Friday, January 29, 2010
No Teleprompter needed...
President Obama went into the
Those of you who think the President can't speak without a Teleprompter (a stupid claim, but one that is being made nonetheless) would do well to watch some of his Q&A with the House GOP...
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Best part of the speech...
To Democrats, I would remind you that we still have the largest majority in decades, and the people expect us to solve some problems, not run for the hills. And if the Republican leadership is going to insist that sixty votes in the Senate are required to do any business at all in this town, then the responsibility to govern is now yours as well. Just saying no to everything may be good short-term politics, but it's not leadership. We were sent here to serve our citizens, not our ambitions.
President Barack Obama
Anybody else love Bill Withers?
His is easily one of my favorite voices of all time, and there's a documentary coming out about him called "Still Bill". He seems like a fairly fascinating guy.
You can check out the trailer here...
Still Bill Trailer from B-Side Entertainment on Vimeo.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Here we go again!!!
It looks like Brett Favre has already begun the "will he, won't he?" speculation for yet another off-season.
Fuck it. Just disappear and don't pull this shit again.
Oh, and if you do come back next year, learn to never to throw across your body into double coverage...EVER!
Monday, January 25, 2010
What monitoring politics for the last 15+ years has taught me...
I'll boil it down as concisely as I possibly can...
Democrats = Brains, no ballsAm I close?
Republicans = Balls, no brains
A telling soundbite from a politician who really doesn't mean much...
Comments from the Lt. Governor of a state like South Carolina really shouldn't mean much, especially when you consider the kind of assholes that that state tends to elect to its statewide offices.
But I find this comment in particular about students receiving free and reduced school lunches to be a pretty clear window into how many Republicans view people less fortunate than themselves.
"My grandmother was not a highly educated woman, but she told me as a small child to quit feeding stray animals. You know why? Because they breed. You're facilitating the problem if you give an animal or a person ample food supply. They will reproduce, especially ones that don't think too much further than that. And so what you've got to do is you've got to curtail that type of behavior. They don't know any better."Republican obstruction of meaningful healthcare reform demonstrates this attitude pretty well, too...
--South Carolina Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer (R)
Sunday, January 24, 2010
The Problem Purists Present...
So with Democrats reeling and dreading the 2010 elections, you'd think that "stimulus-backing, health-care-reform-loving, cap-and-trade-supporting liberal Democrat who represents a conservative central Virginia district" would be a sure lose in 2010, right? Maybe not. Repugnicans are "transforming what should be a gimme for Republicans into a national emblem of GOP strife" a la Upstate NY last November. Sure, they voted for a liberal Repugnican in MA last week because it got them seat #41 in the Senate and there are no Tea Party Repugnicans to choose from up there. Not so in central Virginia where there will no such not to electoral pragmatism. Periello, because of Repugnican in-fighting has a legit shot at re-election and may serve in November as another "reminder of the dangerous undertow created by the intense passion that motivates the Tea Party movement and other conservatives."
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Ain't That (Tea Partying) America?
- A group of nearly 200 "extremely concerned citizens" in a small Montana county are demanding that local leaders fill out a "questionnaire" pledging to form a local militia, prohibit mandatory vaccinations, boot the EPA out of town, allow citizens to bear any type of gun, and require federal government employees to get written approval before approaching "any Citizen."
Nucking futbags.
Various
- Marine Corps ends Iraq rotations, signaling the beginning of the draw down to 50, 00 troops. Even if the Iraqi elections are marred by cheating and violence, I think we should keep the draw down going until were are out of Iraq altogether by 2012.
- More people are realizing that financial markets are not the efficient, self-correcting systems they were assumed to be. Even economists. Systems that don't self-corrected get corrected harshly by reality - recall our economy one year ago.
- "The War of French Dressing" Wide support in France for banning the niqab, often mistakenly called a burka. Under the proposed law, one could be fined over $1,000 for refusing to remove the head-to-toe covering.
- The military, particularly the Air Force, does not have enough analysts to deal with all the intel video they will be getting from UAV's in the next year and beyond. The number of video feeds per UAV is going up 10 to 30 times. Warfare has changed considerably and the pace of change is increasing.
