How Can Bush Win a War When He's Delusional About the Enemy?

Fear, fear, fear. Notice how much the deceptive rhetoric about terrorism and al Qaeda has increased these past couple of weeks? As the 2008 election gets closer, and the campaign heats up, the Busheviks are ratcheting up the lies and distortions in a last-ditch attempt to cling to power and justify this colossal fiasco known as the Iraq war.

In his press conference Thursday, Bush invoked al Qaeda 30 times as he, as usual, deftly morphed his Iraqi disaster to the one that took place here on September 11, 2001. So much so that the NY Times Friday has a front page article (finally, for crap's sake) devoted to Bush's BS. Later that night, Press Secretary Tony Snow-job told "fair and balanced" Bill O'Reilly that the war is necessary and we gotta keep fighting because al Qaeda still wants to kill us.

And to seal the deal, Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff earlier this week announced that his "gut" says another al Qaeda attack could be headed to U.S. shores this Summer. No major substantive evidence to support his theory, mind you, just some good old fashioned GOP pre-election intuition. And no raising of the color-coded terror alerts, either. I wonder what his gut says about the 8th race at Aqueduct tomorrow. My kid's headed to boarding school in September, and I could use the extra cash.

Fear, fear, fear. These one-trick ponies are relentless, and they will keep turning up the volume on the incendiary terrorism rhetoric right up until the last voter pulls the lever on election day '08. All of which is designed to continue justifying the Iraq debacle and keep Americans afraid...very, very afraid.

But how does Bush intend to win a "war" in which he clearly is misguided and delusional about the enemy we're fighting? How does a supposed Commander-in-Chief lead his nation to "victory" (whatever the hell that is) when he's the only one standing who believes in the mission? By all accounts, the insurgents killing us in Iraq, are Iraqis; holdover Sadaam loyalists, Baathists, Sunnis, Shiites...take your pick. They're killing us because we invaded their country. They're killing us because, according to all the latest polls, they don't want us there. They're killing us because we're now in the middle of their civil war. There is a small faction of terrorists--al Qaeda of Mesopotamia--that's indeed killing our soldiers in roadside bombings and suicide attacks, but they total well under 5000 and did not exist until after the U.S. invasion in 2003, according to the Times. To say AQOM is why we're in Iraq is utterly preposterous and shameful, but that doesn't stop the president.

"The same folks that are bombing innocent people in Iraq," Bush told reporters Thursday, "were the ones who attacked us in America on September the 11th, and that’s why what happens in Iraq matters to the security here at home."

Either he is a liar of criminal proportions, or he's truly delusional and believes his own propaganda. If he's intentionally deceiving the public, then he should be impeached, removed from office, and be thrown in jail as a war criminal. If not, then the President of the United States of America, the most powerful leader of the greatest nation in the world, is sending his soldiers to die in battle where there's no clear enemy. I ask again, how can this impulsive lunatic win his equally insane war if he is clueless as to the mission and the enemy?

It's truly unfathomable how Bush can stand before the press, Congress and the American public and continue to spew this fear-mongering rhetoric--or delusional psychobabble--about Iraq and al Qaeda and the need to "stay the course" despite the facts on the ground, the wishes of the Iraqi people, the monumental dissatisfaction here at home, and the desertion by his own party. He's pathetic, dangerous and ill-equipped to lead our great nation. My stomach literally churns at the thought of having to look at him for another 17 months until he's gone.


On another subject......we could use your help at The Adrienne Shelly Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated in my wife's honor to help carry out her spirit and passion, with the goal of assisting women filmmakers. As you may know, Adrienne was brutally killed in NYC on November 1, 2006. Through the Foundation, her commitment to filmmaking lives on. We've finalized a scholarship with NYU's Tisch School of the Arts/Kanbar Institute of Film; and grants with Columbia University, American Film Institute, NY Women in Film and Television, the Independent Feature Project, and the Nantucket Film Festival. Other initiatives will follow. Please visit our website to learn more about our mission and to make a donation. Every little contribution helps preserve Adrienne's legacy, and to help create something positive out of this horrible tragedy. Thank you.

Adrienne's film "Waitress" opened in theatres May 2nd to incredible rave reviews from the NY Times, LA Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Time, People, Entertainment Weekly, Ebert & Roeper ("Two Thumbs Up"), Leonard Maltin and more. Since then, it's been playing to packed audiences across America. It's a truly wonderful film that you're sure to love. A link to the trailer is below. Enjoy.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox_searchlight/waitress/trailer/

Michael Moore, "Sicko" and the Right Wing Attack Machine

On Wednesday, MSNBC talking-head (and man, what a big head it is) Joe Scarborough was discussing Michael Moore’s new documentary “Sicko” on his morning program. After viewing the film, Scarborough’s only socially-redeeming take-away was that Moore is fat, and as a fat person he therefore should not have the right to call attention to the glaring inefficiencies, amoral behavior and illegal activity of the health care industry. And why, according to Scarborough? Because obesity is rampant in the U.S. and it’s a drain on the system. If Moore cares so much about the health care industry, Scarborough ignorantly railed, then he should lose weight. Am I missing something here? Is this the best the right-wing has to offer as it desperately attempts to defend itself against the shameful cronyism that’s made its pals in the hospital, insurance and pharmaceutical industries disgustingly filthy rich?

But wait, that same day CNN health correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta split hairs with Moore on the Larry King show over their differing claims of how much Cuba spends for health care on each of its citizens. The difference, according to the good Republican doctor, was a whopping $20, the fact of which now proves, of course, that everything in “Sicko” according to the truth-averse right wing, is false. So much so that Gupta had dedicated an entire CNN segment this week to fact-checking the documentary’s overall claims. I guess he felt investigating the health care industry itself was not worth his time.

The reality is, “Sicko” was not presented in any partisan manner. It is unbiased and objective in its indictment of Congress—including both Republicans and Democrats (Hillary Clinton is #2 on the list of Senate recipients of health care industry payoffs)—over its inability to provide universal health coverage and a socialized medicine program like those that exist in every other Western nation. The state of health care in this country is a huge embarrassment, and Moore’s film shines a spotlight on the problem.

As Moore told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer this week, history has proven that he was right about the claims he made in his previous film, “Fahrenheit 911,” which was a scathing expose of the Bushevik lies, deception and corruption. And he says he’s right about those made in “Sicko” as well. We should all believe him.

Moore is a true American hero. A modern-day Tom Paine. Our country needs independent watchdogs like him, especially when our elected leaders have shamefully neglected to carry out their responsibilities to protect and provide for our citizens. Of course ring-wingers hate Moore and his new film. They know he’s right about how they’ve allowed their insurance and pharmaceutical cronies to screw Americans out of their health coverage. They know they are guilty of putting the terrorism-fear-of-God into our citizens to keep them down and controlled. They know they are guilty of diverting their attention away with non-issue distractions such as gay-marriage. And they know Americans are much smarter today, and angrier with Washington, than ever before…and that scares the bejesus out of them as the ’08 election rapidly approaches.

Hopefully, “Sicko” will do for health care what “Fahrenheit-911” did to expose the Bush crimes and start the GOP house of cards falling. I suspect 3-4 years from now we’ll look back on “Sicko” and credit it, at least in part, with finally forcing politicians to improve our nation’s ailing health care system.


On another subject......we could use your help at The Adrienne Shelly Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated in my wife's honor to help carry out her spirit and passion, with the goal of assisting women filmmakers. As you may know, Adrienne was brutally killed in NYC on November 1, 2006. Through the Foundation, her commitment to filmmaking lives on. We've finalized a scholarship with NYU's Tisch School of the Arts/Kanbar Institute of Film; and grants with Columbia University, American Film Institute, NY Women in Film and Television, the Independent Feature Project, and the Nantucket Film Festival. Other initiatives will follow. Please visit our website to learn more about our mission and to make a donation. Every little contribution helps preserve Adrienne's legacy, and to help create something positive out of this horrible tragedy. Thank you.

Adrienne's film "Waitress" opened in theatres May 2nd to incredible rave reviews from the NY Times, LA Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Time, People, Entertainment Weekly, Ebert & Roeper ("Two Thumbs Up"), Leonard Maltin and more. Since then, it's been playing to packed audiences across America. It's a truly wonderful film that you're sure to love. A link to the trailer is below. Enjoy.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox_searchlight/waitress/trailer/

A Few More Words About the iTard Nation

A point of clarity is obviously needed on my piece from yesterday. Apparently, some have completely misinterpreted my central point. Let me be very clear about one thing in particular: my issue is not with Apple, Inc. Many who've posted comments are indeed correct. Steven Jobs is a brilliant entrepreneur. A true visionary who's created revolutionary products that have had tremendous positive impact on society and have literally changed the way we live, work and communicate. Products that I myself are in awe of and use every day. On this point we clearly agree.

