What is "Catbox"?

Catbox, previously known as "Catcetera", is an open-ended archive where I post news, personal notes, and cat-related items that don't fit anywhere else on the web site.

All the News That's Fit to Stream

We live in a country where the majority of the population gets its news from the measly 1/2 hour of information broadcast by the major networks every day, or from the 5 minutes of either Dave or Jay's opening monologue. If you're hungry for more allow me to alert you to the Rachel Maddow Show. Although you can hear it live every morning on your local Air America Radio station this fabulous daily news program (Monday-Friday) can be streamed, sans commercials, right here. Listen to it just once and see if it's not the most enlightening, entertaining and thoughtful news available. Unless, of course, you consider that swill issuing from Rush's snout as 'news', then lord help you.

M&M's On Steroids.

I feel compelled to share this with you because I consider you my friends...

I like chocolate. A lot.

My female acquaintances tell me this is odd for a male person to admit, that most men they know eschew this most ambrosial of delicacies. I personally believe it's because a lot of men consider chocolate too "feminine".

I say screw 'em. Let 'em suck their nasty cigars and their exhaust fumes. I'm having double helpings of flourless hazelnut chocolate cake.

I'm also having Jelly Belly chocolates. Yes, Jelly Belly makes chocolate candies, and the one I'm alerting you to is their JBZ brand. It's like an M&M except the candy shell is flavoured. Vividly flavoured! They're mostly fruit flavors but I really enjoy the chocolate/cinnamon combination.

They used to sell them in stores at a buck a pop for 1.4 oz but I can't find them anywhere now except on the net. The best deal is on Amazon when you can buy a pound for $8 + shipping. I just bought four pounds and put them in my faux-antique gum machine. I love the look on my friend's faces when they taste them for the first time, plus they're perfect to take along to the movies. A handful a day really brightens my mood and I really can't recommend them enough. Click here if your salivary glands demand more information.

PS, keep all chocolates away from your cats. There's nothing worse than a pussycat with pimples.

A Moment Of Your Time

The so-called president's new budget asks for major increases in defense spending, which is obviously nothing more than a sop to his war-contracting contributors.

America already spends more on defense than almost all other countries in the world combined and it still didn't stop the 9-11 attacks. No matter how much we spend on defense our enemies will find clever new ways to find chinks in the armor. Keep in mind we were attacked on that September morning by those who opposed nothing more than our military might. It wasn't about envying our freedom. They didn't care if we sold Levi's or Big Mac's in Kabul, but they were mighty angry when we built military bases in their country, on their sacred land.

Ever since the attack on Pearl Harbor America has become a nation that manufactures death on a grand scale. And if Earth is really the only planet capable of life in the known universe then America is the greatest killing machine, apart from the occasional super-nova or monster asteroid, since the Big Bang. That's madness. Pure, utter, madness.

The answer for peace is increased diplomacy, not increased xenophobia. We need to work closely with other countries to build and extend their economies, not undermine their governments and their infrastructures with bribes or bombs. Another answer is to also deny profit to all companies engaged in the development of weapons systems. War should never be profitable. Ever.

This is really just common sense but it's important to share this opinion publicly so that when the day finally comes that a congressman with backbone rises up and declares this very obvious message, that it's time to back away from this self-destructive abyss, we'll all know he's not weak on defense, but strong on wisdom.

=mike=

While We're on the Subject of Busting the Budget...

The Bush administration is wasting our tax money like a drunken sailor on shore leave in Monaco. They recently asked for, and received, an increase in the national debt limit to $9 trillion dollars, a number that's completely unimaginable by the average human. That's why I developed this image to illustrate that the current national debt could buy 28 Eiffel Towers... constructed entirely of gold.

Real gold. Expensive gold. Fool's gold.

One solid-gold Eiffel Tower for every other state in the Union and a couple left over.



And where has the money gone? Health care? Support of our manufacturing base? Your bank account? Social Security? The environment?

