
tautology
taxonomy
tectonic
tempestuous
thermodynamics
totalitarian
unctuous
usurp
vacuous
vehement
vortex
winnow
wrought
xenophobe
yeoman
ziggurat
 
 
plato_451
01 February 2007 @ 07:37 pm
So if the terrorist formerly known as public enemy number 1 and al-qa'ida suit Bu$hco needs then we can chat. But if a reporter from a news station other than the fox noise channel asks a serious question the darkside doesn't have to answer?

Tags:
 
 
Feels Like: Ha, I say
Noise: CSI
 
 
plato_451
01 February 2007 @ 01:15 pm
If you think that high gas prices at the pump and other energy costs are the result of the crap in the Middle East then you would be sadly mistaken. This is a direct result of Bu$hco and his big oil buddies. From USA Today where they discuss Exxon:

• Net income up 75% to $9.92 billion. That is the most a U.S. company has earned from operations in a three-month period and greater than the annual gross domestic product of entire nations including Cameroon and Zimbabwe.

• Revenue up 32% to $100.7 billion. That is greater than the annual GDP of all but just 38 of the world's economies.


Hard to believe it isn't considered criminal what they're doing. Oh, that would be Wal-mart, from The RawStory:

Wal-Mart, the nation's largest employer and the world's biggest retailer, is regularly paying itself rent and using the transaction to decrease the taxes it pays to state governments, according to a report in this morning's Wall Street Journal.[...]The result of the circuitous transaction: Wal-Mart could effectively turn rental payments to itself into state level tax-deductions in most of the states where the payments have been made. Under typical circumstances, rent paid to a third-party landlord also would reduce taxable income. But that would ordinarily be cash out the door, like most other tax-deductible expenses. Here, the majority of the tax-deductible rental payments came straight back to Wal-Mart.

Well they are being sued and investigated for this. We'll see.
 
 
Feels Like: annoyed
 
 
plato_451
01 February 2007 @ 11:03 am
18 days and counting down. From the krewe:

A Carnival Proclamation
From
Your Captain & Once and Future King, D.R.
Regarding Mardi Gras Day February 20th 2007 in the Gregorian Calendar,
The 10th Anniversary of The Krewe of WooHoo!
All Hail King Joe Fontana and Her Serene Majesty, Queen Kattai Barrow, Our Current Monarchs, and all Royalty Past and Present.
Greetings To The Little Krewe That Could!
Oh, That I could be with you on this 12th Night and share the love, joy, and general mayhem and woohooness.
Soon, I will return, and take my Queen and former spouse on a random perambulation through the Bywater, and The Quarters, scattering colored streamers, flowers and bubbles, and leaving only beauty and peace in our wake (and some empty champagne bottles.)
Our theme this year, decreed by our most benevolent Captain, Laura is
Masquerade By The Mississippi
Please gather your friends and family and join us in our masked and costumed annual celebration of rebirth and rejuvenation.
Until then, continue to follow King Joe and Queen Kattai, and help your captains plan and prepare for the Greatest Carnival Experience, ever.


Details and schedules are forthcoming from your Captains, Juli and Laura. Please pay your dues, help with the rebuilding of the float, gather beads and doubloons, champagne, beverages, fine foods and imbibements.
I know the theme is Masquerade by the Mississippi, and masks are very important this year, and I am hoping that the males of our species will join me in costuming as Bacchus- a Sea of Gods in Purple Robes accompanied by the most beautiful women in the world in their fine attire.
I have purchased a new confetti launcher, and am hoping someone can repair our old launchers. We need new tires for the float, tons of confetti, and a new bubble machine. I am having trouble landing an accordion player, and seek your help finding a musician, band or sound system.





