To bash, or not to bash; that is the question

Laura bush has been parading around the last few weeks, doing PR tours for her husband and his agenda. So the question was asked, if she is doing the same job as every other republican spokesman, should she also face all the same critisism? Alternet has the story here.

My response? Absolutely. If she wants to throw herself out there and try to defend her husband and his congress's actions, she should absolutely have to face the same consequences. She could obviously use a little dose of reality anyway. This is the woman who called Hurricane Katrina "Corina" twice...
"I also want to encourage anybody who was affected by Hurricane Corina to make sure their children are in school." –First Lady Laura Bush, twice referring to a "Hurricane Corina" while speaking to children and parents in South Haven, Mississippi, Sept. 8, 2005
If she wants to jump on the george w bush bandwagon and work on his PR campaign, she is fully liable for all the shots that are taken at her, just like everyone else. How well is that working out for them, btw? Lowest approval ratings in a LONG time, karl rove about to be indicted, cheney having a huge hand in the Valerie Plame leak scandal, Tom DeLay resigning after his own indictments. Hopefully she learns from these people and sticks with trying to cure aids, or whatever she's been up to lately.
"I think all of those remarks [from critics] were disgusting...President Bush cares about everyone in our country. And I know that. I mean, I'm the person who lives with him. I know what he's like and I know what he thinks and I know how he cares about people."
Just not the people he sent to Iraq to die. Or the people he let drown in New Orleans, like Nero while Rome burned. Or CIA agents that try to get him to look at intelligence reports, not just listen to his out-of-touch cabinet. Or the 10 million people he's been collecting data on. But everyone else, yeah he cares about you.

Someone should inform the first lady that her April Fools joke is a bit late.

Popular

So now we find out the government has been collecting the dialed and recieved phone numbers of somewhere between 10-20 million americans. Not only is tht outragous, it's also been deemed by just about every non-government lawyer as obviously illegal. AT&T, Verizon, and Bellsouth all complied with the request, putting them at risk for around $10 billion in lawsuits. In fact, two of the companies are ALREADY facing class-action suits for just that.

What's absolutely ridiculous is that president bush came out and once again defended his illegal actions, saying he was "protecting national security, blah blah blah." His usual excuse. Except nobody is buying it anymore. Also, just because "members of congress" were briefed on the program DOESNT make it legal, as the president would like to imply. Congressmen make mistakes too*cough*DukeCunninghamTomDelayKatherineHarris*cough*. The government still has to follow the constitution, even if they share their nefarious plans with a few legislators.

And check this out; a poll of over 1000 americans comparing people's attitudes towards bush and President Clinton yielded some interesting results. This is from cnn.com.

Respondents favored Clinton by greater than 2-to-1 margins when asked who did a better job at handling the economy (63 percent Clinton, 26 percent Bush) and solving the problems of ordinary Americans (62 percent Clinton, 25 percent Bush). (Watch whether Americans are getting nostalgic for the Clinton era -- 1:57)

On foreign affairs, the margin was 56 percent to 32 percent in Clinton's favor; on taxes, it was 51 percent to 35 percent for Clinton; and on handling natural disasters, it was 51 percent to 30 percent, also favoring Clinton.

Moreover, 59 percent said Bush has done more to divide the country, while only 27 percent said Clinton had.

When asked which man was more honest as president, poll respondents were more evenly divided, with the numbers -- 46 percent Clinton to 41 percent Bush -- falling within the poll's margin of error. The same was true for a question on handling national security: 46 percent said Clinton performed better; 42 percent picked Bush.

Americans chose Clinton in every single area, from economy to national security. How hilarious is that? Bush's popularity has dropped to 29%, and now he can't win on even a single issue. Granted, Clinton was a great president, and it's unfortunate that his extracurricular activities are always going to overshadow that, but come one; bush couldn't win ONE catagory? Bush always talks about "history judging him." Well guess what? History is staring you right in the face, and telling you you're the worst president ever. Quit spying on americans, quit openly disregarding the constitution, and follow through on your campaign promises to cut the deficit, and fix social security and medicare. How difficult is that? Apparently too difficult for a C+ student who ran away from his military service and ran every company he was in charge of into the ground. Wow, didn't see that coming.