But Apple and Jobs are not what's wrong with our culture today. It's the people who seem to care more about high-tech toys and gadgetry than what really matters in the world. Next time you walk down the street observe how many people have a cell phones stuck to their heads or iPod earphones in their ears or Blackberrys between their fingers. We've become a society of people who seem lost in the technology. Go into a cell store and see just how much time our youth devotes to choosing the right phone. Yet, in the 2006 election just 25% of them felt it was worth choosing a new Congress. Go into a coffee house and see how many people are talking to each other versus being alone with their laptops.

Our young people today are Instant Messaging and texting their way through life. Email has become the new "relationship-building" technique. Teenagers who haven't a clue about the Iraq war know about the battle between Apple/iTunes and Universal/Vivendi. The point is, that gleeful young man in the photo represents much of our disaffected, disillusioned, disconnected and disinterested youth. How do we get these young people inspired to show as much enthusiasm for global warming and politics as they have for their iPods? Say what you want about the 60's generation, but back then their relentless protesting brought an end to war. And the media back then focused on truth and justice and brought down a president. Today, our media is fixated more on Paris Hilton, Anna Nicole Smith and who's on line to buy iPhones. Just think: what if the media obsessed on Iraq and the Bushevik crimes and corruption. Might our youth become less indifferent? Might they become as outraged as they are when they learn iTunes may lose a third of its music content?

No, it's not Apple's fault, nor Jobs'. I hope I'm now making that very clear. But the main point is still that until our society takes as much interest in world affairs as in its precious tech-toys, leaders like Bush and Cheney will continue to misuse and abuse the nation's trust and piss on the Constitution.

Why I'm Happy About Libby's Sentence Commutation

So it's official: King George on Monday exercised his powers of clemency to commute the 2 1/2 year prison sentence of Lewis "Scooter" Libby. Did anyone ever really think "Cheney's Cheney" would spend even a nanosecond in jail? But while most of the Democratic world is furious and calling for Bush's head I, on the other hand, am happy and celebrating this joyous moment.

"I respect the jury's verdict," said the King. "But I have concluded that the prison sentence given to Mr Libby is excessive. Therefore, I am commuting the portion of Mr. Libby’s sentence that required him to spend thirty months in prison....My decision to commute his prison sentence leaves in place a harsh punishment for Mr Libby. The reputation he gained through his years of public service and professional work in the legal community is forever damaged."

So why am I celebrating? Because this decision by Bush is the nail in his political coffin...and with it his legacy. He will forever be known as the president who not only committed the worst military/foreign policy blunder in our nation's history, but the one who defiled and made a constant mockery of our sacred Constitution. I am happy because it really doesn't matter anymore whether Libby served time, does it? He's a convicted felon who committed egregious crimes against freedom and free speech, and he's done his job quite well in tarnishing his vile bosses' reputations. But the greater benefit through all this is that it cements Bush's legacy as a de facto criminal himself. There's no doubt left as to Bush's true motivations and blatant disregard for everything we've held sacred in this country for 231 years. And our children's grandchildren, and their grandkids, will be reading about this buffoon and his corrupt administration as long as there are history books.

Hillary Clinton summed it up best: "Today's decision is yet another example that this Administration simply considers itself above the law. This case arose from the Administration's politicization of national security intelligence and its efforts to punish those who spoke out against its policies. Four years into the Iraq war, Americans are still living with the consequences of this White House's efforts to quell dissent. This commutation sends the clear signal that in this Administration, cronyism and ideology trump competence and justice."

Make no mistake: the person George Bush hurt most with this decision is, well, Bush himself.

Apple is Creating a Generation of iTards

I received an email from my pal Nathan Dean the other day. It included some biting commentary about our dispassionate, distracted and disconnected citizenry--especially young people--in America today. Dean's spot-on rant was focused on Apple, Inc., and it included this photo of the victorious young man who was first in line to buy the company's revolutionary new iPhone. "Not a young man that is so passionate about his fellow youngsters fighting an illegitimate war, or a corrupt executive branch," Dean railed, "but the face of the majority of our youth and much of our country."

We have become the iTard nation. A subculture of bazillions of disciples of their guru and chief Tard Steve Jobs, who've become fallen-down drunk on the "i" kool-aid. iMac, iPod and iPhone is their religion. A whole generation of iTards who seem to care more for the state of technology than they do the state of America's domestic and international health. They'll wait on line for days to buy this newest of i-gadgetry, but just ask them why we're in Iraq. Or who Bush's cabinet is comprised of. Or who the 2008 presidential candidates are. Or what the burning issues of the day are. Their political apathy and indifference can be mind-numbing. Victory for them is not bringing our 150,000 soldiers home from war without any further casualties. No, for these iTards victory is scoring two of these frighteningly efficient toys that can do just about everything but wipe your iAss.

This year we are celebrating the 40th anniversary of the fabled Summer of Love. Yet in 1967, students and society in general were rabidly curious about, and passionate for, national and world affairs while their 2007 contemporaries are essentially comatose. What a sorry state we live in today. No wonder the Busheviks have been able to trample on the constitution with reckless abandon. The nation has been too busy making Steve Jobs rich to notice.


On another subject......we could use your help at The Adrienne Shelly Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated in my wife's honor to help carry out her spirit and passion, with the goal of assisting women filmmakers. As you may know, Adrienne was brutally killed in NYC on November 1, 2006. Through the Foundation, her commitment to filmmaking lives on. We've finalized a scholarship with NYU's Tisch School of the Arts/Kanbar Institute of Film; and grants with Columbia University, American Film Institute, NY Women in Film and Television, the Independent Feature Project, and the Nantucket Film Festival. Other initiatives will follow. Please visit our website to learn more about our mission and to make a donation. Every little contribution helps preserve Adrienne's legacy, and to help create something positive out of this horrible tragedy. Thank you.

Adrienne's film "Waitress" opened in theatres May 2nd to incredible rave reviews from the NY Times, LA Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Time, People, Entertainment Weekly, Ebert & Roeper ("Two Thumbs Up"), Leonard Maltin and more. Since then, it's been playing to packed audiences across America. It's a truly wonderful film that you're sure to love. A link to the trailer is below. Enjoy.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox_searchlight/waitress/trailer/

Would Gore Lead the Pack if He Announced? An Informal Air America Poll Says Yes

So let's assume Al Gore enters the presidential race. What next? Would he capture the attention and support of Democratic voters so late in the game? If an informal poll conducted Friday evening during Air America Radio's Rachel Maddow show by stand-in host David Bender is any indication, the answer is yes. By a 3-1 margin, callers stated their support for Gore over Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton. This result is most astonishing given that Gore's not even a declared candidate...yet. Could this be a foreshadowing of what's to come this Fall once The Goracle flings his hat into the crowded ring?

As Bender said of the results of his poll, "it's a landslide." But the real question is, by what margin would he blow past the two leading Dem's when he does actually make his announcement? With Gore actually in the race, I believe, as do many pundits, that Obama and Hillary wouldn't stand a chance against the highly credentialed former vice president.

We continue to believe that Gore will be in the race by October. With a personal fortune worth an estimated $100 million, and the ability to generate bazillions in Internet fundraising--let alone the fact that he's still the darling of several key Democratic fatcat donors--Gore's starting to look more and more promising by the minute. Stay tuned.....


On another subject......we could use your help at The Adrienne Shelly Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated in my wife's honor to help carry out her spirit and passion, with the goal of assisting women filmmakers. As you may know, Adrienne was brutally killed in NYC on November 1, 2006. Through the Foundation, her commitment to filmmaking lives on. We've finalized a scholarship with NYU's Tisch School of the Arts/Kanbar Institute of Film; and grants with Columbia University, American Film Institute, NY Women in Film and Television, the Independent Feature Project, and the Nantucket Film Festival. Other initiatives will follow. Please visit our website to learn more about our mission and to make a donation. Every little contribution helps preserve Adrienne's legacy, and to help create something positive out of this horrible tragedy. Thank you.

Adrienne's film "Waitress" opened in theatres May 2nd to incredible rave reviews from the NY Times, LA Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Time, People, Entertainment Weekly, Ebert & Roeper ("Two Thumbs Up"), Leonard Maltin and more. Since then, it's been playing to packed audiences across America. It's a truly wonderful film that you're sure to love. A link to the trailer is below. Enjoy.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox_searchlight/waitress/trailer/

Is this the Sign We've Been Waiting for About Al Gore Running for President?