Hear Ye, hear ye – It was Ten years ago this Mardi Gras that the Krewe of Woo Hoo was born out of the Love and Respect that D.R. and Laura have for friendship, family and festivity. To commemorate this auspicious occasion and in the true spirit of our Krewe, this year we will have the pleasure of serving under the Royal Reign of those who gave us the gift of the Krewe to begin with – His Royal Highness D.R. and Her Royal Majesty Laura.
The Krewe of Woo Hoo Is pleased to announce that the Theme for Mardi Gras 2007 is “Masquerade by the River”. Captain Laura applauds your efforts and thanks all of you for last years’ attention to detail in fashioning your drinking vessels, and requests that you continue to hold dear this level of excellence.
This years’ loose theme comes with the stipulation that you be masked. The Mask is a true representation of the spirit of Carnavale – it renders the wearer anonymous in the physical and free in the psyche.
The Krewe of Woo Hoo finds it necessary in light of outstanding expenses due to last year’s extensive replacement costs to enact a one time only increase in annual membership dues. The Krewe dues for 2007 will be 75.00 per person, and 50.00 for first time participants. These dues will help to replenish our overextended coffers, replace necessary items and defray the costs of our libations and merry feasting. If you have questions regarding the annual dues, please contact insouciance66@yahoo.com – Please remit ASAP so that we may begin acquiring the items necessary to continue in our expected fabulous tradition :) If you plan on submitting your dues in person, we request that they be sealed in an envelope and include the names of the sponsored members.
Please respond to the Krewe Proclamation as soon as possible to let us know if we can expect your presence on this, the most jubilant, personal and important of our celebrations – the 10th Anniversary of the Krewe of Woo Hoo. To RSVP for the Krewe of Woo Hoo, please contact Laura Roe at lauracroe@msn.com or Juli Silver Green at insouciance66@yahoo.com
“Things are seldom what they seem; Skim milk would masquerade as cream.”
~ Captain Laura Roe
and The Captain’s  Royal Right Hand – Juli Silver Green


1997    The Wedding Laura & DR
1998    Baby Steps Robin & Daniel
1999    Bacchus’ Dream Carolyn & Stephen
2000    Flora & Fauna Laura & DR
2001    Mother Nature’s Children Laura & DR
2002    The Queen’s Jewels Stacey & Jim
2003    Gods & Goddesses Mama & Joey
2004     Under The Sea     Jackie & Ranger Rick
2005     Signs of The Zodiac    Juli & Sean
2006     Fairy Tales Kattai & Joe
2007    Masquerade By The River Laura & DR
 
 
plato_451
Great post over at Kos by anna:

"It seems to me that the evidence provided by Klein indicates that the hardware for TIA did indeed get funded and deployed.  And Ohm's statement in Stanford indicates that the federal government is sweeping up all sorts of communications, including email, voice traffic, voice over IP, ftp, and http (web browsing). This is exactly what the Narus device is intended to do: sweep everything up like a vacuum cleaner.  And the idea of "sweep first, filter later" does not provide for the appropriate protections guaranteed by the 4th Amendment.[...]Let me be clear: data mining and surveillance are good things in some cases.  But since we have the technology to zero in on suspected surveillance targets, I see no reason to capture and store the data on regular, everyday, non-suspect internet users.  And seeing as this program is being controlled at the behest of the Bush Administration - who've already shown a great disregard for the US Constitution - I strongly suspect that the program is being abused. Unless Congress is willing to exercise some oversight in this case, we may have to wait for the next Mark Klein to step forward before we know the full extent of the damage.


Definitely worth the read. Some interesting links in the article as well.
 
 
Feels Like: cynical
 
 
plato_451
01 February 2007 @ 07:57 am
From The NYT via The Raw Story:

In nearby Surprise, where Casey was enrolled as a 12-year-old in a public school for four months, he was regarded as a shy, average student with chronic attendance problems. A man identified as his uncle had registered him, attended curriculum night and e-mailed his teachers about homework assignments.

Now Casey is in jail, and his former neighbors and classmates have learned the unthinkable: Not only is Casey not Casey — his real name is Neil H. Rodreick II — but he is also a 29-year-old convicted sex offender who kept a youthful appearance with the aid of razors and makeup.[...]Mr. Rodreick spent seven years in prison in Oklahoma for making lewd and indecent proposals to two 6-year-old boys. After being released in 2002, law enforcement officials said, he was able to convince Lonnie Stiffler, 61, and Robert J. Snow, 43, who had been trolling the Internet for boys, that he was a minor.

WTF?


 


 
 
Feels Like: stunned
 
 
plato_451
01 February 2007 @ 07:29 am
Get your rude goodness from the Rude Pundit:

"The Saints lost on Sunday, one game shy of the Super Bowl. On Tuesday, President Bush gave New Orleans - or Katrina relief in general - zero words in his State of the Union address. Many places far, far away were more important to the state of the United States than New Orleans. Apparently, even the woman who makes videos of puppet dragons dancing for babies is more important than New Orleans.

New Orleans is fucked, yes, we must sigh and admit it to ourselves, like people with cancer must tell themselves that their bodies have turned on them. Like Republicans need to admit that the Bush presidency is a failure that will end up wrecking their party. It is going to be fucked for years to come, more than likely forever.

The Rude Pundit wonders what would have happened if it had been San Francisco that had been smited a year and a half ago. Or some other comparably-sized city. If it had been a state with a Republican governor (especially one up for re-election). All those possibilities that might have un-fucked New Orleans. Instead, the ash heap of public consciousness awaits it, except for moments of feeling good when, say, Brad and Angelina buy a house there. It's like tossing coins in the paper coffee cup of that homeless guy you see every day. You feel great about yourself as you move on with your morning. But he still is out there in the cold, just wanting enough for a bottle or a vial so he can forget, too."

