I'd love to see a full-field pile-up in the clubhouse turn...

In the midst of a piece about how the way we do elections is going to be the death of democracy is this:

Is it really true that the health of our democracy can be measured by the wide range of candidate choices we've been offered? Take this 1-minute test, and then tell me if you still believe that: http://www.dehp.net/candidate

How closely did any of the candidates come to agreeing with you? Did those who came closest fall into the category of corporate-acceptable "viability"? Why can't you find anything about this situation or any substantive reporting on candidates' positions at all? Because for some politics is a sport, and the fascination lies in the techniques and maneuvers, not in what it might mean for the world. For others, politics is a soap opera, an excuse to obsess over whether in the next episode Obama will take his shirt off or Giuliani's ex-wife's ex-husband will claim to have Hillary's child. Think I'm exaggerating? Not much.

Read the article. Take the test and check the results. They will not surprise you.

And yes, I'm stone dead from the horse race coverage too.

Poor babies ...

...

For oil companies, this hasn’t been the bonanza one would expect. Oil companies buy the oil they refine into gasoline, diesel and heating oil, meaning they suffer if the price of those products doesn’t keep up with the price of oil. And while all three products rose sharply in price this year, those increases lagged oil’s spurt.

...

You'd think they took losses or something.

...

The nation’s three largest oil companies, Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp. and ConocoPhillips, had combined profits of $50.3 billion in the first nine months of the year, a decline of 8.5 percent from a year earlier.

...

You know, I'll worry over oil company profits when they lower their prices so people aren't so strapped and only make half the profit. I'm tired of hearing the plight of Big Oil. They spend little on infrastructure (they blame their refining capacity for the seasonal fluctuations in price) and give half-billion dollar retirement bonuses. Spare me. It's time someone put the screws to these assholes.

Thanks to Chris for the link.

Kill me ...

As I sit here watching the news, trying to talk myself into going to work, I notice I'm sick of the primary coverage. The most I glean is that nobody knows anything about how they'll turn out. The thing I am waiting for (though I'll probably never see) is for one of these talking head clowns to acknowledge the fact that all the Rethug candidates are batshit crazy. That or Alzheimer's patients. Am I the only one who has no idea what McCain's talking about?

And something else for you to consider. Athenae brings up a good point by SteveB:

...

When I read that, I wondered, "What are Republicans required to do to prove their seriousness?"

For some reason, it's only Democrats who are required to fuck over their constituents to prove their seriousness. No member of the pundit class demanded, in 2000, that George W. Bush demonstrate his seriousness by taking on the oil industry. And who would dare to suggest that Huckabee needs to prove his seriousness by taking on the Christian right and advocating the teaching of evolution in public schools?

And it's Democrats who always have to "prove" that they're willing - and even eager - to use military force. Because the voters need to be reassured that a Democratic President won't be a total pacifist. No reassurance required that the next Republican President won't get us into another stupid war.

...

But then, the media would have to think war is stupid. All of them have this Hemingway-esque need to go to a war zone, probably seeing it as the fast track to the big time. If it weren't for the media flag-waving and the need for Democrats to 'prove' they have a set, we probably wouldn't be in Iraq right now.

Now I know ...

What bugs me about Obama. Atrios put it into words for me today:

In his own subtle way, running against the party - at least to the extent that its part and parcel with the Village in general - has long been Obama's message. But he's also long been good at blurring just what that meant, wink wink nudge nudge suggesting he was running to its left even as he used rhetoric which suggested he was running as David Broder's love child.

Just sayin' ...

If you're trying to get me to buy something from you or hand over my life savings via email, you might want to send your email in a language I can read. Spanish, Turkish, French, and African nomad dialects, all the same to me, Greek. Cyrillic and Chinese (Japanese, Korean, or any other minor Asian language) pictographs ain't cuttin' it either. Sorry. If yer gonna clog up my inbox, increase your chances of me reading your drivel before I delete it by putting it in English. Better yet, don't send it at all. Thank you.

Smart people ...

