Comparison

Rhonda Vincent is a big star and one of my favorites. She's been playing Bluegrass music professionally for over thirty years. Another showbiz 'overnight sensation'. Here's her official video of this tune:

Rhonda Vincent ~ I've Forgotten You

Thanks to rvfcprez.

Pretty good, huh? Now, keeping in mind the vast difference between a professional video by an established star and an onstage performance by a very young band, listen to a live performance of the same tune by new generation up-and-comers The Lovell Sisters who don't have thirty years experience between the three of them:

The Lovell Sisters perform 'I've Forgotten You' live at the Variety Playhouse in Atlanta - February 9, 2007.

The Lovell Sisters ~ I've Forgotten You

Pretty good, huh?

Thanks to thelovellsisters.

Saturday Emmylou Blogging

In my never-ending quest to steal the very latest videos for you, this is from MerleFest 2009 just last week. More here.

Emmylou Harris - Jupiter Rising Why Don't You Call Me? Merlefest 2009

Thanks to tconnarn.

Friend Of The Devil

One of my favorite songs, the title of which is also what the Dead End Quarter calls the rest of us. Heh. Pretty good slide show of stuff we ain't seen in forty years. Puff up a fatty and enjoy.

Jerry Garcia ~ Friend Of The Devil

Thanks to gratefulvideo.

WWII female aviator still flying

Go see this photo gallery at the LATimes.

Violet Cowden flew 19 different types of "pursuit planes" during World War II, including the Mustang, as she helped deliver new aircraft from factories to military bases across the nation. She served in a branch of the Army Air Forces known as the Women Airforce Service Pilots,

I won't go into it in great detail here, but the WASPs performed an extremely valuable service and got royally screwed for it as payment from a government (ours) that didn't give a shit about them until very recently.

Read more about them here and here.

Cowden poses aboard a P-51C Mustang after flying into Long Beach Airport with members of Wings of Freedom, a group that showcases vintage airplanes. The Mustang will be on display along with a B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 bomber.

I think she's a cool ol' gal, but I still get a visual of her flyin' along at about 9 miles per hour and not being able to see over the steering wheel, all the while oblivious to the carnage in her wake...

A P-51 sure beats the shit out of a brand new shiny red superstock Dodge! Go, Granny, go!

Quote of the Day

Bob Herbert in an NYT op-ed. Worth a read.

"The incredibly clueless stewards of the incredibly shrinking Republican Party would do well to recall that it was supposedly Abe Lincoln, a Republican, who said you can’t fool all of the people all of the time. Not only has the G.O.P. spent years trying to fool everybody in sight with its phony-baloney, dime-store philosophies, it’s now trapped in the patently pathetic phase of fooling itself."

Life is good...

Shopping Day

It's over the mountaind and through the woods to Costco we will go today. Here's a pic of the torturous drive along the east shore of Lake Tahoe:

Click pix to embiggen.

It won't look like that today. Gray and drizzly here. Sigh. Got some new CDs to listen to though.

Here's the descent into the big city. Carson City, that is. Costco is in the center. Truck needed a wash.



Just another day in Paradise. See yas later.

The Right goes insane

Goes?! It done been fer a while. Mark Morford does a little catchin' up:

Evil overlords to flaccid clowns in the blink of Jesus' eye. Adorable!

There is much good news to be found in the ongoing GOP implosion; their obsession with 'wedge issues' like abortion and gay marriage, along with hilarious claims of socialism and fascism are proving to be the absolute best news for the nation as a whole. Because as the GOP wallows in juvenile spectacle, Obama and the Dems are leaping headlong into one of the most ambitious, invigorating, nation-altering agendas in American history.

Of course, it ain't all flowers and candy. This much unfettered movement for any party, left or right, can also be just insanely dangerous, could theoretically result in a blowback for the Dems exactly as destructive and apocalyptic as the horrendous Bush Era proved to be for the once-temperate Repubs.

Is it already heading that way? Will it happen? Not a chance.

But before we see why, let us enjoy a bit of the comedy. [...]

Please go enjoy a bit of the comedy. Make sure your printer has paper in it. You may wish to pass out copies to your friends.

Blood sugar alert: He's a little sweet on Obama. That's OK.

Flu outbreak diverts Mexico's cruises to S.F.