This guy is incredible. A little rough with the language but hey, your an adult and he is The Rude Pundit.
Tags:
 
 
Feels Like: awake
 
 
plato_451
31 January 2007 @ 08:33 pm
Since it is NOLA and all. Just thought I'd drop a couple of links on ya. Some friends of mine that I ran into today.


Leroy Jones and his girl Katja Toivola.

Both are good friends and wonderful musicians.
Tags:
 
 
Feels Like: calm
Noise: jazz
 
 
plato_451
27 January 2007 @ 09:38 am
From Michael Isikoff at Newsweek:

Jan. 26, 2007 - White House anxiety is mounting over the prospect that top officials—including deputy chief of staff Karl Rove and counselor Dan Bartlett-may be forced to provide potentially awkward testimony in the perjury and obstruction trial of Lewis (Scooter) Libby.

Ouch.



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plato_451
27 January 2007 @ 09:16 am
According to the site lovegodsway, these bands and their music will make you GAY!!

One of the most dangerous ways homosexuality invades family life is through popular music. Parents should keep careful watch over their children's listening habits, especially in this Internet Age of MP3 piracy.

Bands to watch out for


  • The Spores (endorse suicide)
  • Scissor Sisters
  • Rufus Wainwright
  • Merzbau
  • Ravi Shankar
  • Wilco
  • Bjork
  • Tech N9ne
  • Ghostface Killah
  • Bobby Conn
  • Morton Subotnik
  • Cole Porter
  • The String Cheese Incident
  • Eagles of Death Metal
  • Polyphonic Spree
  • The Faint
  • Interpol
  • Tegan and Sara
  • Erasure
  • The Grateful Dead (AIDS)
  • Le Tigre
  • The Gossip
  • The Magnetic Fields
  • The Doors
  • Phish
  • Queen
  • The Strokes
  • Sufjan Stevens
  • Morrissey(?questionable?)
  • The Pet Shop Boys
  • Metallica
  • Judas Priest
  • The Village People
  • The Secret Handshake
  • The Rolling Stones
  • David Bowie
  • Frankie Goes to Hollywood
  • Man or Astroman
  • Richard Cheese
  • Jay-Z
  • Depeche Mode
  • Kansas
  • Ani DiFranco
  • Fischerspooner
  • John Mayer
  • George Michael (texan)
  • Angel Eyes
  • The Indigo Girls
  • Velvet Underground
  • Madonna
  • Elton John
  • Barry Manilow
  • Indigo Girls
  • Melissa Etheridge
  • Eminmen
  • Nirvana
  • Boy George*
  • The Killers
  • Lou Reed
  • Lil' Wayne
  • Motorhead
  • Jill Sobule
  • Wilson Phillips
  • DMX
  • Lisa Loeb
  • Ted Nugent (loincloth)
  • Dogstar
  • Thirty Seconds to Mars
  • Lil' Kim
  • kd lang
  • Frank Sinatra
  • Hinder
  • Nickleback
  • Justus Kohncke
  • Bob Mould
  • Clay Aiken
  • Arcade Fire
  • Bright Eyes
  • Corinne Bailey Rae
  • Audioslave
  • Red Hot Chili Peppers
  • Panic at the Disco
  • Elton John(really gay)

Uhm, OK.
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plato_451
23 January 2007 @ 04:22 pm
More from The Founding Fathers, specifically Alexander Hamilton
It has indeed been brought forward in the most vague and general form,
supported only by bold assertions, without the appearance of argument;
without even the sanction of theoretical opinions; in contradiction to
the practice of other free nations, and to the general sense of America,
as expressed in most of the existing constitutions. The proprietory of
this remark will appear, the moment it is recollected that the objection
under consideration turns upon a supposed necessity of restraining the
LEGISLATIVE authority of the nation, in the article of military
establishments; a principle unheard of, except in one or two of our
State constitutions, and rejected in all the rest.

A stranger to our politics, who was to read our newspapers at the
present juncture, without having previously inspected the plan reported
by the convention, would be naturally led to one of two conclusions:
either that it contained a positive injunction, that standing armies
should be kept up in time of peace; or that it vested in the EXECUTIVE
the whole power of levying troops, without subjecting his discretion, in
any shape, to the control of the legislature.

