WIN, LOSE, OR TIE - RADIERS TILL I DIE

Future death row inmates?

San Jose, CA native Robert Charles Comer just became the first inmate executed by the state of Arizona since 2000.

When asked if he had any last words, he said:

"Go Raiders!"

The crazy thing is that Comer isn't the only capital punishee to give a shout out to the Raiders in his last words.

In 2000, before becoming one of the over 150 people executed by Governor George Bush, John Albert Burks's final statement included the sentence:

"The Raiders are going all the way y'all."

Ever since I attended a Raiders game and felt like I was attending an eyepatch-themed kumite in Thunderdome, I have believed that the Raiders have the most die-hard fans.

Now, I know it's true. Literally.

*

In other Raiders news, I once attended an anti-war rally in the bay area and heard somebody yell the phrase, "I said, Raider Nation, not Raid Other Nations!"

I thought that line was brilliant and always wanted that sentiment on a shirt.

So I made one.

You can buy it here.

Update: Oh, snap! CafePress has taken down the products. Apparently, it's now time for me to argue that this use of the Raiders' trademark falls under the political parody/fair use exception. Stay tuned.

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #105

Al Sees The Light?

This Week's Question:

Do you support Rev. Al Sharpton, Russell Simmons, and the NAACP's efforts to purge the words "b@tch," "ho," and "n!$$er" from hip hop?

--Junichi

SNEAKING INTO STANFURD

how bad you wanna go?
Unlike Jew-Knee-Chee, I never had the *cough cough* honor to attend Stanford University (12 years, Golden Bear baaaaaabbbbyyyy). To be candid, I did apply for undergrad there, back in '89, mostly to appease my parents but little did I know - I obviously didn't try hard enough to go. From the Stanfurd Daily

Azia Kim was like any other Stanford freshman. She graduated from one of California’s most competitive high schools last June, moved into the dorms during New Student Orientation, talked about upcoming tests and spent her free time with friends.

The only problem is that Azia Kim was never a Stanford student.

Kim, an 18-year-old from Orange County who graduated from Fullerton’s Troy High School, lived in Kimball throughout fall and winter quarter. She lived in Okada, the Asian-American theme dorm, until Monday night, when University staff finally caught onto her ruse.

Friends aren’t sure of her motive for sneaking onto campus and living a lie, but many speculate that she felt pressure from overbearing parents to attend Stanford — regardless of whether she was admitted.

Part of me wants to say that the latter is rather idle speculation but I'd be lying if, on a personal level, I'd be thinking that same thought too.

And it gets better - is there another imposter at Stanfurd? And peep the name: Elizabeth Okazaki.

Those worried about too much negative media attention being focused on Asian men can now rejoice that there's going to be some rubber-necking at Asian women for 15 minutes.

In all seriousness though, there's also been recent news on how suicide is one of the leading causes of death for Asian American women between 18-24.

--O.W.

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT RHYTHM, PERCUSSION, AND BEAT PRODUCTION AS EXPLAINED IN TWO MINUTES BY A FLY GUY WHO COULD BE OLIVER'S OR MY UNCLE

Hear the drummer get wicked

This is rock and roll. Recognize.

--Junichi

ON MONICA AND MERITOCRACY

Another President, Another Monica Problem

A few weeks ago, I bet a friend -- who happens to be an Assistant U.S. Attorney -- over whether Alberto Gonzales would still be Attorney General today.

I am now $200 richer.

I knew it would take more time for W. to stop insisting that his friend Alberto is doing a heckuva job.

I wouldn't make that same bet today, however, after Monica Goodling's testimony this afternoon:

Cloaked with immunity, Goodling testified that Alberto Gonzales lied to Congress. She stated he did, in fact, see the list of soon-to-be terminated U.S. Attorneys.

I'm predicting Al's gone by July 4.

The damage of her testimony also extended to the White House. She said, "Despite my and others' best effort, [Deputy Attorney General Paul J. McNulty's] public testimony was incomplete or inaccurate in a number of respects. ... I believe the deputy was not fully candid about his knowledge of White House involvement in the replacement decision."

*

While we're on the subject of attorneys and job qualifications, I'd like to take this opportunity to admire Monica Goodling's rise to power.

Until she quit her job, Ms. Goodling, only 33 years old, served as the third highest ranking official in the United States Justice Department, empowered with the incredible responsibility of evaluating the job performances of every single U.S. Attorney in the United States.

