David Kuo : Where Is Republican Compassion?

I just can't get enough of this David Kuo guy.

I am personally finding my own views shifting more and more to the atheist angle, but I think that is in some ways a reaction to blind denials of things in front of our faces, like teaching children not to think but to rely, for some reason, on an a priori source of truth beyond investigation (er, certain texts).

David is a deeply faithful Christian, but he can see the things in front of his face. He believes that Christianity is about love and humility and caring for the poor. In relating that a Senate Home Security and Government Affairs Committee toured New Orleans on Monday and held a hearing about what can be done to help the people of New Orleans, David notes with horror that not a single Republican member attended (3 Dems).

How, even from a political perspective, can not one of the Republicans attend, let alone a moral perspective? If it was once stereotypically true that Democrats were hostile to faith and Republicans hostile to the poor. Democrats, however, have been trying to reach across the faith divide. Republicans? Nothing. Here is the list of Republican committee members who didn't attend - a list of shame:

Susan M. Collins Ranking Member (R-ME)
Ted Stevens (R-AK)
George V. Voinovich (R-OH)
Norm Coleman (R-MN)
Tom Coburn (R-OK)
John E. Sununu (R-NH)
Pete V. Domenici (R-NM)
John W. Warner (R-VA)

Where are the phone calls flooding the Senate switchboards mobilized by Christian political leaders like Dr. Dobson and Mr. Robertson? Where are the bushels of letters pouring into the offices of these members reminding them that Jesus cares enormously for the poor and sick and hurting? Where is the outrage that these people didn't even bother to go and survey the problems? Maybe they are just late in arriving.

Alan Gillett

I post this not in the spirit of dark-hearted American Idol early shows, but because Alan Gillett is a truly remarkable human being.



From WFMU's blog, which has loads more info and video clips of Alan.

We've Made a Difference in the World

Last week a friend and I were finally fed up with a promo on the the local news channel, and wrote them to complain. Well, as of yesterday (I think), they had actually modified the promo to remove the jarring sarcastic quip at the tail of the piece! "You're welcome" has been trimmed off!

Thanks to my friend Russell for also writing in, and for noting the edited promo.

Adventurer

DSC_5359, originally uploaded by ianmcc.

A beautiful shot of The Intrepid Traveller...

Get Some Perspective

Yeah, sure it's cold, and I'm digging it. You can finally SMELL the cold. But let's get some perspective.

My tweaked version of Apple's Weather Widget, showing Kelvin. What a narrow range of "temperature" humans can live at!

Is there really such a big difference between today, Friday ("Coldest day in 2 Years!!") and tomorrow, Saturday ("Balmy")?

Come ON, Now - How Hard Is It?

Jesus' General makes a video of Patrick Leahy demanding explanation from Atty General Gonzalez about how shit got so fucked up with the Canadian citizen that was detained in NYC on his way home, and eventually sent to Syria (??) where he was tortured for months before finally being returned home to Canada, where he was exonerated of all charges of "terrorism."

IE or Y?

Me: Is "hippy" in the singular spelled with a Y or an IE?

Wikipedia: It's spelled "hippy" in the UK, and "hippie" in the US.

Me: Heh. Whaddya know. Thanks!

UPDATED: Kill the "You're Welcome" Guy

Updated: NY1 Responds! See below...

If you watch NY1, you know what I'm talking about. My email to them...

Subject: I Don't FEEL Welcome

Dear NY1 -

I've watched your channel for the first 2 hours of my waking life each
day for probably over a decade now, and I don't think I've
ever found anything as irritating as the "You're Welcome" comment at
the end of the 11pm New Broadcast promo. I've tried to ignore it, but
it won't go away, and I feel I had to share my opinion on it. That
smug, smirking quip is, I imagine, supposed to make the channel and
the new show seem "irreverent" and quirky, all Mountain Dew and out of
the box and Doritos XTreme, but it just comes across as some jerk who
stumbled into my living room and made some annoying crack at me. Sure,
it catches my attention, so to that end it succeeds. But NY1 has never
been about Ratings At Any Cost. Your channel succeeds and keeps me
watching because I like the people involved, and they talk
intelligently about the things I'm interested in in the city.

Anyway, that's my two cents.

- m

ps. Give Pat Kiernan whatever he asks for.

pps. While we're at it, the voicework for the "It'll only take you 5
minutes to watch the museum report" promo's also pretty annoying.

UPDATE: They responded! And as I wrote back to the guy, it's this kind of thoughtful, personal response that makes me love NY1 so much. Anyone reading this who lives in NYC, do them a favor and try out their 11pm broadcast sometime!:

Thanks for your two cents and your loyalty to NY1. The promo....ah, the
promo. You're right...we were looking for some irreverence and
attitude. As a matter of fact, we are proud of the fact that we don't
and will not do all of the hype and fluff you see on the other channels
and maybe that was reflected in a way that didn't work. Clearly, the
beginning of the promo didn't resonate with you like the "your welcome"
comment did. At any rate, your comments (and others) have been passed
along (and discussed) with our promo folks and we are coming up with
some more content-driven promotion.

Also, while ratings are not the end-all, we DO need viewers so please
watch the show!

Thanks again for the feedback.

Steve Paulus
General Manager, NY1

PS: Pat is doing quite nicely and is well appreciated. The museums
voice feedback has also been passed along.

Thanks, Steve!

Okay, Whatever You Say

There's a new Nintendo DS game out called Hotel 215. It's largely an interactive book, aka an Adventure Game, and it's getting some great reviews. In this one from Gamespot, I've deeply enjoyed the the text I've emboldened, cuz I know exactly what he means.

It helps that the solutions for puzzles aren't often troublesome. All the puzzles are designed specifically with the realities of this hotel in mind, so you won't find yourself with any obscenely weird objectives or "tie the cell phone to the cat" moments, nor are you likely to find yourself glued to a walk-through for the bulk of the game

Line of the year so far.

Did He Just Say "Baby Einstein?"

Regarding the surreal inclusion of Baby Einstein into the SOTU last night...

Yes, and yes.

Digby For President

This is why I contributed money this past December to Hullabaloo.

I have written a lot about the fact that ever since the hippies grew their hair long and women fought for their right to be full members of society, the Republicans have successfully broken the parties into archetypal masculine and feminine tribes. I have long thought that this was one of our more difficult challenges. Public leadership archetypes are mostly male, after all, and the right appropriated them all.

But that's about to change, isn't it? While we justly celebrate Jim Webb's strong no-nonsense speech tonight we also saw a rising Democratic party led by powerful, intelligent women. If there's an archetype at work now it's a healthy modern family --- mom and dad are equals.

I don't know how long it will take the media chatterers to get over their odd, adolescent testosterone fixation, but most of the rest of the country, as usual, is way ahead of them. The Democrats are the party of adults, male and female. The Republicans and the media are the only ones still stuck in Junior High waiting for the football captain to ask them to the dance.