On Air America Radio's "Sam and Army" program Thursday morning co-host Sam Greenfield said he has learned that Al Gore has instructed the Harry Walker Agency to cancel all of his scheduled speaking engagements for the next six months, indicating that the former VP has decided to seek the presidency in 2008. "I guess he's running, " Greenfield said.

If this story is true, then it certainly would be a very strong sign that The Goracle is indeed getting ready to announce his candidacy...which I've said many times here will occur by October. Stay tuned...


On another subject......we could use your help at The Adrienne Shelly Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated in my wife's honor to help carry out her spirit and passion, with the goal of assisting women filmmakers. As you may know, Adrienne was brutally killed in NYC on November 1, 2006. Through the Foundation, her commitment to filmmaking lives on. We've finalized a scholarship with NYU's Tisch School of the Arts/Kanbar Institute of Film; and grants with Columbia University, American Film Institute, NY Women in Film and Television, the Independent Feature Project, and the Nantucket Film Festival. Other initiatives will follow. Please visit our website to learn more about our mission and to make a donation. Every little contribution helps preserve Adrienne's legacy, and to help create something positive out of this horrible tragedy. Thank you.

Adrienne's film "Waitress" opened in theatres May 2nd to incredible rave reviews from the NY Times, LA Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Time, People, Entertainment Weekly, Ebert & Roeper ("Two Thumbs Up"), Leonard Maltin and more. Since then, it's been playing to packed audiences across America. It's a truly wonderful film that you're sure to love. A link to the trailer is below. Enjoy.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox_searchlight/waitress/trailer/

"President Bloomberg?" Part II

NYC Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced Tuesday that he's ditching his Republican Party affiliation and becoming an Independent. With that, the 2008 presidential election just got a helluva lot more interesting. And ya know what? Bloomberg's got the chops to actually be our next president, which is why the national news media is now obsessing over this new wrinkle. But it's a subject I wrote about over a year ago in a piece titled "President Bloomberg? The Mayor Says No, But His Actions Say Maybe." Well, his actions now say "Yes."

Here's what I wrote back in May '06:

There's been a lot of chatter lately about a possible '08 run for the White House by New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. Despite repeated denials of a presidential bid, he's been expanding his political horizons by commenting on a wide-variety of national-interest issues such as the environment, illegal immigration, gun control, stem-cell research, intelligent design and gay marriage. Regardless of his broader political aspirations or lack thereof, I happen to think a Bloomberg candidacy has a lot of viability.

It's unlikely he'd be able to win either the Democratic or Republican nomination. But with voters' anger and frustration with Bush and the Republicans never greater, and with their clear lack of enthusiasm for Democrats, the time has never been better for a 3rd party candidate to race down the middle and capture the disenfranchised on both sides. Though such independent candidates have never fared well in American politics, that doesn't mean they never will. What Bloomberg has that no other candidate has is party duality. He's the only one who could say "I've been a Democrat, I've been a Republican, and I can give you the very best of both parties while also giving you the fresh perspective of a Washington outsider who's not beholden to any special interests." He could run on a bi-partisan platform that promises to bring the nation together after more than a decade of unprecedented nastiness between the parties. In an era of unjust war, record deficits, skyrocketing energy costs and rampant corruption, this sort of message could strike a major chord with voters and change history.

Unlike the current White House occupant and "CEO" president, Bloomberg is a highly effective and successful chief executive in both business and politics. His media empire has made him one of the richest people in the world with an estimated $5 billion fortune. This success has translated into political success as mayor of New York. On his watch, NYC has amassed a $5-billion budget surplus; crime has continued to drop; the public education system has been overhauled, and test scores have risen; the streets are cleaner; and tourism has never been stronger.

As if this record wasn't enough to attract voters, consider that his politics represent the mood of a majority of Americans today: socially moderate and fiscally conservative. He's got the track-record, the deep pockets, and the f**k-you attitude towards special interests to appeal to the tens of millions who are fed up with the current state of politics.

The big question is, if he did run, and he didn't win, would he simply be a spoiler as Ralph Nader was in 2000? And if so, who would he pull votes from, the Dems or the Repugs? Stay tuned. I have a feeling we're going to be hearing a lot more about "non-candidate" Bloomberg's candidacy over the next several months.

What a difference a year makes. The GOP's in a state of flux, with no clear frontrunner to give Mayor Mike a run for his endless supply of money. Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani, once the party's "sure thing," has alienated his core conservative base; they're not sure whether they should worry more about his pro-abortion stand, his delusions about the Iraq war, or his penchant for cross-dressing. Sen. John McCain (AZ) has firmly attached himself to Bush's shredded coattails and subsequently watched his campaign self-implode. And Stormin' Mormon Mitt Romney has about as much chance of becoming president as I do. That leaves them with their new great white hope, former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson, who very well might have more skeletons in his closet than a forensic pathologist. Over on the Left, Sen. Barack Obama (IL) is on a fast train to nowhere, while the ever-posturing, always polarizing Sen. Hillary Clinton (NY) is pulling away from the pack. But will that pack soon include Al Gore? I say it will, and that could really help The Goracle. An Independent Bloomberg would surely on some level split the GOP ticket. But let's look at it from Bloomy's perspective and assume Gore's not running. That means he goes head-to-head against Hillary and whichever weak candidate the GOP props up. Suddenly, Mayor Mike starts to look like President Mike.

Maybe Bloomberg-as-president is what America needs right now. Our two-party system has failed us miserably, and maybe the one true positive legacy of the failed Bush administration is that it made voters sick of the current political process and of politicians in general. And only Bloomy can run as a "non-politician." Unlike our current "CEO President," who's truly not equipped to run the corporate mailroom let alone the boardroom, Bloomberg essentially turns everything he touches into gold.

I am more convinced now than I was a year ago that Bloomberg will indeed run, and quite possibly forever change America's political system in the process.

Fear-Mongering Giuliani Losing Ground to Clinton

Is the American voting public finally getting fed up with Republican politicians who continue to spew the infuriating and offensive rhetoric that the Iraq war and the 9/11 attacks are connected? Are they sick and tired of the GOP's playing the politics-of-fear game? If a new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll is any indication, the answer is yes.

Back in March, former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani led Democratic front-runner Sen. Hillary Clinton (NY) 47%-42%. The new numbers are in, and the table has turned on Giuliani, as he now trails Hillary 48%-43%..and has seen former Tennessee Senator and TV star Fred Thompson hot on his trail, leapfrogging over McCain into second place among GOP candidates.

What's causing this downturn for the GOP's most famous crossdresser? In the recent Democratic debate, Clinton came off extremely polished, poised and presidential. Her star is rising. To the contrary, at the recent GOP debate, Rudy, like his fear-mongering counterpart Sen. John McCain (AZ), seemed utterly delusional and out of touch. Unbelievably, both McCain and Giuliani continue lying through their teeth about the origins and justifications for the war, and the need to continue the carnage. Despite the fact that four years after the invasion not one reason the Busheviks gave for toppling Saddam has been proven out (WMD, ties to Al Qaeda, Yellowcake uranium purchases, etc), Giuliani still invokes the 9/11 attacks at every possible turn, especially when justifying his delusional position on the war. Despite the facts on the ground that would indicate the war is out of control, that the Bush "surge" has been a lesson in futility, and that victory is but a fantasy, Giuliani's been pounding the hawkish table on this debacle. And it's all about fear, fear, fear. Big bad scary terrorists are swallowing up Iraq. "We gotta fight 'em over there so we don't have to fight 'em over here" is the popular refrain of the GOP fear-mongers. "If we pull out of Iraq they'll follow us home." Puh-leeze. Somebody get me a barf bag.

Apparently voters are finally sick of this deceptive rhetoric, and it shows in Rudy's numbers. Let's get it straight: the invasion of Iraq was planned well before the 9/11 attacks. The attacks simply gave the insane White House Iraq Group the justification they were looking for to bring down Saddam. We are not fighting the 9/11 terrorists in Iraq. 95% of those we're fighting are Iraqi insurgents who themselves are embroiled in civil war. There was no connection between the 9/11 attacks and Iraq. No alliance between Saddam and Al Qaeda. In fact, the secular Saddam hated the Muslim extremists, and vice-versa with bin Laden. If we pull out of Iraq, we face no threat whatsoever from Kurds, Sunnis and Shiites "coming to America to kill us." These factions--the Iraqi people--do not want us in their country. Statistics published in Sunday's NY Times show that an overwhelming majority of Iraqis believe their country is headed in the wrong direction. What does that say four years, $300 billion and 3400 dead U.S. soldiers later?

