Thursday, December 31, 2009
Assisted Suicide Hope
O Gets Dose Of The Double Standard
But President George W. Bush, then on vacation, made no public remarks for six days about the so-called shoe bomber, Richard Reid, and there were virtually no complaints from the media or Democrats that Bush's response was sluggish or inadequate..."
The Bad And Badder Spat
Former Bush Vice President Dick Cheney and other Republicans have challenged Obama's national security bona fides in light of the attack..."
I try to never get in the middle of a skunk fight, but this is the two worse Administrations in history dueling, though Obama has quite been in office long enough to really contend for the title of "Worst President Evah." Bush was in office that long and is the current title holder, so before the GOP starts crowing too much over our latest security snafu, I must respectfully inquire: how many Americans have died on the homeland under Obama compared to Bush?
Rush Pain
Popular talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh is recovering in a Honolulu hospital today, hours after being admitted for chest pains he suffered while on vacation. "Rush was admitted to and is resting comfortably in a Honolulu hospital today, after suffering chest pains," according to a statement from "The Rush Limbaugh Program..."
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
New GOP Pledge
“Every Republican in 2010 and 2012 will run on an absolute pledge to repeal this bill,” said Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the House who remains a key strategic thinker for the party, on the Dec. 27 episode of “Meet the Press...”"
"Repeal Health Care" has a nice positive ring to it, doesn't it? I suggest they also add "Kill Puppies Now" to their mantra.
Taser Restrictions
Ninth Circuit ruling -- allowing an officer to be held liable for injuries a man suffered after being Tasered -- sets a precedent that may force agencies to revisit their policies..."
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Driving Into The River
Well, according to the Associated Press, John and Starry Rhoads took a high road that almost turned into a very low road indeed, all because they did what their Toyota Sequoia's GPS told them to..."
Uh, no comment.
DeMint's Anti-Union Efforts Continue
Managerial, meaning those in power, types often call for flexibility, which is nonsense. They want control, pure and simple. I had a manager once upon a time who just couldn't understand why people wouldn't be flexible. I told him it made a great deal of difference in the arena of "flexibility" if you were the flexor or the flexee.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Sign Flap
The sign was also on display at the Capitol at this time last year. The group says it filed for a permit to post the display in response to the state's decision to put up the nativity..."
Remember Immigration
This time, however, as Congress tentatively wades back into the debate thanks to a new bill by Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., it’s not hard to figure out what Democrats want. One wedge issue, coming up. What else are we to conclude now that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has reportedly informed House Democrats that she intends to spare them the ordeal of having to show leadership by taking on the immigration issue?..."
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Bribing The DC Press Corps
You know what would make me happy in the New Year? For this kind of bribery to stop with these politicians, be they the president, senators or representatives. If they or their plans cannot stand on their merits, then they deserve to fail. I am way, way past over it. How about you?"
Friday, December 25, 2009
Save The Hmong!
Shin Bomber Makes A Move
Health Care Lessons
Thursday, December 24, 2009
O Graphic Novelet Seuss Style
Ft.Hood Terror Link Bombed
According to some accounts, the strike appeared to target the home of Anwar al-Aulaqi, the extremist Yemeni American preacher linked to the suspected gunman in the Fort Hood Army base attack in November..."
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
MoDo Wants To Know
Even some of McCain’s former aides are disturbed by the 73-year-old’s hostile, vindictive, sarcastic persona — a far cry from The Honorable Man portrait so lovingly pumped up in books by his former aide and co-writer Mark Salter..."
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
DINO To RINO
He prefers to align himself with a party that has wars that are bad for the country.
Epitafios
Watch live video from Epitafios II en jtom2000's channel on Justin.tv
If you like film noir, you'll love Epitafios. The anitseptic world of CSI et. al. this ain't. Not since the days of Homicide: Life On The Streets have I so eagerly anticipated a weekly dose of crime drama. HBO presented the series with English subtitles, which caused few problems as far as distractions go. The second season has ended its run and I'm now looking for the first season on some media that does have English subtitles. If you understand a little Spanish, you'll get a good sense of the show from the clip above, and, by the way, do not think you can anticipate where the plot is going nor what you think will happen. You will be surprised. And pleased.
