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The Donnybrook
Monday, April 30, 2007
 
George Tenet can go f*ck himself...



He had an inside view of how the Bush administration sold the American people a bill of goods in the form of a disastrous war in Iraq, but couldn't be bothered to say a damn thing about it until he had a book coming out.

Better to cash in than spread truth for the sake of spreading truth, I suppose.

Keep polishing that Presidential Medal of Freedom, coward...

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It's just not worth it...

As John just pointed out, sacrificing 104 U.S. troops to the chaos in Iraq in April alone has NOT made the situation any better.

Bring them home now...

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Sunday, April 29, 2007
 
Patrician Privelage
Aren't you glad to know that taxpayers have been susidizing these exclusive, expensive clubs that sit on public lands?

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Saturday, April 28, 2007
 
Why Is He Still There?

My theory about why Gonzales is still in office, facing hearings in May where Congressional Democrats with info from Goodling et al will grill his frail memory once again, is that Rove and Bush are more afraid of confirmation hearings for a new Attorney General than they are of Gonzales continuing to be their doltish stooge. Neither option is good, but they for some reason think that this on is the better of the two. Sad.

*(Thanks to TPM. Check out Josh Marshall and gang if you have not already.)

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Friday, April 27, 2007
 
Good Start

I am happy with the way Goodell is laying down the law. Some teams may have to learn the hard way...consider that a dumb-ass-tax for owners. Goodell took his time and laid down the new NFL law. The league should be thankful. Note that the players union is not at all averse to this and many players openly called for the end of the thug-toleration period. Will thugs who happen to be NFL players still get off easier than you or I would if we committed their crimes? Of course. (Don't act surprised.) It is just nice to see an NFL commish who does not intend to let teams pretend they had no idea the guy they drafted was a thug. It also sends a powerful message to future athletes that plan to go pro. If you are going to make millions off of the public, the public can help determine the terms of employment. More accurately, the advertisers, looking to woo the public dollar, set the standards. Ask Imus. (It wasn't until the big-money advertisers bailed that be was gone.)

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She's the Real Deal

This is an extraordinary talent, and we have only begun to hear what she has to offer. Whether this sort of music is your gig or no, Hillary Hahn is worth a one-minute listen.

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1970's Redux

Of course your sales suck, you cannot seem to build a quality product. At least not to the extent that your competitors can. Note that Toyota just overtook GM in quarterly global sales for the first time. Don't expect it to be the last.

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If a terrorist left a bomb at an abortion clinic in Texas...

...would anyone in the media care?

The answer, apparently, is a resounding "NO".

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Giuliani flip-flops on another issue the wingers don't like...

This is the guy who's being billed as a forceful leader with steely-eyed resolve???

He's already begun running top speed from his pro-choice past, and now he's ready to abandon his past support of gay rights in order to curry favor with the knuckle-dragging wing of the Republican party.

His treatment of NYC firefighters post-9/11 was enough to sour me on the guy, but now he's proving himself to be nothing more than an opportunistic, flip-flopping jackass.

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Thursday, April 26, 2007
 
Foods you love that everyone else thinks are gross?

I was inspired to bring up this topic when I saw the look on my wife's face when I ordered a pound of liverwurst from the deli counter at Lowe's Foods last night.

I also love anchovies, but that's another story, and I'm not even going to get started on scrapple...

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Eagles unveil very cool throwback uniforms...

They couldn't look much more different than the Eagles current unis, but they are a very accurate reproduction of what the Eagles wore during their first season in 1933.



If you're wondering where the colors come from, they were taken from the colors of the Philadelphia city flag. Nice touch.

Gotta love old school!!!

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Wednesday, April 25, 2007
 
This isn't too perverse...

The "purity ball" might be the creepiest idea I've ever seen advanced through America's conservative evangelical Christian movement, and that includes every word ever spoken by Jerry Falwell.
It's Friday night, and teenage girls are full of excitement as they rimp for a dance at the local Holiday Inn. But for this group of girls in Sioux Falls, S.D., the night's dream date is not a teenage boy.