This relentless morphing of 9/11 into Iraq has finally disgusted voters to the point that those who continue to be guilty of the deception--Giuliani and McCain in particular--are being pounded to the pavement. I guess if you insult the intelligence of the American people long enough, they will eventually come back swinging. Let's hope the rejection of these shameless fear-mongers continues unabated.


On another subject......we could use your help at The Adrienne Shelly Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated in my wife's honor to help carry out her spirit and passion, with the goal of assisting women filmmakers. As you may know, Adrienne was brutally killed in NYC on November 1, 2006. Through the Foundation, her commitment to filmmaking lives on. We've finalized a scholarship with NYU's Tisch School of the Arts/Kanbar Institute of Film; and grants with Columbia University, American Film Institute, NY Women in Film and Television, the Independent Feature Project, and the Nantucket Film Festival. Other initiatives will follow. Please visit our website to learn more about our mission and to make a donation. Every little contribution helps preserve Adrienne's legacy, and to help create something positive out of this horrible tragedy. Thank you.

Adrienne's film "Waitress" opened in theatres May 2nd to incredible rave reviews from the NY Times, LA Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Time, People, Entertainment Weekly, Ebert & Roeper ("Two Thumbs Up"), Leonard Maltin and more. Since then, it's been playing to packed audiences across America, and is currently #6 in America. It's a truly wonderful film that you're sure to love. A link to the trailer is below. Enjoy.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox_searchlight/waitress/trailer/

What Bill Clinton Told Me About Al Gore

I had the pleasure of meeting former president Bill Clinton at a party held at Air America president Mark Green's Manhattan apartment Thursday evening in celebration of the purchase he and his brother--real estate magnate Stephen Green--made of liberal radio network Air America back in March. The event was a veritable lovefest, with Clinton signing autographs, posing for pictures, and chatting with anyone who approached him. After experiencing it firsthand, it's easy to understand his legendary charisma and larger-than-life presence. The man is a certifiable rock star . No one like him before (not even JFK) and probably never again. He's a once-in-a-lifetime political phenomenon. And he was in his element as he addressed the adoring crowd for about fifteen minutes on the upcoming presidential election and the critical role the liberal media plays for the Democratic Party in today's political landscape.

When I found myself literally standing next to a surprisingly unengaged Clinton as we were about to watch an Air America promotional video on Green's large-screen television, I leaned over and asked him "Do you think Gore's going to run?" With his arms crossed and one hand resting on his chin in a true Clintonesque pose, he leaned into me and replied, "I don't know, he could. Someone's got to fizzle. If someone fizzles, then yeah he could enter the race. He's got plenty of money, his own money, to do it." He then agreed when I asked if having that kind of personal wealth could mean Gore would be able to wait until the last stages of the campaign before he'd enter the race. I wanted to ask him about that "fizzling" thing--was he referring to his wife Hillary's chief rival Sen. Barack Obama or was he also allowing that as a possibility for Hillary herself?--but the crowd absorbed him. I was lucky to have had as much face time with him as I did.

So here's my own scenario: as I've written here countless times before, Gore will indeed run, and most likely no later than October. To borrow from Bill, it'll be Obama who will "fizzle" by September, and Gore will toss his hat into the ring and enlist the junior Senator from Illinois as his running mate. An unbeatable ticket. Stay tuned......


On another subject......we could use your help at The Adrienne Shelly Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated in my wife's honor to help carry out her spirit and passion, with the goal of assisting women filmmakers. As you may know, Adrienne was brutally killed in NYC on November 1, 2006. Through the Foundation, her commitment to filmmaking lives on. We've finalized a scholarship with NYU's Tisch School of the Arts/Kanbar Institute of Film; and grants with Columbia University, American Film Institute, NY Women in Film and Television, the Independent Feature Project, and the Nantucket Film Festival. Other initiatives will follow. Please visit our website to learn more about our mission and to make a donation. Every little contribution helps preserve Adrienne's legacy, and to help create something positive out of this horrible tragedy. Thank you.

Adrienne's film "Waitress" opened in theatres May 2nd to incredible rave reviews from the NY Times, LA Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Time, People, Entertainment Weekly, Ebert & Roeper ("Two Thumbs Up"), Leonard Maltin and more. Since then, it's been playing to packed audiences across America, and is currently #6 in America. It's a truly wonderful film that you're sure to love. A link to the trailer is below. Enjoy.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox_searchlight/waitress/trailer/

Obama Blows Big Opportunity at Dems' Debate

The Democratic candidates for president in the 2008 election gathered in New Hampshire Sunday for another round of posturing and rhetoric. Media darling Sen. Barack Obama (IL), when tossed the mother of all softballs when asked if President Bush was keeping us safe from terrorist attack, failed to hit the home run, choosing instead to play it like a gentleman (message to Obama: gentlemen--especially those of Democratic persuasion--do not get elected president). While saying that we are indeed less safe since 911, not more, he did give Bush credit for "some things." This is not the time for Obama, or any Democrat for that matter, to jab with kid gloves. What the presidential hopeful should have forcefully, and passionately, said is this:

"The September 11th attack came on Bush's watch, despite doing nothing after being warned (August PDB and several Richard Clark missives) that a major attack might be imminent. After a successful invasion of Afghanistan, he took his eye, and our financial and military resources, off bin Laden and al Qaeda, and instead squandered these resources in the colossal, wasteful distraction known as Iraq. Let's remember the first World Trade Center attack occured in 1993, eight years before the 2001 horror...which was only six years ago. Let's not forget how methodically al Qaeda plans its attacks. Let's not be lulled into any false senses of security here. Our ports are still unsecured, as are our Southern and Northern borders. And, unlike Ramsay Yousef and company--perpetrators of the 1993 attack--bin Laden, Ayman Al Zawahiri and other 911 masterminds still roam free while al Qaeda and the Taliban is reconstituting in Afghanistan. And over the weekend we learn of an arrest in a plot to blow up JFK airport in New York. No, sir, we are anything but safe today...and President Bush, and the former Republican-controlled Congress, is directly to blame."

When are we going to have a Democratic candidate who not only has the balls to speak up and speak aggressively on this issue, but is one who is not saddled with the burden of having supported Bush's mess up until campaign time? Well, his name is Al Gore, and I suspect after watching the debate Sunday he'll be even more motivated to enter the race.


On another subject......we could use your help at The Adrienne Shelly Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated in my wife's honor to help carry out her spirit and passion, with the goal of assisting women filmmakers. As you may know, Adrienne was brutally killed in NYC on November 1, 2006. Through the Foundation, her commitment to filmmaking lives on. We've finalized a scholarship with NYU's Tisch School of the Arts/Kanbar Institute of Film; and grants with Columbia University, American Film Institute, NY Women in Film and Television, the Independent Feature Project, and the Nantucket Film Festival. Other initiatives will follow. Please visit our website to learn more about our mission and to make a donation. Every little contribution helps preserve Adrienne's legacy, and to help create something positive out of this horrible tragedy. Thank you.

Adrienne's film "Waitress" opened in theatres May 2nd to incredible rave reviews from the NY Times, LA Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Time, People, Entertainment Weekly, Ebert & Roeper ("Two Thumbs Up"), Leonard Maltin and more. Since then, it's been playing to packed audiences across America, and is currently #6 in America. It's a truly wonderful film that you're sure to love. A link to the trailer is below. Enjoy.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox_searchlight/waitress/trailer/

Why Gore's Time Magazine Interview Says "I'm Running"

The signs are all there. Despite the coy denials, the Washington-outsider positioning, and his status as the global warming rock-star, a position through which he enjoys immense power and freedom, Al Gore is running. Make no mistake. And it has never been more evident than in this week's Time Magazine cover story and interview, The Last Temptation of Al Gore. Consider the following, when The Goracle was asked what it would take for him to run:

"I can't say because I'm not looking for it. But I guess I would know it if I saw it. I haven't ruled it out. But I don't think it's likely to happen."

"I haven't ruled it out," Gore says. Of course he hasn't. The man who's had his eye on the White House for thirty years knows exactly what his chances are this time around, and he's biding his time until the right opening occurs in order to make the biggest splash (most likely when the frontrunners Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton implode on the campaign trail).