The Krauts, like the rest of Europe understand that TV is dumbed down to the lowest common denominator:

MUNICH (Hollywood Reporter) - For the first time in recent memory, Germans spent less time in front of their TVs in 2007 than they did the year before, according to a new survey.

...

Online entertainment consumption in Germany has long lagged that in the U.S. and U.K. But the fact that the major broadcasters also lost ground to smaller channels might signal the beginnings of dissatisfaction with big-time television programming in general.

Just anecdotally, after staying with my family in Germany for a couple weeks, they get more from their computers than the TV set. Chris in Paris relates too:

... Even with TV being included with my internet/phone service (€30/month for everything including unlimited land line calls around the world), we just stopped watching. We know others who have done the same because they too became fed up with the rubbish on offer ...

There's just too much formulaic crap on TV. I lost interest when we got 'realty' for just about every profession under the sun. Thankfully, being early risers precludes us from seeing most of the prime time programming. When you're up at 4 in the morning, you ain't watching shit on after 8 all the way through and I don't love TV enough to spring for TiVo. Thank God for the Beeb.

Thank you ...

We've been nominated for other awards before, but this one I treasure because we were nominated by our fellow bloggers. We didn't win (congrats to those who were also nominated, a good number of them friends, and to the winner Driftglass, who most certainly deserves it), but it's nice to know our compatriots think so highly of us (it'd have been nice if they spelled our name correctly, but who's bitching? They got the URL right).

Thanks again and Happy New Year.

"No Fite - Just Rubs"

My precise wishes for the New Year:


From I Can Has Cheezburger

Peace above all and all the best in 2008.

JG.

Quote of the Year

Has to go to the poster boy for retroactive abortions. Jonah Goldberg himself in his new book, Liberal Fascisim: Though I wouldn't know a Fascist if he bit me on the ass:

"Scott Lively and Kevin Abrams write in The Pink Swastika that 'the National Socialist revolution and the Nazi party were animated and dominated by militaristic homosexuals, pederasts, pornographers, and sadomasochists.'

Have you looked at the Republican Party lately, you load?

So tell me ...

Now that 2007 is slithering out under the door, where was all this good shit the Democratic Congress we busted our butts to get elected was supposed to do for us? There are still a hundred thousand some odd troops in Iraq and the Chimp is getting everything he wants ... except recess appointments. Good job, guys.

Hope 2008 is better but I doubt it. I'll betcha Huckabee gets elected President.

The Mrs. and I are getting all hedonistic like we do every New Year. If I post some incoherency later, you'll know why.

All the best in the New Year to our readers, commenters, and staff. Be safe, be happy, and celebrate. Don't waste your time making resolutions. Don't do anything I'd do. Trust me ...

FYI

I just got this info from Mrs. G via e-mail.

If you go to Google and type in a phone number, it will identify the folks at that number, give you their address, and offer a map to the address.

It's a nationwide reverse telephone directory. Be careful who you and your children give your phone number to.

I now have maps to all your homes. What time's dinner?

899

Think Progress

The number of American soldiers who died in Iraq during 2007. Despite a dramatic drop in violence during the latter part of the year, 2007 was still “the deadliest for the U.S. military since the 2003 invasion.”

All for nothing. If there is a kind and benevolent God, I hope he takes a break from that shit and damns Bush and all his warmongering accomplices to an eternity of suffering for the evil they've done. Today would be fine.

Legal Fictions

Continuing with the year-end "Top ___ lists", Here's Dahlia Lithwick's:

The Bush administration's dumbest legal arguments of the year.

She's got guts! How d'ya pick only 10 from that list?

You know all of them, but go see her take.

The 50 Most Loathsome People in America, 2007

A lot of these lists go around this time of year. Most can be safely ignored, but here's one at Buffalo Beast that's entertaining. I think the guy's a little off base occasionally, but he's entitled to his opinion. Liquid alert.

35. Tim Russert

Charges: Mountainously inert, he explained his failure to verify the Bush administration's prewar claims with other government officials by lamenting, "I wish my phone had rung." Smirks defiantly at his own humorlessness. Has held the most visible and secure seat in political media for over 15 years without once mustering the courage to call his guests liars. Impossible to watch him interview any woman on "Meet the Press" without fearing he'll suddenly waggle his sinewy tongue, Jabba-like, and beslobber her.