"I'm going with my dad instead of a boyfriend," explains 15-year-old Angela Merkle.

She and her two sisters are about to be escorted by their father to what's called a Purity Ball.

The event shares all the hallmarks of a wedding: Vows are exchanged, a white cake is served and there is even a first dance. But at the beginning of the event instead of fathers giving away their daughters' hand, they're holding on tight.

The event's purpose is to celebrate father-daughter bonding, but the main focus of the evening is for the fathers and daughters to exchange pledges in an elaborate ceremony. Fathers vow to protect the girls' chastity until they marry, and the daughters promise to remain abstinent.
Once your heebie-jeebies clear up, please discuss...

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"Dozens of people spontaneously combust each year, it's just not really widely reported..."

It's not every day that a legendary fake rock band reunites for a good cause.

Spinal Tap is back, and this time the band wants to help save the world from global warming.

The mock heavy metal group immortalized in the 1984 mockumentary, "This is Spinal Tap," will reunite for a performance at Wembley Stadium in London as part of the Live Earth concerts scheduled worldwide for July 7.

The original members of Spinal Tap will be there: guitarist Nigel Tufnel (played by Christopher Guest), singer David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean) and bassist Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer). Rob Reiner, who both directed "This is Spinal Tap" and played the fake documentarian Marty DeBergi in the film, will also be in attendance.
For a little back story on Tap, check out this brief synopsis of the band's history...


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Laura Bush: "No one suffers more than my husband when soldiers die..."

Not their spouses, not their children, not any of their family members.

This is just an embarrassing demonstration of how self-involved a person can be.

Absolutely stunning...

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Tuesday, April 24, 2007
 
Bill Richardson hits the airwaves first in Iowa and New Hampshire...

He's off to a good start...


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I didn't hear anything about this in the news...

...although I heard plenty about three Duke lacrosse players who didn't wrongly spend 25 years in prison...

A man who spent 25 years in prison for rape was exonerated Monday after a judge threw out his convictions because DNA evidence showed he couldn't have committed the attack.

Jerry Miller smiled and the courtroom erupted into cheers after Cook County Circuit Court Judge Diane G. Cannon read the ruling that cleared him of all charges.

Miller, 48, had been found guilty of rape, robbery, aggravated kidnapping and aggravated battery even though he testified he was at home watching television at the time of the 1981 attack.

He was paroled in March 2006 and now works two jobs and lives with a family member in a Chicago suburb.

"I want to get on with my life, start a life, have a life," Miller said after the hearing. "I'm just thankful for this day."

That's an amazing degree of clarity from a man who did 25 years in prison for no reason.

What the hell else can you do at that point?


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Monday, April 23, 2007
 
Pay-Go Matters
Living within your means is not something to be done only when it is convenient. In fact, its NEVER convenient. It's just simply the right way to go. If the Democrats find some of their agenda harder to address with PAYGO, then so be it. Repgnicans showed their contempt for living within fiscal means by trashing PAYGO, and many in the left wing of the Democratic party would love to do the same, even after making it central to their campaigns. Dems see their hopes of ending the AMT (alternative minimum tax) and raising the minimum wage at risk, which they are. Abolishing AMT would take $50 Billion a year. Not going to happen without some pay-for. The minimum wage bill is more symbolic than earth-shaking as the market dictates that employers pay more than the $5+ for many jobs in many areas. I'd rather stick with PAYGO and establish some budget restraint credentials - especially after seeing the Repugs squander the paltry remnants of what little credibility they had left in fiscal matters. If we as a nation cannot insist of fiscal discipline - it ain't discipline unless it hurts YOU too - it won't matter who runs this country. We are on a course to spend ourselves off of our exalted perch in world financial matters in less than a decade. Look at what has been happening to the dollar as a reserve currency over the last 10 years. For our country and the Democrats long-term political health, I prefer PAYGO to any other agenda item.