Or, in the previous post:

As we await the magic moment when the Codpiece enters the capitol and wades through the adoring crowd to take to the podium and tell us what the state of our union is, I can't help but be reminded of what it used to be like when Bush made a speech or held a press conference and people like Howard Fineman said things like this:

"If he’s a cowboy he’s the reluctant warrior, he’s Shane… because he has to, to protect his family."

This was the tenor of the political discourse for years. Luckily, the country has seemed to finally noticed that this man's been walking around stark raving naked and babbling like an idiot for years. But it was a very depressing and disorienting time when the entire press corps and official punditocrisy insisted that this illiterate fool was on the par with with Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill. Sometimes I felt like I was losing my mind.

Magic Wand

Carl Pope, Executive Director of the Sierra Club, on Bush's incoherent energy policy suggestions in his State of the Union message last night

This is beyond smoke and mirrors, this is magic wand stuff.

An NBA star and the founder of the Baby Einstein videos? And then you feel you can steal and take credit for our subway hero?

Fuck you, you rotten-hearted shit.

What Recycling Means to Bush

This is why ThinkProgress is the finest blog on the Net.

Their compilation of "Energy Independence" quotes from the past five State of the Union addresses...

State of the Union, 1/29/2002: Good jobs also depend on reliable and affordable energy. This Congress must act to encourage conservation, promote technology, build infrastructure, and it must act to increase energy production at home so America is less dependent on foreign oil.

State of the Union, 1/28/2003: Our third goal is to promote energy independence for our country, while dramatically improving the environment. … Even more, I ask you to take a crucial step and protect our environment in ways that generations before us could not have imagined.

State of the Union, 1/20/2004: Consumers and businesses need reliable supplies of energy to make our economy run — so I urge you to pass legislation to modernize our electricity system, promote conservation, and make America less dependent on foreign sources of energy.

State of the Union, 2/2/2005: To keep our economy growing, we also need reliable supplies of affordable, environmentally responsible energy. … I urge Congress to pass legislation that makes America more secure and less dependent on foreign energy.

State of the Union, 1/31/2006: Keeping America competitive requires affordable energy. And here we have a serious problem: America is addicted to oil. …. By applying the talent and technology of America, this country can dramatically improve our environment, move beyond a petroleum-based economy, and make our dependence on Middle Eastern oil a thing of the past.

Stenographer

This is called being the government's "stenographer." That headline is not news. News would be "Bush to Emphasize the 'Newness' of His Ideas" or "Bush Calls His Ideas News" or "Bush Says His Speech Contains News Ideas."

Oh, and is it too much for you to point out that Bush called for an end to "Oil Addiction" in last year's State of the Union? It doesn't take a damn Nancy Drew to "notice" that.

Jules Crittenden Blames You

It continues to blow my mind to read shit like this. Jules Crittenden is, apparently, an "editor and columnist for the Boston Herald," and he writes "the speech George Bush should make Tuesday night":

So what is the best thing I can do tonight? I can tell you the truth. What none of you want to hear. What you’ve been stopping your ears to. The ugly truth.

The State of the Union is a disaster. I did my best, but I made mistakes, and my best wasn’t good enough.

We went to war without building up our army, and now, I am trying to make up for that.

But that is not the disaster.

The disaster is that you, Congress and the American people, do not care to fight.

Faced with a fundamental challenge to our own security, to everything we believe in, to the world order to peace and security for which we and our parents fought so hard for so many years, you now want to pretend like none of these threats are real. You want to surrender to the evil I have been telling you about. An evil that, unchecked, can consume large parts of the world and threatens to usher in a dark age.

You didn’t like it when I talked about evil. Sounded too simple, too uncompromising, too moralistic. Too … biblical.

For real? You HONESTLY believe that the reason Iraq is a catastrophic quagmire and we are Less Safe than we were if Bush had played bumper cars for 5 years is that we have blocked his work? That the American people - and the fucking Republican-led congress - were obstacles to his goals? That he didn't fire randomly at enough targets?

Jules, you are a terrible person.

You'll Have Plenty of Time to Play With Your Friends When Your Chores Are Done

Thank you, David Sirota:With A Mere 15,840 Hours Until Election ‘08, I’m Already Sick of the Presidential Campaign

I feel a bit like I used to feel about basketball games. In the latter, I felt you could show up midway in the 4th and they would have 5-10 points separating them, and then they would finish the game and one team would win.

In the Presidential Race I feel that we could all just stop talking about it for, say, 6 months, and don't worry, it'll be there waiting for you, all fresh and relevant, with plenty of time left to work out who can best save the lives of humans around the globe. Until then, just govern.

Sick Minds

Ken Hovind is a "young earth" creationist that built a Pensacola, Florida park called Dinosaur Adventure Land, which "depicts humans and dinosaurs co-existing in the last 4,000-6,000 years and also contains a depiction of the Loch Ness monster."

He was just indicted for tax evision and given TEN YEARS in prison. He owed over a million dollars.

In a Pharyngula post on the topic, two quotes stood out to me that indicate the mindset of those in this "realm" of the world (must...hold back...from making judgemental...comments. Let the quotes speak for themselves....).

First, a supporter named Shelley the Republican, in a post that later urges believers to pray for a positive outcome of the (at that time not finalized) judgement, writes.

A quick review of the case show that the federal court unfairly denied Hovind's sensible and truthful defence: Kent owes no tax because everything he "owns" is really property of God. This is a fact that we would all do well to remember!

Sure, if you don't want to live in a country, like the United State of America, which is founded on secular laws, feel free to remember it. Are you really sinking to the equivalent of "But God created adultry"?

Next, Kent's own words to the court, asking for leniency.

If it's just money the IRS wants, there are thousands of people out there who will help pay the money they want so I can go back out there and preach," Hovind said.

How could we ever build a bridge to these states of mind? They need to form their own Christian version of Iran, I suppose.

Choose Your Own Adventure books on the iPod! Excellent. And there's even a free one: The Abominable Snowman.

Twisted Polls Create Twisted Impressions

Someone named Dean Barnett posts on Hugh Hewitt's blog about what he calls the "Most Depressing Poll Ever."

Apparently, it was a FOX News Poll, and listen to this twisted, manipulative poll question. I don't feel like this records any particular feeling, just people's attempts to convey their opinion within the odd confines of the format:

Do you personally want the Iraq plan President Bush announced last week to succeed?

As you can imagine, the results of such a twisted question (we already know that most people do NOT want to allow the escalation to go through, and so their response to this will be seriously clouded by that) are somewhat negative. The results:

Overall: 63% Yes 22% No 15% Don’t Know

Democrats: 51% Yes 34% No 15% Don’t Know

Republicans: 79% Yes 11% No 10% Don’t Know

Independents 63% Yes 19% No 17% Don’t Know

Dean continues, offering his solemn and serious analysis.

Friends, I’ll allow you a minute to wrap your minds around this, for we are truly through the looking class. Even though we have some 150,000 troops in harm’s way and we universally profess to “support the troops,” over 1/3 of our society either wants them to fail or doesn’t know if they want them to succeed. Even more chilling are the results regarding our currently dominant political party. 49% of Democrats either want us to lose in Iraq or “don’t know” if they want us to succeed.

