From CNN.com:

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) — Former Vice President Al Gore’s upscale neighborhood granted the environmental activist approval Tuesday to install 33 solar panels on the roof of his mansion.

The city of Belle Meade, Tennessee, had blocked his application until new rules were approved unanimously late Tuesday, said Gore spokesman Chris Song. The city, located within metropolitan Nashville, said the panels must be placed in areas where they can’t be seen by neighbors.

Gore, who starred in the documentary film “An Inconvenient Truth” about global warming, already buys enough energy from renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and methane gas to balance 100 percent of his electricity costs.

He is also upgrading the furnace, windows, and light switches, as well as installing new floor radiant heat and solar vents, to improve the home’s energy standards, said Kalee Kreider, a Gore spokeswoman.

The home, bought by Gore in 2002, is more than 70 years old and illustrates the challenges of renovating an older home to conserve more energy, Kreider said.

“It’s obviously easier to build a green home from the get-go,” she said. “When you purchase an older home, these retrofits take a lot longer.”

Suffering from extreme foot-in-mouth disease, Joe Biden (Deleware) attempts to survive his own idiocy and make a bid for the Democratic nomination.  In an attempt to prove that extreme conservatives aren’t the only racist assholes, Joe described Barack Obama as “the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy.”

Wow.  You go, Joe.  Stupid fuck.

Last night breast cancer scored another victory.  Molly Ivins, one of my favorite political columnists, lost the battle.

There have been many wonderful things said about her today, so I’m not going to make you sit here and read anything terribly sentimental.  She was smart, funny, and most importantly, she got it.

She will be missed.

It’s that time of year kids!  Time for the annual SOTU Drinking Game!  Festivities will begin at 9:00 pm EST.

You can find rules for the game at http://www.drinkinggame.us/.  If you have any suggestions for tonight’s game that aren’t listed in the online rules, drop them in the comments, along with what you plan on playing with (oh gawd, keep it clean you perverts, I meant what you plan on drinking… sheesh.)

First, the icky bits:

57% of my fellow Virginians voted yes on the proposed amendment regarding same sex marriage. The mind boggles.

In my district (that’d be 10 if you are keeping track), Congressman Frank Wolf (R) maintained his seat. Sorry, Judy. I was rooting for you.

On the edge of my seat:

At this time, with 99.88% of all precincts reporting, Jim Webb (D) is leading the race for Senate by a margin of less than 1%. My fingers and toes are crossed, and along with the rest of the nation, I’m anxiously awaiting the final tally. If the final tally is less than 1%, expect a recount.

In Montana, the Democratic challenger, Jon Tester, is also leading by less than 1%. If the final tally shows a lead of less than half a percent, expect a recount there as well.

Control of the Senate rests entirely with these two races. There are three possible outcomes here, and you know which one I’m on my knees begging the Good Mother for.

And the news that has several of us dancing in the hallways this morning?

For the first time in over a decade, the Democrats took the House. Oh fuck y’all, don’t blow it. Don’t make me come over there!

For the first time ever, the Speaker of the House will be a woman.

Oh, and South Dakota? I think I love you. You rejected one of the most foul pieces of legislation I have ever seen.

And, oh my gawd, could it get any sweeter? Rumsfeld is stepping down.

I can’t stop grinning!

I used to be a news junkie. I would turn on CNN and keep it on non-stop. I’d check all of my news feeds before turning in for the night. For the last six months or so, I’ve had to back away from the constant onslaught of news because it was hurting my soul. I no longer check the news in the evening, but I dutifully check every morning and get caught up on world events.

Have you read the news today, boys and girls?
BBC: US Senate backs terror trial bill
CNN: Senate OKs bill for detainee trials, interrogations
WaPo: Senate Approves Detainee Bill Backed by Bush

Need help in understanding what just fucking happened?
WaPo: Many Rights in U.S. Legal System Absent in New Bill
Glenn Greenwald: The legalization of torture and permanent detention
Cobert Report: The Word: Opposition Party

I have nothing left to say.

Because I need a distraction from my life, I give to you your government in action. Fear this boys and girls.

Read the rest of this entry »

*sigh* I kept hoping this would all be a bad dream, and I’d wake up and it would all be over. Alas, that is not to be.

Today, Dear Leader urged Congress to pass the FMA.

If you haven’t already done so, please take the time to send a letter to your senator voicing your objection to this action. We cannot allow a constitutional amendment that treats our brothers and sisters as second-class citizens.

Let me just put the disclaimer in here now. If you are a co-worker, this is your opportunity to click out and go read something nice and warm and fluffy. If you choose to stay, don’t stare at me funny tomorrow.

I’m still up to my neck in alligators at work, hence my lack of posting here, or elsewhere for that matter. But I’m supposed to blog today, because it’s Blog Against Sexism Day. And I can’t.

I’m sorry, I haven’t the words. I stare at the world I live in and I want to shake people until their eyes fall out. I want to scream from the rooftops that we are killing our daughters, that we are stripping them of their right to be human. Will it do any good?

Blog Against Sexism. What in the hell does that mean anyway? Will we all write about how outraged we are that South Dakota sucks monkey balls? How shocked we are that the Italian government has lost their collective minds? How disgusted we are that a judge tried to force a young woman to watch a video of her own rape and then rejoice because he changed his mind? How dismayed we are that one of those rapists was acquitted?

And on and on and on…

Does it do any good? If someone, somewhere, will tell me that all of this collective rage and anger will accomplish something, count me in. Otherwise, color me just one more outraged woman living in a world I can barely tolerate. I’m too tired to be this angry.

Stop the world, this uterus wants to get off.

On the 33rd anniversery of Roe V. Wade, G.W. Bush proclaimed the day as National Sanctity of Human Life Day. The question isn’t whether or not human life is sacred or holy, but whose life is sacred or holy.

At last count, over 2200 US citizens have died in Iraq. This does not even begin to address the Iraqi victims. The actual number is unknown, and often in dispute, but even Dear Leader states it is in the tens of thousands.

In New Orleans, people are still awaiting the much promised FEMA trailers. The death toll is now over 1,300.

According to the National Poverty Center, over 13 million children lived in poverty in 2004. 13,000,000 sacred, holy lives. Living in poverty. Meantime, state goverments cut welfare and the federal government pushes for permanent tax cuts.

Since 1976, the United States has excecuted over 1000 human beings. Oddly enough, it would seem that the biggest supporter of the death penalty is often “pro-life.” Interesting, yes?

So back to the original question… whose life is sacred? Whose life is holy?