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Note his use of the word "honestly"...

Somewhat telling...


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Sunday, April 22, 2007
 
Still the Wild Wild West - Even in Iraq
Fallujah was rough place even in Saddam's era. It was the site of some of the most bitter fights in 2004- April and November. Plus ca change, plus a la meme chose.
Despite the willingness of some extraordinarily brave Iraqis like al-Jumali, there does not seem to be a critical mass political will to make things work among Iraqi society.

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Friday, April 20, 2007
 
What kind of an asshole is Kim Basinger???

Sure, Alec Baldwin comes out looking like a major asshole for leaving a pissed-off voice mail on his daughter's cell phone and calling her a "pig". That's an awful thing to say to a kid and says a lot about what kind of parent he probably is.

But what kind of mother takes said voice mail and releases it to the media? It's not enough to have your ex-husband making your daughter feel like shit, you think the rest of the planet should be in on that conversation, too?

Despite residing in the lap of luxury, this kid's facing an uphill battle dealing with these two coconuts...

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Their majority in Congress may have ended...

...but House Republicans are still reeling from a legal hangover brought on by 12 years of unfettered corruption and greed.

Just within the last week, two back benching House Republicans got into tangles with the FBI:

--A family business connected to Rep. Rick Renzi (R-AZ) was raided by the FBI, leading to the congressman's resignation from his seat on the House Intelligence Committee.

--Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA) resigned from the Appropriations Committee after the FBI raided his home in a continued effort to remove the Jack Abramoff stain from Washington, DC.
Just imagine what possibilites next week will bring!

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Thursday, April 19, 2007
 
He Has a Real Soft Spot...
....in his heart for doomed causes. Joe Trippi signs up with Edwards. Is his strategy to let Hillary and Obama spend all their money bashing each other and hoping to be the last standing? A modern-day NC State/Rutherford B. Hayes/Dave Wottle approach - hang around until the end and find a way to win? It's at least better news for Edwards than his haircut.

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Put the Crack Berry Pipe Down
And get at life.

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Some light-hearted Britpop to break things up...

Things are just getting way too deep around here. It's time to bring back the sunshine.

This is an awesome tune from an even better movie, "About A Boy".

Whether it's a great movie because of or in spite of Hugh Grant is an issue we'll all have to work out on our own time...


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Wednesday, April 18, 2007
 
This says it more succinctly than I ever could...
In the United States, if you are seriously depressed, you can purchase anti-depressive drugs like Prozac, but only if you have a prescription from a doctor. Anti-depressants are enormously beneficial to millions of people but they are also potentially dangerous if used improperly. So you have to see a doctor and get an assessment before can go to a drug store and purchase one.

But in the United States, in places like Virginia, a seriously depressed or deranged person can walk into a gun store and buy a semi-automatic handgun and a box of ammunition. The only limitation in Virginia is you cannot buy more than one handgun a month and you must present two forms of identification. You don’t need permission from a doctor or counselor or anyone in the business of screening people to make sure they’re fit to have a gun.

We can debate the relative benefits and dangers of anti-depressants and semi-automatic handguns, but if 30,000 Americans were killed each year by anti-depressants, as they are by handguns, it seems likely that anti-depressants would be even more strictly regulated than they are now.
--Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor during the Clinton Administration, guest contributing to Taegan Goddard's Political Wire...

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A public service announcement...about beer...

Edenton Street Brewing was very well represented in many of the bars and quality grocery stores in the Raleigh area. Their seasonal Pumpkinhead brew was nothing but the friggin' truth.

Recently, they've changed their name to Big Boss Brewing. They've also changed the names of most of their beers, so if you're a fan, you'll probably want to review the changes to see what your favorite beers are called now.

Enjoy!

P.S. The Raleigh World Beer Festival is only 10 days away!!!