President Clinton balanced the budget and was actually paying off this debt, and the Gore administration could have paid it off entirely by 2010. I hope those of you who voted for these greedy Republican slimes lose considerable sleep over your bad choice of leaders.

Dump the Duck!

As Keith Olbermann might say "Bruce Tinsley, today's worst person in the worrrrrld!"

In case you don't know, Bruce Tinsley is the creator of a comic strip called Mallard Fillmore. It's written specifically to appeal to war-loving, science-hating, bible-thumping neanderthals. It serves absolutely no useful purpose except to boil the blood of intelligent, rational people. Comic editors tend to run the strip for no other reason than they think it "balances" liberal strips like Doonesbury. (Comic editors are not known for their senses of humor. Trust me.)

So it comes as no surprise that today's strip ridicules the sad reality of global warming. I mean, have you looked out your window? Have you noticed that 2006 is the hottest summer on record...worldwide? Are you aware that temperature records are being broken every day? And it's not just today's Mallard Fillmore that takes the subject to imbecilic task as it's been unrelentingly critical of the hard science in this matter since it became public record.

For  more reasons than just his stance on global warming it's time to relegate this travesty of a comic strip to the dustbin of history and allow  more enlightened, and funnier, creators have their say. In the same way that recycling will help save this planet by ever so little bit, so too will removing such garbage from the public purview. If your local newpaper runs this strip, please write or call them and ask them to replace it as soon as possible. There are many, better, alternatives strips. Thanks!

Make Levees, Not War!

If you know what it means to miss New Orleans then why not share it with those around you? Hot off the CafePresses and only $10 a pop it's the official "Make Levees, Not War" t-shirt in glorious TackyVision. Click here to visit the Infinite Cat Store and snag a copy before the aliens come and take us all home to Altair IX, a 100% Vogon-free planet.

In Case You're Wondering How I Feel About South Dakota These Days...

If you believe in the 100% sanctity of life then I want to see your evangelical ass raising holy hell in front of the Children's Hospital the next time a pair of conjoined twins go under the knife...especially when one is doomed to die as a result of the operation.

Hard choice? You're damned right it is.

If you believe in God's perfect plan for all of us, as do the Jehovah's Witnesses, then protest maniacally the next time some poor bastard thinks the 30-pound cycst riding next to his liver ought to be excised surgically.

Can some of those of a religious nature be too blinded by their own imagined divinity to miss the forest for the trees? You're damned right they do.

If you really think that every person deserves the right to live a full meaningful existence then quit supporting wars fought for the benefit of weapons manufacturers and oil companies. Think of all the retroactive abortions you can prevent just by setting your thermostat to 60 degrees. It's a start.

An 8-week-old blastocyst isn't much different from that little white globby thing attached to an egg yolk, yet you'll happily gobble them Grade A suckers up by the dozen. The only difference is sometimes that little glob of goo grows up to be a South Dakotan senator who thinks he speaks for all eggs.

Just not this one.

Bon appetit', America.

Brother Mike Lays It All Out

11-5-05: The Republican-controlled Senate just passed a deficit-reduction bill that will save the government money by clamping down on prescription drugs, agriculture support, and the Medicaid program. This will, they say, save $35 billion over the next five years.

Next they're going to pass an even more draconian bill that cuts food stamps, Medicaid, student loans, agricultural subsidies and child support enforcement. This supposedly will save $54 billion over the next 5 years.

This isn't too surprising since Republicans loathe the poor, I mean REALLY hate them, but what's truly remarkable about this is that our Congress will soon take up consideration of another $70 billion tax cut for the rich.

This seems monumentally feeble-minded and suicidal on the part of the Republicans to attempt this at this juncture but here's why they're doing this:

When the Republicans are deservedly tossed out of office in 2008, leaving the U.S. Treasury in tatters, the new Democratically-controlled government will have no choice but to raise taxes. Massive taxes.

