Running on empty—Send in the clowns—Announced, probable, and possible candidates for President of the United States

Democrat —

Senator Hillary Clinton
Ex Vice-President and Senator Albert Gore
Sen. Barack Hussein Obama
Ex-Senator John Edwards
Senator Evan Bayh (dropped out now)
Senator Joe Biden, Delaware
Senator John Kerry



Gov. Bill Richardson

Gov. Tom Vilsack (Iowa)
Senator Christopher Dodd, Ct.
Ex-General Wesley Clark
Ex-Governor Mark Warner, VA

Republican —

Governor Mike Huckabee, Ark.
Governor George Pataki, NY
Ex-Senator George Allen (presumably not running now)
Ex-Senator Rick Santorum (presumably now out of it)
Governor Mitt Romney
Ex-Governor Rudy Giuliani
Senator John McCain
Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan
Sen. Chuck Hagel, a Nebraska Republican
Ex-Speaker Newt Gingrich

The Dingbat Party —

Congressman and Ex-mayor Dennis J. Kucinich
"Crusader" Ralph J. Nader (a/k/a The man who helped G.W. Bush win)

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Eight Years Ago Today, President Bill Clinton Was Impeached In The House Of Representatives

....click montage to enlarge....

Eight years ago, after 14 hours of debate, the House of Representatives voted two articles of impeachment against President Bill Clinton (the prosecutor submitted 11 charges), charging him with a) lying under oath to a federal grand jury and b) obstructing justice.

The second president in American history was impeached and Clinton vowed to finish his term.

In November 1995, Clinton began a tawdry affair with Monica Lewinsky, a 21-year-old intern. She was later transferred to the Pentagon where she confided in a co-worker, Linda Tripp, about her affair. Tripp secretly taped Lewinsky, and contacted special prosecutor Kenneth Starr. A few days later, the story broke, with Clinton saying "I did not have sexual relations with that woman..." In July, lawyers for Lewinsky and Starr worked out a full-immunity agreement covering Lewinsky and her parents. On August 6, Lewinsky appeared before a grand jury to testify, followed later in the month by The President. The President was impeached in The House.

Many months later, the Senate acquitted POTUS on both articles of impeachment.
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Alien Lore No. 92 - A Race Of Aliens Asks "Got Milk?"

A race of aliens from Brittleactica, "a distant planet," who worship and crave the White Wonder Tonic, Milk. . .have made recent transmissions that were monitored and acquired by the Weekly World News.



Now that I know of the plight of the Brittleacticans, I understand all the problems with cattle, eh? Find out more by going to the Planet In Need website. . .it's a very well done flash site, with a humorous take on alien visitors. . .


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B.B. King & Stanislaw Jerzy Lec: Quotes of the day

B.B. King:

"Nobody loves me but my mother—and she could be jivin' too."




Stanislaw Jerzy Lec:

"No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible."
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Poem: My Final Snowflake - The Final (I really mean it this time) Donald Rumsfeld Poem

click montage to enlarge...

This will really be my final Donald Rumsfeld poem. I thought A Broken Bone was the last, but Rummy came out with one more nugget before heading out. Yesterday, The Secretary rode off into the sunset, leaving behind a memo to his staff at the D.O.D.

For my part, I'll miss having him to kick around. And most of all I will miss his twisted locutions, loopy metaphors, and his facility with abstruse obfucation.

Good luck, Mr. Secretary! You may have sucked at your job, but you provided a rich and sustaining blast of entertainment for those of us who follow that sort of thing.

