Young Republicans...

What a bunch of fucking pussies.

No wonder Dick "Deferment" Cheney is their hero.

And don't forget George "National Guard" Bush - another hero of theirs.

It's Merger MANIA!!!!

When Sprint and Nextel announced their merger back in December, Sprint CEO Gary Forsee said it would be a "marriage of equals", though in fact Sprint is buying Nextel for $35 billion dollars.

So today the two companies announced their branding strategy. The new Sprint Nextel Corporation (the official name - for all you Wall Street types) will be called "Sprint" in their branding/advertising while the "Nextel" name will be a key product brand. Here is what the two logos will look like:

The combined company's new name and logo 


Nextel as a Sprint "brand" 


It's good to know that my old company is still going to have its name in there somewhere after I am laid off in this "merger of equals".

An Iraqi Woman Blogs from Bagdad

There is a woman in Baghdad who has a blog on Blogger. It is called Baghdad Burning. I don't know anything about the woman who writes the blog. From her writing she seems to be American educated. I also don't know how she is getting to a computer to update her blog. At any rate, it is a fascinating read. Check it out.

A Note from the Social Security Administration

So I receive my Social Security statement in the mail the other day (describing the status of my social security monies at this point in my life). On the front page , under "What Social Security Means to You" is a section entitled "About Social Security's future..."

Social Security is a compact between generations. For more than 60 years, America has kept the promise of security for its workers and their families. But now, the Social Security system is facing serious future financial problems, and action is needed soon to make sure that the system is sound when today's younger workers are ready for retirement.

Today there are almost 36 million Americans age 65 or older. Their Social Security retirement benefits are funded by today's workers and their employers who jointly pay Social Security taxes - just as the money they paid into Social Security was used to pay benefits to those who retired before them. Unless action is taken soon to strengthen Social Security, in just 12 years we will begin paying more in benefits than we collect in taxes. Without changes, by 2041 the Social Security Trust Fund will be exhausted. By then, the number of Americans 65 or older is expected to have doubled. There won't be enough younger people working to pay all of the benefits owed to those who are retiring. At that point, there will be enough money to pay only about 74 cents for each dollar of scheduled benefits. We will need to resolve these issues soon to make sure Social Security continues to provide a foundation of protection for the future generations as it has done in the past.

(Emphasis mine)

The note was signed by Bush appointee Commissioner Jo Anne B. Barnhart.

Aside from being factually misleading (see Joshua Micah Marshall's Talking Points Memo and There is No Crisis for more on this), I find this bit of propaganda designed to scare the American people on a document sent to the public disgusting. A statement I receive from the government should not be a tool to promote the destruction of SS that Bush and his cronies want to enact.

This is Great!

Bush, The Spoiled Man-Child
What causes the fall of empires? Why, stubborn leaders who speak like toddlers and never admit mistakes