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It's Inauguration Day. My downtown D.C. office is mercifully closed today, so I don't have to navigate 100 square blocks worth of street closings and a show of security force that would make the Mongol hordes blanch. Then there are all the Stetson-wearing yahoos who came to celebrate the horrid event... I don't have to worry now about resisting the impulse to push them face-down into a snowdrift.

In trying to find something positive about the inaugural, this is all I could come up with: we got through the election and its aftermath without riots, cities burning, or a military coup. We could argue at length over whether there was a political coup in the form of voting irregularities... but in the grand scheme of things, our democratic process worked pretty much the way it's supposed to.

Not exactly a huge ray of sunshine, but you take what you can get.

Don't haul out the SPF 30, though. Excerpts from Bush's inaugural address indicate that his second term will bring more of the same:

We are led, by events and common sense, to one conclusion. The survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands.

The best hope for peace in our world is the expansion of freedom in all the world.

In other words, Iraq was only the beginning, folks. (On that subject, be sure to check out Sheelzebub's great-but-scary post about Iran.)

To paraphrase Bette Davis in "All About Eve," fasten your seatbelts... it's going to be a bumpy four years.

Social conservatives have their knickers in a twist over statements Dubya made in an interview with the Washington Post last Sunday. Here's the original exchange:

The Post: Do you plan to expend any political capital to aggressively lobby senators for a gay marriage amendment?

THE PRESIDENT: You know, I think that the situation in the last session -- well, first of all, I do believe it's necessary; many in the Senate didn't, because they believe DOMA [the Defense of Marriage Act] will -- is in place, but -- they know DOMA is in place, and they're waiting to see whether or not DOMA will withstand a constitutional challenge.

The Post: Do you plan on trying to -- using the White House, using the bully pulpit, and trying to --

THE PRESIDENT: The point is, is that senators have made it clear that so long as DOMA is deemed constitutional, nothing will happen. I'd take their admonition seriously.

The Post: But until that changes, you want it?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, until that changes, nothing will happen in the Senate. Do you see what I'm saying?

The Post: Right.

THE PRESIDENT: The logic.

(Side note: It cracks me up when Bush says "logic" - like he's ever used it in his life.)

Naturally, the homophobes are freaking out (here and here). My favorite quote comes from the Family Research Council's Tony Perkins (not the guy from "Psycho" - this Tony Perkins is much scarier), who said,

I believe there is no more important issue for the president's second term than the preservation of marriage.

Really, Tony? No more important issue?

The war in Iraq. Capturing Osama Bin Laden. Fixing our intelligence gathering systems so there's no repeat of the 9/11 attacks. Reducing the budget deficit. Providing affordable health care for all Americans. Improving the job market and economy.

Turns out none of those is as important as makin' sure them queers cain't git hitched!

(sigh) And they say liberals have no morals.

That's what secretary of state-designate Condoleezza Rice told her Senate confirmation hearing this week. She liked the sound of it so much, she said it twice in her opening statement. Once:

We must use American diplomacy to help create a balance of power in the world that favors freedom. The time for diplomacy is now.

And twice:

Our interaction with the rest of the world must be a conversation, not a monologue. And America must remain open to visitors and workers and students from around the world. We do not and will not compromise our security standards. Yet, if our public diplomacy efforts are to succeed, we cannot close ourselves off from the rest of the world. If I am confirmed, public diplomacy will be a top priority for me and for the professionals I lead. In all that lies ahead, the primary instrument of American diplomacy will be the Department of State, and the men and women of its Foreign and Civil Services and Foreign Service nationals.

The time for diplomacy is now.

The time for diplomacy is now? Now, after thousands have died and Iraq has become a festering hotbed for terrorism? Now, when our relationships with other nations have been battered and bruised beyond recognition because we did, in fact, "close ourselves off from the rest of the world"? Now, when half that world hates our living guts?

Now is the time for diplomacy? (banging head on keyboard) NOW??