How did she achieve so much power so fast?

For what it's worth, I've created a comparison chart using the bio of Ms. Goodling and another law school graduate her age who I'll refer to as "Jew-Knee-Chee" just to protect his anonymity.

I put any pivotal factors in bold.

	Jew-Knee-Chee	Monica Goodling
Age	33	33
Undergraduate School	U.C. Berkeley, #1 public university	Messiah College, #1 Christian school in Cumberland County, Pennsylavnia
Law School	Stanford University School of Law	Regent University Law School
U.S. News Law School ranking	#2	Fourth Tier (below #150)
Attended law school founded by Pat Robertson?	No	Yes
Federal court clerkship?	Yes	No
Prior prosecutorial experience?	Yes	No
Worked for the Republican National Committee?	No	Yes
Blogs about Sad Kermit and the Dixie Chicks?	Yes	No
Offered job in the Justice Department?	No	Yes

Some might argue that it also helped that Ms. Goodling is relatively attractive, while "Jew-Knee-Chee" only pleases the eye of those with a fetish for stocky Asian men.

Given her hyper-Christian education, perhaps it will not surprise you that it was Monica Goodling who ordered that the partially nude statues in the Justice Department be covered up.

By the way, guess how many alumni of Pat Robertson's Regent University currently work for the Bush Administration? 150.

--Junichi

CRAZY ASIAN PEOPLE LOVE HAMMERS

You know you're racist when Fox News calls you racist

Asian Supremacist Kenneth Eng just got arrested for, among other things, swinging a hammer at his neighbor.

From SF Gate:

Kenneth Eng, the author of a controversial AsianWeek column that described reasons to "hate" black people, is being held in a New York jail without bail on assault and harassment charges.

Eng, 23, was arrested on suspicion of threatening to kill his Queens neighbors and one of their pets. He was arraigned May 11 on charges of attempted assault, menacing, possession of a weapon and harassment.

Eng allegedly approached the mother and daughter as they stood in their driveway with their pet and said, "If your dog bites me, I will kill you and your family." He then called the mother fat and lazy and swung a hammer at her and the dog, according to the Queens district attorney's office.

Eng used to be a regular contributor to San Francisco-based AsianWeek, writing from New York. He was fired in February after public outcry over his racist and discriminatory columns. In his writings, Eng called himself an "Asian supremacist" and listed reasons to hate black people as well as Asians and whites.

What is it with crazy Asian people and hammers?

If one more Asian guy makes news by wielding a hammer, we'll be suffering a new stereotype.

My Asian brothers, to paraphrase the great Stanley Kirk Burrell, it's time to stop ... hammertime.

(Credit: AngryAsianMan)

--Junichi

SO PAINFUL

All Apologies

I understand we're now in an age where rock stars can sell-out and do commercials without destroying their public image or popularity.

I also have come to accept that we will see more dead rock stars and other icons like Audrey Hepburn resurrected in new commercials.

But Kurt Cobain, Sid Vicious, Joey Ramone and Joe Strummer in new Doc Martens ads?

Oh, the horror.

If Kurt saw this coming, I don't blame him for blowing his brains out. I might follow suit if I ever live to see Neil Young die and then show up in a Budweiser commercial.

--Junichi

30 MORE FACTS THAT ARE DIFFICULT TO ACCEPT

First Lady and a Tramp

Here is my latest OCD-fueled list of facts that are difficult for me to accept as true, or in the case of the photos on this page, undoctored.

1. Senator Clinton is considering the Dixie Chicks' "Ready to Run" as her campaign theme song -- even though the song is clearly about a woman who is planning to leave her man out of fear of commitment.
   


2. Hillary once gave a speech in which she joked that Mahatma Gandhi "ran a gas station down in St. Louis."
   


3. Jerry Falwell and Larry Flynt were good friends, even exchanging Christmas cards.
   


4. I can now use the Internet to find out who is sick in my zip code.
   


5. Author Zora Neale Hurston (Their Eyes Were Watching God) spent the last decade of her life working as a maid and died penniless in a welfare home.
   


6. Rep. James Sensenbrenner's $10 million fortune stems from his great grandpa's invention of the Kotex sanitary napkin.
   


7. The Olsen twins are being courted to play Bond Girls in the next 007 movie.
   


8. One in ten Europeans are conceived in an Ikea bed.
   


9. Doug E. Fresh is a Scientologist.
   


10. In an unprecedented verbal smackdown by an ex-president, Jimmy Carter recently called President Bush's administration "the worst in history" when it comes to international relations.
    