And then the Republicans will address the "wackos", their own description of their fundamentalist base, and say "There they go again. Raising taxes. Just like a Democrat" and we'll start this crap all over again about "tax and spend Democrats".

I just want to be very clear about this right now:

I am not of a religious bent, but I really and fervently hope that there is a hell. Because if there's anyone living on this Earth today that richly deserves to spend all eternity standing on their heads in a dark pit filled with their own shit then that is certainly these greedy, blood-thirsty, arrogant bastards with an "R" after their names who stalk the halls of government.

The Infinite Fat Cat

Kelly H. offered a whole new take on the Infinite Cat experience this morning. More like "The Infinite Fat Cat", really. Political animal that I am, I was exceedingly delighted about the image and the story behind it. Click the picture to the left to read the story in his own words. Would that we all had such contemplative pussycats.

Purrrrimate Politics - by Mobius

10-11-05: My monkey looked like he was disturbed about something so I jumped on his lap and stared at him. He looked back at me like I was a cat, which is okay because I am a cat. I responded by showing him my ass. He hates that.

It turns out that he was grousing about stolen elections again, which is a pretty popular subject around here. From what I understand, you apes select your leader by going in a closet and choosing one from among several other apes. The only ones who know who you picked are you and the monkeys who tabulate the result, and if they happen to be receiving piles of unmarked bananas under the table from one of the candidates then even a cat can understand how you might just have a problem.

The answer, to me, is pretty obvious, which is to get rid of the secret ballot. Humans are surely smart enough (aren't they?) to figure out how to make such information public, like that internet thing, so that anyone could freely check the accuracy of the vote. If everyone agreed it was on the square then no one would have to sit around all day grousing, neglecting to fill the precious food bowl.

A secondary benefit is that, due to the new transparancy, no one would want to be known as "the monkey who didn't vote". Who knows? Primate peer pressure might even get you to study your choices more closely which means you wouldn't have to vote for Mickey Mouse or Mary Poppins every four years.

But what do I know? I'm just a cat.

Ramen! - by Mobius

10 -11-05: We cats are famously agnostic since it's clear that not even an all-powerful, omnipotent deity could personally conceive of a creature so perfect as a cat. But the day comes when even a reasoned, self-assured pussycat like myself desires answers to life's niggling questions such as "Why are we here? Why isn't my food bowl filled? Why would anyone lick their own butt?"

And so forth.

Which is why I've become a proud member of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

Having accepted FSM's noodly goodness as my personal saviour I've found my napping frequency has increased (Hallelujah!), my hairballs are much smaller (Ramen!) and although the butt-licking still troubles me it now tastes slightly more like beef by-products. Pasta be praised!

Neocon Constructor Fleet

8-30-05: Paraphrased from Douglas Adams "Restaurant At the End of the Universe":

"Neocon's are simple-minded, thick-willed, slug-brained creatures, and thinking is not really something they were cut out for. Anatomical analysis of the Neocon reveals that its brain was originally a dyspeptic liver. The fairest thing you can say about them, then, is that they know what they like, and what they like generally involves hurting people and, whenever possible, getting very angry.

One thing they don't like is leaving a job unfinished, for various reasons.

It has been said that Neocons are not above a little bribery and corruption in the same way that the sea is not above the clouds, and this was certainly true in this case. When this Neocon heard the words "integrity" or "moral rectitude" he reached for his dictionary, and when he heard the chink of ready money in large quantities he reached for the rule book and threw it away."


So, from now on, I don't use the word 'Neocon'. I'm using 'Vogon'.

Ida-Know

8-24-05: Boy, them liberal colleges must really teach a funny brand of history. I'm talking about Yale, where George Bush matriculated.

You see, during Mr. Bush's recent speech in Idaho he equated the travails involved in the creation of the American Constitution to that of the new Iraqi version.