Condi also got into a throw-down with Senator Barbara Boxer, who pretty much called her a liar (attagirl, Barb!):

I personally believe - this is my personal view - that your loyalty to the mission you were given, to sell this war, overwhelmed your respect for the truth.

You don't seem to be willing to, (A), admit a mistake, or give any indication of what you're going to do to forcefully involve others. As a matter of fact, you've said more misstatements; that the territory of the terrorists has been shrinking when your own administration says it's now expanded to 60 countries. So I am deeply troubled.

Which led Rice to respond:

Senator, I have to say that I have never, ever lost respect for the truth in the service of anything. It is not my nature. It is not my character. And I would hope that we can have this conversation and discuss what happened before . . . and what I said without impugning my credibility or my integrity.

Can this woman really believe she has any credibility OR integrity left? What kind of hallucinogen are they putting in the water over at NSA, anyway?

To no one's surprise, of course, given the current through-the-looking-glass state of our nation, and regardless of the fact that Boxer and John Kerry - remember him? - voted "nay," the Senate panel gave her the thumbs up.

Because really, what you want to do is confirm a raging incompetent, proven liar, and all-around Bush toady as your next secretary of state.

From his speech upon accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, just over 40 years ago:

I accept this award today with an abiding faith in America and an audacious faith in the future of mankind. I refuse to accept despair as the final response to the ambiguities of history. I refuse to accept the idea that the "isness" of man's present nature makes him morally incapable of reaching up for the eternal "oughtness" that forever confronts him.

I refuse to accept the idea that man is mere flotsom and jetsom in the river of life unable to influence the unfolding events which surround him. I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality.

I refuse to accept the cynical notion that nation after nation must spiral down a militaristic stairway into the hell of thermonuclear destruction. I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right temporarily defeated is stronger than evil triumphant.

I believe that even amid today's motor bursts and whining bullets, there is still hope for a brighter tomorrow. I believe that wounded justice, lying prostrate on the blood-flowing streets of our nations, can be lifted from this dust of shame to reign supreme among the children of men.

I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits. I believe that what self-centered men have torn down, men other-centered can build up. I still believe that one day mankind will bow before the altars of God and be crowned triumphant over war and bloodshed, and nonviolent redemptive goodwill will proclaim the rule of the land.

"And the lion and the lamb shall lie down together and every man shall sit under his own vine and fig tree and none shall be afraid."

I still believe that we shall overcome.

I've always believed that, too. These days, though, I'm less certain... but Dr. King had far greater cause for doubt, yet managed to remain hopeful. Maybe that's the lesson to take away from our remembrances of him today.

Doing a bit of belated bandwagon jumping today... what the hell, the boss is out and I'm bored out of my skull.

Via Rox Populi, who got it from Mouse Words.

Guilty Pleasures

CD I have in my car that I roll up the windows to listen to
I never drive with the windows down. Too much hair blowing around in my face - I'd get myself killed, and take a few Southern Marylanders with me. But An Evening With John Denver probably warrants closing the moonroof.

Book I read flat so no one could see the title
The Rules. I read it as research for a message forum I used to moderate, but I was afraid someone would think I actually agreed with the mewling bullshit inside the covers.

Crappiest song ever sung at karaoke
All of them. Gad, I hate karaoke.

Bad movie I watch repeatedly
Running Scared. Don't ask me to explain; it's one of those unknowables.

Article of clothing I love though I know it's wrong
A black tank top that has a Bundeswehr patch on it. Remember those? I'm not generally one to promote military organizations of any ilk, but they were all the rage in the '80s... and after 20 years of laundering it's the softest, comfiest tank top I own.

What I order at the bar when no one is listening
Sweet vermouth on the rocks with a twist.

Fast food item I adore
None, these days. Trying to avoid all fast food so I can avoid having to buy new clothes. But as fast-type foods go, I gotta say I love Baja Fresh's tostada salad. And Mickey D's fries are eternal.

A TV show that is a good example of the downfall of civilization that I love anyway
Desperate Housewives. But that's OK... my devotion to The Daily Show absolves me.

