Monday, May 31, 2010
Various...
- I'm glad these NC folks failed, but I expect to see more of these "Tea Partiers of the Left" crop up as our politics get more Balkinzed
- IF we draw down to 50K troops in Iraq on time in 2011, we will have to be prepared for stories about Sunni/Shia violence for years. There will be some seriously trying times coming as the Iraqi's take charge and don't have the US to keep their internal strife to a minimum.
- Feely is a dope. Or, as Florio puts it, "as an employee of the local football team headquartered in Arizona, has publicly taken a side on an extremely polarizing issue. For a guy who plays one of the most fungible positions in football, it's a move that was either incredibly brave, or incredibly stupid. Or maybe a little -- or a lot -- of both. " Gotta love any report that is able to work in the word fungible.
- Corporations are finding the angry electorate means they need to cover their political tracks. At least this setting helps to delay the negative effects of the unfortunate Citizens United decision by the SCOTUS. And criticized by POTUS.
- Did you see Duke win the NCAA Title in Lacrosse only five seconds into overtime today? Great game, amazing finish. And it's the first time I watched a full LAX game on TV. Unseeded Notre Dame played a great game and even though those five seconds will haunt them forever, never mind....those 5 seconds will haunt them forever.
- Why Rand Paul rings true in KY. This race will come down to turnout of Dems around Louisville. They show up in numbers and Paul could lose. This should have been an easy win for Repubs, but they had to show their true KY colors and nominate Rand. The Repubs will probably defend this seat, but they will have to live with Rand for 6 years. Should be quotable!
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Just A Guess, but...
I'm betting that Brian's next sports post is about baseball rather than hockey. :) Congrats Halladay.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Like I needed another reason to like Ozzie Guillen...
This guy is a raving lunatic, and I love him for it...
Before the Chicago White Sox 5-4 win over the Cleveland Indians, one in which umpire Joe West once again did his best to get on T.V. by calling two balks on Mark Buehrle, who had one balk in his previous 692.1 innings pitched, and ejecting Guillen and Buehrle before the finish of the third inning, Ozzie Guillen signed some autographs.He makes being an asshole so damned appealing!!!
One Indians fan got a little more than just Ozzie's John Hancock as Guillen wrote "Bye Bye LeBron" on one side and "When are you going to win anything in sports? Please," on the other side.
Why do these "family values" groups always come up with the most perverse ideas?
Seriously, these people can come up with truly messed-up scenarios.
Here's how the Family Research Council envisions things going if Don't Ask, Don't Tell is repealed: first, more straight soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines will be fellated in their sleep against their will. Then, commanders afraid of being labeled homophobes will refuse to do anything about it. Eventually, the straight service members will quit out of fear.
On a conference call with reporters today, FRC Senior Fellow for Policy Studies Peter Sprigg delivered the results of what he said was the first-ever study of "homosexual assault" in the military. Joined by several former military officers opposed to allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the armed forces, he warned Congress that the DADT repeal language currently under discussion with the agreement of the White House will turn the U.S. military into a terrifying free-rape zone where no heterosexual is safe.
"We are today releasing an analysis of publicly available documents which show that homosexuals in the military are three times more likely to commit sexual assaults than heterosexuals are relative to their numbers," Sprigg said. "We believe this problem would only increase if the current law against homosexuality...were to be repealed."
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Tea Party Begins to Eat Its Young...
I'm surprised it took so long, though I thought Rand Paul was faithfully parroting the "Libertarian" view on racial equality. It's only now that there is a political price to pay for voting for a nutbag like Paul that the "Libertarians" respond. One can only hope that PA voters realize that Toomey is just about as nutty.
And more of the same from the party of dumb. The web-stylin' GOP!
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
An amazing shift, capped off by an even more amazing goal...
Made all the more amazing by the fact the Flyers were shorthanded at the time.
Watch Jeff Richards start the charge that led the Flyers to the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals...
Monday, May 24, 2010
The real problem with this story...