What Will Clinton Do?
UnPC PC
"As soon as my blackness enters the frame ... it stopped," Desi said. "As soon as white Wanda appears, the camera moves. Black Desi gets in there? Nope, no facial recognition anymore, buddy. I'm going on record and I'm saying it. Hewlett-Packard computers are racist..."
No Rudy In Senate
Monday, December 21, 2009
Why You Will Buy
In rural areas for sure, when someone gets seriously ill and he or she is without insurance, bake sales, hot dog suppers and silent auctions and other activities spring up to raise money for the sick person. A similar set of events often occurs when houses burn down and the owners have no insurance. So if I carry fire insurance for thirty years and never have a claim, how exactly am I paying for people who rely on cake walks to buy a used recliner? Not an exact analogy for sure, but people hitting the public dole for health care still owe some medical provider money, so why aren't the providers collecting? They sure hounded the hell out of me for every nickel I owed.
Abortion Rights Advocate On Health Care
Nixon, a longtime abortion rights activist, says she can't keep quiet about the recent health care bill amendments that would limit insurance coverage for abortions.
'It's a very basic female right that we need to protect,' Nixon said. 'What's so frightening about this Stupak ban is that he's found a backdoor way to basically not cover abortion for the vast majority of American women...'"
You want to know how to get everyone in the U.S. covered by some sort of public option? Simple-- include a complete ban on abortions and the Right would pile right in. Suddenly, the public option would seem like a good idea. Of course, you are then screwing most Americans out of the fundamental right to control to their own bodies-- but why the hey-- greatest good? Nah. I think not. Single payer should also include abortion provisions because pregnancy is a health issue.
O Trimming Contracting
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Serious Snowballing
GOP Nightmare
But Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, told reporters last week that Democrats have a plan: Remind voters of George W. Bush..."
As they should. It will take decades, if ever, for the country to recover from ruinous reign Skippy The Lesser Shrub, and they need to be held accountable for it. The GOP also deserves the "credit" for Obama-- if they had turned out for McCain the way they turned out for Bush, then we would have someone competent in the White House.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
The Daily Flashback: McCain-Franken Edition
Happy In The South
Researchers ranked the happiest states (plus the District of Columbia) on self-reported measures of happiness as well as objective measures like sunshine, congestion, and housing affordability and found six out of the top 10 happiest states were in the South.
Louisiana topped the list, followed by Hawaii, Florida, Tennessee, and Arizona rounding out the top five..."
Friday, December 18, 2009
Franken Doing His Job
In the past month, Franken, the junior Democratic senator from Minnesota has publicly slugged it out with a GOP senator, privately rebuked another one and on Thursday took the unusual step of shutting down on the Senate floor a longtime member of his party's caucus: Sen. Joe Lieberman.
Unlike during his days on 'Saturday Night Live,' no one is laughing.
'Sen. Franken is certainly not making friends on either side of the aisle,' GOP strategist Ron Bonjean, a former Capitol Hill aide, told Fox News..."
Gee, Republicans worrying about Al making friends. How touching. Maybe Al should get a dog. A pit bull.
Clinton Redux
I never quit saying it. Furthermore,
"...Ed Schultz, Arianna Huffington, the people at The Nation, Matt Taibbi at Rolling Stone, and Michael Moore are just a few of Obama flag wavers now wavering in their support and scratching their heads saying "what happened"?
Bad Shooters
Holy Traitor
For years, Lieberman's been a strong advocate of universal health care. Campaigning for vice-president in 2000, he first proposed resolving the plight of the uninsured by allowing them to buy into Medicare and Medicaid -- a plan he endorsed as recently as September 2009 in an interview with a Connecticut newspaper..."
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Liberals In Fighting Mood?
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
GOPer Obstructurus
Solution: write shorter bills.
Super Earth Spotted (MagnaTerra)
Dean Says Kill
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Kinky Switches
Monday, December 14, 2009
Journalistic Spatting
Rupert Murdoch accused of using Wall Street Journal to 'play politics' | Media | The Guardian: "When Rupert Murdoch bought the Wall Street Journal two years ago, Manhattan's media observers predicted it wouldn't be long before battle lines were drawn between the two US newspaper titans.