- Funniest headline in recent memory: Flashier Great Tits Produce Stronger Sperm
Friday, January 22, 2010
My Hopes vs. My Picks
I want any team except Minnesota to win it all. Go Saints, Go Jets. But if my man Peyton gets another SuperBowl, I hope he wins it. One of the best QB's ever.
“When you say banker, people think Jewish…"
Rush Limbaugh accuses Obama of anti-Semitism by being...anti-Semitic!!!
Do "people" think Jewish, or do you think Jewish???
The Golden Age will continue...
...if the Phillies keep making the right moves and locking up their core performers like this:
All signs point to the Phillies wrapping up their arbitration cases well before hearings are set to begin on Feb. 1.They also locked up Joe Blanton, their most consistent starter from 2009, in a 3-year deal yesterday.
Last night, according to the team's Web site, the Phils agreed to a 3-year deal for $22 million with centerfielder Shane Victorino, leaving catcher Carlos Ruiz as the lone unsigned arbitration-eligible player.
P.S. GREAT UNI NEWS!!! The Phillies will wear their old school powder blue/maroon road unis for one game in Milwaukee in May.
For those of you who forget what those fantastic threads looked like, allow the immortal Kent Tekulve to remind you...
Thursday, January 21, 2010
41 > 59???
Over at CNN, 41 votes in Senate apparently represents a majority in the 100-member body.
Your liberal media: Still not liberal, still not smart...
A thing of beauty x 2...
This is a perfect recipe for a great sports night...
NC State 88
Duke 74
Wake Forest 82
UNC 69
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Finally, a basketball league for you, big brother!
There should be some great hoops played in this league...
The All-American Basketball League announced in a news release it hopes to kick off its inaugural season this summer, according to a report in the Augusta Chronicle, with a 12-team lineup composed of all-white, American-born men.It gets better, just keep on reading...
"Only players that are natural-born United States citizens with both parents of Caucasian race are eligible to play in the league," the statement, issued on Martin Luther King weekend, reportedly read.
Don "Moose" Lewis, described as a Georgia-based boxing and wrestling promoter in a report on BET.com, denied racism was behind his move to create the segregated hoops league.
"There’s nothing hatred about what we’re doing," he told the Augusta Chronicle. "I don’t hate anyone of color. But people of white American-born citizens [sic] are in the minority now. Here’s a league for white players to play fundamental basketball, which they like."
R.I.P. Dr. Abraham Holtzman (1921-2010)
Anyone involved in North Carolina politics probably had at least a passing knowledge of Abe Holtzman. He taught at NC State for over 45 years and was such a prominent part of the state's political landscape that Jesse Helms labeled him a "subversive". Sometimes you can judge a person by the enemies they make.
I had the pleasure of getting to know Abe through the Wake County Democratic Men's Club. He was an incredibly nice guy and had more passion for politics than just about anyone I've ever met. His commentary at the club's meetings are a big reason why I decided to become more involved in the political process.
Abe passed away on Monday. You can read his obit here...
Wanna know how a Democrat loses a Senate election in Massachusetts?
By not turning out the base. Period.
Any Democratic candidate that can't turn out the Bay State base enough to beat a teabagger like Scott Brown doesn't deserve a Senate seat anyway.
Republicans can take their victory lap today, but to turn this into a referendum on Barack Obama is stupid.
Martha Coakley lost because of one person: Martha Coakley. She thought she could sleepwalk her way into a Senate seat, and that is NEVER the case. She won't be missed.
On a side note, the U.S. Senate is truly a bizarre place, where holding 59% of the seats does not a majority make.
I hope this colossal failure can serve as a wake-up call to the Democratic party. If you don't deliver on the promises you've made to your base, don't expect them to show up at the polls in November.
In the meantime, enjoy yourselves all you armchair patriots who didn't know who Scott Brown was until about four days ago!
UPDATE: A couple of interesting points from the Mass. post-mortem...
