The American Truth Machine

FUNNY:

See for yourself:

Wow

WTF!  Read the article, and you will feel the same way:

From foxnews.com:

 LAS VEGAS —  They’re not traditional family heirlooms, but Larry Birkhead’s is not a traditional family.

Anna Nicole Smith’s former boyfriend spent nearly $3,000 at a celebrity auction Saturday scooping up lingerie once worn in a Playboy shoot by the late playmate.

Birkhead said he is trying to make sure his 1-year-old daughter, Dannielynn, has something to remember her mother by.

"I have a lot of history I have to put together that she doesn’t really know about," Birkhead told The Associated Press. "Playboy was such a big part of Anna’s career."

Birkhead bought a pink bustier for $1,800 and a white negligee for $1,000 at the auction, run by Julien’s Auctions and held at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip.

I think it would be best if the poor kid didn’t remember her mother.  Then again, she could just watch the Anna Nicole clown video.

At the end of Meet the Press this Sunday, fill-in Brian Williams announced that Tom Brokaw would act as moderator for the broadcast up to the election. 

IMO, this is a great idea.  Brokaw is an experienced journalist and the elder of NBC News.  He broke the news of his friend Tim Russert’s passing and it makes sense that he fill’s Tim’s shoes.  Best of luck to Tom.

Apparently Viagra and other E.D. drugs cause amnesia.  A perfect excuse for old men when they get caught with the secretary! ("Honey, I swear, I forgot we were married!")

As we all have heard, Barack Obama was forgone the traditional route of choosing to have a publicly financed campaign.  That is, to take government money set aside to fund the race for the White House.  Obama is the first politician to do this in thirty years or so, but let’s face it, we should not be so surprised.  And ultimately, his descision makes sense for one big reason:  In politics, as in most of life, money is power.  Obama is a fundraising juggernaut with a record setting number of donors.  If anyone can raise huge heaps of cash, its Barack Obama.  However, his decision has been very controversial, as it should be. 

 I have a huge problem with the way that Obama justified his actions.  Rather than admit that he can rasie more cash than McCain this way, he used some sort of twisted victim logic by saying that the independent conservative groups (like the ones that savaged Kerry in ‘04) give McCain an advantage and that McCain is not trying to stop them.  First of all, it is illegal for campaigns to in any way coordinate with these independent groups (called 527’s, they are non-profit orgs that file under that code).  Second of all, McCain has been soft on Obama and hard on people that attack Obama.  The notion that McCain is in some way encouraging attacks is prepostorous.  Also, it should be noted that smears aimed at Obama come from both the right and disinfranchised Clinton supporters.

Obama should have just said something like, "hey, I can raise a lot of money this way, and I have over a million donors, so why not?"

Just be honest about this Obama.  You want a lot of money.  You can raise a lot of money.  I have no problem with what Obama is doing with campaign finances, but he should at least be honest regarding his motivations.  Otherwise, he’s just a typical politician.

OK.  This guy is a bit crazy.  We know that.  

From foxnews.com 

TEHRAN, Iran —  Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Thursday accused the United States of plotting to kidnap and assassinate him during a visit to Iraq, state media reported.

The president told a meeting of clerics in the central city of Qom that Iran’s "enemies" planned to kill him when he went to Baghdad in March, according to the president’s Web site. Iranian leaders usually use the term "enemies" to refer to Western nations and the United States in particular.

The report on the presidential Web site did not specify the United States as the source of the plot. But state television reported that Ahmadinejad had "unveiled a shocking story" — that "Americans had intended to kidnap him during his trip to Iraq."

Ahmadinejad said the plot was never carried out because of "intentional" last-minute changes in his schedule during the visit, the Web site said. He said the conspirators learned about the changes after he left Iraq.

 Also be sure to check out Mahmoud’s blog  

Perhaps the alleged assassin was Sniper Cat?

Today, Scott McClellan testifies under oath before the House Judiciary Committee as part of the CIA Leak Investigation, starting at 9:30 a.m.  According to the A.P., Vice President Cheney’s role in the leak will be the focus of the testimony.  However, Karl Rove, former White House Deputy Chief of Staff and current Fox News Contributor, may be mentioned as well. 

More to come…

Let’s face it.  Over $4 a gallon for gas is ridiculous, and it is hurting the middle-class and, thus, damaging our economy.  As long as oil floats around $130-140 a barrel, than we are screwed.  There are many possible courses of action in dealing with this problem, but of course no one can agree on which is the best.  Here is my opinion:  No one course of action will get us off of foreign energy, lower gas prices, and increase national security.  What we need is a confluence of actions to get us out of this crisis.  And yes, it is a crisis.   

So, what do we need to do?

• Increase domestic production
• Decrease consumption
• More alternative energies

It all comes down to those few things.  In fact, you can simplify it to decrease comsumption and increase production.  Now of course, decreasing consumption of anything is usually bad for the economy because out economic system thrives on consumption.  Plus, the less  mid-east oil we consume, the more China is able to get.  Any consumption that we don’t do, they will do it. You could say that China will do the job that Americans don’t want to do.  However, as of right now, it seems that Americans don’t really want to consume less.  Many people are still driving around in there big SUV’s.  Of course, there are signs that the tides are shifting.  More people are buying economy cars (truck and SUV sales are tanking) and more people are taking public transportation.  But still, most people, at $4 a gallon, are unwilling to make major changes to their habits.  

It will take years for gas consumption to go down, and it will happen more because of an influx of alternative energies to the market rather than less consumption.  Cars will be built more efficiently, but most people don’t buy new cars every few years.   

We certainly could increase domestic production.  Drilling offshore, in ANWAR, even in areas of Montana and Wyoming.  However, powerful environmental groups are against eny such action.  They say it will have little effect on the price but devestaing effects on the environment.  I saw that’s a buch of crap.  All the government needs to do is open up these areas of exploration.  The oil companies will make the decision as to whether or not we should drill there.  LET THE FREE MARKET WORK.  And with the new types of drilling technology out there, we CAN drill and be environmentally responsible.  By the way, after Hurricane Katrina, no oil was leaked into the Gulf of Mexico from oil rigs.  Those things are built like tanks. 

So, when can we see lower prices?  One chance is after the Beijing Olympics, when China should stop stockpiling oil (thanks, Stuart Varney of Fox Business for that).  Until then, we might be in for a tought time.  We must get off foreign oil, for National Security and our economy.  If we don’t, our country will face irreparable harm.  

Some scars can’t be fixed.  This is one that will be permanent.     

Last Friday was a sad day for America.  We lost one of the greatest journalists on all time.  Tim Russert was more than just a great journalist.  He was also a great father, son, husband, and role-model.  He was one of the good guys.

I found this tribute by a role-model of mine to be apropos:  

Check out Mark Anticole’s comic strip at killjoycomics.com