And today the antagonism that has been simmering between the Journal and its liberal rival, the New York Times, boiled over, with editors of the esteemed organs trading a series of barbed comments..."
Sunday, December 13, 2009
O Power Grab
The Obama White House is also drunk with power and is seeking to expand the powers of government agencies to oversee and act out to affect Americans in ways that this country has never seen before.
What is the Office of Personnel and Management and why should you care?..."
GOPers Acting Like Dems
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Environmental Dick
Soon after Suskind’s book came out, the legal scholar Cass Sunstein, who then was at the University of Chicago, pointed out that Mr. Cheney seemed to be endorsing the same “precautionary principle” that also animated environmentalists. Sunstein wrote in his blog: “According to the Precautionary Principle, it is appropriate to respond aggressively to low-probability, high-impact events — such as climate change. Indeed, another vice president — Al Gore — can be understood to be arguing for a precautionary principle for climate change (though he believes that the chance of disaster is well over 1 percent)...”"
Not Dancing With The One That Brung Ya
While applauding House passage Friday of overhaul legislation and urging quick Senate action, Obama expressed frustration with banks that were helped by a taxpayer bailout and now are 'fighting tooth and nail with their lobbyists' against new government controls..."
Another One Bites The Dust, Again
U.S. officials said Saleh al-Somali, who was responsible for al Qaeda's operations outside of Afghanistan and Pakistan, was killed in the strike Tuesday. He was on the Central Intelligence Agency's list of the top 20 al Qaeda targets, according to an official familiar with the list..."
Friday, December 11, 2009
Crist Battle Is Symbolic Of GOP Woes
Rubio is the darling of the right. Last month the conservative Club for Growth, an anti-tax organization, backed Rubio and went up with an ad slamming Crist. Days earlier, the Family Research Council, a powerful social conservative group, announced that its political action committee endorsed Rubio..."
Crist can win a general election; Rubio can't appeal to either Democrats or moderate Independents. Like the Democrats, the Republicans can find ways to blow their toes off.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Onerous Headline
Okay, the text is not as bad as the headline, but let's just remind Obama and his fluffers that he can't give away something that is not his. That is our money, and I am tickled to see if going toward public health.
Caving Dems
Wireless Boo-Hoos
They all suck. Everyone is being vastly overcharged for all sorts of communication services; from land lines to cable and satellite to wi-fi, if you're paying anything, then you're probably paying too much. Yeah, there are people who need to pay since they are bandwidth hogs; me, I use about five minutes per month of cell phone time so I'm subsidizing a lot of people. Basic communication services, like basic health care, should be free-- the taxpayers, either through direct intervention or through tax breaks and research subsidies, have built the vast majority of the communication infrastructure, or did we all forget who funded the space program?
Getting Northing Done
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
The Elephant In The Waiting Room
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Lieberweasel Barks
Why The Swiss Aren't Bigots
The No Party
The Maryland Democrat, in a speech to the Center for American Progress Action Fund, said Republicans are making all of Congress less effective by deadlocking on issues, and he began to lay the groundwork for arguing that Democrats' failures are the result of a Republican Party that won't help..."
Lotta "No" from the GOP, except when it comes to tax cuts for the rich, war, and abortion rights.
Coffee And Prostate Cancer
Monday, December 07, 2009
Fat Genes
So if we outlaw fat, either through scorn, fees, or taxation, aren't we in fact discriminating against people for their inherited characteristics? Therefore, what makes makes this less onerous than discriminating because of skin color?
Discomfort In Iran
Students clash with riot police as protests erupt on Iranian campuses - Times Online: "Violence erupted in Tehran today as thousands of students and opposition activists staged fresh protests against a regime they consider illegitimate.
Riot police using tear gas and batons charged demonstrators in two of the capital’s main squares. Security forces flooded the streets and sealed off universities. They were reported to be firing in the air and bringing in water cannon, but they still failed to prevent students demonstrating on campuses across Tehran and in other Iranian cities.
The authorities cut off internet services and took down the mobile telephone network in some places, but snatches of grainy footage still reached the West..."