11. There is a formula to precisely measure the quality of my butt. (Those without access to NYTimes archives can read a copy here.)
    


12. Over a decade has passed since the Spice Girls' "Wannabe" was #1 on the Billboard charts.
    


13. The world's tallest man is 7' 9" Bao Xishun from Inner Mongolia. (Yes, this means that everybody on this planet, except for Xishun, is shorter than an Asian man.)
    


14. The aforementioned Xishun recently used his incredibly long arms to pull out plastic shards from two dolphins, saving the dolphins' lives.
    


15. Harraj Mann, a 23-year-old cell-phone salesman of Indian descent, was interrogated as a terrorist suspect after a taxi driver reported that he was listening to the Clash's "London Calling" and Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" in the cab.
    


16. Willard Scott claims that he created the character of Ronald McDonald.
    


17. On Led Zeppelin's How The West Was Won live CD, John Bonham's drum solo is 19 minutes long.
    




18. There is a term that describes President Bush's position in the above unedited photo: Lucky Pierre.
    


19. The U.N. Environment Program Convention on Migratory Species just appointed Nick Carter -- Backstreet Boy and former Paris Hilton flame -- as a "Special Ambassador of the Year of the Dolphin."
    


20. After a Japanese hospital created a drop box for unwanted babies, one father dropped off his 3 year-old preschooler boy there on its first day of operation.
    


21. Some people use this website as a search engine.
    


22. I can give piano recitals even after I die.
    


23. The #1 song in the U.S.A. is currently T-Pain's "Buy U A Drank (Shawty Snappin')".
    


24. Boy Scouts in L.A. can earn a new merit badge for "Respecting Copyrights" after learning the evils of downloading pirated movies and music.
    


25. Wrigley filed a patent for a gum that contains Viagra.
    


26. Our planet is apparently running out of disposable chopsticks.
    


27. Gladys Knight is Mormon.
    


28. After the video shoot for Lionel Richie's "Hello," a runner broke the famous bust of Lionel's head while carrying it to Lionel's trailer.
    


29. Somebody translated the Grammy Awards article I wrote for MSN into Japanese.
    


30. I find the video below (NSFW!) of Sad Kermit's cover of Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt" to be oddly ... moving.
    

Sad Kermit - Hurt
Uploaded by sadkermit

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #104

Al Sees The Light

This Week's Question:

Do you want Al Gore to run for president?

--Junichi

HOW A PRINCE IN FRESNO BECAME THE QUEEN

I believe in Crystal because I believe in me

It is with both shock and pride that my birthplace of Fresno has achieved a milestone in transgender rights.

Last month, Fresno Unified School District courageously altered district policy to allow transgender Fresno High student Cinthia/Cynthia Covarrubias to don a tux and run for prom king.

While Cinthia lost, he paved the way for another local transgender student, Johnny "Crystal" Vera, to run for Prom Queen at Fresno's Roosevelt High.

When I first heard the story, I imagined Crystal as a social outcast. But as it turns out, not only is she -- her gender pronoun of choice -- hardly a misfit, she is one of Roosevelt High's most popular and beloved. In addition to being a former class vice president and one of the most celebrated cheerleaders at her school, Crystal is a former homecoming prince. With many supporters cheering her on, she mounted a campaign that garnered local news coverage.

Then, last Saturday, like many other high schools girls across America, Crystal was crowned her high school's Prom Queen.

But unlike any others, Crystal followed the trailblazing footsteps of Jackie Robinson and Sally Ride into the history book of firsts. Fresno student Johnny "Crystal" Vera is the first openly transgender student in the United States of America to ever be selected Prom Queen.

I shamefully assumed her victory was due, at best, to an ironic vote propelled by something similar to the Sanjaya movement. But local news and blogs confirm that her crowning was a genuine, unconditional affirmation of her likable and inspirational qualities. The crying and cheering that followed the reading of her name speaks for itself.

The moving story of her path to royalty is one that makes me feel better about our future and dramatically better about Fresno.

As a child born and raised in California's Central Valley, I was indoctrinated with a wicked case of homophobia that only a progressive education at U.C. Berkeley could undo. Until last month, I couldn't imagine that Fresno would make national news with regard to LGBT issues for anything other than an unconscionable hate crime.