Chris is going home, WTF!!!

Sometimes I really think people shouldn't be allowed to vote, especially on an easy manipulated show such as American Idol. I tuned in tonight, for the first time ever(although I listen to the sound clips from songs most weeks) and was SHOCKED to hear the best singer Idol has ever had, Chris Daughtry, voted out. Are you serious? He's absolutely incredible, and blows everyone else out of the water. He was offered a contract by Fuel after his second performance, and his rendition of Broken was amazing as well. In fact, every judge said that they would give him a contract right there if he wasn't a contestant. Simon looked to be in absolute shock when they said Chris was going home, which is saying something. What were the voters thinking? Idiots, I tell you. Rename the show, "American Idiots."

This may be a good thing for Chris though, if he can get into a new band. With all the free publicity he's recieved and fanbase he's built over the past few months, he could put out a hit record so easily. As I said, he has a great voice, a good rocker's edge to him, and has learned some good stage presence from working with Taylor(I assume). He could be huge, and I really hope he does well given his amazing gifts.

I'll tell you what though, that is the first and last episode I'll ever watch, and I'd encourage anyone who feels the same to DO the same.

So sad

HAPPY 18TH BIRTHDAY ANNA

To those of you who wont repost this, thats kind of sad. I know most of you didnt know her but I have seen you repost the most ridiculous bulletins like "If you dont repost this in .2 seconds you will die tonight and your crush will hate you", "What kind of skittle are you?", "Whats your favorite song to have SEX too?", "put BACARDI if your taken", "Leave me comments lyke now!!1!!111" and so on. But you cant repost one that has meaning, and that isnt threatening you?

To alot of you this is just another sad bulletin or news article, but to the people who knew her she was their daughter, best friend, niece, cousin, crush, grandaughter, sister, prom date. Think of how they feel? and how you would feel if this happened to someone close to you.

R.I.P Anna Svidersky

Anna was a smart 17 year old girl who lived in Vancover, WASHINGTON.
She attended Fort Vancover Highschool and was going to graduating this June,2006.
Thursday, April 20th 2006 in the evening she was stabbed and murdered at Mcdonalds while working.
She didnt deserve this, at all. There is so much violence going on lately its ridiculous.
Her Myspace

'THE ARTICLE' HereOr look below.


Stabbing of Vancouver teen hits community hard

02:35 PM PDT on Friday, April 21, 2006
By TERESA BELL and KRISTINA BRENNEMAN, kgw.com Staff



kgw.com/Vancouver Schools

A photo of Anna Svidersky from her high school yearbook.

VANCOUVER -- The deadly stabbing of a 17-year-old girl who made everyone smile is tearing the Vancouver community apart, said the Vancouver police chief Friday.

Anna Svidersky, a Fort Vancouver High School senior, was stabbed in the chest by a stranger while working at McDonald's Thursday night, said Police Chief Brian Martinek at a news conference.

"It's tearing us apart, quite frankly," he said. "There's no magic wall around Vancouver. We've had two young girls killed in the last six months," referring to the November 2005 murder of 14-year-old Chelsea Harrison.

Svidersky, who would have graduated in June, was taken to Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Portland where she died around 9 p.m. Thursday. An autopsy was scheduled for Friday morning, Martinek said.

The suspect, David Barton Sullivan, was charged with first-degree murder Friday morning.


KGW photo

Police collect evidence at the crime scene.
"We preliminarily determined he had an intent to kill," Martinek said. "The suspect armed with a knife walked into one of the doors of McDonalds.... found the victim at a table and stabbed the victim. There's not a whole lot of question about what happened and who did it."

Many employees in the McDonalds saw what happened, he said.

The owner of the Vancouver McDonald's, Matt Hadwin, issued a statement saying, "We are shocked and saddened by this random act of violence against one of our employees. Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family and friends during this difficult time. We are fully cooperating with the Vancouver Police as they investigate this incident."

During a court appearance Friday in Clark County Superior Court, Sullivan was shaking and twitching. The judge ordered he be held without bail.

Sullivan, a registered sex offender in Washington state, will be arraigned on the murder charge April 28. He also has a criminal history that includes kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment, according to court records.