Palin Confronts Death Panel
Conflation Of Illogic
But since pro-warming scientists did a bad thing, then that means global warming is not occurring and we have nothing to worry about and more tax cuts for the rich are needed. Right? Right?
Sunday, December 06, 2009
The Poor Are Coming! The Poor Are Coming!
We at Johns Hopkins Medicine (JHM) endorse efforts to improve the quality and reduce the cost of health care. But we also understand all too well the impact a dramatic expansion of Medicaid will have on us and our state—and likely the country as a whole.
A flood of new patients will be seeking health services, many of whom have never seen a doctor on more than a sporadic basis. Some will also have multiple and costly chronic conditions. And almost all of them will come from poor or disadvantaged backgrounds..."
Clinton And Italian Justice
'I am saddened by the verdict and I have serious questions about the Italian justice system and whether anti-Americanism tainted this trial,' Cantwell said in a statement on Friday..."
Citigroup Dumped By Kuwait
Saturday, December 05, 2009
Giving Vampires Less Blood
No bone in my body has any sympathy for the executive class, which has become just another nobility feeding off the blood, tears, and sweat of the common man. Social Darwinism at one time was used extensively to justify the overcompensation of one class at the expense of all others, and some people still think genetic markers determine wealth as opposed to say-- luck. But that's all beside the point, really. If we're concerned about the survival of this country, we need to be concerned about those things that could ultimately tear us apart, and nothing matches the annual spectacle of the richest Americans crying and whining for more tax breaks and now tax bailouts. Eventually, the great mass of the screwed will explode, with sometimes horrific results (see the French Revolution for an example). The "slippery slope" argument is often used to justify a continuing unfair practice, but it's a far stretch from limiting executive compensation for those people who took our tax money to government controls over all wages. If you don't like our rules, then don't take our money.
Friday, December 04, 2009
Palin In Favor Of Conspiracy Hobbies
"Palin:
Voters have every right to ask candidates for information if they so choose. I've pointed out that it was seemingly fair game during the 2008 election for many on the left to badger my doctor and lawyer for proof that Trig is in fact my child. Conspiracy-minded reporters and voters had a right to ask... which they have repeatedly. But at no point - not during the campaign, and not during recent interviews - have I asked the president to produce his birth certificate or suggested that he was not born in the United States."
The Dems Must Do Something
Thursday, December 03, 2009
Priorities And Politics
Remember Plamegate and how the Executive couldn't help with a treason investigation? I wonder if there's a blow-job somewhere in all this.
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
War Reminder
He also said, “Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and not clothed...”"
Medicare Flashbacks
'I have a message for you: You're going to die sooner,' said Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., an obstetrician-turned-lawmaker..."
Reagan on Medicare:"...The problem with the quote was that Reagan was, at the time, condemning the very idea of Medicare. In context, Reagan actually said, "[I]f you don't [stop Medicare] and I don't do it, one of these days you and I are going to spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it once was like in America when men were free." The line wasn't about "freedom," it was about a program to provide seniors with health care..."
Gingrich and Dole on Medicare: "Was it not Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the House, leader of the Republican revolution, that said he wanted Medicare to, quote, 'wither on the vine'? Was it not Sen. Bob Dole, the [Republican] standard-bearer for president in the 1990s, who said he had fought against Medicare and was proud he voted against it?"
Why The GOP Has Switched Horses: "If there was ever a more glaring example that the Republicans in Congress are simply against anything the Democrats come up with, it still couldn’t compete with this health care reform debate. Since the passing of Medicare in 1965 and signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, the Republicans have demonized it and made it their number two whipping dog, right behind the welfare program, as the cause of deficits and national debt. But over the past week or so they have suddenly become the champions and defenders of Medicare..."
When confused by position changes, when bewildered by contradictory rhetoric and improbable action, remember to always follow the money. Greed is the only principle, the dollar the only real patriot.
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
The Daily Worm Turner
Medical Shopping
When Ms. Kyser needed a routine gynecological exam, she called a handful of local doctors, all of whom were charging $200 or more. “There’s no way we could pay that,” Ms. Kyser said. “I had to find another way.”