I painfully chuckled during John Cameron Mitchell’s film, Shortbus, when the character Severin, a confused dominatrix-for-hire, laments, "What if I can't afford to live in New York anymore? Where would I go -- Fresno?"

But Fresno -- always the butt of jokes and not helped by the fact that Kevin Federline was born and raised there -- gets the last laugh.

I'm not naively assuming that Fresno is now a bastion of tolerance or a Mecca for transgender students. I wouldn't be surprised if it becomes the only remaining city to refuse to recognize gay marriages.

But in a country that has yet to pass federal anti-discrimination laws to protect gays and lesbians from workplace bigotry, I'll take progress wherever I can find it.

If students at a school in Fresno can crown a transgender student as Prom Queen, then it can happen anywhere.

At last, I can say, without irony, FresNO? FresYES! And Hail to the Queen!

--Junichi

A TRIBUTE TO JERRY FALWELL

Click To Play

I have always feared becoming a progressive version of Fred Phelps, celebrating the death of those I abhor. And so, I was willing to let Reverend Jerry Falwell die without comment.

But now that the mass media is oozing tributes this morning with images of flags lowered at half mast, I can't help but comment. However, to demonstrate my evolving maturity, I will restrain my myself and only say nice things.

Rev. Falwell was a uniter.

His greatest attribute was that he brought together feminists, gays, people of color, unions, atheists, free speech advocates, non-Christians, opponents of apartheid, Billy Graham supporters, Tinky Winky fans, and the tolerant.

Why, just a week ago, Jerry Falwell told CNN that he still believed that the ACLU, the People for the American Way, those who support reproductive freedom, and other liberals who believe in the separation of church and state caused September 11. (See video above. Credit: AmericaBlog)

With that simple statement, he reminded the world that wacko fundamentalist zealots come in all faiths, colors, and nationalities.

When Rev. Falwell said ...

"I listen to feminists and all these radical gals… These women just need a man in the house. That’s all they need. Most of the feminists need a man to tell them what time of day it is and to lead them home. And they blew it and they’re mad at all men. Feminists hate men. They’re sexist. They hate men; that’s their problem."

... he helped convince millions of men and women to unite in support of feminism.

When he preached ...

"AIDS is not just God's punishment for homosexuals; it is God's punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals."

... he convinced millions that homophobia was also a disease.

And so, I thank you, Rev. Falwell.

This morning, I woke up and felt like the world was just a little more tolerant.

*
No comment:

--Junichi

ORIENTAL MASSAGE

Driving south on Highway 99 near Bakersfield, you can't miss the above giant billboard for "Oriental Massage."

Last weekend, I finally pulled over, took a picture of it, and now feel compelled to post it here.

As I analyze my photo, I wonder the following things:

• Who owns the Oriental Massage business: a person of Asian ancestry or non-Asian ancestry?


• What the heck is a "table shower"?


• Who is more likely to use the term "Oriental" in the United States today: Asians or non-Asians? (I'm thinking the former.)


• How much is that house receiving in exchange for the giant "Oriental Massage" billboard planted in its backyard?


• Does that cow always spend the entire day staring at "Shayla"?


• How long before Poplicks becomes the first website listed when somebody types in "Oriental Massage" into a search engine?
  

--Junichi

GIVING INTO PEER PRESSURE

Note, this is what happens when kids watch too many R&B videos...


For the life of me...I can't tell if this is a deliberate joke (which, in and of itself, would be pretty funny) or if these guys are entirely oblivious (which only makes it even funnier).

But wait...there's more.

--O.W.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

As a gift, I got you a leash.

--Junichi

DOGS' DAY OVER

no more flied lice for them!
From the Washington Post:

Asian Slurs End Shock Jocks' Show on CBS

By LARRY McSHANE
The Associated Press
Saturday, May 12, 2007; 3:39 PM

NEW YORK -- One month after CBS Radio fired radio host Don Imus, it has permanently pulled the plug on a pair of suspended New York shock jocks for a prank phone call rife with offensive Asian stereotypes.

"The Dog House with JV and Elvis," hosted by Jeff Vandergrift and Dan Lay, "will no longer be broadcast," CBS Radio spokeswoman Karen Mateo said Saturday.

The cancellation of the show on WFNY-FM, nearly three weeks after the hosts were suspended, was another indication of the increased scrutiny on radio hosts and the heightened management sensitivity to complaints in the wake of the Imus firing.