I would love to hear why losing in Iraq would be in the national interest. And I would love to hear the humanitarian justification for leaving Baghdad’s civilians to the tender mercies of the murderous militias and terrorists that stalk that city.

And I would also love to hear Democratic leaders respond to these poll numbers. But I won’t hold my breath.

The main problem here is the Bush refuses to define "success" or "victory," so questions like this make no sense. Also, as I said, the strongest reaction to the "plan" last week was a reaction of the plan, so if folks reject the premise, asking them about the results of it are out of place.

If I were to even ask the Poll question "Do you want America to succeed in Iraq?" there would probably be folks that say "no." But again, that question would also make no sense, because it's based on a strange movie-based view of the world. Polls need to be more specific.

Do you want America to find the Pony?

Put Down the Party Horn

Go Glenn!. On the "compliance" of the Bush Administration in "ending" illegal warrantless surveillance.

I have to say that I find the celebratory tone that I have seen here and there to be quite odd and unwarranted. There is nothing to celebrate here. We shouldn't be grateful when the administration agrees to abide by the law. That is expected and required, not something that occurs when the King deigns that it should and we then celebrate that he has agreed to comply with the laws we have enacted.

And even more Glenn - his excellent coverage of some Congressional "activity" today.

Who's the Vegan NOW?

The Onion: Dairy Company Introduces Lots-Of-Pulp Milk

Bestest Friends

No love lost between Iraq Prez al-Maliki and the Bush administration:

Responding to Condoleezza Rice's recent comment that his government is on 'borrowed time,' Maliki 'humorously' suggested 'that it might be the Bush administration that is on borrowed time,' the Los Angeles Times reports.

'I understand and realize that inside the American administration there is some kind of a crisis situation, especially after the results of the last election,' Maliki said. "

(Thanks to Matt for reminding me whether "no love lost" means good or bad)

Johnny Marr's in Modest Mouse now? Oh, jeeeez. I guess I'll have to try to get over the MM singer's voice now.

Chamois Queen

These days, I'm all about chamois shirts. Hence, this is my new patron saint.



(okay, maybe hers is denim, but it's the whole effect that matters)

2006 Chickenhawk of the Year

Nobody does it better. The Poor Man Institute presents the 2006 Chickenhawk of the Year.

Drooling Over Greenwald

Glenn Greenwald is the best political writer living today. I've been reading and worshipping his blog for about a year now, and his references to a new book (he previously wrote How Would a Patriot Act?, which I actually still need to read) are getting me all geared up. Today he dropped a handful of details of what the book will be about:

Its broad theme is the exploitation of 'Good v. Evil' concepts and rhetoric (and the corresponding and insatiable need for an 'Enemy') in American political 'debates' and policy, and how reliance on that framework has destroyed the Bush presidency and damaged the country. Various topics are examined under that rubric (Iraq, Iran, media narratives, domestic policy making, executive power abuses, etc.). I'll write more about the book at some point when it makes sense to do so.

David Kuo on Dobson/McCain: "it is Jesus that is being bartered and sold here"

Earlier today I posted on my feelings of cynicism about Bush "taking a stand" against the way the Saddam (and subsequent) executions were handled (inane Bush quote I hadn't included: the new Iraqi govt "has still got some maturation to do") .

I linked to a writer named David Kuo, an evangelical Christian who used to work for the Bush Administration in their, more or less, "Faith Outreach" department. He left and then wrote a book strongly criticizing the administration of mocking and manipulating evangelicals, and just pretending to care about them.

Now, I'm no Christian, let alone an Evangelical, but I can respect one who speaks with honesty and integrity, and I find David's blog fascinating. This is a man who believes that Jesus is the highest of the high, higher than issues of sex on tv, higher than the fight against homosexual marriage, higher than "abstinence-only" programs - generally, he believes that all the trappings of the American Evangelical scene have nothing to do with his religion, and that is a wonderful and refreshing thing to here.

Well, today David is writing on the whole McCain-Dobson nonsense (Dobson, super-big-wig of American Evangelicals and the power they wield, says he doesn't like John McCain, and John says "hey, let's talk, let's work this out"), and it sickens him in many ways. Watch how he nails them both to the wall from a perspective different from my own, but one which I love to see. The highest sin is hypocrisy and falsehood.

This whole thing does nothing more than hurt the name of Jesus because it is Jesus that is being bartered and sold here. McCain wants Jesus so he can get votes. He thinks Jesus is found with the religious conservative vote. Dobson wants to give the illusion he controls Jesus so that he can achieve his political ends. All of this sends a single message to the world - Jesus' main significanc these days is to serve people's political ends.

Republicans have been taking Christians for granted by dangling minor panderings in front of them, and Christians are starting to realize they've been had. I may not agree with everything David writes (in fact, I'm sure of it), but in this case, and many others, David looks at the world with eyes unclouded by what he wants to believe is in front of him -- a top ethical position in my book.

Hey, isn't that sometimes referred to as Science?

Bush Uses the Upset Card to Convince People His Opinions Are Foreful

Bush says he is upset (come on, Bushie, can you say "unacceptable" again??) at the handling of the Saddam execution. So were ALL of us, LAST WEEK, when it happened, you spineless shit!

David Kuo has a fascinating and honest Christian blog called J-Walking where, among other things (like his fascination with the iPhone) he believes that Bush should have watched the Saddam hanging:

I watched him squirm during the discussion of Saddam Hussein's hanging video and how he didn't want to watch the actual hanging. If we can't watch the consequence of what we have done then isn't it possible that the thing we have ordered is wrong? Isn't facing consequences what every one of Jesus' followers is to do? I don't understand it.

More from Wikipedia, in case you didn't know who David is:

David Kuo is an author and former Special Assistant to President George W. Bush and Deputy Director of the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. Kuo's book Tempting Faith is a political and spiritual memoir of his time in Washington working with the religious right. However, it received enormous attention primarily because of his revelation that President Bush's "compassionate conservative" promises were never fulfilled and used for primarily political purposes. He also revealed how the Bush administration used Christian voters while simultaneously ridiculing Christian political leaders.

Christian Jedi Update

Each morning I ride the train through the field and streams of NYC freakdom, and I note some surprising media almost every day. I plan to present them here with little or no comment, as they tend to hit me pre-cognitively.



Note that small wide word above the word "Wisdom" - I hadn't even seen that word when i spotted this book on the train. That makes the posting even more surreal.

Something to Aspire To

I didn't even know freehand perfect circle drawing people existed. I'm smitten.

Glenn Beck Should Rot In Hell

CNN dickhead Glenn Beck decides that Martin Luther King Day is an appropriate opportunity to call the rape allegations of the Duke Lacrosse team a "lynching." Cute, Glenn.

I've written to CNN at their feedback form:

Glenn Beck consistently shames your organization with his racism and his general behavior of a 10 year old brat. But calling the Duke lacrosse team the victim of a "lynching" on Martin Luther King Day is truly beyond the pale. Absoutely nauseating. Just because people are talking about how he's an embarrassment to CNN doesn't mean you're winning some goal of "viewership." Please reconsider his role at CNN.