Having seen an ad for PriceDoc.com, a new Web site that lists doctors throughout the country who are willing to post their prices and negotiate with patients, she decided to try it. Ms. Kyser found a nearby clinic where doctors charged only $75 for the exam.
“I was a little nervous at first because the price was so cheap, but when I got there, it was wonderful,” Ms. Kyser said. “Everyone was so professional and helpful.”The crucial part of shopping wisely for health care (or anything else for that matter) is comparing prices the way Ms. Kyser did..."
One of the hospitals in the local area offers a substantial discount for paying copays and other ancillary costs up front-- the discounts can amount to 25%, certainly nothing to sneeze at (no puns here), and a factor I take into account when looking for medical services.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Working In A Pie Factory?
“This state needs jobs, and we think medical marijuana can stimulate the state economy with hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars,” said Nick Tennant, the 24-year-old founder of the college, which is actually a burgeoning business (no baccalaureates here) operating from a few bare-bones rooms in a Detroit suburb..."
About that glaucoma...
Jobs, Jobs, Jobs
Debate on Creating Jobs, Without Raising Deficit - NYTimes.com: "As Democrats renew their push to create jobs, they are at odds over the timing, cost and scope of additional measures, with the White House’s concern about high budget deficits pitted against the eagerness of many in Congress to spur hiring before next year’s elections..."
Major Tennis Fine
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Bad News For Radio Listeners
Slippery Bin
No Swiss Mosques
It Ain't One World
Report: Scores of albinos in hiding after attacks - CNN.com: "As many as 10,000 albinos are in hiding in east Africa over fears that they will be dismembered and their body parts sold to witchdoctors, the Red Cross said in a recent report.
The killings of albinos in Burundi and Tanzania, who are targeted because their body parts are believed to have special powers, have sparked fears among the population in the two countries, the report said."
Bloody Lipped Terrorist
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Who's Underqualified?
We can't stop looking at Sarah Palin | Katha Pollitt | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk: "...As just about every columnist in the world has noted by now, including me more than once, Palin is a bundle of contradictions: a Christian reactionary who has kind words for Title IX and thinks it's fine to have a top government job, five kids and a lower-earning husband; a seriously underqualified politician chosen by the desperate John McCain at least partly because of her gender and looks who exploits those assets every chance she gets – but if called on it, accuses her critics of sexism..."
Call Of Duty Cash Cow
Call of Duty Franchise Claimed To Surpass $3 Billion
Friday, November 27, 2009
But They're Pro Life!
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Birther Brit
What? No Petrocash?
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Skating Again
Bail in the amount of $4.5 million has been approved for director Roman Polanski, who's been held in Zurich, Switzerland, facing extradition to Los Angeles to be sentenced for unlawful intercourse with a 13-year-old girl more than three decades ago."
If You Can't Discredit The Message
Top Brit Says Stop Violence Against Women
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
God Sends GOP
Fudging Data Cools The Earth
Monday, November 23, 2009
The Daily Duh: Dowd Edition
Gee, that ain't the first time the generals have tried to back-stab the President. Remember Colin Powell and Bill Clinton? Oh, wait. You were helping with the back-stabbing there. All the Presidents could take a lesson from Harry Truman and MacArthur.
Stunning News
Public Option Fakery
Casual Outing
Answer: "Yes."
Sunday, November 22, 2009
No Palin Run?
Saturday, November 21, 2009
The Daily Flashback: Hillary Haters Edition
Well, Sean, if you’re reading this – here is a little refresher course on what the left did to Hillary in 2008. And by the way, you and your right wing cronies taught them well with the fifteen years of Hillary bashing she and we have had to put up with. Here are a few examples…"
In case you've forgotten the primaries, click on the link and read the sampling of quotes about (then) Sen. Clinton.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Ineptitude Redux
The Daily Flashback: Babbling Greenspan Edition
Thursday, November 19, 2009
More On The Palin Cover
"...It makes me wonder where they are getting their information. You may know that Governor Palin was on Oprah earlier this week. I don’t know about you, but I was wondering, just out of curiosity, what the ratings were going to be for that show. Care to hazard a guess? If you went by the headline above, you’d guess not very high. And you would be very wrong. Oprah’s show had the highest rating it has had in over TWO YEARS. Dang, that Palin is just TERRIBLE for EVERYBODY!!!! Never mind all of those cheering crowds turning out for her book tour - Palin is just terrible for them! And the GOP! And the WORLD!!!! Ahem.