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Tuesday, April 17, 2007
 
Looking for a Fall Guy/Fool

The story, reported in the April 11 Washington Post by the ever-reliable Peter Baker and Thomas Ricks, tells of the White House's secret attempt to find "a high-powered czar to oversee the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with authority to issue directions to the Pentagon, the State Department and other agencies."

The punch line is that at least three prominent retired four-star generals have been asked if they'd be interested in the job—and all of them said no.

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The conservative answer to gun violence on college campuses?

More guns, of course!

I know nothing would've made me feel more secure during my 4 years at N.C. State than some of the shady 18-22 year-olds I took classes with being allowed to carry guns into the classroom...

UPDATE: Murali correctly pointed out that I had misidentified the Virginia Tech assailant as being on a student visa. He was actually a permanent resident.

Murali also correctly pointed out that the assailant was a "worthless piece of shit".

I'm humbled...

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Monday, April 16, 2007
 
Anyone else way too excited about "Hot Fuzz"?

...and have any of you been fortunate enough to see an advance screening of the flick?



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That experiment didn't last long...

Surely, I'm not the only who saw this coming.

A number of organic farmers across the country say that Wal-Mart has backed off of aggressive plans to offer more organic foods. After placing large orders for organic apples and juices last year, the retailer is cutting back or stopping orders altogether. Wade Groetsch, president at the Florida juice producer Blue Lake Citrus Products, says he stopped shipping his organic orange-tangerine blend to Wal-Mart after a few months. "The sales there just weren't enough to justify our costs of packing and shipping," he says.

A year ago last March Wal-Mart grabbed headlines by announcing its organic push. Stephen Quinn, a top marketing executive, told investors at a Bear Stearns conference that the company would double the number of organic food items in its stores to 400 and offer them "at the Wal-Mart price." But now Karen Burk, a spokeswoman for the company, says that the majority of Wal-Mart stores are offering between 100 and 200 organic food items. She says the company does not have a target, at least not a public one, of stocking 400 organic items in the average store.
Publicity stunt gone painfully wrong or legitimate business decision?

I have my ideas...

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Sunday, April 15, 2007
 
Economics

Stand up economics. A scream.

www.standupeconomist.com

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What's Going On in Philadelphia?

Why would NYC and Philadelphia be seeing such different trends?
Now the kicker...
Isn't it great that Philadelphia has to accept the standards of the rural counties in much of the rest of PA? This is all too common. States that like to whine about Washington, DC setting their policies (my commonwealth of VA is one of them) will not allow localities to set their own policies. (Do as I say, not as I do.)

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Right Wing Social Programs

Good intentions are fine, but they don't justify wasting of hundreds of millions of dollars. Especially when they produce no actual results. But should any elected official try to kill useless symbols like this, they will be excoriated by the right as being pro-drugs or pro-teen sex. And some critical mass of voters will buy it. We get the government we collectively deserve.

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Saturday, April 14, 2007
 
Another Electic Favorite
King Crimson is like nobody else. You can take that any way you like. It's only talk.

Your Acoustic Bonus: A Seriously Accomplished Irish Whistler

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Friday, April 13, 2007
 
Failure in His Wake

Everywhere he goes. Wolfie couldn't help but to help his girlfriend's career.

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$500?

Warner cannot be thinking of running if he has as $500 balance in his "campaign" chest for '08. Out with the old Warner - in with the new.

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What ever happened to Bill Withers?

He's got one of my favorite voices of all time. In fact, he may be second only to Freddie Mercury in my book, but where the hell did he go???


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Can we all come down from the ledge over the whole Imus debacle?

He's a washed-up hacky shock jock who said something sexist/racist.

He apologized for it and seemed sincere to me, which is more than can be said about Ann Coulter after she called John Edwards a "faggot", and about Bill O'Reilly, who said the female mayor of Virginia Beach "should be baking pies, not running a major city".

He made the mistake of trying to fix the problem by kissing Al Sharpton's ring. BIG mistake.