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0701/15/gb.01.html

(My Two Sense, via AmericaBlog)

Sensations of His Own Weakness

Glenn Greenwald writes about how a cornered, threatened, weakened Bush is especially dangerous for us all:

The most dangerous George Bush is one who feels weak, powerless and under attack. Those perceptions are intolerable for him and I doubt there are many limits, if there are any, on what he would be willing to do in order to restore a feeling of power and to rid himself of the sensations of his own weakness and defeat.

The Sinking Ship of American Illusion

The Unapologetic Mexican on The Lie:

Though blood is spilling and fear is growing and government control is unhinging its flex like a fevered, murderous marionette due to this mad, mad idiot child at the helm of our nation, in a sense we are better off. For the Lie will never be swallowed quite so easily by quite so many. And because after this razing to the ground of the great star-spangled illusion, I am sure we will recoil, and with a passion that just may make this world a better place than it could have been were Gore or Kerry to win.

IF we survive the further destruction that Bush is clamoring to 'bring on,' that is.

As we were gearing up for the 2004 Presidential election, I remember whispers were started to be heard along these lines - that a Bush win "might not be such a bad idea," because things could get really bad before they got better, and that the bounce back my be higher than it would be otherwise (with just a single-term Bush nightmare behind us). Well, sitting here in my safety and plenty at a computer screen, of course, it's easy to say that, and - in a way - I can understand it. Wishing for it before the election is actually different than looking for a silver lining at this point, but I do believe with TUM that the Lie has been exposed for all the people of the world to see, and for America to see how our system can fail.

I'm young, though, and I imagine thoughts like this must have been going through heads post-Hiroshima and post-McCartney, too.

Feel the JoeFuckYoumtum!

Brad Altrocket from Sadly, No! is fed up:

Dear Joe Lieberman,

You are the biggest loser in the history of loserdom. You are a bigger loser than Kevin Federline. You are a bigger loser than the entire Italian Army. You are a bigger loser than the goddamned LA Clippers.


“Pointing out that Bush sucks only divides the nation!”

Read why, if you have no idea. Hint: It has to do with Katrina.

Look, Stop

You know when someone's arguing a point, and they say "Look, the real reason..." or "Well, look, it's not that..." or "Look, no one's saying..." or "Look, if we can only..."?

I can't think of a time in my life when someone says that Look and it's not irritating.

Here endeth today's complaint.

The Growth of a Child (Learning Responsibility)

8 year-old: "If there were mistakes, I'm sorry"

12 year-old: "Where mistakes have been made, the responsibility rests with me"

adult: "I made a mistake. I'm sorry. It was this."

Froomkin continues:

That's a step. But the restoration of Bush's credibility on Iraq requires that he admit that he himself made mistakes, and explain what he's learned from them.

Instead, what he was saying last night was, basically: People who worked for me screwed up, and I'm jumping on the grenade. That sort of "admission" casts himself as heroic, rather than repentant.

There was no acknowledgment that he himself had ever done anything wrong. There was no contrition, no remorse, no apology, no sense that he had learned anything from the experience, no reason to hope that he'll make better decisions next time around.

Most irritating way to start an ad:

"What's your cereal's IQ?"

From a Kellogg's Start Smart cereal ad.

Clive Thompson, from Collision Detection:

Personally, I think squid-inspired design could improve anything.

Failures of "Homespun American Pseudo-Folk Wisdom"

Incredible article from Matt Taibbi in Rolling Stone on how the US keeps fucking up in Iraq:

And so this is how we got where we are. You get a whole nation full of people who spend 99 percent of their free time worrying about their lawns or their short iron game, you convince them that they know something about something they actually know nothing about, and next thing you know, they're blundering into a 1,000-year blood feud between rival Islamic groups, shooting things left and right in a panic, and thinking that they can make it all right and correct each successive fuckup by "keeping our noses to the grindstone" and "making lemons out of lemonade."

The whole war has been characterized by this kind of behavior. The Americans continually make ghastly mistake after ghastly mistake, and they keep responding to their mistakes by digging down and seeking the aid of the same homespun American pseudo-folk wisdom that got them into this mess in the first place. Our foreign policy initiatives in the area resemble attempts to mend fences with a neighbor whose lawn has been mussed by bringing him a tuna casserole cooked specially by wifey; only in Iraq, when casserole-presenting Dad ends up with his eyes gouged out and his skull charred black, hanging upside down from a telephone wire and impaled on the shards of the casserole dish, the neighborhood committee convenes and...decides to bake a bigger casserole.

You really ought to read the whole damn thing. It's a blistering piece, with lots of blistering (huh?) for Mr. Thomas Friedman.

Alleyway

DSCF5124, originally uploaded by Happykid.

No chelicerata - just a beautiful picture for a Sunday morning.

Joel McHale on TV's The Soup

If there were a Voltron-like creature created by the sum of the egos of the ladies on The View, it would have to be Tyra Banks.

As I've said before, I keep a handful of frightful rightwing blogs in my reading (malkin, etc) because a) they are entertaining, b) sometimes, like with FOX News, despite my stringent disagreement with it, often there is rich "information" within the messages, and c) the whole "know your enemy" theory.

Sometimes, tho, I read a post and I sigh and I feel like I'm looking down at a 4 year old who is hitting me with a winter hat he has been asked to put on. Mark Noonan, of Blogs for Bush, writes a mean "Why am I even wasting my eyes on this when I could be asleep or watching, say, VHS tapes of Paradise Hotel" post - this one is called "Fight Terrorism? How Dare He!":

Democrats are planning a slew of "oversight" hearings to "investigate," amongst other things the war in Iraq, and terrorist surveillance.

You get this? Apparently, fighting terrorism is a bad thing, and must be treated as a potential crime.

What should we be calling the Democrats now? Defeatist Democrats? Cut and Run Democrats? Bin Laden Democrats? It seems like they are motivated by a desire to see this country lose the war. Why? To undermine President Bush.

And they accused President Bush of being a divider, not a uniter? These liberal sickos have done nothing but divide this country. In my lifetime alone, they've committed some of the most blatant acts of treason. Whether it be Ted Kennedy's reaching out to the Soviet Union to undermine Reagan's reelection, to as recent as their opposition to the Patriot Act, the surveillance of terrorists and reaching out to our enemies to undermine Bush.

It's time to investigate the Democrats. They are deliberately trying to lose the war, and they must be held accountable.

Life Grows and Changes

I love evolution so much it makes me cry. From writer Clive Thompson, on his blog Collision Detection:

Dig this: A group of researchers has discovered that red squirrels appear to be able to predict the future.

At least, the future of the forests in which they live. American and Eurasian red squirrels live in spruce trees, and love to eat spruce tree seeds. To try and thwart the squirrels, the trees long ago evolved an interesting defense: An unpredictable boom-and-bust period of seed production. The trees will produce several low-seed years in a row and then, boom, outta nowhere and seemingly at random, a bumper crop of seeds. The idea is that the trees will starve the squirrels in the lean years, thus reducing the squirrel population -- whereupon the trees will launch a massive seed offensive to try and frantically reproduce while the squirrels are on the ropes.