"If he ran, there's no question in my mind that he would be elected," says Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. And we all know that Jobs is quite the visionary. The Mac, iPod and Gore. My money's on Jobs' time-tested prescience.

And while Time cites Tipper Gore's frequent couching, even she admits: "If the feeling came over him and he had to do it, of course I'd be with him." That's not quite "Al's definitely not running."

Another sure-fire sign is Gore's new found emphasis on weight-loss. Many a well-respected pundit has said that when Al starts dieting, we can start the countdown to the campaign announcement. Time reports that he's been "dieting and working out hard these days." It's the first time in seven years he's caring about his appearance and we're supposed to believe it's pure coincidence? Fat chance (pun very intended).

On his status as the global warming lightening rod, Gore admits: "I have enjoyed the luxury of being able to focus single-mindedly on this issue. But I am under no illusions that any position has as much ability to influence change as the presidency does. If the President made climate change the organizing principle, the filter through which everything else had to flow, then that could really make a huge difference." There it is. Al Gore placing the greatest power to save the planet firmly in the hands of the Unites States presidency. This opportunity is way too good for him to pass up.

In addition to his 3-decade-long environmental advocacy and his early anti-war stand with regard to Iraq, Gore's been a harsh critic of President Bush, his corrupt administration, and the GOP in general. Messages that are timely and resonate tremendously with voters. His orating is almost messianic to many, and he commands a respectful 12% poll number (same as John Edwards) without even being in the race. Throw in his untouchable dossier--two terms in the Senate, four in the House, eight years as VP, and his Vietnam service--and Gore's about as attractive as they could possibly come for the Dems. An Oscar and Nobel Peace Prize would be delicious icing on his campaign cake. Ya think he doesn't know all this? Get real people. Al Gore is no more gonna sit on the sidelines in '08 than Peyton Manning will in next year's Super bowl.

When Time cited a Buffalo college student's literal begging of Gore to enter the race, complete with a one-kneed "Please, I'll vote for you," The Goracle, with his usual unconvincing coyness, replied "I'm not planning to run." And I'm not planning to be surprised when he announces his candidacy by October.


On another subject......we could use your help at The Adrienne Shelly Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated in my wife's honor to help carry out her spirit and passion, with the goal of assisting women filmmakers. As you may know, Adrienne was brutally killed in NYC on November 1, 2006. Through the Foundation, her commitment to filmmaking lives on. We've finalized a scholarship with NYU's Tisch School of the Arts/Kanbar Institute of Film; and grants with Columbia University, American Film Institute, NY Women in Film and Television, the Independent Feature Project, and the Nantucket Film Festival. Other initiatives will follow. Please visit our website to learn more about our mission and to make a donation. Every little contribution helps preserve Adrienne's legacy, and to help create something positive out of this horrible tragedy. Thank you.

Adrienne's film "Waitress" opened in theatres May 2nd to incredible rave reviews from the NY Times, LA Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Time, People, Entertainment Weekly, Ebert & Roeper ("Two Thumbs Up"), Leonard Maltin and more. Since then, it's been playing to packed audiences across America, and made it to #10 last weekend. It's a truly wonderful film that you're sure to love. A link to the trailer is below. Enjoy.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox_searchlight/waitress/trailer/

My Lunch with Gov. Bill Richardson

New Mexico's Gov. Bill Richardson is a guy who's got the chops to be president. He was a 7-term Congressman. He was Bill Clinton's Ambassador to the United Nations and his Secretary of Energy. He's sat at the negotiating table with the North Koreans, the Palestinians and the Israelis. He's extremely charismatic and has a killer smile. He's downright likable. He just might be the smart, highly qualified guy you'd like to have a beer with.

But Gov. Richardson is not your father's Democrat. He's pro-choice, pro-guns, pro-business and believes the rich get socked with too much taxes. "If you tax the rich too much they'll become destitute," he said. And that's what I like about this guy. He marches to the beat of his own drum.

I joined the Governor for lunch at a friend's office Tuesday as part of a group of about a dozen influential New Yorkers who came to hear the 2008 presidential hopeful discuss the issues and hold an intimate Q&A. Richardson spoke freely and candidly about the Bush administration, the challenges America faces today, and how his 6-point plan makes him the best candidate for the job.

First and most important on his list is the Iraq war. In a break with all the other Democratic candidates, he seeks a complete pullout of US troops by the end of this year. He promises a diplomatic approach that would engage the Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds in building a coalition government. He believes Iraq should be secured by a Muslim peacekeeping force. "I believe in diplomacy first and then using force second, unlike our president who believe in shooting first and then using diplomacy second."

The other positions he discussed, on subjects ranging from energy and the environment to education, health care and jobs creation, are well documented and can be explored on his website. Rather than regurgitate them here, let me just say he makes an awful lot of sense and brings a creative, sincere approach to the process. Talking with him is like talking with a real guy, not a political automaton. Washington could use a fresh thinker like Richardson. He talks of his political "fate" in no uncertain terms when refering to the 'big event' that will likely thrust him into the "first tier" while bouncing one of the current front-runners into the second. Though he cannot articulate just what that event actually will be. Pretty trippy stuff, but you get the sense that he truly believes in his own brand of karma.

Readers of this blog know of my staunch support of Al Gore and my prediction that he will enter the race by October. I asked Richardson if he thought Gore would run, and if he would leapfrog to the head of the pack if he did. The Governor joked that "I don't want him to run!" Actually, I don't think he was joking at all. He said Gore would be a "formidable" opponent, but that he didn't think (read: hope) he would run. That said, should The Goracle continue to lambaste Bush and sound the global warming alarm from afar and not toss his hat into the ring, I could easily throw my support to the affable Governor from New Mexico. Take a look at Richardson. He could very well be the Dems' dark horse candidate.


On another subject......we could use your help at The Adrienne Shelly Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated in my wife's honor to help carry out her spirit and passion, with the goal of assisting women filmmakers. As you may know, Adrienne was brutally killed in NYC on November 1, 2006. Through the Foundation, her commitment to filmmaking lives on. We've finalized a scholarship with NYU's Tisch School of the Arts/Kanbar Institute of Film; and grants with Columbia University, American Film Institute, NY Women in Film and Television, the Independent Feature Project, and the Nantucket Film Festival. Other initiatives will follow. Please visit our website to learn more about our mission and to make a donation. Every little contribution helps preserve Adrienne's legacy, and to help create something positive out of this horrible tragedy. Thank you.

Adrienne's film "Waitress" opened in theatres May 2nd to incredible rave reviews from the NY Times, LA Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Time, People, Entertainment Weekly, Ebert & Roeper ("Two Thumbs Up"), Leonard Maltin and more. In its first weekend, its gross-per-screen finished second to Spiderman 3. It's a truly wonderful film that you're sure to love. A link to the trailer is below. Enjoy.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox_searchlight/waitress/trailer/

Is the "Dieting" Al Gore Preparing to Enter '08 Race? Bloomberg Urges Him to Run

Like bookmakers watch the Vegas odds, political pundits have been closely following former VP Al Gore's weight as a barometer into his presidential ambitions. The theory is, if he sheds the weight he enters the race. On "The Chris Matthews Show," former CBS anchor Dan Rather said "Al Gore is thinking seriously about running. He's beginning to lose weight." Matthews replied, "I hear he's made a commitment to a friend for a crash course to lose 40 pounds right away." Said Rather, "Well, the prosecution rests, your honor." Gore has recently said that his desire to lose weight came after he saw himself at the Oscars and concluded that he was overweight. But as I've been saying on this blog for a year and a half now, Gore will be running, and the sudden emphasis on losing weight is a clear indication of his intention.

The prospect of a Gore candidacy is continuing to garner the attention of prominent politicians. Earlier in the week at the opening ceremony of the Tribeca Film Festival, New York's Mayor Michael Bloomberg urged The Goracle to run. "I hope Al Gore enters the race. I think it would be good for the country." And a new Quinnipiac poll shows Gorefaring better than front-runner Hillary Clinton in key states like Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida. "Mayor Rudoph Giuliani remains the front-runner, but he and the entire Democratic field should wonder if Al Gore will become an inconvenient truth in the 2008 presidential race and go for the biggest Oscar of them all," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

Gore's been playing it real coy while doing everything humanly possible to set his campaign table...from his Nobel Peace Prize nomination and Oscar award to his many engaging TV appearances and fiery anti-Bush political speeches. Factor in his four terms in the House, two in the Senate, eight as VP, his Vietnam service and his positions on the Iraq war and global warming--both of which resonate highly with the majority of voters right now--and he clearly becomes the Democrats' most electable choice for president. And he knows it.

