Michael Moore investigated for trip to Cuba

If you haven't heard the news, Michael Moore, the Oscar-winning filmmaker behind "Bowling for Columbine" and "Fahrenheit 9/11" is now under investigation for a trip he made to Cuba while filming his new movie "Sicko."

According to a post on www.michaelmoore.com, Moore states that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson initiated the investigation into his trip because of trade embargoes with Cuba and travel laws that prohibit average citizens from traveling to Cuba. However, Moore also states that "The law does not prohibit anyone from exercising their first amendment right of a free press and documentaries are protected works of journalism."

Moore's new movie examines the U.S. health care industry, and he was in Cuba filming part of the movie about the health care involving some 9/11 rescue workers.

"Sicko" debuts at the Cannes Film Festival this Saturday and hits theaters June 29.

Letter-to-the-editor about my Don Imus article

Well, it appears my Don Imus article in the Capital City Free Press has caused a little controversy, though luckily, not the same level of controversy as Don Imus himself.

A letter-to-the-editor came in saying that Imus should have been fired for the very same reason that I said he should not have been fired.

Read the letter here.

Also, for those that missed it, I was a guest on 107.1 FM this past Friday at noon. I was on there to talk about issues ranging from Don Imus, my role at the Capital City Free Press, an entertainer's responsibility in the media and my alter-ego as the singer/guitarist for the band Marsellus.

(If you've ever wondered why my blog doesn't talk about Marsellus often, it's because I keep my politics and my music separate....so even if you hate me and think I'm a dirty liberal, please feel free to continue enjoying the non-political music of Marsellus. Thanks.)

Awwww, the president misses the blank checks

The President is threatening to veto a war spending bill that calls for a timetable to get out of Iraq. I guess it's a lot different when Congress isn't just writing you a blank check to spend and spend and spend, and then accuse Democrats of being "tax and spend," and spend and spend and spend.

Oh, but now there are stipulations, a "yes, we will fund the troops, and then they can come home." And Bush isn't having it, threatening to dust off his "veto pen" - you know, the pen that never got used except for that one time he wanted to put a stop to scientific research on embryonic stem cells because throwing the unused stem cells in a dumpster is the moral high ground to trying to cure alzheimers or parkinsons, or hell, even cancer.

Let's see if we can get through the next year and a half without Bush screwing up more of the world.

News sure travels slow to Ashburn, GA

Maybe someone should fire the local Pony Express in Ashburn, Georgia.

2007 marks the first year that Turner County High School, located in Ashburn, will have one official prom - with *GASP* both whites and blacks in attendance.

When schools integrated, to the chagrin of Alabama's old governor George Wallace, the memo apparently got lost on the way to the sticks of Turner County, but luckily, one Pony Express employee found an old telegraph message that got stuck between the water fountain marked "whites" and the water fountain marked "coloreds."

Luckily, Turner County High teaches students the power of logical thought, as shown with a statement by former student Mindy Bryan, who attended a segregated prom in 19......no, 2001, yeah, that's the correct year. Said Bryan, "There was not anybody that I can remember that was black...The white people have theirs, and the black people have theirs. It's nothing racial at all."

While it is safe to say that Bryan is not up for any awards involving the word "genius," how the hell is a segregated prom not "racial at all"? I mean, that one gets a great big "holy what-the-fuck, Batman?"

Luckily, the 213 upperclassmen decided that they were going to pretend that we were actually living in the year 2007, rather than some spin-off of "Back to the Future" starring Jim Crowe, and should be congratulated on getting the students to trade in their horse-and-buggies for a 1970's Ford pickup.

Hey at this rate, maybe they'll be in a Toyota Prius era by the time the flying car is invented.

The firing of Don Imus.....is it May already?

My newest article at the Capital City Free Press, which would normally be out on the first of May, has been posted early.

It is titled, "Why Don Imus should not have been fired." Rather than give an excerpt like I normally do, I say just go read it.

Here is the link.

John McCain walks safely through Baghdad...with 100 soldiers, helicopters, etc...and Chuck Norris?

Arizona's own Senator John McCain took a stroll through a Baghdad market recently, in order to demonstrate how Americans are "not getting the full picture" of Iraq.

McCain has said that there "are neighborhoods in Baghdad where you and I could walk through those neighborhoods, today," and wanted his stroll through the market to prove that you can "walk freely" in some areas of Baghdad.