Fabulous post today from Annalee Newitz at AlterNet (via blackfeminism.org), about a real jaw-dropper of a ruling from the ostensibly liberal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The gist of the ruling? It's OK for an employer to fire a female employee for refusing to wear makeup on the job.

As Dave Barry says, I am not making this up. Read the ruling for yourself, here.

Then, as a gesture of solidarity, vow to never again wear makeup to work unless you bloody well feel like it.

Guess they thought they could just sneak this by us: U.S. inspectors have finally thrown in the towel and ended their search for WMDs in Iraq.

So where's the grand announcement from the deck of an aircraft carrier? Geez, I'm so disappointed.

In August of 2002, vice president Dick Cheney made this definitive assertion:

Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction.

Hate to break it to ya, Sparky, but on a grand scale of idiotic wrongness, you were about as idiotically wrong as a person could get.

Because 22 months into your illegitimate and contemptible war, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein did not have weapons of mass destruction. And there's particularly no doubt that 1,357 American soldiers have been killed, and 10,252 wounded, for No. Damn. Good. Reason.

How very proud you and your compadres must be.

The U.S. Supreme Court opted yesterday not to hear a challenge to Florida's ban on adoptions by gays.

They offered neither comment nor dissent; they just pulled their black robes up over their heads and refused to deal with it.

According to the Washington Post article,

Like the court's recent refusal to hear a challenge to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court's ruling allowing same-sex marriage in that state, yesterday's decision is not a ruling on the merits of the issue and sets no precedent.

"Not a ruling on the merits of the issue." Yeah, tell that to the gay couples who've been forbidden to adopt. Tell it to children who remain without families because homophobic Florida legislators get the willies when they see a copy of "Heather Has Two Mommies."

At present, Florida is the only state driven by its gay terror to pass such a law. But the SC's refusal to hear the case will almost certainly encourage dunderheads (and lord knows there plenty of those) in other states to introduce similar legislation.

A pox on every last one of them.

You'd think there would be more than ample evidence that Tom DeLay has neither brains nor heart, soul nor shame - and yet he continues to prove it every chance he gets. Here's the latest via Dru Blood, who got it from American Coprophagia.

At Tuesday's 109th Congressional Prayer Service (separation of church and state be damned), following mention of the victims of the South Asian tsunami, The Hammer took the pulpit and spewed thusly:

A reading of the Gospel, in Matthew 7:21 through 27.

"Not every one who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.

"Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?'

"Then I will declare to them solemnly, 'I never knew you: depart from me, you evil doers.'

"Everyone who listens to these words of mine, and acts on them, will be like a wise man, who built his house on a rock:

"The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew, and buffeted the house, but it did not collapse; it has been set solidly on rock.

"And everyone who listens to these words of mine, but does not act on them, will be like a fool who built his house on sand:

"The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew, and buffeted the house, and it collapsed and was completely ruined."

Gee, those words must have been a great comfort to the thousands of people who lost their homes, their livelihoods, and their loved ones in the tsunami. Nice to know ol' Tom is keeping a good thought for them.

At the very least, the bastard is guilty of poor taste and lousy timing. But lest we write this off as a mere lapse of good sense, let's remember that DeLay does nothing by accident. This is one of nature's more calculating species of reptile, someone who meticulously chooses his words and his actions so as to inflict the most damage on his enemies, and who uses his religion not as a warm embrace but as a bludgeon.

It's "Christians" like DeLay who make me think Hell might not be such a bad idea after all. The kind of Hell where scumbags who twist the teachings of Jesus into manifestos of hate would spend eternity in a room where walls of televisions play nonstop episodes of Queer As Folk and The "L" Word.

In Fort Worth, Texas, apparently, it's 14 years and 6 months less than the life of a man.

Y'know, it's a damn good thing I've lined my skull with chicken wire so there's less mess when my brain explodes.

And you just know Scott Peterson is thinking, "Damn... I should've offed Laci in Fort Worth."