...is that this woman probably doesn't look anything like you hope she would...
A Nevada woman is accused of stealing a bottle of wine from a store while she was topless and intoxicated.Brandi with an "I": That's rarely a good sign...
Brandi Smith, of Gardnerville, acknowledged her behavior was "mind-boggling" during an appearance Wednesday before a judge to face charges of indecent exposure, felony drunken driving and burglary.
Authorities say the 41-year-old was arrested May 10 after stealing a $20 bottle of wine, then driving to a nearby fast-food restaurant, where an off-duty sheriff's deputy kept her in the vehicle until other deputies arrived.
Palin is a truly dumb motherfucker...
The ex-half term governor of Alaska who pushed "Drill baby, drill" harder than anyone in 2008 is now accusing of President Obama of being too cozy with oil companies.
If there's any connection there to President Obama taking so doggone long to get in there, to dive in there and grasp the complexity and the potential tragedy that we are seeing here in the Gulf of Mexico. Now if this was President Bush or if this were a Republican in office who hadn't received as much support even as President Obama has from BP and other oil companies, you know the mainstream media would be all over his case.This comes less than a week after fellow GOP automaton Rand Paul accused Obama of being too tough on BP.
Friday, May 21, 2010
What would Andrew Jackson say?
Rand Paul thinks it's "un-American" for President Obama to hold BP (a British company) accountable for an oil spill that is contaminating the entire Gulf Coast of the United States.
So much for the Battle of New Orleans, this guy is good...
(Hat tip: Talking Points Memo)
Somebody call him a WAH-mbulance!!!
"When does my honeymoon period start? I had a big victory," - Rand PaulIf the heat gets to be too much for Rand, you can always quit like Palin did. But I hope you stay around and keep opening your mouth. You demonstrate that most of your brand of "libertarians" are largely nuts. The more exposure you get, the better.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
The Art of the Possible...
I wish there were a provision breaking up the "too big to fail" banks but it is smart politics to pass what can be passed before the mid-terms. And Rand Paul's elevation is a blessing for Democrats, no matter how that KY Senate race turns out...
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
A great night in Pennsylvania...
Joe Sestak's drubbing of Arlen Specter is obviously the headline-grabber, but a special election to replace the late John Murtha in the Keystone State's 12th district has a more immediate, and possibly foreboding impact for the Republican party heading into the November elections.
Democrat Mark Critz beat the crap out of Republican Tim Burns by a fairly surprising 8 points, 53-45. This is a seat that the national Republican party was absolutely salivating over, but in the end the Democrat triumphed fairly easily in a district that John McCain carried in 2008.
Former GOP Rep. Tom Davis says it pretty well:
"If you can't win a seat that is trending Republican in a year like this, then where is the wave?" asked Mr. Davis, who said Republicans will need to examine what went wrong. "It would be a huge upset not to win this seat."Where's the wave, GOPers?
UPDATE: Here's an interesting point about special Congressional elections during the Obama presidency...
For those keeping score, there have been seven special elections for U.S. House seats since the president's inauguration 16 months ago: NY-20, IL-5, CA-32, CA-10, NY-23, FL-19, and PA-12. Democrats have won all seven.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
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Another "family values" Republican cheats on his wife...
Gee whiz, this kind of thing NEVER happens!!!
Rep. Mark Souder (R-Ind.), a former congressional staffer who was elected to the House in the Republican revolution of 1994, has told colleagues he will resign Tuesday because of an affair with a female aide, a House GOP official told POLITICO.This shitbag actually has the temerity to blame the "poisonous environment of Washington, D.C." for his resignation.
Souder has scheduled an announcement about his future for 10 a.m. today at his congressional office in Ft. Wayne.
Souder is married and has three children.
How about you keep your poison out of your female staffers, Mr. "Traditional Values"???
Monday, May 17, 2010
Still a sweet look...
Seriously, how cool did the Phillies look last Friday wearing the throwback powder blues???