If he came afterwards to peruse the plan itself, he would be surprised
to discover, that neither the one nor the other was the case; that the
whole power of raising armies was lodged in the LEGISLATURE, not in the
EXECUTIVE; that this legislature was to be a popular body, consisting of
the representatives of the people periodically elected; and that instead
of the provision he had supposed in favor of standing armies, there was
to be found, in respect to this object, an important qualification even
of the legislative discretion, in that clause which forbids the
appropriation of money for the support of an army for any longer period
than two years a precaution which, upon a nearer view of it, will appear
to be a great and real security against the keeping up of troops without
evident necessity.

Disappointed in his first surmise, the person I have supposed would be
apt to pursue his conjectures a little further. He would naturally say
to himself, it is impossible that all this vehement and pathetic
this people, so jealous of their liberties, have, in all the preceding
models of the constitutions which they have established, inserted the
most precise and rigid precautions on this point, the omission of which,
in the new plan, has given birth to all this apprehension and clamor.
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Location: cloudy NOLA
Feels Like: contemplative
Noise: rock and roll, baby
 
 
plato_451
23 January 2007 @ 09:39 am
This is a fantastic post by Plutonium Page at Daily Kos. Sure does sum up the hypocrisy of the Bush philosophy. Can Bush even spell philosophy?
Tags:
 
 
Feels Like: caffeinated
 
 
plato_451
23 January 2007 @ 08:47 am
I guess a lot of people wonder what they would do if they won the Powerball. I have been thinking about this as the jackpot is a ridiculous 240 million for tomorrow's drawing. So, this would be

the car:

2007 Venom 1000 Twin Turbo SRT
Power:
  • 1000 hp @ 5000 rpm
  • 1100 lb-ft torque @ 3800 rpm

  • Performance:
  • 0-60 mph: 2.9 sec.
  • 0-100 mph: 5.8 sec.
  • 0-150 mph: 10.9 sec.
  • 0-200 mph: 19.6 sec.
  • Top Speed: 255 mph
  • It's a Dodge Viper tuned by Hennessey Tuning out of Texas. They only make 24 hard tops and 24 convertibles a year. They cost about $250,000 each. And yeah, that's 0 to 100 in under 6 seconds.


    the boat:

    Sunseeker 105
    Length overall –
    incl. pulpit and platform 30.82m 101'1''
    Length overall – incl. pulpit
    ext'd bathing platform option 31.01m 105'0''
    Length – @ waterline 24.34m 79'10''

    Booyah, 105 feet of ocean going luxury. I really like the jacuzzi in the owners suite.

    the plane:

    Piaggio P180 Avanti II
    one pilot
    9 passengers
    cruising speed of about 450 miles per hour with
    a range of over 1500 miles, coolest personal
    aircraft ever

     
     
    Feels Like: NOLA dreaming
    Noise: still no tunes
     
     
    plato_451
    23 January 2007 @ 08:33 am


    approve disapprove  unsure 
        % % %    
     

    1/19-21/07

    34 63 3    
     

    1/11/07

    35 62 3    
     

    12/15-17/06

    36 62 2    
     

    12/5-7/06

    37 57 6    
     

    11/17-19/06

    38 59 4    
     

    11/3-5/06

    35 61 4    
     

    10/27-29/06

    37 58 4

    Bush's poll numbers from pollingreport.com. Ok, hopefully these guys don't sue me for this. These numbers are actually attributed to CNN. Worst. President. Ever.
    Tags:
     
     
    Feels Like: need more coffee
     
     
    plato_451
    23 January 2007 @ 07:27 am
    Well, as you may guess by the post title, I am thinking of starting a "Drinking Liberally" chapter here in NOLA. Why, you ask? Because in this city known for it's liberal views and alcohol consumption, I should. In fact, later today I will start a chapter. There are events all over the country tonight because of the SOTU that Bu$hCothe junior chimp will be giving. Sadly, I will not attend any of these events.If you are interested, go to Drinking Liberally and check out the site. They have an SOTU bingo game that looks kinda funny.
    Tags:
     
     
    Feels Like: just waking up
    Noise: nada
     
     
    plato_451

    A JOINT RESOLUTION

    PETITIONING CONGRESS TO COMMENCE THE INVESTIGATION OF AND IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDINGS AGAINST PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH AND VICE PRESIDENT RICHARD B. CHENEY.