Selections of Rumsfeld poems on All This Is That:

Five new poems by Rumsfeld
Poem: Clarity By Donald Rumsfeld
Rumsfeld Poem No. 5
Donald Rumsfeld Poem: Not A One
Poem: Those Glass Boxes By Secretary Donald Rumsfeld
The Poetry Of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Part 3::::::That's Life
The Poetry of Secretary Donald Rumsfeld VI:::::Predicting The Future
The Poetry Of Secretary Donald Rumsfeld VIII::::::Litany: What I Don't Do
The Poetry Of Secretary Donald Rumsfeld IX::::::Accuracy
The Poetry Of Secretary Donald Rumsfeld X:::::::::Where Is Osama bin Laden?
The Poetry Of Secretary Donald Rumsfeld XI:::::::::Existence, Evidence, Absence
The Poetry of Secretary Donald Rumsfeld XIV::::::::The Unknown
The Poetry of Donald Rumsfeld XIII: It hasn't happened
The Digital Revolution (Rumseld poem IV)
Rumsfeld Poems from the Dec., 2005 Briefing

To read one of the dozens of articles here on Rumsfeld--a few of which were even based on facts--search for Rumsfeld in the Blogger box in the upper left hand corner of this window.


My Final Snowflake

by the former Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld


This is
My final
Snowflake.

Thousands
Have fallen,
Sometimes

In blizzards and flurries,
Sometimes in cold
And lonely isolation.

Surprising to those
Buried in the deluge,
Many people have never

Received a snowflake.
A few folks
Hoped to run

Out the clock
On outstanding
Snowflakes.

I grant
Amnesty for outstanding
Snowflakes.

The blizzard is over!
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Painting: The First Flank Of The Invasion From Planet 32-Q7

click the painting to enlarge
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A Salute To Finland

Many more visitors from Finland and Denmark arrived at All This Is That today. . .

Did you know that Transparency International has ranked Finland the world's least corrupt country for the fifth time in a decade?
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The F*** Iraq! Video

Click onto this embedded video to see American soldiers helping Iraqi children with English lessons. Just another step on the road to victory, winning their hearts and minds?

"In fighting this war, we're taking every precaution to protect innocent life. We're showing respect for the Iraqi people, respect for their culture..."

Defend America News, the U.S. Department of Defense

[ed. note: you may need to click the play button twice to see the video.]


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The Most Interesting Link Here Today. . .

. . .comes from Finland, from the Jalka käytävällä blog. Most of the visitors are from Helsinki, but many others have arrived from Hkansker, Karjaa, Uusikaupunki, Keuruu, Espoo, and other towns, as well as dozens from Denmark.
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Jalka käytävällä
pni • 15.12 2006, 10.47


Tästä kuvasta muistui mieleeni se miten valokuvauksen ollessa vielä ihan lapsenkengissään, ulkona otetuissa kuvissa kadut näyttivät tyhjiltä. Ei ihmisiä, hevosia tai muutakaan liikkuvaa. Ei elämää, vain rakennuksia ja puita. Syynähän oli tietenkin pitkä valotusaika. Hitaastikin liikkuvat kohteet (tummat hahmot vaalealla taustalla) katoavat näkyvistä kun kuvaa valottaa useampien, jopa kymmenien, minuuttien ajan.

Ensimmäisenä ihmisenä katuvalokuvaan on tarttunut heppu joka oli pysähtynyt kengänkiillotukseen kadunkulmassa eräänä päivänä Pariisissa vuonna 1838 (plus miinus vuosi, riippuen lähteestä), juuri kun Daguerre valotti kuvaansa, joka tunnetaan nimellä Boulevard du Temple (katso suurennos täältä).

— en synpunkt —
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Photo: The Knitting Club Gets A Little Out Of Hand

click photograph to enlarge
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Poem: Changes 24/The Turning Point (for S.A.D.)

1.
The time of darkness peaks.
Winter solstice brings a victory of light,
Going out and coming in. On time every time.

We all need somewhere to go.
After a time of decay comes the turning point
When the banished light returns

At its appointed time,
Like the San Juan Capistrano swallows.
Turn turn turn turn.

Thunder within the earth
Is the turning point:
The unwobbling pivot.

The old kings
Closed the passes
At the time of solstice.

Merchants and strangers
Did not go out
And the King did not travel.

2.
Day by day, then, the sun returns
Like the return of understanding
After an estrangement.

In the midst of others,
You walk alone.
In the middle of the road

In the middle of the night
You tread the earth with no regrets
Because this is as good as it gets

And it gets this good
At your command.
Selah.
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The Worst President Ever, Or A Close Second

click to enlarge
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