I just checked my old AOL account for the first time in about three months --- of course, it was filled with spam (thus a major reason I switched to Gmail about a year ago).

This bit of spam caught my eye ..... can't stop laughing ....

E-mail below the fold.

I'd like to propose that Dems find some way to welcome back the gay Arabic linguists that the GOP-controlled government kicked out.  I'm sensetive to memories of Clinton's '92 win being followed by 1993's whole "gays in the military debate", but I think a lot has changed in 14 years, and that the majority of Americans are willing to set aside whatever prejudices they have against gays to allow the United States armed services to more effectively fight terrorism.

More below the fold.

I thought I had made my home (landline) phone number unlisted, but I just got a robo-call from SurveyUSA.  They are doing polling for the local (DC-area) CBS affiliate WUSA 9.  The poll was centered around the '08 presidential election, and some of the pairings were interesting (including Al Franken versus Sean Hannity).

The questions from the call below the flip.

If they're old enough to be executed or recruited to go to Iraq, maybe they're old enough to have dirty online conversation with friggin' moderate (and moderatly closeted) Republican Mark Foley?

Keep reading -- this is a short one.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Thursday it will sell nearly 300 generic drugs at $4 per prescription in Florida starting this week in a move that stunned rival drugstore chains, drug makers and benefits managers. The program covers a 31-day supply and will be available to insured and uninsured consumers. Wal-Mart said it will spread the practice to as many states as possible next year.

Five years ago, this date September the 11th, was seared into America's memory.  My approval rating doubled, and I've lost it all.

More below the flip.

This diary focues on Murray's strong distate for multiculturalism. After a little research, I found out this hatred of multiculturalism was not at all limited to Mr. Murray; he was merely echoing what many others have said before him.

More below the fold.

I've begun transcribing selections from the speech (given by author Douglas Murray) and doing additional research into whether some of his particular views of neo-conservatism are shared broadly or are unique to him.  From the little I know about neo-con ideology, my reactions upon hearing Murray's speech (presented in full on PoliticsTV) run the gamut from "this seems a cynical outlook of the world, but it's understandable given recent world events" to more often "it's disconerting to know that there are people who harbor this grim outlook on the world, and worse, that they have money and power at the present time."

More below the fold.

I spent awhile going over Ford's "Bold Moves" site, a curious public opinion astroturf effort with one of America's largest companies behind it.  Ford's taken out expensive blog ads on sites across the political spectrum for this campaign, so I figured, being a "blog-savvy" person (whatever the fuck that means), I'd check it out.

Read more below the fold.

New TSA Searches Draw Criticism
Sean Dung for the National Press
June 11, 2007

WASHINGTON -- In the aftermath of the U.S. and French governments' claims Monday they had foiled a terror plot to blow up international flights using small explosives hidden inside marital aids, the Department of Homeland Security's new security measures have drawn criticism from unusual quarters.

Confronting the BILE-o-sphere

Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT) lost his party's primary yesterday. Connecticut Democrats gave challenger Ned Lamont the edge, rejecting their three-term U.S. Senator and 2000 Vice Presidential nominee. Lieberman was the object of particular loathing on the left-wing blogs. Kossacks--as readers and contributors to the Daily Kos are known--especially reviled Lieberman for his support of the global war on terror. Markos Moulitsas, the blogger, it should be recalled, welcomed the deaths of Americans in Fallujah in 2003. [...]

The full e-mail below the fold.

So far he's doing great.  He's sticking to his message, he's smiling, he looks comfortable on the set.  Colbert is actually asking decent questions ---

Wow, Colbert just asked Lamont about Israel, and he handled it really well.  Anyone else watching? UPDATE 12:41AM ET: Dan's got streaming video at PoliticsTV --- Crooks and Liars has video as well.

While he's not "blogging" per se, he does write short rants on his computer (a gift for his 90th birthday) and e-mails them to friends.  With his permission, I'm reprinting one of those below (he asked that I not use his name in sharing this, and I'm respecting his wishes).  Maybe with this post he'll get a record for "oldest blogger" now.  LOL.

How much extra money?  Try a cool $91,089,200.

"My assumption is that Hillary Clinton is the Democratic nominee. I believe the debates [in the Democratic presidential primary] will be Hillary Clinton and seven guys sitting around a table, her chair will be four inches taller than everybody else's, and Biden will say things like, "I was thinking today how clever and brilliant and witty Hillary was, which reminded me that Evan Bayh is an idiot." And so, they'll kick each other under the table while praising Hillary, and then one of them gets to be vice president. So that's my operating assumption on the Democratic Party." - GROVER NORQUIST, JUNE 23, 2006

This diary is a follow-up to a shorter diary I wrote last month after having attended the American Prospect breakfast with right-wing activist Grover Norquist.  More below the fold.

A range of major, well-known, international airlines fly from Lebanon to a wide variety of destinations in Europe, Africa & Asia.  Heck, the airport that Israel bombed was close to brand new -- newer than most airports in the United States (The airport has a snazzy website here --- the doomsday-like music that goes along with the Flash animation is, well, sad and ironic all at the same time).

So I went through a number of airline websites to see how the major international carriers were communicating the closure of the Beirut International Airport.  Results below the fold.

I've talked with a couple other folks who are planning on attending the breakfast tomorrow morning, and someone will definitly ask about Lamont/Lieberman (probably more than one question), so other stuff would be cool.

Just got back from the office, so I'm going to grab some dinner and then check back at comments, so I'll be back in like 30 minutes.  Also, the breakfast a bunch of progressives (including yours truly) had with Grover Norquist is now online --- here's the transcript.  I'll spend some time tomorrow writing up my thoughts now that I've got access to the complete transcript.

The site has videos shot by terrorists showing Americans being killed in Iraq, videos of people being killed while the killers chant "God is great" in Arabic, videos showing the people who have been killed in Iraq by IEDs and car-bombs and more.

Here's a video of members of the 'Army of Ansar Al Sunnah' cutting off the heads of members of the Iraqi Interior Ministry. [NOTE: THIS IS GRAPHIC SHIT -- DON'T WATCH ON A FULL STOMACH].  My question (and related poll on this diary) is as follows: Should this footage be shown to Americans?  If so, why?  And if not, why not?