    WHEREAS, George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney conspired with others to defraud the United States of America by intentionally misleading congress and the public regarding the threat from Iraq in order to justify a war in violation of Title 18 United States Code, Section 371; and

    WHEREAS, George W. Bush has admitted to ordering the national security agency to conduct electronic surveillance of American civilians without seeking warrants from the foreign intelligence surveillance court of review, duly constituted by congress in 1978, in violation of Title 50 United States Code, Section 1805; and

    WHEREAS, George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney conspired to commit the torture of prisoners in violation of Title 18 United States Code, Chapter 113C, the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the Geneva Conventions, which under Article VI of the United States constitution are part of the "supreme Law of the Land"; and

    WHEREAS, George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney acted to strip American citizens of their constitutional rights by ordering indefinite detention without access to legal counsel, without charge and without the opportunity to appear before a civil judicial officer to challenge the detention, based solely on the discretionary designation by the president of a United States citizen as an "enemy combatant", all in subversion of
    law; and

    WHEREAS, in all of this, George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney have acted in a manner contrary to their trust as president and vice president, subverting constitutional government to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the people of New Mexico and of the United States of America; and

    WHEREAS, petitions from the country at large may be presented by the speaker of the United States house of representatives, according to Clause 3 of House Rule XII; and

    WHEREAS, Section 603 of Thomas Jefferson's Manual on Parliamentary Practice and of the Rules of the United States House of Representatives states that impeachment may be set in motion by charges transmitted from the legislature of a state;

    NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney, by such conduct, warrant impeachment and trial and removal from office and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under the United States; and

    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the New Mexico congressional delegation be requested to cause to be instituted in the congress of the United States proper proceedings for the investigation of the activities of George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney, to the end that they may be impeached and removed from their offices; and

    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the secretary of state be instructed to certify and transmit to the speaker of the United States house of representatives and the clerk of the United States house of representatives, under the great seal of the state of New Mexico, a copy of this resolution and its adoption by the legislature of the state of New Mexico. The copies shall be marked with the word "Petition" at the top of the document and contain the original authorizing signature of the
    secretary of state.


     

    -Now isn't that interesting? I'll have to keep an eye on this.

    Tags:
     
     
    plato_451
    21 November 2006 @ 02:26 pm
    Looks like it's going to get tough early on for the governors race here in LA. The pile-on of Jindal from the LA  Dem party website is pretty good. Stay with issues and not petty slams and we might do something worthwhile. Jindal has good support here.
    Tags:
     
     
    plato_451
    21 November 2006 @ 02:12 pm
    What is Laziness?

    The French author Jules Renard once wrote, "Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired."

     
     
    plato_451
    21 November 2006 @ 02:06 pm
    wtf?  

    After the Rapture

    First of all, it is to warn those who receive this manual prior to the rapture of the events that will take place in the last days as foretold in the Bible. Based on what the Bible has to say about future events, nobody in their right mind would want live on earth after the rapture...

    Let me be really frank with you. If you are reading this manual and the rapture has already occurred, then you probably are not going to physically survive; you most likely will die sometime un the next few years. This manual is about the survival of your soul. You are going to go through terrible suffering. The only question that remains is whether you will go to Heaven or go to hell when you die...

    Shortly after the rapture, a seven-year period known in the Bible as the Great Tribulation will take place. It will begin with the signing of a peace agreement between Israel and her enemies and it will end with the physical return of Jesus Christ to set up His kingdom on earth. In between, will be seven years of terror for those on earth...

    OMFG


     
     
    plato_451
    21 November 2006 @ 01:33 pm
    Keith Olbermann is by far the best on tv. A smack down like no other for GWB.

    Thanks to Crooks and Liars
     
     
    plato_451
    21 November 2006 @ 01:13 pm
    Dean  
    Somehow missed this:

    WASHINGTON - James Carville's attempt to topple Howard Dean as chairman of the Democratic National Committee failed after state party officials and even a vocal critic of Dean crushed the coup, officials said.

    I'm a big fan of Dean. His 50-state strategy is directly responsible for the Democrat takeover in Congress this election cycle.
    He may or may not have been a good president but his thinking got us in a much better position than we were in 3 weeks ago. If Hillary really is going for the presidency she needs Dean way more than Carville.
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    plato_451
    21 November 2006 @ 12:06 pm
    EVAC  
    BWAHAHAHAAHAAHHAAA
     
     
     
    plato_451
    20 November 2006 @ 01:54 pm


    “The horses came all of a sudden. They started jumping on top of people. I heard the women screaming. A horse stomped on top of me. I fell to the ground and hurt my arm. The horses just kept coming at us. I was terrified. I never thought the police would do something so aggressive, so violent.”

    updated. The janitors have won. Power to the people.
     
     
    plato_451
    14 November 2006 @ 07:57 am
    DarkSyde rocks @ DailyKos:


    It's really difficult to judge which is more pathetic: That George Bush has to rely on Daddy's friends to bail him (And the entire nation) out from the consequences of his own piss-poor decisions, again, or that Baker and Gates may now have to essentially beg Iran and Syria to pitch in and save the Bush Family name. Either way, the traditional media is all a twitter with headlines like 'Bush Willing to Listen to Fresh Ideas on Iraq.