Again, I disagree with a lot of her policies, but I do appreciate her honest, down to earth bearing - those are characteristics sorely missing among politicians today. Does she possess brilliance on a par with Hillary Clinton? No, I don’t know anyone in politics who is on Clinton’s level. She is heads and shoulders above (which is, no doubt, why they drug her down and stomped all over her). Apparently, though, those of us who consider ourselves to be liberal cannot like Sarah Palin at all in any way for any reason whatsoever without being chastised, criticized, demeaned, and belittled. Because we couldn’t POSSIBLY have been marching for Equal Rights for someone like SARAH PALIN, who, by her own admission on Oprah says her relationship to her husband is one based on EQUALITY. Surely, SHE doesn’t count, which has been the recurring theme about her by so-called liberals and “feminists.”...?"
Duh Of The Day
And who did you support for President, Mr. Moore?
Terrorist Seed-Planting?
Another Schizo Poll
Palin Aids Dems?
Some Democrats are hopeful that with Palin getting the nomination they can use the same tactics against her that they used against Hillary Clinton. Don't count on that working out.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Comment Of The Day
No matter where your politics lie, this should not surprise you at all. Obama had reached the age of 47 without ever actually doing anything that was not of direct benefit to himself. He had a non-existent record of achievement and no record of successful governance...just like Bush*. He and Bush had a life of privilege and they both chose the path of nihilism.
Agree or disagree with their policies, Hillary, Gore, and Clinton, had long records and had buckled down early in life. Their live stand in stark contrast to the prodigal, children that make-up the Bush/Obama years.
Obama is Bush's third term.
*[in Texas, the governor is practically a figurehead, doing little to set policy]"
Sounds Expensive
Senate Health Bill Said to Cost $849 Billion Over 10 Years - NYTimes.com "The Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, put forward his version of sweeping health care legislation on Wednesday, which a Senate aide said would cost $849 billion over 10 years. Mr. Reid promised that it would reduce the federal budget deficit while covering most of the uninsured and adding new benefits to Medicare..."
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Jail, Please
Rogue Fact Checking
Ignoring substantial parts of her record if not the facts, she depicts herself as a frugal traveler on the taxpayer's dime, a reformer without ties to powerful interests and a politician roguishly indifferent to high ambition.
Palin goes adrift, at times, on more contemporary issues, too. She criticizes President Barack Obama for pushing through a bailout package that actually was achieved by his Republican predecessor George W. Bush — a package she seemed to support at the time.
A look at some of her statements in 'Going Rogue,' which was released Tuesday:..."
Monday, November 16, 2009
You Are Being Sued
"... Are you ready? Get this: they are suing Congress to get our money back! Isn’t that hysterical??? Wait - hold on a second - I am getting word that is NOT a joke, that this is, in fact, true, ACORN Sues Over ‘Unconstitutional’ Funding Cuts By Congress. Oh, sweet mother you have GOT to be kidding!..."
Resetting Priorities
Yes, this little snippet does make a political point.
Lying Liars And Their Lying Lies
I have two words for any GOP complaints about the current economic mess: George Bush. I will repeat for the politically challenged: George Bush, George Bush, George Bush, George Bush, George Bush, George Bush, George Bush...
More COD4:MW2
Ok so UPS brings me my copy and Amazon has sent me a Playstation version. I don't own a Playstation. War is Hell.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
On The Daily Grind
In truth, they are principally enrolled in college to collect a degree, and education - their principal responsibility as students - has become an often unwanted obstacle to collecting the prize they imagine they purchased with their tuition..."
Friday, November 13, 2009
The Daily Flashback: Plame Edition
And how did the progressives react? For example, did Randi Rhodes -- who spent years feasting on the Wilson/Plame scandal -- denounce Obama for siding with Dubya's evildoers against the people she had once championed?
No, she did not. At least not within my hearing. (If you know otherwise, please enlighten me.)
