Myanmar cracks down on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi again!-link

The repressive junta that rules in Myanmar has sent Daw Aung San Suu Kyi home for another 18 months of house arrest. This is just beyond the pale, this poor woman has been stifled for years now. Bill Clinton, paging Bill Clinton to the freedom phone, Bill, we've got another job for you.

What Digby Said-link

 I hadn't realized that one of the costs the Republicans ridiculed and ultimately took out of the stimulus bill was money to fight pandemics. Susan Collins made sure it was stripped from the Senate version.

It's very tempting to say that those states whose leaders refused to fund this should be at the end of the line, but unfortunately it won't do any good when it comes to public health. You have to make sure the jackasses get treated as well or we all suffer. But I would hope that someone will remind their constituents of their shortsighted partisanship when the time comes.

Let's hope the Mexican Swine Flu doesn't become as virulent as the Spanish Flu Epidemic of 1918, as always, the adage about an ounce of prevention being worth a pound of cure seems to make good sense.

Torture Memos-link

graphic by the heretik

You would think that a nation that celebrates the summary execution of Somali pirates would have the stomach for prosecuting war criminals.....maybe not.

Perhaps the best way to solve our dilemma is to out-source justice to Spain.

Dept. of HOLY CRAP!-link

 From the state that brought you Bush vs. Gore here's the latest humiliation to be heaped on the backs of the less fortunate. Yes, Florida state Senator Mike Bennett, R., Sarasota, wants 10% of all applicants for unemployment  benefits to be tested for drug use, supposedly at random. People already receiving unemployment benefits would be subject to the same testing plan.

Aside from the fact that this scumbag is dumping on his neediest constituents, and he doesn't appear to be pushing any effort to mediate Florida's 8.6% unemployment (800,000 people), why isn't he petitioning the FCC to drug test Rush Limbaugh before he gets any more air time?

Headlines I Love to See-Link

New GOP Standard Bearer Rush Limbaugh Is Less Popular Than Jeremiah Wright

Max Blumenthal links to a poll that was conducted before the 2008 elections which explored voter attitudes toward a variety of subjects. While Rush enjoyed modest popularity among Republicans, among all voters he had lower positive ratings than either Rev. Wright or William Ayers. No word yet on how he stacks up against athletes foot and telephone solicitors.

Most Republicans approve of torture-link

Wow....any Republican you know, the chances are better than even that this person is a torture advocate. The link leads to Behind the Numbers, a political blog at the Washington Post.
Here's the money quote;
"Overall, 58 percent support the prohibition Obama declared before taking office, but there's a wide gap across party lines: 71 percent of Democrats and 56 percent of independents in the poll said torture should never be used, but most Republicans, 55 percent, said there are cases in which the U.S. should consider using torture against terrorism suspects."
Could it be these people just watch too much television?

The poll was conducted by Washington Post/ABC News.

Enema Memorial

AP photo

LOL!  This statue was just dedicated at the Mashuk-Akva Term Spa in the Russian city of Zheleznovodsk. If you can't make it out it's an enema bulb being hoisted aloft by three angels, there are many spas like this in the Caucasus Mountains that are known for their mineral waters which are said to provide beneficial enemas. To your health!