Given the colossal foreign and domestic policy failures of the Bushevik Monarchy, this is the opportunity of a lifetime for Gore to capture the big prize. He's already gone through the vetting process in 2000 and he's skeleton-free. He's the only Democrat who can enter the race at virtually the last minute, with massive funds behind him, and shoot right to the head of the pack. And let's not forget the most important thing from 2000: he's already won the popular vote once before, and, as many believe, the election. Mark my words, Al Gore will not only run, but he will be re-elected.


On another subject......we could use your help at The Adrienne Shelly Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated in my wife's honor to help carry out her spirit and passion, with the goal of assisting women filmmakers. As you may know, Adrienne was brutally killed in NYC on November 1, 2006. Through the Foundation, her commitment to filmmaking lives on. We've finalized a scholarship with NYU's Tisch School of the Arts/Kanbar Institute of Film; and grants with Columbia University, American Film Institute, NY Women in Film and Television, the Independent Feature Project, and the Nantucket Film Festival. Other initiatives will follow. Please visit our website to learn more about our mission and to make a donation. Every little contribution helps preserve Adrienne's legacy, and to help create something positive out of this horrible tragedy. Thank you.

Adrienne's film "Waitress" will hit theatres May 2nd. Early reviews have been terrific. A link to the trailer is below. Enjoy.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox_searchlight/waitress/trailer/

It's Time to Bring Down the Bushevik Monarchy

The recent debate over the Iraq war and the Democrats' push for a withdrawal timetable has made it perfectly clear that George Bush and Dick Cheney are dangerous and delusional, repeatedly defiling the Constitution and ignoring the will of the people. To bolster the Busheviks' reckless war policies Cheney, aka Dr. Evil, tried this week to engage Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (NV) in a pissing contest, but the feisty Democrat fired off the perfect opening and closing salvo: "I’m not going to get into a name-calling match with somebody who has a 9 percent approval rating." Bravo, baby, bravo. It's time to bring down the House of Bush. The Bushevik Monarchy must come to an end.

Back in November the American people sent a loud, overwhelming message to Washington that it disagreed with the Monarchy's foreign policy strategy and that it wanted an end to the war. It kicked Republicans out of office and handed control of Congress to Democrats. Since then, support for the war has dwindled to a small minority of kool-aid drinking Repugs. But does any of this matter to King George and his faithful Court Jester Cheney? Not a chance. They so arrogantly and defiantly march on in Iraq, slandering and maligning anyone or anything that gets in their way. Cheney accuses of Reid of "defeatism" for his recent comments that "the war is lost" but the simple fact is that Reid's statement resonates with a majority of Americans....as well as the facts on the ground.

Message to Bush and Cheney: America is not a Monarchy, and George Bush is not King. They've created this war under false pretenses, and have subsequently botched it on every imaginable level since day-one. They refuse to accept responsibility for the debacle that exists there now, and they ruthlessly attack the patriotism of anyone who dares come out against this military disaster. It's the Busheviks who are the unpatriotic ones. They're nothing but a vicious pack of self-serving, power-hungry draft-dodging cowards who are using the uniforms and bodies of our brave soldiers to prop up their own lack of real testosterone. I still find it mind-blowing that a battle-fearing wimp like Cheney can, on any conceivable level, attempt to smear a true war hero, patriot and military expert like Rep. John Murtha. But alas he will try, and keep trying. Because that's what these cowards do in their quest to hold onto their precious Monarchy.

The Busheviks shamelessly defend their exploitation of our men and women in the military by saying that we on the left who don't support the war therefore do not support the troops. This is irresponsible and reprehensible political rhetoric. The Busheviks and the GOP prides itself on its military prowess, and its support for, and of, our soldiers. Well, what about sending troops to die four years ago in an unjust war? What about failing to properly arm and equip them? What about increasing their tours of duty to 1 1/2 years? What about the outrageous health violations and living conditions at Walter Reade Hospital? What about the lies and cover ups involving Pat Tillman and Jessica Lynch? What about the consistent cutbacks of veterans' benefits? You call this support?

The war is lost and the Monarchy needs to accept that and stop blaming everyone but itself for it. How many soldiers have to die before we bring this conflict to an end? How many years must pass before, like Vietnam, we throw our collective hands up in defeat and say it's time to bring our brave troops home? How long must we as a nation endure the desperate, delusional rein of Bush and Cheney before we can get back on course to being the greatest nation on Earth?

On Tuesday Ohio Congressman and presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich introduced articles of impeachment against Cheney. This came ahead of a series of protests planned for this weekend calling for the impeachment of both Deadeye Dick and King George. Let's just hope this is just the start of something much bigger.


On another subject......we could use your help at The Adrienne Shelly Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated in my wife's honor to help carry out her spirit and passion, with the goal of assisting women filmmakers. As you may know, Adrienne was brutally killed in NYC on November 1, 2006. Through the Foundation, her commitment to filmmaking lives on. We've finalized a scholarship with NYU's Tisch School of the Arts/Kanbar Institute of Film; and grants with Columbia University, American Film Institute, NY Women in Film and Television, the Independent Feature Project, and the Nantucket Film Festival. Other initiatives will follow. Please visit our website to learn more about our mission and to make a donation. Every little contribution helps preserve Adrienne's legacy, and to help create something positive out of this horrible tragedy. Thank you.

Adrienne's film "Waitress" will hit theatres May 2nd. Early reviews have been terrific. A link to the trailer is below. Enjoy.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox_searchlight/waitress/trailer/

The Bushies Lied About Tillman and Lynch

She was the petite war hero. The "Little Girl Rambo from the hills of West Virginia" who was critically injured in a blaze of gunfire in Iraq and was subsequently rescued by American troops from a hospital in Hollywood-like fashion. He was the NFL star-turned-war-hero who actually looked like Rambo and was killed heroically battling the enemy in Afghanistan. At least that’s what the lying Bush administration wanted us to believe since 2003. In Congressional hearings that began Tuesday, testimony and evidence was put forth reinforcing charges that the White House intentionally misled the public over the details of the ambush of Pfc. Jessica Lynch and death of Cpl. Pat Tillman in an effort to keep Americans behind the Iraq war.

Henry Waxman, (D-CA), chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, accused the Bushies of inventing "sensational details and stories" about these two highly publicized incidents. "The government violated its most basic responsibility," said Waxman.

As we now know, the dramatic stories put out by the Bushies about Lynch and Tillman were 100% false. Lynch in fact was taken prisoner after her maintenance convoy went astray and she was ambushed. Tillman met his untimely death at the hands of friendly fire. Lies, lies and more lies by the pathological lying liars who’ve been running our country since 2000. This was government propaganda at its best.

"I am still confused as to why they chose to lie and tried to make me a legend when the real heroics of my fellow soldiers that day were, in fact, legendary," said Lynch. Well, I can answer that one for her. Since it stepped foot into the White House, this administration has been lying through its collective teeth and breaking law after law in order to further its aggressive, reckless right-wing agenda. The amount of lies and misdeeds has been mind-blowing: WMD; Saddam and Al Qaeda connections; yellowcake uranium purchases; nation-building; the real cost of the war; the war’s progress; and illegal wiretappings to name a few. Is it any real wonder why Bush would lie about Lynch and Tillman in a shameless effort to exploit them for partisan political purposes? To use them as pawns in his delusional campaign to keep the public behind the war? This is an administration that was founded on lies, for Pete’s sake.

The real question is, what will the Democratically-controlled Congress do about it now? Will it merely wrist slap these liars as Congress has in the past when Republicans were in charge or will it finally demand accountability this time around? It’s time the legislative branch of government starts doing its job and stops enabling our liar-in-chief. Can you say…impeachment?


On another subject......we could use your help at The Adrienne Shelly Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated in my wife's honor to help carry out her spirit and passion, with the goal of assisting women filmmakers. As you may know, Adrienne was brutally killed in NYC on November 1, 2006. Through the Foundation, her commitment to filmmaking lives on. We've finalized a scholarship with NYU's Tisch School of the Arts/Kanbar Institute of Film; and grants with Columbia University, American Film Institute, NY Women in Film and Television, the Independent Feature Project, and the Nantucket Film Festival. Other initiatives will follow. Please visit our website to learn more about our mission and to make a donation. Every little contribution helps preserve Adrienne's legacy, and to help create something positive out of this horrible tragedy. Thank you.