    Well said.
     
     
    plato_451
    13 November 2006 @ 01:53 pm
    wtf?  
    This is from the CIA's careers section. It lists the requirements to considered for a job as a Paramilitary Operations Officer.

    "To be considered suitable for Agency employment, applicants must generally not have used illegal drugs within the last twelve months. The issue of illegal drug use prior to twelve months ago is carefully evaluated during the medical and security processing."
    (italics mine)

    I just don't know what to say to that. Must generally not have used??? So, if your over in Afghanistan and your black-ops buddies got some kind or a little opium last Friday that might be ok? Looks like once again I chose the wrong career. Could've gone to school and become a spy and did illegal drugs with the blessing of the CIA.
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    plato_451
    13 November 2006 @ 01:41 pm
    Go see the rude one for the whole thing:

    Oh, about that "liberal social agenda." Perkins' mind was blown like Ted Haggard's dick on a four-day meth binge because of the results of ballot initiatives around the country: "South Dakotans voted to overturn their new abortion ban (life of the mother exception). And Californians and Oregonians voted to allow minor girls to obtain abortions without notifying their parents. Missourians affirmed a constitutional amendment that will make embryonic stem cell research and human cloning permanently legal. For activist courts to foist an anti-life, pro-homosexual, or anti-family ruling upon the people is one thing. For the people, through the democratic process, to approve such a measure is altogether a different thing." Yep, it's a different thing because it makes it seem like the "people" and the "democratic process" are actually for things like liberty, science, and rights. Fuckers. This is not to mention that Elliot Spitzer and Mike Bloomberg in New York "have all vowed to use their influence to advance "marriage equality" a euphemism for "same-sex" marriage."
     
     
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    plato_451
    13 November 2006 @ 01:26 pm
    CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTOR (I SHALL DIE)

    I shall die
    but that is all
    I shall do for Death

    I hear him leading his horse out of the stall
    I hear the clatter on the barn floor
    He is in haste
    he has business in Cuba
    business in the Balkans
    Many calls to make this morning
    But I will not hold the bridle while he cinches the girth
    And he may mount by himself
    I will not give him a leg up

    Though he flick my shoulders with his whip
    I will not tell him which way the fox ran
    And with his hoof on my breast
    I will not tell him where the black boy hides in the swamp

    I shall die
    but that is all
    that I shall do for Death
    I am not on his payroll

    I will not tell him the whereabouts of my enemies either
    Though he promises me much
    I will not map him the route to any man's door
    Am I a spy in the land of the living
    that I should deliver men to Death?
    Brother, the password and the plans of our city are safe with me
    Never through me shall you be overcome

    I shall die
    but that is all
    I shall do for Death


     
     
    plato_451
    13 November 2006 @ 01:20 pm
    Untitled poem (Bertolt Brecht)

    General, your tank is a powerful vehicle.
    It smashes down forests and crushes men.
    But it has one defect:
    It needs a driver.

    General, your bomber is powerful.
    It flies faster than a storm
    and carries more than an elephant.
    But it has one defect:
    It needs a mechanic.

    General, man is very useful.
    He can fly and he can kill.
    But he has one defect:
    He can think.

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    plato_451
    13 November 2006 @ 12:15 pm
    From The Federalists Papers No. 41


    It cannot have escaped those who have attended with candor to the arguments employed against the extensive powers of the government, that the authors of them have very little considered how far these powers were necessary means of attaining a necessary end. They have chosen rather to dwell on the inconveniences which must be unavoidably blended with all political advantages; and on the possible abuses which must be incident to every power or trust, of which a beneficial use can be made. This method of handling the subject cannot impose on the good sense of the people of America. It may display the subtlety of the writer; it may open a boundless field for rhetoric and declamation; it may inflame the passions of the unthinking, and may confirm the prejudices of the misthinking: but cool and candid people will at once reflect, that the purest of human blessings must have a portion of alloy in them; that the choice must always be made, if not of the lesser evil, at least of the GREATER, not the PERFECT, good; and that in every political institution, a power to advance the public happiness involves a discretion which may be misapplied and abused. They will see, therefore, that in all cases where power is to be conferred, the point first to be decided is, whether such a power be necessary to the public good; as the next will be, in case of an affirmative decision, to guard as effectually as possible against a perversion of the power to the public detriment.

    That we may form a correct judgment on this subject, it will be proper to review the several powers conferred on the government of the Union; and that this may be the more conveniently done they may be reduced into different classes as they relate to the following different objects: 1. Security against foreign danger; 2. Regulation of the intercourse with foreign nations; 3. Maintenance of harmony and proper intercourse among the States; 4. Certain miscellaneous objects of general utility; 5. Restraint of the States from certain injurious acts; 6. Provisions for giving due efficacy to all these powers.