Also Online

Suspect is registered sex offender
In addition, Sullivan, who lived at home, has a history of mental illness, said Police Chief Martinek.

Sullivan had pleaded guilty to unlawful imprisonment with sexual motivation in 2003 for trying to kidnap a 14-year-old girl in Vancouver. He was sent to Western State Hospital, treated for paranoid schizophrenia and found competent to stand trial. He was sentenced to 90 days in jail.
"This is obviously very tragic for everyone involved," he said. The Vancouver Police Department "wants to pass on its condolences to famiy, school and community."

Nancy Faaren, principal at Fort Vancouver High School said Svidersky's death "is a very sad day for Fort Vancouver High School. Svidersky was "well-liked by students and staff alike. She will be greatly missed by students and staff."

The senior had a good sense of humor and contagious laugh, and juggled several jobs as well as full-class load, she said.

School counselors would be helping students with their grief, Faaren said.


KGW photo

David Sullivan, a suspect in the stabbing of a Vancouver high school student, enters court.
Shortly after the first 9-1-1 call about the stabbing at McDonald's, at 2814 N.E. Andresen St., emergency dispatchers received a report that a man was being pursued on foot and police dogs were quickly sent to the scene. Martinek said several witnesses from McDonald's had followed Sullivan from the restaurant.

Officers said he was soon captured and a knife believed to be the murder weapon was found nearby as well.

Police have not determined a motive in the stabbing. The McDonald's is located in an area about halfway between downtown and Orchards.

The girl's mother found out about the attack when she showed up Thursday night to drive her daughter home from work. A Russian-speaking Vancouver Police officer accompanied Svidersky's family to the hospital Thursday night.

The McDonald's restaurant was closed Thursday night after the stabbing and re-opened at 6:30 a.m. Friday. McNicholas said the staff at the fast-food chain was struggling with the loss, as were police, even though they didn't personally know the slain teen.

(KGW reporter Scott Burton also contributed to this article.)



If you have a heart, pass this on. Let her be rememberd.
IMPORTANT!
To repost this correctly (pictures and all) you will have too press "reply to poster" and copy the HTML(codes) of this message starting from <*center*> down. & Then paste it and post it as a new bulletin

This makes me really sad. You know, psychology was near the top of my list for majors. But the fact that people can do something like this, are capable of such random acts of hatred and violence makes me question whether or not I'd WANT to understand the way people think. This is so sad.

She has a memorial video here.

Quick addition to my Fall Out Boy article. The movie Saved is hilarious. It's about this hardcore Christian school and Mandy Moore's character in particular, who is basically the most christian of them all. They end up kicking this one kid out of school because he realized he was gay, and sending him to some christian mindwashing school, ironically called "Mercy House". He tries to come back for prom night, but the main teacher/preacher guy says they can't come in because the bible is very clear that homosexuality is forbidden and shouldn't be accepted. And then the other main character says something very profound that I've thought about a lot lately.

"If God wanted us all to be the same, why would he make us all so different?"

I couldn't have put it better myself. Homosexuality has been almost proven now to be genetic, not something you learn from you environment or just "decide", anymore than someone else decides to be straight. Which means God creates people who are born homosexuals. So how can any religion deny homosexuality when God creates people that way? Who are YOU to deny what God has deemed worthy? It's just incredible to me that people would follow some stupid book off the edge of a fucking cliff without taking the time to think about what the messages and stories and examples set by Christ actually MEAN. Do you think Jesus would have thrown one of his apostles out just because he was gay? HELL NO, because Jesus, the man every christian should be trying to model his life after, whom the entire new testament is written around, loved everyone and treated them equally. He would NEVER have been so hateful towards anyone. And yet now, 2000 years later, we have people CLAIMING to be of the same religion, who hate other people for something they were born with. How christian can you really be? Actual Christians, it seems to me, are few and far between; everyone just pretends to be to give them the ability to cloak their hatredmongering, or completely misses the point of the whole religion.

Jesus preached Love and Tolerance, the bible(and most pastors) preach and encrourage intolerance and fear. Who's right, some stupid book, some stupid hick in a suit standing at a podium, or THE SON OF GOD? Think about that. Or don't; I have very low expectations for religious fanatics.