And that, my friends, is Barack Obama. He is a man who ran against the Bush/Cheney legacy, yet ended up protecting Bush and Cheney. He is a man who, on the issue of Iran, told lefties what they wanted to hear, yet consistently refused to match action to rhetoric..."
How Long Until Starbucks?
Pokey Time
A federal judge in Alexandria, Va., handed down the sentence to Mr. Jefferson, a 62-year-old Democrat ousted by voters last year. He had been convicted by a jury of bribery, money laundering and racketeering in schemes that prosecutors said he devised to enrich himself and his family..."
Well, I'll believe it when I see him behind bars.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
COD4:MW2 Sets Record
Tough O Talks
'I will not risk your lives unless it is necessary to America's vital interests,' Obama told an enthusiastic group of Air Force personnel. 'And if it is necessary, the United States of America will have your back...'"
Stupid OS Wars
Since both the overrated Apple and the unappreciated Windows owe their lineage to Xerox's Smalltalk operating system, isn't this rather like one crack dealer crying to the cops over another crack dealer stealing his dope? Without Xerox PARC neither company would be much of anything and Atari would probably own both of them.
No Vigilantes Here
Bishop Power Play
With a major assist from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, two members of Congress -- both members, as well, of a secretive, right-wing religious group -- made it impossible for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to pass an historic health care reform bill without the attachment of anti-abortion amendment that, if signed into law, could set women's rights back decades..."
Not since the murder of the Knights Templar...
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
WebBlog Award Nominee
Struggling Vet Organizations
American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars posts struggle - USATODAY.com
This is sad but I'm afraid the roots of the decline go back to Vietnam. Korean War veterans, for the most part, were welcomed into the vet service organizations as one of their own. That never seemed to be the case for Vietnam vets, who if not treated with outright contempt by their elders, were told they were boys who didn't fight in a real war. Couple just a few attitudes from vets with the general disdain for Vietnam vets held by the public at large and the current problem seems quite predictable.
Old, festering wounds perhaps never really heal.
I have to paraphrase Rambo here: "All we ever wanted was for our country to love us half as much we loved her."
Biggest Video Game Ever?
I await my copy from Amazon.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Real Male Enhancement
The Daily Flashback: Cold Warrior Edition
This morning on his radio show Huckabee Halftruth waxed eloquent over the greatness of the Raygun who apparently was solely responsible for the fall of Communism and the Wall. I've got news for everyone-- we, that is us, the U.S. and its allies, spent fifty years fighting communism, and the Cold War was not won during the term of one President. All those Americans who died in Korea and Vietnam did so because we were containing the Soviet Union, and the funding for those wars and the Cold War, came from the tax payers and was passed into law by primarily Democratic controlled Congresses, so no lectures on who was the greatest Cold Warrior-- the answer is those who fought in the hot wars.
Comment Of The Day
Monday, November 09, 2009
Shooting The Foot To Spite The Face
On DINOHealthcare
The Daily Flashback: Paranoid Edition
When Hofstadter wrote, the right wing felt dispossessed because it was rejected by both major parties. That changed with the rise of Ronald Reagan: Republican politicians began to win elections in part by catering to the passions of the angry right.
Until recently, however, that catering mostly took the form of empty symbolism. Once elections were won, the issues that fired up the base almost always took a back seat to the economic concerns of the elite. Thus in 2004 George W. Bush ran on antiterrorism and “values,” only to announce, as soon as the election was behind him, that his first priority was changing Social Security.
But something snapped last year..."
Sunday, November 08, 2009
RePumaing
Just walk away..."
Gas Prices Going Up?
Friday, November 06, 2009
Goat Staring
Check Out The Real-Life Men Who Stare at Goats - Cinematical: "'I'm not sure why, but Overture Films has chosen to downplay the 'based on a true story' aspects of their high-profile new satirical film The Men Who Stare at Goats. The film finds Ewan McGregor as a journalist looking for a story in Iraq who stumbles across a former member (George Clooney) of a special platoon of psychics employed by the U.S. military. While many moments in the film seem outlandish and ridiculous, they become even more jaw-dropping with the knowledge that the film is based on fact..."
For a primer, see Suspect Zero, an excellent flick btw.