He deserved to be suspended, he didn't deserve to be fired.

Free speech is free speech, and even though Imus hasn't been threatened with jail time for what he said, it's very creepy to think that your livelihood can be threatened for saying something that you sincerely regret.

Free speech covers speech that you don't like, not just speech you do like, and we all have the right to say something really, really stupid every once in a while...

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Thursday, April 12, 2007
 
The Wide, Wide World Of Twins...

Twins are an intriguing phenomenon.

There are athletic twins like Tiki and Ronde Barber.

There are annoying twins like Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.

There are useless twins like Jenna and Barbara Bush.

There are mismatched twins like Jose and Ozzie Canseco.

The guys that came up with the Guinness Book of World Records were twins, and so were self-styled know-it alls Dear Abby and Ann Landers.

Then there's the greatest set of twins of them all...



THE ANDERSON TWINS!!!

My wife and I are very proud to announce that later this year we will be welcoming our first two children, the Anderson twins, into our already happy home!

To state the obvious, we're insanely excited, and I'm just in awe of my beautiful wife for making this miracle possible.

These two gifts are truly a dream come true...

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Wednesday, April 11, 2007
 
Yet another sign that things are going swimmingly in Iraq...

This should go over really well with soldiers that thought their own tours were drawing to an end...
Beginning immediately, all active-duty Army soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan will serve 15-month tours — three months longer than the usual standard, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday.

It was the latest move by the Pentagon to cope with the strains of fighting two wars simultaneously and maintaining a higher troop level in Iraq as part of President Bush's revised strategy for stabilizing Baghdad.
Let's keep this thing going as long as possible, just like George Bush wants...

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Tom DeLay proves that irony will never die...

...as long as there are conservative dickheads like him to keep it up and running.

Now that he's jobless, The Hammer has the time to reflect on a life in governmental corruption. The conclusion he's arrived at is that, much like Jews in the Holocaust, he's been unfairly and cruelly persecuted by evil political forces.

I shit you not...
I am so outraged by this whole criminalization of politics. It’s not good enough to defeat somebody politically. It’s not even good enough to vilify somebody publicly. They have to carpet bomb you with lies and made up scandals and false charges and indicting you on laws that don’t exist. … It’s the same thing as I say in my book, that the Nazis used. When you use the big lie in order to gain and maintain power, it is immoral and it is outrageous.

It’s the same process. It’s the same criminalization of politics. it’s the same oppression of people. It’s the same destroy people in order to gain power. It may be six million Jews. it may be indicting somebody on laws that don’t exist. But, it’s the same philosophy and it’s the same world view.
It's the kind of wild-eyed delusion we've come to expect from a man who blamed the Columbine shooting on women who take birth control pills...

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Tuesday, April 10, 2007
 
Why don't I watch Mad TV more often?

This send-up of Rachael Ray's $40-a-Day is so spot-on, the average hayseed would probably believe it was the real thing...


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While other candidates continue to talk, Bill Richardson continues to DO...

I think I want a President like this...
Bill Richardson, the New Mexico governor who has undertaken diplomatic missions to countries at odds with the United States, began a rare visit to isolated North Korea Sunday to recover remains of American servicemen killed in the Korean War.

The four-day trip, which has been endorsed by the Bush administration, comes days before a crucial deadline in a recent nuclear disarmament accord. But Richardson, a Democratic candidate for president, said he had no intention of negotiating nuclear matters.
Bill Richardson has the stones to meet with some of the worst regimes in the world and get positive things done on behalf of the United States.

Come to think of it, I really want a President like Bill Richardson...

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Monday, April 9, 2007
 
"The Sopranos" Finally Runs Out Of Steam...

A few points about last night's disappointing season-opener:
  • Did I really watch roughly 10 minutes of a Monopoly game, complete with a discourse on the Free Parking rule?

  • Has anyone in the cast of The Sopranos ever heard of a sit-up?