From Kos:
Yeah, it sucks that we lost our 60th vote, but really, what did 60 get us last year? It empowered Joe Lieberman, gave cover to Blanche Lincoln, provided excuses to Harry Reid, and gave a free pass to Max Baucus....and from Marc Ambinder:
Now we don't have 60. And like the Republican Senate of the 2000s, if Democrats want to get anything done, they'll have to do it via reconciliation.
Given last year's track record in the Senate, it certainly can't make the Senate any less effective.
Coakley had 19 events after the primary through Sunday; Scott Brown had 66.That pretty much wraps it up!
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
A reality check for all you Republicans pinning your hopes on the special election in Massachusetts as evidence of America's hatred of Democrats...
From Ezra Klein:
If Scott Brown wins today, Democrats go from having the largest Senate majority since the 1970s to...the second largest Senate majority since the 1970s. They go from 60 votes for health-care reform to 59. Republicans haven't had a majority this large in generations.Any questions?
Monday, January 18, 2010
Chavez is Taking It to New Lows
After committing the economic sin of devaluing his nation's currency, Chavez has seized a foreign-owned chain of grocery stores for defying his ban on price increases. This outright theft will scare away what few foreign investors may have been contemplating investing in Venezuela, a country that already faces 25% inflation and increased power outages. And good luck trying to remove him from office with an election.
Looking Bad for Health Care Bill...
Senator Martha Coakely (D) is a too-close-to-call race for the Senate seat she was appointed to after Ted Kennedy died. Some outlier polls have her down by about 10 points, but there is no real consensus on where the "real" numbers lie. The only consensus point is that she has lost the momentum and stands a very real chance of losing the race. If she does lose, Obama's Health Care bill may be dead. The Dems need to retain 60 seats and to prevent a Republican filibuster because not even Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) could be convinced to vote for the Senate bill. This would be a huge political defeat for Obama and would mean that there is little chance for any major legislative initiatives in 2010 - or after - because the Republicans are likely to net several Senate seats in November and a healthy handful of House seats. While the Mass race has become a national referendum on health care, citizens of that Commonwealth already have almost universal coverage. Turnout will be key in this race tomorrow and the race is crucial for Obama's agenda even beyond health care. A Dem loss tomorrow in Massachusetts will create a nightmare political landscape for the administration and the Democratic party for the rest of the year.
UPDATE: the Boston Globe reports that:
• Without all 60 votes, Democratic leaders would still have a number of options for hustling a health bill through Congress. None is certain to work, and all carry political risks. One option is for the House to pass the Senate version of the bill quickly, sending it straight to President Obama for his signature."Both options suck as they would be seen as usurping the will of the Mass voters and would be termed, not unfairly, as underhanded politics. Trying to use the reconciliation process would lower the Senate threshold to 51 votes, but it there is a debacle in Massachusetts, moderates may chose to vote against the bill. At the same time, not passing any health care will leave the Democrats' agenda in the shitter. Dems really need to see Coakley pull this out, or 2010 is going to be much rougher than they expected.
• "Another option would be for Democrats to begin working around the clock and to pass a bill before Brown gets seated."
Friday, January 15, 2010
If you're on screen with Glenn Beck...
...and manage to come off as being even stupider than he is, you may want to consider changing careers...
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Sorry Big Mac, you can't have it both ways...
Let me start by saying that I have hated Mark McGwire since well before the zenith of his career in the late-90's. He always seemed like the typical asshole jock to me, and I'm so happy to see him twist.
Even in "coming clean" about his steroid use during his playing days, Mark McGwire still flashed some of the snivelling cowardice that so clearly defined his testimony before Congress a few years ago.
Getting back to the title of my post, McGwire wants to get the benefits of apologizing for using steroids, but doesn't want to acknowledge the fact that steroids helped him hit more home runs and did tremendous damage to the game of baseball.
Sure, he was born with the ability to hit a baseball like few others ever could, but if he doesn't understand that a 360-foot flyout to center can become a 410-foot home run if a player is juiced enough, then he has a staggeringly tiny amount of common sense.