CBS Radio dismissed Imus in April for his racist and sexist remarks about the Rutgers women's basketball team.

Vandergrift and Lay broadcast a call to a Chinese restaurant in which the caller, in an exaggerated accent, placed an order for "shrimp flied lice," claimed he was a student of kung fu, and compared menu items to employees' body parts.

The initial airing of the call went unnoticed, but a rebroadcast after Imus's firing prompted an outcry from Asian-American groups. Vandergrift and Lay were initially suspended without pay, but Asian-Americans quickly demanded the same penalty applied to the much higher-profile Imus.

"This is a victory not only for the Asian-American community, but for all communities who find themselves constant targets of racist and sexist programming," said Jeanette Wang, an executive with the Organization of Chinese Americans.

Mateo would not comment on the status of the DJs' contracts or whether they were still on the CBS payroll.

--O.W.

MISSION IS TO ELEVATE

--O.W.

THE WRAP-UP: DIVORCE EDITION

Reason #275,391 why people don't like lawyers

• While I cringe at the above pro-divorce billboard from Fetman, Garland & Associates, an all-female law firm specializing in divorce cases, I admire the genius of the ad. After all, most ads for legal services have to be insufferably cheesy ("Larry Parker got me two million!") to be memorable. Plus, the notoriety of this ad -- spurred on by the fact that a Chicago alderman ordered it removed for allegedly content-neutral reasons -- has managed to garner the kind of free publicity that is usually reserved for Michael Moore.

• On the other end of the spectrum, a conservative advocacy group called Campaign for Our Children, which mysteriously does not use the acrynoym COC, is funding pro-marriage billboards that say, "Kids of married parents do better in school," "Married people live longer," "Marriage works," and the billboard above. Campaign for Our Children also advocates abstinence, which seems ironic since abstinence eliminates future children, which is the very group of people for whom the organization claims to be campaigning. You got served!
  

• Despite billboards promoting the dissolution of marriage, the divorce rate in the United States is now at its lowest level in nearly four decades. Latest stats show a steady decline since the 1980s with the rate now a low 3.6 divorces per 1,000 people. Apparently, gay couples are not ruining the institution of marriage, after all. As for why divorce rates are declining, this is a mystery greater than why anybody wants to free Paris Hilton. For now, I give credit to COC.

--Junichi

30 MILES AWAY

Apparently, I am not taking my mother to Catalina Island for Mother's Day.

--Junichi

OPRAH'S BOOK PRESIDENT CLUB

O [Heart] O

If I know anything, it's that whatever Oprah Winfrey touches turn to gold. And Oprah just endorsed Obama.

Using my powers of deductive reasoning, I can therefore conclude that Barack Obama will be elected our next president.

The only way this conclusion will not come true is if:

1. Oprah decides to run herself;
   


2. Voters have been lying about being willing to elect an African American president; or
   


3. Oprah's followers discover that this photo is real.
   

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #103

One Nation Under God

This Week's Question:

Compared to other industrialized nations, why does the United States have one of the lowest percentages of atheists?


Background: For those too lazy to hit the link, here's the percentage in select countries that identified as atheist, agnostic, or a non-believer in God in 2005:

• Sweden: 46-85%
• Japan: 64-65%
• France: 43-54%
• South Korea: 30-52%
  
• Russia: 24-48%
• Britian: 31-44%
  
• Israel: 15-37%
• Canada: 19-30%
• China: 8-14%
• USA: 3-9%
  

--Junichi

BUCHANAN ÜBER ALLES

Pat Buchanan prepares for Cinco de Mayo

I would find this latest column by Pat Buchanan hilarious if not for the fact that he is employed as a commentator on MSNBC and PBS, regularly pops up on Fox News and CNN, and is a syndicated columnist whose work appears in newspapers and web sites across the country:

Almost no attention has been paid to the fact that Cho Seung-Hui was not an American at all, but an immigrant, an alien. Had this deranged young man who secretly hated us never come here, 32 people would heading home from Blacksburg for summer vacation.

What was Cho doing here? How did he get in?

Cho was among the 864,000 Koreans here as a result of the Immigration Act of 1965, which threw the nation's doors open to the greatest invasion in history, an invasion opposed by a majority of our people. Thirty-six million, almost all from countries whose peoples have never fully assimilated in any Western country, now live in our midst.