    The powers falling within the FIRST class are those of declaring war and granting letters of marque; of providing armies and fleets; of regulating and calling forth the militia; of levying and borrowing money.

    Security against foreign danger is one of the primitive objects of civil society. It is an avowed and essential object of the American Union. The powers requisite for attaining it must be effectually confided to the federal councils.

    Is the power of declaring war necessary? No man will answer this question in the negative. It would be superfluous, therefore, to enter into a proof of the affirmative. The existing Confederation establishes this power in the most ample form.

    Is the power of raising armies and equipping fleets necessary? This is involved in the foregoing power. It is involved in the power of self-defense.

    But was it necessary to give an INDEFINITE POWER of raising TROOPS, as well as providing fleets; and of maintaining both in PEACE, as well as in war?

    The answer to these questions has been too far anticipated in another place to admit an extensive discussion of them in this place. The answer indeed seems to be so obvious and conclusive as scarcely to justify such a discussion in any place. With what color of propriety could the force necessary for defense be limited by those who cannot limit the force of offense? If a federal Constitution could chain the ambition or set bounds to the exertions of all other nations, then indeed might it prudently chain the discretion of its own government, and set bounds to the exertions for its own safety.

    How could a readiness for war in time of peace be safely prohibited, unless we could prohibit, in like manner, the preparations and establishments of every hostile nation? The means of security can only be regulated by the means and the danger of attack. They will, in fact, be ever determined by these rules, and by no others. It is in vain to oppose constitutional barriers to the impulse of self-preservation. It is worse than in vain; because it plants in the Constitution itself necessary usurpations of power, every precedent of which is a germ of unnecessary and multiplied repetitions. If one nation maintains constantly a disciplined army, ready for the service of ambition or revenge, it obliges the most pacific nations who may be within the reach of its enterprises to take corresponding precautions. The fifteenth century was the unhappy epoch of military establishments in the time of peace. They were introduced by Charles VII. of France. All Europe has followed, or been forced into, the example. Had the example not been followed by other nations, all Europe must long ago have worn the chains of a universal monarch. Were every nation except France now to disband its peace establishments, the same event might follow. The veteran legions of Rome were an overmatch for the undisciplined valor of all other nations and rendered her the mistress of the world.

    Not the less true is it, that the liberties of Rome proved the final victim to her military triumphs; and that the liberties of Europe, as far as they ever existed, have, with few exceptions, been the price of her military establishments. A standing force, therefore, is a dangerous, at the same time that it may be a necessary, provision. On the smallest scale it has its inconveniences. On an extensive scale its consequences may be fatal. On any scale it is an object of laudable circumspection and precaution. A wise nation will combine all these considerations; and, whilst it does not rashly preclude itself from any resource which may become essential to its safety, will exert all its prudence in diminishing both the necessity and the danger of resorting to one which may be inauspicious to its liberties.

    The clearest marks of this prudence are stamped on the proposed Constitution. The Union itself, which it cements and secures, destroys every pretext for a military establishment which could be dangerous. America united, with a handful of troops, or without a single soldier, exhibits a more forbidding posture to foreign ambition than America disunited, with a hundred thousand veterans ready for combat. It was remarked, on a former occasion, that the want of this pretext had saved the liberties of one nation in Europe. Being rendered by her insular situation and her maritime resources impregnable to the armies of her neighbors, the rulers of Great Britain have never been able, by real or artificial dangers, to cheat the public into an extensive peace establishment. The distance of the United States from the powerful nations of the world gives them the same happy security. A dangerous establishment can never be necessary or plausible, so long as they continue a united people. But let it never, for a moment, be forgotten that they are indebted for this advantage to the Union alone. The moment of its dissolution will be the date of a new order of things. The fears of the weaker, or the ambition of the stronger States, or Confederacies, will set the same example in the New, as Charles VII. did in the Old World. The example will be followed here from the same motives which produced universal imitation there. Instead of deriving from our situation the precious advantage which Great Britain has derived from hers, the face of America will be but a copy of that of the continent of Europe. It will present liberty everywhere crushed between standing armies and perpetual taxes. The fortunes of disunited America will be even more disastrous than those of Europe. The sources of evil in the latter are confined to her own limits. No superior powers of another quarter of the globe intrigue among her rival nations, inflame their mutual animosities, and render them the instruments of foreign ambition, jealousy, and revenge. In America the miseries springing from her internal jealousies, contentions, and wars, would form a part only of her lot. A plentiful addition of evils would have their source in that relation in which Europe stands to this quarter of the earth, and which no other quarter of the earth bears to Europe. This picture of the consequences of disunion cannot be too highly colored, or too often exhibited. Every man who loves peace, every man who loves his country, every man who loves liberty, ought to have it ever before his eyes, that he may cherish in his heart a due attachment to the Union of America, and be able to set a due value on the means of preserving it. Next to the effectual establishment of the Union, the best possible precaution against danger from standing armies is a limitation of the term for which revenue may be appropriated to their support. This precaution the Constitution has prudently added. I will not repeat here the observations which I flatter myself have placed this subject in a just and satisfactory light. But it may not be improper to take notice of an argument against this part of the Constitution, which has been drawn from the policy and practice of Great Britain. It is said that the continuance of an army in that kingdom requires an annual vote of the legislature; whereas the American Constitution has lengthened this critical period to two years. This is the form in which the comparison is usually stated to the public: but is it a just form? Is it a fair comparison? Does the British Constitution restrain the parliamentary discretion to one year? Does the American impose on the Congress appropriations for two years? On the contrary, it cannot be unknown to the authors of the fallacy themselves, that the British Constitution fixes no limit whatever to the discretion of the legislature, and that the American ties down the legislature to two years, as the longest admissible term.