So let me see if I have this straight... back in 1774 Britain invaded the American colonies, virtually wiping out the colonial armies in a period of 15 days. King George (Oh, the irony) then installed puppet leaders in all the states, some of whom had previously worked as spies for Britain or had close ties to the resource trade. For the two ensuing years, George's armies ran roughshod over the populace, killing over 100,000 Americans in their search for insurgents, or "patriots" as they were then called.

In 1776 this group of puppets developed a Constitution that effectively split the country into three sections, took control of the country's resources out of the hands of the people, turned the legal system over to the Church and, just to prove that they were mired in the antedeluvian mindset of the 1770's, specifically excluded women from the political system.

This is called the "C Student" version of American History.

And in case you're wondering, the current president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, used to be a consultant for the oil giant, Unocal, the same company that wanted desperately to build an oil pipeline in Afghanistan but were rebuffed by the Taliban. The oil pipeline, running the entire length of Afghanistan, is now in place.

Gee. Imagine that.

As for 'free Iraq', its former head, Iyad Illawi, had close ties to both the CIA and MI6. Its current leader, Jalal Talabani, not only had close ties with the CIA but also with Iran's intelligence agencies. Neither of these men are exactly from the same mold as George Washington.

Cindy Sheehan- by Mobius

8-14-05: You humans are puzzling creatures. You're willingly gathered into large groups by your leaders and then sent to destroy groups of other humans led by their own representatives. The end result is, if history is any judge, just a lot of death as nothing really changes. The land, and most of the people of the enemy, remain just as it was and the people continue to function as best they can until they get the chance to raise a new army and start another war. Then the cycle continues.

What's clear is that humans seem to enjoy the opportunity of  killing their own kind way out of proportion to the small improvement it makes to their society as a whole.

Currently, America is killing a lot of people in Iraq and, from what I understand, there was no real reason for taking this action. In my feline world, if an aggressive band of cats decided to kill neighboring cats they'd be quickly hunted down and destroyed. Human armies, on the other hand, never suffer this fate and are instead hailed as heroes... unless the inevitable Viet Nam or Third Reich boils away to nothing and then the conquered races all try to forget anything ever happened. The one lesson they learn is to look for easier targets next time.

So just when you think that humans can't get any worse in terms of their relations to one another I see one mother of a soldier dare to stand at the edge of the property line of the symbolic homestead of her leader and ask "Why did my only son have to die?" and I begin to think there's hope for you all.

But what do I know? I'm just a cat.

God's Telephone Company

Did you know that AT&T is selling hard-core kiddie porn, MCI is supporting pedophilia, and that Verizon trains its employees to accept gay and lesbian lifestyles? That's what an Oklahoma-based Xtian phone company is telling people when it tries to convince them to switch to its coverage.

Fortunately for us, the company called a New York comedian named Eugene Mirman who taped their sales pitch and had a bit of hilarious sport at their expense in the process. Click my picture to listen to this most entertaining and frightening business philosophy.

Just Another White Monkey Boy - by Mobius

7-20-05: Of all the monkeys that George Bush (actually, Karl Rove) could pick as Sandra Day O'Connor's replacement, he chooses an anti-choice, anti-environment, religious fundamentalist white male. Gee, who'd a thunk?

It's almost like Generalissimo Francisco Monkey Boy (actually, Dirty Karl Rove) picked the most politically objectionable hunk of cheesecake available to, ohhhh, I dunno, afford the media something to dangle in front of the public's eyes, like a combination catnip-and-mouse-toes pate' wrapped in a shiny ball of tinfoil, while Dirty Karl tries desparately to squirm his way out of being sent to the Kitty Litter Hotel. (The odds are favorable that he'll get sent up. The odds are better that the Big Monkey Boy will pardon him on his way out the door in 2009.)