Cho was one of them.

In stories about him, we learn he had no friends, rarely spoke, and was a loner, isolated from classmates and roommates. Cho was the alien in Hokie Nation. And to vent his rage at those with whom he could not communicate, he decided to kill in cold blood dozens of us.

What happened in Blacksburg cannot be divorced from what's been happening to America since the immigration act brought tens of millions of strangers to these shores, even as the old bonds of national community began to disintegrate and dissolve in the social revolutions of the 1960s. ...

Since the 1960s, we have become alienated from one another even as millions of strangers arrive every year. And as Americans no longer share the old ties of history, heritage, faith, language, tradition, culture, music, myth or morality, how can immigrants share those ties?

Many immigrants do not assimilate. Many do not wish to. They seek community in their separate subdivisions of our multicultural, multiracial, multiethnic, multilingual mammoth mall of a nation. And in numbers higher than our native born, some are going berserk here.

He also lists other crimes committed by immigrants of color, but, of course, conveniently leaves out the heinous ones committed by white immigrants or white American citizens.

The worst part of the column, however, is when he points readers to VDARE.com, which has been labeled a "hate group" by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

This is nothing new for Pat, who has been promoting xenophobia for decades. I just figured that once he blatantly started championing white nationalism and referring to the U.S. as a "European Country," the mainstream media would have ignored him.

I'm thinking Pat Robertson and Pat Buchanan have an ongoing bet on which Pat can say the most outrageous thing and still be given a national platform.

--Junichi

CALIFORNIA LOOOOOOOVE

All I can say is "wow" (on multiple levels).

(Thanks to HHH)

--O.W.

THE GREATEST DAY IN THIS COUNTRY'S HISTORY

Last night, I was watching this movie on cable about a presidential race that is either a dystopian thriller or an absurdist comedy. (See clips above and below.)

I got hooked when one candidate said that if Roe v. Wade is repealed, that would be "the greatest day in this country’s history." Sandman and Venom ain't got nothing on Tancredo!

Unfortunately, I fell asleep before I got to the end and didn't find out which character emerged as the colostomy bag that received his party's nomination.

But I'm assuming it was one of the three characters who raised his hands when the moderator asked, "Is there anybody that doesn't believe in evolution?"

--Junichi

OAKLAND, STAND UP!

--O.W.

PERMISSION TO SPEAK

Suppressing the truth? Mission accomplished.

Wired is reporting that soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan have been ordered to stop posting to blogs or sending email messages without first getting approval from a superior.

This is infuriating on multiple levels.

For starters, the soldiers' reports from the frontlines have provided the only honest, unfiltered assessment of the reality of our war, in contrast to Senator McCain's rosy assessment of our so-called success in Iraq.

Moreover, I don't believe for a second that the army is really concerned about protecting military secrets. (Does anybody know of any soldier blogs that revealed sensitive information or otherwise damaged national interests?)

With soldiers turning on the Bush Administration -- four years later and still no protective armor, can you blame them? -- silencing them is the White House's only hope for winning the War on Bad PR.

What really chaps my civilian hide is that the regulations even apply to civilians working for the military, Army contractors, and soldiers' families (!), according to the Wired article.

We already deny our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan proper protective equipment. We deny them proper health care when they return to America. When they die, we don't even honor them with our flags at half mast.

And now, we're denying their constitutional right to freedom of speech.

This is just a dumb decision that can't be good for a morale that is already so depressed into the fertile crescent that new craters are being formed for the next Saddam Hussein to hide in.

On a related note, I wish I could poll our troops in Iraq and ask them to rank the following in order of likelihood of lowering troop morale:

A. The army removes your First Amendment rights.

B. The Secretary of Defense extends your tour of duty.

C. You learn that veterans' hospitals are delivering inadequate health care and mental health care to soldiers who make it back home alive.

D. Your President still can't articulate an exit strategy.

E. An openly gay soldier volunteers for duty and fights alongside you.

I'm guessing that even the most homophobic soldiers would rank E last.

But now that their blogs are effectively being shut down, we'll never know.

--Junichi

HOT AIR DARTH & HERNIATED DISC C-3PO

The only hot air balloon with a white man's head and a black man's voice

Since my last post related to Star Wars, I felt it necessary for everyone to know about this Darth Vader hot air balloon and to see this video of Conan at Industrial Light & Magic.

--Junichi