However, to walk freely, you must walk just as John McCain did - with 100 armed soldiers, three Blackhawk helicopters, two Apache gunships overhead and a bullet-proof vest. And really, who doesn't have 100 armed soldiers, 5 armed helicopters and a bullet-proof vest when they go grocery shopping or to the mall? I mean, that's just standard even in America, right? Never leave home without 'em....just like American Express.

Not so ironically, however, McCain's little shopping trip did take place on April Fool's Day.

From the New York Times: "'What are they talking about?' Ali Jassim Faiyed, the owner of an electrical appliances shop in the market, said Monday. 'The security procedures were abnormal!'"

Mr. Faiyed added, "They paralyzed the market when they came," and, "This was only for the media," and, "This will not change anything."

Maybe McCain would have been just as safe travelling with Chuck Norris - after all, he's now been named an "honorary Marine."

On Months, Days and Weeks

April's column is up at the Capital City Free Press. Titled, "On Months, Days and Weeks," I wrote about the fourth anniversary of the Iraq War.

Excerpt:

"'Victory means exit strategy, and it's important for the president to
explain to us what the exit strategy is.' If only Bush would heed this quote...
after all, he is the one that said it. The date was April 9, 1999 and he was
talking about Kosovo."

Read the entire article here.

AP: Priests to Purify Site After Bush Visit

From the Associated Press:

"'That a person like (Bush), with the persecution of our migrant brothers in the
United States, with the wars he has provoked, is going to walk in our sacred
lands, is an offense for the Mayan people and their culture,' Juan Tiney, the
director of a Mayan nongovernmental organization with close ties to Mayan
religious and political leaders, said Thursday."

So a Mayan priest will purify the site, after Bush's visit, to eliminate "bad spirits" so their ancestors can rest. See, now Bush is harassing the dead, as well as the living.

Thoughts on the UK pullout from Iraq....

"UK pullout from Iraq a 'sign of success'" is up at the Capital City Free Press. In this column, I ask some questions about how this pullout is being spun.

Excerpt:

"If the British withdrawing troops from Iraq is a 'sign of success,' then
what is sending more than 20,000 American troops to Iraq? And why aren't our
British allies moving troops from Basra to Baghdad to support America in its
attempt to stabilize the area?

Read the entire article here.

Explain Rush Limbaugh to me...

Today, on Rush Limbaugh's radio show, which is a complete waste of time to listen to...I mean, really, let me sum it up for you and save you the trouble - The Democrats hate everything and are inherenly evil and the Republicans love Jesus and freedom. That's about it. Three hours of that is all you get.

Anyway, today, he was talking about "traditional marriage" and I was wondering....when you're on your 3rd or 4th marriage, as Rush is, what makes you the expert on anything having to do with marriage?

Unless it's some kind of "practice makes perfect" analogy, I just don't see it.

Oh, Irony....a qualified person at the White House

The new White House executive pastry chef, William "Bill" Yosses, co-wrote a book titled, "Desserts for Dummies."

Paging Jon Stewart.

The War of Words - CapCityFreePress.com

My new column is up at the Capital City Free Press. It's called "The War of Words: Surge, Escalation, Augmentation."

Here's an excerpt:

"Albert Einstein has been quoted as saying that insanity is 'doing the same
thing over and over again and expecting different results.' We have seen troop
escalations, surges, augmentations. We have seen the lack of a time table. We
have seen strong rhetoric. And we have seen empty promises. However, the results
have been the same."

Read the entire article here.

And the Nay's have it...and Savage talks of some birthright? What?

Well, actually I'm referring to Ney, not 'nay'.

Former Republican congressman Bob Ney of Ohio has been sentenced to 2 and 1/2 years in prison for his involvement in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal.

This former public official enjoys long walks on the beach, starry nights, conversation and exchanging political favors for golf trips, sporting event tickets, gifts and campaign donations. He also loves to get letters, which will come in handy during his prison term.

Of course, taking a page out of Mel Gibson's now-popular playbook, he blamed alcoholism (do you have to be drunk to like golf?) and will most likely enter a prison alcohol rehabilitation program, as recommeded by the judge.

And in other news of right-wing corruption....

Right-wing talk-show hatemonger Michael "Angry-man" Savage says that civil rights are taking away the birthright of heterosexual, Christian, white males. Unfortunately for the heterosexual, Christian, white males, he never says what exactly the 'birthright' is, and he never explained why they haven't been missing it.