Exhibit A: Self-mythologizing non sequiturs such as "Look, I'm a blue-collar guy from Buffalo. I know who my sources are."

Sentence: Life as an actual blue-collar guy from Buffalo, i.e. a call center drone in North Carolina.

25. Mormon Jesus

Charges: Least plausible Jesus. We heard his brother is the devil -- OMG! Won't even let his flock have a cup of coffee in the morning -- what a jerk. As with any celebrity comeback, lacks the oomph of the glory years. Won't stop baptizing dead people from other religions, which they generally don't appreciate as much as he thinks.

Exhibit A: Loves Mitt Romney, Harry Reid, and Glenn Beck. And magic long johns.

Sentence: Interrupted during the game by Mormon missionaries.

16. Chris Matthews

Charges: Calling his show "Hardball" is like rechristening ping-pong "Thermonuclear Warfare." Displays the slurred, unmodulated speech and unfocused antagonism of an aggrieved middle-management drunk. Can read a scurrilous political attack into any paragraph at twenty paces. Continues honing his pointless questions as his guests attempt to answer, cutting them off with an affected imperial weariness when their responses are insufficiently inane. Apparently ignorant of the implications of satellite technology, Matthews shouts louder at geographically more distant guests. Has repeatedly called Ann Coulter "brilliant." Referred to Gerald Ford's yuletide demise as the former president's "Christmas card to the country." Unable to laugh like a normal human, Matthews compensates by simply shouting "ha!"

Exhibit A: "This country is based on generalizations!"

Sentence: Hillary's White House Press Secretary and personal toilet steward.

9. You (Well, I said he was a little off occasionally - G)

Charges: You believe in freedom of speech, until someone says something that offends you. You suddenly give a damn about border integrity, because the automated voice system at your pharmacy asked you to press 9 for Spanish. You cling to every scrap of bullshit you can find to support your ludicrous belief system, and reject all empirical evidence to the contrary. You know the difference between patriotism and nationalism -- it's nationalism when foreigners do it. You hate anyone who seems smarter than you. You care more about zygotes than actual people. You love to blame people for their misfortunes, even if it means screwing yourself over. You still think Republicans favor limited government. Your knowledge of politics and government are dwarfed by your concern for Britney Spears' children. You think buying Chinese goods stimulates our economy. You think you're going to get universal health care. You tolerate the phrase "enhanced interrogation techniques." You think the government is actually trying to improve education. You think watching CNN makes you smarter. You think two parties is enough. You can't spell. You think $9 trillion in debt is manageable. You believe in an afterlife for the sole reason that you don't want to die. You think lowering taxes raises revenue. You think the economy's doing well. You're an idiot.

Exhibit A: You couldn't get enough Anna Nicole Smith coverage.

Sentence: A gradual decline into abject poverty as you continue to vote against your own self-interest. Death by an easily treated disorder that your health insurance doesn't cover. You deserve it, chump.

5. Nancy Pelosi & Harry Reid

Charges: Graduates of the Neville Chamberlain school of appeasement, the Democratic leadership continues to ignore the constitution-and the American people-by keeping impeachment "off the table" and refusing to defund the war. True pushovers, they're too stupid, cowardly, weak and outmatched politically to accomplish anything substantive, their "strategy" essentially boiling down to whining a lot while handing Bush whatever the hell he wants. There is just no way that appearing this weak and ineffectual could be any better for them politically than impeachment. Everything that the White House gets away with, it gets away with because congress allows it.

Exhibit A: Failure to woo the two thirds majority needed to override a presidential veto is moot: They could defund the war with a 41-senator budgetary filibuster. But that would take guts and conviction.

Sentence: 2 cups anthrax bisque.