Adrienne's film "Waitress" will hit theatres May 2nd. Early reviews have been terrific. A link to the trailer is below. Enjoy.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox_searchlight/waitress/trailer/

Harry Reid is Right About the Iraq War

Last week Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (NV) caused a ruckus in Washington by saying that there is no military solution to the Iraqi conflict. That it’s over and it’s time to get out: "I believe myself that the secretary of state, the secretary of defense -- and you have to make your own decision as to what the president knows -- that this war is lost, and that the surge is not accomplishing anything, as indicated by the extreme violence in Iraq yesterday." Republicans were quick to pounce, calling the Democratic leader unpatriotic and unsupportive of our troops, 3300 of whom have died fighting this debacle.

What Reid said is 100% true, and he is not alone. For example, conservative columnist William F. Buckley is also on record saying that the war "has failed." It’s no secret that Iraq has been torn apart and gutted as a result of the Unites States’ March 2003 invasion. The country is mired in civil war, and the violence worsens with each passing day. Let’s face it, Bush is not sending in an additional 20,000 troops because things are going well. Our soldiers are getting killed daily; the troops are forced to do longer tours of duty; and our National Guardsmen are being sent back into battle before they even have a chance to unpack here at home. It’s a disgrace.

Bush and his war-mongering cronies took it upon themselves to invade a sovereign nation under the guise of (a) retaliating against 911; (b) protecting America and Britain from WMD "mushroom clouds;" and then (c) building a stable Democracy in the Middle East. As we now all know, there were no WMD in Iraq; there was no connection to bin Laden and Al Qaeda; and true, sustainable Democracy is but a fantasy. Failure, failure, failure. And the insurgents have been empowered and emboldened by this failure, not weakened. And Bush’s desperate "troop surge" is not going to make one bit of difference in changing Iraq’s military and political landscape.

The Republicans don’t like Harry Reid and his assessment of the war. But too bad. This is not Harry Reid’s mess. This military disaster belongs 100% to Bush and the Republican Party. This is their war. If they don’t like it being called a failure, or that it is "lost," then they should demonstrate its successes and spare us the incessant partisan rhetoric. Stop regurgitating all this BS about progress and success and show it to us.

Bush and the Republicans, in their supreme arrogance, are choosing to ignore the will of the electorate; choosing to forget that a majority of Americans voted for a change in leadership last November, and that the administration’s failed Iraq policy was the primary reason for this changing of the guard. Harry Reid is doing what the American people asked him to do: exercising greater Congressional oversight than when the GOP foxes were the ones guarding the henhouse. Bush and his Iraq War Mob don’t get to run amok in Iraq, causing tens of thousands of deaths, and then expect a free pass here at home on the PR front.

What’s worse, saying those who are against the Bushies’ failed Iraq war are therefore against the troops, is a shameful, despicable political calculation. Sorry George, Sen. Reid and the Democrats just don’t believe that the way to support the troops is to send more of them to die in an unjust, miserable failure of a war that you and you alone created. Kudos to Reid for having the courage to stand up and say what needs to be said.


On another subject......we could use your help at The Adrienne Shelly Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated in my wife's honor to help carry out her spirit and passion, with the goal of assisting women filmmakers. As you may know, Adrienne was brutally killed in NYC on November 1, 2006. Through the Foundation, her commitment to filmmaking lives on. We've finalized a scholarship with NYU's Tisch School of the Arts/Kanbar Institute of Film; and grants with Columbia University, American Film Institute, NY Women in Film and Television, the Independent Feature Project, and the Nantucket Film Festival. Other initiatives will follow. Please visit our website to learn more about our mission and to make a donation. Every little contribution helps preserve Adrienne's legacy, and to help create something positive out of this horrible tragedy. Thank you.

Adrienne's film "Waitress" will hit theatres May 2nd. Early reviews have been terrific. A link to the trailer is below. Enjoy.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox_searchlight/waitress/trailer/

ImusGate Demonstrates What's Really Wrong With America

I've always been fascinated by the phenomenon known as "media frenzy." Why is it that just as one sensational case seems to be in its last throes there's always another that steps right in to take its place: Anna Nicole Smith, meet Don Imus. Is it that the media itself helps create the fodder for the frenzy in some highly manipulative attempt at self-preservation? Just as the dope pusher keeps his users perpetually stoned? I am aghast at how much attention both the media and its trash-addicted public will dedicate to perhaps the least important matters in the country. When there is so many more important issues to report on and stir public debate, the media deftly obfuscates its responsibilities by feeding the beast with diversionary crap. It's sickening. And it's getting worse.

This week the vultures are feeding on ImusGate. The frenzy is out of control. It's hard to imagine that there's any more room on the bandwagon for anyone else to pile on and take a swat at the pathetic shock jock. To be sure, the poor blathering idiot Imus brought this mess on himself last week when he made a moronic, highly offensive comment about the Rutgers women's basketball team, calling them "nappy-headed ho's." As a result, he's been publicly flogged and dragged over the coals non-stop, despite a constant chorus of what I consider to be very heartfelt, genuine apologies. But the vultures do not want apologies. They do not want redemption. And they offer no forgiveness. They want Imus' head on a black platter. MSNBC announced Wednesday that they're canceling his simulcast show. And several major advertisers--including Sprint, GM and American Express--have pulled their sponsorships.

Most people who know me know that I am as liberal as they come. I am a true lefty Democrat, and I champion the rights of women, gays, minorities, the poor and the oppressed. Nothing pushes my buttons more than bigotry, prejudice, ignorance and intolerance. I abhor racism and racists. But I am truly disgusted by ImusGate. The double-standards are mind-numbing. We allow shameless racial-antagonists like the Rev. Al Sharpton to destroy people's lives (Steven Pagones) and then reward them with the honor of running for U.S. president. Rev. Jesse Jackson is still a media darling and respected civil rights leader despite his 1982 "HymieTown slur. We slap the wrists of on-air bigoted criminals like Rush Limbaugh because he's part of a much bigger political machine. Ann Coulter, the right-wing SpinWitch, calls presidential candidate John Edwards a "faggot" and continues to sell millions of books and do talk shows. William Bennett can say that aborting "every black baby in this country" would reduce the crime rate, and he somehow still has a thriving media career. It's ok for MTV and network television execs to poison our children's minds with garbage programming. Corporate America capitalistically attaches itself to gangsta rappers who extol the virtues of drugs, violence and misogyny--where the terms bitches, ho's, muthufucka and nigga' make up just about every lyric--and then in a fit of supreme self-righteousness and sanctimony punishes Don Imus in order to publicly self-cleanse. None of this excuses the racist comment Imus made, which may ultimately result in his firing, and perhaps rightly so. But this hypocrisy is enough to make ya sick.

What's worse, as a society, we allow George Bush and his cronies to rape the constitution. We allow our government to lie about war and kill our young men and women in the process. We allow Republicans to cut funding for programs that benefit the poor and minorities. We allow voters in minority areas to be disenfranchised and their rights violated. We allow the oil companies to push fuel prices to record levels. We allow Republicans for ten years to keep the minimum wage at $5.15 per hour. And no one seems to give a shit because they're too busy obsessing over Anna Nicole Smith, Britany Spears and now Don Imus.

Wake up America. Nothing is going to change in this country until we get our priorities straight and demonstrate some consistency.


On another subject......we could use your help at The Adrienne Shelly Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated in my wife's honor to help carry out her spirit and passion, with the goal of assisting women filmmakers. As you may know, Adrienne was brutally killed in NYC on November 1, 2006. Through the Foundation, her commitment to filmmaking lives on. We've finalized a scholarship with NYU's Tisch School of the Arts/Kanbar Institute of Film; and grants with Columbia University, American Film Institute, NY Women in Film and Television, the Independent Feature Project, and the Nantucket Film Festival. Other initiatives will follow. Please visit our website to learn more about our mission and to make a donation. Every little contribution helps preserve Adrienne's legacy, and to help create something positive out of this horrible tragedy. Thank you.

Adrienne's film "Waitress" will hit theatres May 2nd. Early reviews have been terrific. A link to the trailer is below. Enjoy.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox_searchlight/waitress/trailer/

The True Racism Behind the Don Imus Saga

Racism in 2007 America is no less shameful than it's been at any other period in our nation's 231 year history. There is simply no excuse, ever, for racial prejudice and intolerance, and that holds true for entertainers like Don Imus, who last week on his nationally-syndicated radio program referred to female basketball players from Rutgers University as "nappy-headed ho's." Was this comment despicable? Yes. Extremely inappropriate and highly insensitive? Of course. Just plain stupid? Without question. But are we to surmise from this comment that deep down in his core Don Imus is truly a racist? I think not. But the public outcry from people like the Rev. Al Sharpton serves to hold a mirror up to what is the real racism in America. The double-standard that exists between whites and blacks; the rules of engagement that are imposed upon us by the PC Police. Don Imus, reprehensible and irresponsible behavior aside, is now the victim of an even bigger racism.