  • I can't look at Aida Turturro anymore. I just can't.

  • Every time Tony and Carmela do something sexual, it takes a good three years off my life.

Did I miss anything?


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Sunday, April 8, 2007
 
More Embarrassing..
..than having to Claim Iverson and Marcus Vick as locals. Pat Robertson has long been recognized as a nutbag (I mean that in the most complimentary and positive way) as he prayed away hurricanes etc. But when marginal ideologue schools start to become hiring grounds for right wing administrations, it's time to take notice.

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Friday, April 6, 2007
 
How Many Shoes Have to Drop?
...before our idiot AG or the idiot he "serves at the pleasure" of realize that he needs to go? Now Gonzales has been asked for a detailed written account of the firings - due the committee two days before he testifies, if he and his boss are willing to let it go that far.

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An intriguing question to ponder during Holy Week...

It comes from CNN contributor Roland Martin:
When did it come to the point that being a Christian meant only caring about two issues,­ abortion and homosexuality?
I welcome all viewpoints.

Do you have to be anti-choice and anti-gay marriage to be a "good" Christian in 2007?

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Songbird Still Sings
Thanks to Sting for writing such a glorious song. Thanks to Eva for her incomparable interpretation. Eva, you are missed.

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Wednesday, April 4, 2007
 
Just about the only worthwhile thing Adam Ant ever did...

...was write this song. If he did, in fact, write it...

"Wonderful"


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Look At The Eyes On This Thing!!!



This coyote was found in a Quizno's sub shop in Chicago.

Surprisingly, he wasn't carrying a makeshift sign with the word "YIKES!" on it...

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Wal-Mart Employee Admits To Spying...

What a creepy-ass company!!!
A former Wal-Mart Stores Inc. worker said he was part of a large surveillance operation that included snooping on employees, stockholders and others, according to a Wall Street Journal report Wednesday.

Security worker Bruce Gabbard was fired last month after 19 years with the company for intercepting a reporter's phone calls, the paper said.

Gabbard said he recorded the calls because he felt pressured to stop embarrassing leaks. But he said his spying activities were sanctioned by superiors.

Gabbard said that as part of the surveillance, the retailer infiltrated an anti-Wal-Mart group to determine if it planned protests at the company's annual meeting last year and deployed monitoring systems to record the actions of anyone connected to its global computer network.

Many of Gabbard's statements were confirmed by other former Wal-Mart employees, the paper said.
I know some of you get a woody at the thought of crappy low-priced goods made by workers making 50 cents a day and sold by employees with little to no job security or health benefits, but this is just one more example of the world's largest retailer pulling some serious Big Brother shenanigans...

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Tuesday, April 3, 2007
 
I Could Use A Little Motivation Today...

...and so could you.

Here's a little bit about making it in the business world, courtesy of the incomparable David Brent...


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Monday, April 2, 2007
 
Some Electric Favorites
Rush. Gabriel. Dead. Nirvana.

Acoustic Bonus: The Gourds - Bluegrass meets Snoop Dogg (Gin&Juice) As funny as it is well-played.

I miss Eva, the songbird.

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Florida vs. Ohio State For Another NCAA Championship...



Here's my question: Is it a good or bad thing that these two schools are #1 and #2 in both football and basketball?

To me, it's evidence of the rich getting richer in college sports, and it certainly doesn't do a thing to refute the idea that major colleges are becoming more like jock factories and less like institutions of higher learning.

What do you guys think?

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John McCain Proves How "Safe" Baghdad Is...

...by taking a pleasant stroll through an open-air market in Baghdad.

A good sign, until you consider he was escorted by "100 American soldiers, with three Blackhawk helicopters, and two Apache gunships overhead", and wearing a bulletproof vest.

Oh, and the fact that 6 U.S. soldiers died not far from Baghdad the same day.

Sounds like progress to me...

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Sunday, April 1, 2007
 
Happy Music
Enjoy? I like.

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