2. Dick Cheney

Charges: Worst president ever. So openly horrible, he now makes jokes about being Darth Vader. Unashamedly advocating for executive abuse of power and corporate theft. In and out of public office since his congressional internship during the Nixon Administration. Didn't care about the quagmire he foresaw in '94, because since then he'd deftly maneuvered to profit from it. Polling lower than HPV.

Exhibit A: His Halliburton stock options rose 3000% in value from 2004-2005. No joke.

Punishment: Raped by the sun.

There are some things even the Sun won't do...

And No. 1 Most Loathesome Person of 2007? Take a wild guess...

Here's a coupla snippets from some of the others:

Sentence: Sealed neck-high in the outhouse foundation of a popular Mexican Spring Break destination. Jaws propped open.

Starchier than a peep booth wastebasket...

Don't miss this one, folks!

Oh, the irony...

Ironic Times

Bush Administration Finally Develops Immigration Policy That Works
It’s called “recession.”

Study: Brains of Liberals, Conservatives Work Differently
To put it nicely.

Heh. A well-maintained, smoothly running engine "works differently" than one that has been run out of oil and flang a rod out the side, too. To put it nicely.

Queen Debuts Own YouTube Page
Most popular videos: Prince Charles hit in groin with cricket bat; Prince Philip starts fire after lighting fart.

See ya. I'm off to YouTube...

Looking at America

NYTimes editorial

There are too many moments these days when we cannot recognize our country. Sunday was one of them, as we read the account in The Times of how men in some of the most trusted posts in the nation plotted to cover up the torture of prisoners by Central Intelligence Agency interrogators by destroying videotapes of their sickening behavior. It was impossible to see the founding principles of the greatest democracy in the contempt these men and their bosses showed for the Constitution, the rule of law and human decency.

It was not the first time in recent years we’ve felt this horror, this sorrowful sense of estrangement, not nearly. This sort of lawless behavior has become standard practice since Sept. 11, 2001.

The editorial then lists but a few abuses, and closes with:

These are not the only shocking abuses of President Bush’s two terms in office, made in the name of fighting terrorism. There is much more — so much that the next president will have a full agenda simply discovering all the wrongs that have been done and then righting them.

We can only hope that this time, unlike 2004, American voters will have the wisdom to grant the awesome powers of the presidency to someone who has the integrity, principle and decency to use them honorably. Then when we look in the mirror as a nation, we will see, once again, the reflection of the United States of America.

Operative words are 'we can only hope'.

I like the 'vampire' reference - as long as this administration is sucking the life's blood out of our nation's ideals and the Constitution, there is no reflection in the mirror at all.

Wildwood Weed, Fast Cars, & Untaxed Whisky

I'm still in 'screw politics' mode. It'll pass, but in the meantime, ENJOY!

Performed by Jim Stafford.



As long as we're on the Good Ol' American subject of untaxed psychoactive substances:

No robots needed

Maybe I'm just old-fashioned, but I think we need a counterpoint to Fixer's post. Work safe if you work in the back room of a motorcycle shop.



As far as 'doing what dogs do', I eat, shit, and howl at the moon. Three outta four ain't bad...

Primaries ...

By the time they get to New York, it'll be all wrapped up. I'll support whoever the Dems nominate. Let me just say, there's no one who I'd actively campaign for. The only one who rises up a little (in my book) is Chris Dodd, and that's because of his principled stands on some issues.

I don't believe any of them will bring the troops home from Iraq anytime soon. I don't believe any of them are really going to do something about the proliferation of lobbyists in Washington and I don't think we'll get an movement on a good national health care program. Something about Barack Obama worries me and I can't put my finger on it (no, it's not his blackness, or lack thereof). Something about Hillary bugs me too but I know what that is. It's the fact she's too cozy with the money people. Bill Richardson would be a good cabinet secretary or vice president. Edwards ain't bad but I don't think he's got what it takes to stand up to a strong Congress. Joe Biden, for the same reasons Hillary bugs me.

I don't really like any of 'em but Hillary is probably the most qualified. We'll see. Any of 'em are better than the Chimp and his band of criminals.

Fucking robots ...

You know what they say. "If I could do what my dog can do ..."

The future is now*.

*Link not safe for work and children.