But here's the thing: The squirrels have fought back. A team led by Stan Boutin of the University of Alberta studied the squirrels' mating patterns, and Boutin found something remarkable: The squirrels appear to be able to predict when the trees are going to randomly produce a bumper crop. In a high-yield year, several months before the trees produce their seeds, the squirrels engage in a second mating cycle, doubling the size of their broods. The squirrels are somehow seeing into the future of the trees -- or at least making incredibly accurate bets.

I do feel like noting that this description takes the classic inverted view of evolution than the one I prefer: species don't TRY to become something else. The ones that are still around are the ones that did a certain thing. Individual ambition, while its own wonderful thing, has nothing to do with evolution. (Feel free to show some way that it is in a comment)

The trees aren't TRYing to be like that. The ones that started doing it are in fact the ones that are still around, even better than ones who, say, started a simpler alternation of high- and low-output years.

On the squirrel side, it's a bit more complicated. We can say for sure that the squirrels aren't meeting in committees and debating the evidence, and choosing as a society what to do. But I couldn't really say what's at work here. More study needed. It's possible that the ones that are still around are the ones that have a mating cycle that somehow matches the (certainly not random) cycle of the bumper crop years, but....how strange is all that?

Okay. We're part of this now?

(David Horsey, from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

File Under: Sore Losers

Tom Delay's Blog ("I write it out in longhand, and they type it") calls the bills the Democrats are introducing in their "First 100 Hours" the equivalent of "Martial Law."

What will they say once the crooks start going to JAIL?

Cheney Swears in Hillary

Cheney swears in Hillary yesterday. I don't know what Bill's doing there, but still: Priceless photo.

(Photo from the NY Times, via The Reaction)

The Washington Wire blog at the Wall Street Journal notes that at the end of a press conference Thursday evening with German Chancellor Angela Merkel (the same one the BushBoy harassed with a nauseating shoulder grab last summer), Bush made what he appears to think was a joke: "No Back Rubs"

Says one commenter:

It is amazing how many nannies this president has.

The Editors provide some serious analysis:

You could invade Sweden tomorrow, re-name it “Iraq”, and have yourself a marvelous, if slightly Nordic, Iraqi state.

A Hero To Start

Let me start off 2005 2006 2007 with a STANDING OVATION for this man.

In the Duke Lacrosse rape case...

For this the charges are dropped? For this the woman is called "wavering"

Yet when questioned again on Thursday afternoon by Mr. Nifong’s investigator, the woman said for the first time that she could no longer be sure what had penetrated her.

Audi's new slogan: "Young, Powerful, and Ready to Play."

Eeeyooo. That's just disgusting.

Ya Don't Say

AP:

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and the rest of the Bush administration may be undecided on whether to send more troops to Iraq. But several soldiers he met with at Camp Victory here on Thursday morning said extra forces would help.
[...]
His hour-long question-and-answer session with troops over scrambled eggs Thursday was largely spent gathering insights from those closest to the action.

When he asked them whether adding forces would help, he got a roomful of nods.

Atrios:

I'm not impugning the integrity of these people. They may believe these things sincerely. That isn't the issue. The issue is pretending that when the new Secretary of Defense shows up to talk "to the troops" that those people chosen for that talk are a representative random group.

Remember that lovely scripted Bush/Troops teleconference? Memories.

Niyazoz is Gone, but We Still Have the Memories

Now that the Turkmenistan dictator Saparmurat Niyazoz has died of a heart-attack, we can thank Tripmaster Monkey for a quick rundown of some Funny Facts of his rule.

And by Funny I mean horrifying.

Also, it's really hard for me not to wonder about the "heart attack" thing.

Froomkin:

There's been plenty of evidence for years now that Bush was living in a self-imposed bubble of non-reality, particularly when it came to the situation in Iraq.

But it wasn't until Bob Woodward's book "State of Denial," came out in September that it was definitively established, to the full satisfaction of Washington's cocktail-party circles, that the president is not to be taken seriously on Iraq.

It wasn't until November, when the voters resoundingly threw Bush's congressional enablers from power, that it became undeniably clear that Americans reject Bush's leadership.

And Bush's response to this month's report from the bipartisan Iraq Study Group is making it manifestly obvious that, for all the White House's attempts to give the impression that Bush listens to people who disagree with him, he does not.

"I" Stands for "Ineffable"

The brain-deads at Blogs for Bush have really outdone themselves this time. One of today's posts is titled:

"W" Stands for "Win"

It's hard to imagine there's a real mind in there.

Goodbye, Shallow Boxer

Watched the finale of Survivor last night. One of my least favorite human beings ever to have to watch talk was thankfully booted just a couple episodes ago, some terrible person called Parvati, so luckily her involvement was limited. But I did enjoy learning two fun facts about her:

1. Her last name is Shallow. Pavarti Shallow. Uh-huh.

2. One of the odder things about her was that she was always listed as having the profession "boxer." It was never explained on the show, and it made zero sense. She was a complete party-socialite girl, and the "boxer" title seemed like a typo or a joke. Well, she was asked about it tonight, and she clarified that it's actually called "Model Boxing" that she's involved in. Uh-huh.

The Editors offer a reality-check:

I think there’s a sense among people who spend their days buried in liberal political blogs that the ideal politician is a really, really big liberal blogger. Now, I freely admit that, if Obama’s response to the latest Presidential address was to photoshop Bush’s head on Marie Antoinette’s body and spend the next few weeks referring to him as “The Dauphine of Douchebags”, I would declare him to be the Greatest Human Being Who Ever Lived and vote for him for everything, forever. That said, I read way too many blogs.

My emphasis.

CNN Synchronicity

I was this close to taking this exact screenshot and making this exact post earlier today. Saved me the trouble.

For No Reason

So there are currently no charges against anyone in the high profile "case" that introduced the "liquids limitations" in the first place?

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Dec. 13 — A judge threw out terrorism charges on Wednesday against Rashid Rauf, a Briton of Pakistani descent whom prosecutors depicted as a major figure in a plot to smuggle liquid explosives onto trans-Atlantic airliners and detonate the bombs in flight.

The ruling means there are now no terrorism charges against two people once accused of being linchpins of a major bombing plot by Al Qaeda. The other is Tayib Rauf, Mr. Rauf’s younger brother, who was detained in Britain in August and was soon set free without charge.

Then there's this, oh-so-surprising tidbit.

British officials involved in the case said that American investigators had pushed for quicker arrests but that the British had wanted to wait to gather admissible evidence.

From John K's marvelous blog.

Atrios:

Why is Ken Adelman on my teevee?

More importantly, why isn't there a dirty fucking hippie on my teevee?

Totally. Atrios also notes "...he just called for a one F.U. last chance. Now that's an opinion you never hear on the teevee."

Knight Dobbs

There's little that gets on my nerves more than an asshole who thinks it's a mark of courage to talk about fighting back against "political correctness." Lou?