Friday, May 14, 2010
Bring the funk today, pussycat...
The animation is pretty stupid, but it utilizes a fantastic tune.
"Am I Black Enough For Ya?" by Billy Paul
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Take a look at this box score from 1954...
Who can tell what very special thing happened 56 years ago today involving my beloved Phillies?
Check it out and see if you can put it together...
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
NFL Network Should be Sued for False Advertising...
Honestly, anybody know a lawyer who is a diehard NFL fan, because this sham of a network must stop lying to its viewers!
Scream it from the roof tops. Call your satellite or cable provider. Flood the email boxes or the offices of the NFL Network with angry letters. Do it all and to paraphrase from the movie Network, say the same thing...
"I'M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!"At this point, I am convinced NFL Network viewers could sue that network for false advertising. In a commercial that the network shows repeatedly, it claims that "it has re-airs of thousands of classic games" and that it has over 40 years of NFL Films at its disposal.
There’s one problem with that claim: it barely ever shows either of them. This network is supposed to be about the NFL 24/7, but viewers are shown the same tired programming over and over. The network shows two classic games a week and they always are ones that they have shown before. In three years of having the NFL Network I have probably seen them show about 25 actual games and that is pathetic. It also is pathetic that about 75 percent of the games they show have happened in this decade. I guess this network doesn’t know football existed in the 20th century.
The NFL Films shows they air also are constant repeats. Early last decade NFL Films produced a series called "Lost Treasures" which consisted of about 10 shows only. Well, you will see those same 10 shows about 10 times a week on this network...week after week after week. You also will see the same bloopers films over and over and over and over again.
On top of that, viewers are shown the same 1-hour Total Access show for about 10-12 hours a day. This is lazy programming at its finest.
Here’s a thought NFL Network: Actually live up to what you claim and show those classic games and classic NFL Films! There is no reason this network should not be showing at least two classic games per day–ones that they have never shown before. It’s not like it’s a difficult task since every week of every season (prior to 2000 too) there were at least a handful of great games played. I’m a diehard NFL junkie and starting with when I became a big fan in 1983 I can go through just about every week from then until now and pick games from each week during that span that could be aired. The possibilities are endless and they have so many games to choose from that they could go a year without even having to run a repeat.
Instead they show the same tired programming over and over and over. You like their Top 10 shows? That’s good because they honestly have shown each one (and they consist of about 10 shows a year) 100-500 times in the last few months.
While I’m ranting here’s another thing the NFL Network could be sued for: actually calling itself the NFL Network and claiming they show the NFL 24/7. Uh, then why every week are you showing high school football and Arena Football? And why have I seen college game as well in the past on this network? I have nothing against any of those but when a network is called the NFL Network and it shows football other than from the NFL than you better believe I have a problem. That is blatant false advertising. Tonight alone they are showing two hours of high school football.
That is their new Tuesday prime-time lineup. Wednesday’s consists of two hours of America’s Game, a great show about the super bowl champions but ones they have shown hundreds of times before. Thursday’s consists of the same Top 10 shows they have shown hundreds of times already and Friday’s consists of Arena Football. Sigh.
Even on Saturday’s when the NFL Network shows "Super Bowl Classics" they screw up. Last Saturday they had that nailbiting classic between the Bears and Patriots, a 46-10 Super Bowl XX debacle. In another week or so they are showing the Cowboys beating the Bills, 52-17. A, they have shown those games before and B, wow when I think of classic super bowls I know I think of games determined by 71 combined points that were over by halftime!
At this point I’m convinced that either whoever does the programming for the NFL Network is not only lazy, but also clueless when it comes to NFL history.
Either way, the NFL Network is blatantly lying to its viewers. Remember that commercial I mentioned about how they claim they show thousands of classic games? The clip they show when they say that is of The Immaculate Reception. One problem with that...they have never shown that game!