This selection is only meant to stir up public controversy, and when he's dismissed as untenable, as he hopefully will be, the Bush Crime Family will roll out another conservative selection who'll seem moderate by comparison and who will, unfortunately, gain the bench and proceed to 'Clarence Thomas' your rights as Americans away even further.

In Case Ya Hadn't Noticed...

7-30-05: Believe it or not, there are no rules when it comes to web sites. Content and form are almost completely unregulated. You are allowed, as author, to pretty much do whatever you want, yet some people don't see it that way. I've received the occasional email from well-intentioned folks who have opined that my mix of cats and politics is not exactly kosher. This is, of course, pure hogwash to anyone who understands what happens when you put two cats that hate each other in the same washing machine...not that I'd ever do that, you understand. 

With this in mind I would like to share with you a typical email, though one of the more civil ones, which I've received, along with my response. This is important because I'm all-wise and all-knowing and you should consider yourself fortunate to be the recipient of such impressive intellectual largesse'.

<grin>

You can choose to root for either side you wish as that's the American Way:

Dear Mike;

I like the cat thing (we have 6) and I like the Mac thing (we have 10ish? but most are in a closet). However, it seems that every time someone creates a cute website, they have to go political on us. Keep it funny, and put the political blogs onto another site so labeled. The death grip is definitely NOT in the hands of the conservative. It was a sad thing to see what started as a fun, whimsical project turn into an opportunity for political bashing. Keep it on the cats. - Claire


Hi Claire!

Conservatives own the media (yes, liberals make the media but conservatives decide what gets shown), they own all the industry (except for Ben & Jerry. Love that ice cream!), and they control the three arms of our government, even to the point of making our choice of president for us. How you can even, for one second, not understand that this is anything BUT a 'death grip' is beyond my meager comprehension.

The tone of my polemics would be very different indeed if we had a government that was truly interested in the betterment of its people. All I've witnessed so far from these idealogues is a group of rich, white, oil-men hell bent on acquiring as much power and control and money as possible, and the health of the planet and its people be damned. Bush is just another puppet controlled by basically the same group of men who instructed Reagan, that poor, Alzheimer-addled bastard, in what to say and do. I mean, the man, as president, once forgot his own name during a press conference.

I'll continue spreading my two cents as long as I'm allowed to freely criticize the government (just TRY going to a Republican function with a pro-democratic t-shirt or bumper sticker) but you've given me food for thought. In future I'll attempt to adjust my message so it's a bit more entertaining but, believe me, no one culpable will escape the gunsights. - mike stanfill

Send your hate mail here.

Impeach Bush

7-10-04: I do little to hide the fact that I'm a staunch radical democrat, so you can imagine my delight when even the corporate-owned media can't hide the fact that Bush and his cronies have been running a tremendous con game in their 'war on terrorism'. I've known all along they were lying about WMD's and their reasons for invading Iraq and now the information has finally filtered past the network censors and into the hearts, and hopefully minds, of the American people.

A recent Zogby poll revealed that almost 43% of Americans favor Bush's impeachment should the evidence prove unassailable. That's an amazing figure considering the number of Americans who only get their news from Dave and Jay's opening monologues, but it's a number certain to increase unless the Neocons change the subject by manufacturing another Pearl Harbor like 9-11. (You don't REALLY think Bush just 'happened' to be in Florida that morning, did you?)

If you're pissed-off about this as much as I am visit impeachbush.org, or davidcorn.com, or infowars.org, or michaelmoore.com, or airamericaradio.com, or markfiore.com. Learn more. Get interested. Sign the petitions. Put a sign on your lawn. Wear a t-shirt. Do something.

Hartz Mountain kills pets, not just fleas!

I prefer to use Advantage or Frontline to keep my two cats flea-free, and they both work great, but recently I gave Hartz's flea-and-tick treatment a try on my male cat and was THAT ever a mistake. For about three days he was in a daze and kept staggering about, but he's a hardy soul and the effects soon wore off. I decided to check the net to see if anyone else had reported a problem like this and I stumbled upon www.hartzvictims.org, whereupon I learned I got off easy as this web site hosts story after appalling story of pets who died horrible deaths upon the application of these products. Spread the word.