Let me say first that I am no fan of Don Imus. I never listen to his show and I don't think he is funny. In fact, his incessant mumbling makes anything he says unintelligible in my opinion. But I have been listening these past several days only because of the incredible controversy surrounding him and this story. During this period, Imus has been taking a pounding from just about anyone who's gotten in line to have a swat at this alleged poster-boy for racism. As a result he's been on the receiving end of perhaps the biggest bitch-slapping in media history. And his personal mea culpas have been non-stop. On Monday he was pilloried for two hours by Sharpton on the black leader's own radio program. It was brutal. It was relentless. And it was wrong. What's really wrong with society today is that someone like Sharpton is allowed to capitalize on a stupid remark and exploit it to death to further his own racist agenda. Society says it's ok for a black man to publicly crucify a white man so long as that white man even skimmed the racism surface. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't remember Jesse Jackson being subjected to a two-hour on-air skewering after his infamous 1984 "HymieTown" comment. Was this anti-Semitic ccomment publicly condemned? Yes. Did Jackson pay a huge price politically for it? Yes. But did he have to sit through a two-hour flogging, which is what Sharpton perpetrated on Monday? No. That would've resulted in public cries of racism from the black community.

What about Sharpton himself, and his own highly checkered racial past? How did Rev. Al somehow end up as the standard-bearer of high morals and racial equality? How did someone who plays the race card to exploit every possible situation for his own self-aggrandizing selfish interests--as he did back in the late '80's with the sensational Tawana Brawley case--become the official voice of the racially oppressed? As Slate Magazine wrote in 2003: According to the Associated Press, Sharpton and Brawley's lawyers asserted "on 33 separate occasions" that a local prosecutor named Steven Pagones "had kidnapped, abused and raped" Brawley. There was no evidence, and Pagones was soon cleared. Sharpton then accused a local police cult with ties to the Irish Republican Army of perpetrating the alleged assault. The case fizzled when a security guard for Brawley's lawyers testified that the lawyers and Sharpton knew Brawley was lying. A grand jury investigation concluded in late 1988 that Brawley "was not the victim of forcible sexual assault" and that the whole thing was a hoax. The report specifically exonerated Pagones, and in 1998 Pagones won a defamation lawsuit against Sharpton, Brawley, and Brawley's lawyers. Sharpton was ordered to pay Pagones $65,000. Johnnie Cochran and other Sharpton benefactors subsidized the payment.

And what did white and black America subsequently bestow on this racial firebrand? The opportunity to run for U.S. president. Furthermore, Sharpton never subjected himself to the kind of public castration Imus himself was foolish enough to volunteer for.

Look, Imus is an idiot. We all know that. Just like Rush Limbaugh, who makes fun of handicapped people like Michael J. Fox. These babbling blowhards suffer from the kind of foot-in-mouth-disease that most of us never experience because we somehow know better than to make such moronic comments. But I do agree with Imus that there's a contextual element that needs to be considered here. Imus is not a journalist. He is not a politician. He is not an educator. He is a comedian. What Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor, George Carlin, Don Rickles, Lisa Lampanelli, Sarah Silverman, Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock and countless others have taught us is that under this comic umbrella certain people get to use the N word, make shit jokes, Jew jokes, aborted-baby jokes and mock the handicapped. That's what comedians do. They make fun of life and the people in it. Do they push the envelope? Absolutely. And they sometimes go too far. But does it make them racist? That's a tall order, and I'm just not buyin' it. Sorry. Imus' highly offensive remark needs to be viewed within the context of a comedian making a joke, albeit a horribly racist one, within a comedy program.

Imus is a bonehead. And he should be disciplined. He's been suspended for two weeks, and he's promised to tone down the insensitive rhetoric and use his radio show as a platform to help mend the racial divide. He deserves that chance. He's got a 35-year broadcast record that is not representative of that one stupid comment. As he's pointed out in his own defense, his charitable work on behalf of children with cancer (many of them black) and in finding a cure for sickle-cell anemia is well known. We live in a country where the punishment fits the crime. Firing Don Imus over his mistake does nothing to fight racism. To the country, it only fuels it in a much bigger way by giving inciters like Sharpton a much bigger voice, and a much stronger hand, in spewing their own racism. One could even ask the Rev. Al, a follower of Jesus and the Bible, about "forgiveness." That he fails to practice what he supposedly preaches only makes his ulterior motives even more suspect. Don Imus...Tawana Brawley...only the names have changed. For Al Sharpton, it's the same old story.

RuPaul Giuliani Says He's the Ultimate Tough Guy to Fight War & Terror

Former NYC Mayor RuPaul Giuliani would like us to believe that when it comes to fighting terrorists and Iraqi insurgents, he's best suited for the job. And he may actually be right...at least when it comes to pumps and Bob Mackie gowns. The NY Times on Saturday reported from the Giuliani campaign trail that the would-be Philanderer-in-Chief told supporters in South Carolina: "What they say in Washington is not going to affect the fact that there are terrorists around the world that are planning to come here and kill us. It is something I understand better than anyone else running for president."

Really? Just because he happened to be at the World Trade Center that fateful morning, running for his dust-covered life on national TV, qualifies him as a 911 hero? This is something I will never understand. Back in September 2001, Giuliani was nothing more than a lousy, racially-insensitive, mayor-turned-opportunist who exploited the nation's worst tragedy for his own political self-interests. Who will ever forget his shameless land-grab when he attempted to have the November election postponed so that New Yorkers could bask in his alleged greatness for several more months?

And now, the guy who never met a lacy beaded gown that he doesn't like, wants to be president and lead our military forces. Where is the outcry from Democrats? Giuliani is the GOP's frontrunner (and this writer's bet for most likely nominee), and the Democrats are so far looking a gift horse in the face and saying "no thanks." When the Repugs desperately wanted to win in '04, it didn't matter to them that John Kerry was a highly decorated enlisted Vietnam war hero. It didn't matter to them that Kerry had also been a successful prosecutor, like Giuliani. No, they chose to SwiftBoat his ass into oblivion. Think about that. Our guy was a decorated war hero and the ruthless Rovians convinced Americans that he wasn't tough enough to fight Iraq and Al Qaeda. And to discredit his bravery, his medals and his overall patriotism they rolled out a bunch of lying scum who claimed to have fought with him, and who claimed he was a military fraud. It was despicable. The Repugs also vilified Kerry using repeated film clips and sound bites from his emotional 1971/72 Winter Soldier anti-war testimony. They even showed him windsurfing, as if somehow this should disqualify him from office. One election later, their frontrunner shows every indication of being a closeted drag queen for Pete's sake, and Democrats refuse to fight fire with fire. They have multiple photos and film clips of RuPaul Giuliani dressed like (and I might add looking like) Shelly Winters and what are they doing with them? Nothing. It's infuriating. How do you think those photos would play in the Heartland? In the South? Across middle-America? Republican voters would likely be horrified, and it would instantly derail the whole tough-guy image that's propping up his candidacy. Just imagine what Rove would be doing with drag photos of Barack Obama or John Edwards. There'd be bloodshed.

If the Democrats ever want to inhabit the White House again, and if they truly want to show Americans that they are tough enough to handle war, then they need to start proving that they have the cajones to start battling their own enemy right here in Washington. And they can start by sending RuPaul Giuliani for a little SwiftBoat ride down the Beltway.


On another subject......we could use your help at The Adrienne Shelly Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated in my wife's honor to help carry out her spirit and passion, with the goal of assisting women filmmakers. As you may know, Adrienne was brutally killed in NYC on November 1, 2006. Through the Foundation, her commitment to filmmkaing lives on. We've finalized a scholarship with NYU's Tisch School of the Arts/Kanbar Institute of Film; and grants with Columbia University, American Film Institute, NY Women in Film and Television, the Independent Feature Project, and the Nantucket Film Festival. Other initiatives will follow. Please visit our website to learn more about our mission and to make a donation. Every little contribution helps preserve Adrienne's legacy, and to help create something positive out of this horrible tragedy. Thank you.

Adrienne's film "Waitress" will hit theatres May 2nd. Early reviews have been terrific. A link to the trailer is below. Enjoy.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox_searchlight/waitress/trailer/