Here's the exact quote from the January 15, 2007 edition of The Savage Nation:

"But basically, if you're talking about a day like today, Martin Luther
King Junior Day, and you're gonna understand what civil rights has become,
the con it's become in this country. It's a whole industry; it's a racket.
It's a racket that is used to exploit primarily heterosexual, Christian,
white males' birthright and steal from them what is their birthright and
give it to people who didn't qualify for it."

Why does anyone still listen to this guy?

Rush to judgement (pun intended)

I just wasted 10 minutes of my life that I will never get back.

Rush Limbaugh spent 10 minutes of his radio show (and I use 'show' very loosely) attacking Senator Barack Obama because of...........(I know, what could it be? must be serious right? scandal, maybe? something just off-the-wall crazy, right?).......smoking.

Apparently, Obama smokes. He has a vice, and somehow that makes Limbaugh think (and I use 'think' loosely) that someone will have to make smoking "cool" - which would go against the "liberal anti-smoking people"....blah blah blah, rant rant rant, spin spin lie.

What is really sad is the fact that in a day of page scandals, mistresses, weapons of mass destruction, outing CIA officers, hangings, surges and lobbyists, the only thing Limbaugh and his ilk can attack is smoking.

In a day where the current president has done cocaine in his lifetime, along with the keg-stands and driving drunk into some bushes (shrubbery, not other family members) before being elected (read: chosen by the Supreme Court in 2000), I think that smoking is pretty low on the list of offenses for elected office.

And who the hell is Rush Limbaugh to talk about a vice? Hey, Limbaugh, at least Obama's not out doctor-shopping for his fix.

War on Terror going badly? Apparently so...

From Newsweek, Jan. 22, 2007 edition:

"Crumpton [the outgoing State Department terror coordinator] told Newsweek that a worldwide surge in Islamic radicalism has worsened recently, increasing the number of potential terrorists and setting back U.S. efforts in the terror war. 'Certainly, we haven't made any progress,' said Crumpton. 'In fact, we've lost ground.' He cites Iraq as a factor; the war has fueled resentment against the United States."

I think I know the answer to this, but.....

...is Bill O'Reilly losing it?

Seriously? Meltdown, maybe?

After saying that NBC had no conservatives "across the board," forgetting about, oh, say, Joe Scarborough or Tucker Carlson, O'Reilly interviews NBC's Andrea Mitchell, supposedly about her book, and he jumps on her about where the diversity is at NBC.

Now, if you ignore the sheer lunacy and irony of his statement - after all, where the hell is "diversity" at Fox News? - it makes him look crazy, like Keith Olbermann is just getting so far under his skin that he can't control himself anymore. (Go Keith!)

Newsweek's Jonathan Alter recently appeared on MSNBC's Tucker (with Tucker Carlson, sans bow tie), and he said that O'Reilly is basically helping MSNBC by going after Olbermann, similar to the situation where he tried to sue Al Franken...guess who got publicity for that? Hmmm? "Al Franken," you say? I knew you would get that one!

Alter went on to say that O'Reilly was like a "blimp...in one of those parades. He's so full of himself. He's so inflated, it's coming out of his ears. He's so full of it that they can't possibly, you know, bring him down to earth."

I could'nt have said it better myself.

Joe Scarborough vs. Bill O'Reilly

"Let's get it on!"

So Bill O' has gone on another "liberal media" tirade accusing NBC of moving to the left for business reasons...blah...blah...blah, and like most of what comes out of Bill's mouth, it is more "spin" for his ironically-titled "no-spin zone."

Bill accused everyone (i.e. 'everyone') at NBC of being liberal, using an exchange between NBC's David Gregory and ex-Fox News/current White House press secretary Tony Snow as evidence; Bill also used the fact that an NBC called the execution of Saddam Hussein a PR nightmare.

Joe Scarborough of MSNBC's "Scarborough Country" took issue with that - especially since he is a conservative. The ex-congressman says he has always been against "exploding deficits," "wreckless spending," "military adventurism" and "turning Congress into the type of swamp that we Republicans have turned it into over the past six years."

Scarborough added, "That doesn't make me liberal, that makes me conservative. That may make you, though, a suck-up, if you defend the Republicans that have done that to this country and to our party over the past six years."

Interesting to note that Snow apologized to NBC's Gregory for using the term 'partisan.' Not that O'Reilly was worried about accuracy or anything.