UPDATE 6-8-05: Today Hartz Mountain announced they'd be pulling several of their dangerous flea and tick products off the shelves by March of 2006. This was due to over 7000 complaints and an ongoing class-action suit filed against them in New York in 2001. Yayyyyy!

Have You Seen Notail?

7-5-05: While scouting the net recently for a picture of a storm drain (Don't ask!) I chanced upon a picture of a cute little black kitten. I'd seen a million such pictures on Google Images before but the URL attracted my attention: www.notail.com. Curious I checked it out and the story broke my heart so I thought I'd share it and see if anyone out there can help.

It concerns a tail-less cat (he was born that way) named 'Notail' who disappeared one day last year. Now, lost cats are very common but it was the owners unflagging determination to find her lost cat that I felt was worth sharing. So far, in the past year, she's spent untold hours and spent over $4000 trying to find Notail. She has almost literally left no stone unturned.

So, if you live in the San Gabriel, California area, go visit her web site for all the details. Drop her a line for a little moral support. I'm sure she'd appreciate it.

Randi Rhodes before the House Media Bias Forum

Randi Rhodes is a widely-syndicated talk show host and one of the wisest and most intelligent women it has ever been my pleasure to encounter. She was voted Most Outstanding Woman in the Air Force in 1979 and won the American Women in Radio and Television Award for Best Entertainment Programming. You can listen to her streaming radio program from 2PM-6PM CST at airamericaradio.com.

One of her pet peeves is the continuing consolidation of the public airwaves by conservative corporate entities. If you think there's truly a "liberal media" then I have a bridge, a swamp or two, and a war in Iraq to sell you.

On May 24th, 2006 Ms. Rhodes appeared before the House Media Bias forum and spent 15 minutes giving her opinion of the crisis that informational media in America faces. It was such a moving and enlightening performance I decided share it with you by converting her testimony into a Flash movie, a movie which you can view by clicking Randi's thumbnail image.

Incidentally, Ms. Rhodes' claim of Conservative news bias is amply supported by the fact that no broadcast source, even C-SPAN, televised the forum. The only public airing it received was thanks to Air America Radio.

It's official...Bush lied about Iraq.

5-11-05: A major story about the reasons, or non-reasons, for invading Iraq broke when the London Sunday Times reported a leaked document that revealed the U.S. government was preparing to "fix the (facts) around the policy". Got that? It's a nuanced way of saying "lie their asses off". The memo, which came from a source within England's MI6, has been "properly vetted" and even Tony Blair affirmed its validity. But you've probably never heard of this smoking gun because the U.S. corporate media  is avoiding it like the plague because it was too busy following the exploits of the Runaway Bride.

I knew from the beginning that the invasion of Iraq was illegal, and immoral, but now there's proof. Wake up. Smell the coffee. Demand Bush's head on a platter.

You can read the whole story here.

Anti-Social Security....

5-02-05: So the Boy King is saying that the Social Security trust fund is going bankrupt. It isn't but, even so, there'd be plenty of money to keep it 100% funded in 2042 if:

(1) George Bush had not wiped out Bill Clinton's federal surplus by giving it all to the rich, via tax cuts, on the pretense that they'd (Bwahhhhhh-ha-ha-ha-haaaa!) create new jobs.

(2) Bush had not squandered $300 billion dollars, and counting, on this phony war in Iraq. And for what? Saddam? WMD's? Democracy? The answer, in case you're curious, is Israel.

So, when the Neocons finally hand over what's left of the trust fund to the bankers on Wall Street to fund the world's biggest Ponzi scheme just think for a minute about all those employees that put their pension money in Enron's hands. People who work ONLY to make money don't care who they hurt.

On Existence....