This guy is such a braindead chickenshit, I'm amazed Tony LaRussa wants him back in his clubhouse...
P.S. I'm also happy to see that the passage of time and the use of performance-enhancing drugs seem to be turning Mark McGwire into a cross between Kenny Rogers and Colonel Sanders. Ain't that a bitch?
Sunday, January 10, 2010
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Friday, January 8, 2010
Our old friend Wal-Mart does it again!
They've been quiet for a while...
This week the New York Times reported a disheartening story about two of the largest retail chains. You see, instead of taking unsold items to sample sales or donating them to people in need, H&M and Wal-Mart have been throwing them out in giant trash bags. And in the case that someone may stumble on these bags and try to keep or re-sell the items, these companies have gone ahead and slashed up garments, cut off the sleeves of coats, and sliced holes in shoes so they are unwearable.Just in time for winter, too...
Rudy Giuliani jumps on the Republican 9/11-denier bandwagon...
I guess he finally found a cure for his 9/11 Tourette's!
"We had no domestic attacks under Bush; we've had one under Obama."This mindset is so fucking damaging and dangerous, and it seems to be spreading.
Sane Republicans (if there are any left) would be wise to put a stop to this shit...
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Stupidity infects our lazy-ass media...
Case in point: ABC News claims that "Democrats are dropping like flies", based on the retirements of Senators Chris Dodd and Byron Dorgan.
Really? Let's look at the facts...
Retirements in the U.S Senate as of January 6th:
Republicans 6
Democrats 4
Retirements in the U.S House of Representatives as of January 6th:
Republicans 14
Democrats 10
Non-term-limited Governors announcing their retirements:
Republicans 4
Democrats 3
Nice headline, ABC News...
The GOP plan for making America safer: Use the word "terrorism" more!
Rep. Peter King (R-NY):
Frequent White House critic Rep. Peter King (R-NY) said today on ABC's "Good Morning America" that President Obama should use the world "terrorism" more frequently.That'll make everything better!!!
Host George Stephanopoulos interviewed King, who said someone should be held accountable in the wake of the failed terror attempt on Flight 253.
The host asked "one other specific recommendation the president could implement."
"One main thing would be, just himself, to use the word 'terrorism' more often," King said.
UPDATE: Rep. King is a liar. Try not to be too shocked...
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Terrorball...
A game that is played because so many Republicans live in constant fear of the world around them...
The first two rules of Terrorball are:The rest of the article is very sharp...
(1) The game lasts until there are no longer any terrorists, and;
(2) If terrorists manage to ever kill or injure or seriously frighten any Americans, they win.
(Hat tip to Andrew Sullivan...)
Monday, January 4, 2010
Rush Limbaugh loves unions and socialized medicine...
After his medical "situation" in the exotic, foreign land of Hawaii over the holidays, Rush Limbaugh had the following to say about his experience...
"Based on what happened to me here, I don't think there is one thing wrong with the American health care system. It is working just fine, just dandy."It's funny he would say that, since Hawaii's healthcare system is quite a bit more progressive (read as: "socialized") than the U.S. in general, and the nurses at the hospital where Rush was treated are represented by a (gasp!) union.
"The treatment I received here was the best that the world has to offer."
Besides all that, there's the comedy of a multi-millionaire crowing about how great healthcare is in the U.S. Of course it's great for you, fat ass, you can afford it!!!
Fox "News" anchor Brit Hume to Tiger Woods: Your religion is bad, try mine!
Un-freaking-believable...
The extent to which he can recover seems to me depends on his faith. He is said to be a Buddhist. I don't think that faith offers the kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the Christian faith. So my message to Tiger would be, "Tiger, turn to the Christian faith and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world."The Christian faith has certainly done wonders for high-profile Republicans like Newt Gingrich, Mark Sanford and John Ensign, hasn't it???
Saturday, January 2, 2010
The Simplest, Most Useful Desktop/Laptop App...
Readability is great. And free. This story from the Economist on mobile phone trends has been run through my Readability filter and is displayed in text like you'd see in a novel. There are several settings. Try it.
