I wrote Senator Reid an email yesterday telling him he made me proud once again to be a big D Democrat. I hope he will keep standing up to these neocon fascist Repubs like he did yesterday. I also hope the Democratic Senators will filibuster Scalito when the time comes and let the chips fall where they may. We can then go proudly into the 2006 elections and let the American people decide who has their best interests at heart -- the lying, deceiving, corrupt, crony-promoting Repubs or the Dems who will end this unjust war and bring our troops home. Bravo to Senator Reid -- you're my hero today!

Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead! Let's have some Democratic resolve and take on these neocon fascist Repubs. Let them go nuclear, and we'll wipe them up in 2006 when their actions can give us plenty of fodder for campaign commercials a la shutting down Congress in the 90s. We are never going to win the political wars playing timidly with the brutes who will lie, cheat, and coverup at every opportunity. Let the Gang of 14, including the woosie Dems on that gang, eat crow as we shut down the Repub steamroller with messages about their anti-American, unpatriotic, against-longstanding-tradition actions to subvert the rule of democracy in the U.S. Senate all for political expediency.

Go Harry!

Bush and his administration, especially Cheney, don't realize just how pathetic their arguments are, and therefore, just how pathetic THEY are. We don't torture because that is against the law, but we reserve the right to torture, because that is not against the law if we decide we need to do it. Sick, sick, sick.

Hope you all caught Jon Stewart tonight on Comedy Central (note the emphasis on COMEDY!) Great send-off to O'Reilly's attack on Jon and the whole Christmas non-issue. Loved the part where the year old clip was juxtaposed with the pregnant woman who appeared in last year's show in a non-pregnant state. Really exposed the duplicitous nature of the O'Reilly attacks for what they are. A real LOL moment! Catch it if you didn't see it already! And oh BTW, Happy Holidays everyone!

As an avid hunter for over 40 years, I can tell you Cheney failed to follow the most basic rules of hunting. First, you NEVER shoot at anything unless you are 100% sure of your target. Second, you never shoot into brush or trees if you cannot see what you are shooting at. Third, when hunting with other hunters, you always make sure you know where the other hunters are BEFORE you pull the trigger. Sounds to me like Cheney needs to go back for a refresher hunter safety course.

Also, read somewhere that he was also hunting illegally because he did not have the proper stamp to hunt quail. Seems he mailed off the required $7.00 for the stamp -- AFTER the State of Texas officials pointed out that he was not in compliance with state laws. SO typical of this guy. Shoot first, worry about the consequences later. If you are found to be violating the law, well blame it on state officials and worry about the consequences later.

Last night's Oscars was the first one I had decided to watch in more than 10 years. It will be the last. There was nothing there to make spending my time worthwhile. I agree with Cintra; this was one of the blandest exercises in censorship I have witnessed in a long time -- well at least since Attorney General Gonzalez last testified before Congress. It was also clear that the Oscar for Best Picture did not go to the Best Picture of the Year. One could make the case for why Brokeback Mountain might not have deserved it, but clealy Syriana, Munich, or Good Night and Good Luck were all far better than Crash. I saw Crash and enjoyed it very much, but it was not of the caliber of the other films mentioned above, and clearly wasn't better than Brokeback Mountain. The case could easily be made for why Brokeback Mountain should have been selected, if for no other reason than it is THE movie that is being talked about this year. After all, no one asked President Bush if he had seen Crash or recommended it to him as they did with Brokeback Mountain. That said, it is clear that the Academy caved in to pressure from the Culture Police to prevent the first serious gay movie with wide acclaim from being selected as the movie of the year.

I, too, felt sad to see how Jon Stewart was hamstrung in his presentations and since I am a big fan of his, felt sorry to see him so emasculated like he was last night. It was truly painful to watch, even pathetic. On one point, I am glad to see improvement in the Oscars -- they were able to keep things on time better than they did in the past, but then again, isn't that usually a hallmark of fascist regimes? The trains run on time and they brook no opposition.

Kinda glad I tuned in for some of the show. It was enough to let me know that this is an American institution that has passed its prime and I will no longer have to waste my time wondering if maybe I should have watched it last night. I now know that the real waste of time is to watch it in the first place.