4-20-05: I found this on the net today and found it a very profound comment on the Terri Shiavo debacle. Enjoy.

The following was recorded in 1993 by a comatose man who awoke for only 5 minutes, turned to his wife and said only this….

“So there I am sitting in my living room watching my cats fight when all of a sudden I see a flash of light. It came from the direction of my kitchen, so I go over to investigate. As I enter I hear a rumbling in the oven. I open the oven door and then BAM! There’s a flash and I’m gone. A gas explosion destroyed the entire apartment.

So I ask myself, does any of this matter? Do the cars, the homes, the clothes, the CD’s, the food, the sex, the drugs, the health….does any of this matter? In a dream I once talked to myself. We were sitting in a 70’s style diner in Hollywood drinking coffee and we had the most meaningful conversation. I told myself that everything was going to be okay. That the world as I know it was also just a dream. That reality is just a dream. We talked about string theory and alternate dimensions. I asked myself if I created all of this darkness. I told myself that it’s just inverted light. Can you imagine my horror when I discovered that all things are connected in an ever revolving circle. Where’s the freedom? Where’s the choice? Where’s the incentive to do better? My old body is dead, the dream is dead.
So now I’m in this new dream. I inhabit this new body. This new person sits in front of a computer for 40 hours a week. I am repeating the mistakes of the last body. The explosion almost made me forget all of the living that I missed out on. Why am I still here talking? I should be living. You should be living too.”

The man immediately fell back into the coma and died shortly thereafter. I'm sure this happens a lot....

Going, going....

4-13-05: As of 2006 experts believe we will have extracted almost all of the easy-to-find oil from this small and fragile planet and from here on out availability of petroleum will increasingly be more expensive and hard to get.

So what do you care? As long as you can put gas in your SnowCat, regardless of the cost, you're golden, right?

Sorry, but it's worse than that. Worse even than you could have possibly imagined. To start with, what happens to the American way of life when there's no fuel available to power the ships that stock our Walmarts with insanely cheap industrial goods?

For further alarming details, I invite you to first read the San Francisco Chronicle's own Mark Morford for his signature take on the subject:

Click here to read Mark Morford's column.

Then read the Rolling Stone's James Kunstler to really set your hair on fire.

Click here to read James Kunstler's story.

Yes, they're both gloom-and-doom stories, but it's about the kind of events that can, and will, eventually befall us all, unlike all that "rapture" crapola.

Mr. Answer Man

4-1-05: There's a reason they don't let George Bush answer too many questions from the public. I mean, the man obvously has no conviction for the sickening excretia that dribbles from his own mouth. The following dialogue is from a Feburary 4th, 2006 "town meeting":

WOMAN IN AUDIENCE: I don't really understand. How is it the new [Social Security] plan is going to fix that problem?

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Because the -- all which is on the table begins to address the big cost drivers. For example, how benefits are calculated, for example, is on the table. Whether or not benefits rise based upon wage increases or price increases. There's a series of parts of the formula that are being considered. And when you couple that, those different cost drivers, affecting those -- changing those with personal accounts, the idea is to get what has been promised more likely to be -- or closer delivered to what has been promised. Does that make any sense to you?

It's kind of muddled. Look, there's a series of things that cause the -- like, for example, benefits are calculated based upon the increase of wages, as opposed to the increase of prices. Some have suggested that we calculate -- the benefits will rise based upon inflation, as opposed to wage increases. There is a reform that would help solve the red if that were put into effect. In other words, how fast benefits grow, how fast the promised benefits grow, if those -- if that growth is affected, it will help on the red.

---------

That's our little puppet president.

Hot Gas

4-1-05: The rest of the world isn't too impressed by the fact that gas prices in the U.S. have hit record levels and probably won't go down any time soon. This is the fault of the Bush administration being in flagrante delecto with the oil companies for the past four years. There was no good reason for Exxon/Mobil to make an $8 billion dollar profit last quarter (that's three months!) highest in their history except for the fact that George Bush lives and breathes to make them as much money as possible.