Another funny note is how Scarborough said of O'Reilly, "...he's angry at Keith Olbermann. He can't attack Keith Olbermann on the air anymore --"

Your turn, O'Reilly. Time to start spinning.

God tells Pat Robertson that Sean Hannity is hiding WMDs in Thomas Jefferson's Qur'an

Well....kinda.

The January 2 edition of Hannity and Colmes had Sean Hannity saying, during a discussion of Saddam Hussein's execution, "I believe there were WMDs. I believe they were moved."

The evidence he was using to back up his opinion, coincidentally, was also moved, and are now hiding with the WMDs in an undisclosed location. However, Donald Rumsfeld knows where the WMDs and Sean Hannity's evidence are - "in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat."

And of course, now that we know the Fox News version of the "truth" of WMDs, what would make the beginning of 2007 more complete than predictions by the Sister Cleo of the Christian Right - Pat Robertson.

His 2007 predictions include "very serious terrorist attacks," "chaos" and "mass killing" (although not nuclear - or even 'nucular' - as the Lord did not tell him that.)

Let's see...add to that "much more disaster," "the Israeli people...will surrender their birthright in favor of...illusory peace with the Palestinians" and "earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, tornadoes - volcanic eruption..." ....and erectile dysfunction. Ok, maybe not that last one.

Pat Robertson's predictions are nothing to scoff at...

Here are some of his 2006 predictions so you can see how accurate he really is:

"President Bush is going to strengthen." (Oops, screwed the pooch on that one.)

"The fall elections will be inconclusive, but the outcome of the war and the success of the economy will leave the Republicans in charge." (Damn. That's a big one. Especially with today being the swearing in of the Democratically-controlled Congress.)

"Another liberal judge is going to retire - step down from the [Supreme] Court. We'll have another opening there." (Doh!)

"The war in Iraq is going to come to a successful conclusion. We'll begin withdrawing troops before the end of this year." (What is all this talk about a surge in troop levels?)

Apparently, Robertson was right about a couple of things - the Likud party in Israel losing the parliamentary election and Judge Samuel Alito, Jr. being confirmed to the Supreme Court.

Hey, 2 out of many isn't bad, right.

I'm currently taking down Robertson's Superbowl predictions, so place your bets here.

And in a bit of interesting news, Keith Ellison, the newly-elected congressman from Minnesota who happens to be Muslim, will use the Qur'an in his private swearing-in ceremony - but not just any Qur'an. The specific one he will use formerly belonged to Thomas Jefferson - yes, Judge(mental) Roy Moore, one of the founding fathers you always speak of.

Of course, ignorance abounds as proven by Congressman Virgil Goode of Virginia. Goode warned his constituents that if we do not solve the immigration problem, there will be more Muslims like Ellison in Congress.

Ellison, however, is a native of Detroit, hence, not an immigrant, proving once and for all that Virgil Goode is ignorant, pathetic and touches himself at night causing the baby Jesus to cry.

Also, a little immigrant-problem factoid for Congressman Goode - most Mexicans are Catholic, not Muslim. Oh, but to you, the facts don't matter.

What's that? Huh? Montgomery has a budget, you say?

Apparently we do.

The Montgomery City Council finally passed a budget for 2007, even though the fiscal year already began months ago. It passed with a 5-4 vote (haven't we seen a lot of those lately?).

Now we're just waiting on the lawsuits....not that Janet May pays attention to legal opinions.

(Ps - instead of always having a "more info" section at the bottom, I've started putting links in the story....sometimes.)

"So this is the new year....."

Figured I would use a line from Death Cab For Cutie's song "The New Year" to title this first post of 2007....why not, right?

Anyway, be sure to check out the Capital City Free Press for "Off the record with Joseph O. Patton (and Josh Carples): Resolutions for Everyone." We decided to collaborate on new years resolutions - not for ourselves - but for people like the President, Hillary, Bill O, the University of Alabama, Democrats, the Alabama Legislature, Governor Bob Riley, Mayor Bobby Bright and the City of Montgomery.

Also, my new article - "A new year, a new direction...maybe" is up. In it, I ponder the question, "So was Bush really on a "listening tour," or was he merely "doctor shopping?"

And we ended 2006 saying goodbye to President Gerald Ford, Godfather of Soul James Brown, and Dictator/Murderer/Tyrant Saddam Hussein....and in 2007, two funeral ceremonies and one hanging can be viewed online.