This mindless movement of political correctness at all costs is one of the most un-American and crazy twists in our culture as anything we've witnessed. Remember, we're Americans, and we have freedom of speech, that whole life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness thing. Or at least we did.

Lou, talking a break from the "keeping my ass on TV" nonsense about The War on the Middle Class is talking here about the War on Xmas. Keep it up, brave knight!

Angry Arab on an oddity:

But you have to admit that the New York Times knows how to discredit any critic of Israel. Notice that the article on Jimmy Carter's book concludes with a reference--out of the blue--to the "conference" of holocaust deniers in Iran.

Here is the final paragraph of today's NY Times article (in fact it's in the NY Times blog called The Lede) on Carter's book:

Meanwhile, the debate over the book unfolds, strangely, against the backdrop of the bizarre symposium in Tehran this week, which seeks to discuss whether the Holocaust actually happened.

Bizarrely, the article is posted against backdrop of Paris defending Britney's "partying ethics," and 65 years to the day since Romania and Hungary declared war on the US in WWII.

Charlotte's Web Destroys McDonald's

I've written about the so-called "Center for Consumer Freedom" before. They are a food and restaurant industry lobbyist group, constantly spreading fear about "food activists" trying to take your child's Fourth of July hot dog out of their hands.

Well, this time, apparently, they're freaked out by the promotional campaign for the new movie adaption of Charlotte's Web, for the following reasons - and I quote:

The TV commercial ends with a plea for kids to visit SaveWilbur.com, a Nickelodeon / Paramount website that encourages kids to "Say no to bacon" and print out stickers reading "Tofu Rulez."




Paramount's official website for Charlotte's Web includes "educational links" to animal-rights extremist groups including Farm Sanctuary and the Humane Society of the United States.




Last year, Paramount Pictures hosted a 25th-Anniversary gala for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) on its Hollywood studio lot. (We were there too.)




The Sydney Morning Herald reports that "Paramount Pictures made a 'significant' donation to Animals Australia" after Charlotte's Web was filmed Down Under. Paramount's contribution funded a $500,000 advertising campaign attacking the idea of eating pork. The ads include cookbook-style presentations of "Emotionally Stressed Pork Sausages" and "Traumatised Suckling Piglet."

I love the smell of industry fear. It's so....desparate. The "article" continues:

Of course, Charlotte's Web is a work of fiction. The real world, as author E.B. White's own life attested, is still the real world. (White raised and killed pigs on his own Vermont farm for decades.)

Ha! Caught. What a hypocrite. You got him.

I had no interest in seeing this movie until now, actually.

CNN: Barack = Bin Laden + Saddam + Ahmadinejad

CNN's Jeanne Moos did yet ANOTHER piece comparing Barack Obama to someone, ahem, unfavorable in the US public eye - this time it's a double-shot split screen orgy of Saddam Hussein vs Obama and Osama Bin Laden vs. Obama.

Eric Kleefeld at TPM Cafe's got it all, including video and screenshots.

See my post on Jeff Greenfeld's earlier schlock.

creamy scorpion

creamy scorpion, originally uploaded by macquet.

yeah, sure, that works.

DragonQuest 9 will be for the Nintendo DS.

The above pic trumps them all.

CNN Has Always Exposed the Diamond Industry. Really.

Warner Brothers is distributing the new film Blood Diamonds, starring DiCaprio and others. The film opened this past weekend to pretty crummy reviews and lackluster revenues.

And hey, what's the top story on CNN.com right now?



CNN is owned by Time Warner, which also owns Warner Brothers. You make your own call about whether this is ethical. The story mentions the movie a few paragraphs down (which the ownership disclaimer). The top of the page includes:

More on CNN TV: Correspondent Jeff Koinange examines Africa's diamond mines and the men and boys who work in them. Tune in to "AC 360°," tonight at 10 ET.

Media literacy is still very important.

Luke Plunkett, Kotaku, on punchline console developer Phantom Entertainment getting even more money in investment to create something, anything:

And while you're at it, I've got this foolproof plan to put a gorilla, a stripper and a Dreamcast on Mars. Thing is, it needs $132,000,000 in "infusions of capital" to get it off the ground. Just wire the cash to Kotaku's Swiss bank account, we'll talk later.

Completely unable to Stop Lying.

An Objective that is Obtainable

Senator Gordon Smith (R-Ore), who famously spoke on the Senate floor last week of being "at the end of my rope" about the war, speaking today on CNN:

The American People will and should hold us accountable. So if you've got something to say, now's the time to say it. Either let's fight the war intelligently, for an objective that is obtainable, or let's admit it, and figure out how to preserve the lives of our soldiers.

Was that so hard? Way to go, Gordon.

I don't know exactly whom that second sentence is targeted towards. It's not as if no one was saying "Don't Go to War!" or "This War is a Sham" or "What Are We There For?" over the last five years. I'd like to believe that in a way he's saying that to other congressmen.

Jeff Greenfield: Everyone Wears a Tie But Barack Obama and Iranian Prez

Huh? A guy name Jeff Greenfeld ("Senior Analyst") just did a piece on The Situation Room about Barack Obama, and his clothes. Fine. No problem up to that. He points out his common white shirt, dark blazer (undone), and no-tie look, what it means (um, something about casual and ready to "get things done")and then runs down the clothing styles of other past presidents.

Then he tooks a truly, Glenn-Beck-ian bizarre turn.

But with the case of Obama, may be walking around with a sartorial time bomb. Ask yourself: Is there any other major public figure who dresses the way he does? Why, yes, it's Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who, unlike most of his predecessors, seems to have skipped through enough copies of GQ to find the jacket and no-tie look agreeable. And maybe that's not the comparison a possible presidential contender wants to evoke.

Now, it's one thing to have a last name that sounds like "Osama" and a middle name, "Hussein," that is probably less than helpful. But an outfit that reminds people of a charter member of the Axis of Evil? Why, this could leave his presidential hopes hanging by a thread. Or should I say "threads?"

How weird is that?

What's yer problem, JEFF? Do you think you're funny? Is that that great right-wing humor I've heard about? ("Nope, no WMDs under there.")

Barack Obama (in his Holocaust-denial outfit):


Jeff Greenfield:


Do you really want to start playing the "who does HE look like" game?

Update: Josh Marshall saw this one, too, and calls is "really, really weird."

What Does He Say?

Lou Dobbs, how can you actually just state:

The president seems to be in a mood to listen.

Does someone need to get Lou a copy of PR for Dummies? Could the difference between "wants to appear as X" and "is X" be any clearer in this "Bush Listens" initiative?

Starting From the Basics, PR-Style

Yeah, there may have been a problem with my screen capture. But it was something like that.

Atrios:

For quite some time "stay the course" was painted as a delightfully wonderful option which was unearthing huge quantities of ponies.

Are You "Serious?"