In fact, one of the reasons the U.S. invaded Iraq was to control the oil and, by over-producing, drive the oil cartels to their knees. Unfortunately, it proved hard to produce oil in Iraq when the pipelines were being attacked daily so the oil companies used the instability to drive speculation on oil prices sky high and reaped those obscene profits.

So not only are we paying 75% more for gas than we did in 2000 but we're paying for it using a dollar that's lost 30% of its value over those four years. And the money you spend on this gas goes to the very countries that fund terrorism. So instead of enacting legislation to make America more energy self-sufficient the Bush adminsitration backs drilling for oil in fragile ecosystems.

As a final note to display the lack of foresight by the neocons, next year the $2000 credit for buying a hybrid car lapses, while the $25,000 credit for buying a Hummer stays in effect.

The word you're looking for is "insanity".

Hot gas from Washington.

3-17-05: Regardless of the current ridiculously high prices for gasoline, there's no real shortage in oil. There's been plenty for the past four years and yet we're all paying 2/3 more than we paid four years ago. And it's no coincidence that the price of gasoline dipped to its lowest level in years just before the elections and then slowly rose until (Gasp!) it reached its present peak right before the vote on opening the Alaskan wildlife refuge for petrochemical rape and pillage. And in this time the oil companies are reporting record profits.

President Clinton paid a heavy price for getting caught playing "hide the pocket veto" with an intern. I just have to wonder why the public isn't as up in arms over the fact that president Bush has had the grizzled phallus of the oil companies wedged solidly up his maladjusted rictus from the beginning of his first stolen term and has accordingly altered public policy almost solely to provide them with maximum profits.

Just sayin', is all.

Follow-up, 3-18-05: I'm smarter than I thought. Mere hours after posting the above rancorous rant the BBC ran a story outlining the White House's secret war for oil, planned long before 9-11. You can read the story here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/4354269.stm

Purr Differently!

I recently read about a new Internet Explorer security flaw exploited by porn operators. They take control of Windows-based computers through IE using Active X and then force the computer to dial their porn services, eventually costing you time and money. Click here for details.

In my opinion, Microsoft intentionally leaves such flaws in its software so they can make a killing on tech support. And at $125 an hour, they do. If you're tired of the Security Flaw Merry-Go-Round there IS an answer and its name is Macintosh.

Actually, it's called the Mac Mini, Apple's new sub-$500 home computer that's not much bigger than its DVD/CD-RW drive. (See pic at left) It comes ready to use (but bring your own mouse/ keyboard/monitor) and comes preloaded with Apple's famous iLife and Appleworks software, plus Quicken and games for the kids. Buy from Amazon and save on tax as well as get FREE shipping.

If you don't believe me, click here for a great story on the PC-Mac chasm written by Mark Morford, columnist for the San Francisco Gate. His experiences are very similar to my own.

And if you REALLY want to know the difference between PC's and Mac's click here.

730 down, infinity to go!

2-19-05 - The ICP just crossed a Rubicon of sorts as we just added our 730th cat. This means if we never get another submission we officially have enough cats for the 2006 Infinite Cat Project calendar. It'll take a while to design and construct but I'm still on the lookout for a calendar company that might be interested in producing it so that no one has to pay those usurious Cafepress costs. Stay tuned and thanks again to all of you for joining in on the fun!

The 2006 Infinite Cat Calendar is going, going...

Welcome to the year 2006, where we're all traveling in flying cars and we all have robot maids and we all have Infinite Cat Project calendars hanging from our walls....

What's that? You say you don't have the internet's most fabulous web site-based calendar hanging next to your George Foreman Fusion Generator yet? Well, ya better hurry because these will only be available until, ohhhhh, the next calendar is ready for sale, which won't be long now.

To view the 2006 ICP calendar, click here.