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    plato_451



    who's rumsfeld?
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    plato_451
    14 September 2006 @ 08:45 pm
    Get your rude goodness on from The Rude One.
     
     
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    Feels Like: HA
    Noise: ac
     
     
    plato_451


    HA.
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    plato_451
    13 September 2006 @ 08:18 pm
    Thank your higher power for this.
     
     
    Location: oh Hell yeah
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    plato_451
    13 September 2006 @ 07:39 pm
    I have decided to begin a series of posts that will quote some passages from various sources amongst the men (and women if possible) who founded this country. That is not to say that they were completely correct in all of their thinking and philosophy but that there are some serious ideas in there. I begin with a passage from The Federalist Papers #1 from Alexander Hamilton. For your reading pleasure:

    And yet, however just these sentiments will be allowed to be, we have
    already sufficient indications that it will happen in this as in all
    former cases of great national discussion. A torrent of angry and
    malignant passions will be let loose. To judge from the conduct of the
    opposite parties, we shall be led to conclude that they will mutually
    hope to evince the justness of their opinions, and to increase the
    number of their converts by the loudness of their declamations and the
    bitterness of their invectives. An enlightened zeal for the energy and
    efficiency of government will be stigmatized as the offspring of a
    temper fond of despotic power and hostile to the principles of liberty.
    An over-scrupulous jealousy of danger to the rights of the people, which
    is more commonly the fault of the head than of the heart, will be
    represented as mere pretense and artifice, the stale bait for popularity
    at the expense of the public good. It will be forgotten, on the one
    hand, that jealousy is the usual concomitant of love, and that the noble
    enthusiasm of liberty is apt to be infected with a spirit of narrow and
    illiberal distrust. On the other hand, it will be equally forgotten that
    the vigor of government is essential to the security of liberty; that,
    in the contemplation of a sound and well-informed judgment, their
    interest can never be separated; and that a dangerous ambition more
    often lurks behind the specious mask of zeal for the rights of the
    people than under the forbidden appearance of zeal for the firmness and
    efficiency of government. History will teach us that the former has been
    found a much more certain road to the introduction of despotism than the
    latter, and that of those men who have overturned the liberties of
    republics, the greatest number have begun their career by paying an
    obsequious court to the people; commencing demagogues, and ending
    tyrants.

    -Alexander Hamilton Oct 27th, 1787
     
     
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    plato_451
    12 September 2006 @ 08:20 pm


    This one just kills me. If you don't know why it's funny then take your head out of the sand and READ.
     
     
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    plato_451
    12 September 2006 @ 07:38 pm
    Oh well. William Jefferson (D-LA) never seems to cease with the fun. Vernon Jackson is a friend of the Jefferson family and business associate as well. Jackson was able to funnel $400,000 to the congressman through a company owned by Jefferson's wife and children. That's what I love most about Louisiana politics. We tend to keep it in the family here. When we ask "how ya mama" is doin, we really want to know. Maybe she just bought that Mercedes she's been looking at. Because of the bribes, Jackson got some fairly nice telecom contracts. But as I recall, Jefferson is maintaining his innocence. Oh, OK.
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    plato_451
    12 September 2006 @ 04:48 pm
    9/11  


    If you can watch this from Keith Olbermann and not want to march to DC and demand that Bush be held accountable then your lithium script is better than mine.
     
     
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