Brilliant. A "How It Works" piece from Media Matters, via Crooks & Liars:

It remains the case that the primary prerequisite for being considered "serious" on matters of foreign policy and national security is that you were wrong on the most momentous foreign policy and national security decision of the last few decades. If your judgment was faulty, your understanding lacking, your foresight non-existent, your ideology blinding, then you are someone whose opinions should be listened to. If you supported what may be the single biggest foreign policy debacle in our nation's history, you are "serious." That disastrous error in judgment, which has so far resulted in the deaths of nearly 3,000 U.S. troops, also makes you "strong on defense," not to mention "pro-military" and someone who "supports the troops."

NY Times:

A surprisingly recent instance of human evolution has been detected among the peoples of East Africa. It is the ability to digest milk in adulthood, conferred by genetic changes that occurred as recently as 3,000 years ago, a team of geneticists has found.

The finding is a striking example of a cultural practice — the raising of dairy cattle — feeding back into the human genome. It also seems to be one of the first instances of convergent human evolution to be documented at the genetic level. Convergent evolution refers to two or more populations acquiring the same trait independently.

Throughout most of human history, the ability to digest lactose, the principal sugar of milk, has been switched off after weaning because there is no further need for the lactase enzyme that breaks the sugar apart. But when cattle were first domesticated 9,000 years ago and people later started to consume their milk as well as their meat, natural selection would have favored anyone with a mutation that kept the lactase gene switched on.

Fascinating and understandable example of the forces of evolution in changing a population.

My summary of the damn tone on Meet The Press this morning:

Sure is bad in Iraq. I wish it would get better. We're at a crossroads. We should give one more, just one more push in Baghdad, 20 to 30 thousand troops. If thing's aren't better in 6 months, then, well...maybe we should just leave.

Richard Haass: It's really important that this be understood as not a failure of American policy. We need to make sure that the narrative is that we gave the Iraqis a chance, and that they failed. We should add more troops, 20K, so that no once can say we didn't try.

[Richard may be sickening, but I think that he's at the real forefront of the battle: the battle of exactly how the war is understood. He's the prez of the Council on Foreign Relations, and he seems upfront about pushing for PR for the US government. I say the US needs a period of sitting in the corner, ashamed in public. Best medicine for it.]

Ken Adelman: Good idea, bad implementation.

Finally, Tom Ricks from the WaPo says "invading Iraq may well be the worst idea in American History."

Resist the Good Idea, Bad Implementation story!

Don't Give Me That, Doc!

There they go again, Republicans always trying to protect the rights and privacy of homosexuals. The bullshit Foley report actually states:

Some may have been concerned that raising the issue too aggressivelty might have risked exposing Rep. Foley's homosexuality, which could have adversely affected him both personally and politically.

Unconscionable. This is not about homosexuality, it's about ethics. And, apparently, about Doc Hastings and the final failing of congressional oversight.

Line 'em up, Dems! Let's show them how investigation works, and restore some honor to the US government.

Exercise in Cowardice

NY Times editorial on the Foley Report, a "91 page exercise in cowardice":

But even after all that, the report said that none of this amounted to the sort of behavior that might discredit the House of Representatives and thus violate ethics rules. The committee, which never heard from Mr. Foley, did not call for disciplinary action against current members of the House or their staffs. The committee said those who have already left, like Mr. Foley, were no longer its problem.

The panel’s justification for inaction is a breathtaking exercise in sophistry: “the requirement that House members and staff act at all times in a manner that reflects creditably on the House does not mean that every error in judgment or failure to exercise greater oversight or diligence” is a violation.

No, not every error or failure should be a violation, but certainly the ones that lead to an elected official’s sexually stalking teenage boys while his colleagues turn a blind eye or cover it up should be. We’d set the bar at least there. Apparently, it’s too high for the House.

President of the United States of America

From a news conference the other day with Blair

"Q: Why did it take others to say it before you've been willing to acknowledge for the world --

"PRESIDENT BUSH: In all due respect, I've been saying it a lot. I understand how tough it is. And I've been telling the American people how tough it is. And they know how tough it is. And the fundamental question is, do we have a plan to achieve our objective. Are we willing to change as the enemy has changed? And what the Baker-Hamilton study has done is it shows good ideas as to how to go forward. What our Pentagon is doing is figuring out ways to go forward, all aiming to achieve our objective.

"Make no mistake about it, I understand how tough it is, sir. I talk to families who die [sic]. I understand there's sectarian violence. I also understand that we're hunting down al-Qaeda on a regular basis and we're bringing them to justice. I understand how hard our troops are working. I know how brave the men and women who wear the uniform are, and therefore, they'll have the full support of this government. I understand what long deployments mean to wives and husbands, and mothers and fathers, particularly as we come into a holiday season. I understand. And I have made it abundantly clear how tough it is.

"I also believe we're going to succeed. I believe we'll prevail. Not only do I know how important it is to prevail, I believe we will prevail. I understand how hard it is to prevail. But I also want the American people to understand that if we were to fail -- and one way to assure failure is just to quit, is not to adjust, and say it's just not worth it -- if we were to fail, that failed policy will come to hurt generations of Americans in the future.

"And as I said in my opening statement, I believe we're in an ideological struggle between forces that are reasonable and want to live in peace, and radicals and extremists. And when you throw into the mix radical Shia and radical Sunni trying to gain power and topple moderate governments, with energy which they could use to blackmail Great Britain or America, or anybody else who doesn't kowtow to them, and a nuclear weapon in the hands of a government that is -- would be using that nuclear weapon to blackmail to achieve political objectives -- historians will look back and say, how come Bush and Blair couldn't see the threat? That's what they'll be asking. And I want to tell you, I see the threat and I believe it is up to our governments to help lead the forces of moderation to prevail. It's in our interests.

"And one of the things that has changed for American foreign policy is a threat overseas can now come home to hurt us, and September the 11th should be a wake-up call for the American people to understand what happens if there is violence and safe havens in a part of the world. And what happens is people can die here at home.

"So, no, I appreciate your question. As you can tell, I feel strongly about making sure you understand that I understand it's tough. But I want you to know, sir, that I believe we'll prevail. I know we have to adjust to prevail, but I wouldn't have our troops in harm's way if I didn't believe that, one, it was important, and, two, we'll succeed. Thank you."

The oh-so-solemn parallelism attempted about Pearl Harbor and Iraq today (Dec 7th) on FOX is fucking nauseating.

Evite Must Die

I've always hated evite. I can't quite describe what my problem with it is, but the NY Times has an article today on online RSVPs and some objections to it. I love this:

Her Evite reply had to indicate she was glad to have been invited. It had to illustrate she had good reason for not attending. Most of all, it had to be so witty that invitees she did not even know would find themselves wishing she was coming to the party.

Psychotic Killer

The promo smile pics from the Gap-Ad movie "The Holiday" make me want to torture someone, and that really doesn't happen very often.

I read this on ThinkProgress somewhere, I believe, but can't find it now.

This past Saturday, on Dec 1, the Minimum Wage passed a milestone. It has now officially gone unincreased for the longest period in its history. Congratulations!

"Why are tens of thousands of people camped out in the streets of Beirut?"