You’ll not fooling anybody NFL Network. You are a sham and you are lying to your viewers with a.) these bogus claims and b.) by showing things other than NFL football.
For that, it is time...it is time for the NFL fans of the world to unite and demand change.
Let the NFL Network we are onto them and demand they live up to their name and do their job.
Tell them we’re not going to take it anymore!
To all my buddies still living in the Keystone state...
One week from today, PLEASE get out and vote for Joe Sestak in the Democratic Senate primary.
Joe is a good guy, a hard worker, and (most importantly) a true Democrat.
While Arlen Specter has racked up a reliably progressive voting record since he switched parties last year, it's been nothing more than an exercise in political survival from a guy who is most concerned with saving his own ass.
I have no doubt that if Specter survives the primary next Tuesday, he'll promptly become a spur in the side of the Democratic agenda while he tacks toward the center in an effort to beat right-wing shitbag Pat Toomey.
Count on it.
You guys can make a difference and get a true Democrat into the general election. Get after it!!!
Friday, May 7, 2010
Defense Budget as Microcosm of Overall Budget...
- In the midst of two long-running wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, defense officials are increasingly worried that the government's generosity is unsustainable and that it will leave them with less money to buy weapons and take care of equipment.
- .."we'll have to take some dramatic measures ourselves to sustain the force we have,"..
- Overall, personnel expenses constitute about one-quarter of defense spending.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
What's the "ultimate bar crawl" in your town?
My wife and I hit a couple of really great bars in Raleigh last night and we got to thinking: What would be the "ultimate" Raleigh bar crawl?
It would have to consist of at least 4 bars and begin and end in the same place.
Here's my list for the City of Oaks...
Flying Saucer
Hibernian Pub
Mitch's Tavern
Tir na Nog
Flying Saucer
That's just about the perfect drinking night in beautiful Raleighwood, although I must admit that after last night, The Oxford and Busy Bee Cafe could crack the list at any moment.
Let's open this up to everyone, regardless of location: What's the ultimate bar crawl where you live, or in a town that you love?
P.S. On the topic of drinking, if you haven't tried Bell's Oberon Ale, please do so immediately. Mr. Drumsalad discovered it last night and is rightfully hooked. Awesome brew...
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
How much does she rock???
My wonderful wife got me the coolest birthday present...an iPod Touch!
Woo hoo!!!
She rules...
Eagles throwbacks that I would not throw back...
Upon further review, the 1933 throwbacks that the Eagles wore a few years ago weren't very good.
Luckily, this season they'll wear killer kelly green throwbacks in their home opener to commemorate the 1960 NFL Championship team.
Monday, May 3, 2010
A Sensible Question...
"Do we really need 11 carrier strike groups for another 30 years when no other country has more than one?" Gates asked.This question from Secretary of Defense Gates is a warning shot across the Navy's bow...
So much for the self-anointed "best pitcher in the NL East"...
How did it feel to give up NINE RUNS in the 4th inning last night?
Suck it, Johan. You got pasted, bitch...
UPDATE: Going into last night's tilt, Johan Santana had a 2.09 ERA. He woke up today with an ERA of 4.50. I love it...
Rush Limbaugh: Fat fuck/marine biologist...
Don't believe me? Check out his take on the oil spill in the gulf...
"The ocean will take care of this on its own if it was left alone and left out there. It's natural. It's as natural as the ocean water is."
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Various International
- The Greek debt crisis is by no means over. What worries investors now is whether the Greeks will stand for it. Will Greek society resist the imposition of savage cuts in salaries and public services, and will the government’s efforts to reform the public administration and improve tax collection (while raising taxes) actually work?
- Friedman takes a fresh, realistic, and insightful look at Mexico. When Mexico’s steadily falling oil production meets its rising meritocratic middle class, you will see real political/economic reform here. Note the distinction he draws between the old and new middle class in Mexico.
- Hysterical Reaction in America's police state, AZ. "Your papers, please" is what they say in over-zealously nationalistic, totalitarian regimes.