Fall Out Boy is an awesome band, and I'm glad to hear they've gone multi-platinum by now. And recently, they played a show in NC where a neo-conservative parent had this to say about it.

"I took my daughters to your concert in Charlotte, NC last night and was
very dissappointed in the show. The ticket said "ALL AGES". F & L and your
band was very foul mouthed and anti-morals. Who do you think finances the
sale of CDs and Tickets, Hello - Parents...
Charlotte is not the
demoralized city that liberal San Fransico and other cities across the North and West are. I am going to contact the local and
national news media, and the arenas that you are touring in the future and
do my best to be a thorn in your side. I had looked forward to this concert with my girls for months. I didnt spend over $200.00 for tickets,
gas, food, and unforturnately shirts that I purchased for them before the
concerts, for you to give your own personal political testimony, cursing
anyone who disagreed. This was a concert, not some liberal homosexual
rally. I predict that you have lost a lot of financial support in the last
24 hours. I am not the only parent with morals that had children at this
concert. That is what is so upsetting - your band's biggest audience is
CHILDREN 10 and up. Your responsibility was to sing your songs. The music wasnt that bad, but when you opened your mouth to talk, you blew it.
Here's to your band being just another "Spice
Girls" looking back and remembering the good times and 15 minutes of fame, because you underated who pays your bills. By the way, my children will not be a part of your sick idea of family."

Fall Out Boy's response?

"...though being in a public position with a spotlight i think it is extremely important to use this pedistal to enlighten younger kids to certain things about the world. the only thing i said in charlotte was (quoted word for word): "you can leave this show and say i think this guy is an arrogant jerk. or think this band is better than this one- because these are your opinions- i understand that. the only thing we consider unacceptable is for you to engage in sexist, racist or homophobic behavior. if you do and want to continue to we dont want you as a fan- return our merch and leave". if that is offensive to you, i apologize but we don't want you to be part of our fanbase.

it is not a liberal homosexual rally but at the same time it will never be a klu klux klan rally. we don't need to sell tickets that badly.

i encourage fans of our band to grow up to become good people and to change the world. unfortunately, i dont believe that treating other people as inhuman is acceptable.

though- our idea of family is one of equality and openess- hopefully you will reconsider."

Damn right. It's incredible how hateful and bigoted some people still are. This is 2006 for crying out loud. That guy was a dick, period. Liberal homosexual rally? WOW. I'm pretty sure nobody else had that impression, so maybe you've got some issues in your subconscious to work out. And as for SF being a moral-less city(and others in the NW...WTF? have you ever even LEFT hicksville, ass?) if by "moral-less" you mean "accepts people for who they are and isn't hateful towards them" then you'd be correct. If you mean "isn't accepting of total white supremicist homophobic religious fanatics" then perhaps staying right where you are is a good idea.

I'm sure you can talk about this when your next KKK meeting rolls around.

Rumsfeld said at a Q&A session today, after being ripped apart, "I am not in the intelligence business". No shit.

Thats all.

Can't you take a joke?

So, Stephen Colbert of "The Colbert Report" was the featured speaker at the White House Corrospondents Association Dinner a few nights ago, and there's been quite a bit of talk about whether or not he was funny, whether or not it was appropriate, blah blah blah.

It was HILARIOUS. President bush apparently looked absolutely pissed about 10 seconds into it, and Colbert didn't let up at all. Lots of media souces want to say it was bad because everyone was "So uncomfortable". You know what? I'd be uncomfortable if I were a political deuchbag tool puppet who was forced to stare in the mirror for 10 minutes too. bush got called out and he was upset. Let me go get him and everyone else a crying towel. House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.)actually came to bush's defense, saying "it got a little rough" and "the president deserved some respect". Wierd. Where I come from, and how I was raised, respect is earned. What has the president done to earn ANYONE'S respect? You aren't entitled to respect soley based on position, especially when you've proven to be incompetent for the job, as well as the source of every major problem in america right now. When he starts accomplishing things FOR THE PEOPLE, and stops watching cities drown and soldiers die, MAYBE he'll be worthy of some respect.

But probably not.