He may be "only 19 years old," but I often find myself respecting the words of Jeb Koogler's Foreign Policy Watch blog. Like this one:

Reading up about the ongoing protests in Lebanon, I'm struck by how few articles actually give a serious explanation as to the goals of the demonstrators. Why are tens of thousands of people camped out in the streets of Beirut? What do they want? Why do they want it? The newspapers sure aren't telling.

The bit I've emboldened is one of those Basic Questions that the press never seems to ask.

Great Big Radio

New radio station someone told me about. Now, given my inability to get my bearings this year about what music means to me and what music I like, you may not want to trust me, but I just heard "American Band" by Average White Band followed by "Captain of Her Heart" by (do you know?) Double. That is a nice pairing. This station is all over the place, and fer sher you're going to find some tripe like "Roll With It" by Steve Winwood, but ya know, I'm kinda digging this station so far.

Great Big Radio!

Oh, my, they've just played an old ("Retrospots") promo of Tom Jones singing about how great coke ("...ca-cola") is.

The bill themselves as 'The Hits - And the Songs That Should've Been"

Debate Is Not a "Complication"

Obama says he is "maybe" running for Prez in 2008.

And the NY Times says this has "has created complications for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton as she steps up her own preparations."

What complications? This is the democratic process. A group of people run against each other in a Party, and the democratically chosen candidate squares off in the general election.

The wonderful victory of the Democrats in November is not going to herald a time when there's no disagreement or debate in politics. On the contrary, debate and disagreement will again influence decisions made by goverment, rather than being ignored by it.

Pull Up Their Pants

Aye Carumba!

I found a creepy right-wing blog called Important Stuff, whose tagline is "Stern lectures for the logically-challenged. Others have opinions, I have convictions." In a post called "Smart Women," someone who calls him/herself Lone Ranger writes:

When it comes to smart women, there's no contest. We've got them all. Compare women like Hillary Clinton (or Rodham?), Theresa Kerry (or Heinz?), and Rosie O'Donnell (O'piggeldypig?) to women like Ann Coulter, Peggy Noonan and Rachel Marsden.

Whoa. I'm not familiar with Rachel Marsden. Do you have an example, Lone?

Rachel Mardsen
The more little punks I see loitering around outside the mall with their jeans down around their knees, the more I like the idea of mandatory military service. At least they’ll have learned how to tuck in a shirt, pull up their pants, and not take a full 10 minutes to get me my McDonald’s cheeseburger.

Cute.

From a Wii Safety Guide

No idea at all on that last one. "Don't Press/Insert Your Luck?"

Cranbrook Academy - Grounds

Cranbrook Academy - Grounds, originally uploaded by string_bass_dave.

Another beautiful cranbrook shot. This is where, after dinner from age 1 to 11, my friends and I would play while we waited for the adults to finish and collect us for the car rides home.

I Can See Clearly Now

I added a new blog to my "nuts" category, this one Blogs for Bush, and he/she/it steps up within 24 hours. There are so many misunderstandings in this it sounds like an automatic weapon:

So, for years Democrats have been screaming their opposition to Bush's tax cuts -- yes, the very tax cuts that fixed our economy and got us out of the Clinton Recession -- and now we're expected to believe them when they say they plan their own "tax cuts." Who's buying that one? When Democrats talk about their version of tax cuts, it's really a conservative-sounding euphemism for welfare.

Over the past few years, they've been relentless in attacking the conservative agenda and pushing for their own liberal agenda, but they've gotten clever in their self-promotion. They've either avoided detailing their own agenda, or tried to disguise their plans as conservative. It seems like lately, Democrats can't admit to being pro-abortion... They're always "personally" opposed to abortion, but "pro-choice," for "women's rights" or "reproductive rights," but never ever pro-abortion. They've rallied against out of control spending in Washington, but clearly have no desire or intention to curb federal earmarks. And of course, while they support welfare and government handouts, they prefer to call them "middle class tax cuts" or "tax cuts for working families" and the like.

The sad thing is, they think we're going to fall for their act. We're not. They've been opposing all the progress our country has made over the past six years [pfbfpfbpBWAAAhAHAHAHHA! - can't hold it in anymore!!!] and there's no mistaking they're still determined to destroy this country and blame Bush for it.

"That. Is Why You Fail."

Cranbrook Grounds

, originally uploaded by Punk Rock Mama.

Grounds from Cranbrook/Kingswood School, where I grew up as a fac-brat.

The Blame Game Redux

There were lots of "stories" being told right after the election that tried to make the losers feel better, like Democrats Won Because They Were Better Republicans than Republicans.

Josh Marshall is cataloging a new story that's making the rounds, and it's not the Blame Iraq First one I noted the other day:

Let's first take note that the 'blame the American people for Bush's screw-ups' meme has definitely hit the big time. It's not Bush who bit off more than he could chew or did something incredibly stupid or screwed things up in a way that defies all imagining. Bush's 'error' here is not realizing in advance that the American people would betray him as he was marching into history. The 'tragedy' is that Bush "bit off more than the American people were willing to chew." That just takes my breath away.

From Artist Ben Sargent

(via Hoffmania)

Perry's Got A Leg Up

Each year I put together a Best Of music mix for friends and families, but 2006 is sitting in my gut like a pound of, um, really boring bricks. On paper, there were a bunch of big releases that could have been exciting this year (Cat Power, Morrissey, Flaming Lips) but I think it was a matter of old habits losing steam. Very very little excited me this year, save Ali Farka Toure's final album (Mr. Toure at right).

And the point of the Ritual album cover is that nothing, absolutely nothing this year comes close to rivalling that record, which I listened to on the way home yesterday. Jesus Christ that's a good record. Listen to it on headphones if you haven't in a while.

• Yes, I know that the Ali Farka Toure record this year was posthumous
• It's hard to even remember the time when Dave Navarro was the Coolest Guy in the World

From "No One's Leaving" on Ritual:

My sister and her boyfriend slept in the park.
She had to leave home 'cause he was dark.
Now they parade around in New York with a baby boy...
He's gorgeous!

Gleiberman on The Nativity Story

I adore film critic Owen Gleiberman, who does the occasional piece on NY1:

“The Nativity Story” isn't inept, but it's about as dramatic as a wall calendar. When the dastardly egotist King Herod orders Mary and Joseph to return to the place of their birth, the couple, now united, must journey to Bethlehem. Yet that's all that happens. They ride. It's a trek to test the patience of the faithful, relieved only by the three magi, who are like infomercial astrologers. “The Nativity Story” is a film of tame picture-book sincerity, but that's not the same thing as devotion. The movie is too tepid to feel, or see, the light.

This Is My Country/Truck

Sadly No! quotes the Washington Post's claim that the Iraq Study Group will "recommend withdrawing nearly all U.S. combat units from Iraq by early 2008 while leaving behind troops to train, advise and support the Iraqis." A reader comment is then included:

Bradrocket adds: Never, ever, ever, ever gonna happen. Bush has constructed his entire foreign policy from watching Toby Keith’s Ford truck ads:
“Yeah!” you can hear G-Dubs saying while pumpin’ his fists at the ol’ teevee. “I ain’t got no boundaries! I don’t compromise! George W. Bush is Ford Tough!!!”