Just to illustrate and transcontinentally expand on Fixer's post a little, with accompanying article in the EssEffChron.

Moonbeam's meats gleeped

LATimes

His position as the state's top law enforcement authority did not protect Jerry Brown -- or his car -- when thieves made off with two of the attorney general's tires last week.

I need a coupla more rolls of duct tape. My sides hurt...

How christian of them...

Gee, he doesn't look Sephardic...

From Raw Story:

Churchgoers are more likely to back torture of suspected terrorists, according to a new survey by Pew. Per CNN:

Jesus weeps.

Headline of the Day

The paper it's in makes me wanta toss my cookies a lot too. With video.

Boehner says Obama's bills makes him 'want to throw up'

Puke away, dipstick. When ya feel somethin' furry come up, keep that. It's yer asshole.

No chances ...

While most of this "Swine Flu" hubbub is overblown, there's one place where you can't take chances. On a cruise ship, sickness can spread like wildfire among such a closed population. As avid cruisers, Mrs. F and I are amazed by all the precautions taken to ensure a bug doesn't get started among the passengers. In light of that, the ships ain't going to Mexico:

...

The itinerary changes came a day after five of the world's largest cruise lines announced plans to suspend all stops to Mexico, based on recommendations by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to avoid nonessential travel to the country.

Carnival Cruise Lines, the world's largest cruise line, released an itinerary update for eight ships that were previously scheduled to stop in Mexican ports between Wednesday and Friday. The ships that were scheduled to stop in Progresso, Cozumel and Ensenada either will stop at Key West, Fla., or Nassau, Bahamas, or will spend a "fun day at sea," according to the itinerary, posted on the company Web site (www.carnival.com). Ships scheduled to stop in Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas will instead stop in San Francisco or stay out at sea.

...

Figure 2000 to 3500 passengers per ship and the money it puts into the local economy at each port call. Now, start multiplying ...

...

Princess Cruises, which is owned by Carnival Corp. (www.princess.com), released an itinerary for two ships, the Star Princess and the Sapphire Princess, scheduled to make stops in Mexico through May 7. Instead, those ships will stop in Santa Barbara, Calif.; San Diego; Catalina Island, off the Southern California coast; San Francisco; or will spend the day at sea.

For Holland America lines (www.hollandamerica.com), the ms Veendam, which is scheduled to launch Friday, cruising from Florida, through the Panama Canal to British Columbia, will pass up stops at Huatulco, Acapulco, and Cabo San Lucas. Instead the ship will cruise Golfo Dulce, an inlet in Costa Rica, making stops at Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica; Cortino, Nicaragua; and Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala.

...

Mexico is taking a big hit thanks to this virus, not to mention the loss of international travel thanks to the drug violence in its border towns and eastern provinces. As I've said many times, there are better places to spend your travel dollars. Mrs. F and I used to go regularly when we were first married, but once we found the Dutch Islands (Netherlands Antilles), we've had no desire. When they clean up their act, we'd like to redo our honeymoon cruise (Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, Cabo San Lucas), but I ain't setting foot in Mexico until they do.

Thank god Bush is gone - Part Eleventy-billion ...

WASHINGTON — Justice David H. Souter plans to retire at the end of the term in June, giving President Obama his first appointment to the Supreme Court, four people informed about the decision said Thursday night.

...

Could you imagine if the Chimp got to appoint another Kool-Aid drinking, fetus-loving conservative to SCOTUS? They would have made American women get cameras implanted in their uteri.

I'm sure Souter held on until after the inauguration to keep the balance on the Court. I'm also glad Ruthie was determined to stay as well.

...

During a campaign debate last fall, Mr. Obama said the selection of a new justice would be "one of the most consequential decisions of the next president." He said he would look for judges who had a strong judicial record and "who hopefully have a sense of what real-world folks are going through."

...

Let's hope so.

Great thanks to Scout Prime for the link.

The Party of Fail ...

Political Wire via Watertiger:

The AP obtained partial results from a GOP poll that showed Republicans "are widely viewed by the public as less competent than Democrats to handle issue[s] ranging from health care to education and energy."

"Democrats were favored by a margin of 61% to 29% on education; 59% to 30% on health care and 59% to 31% on energy. Congress is expected to consider major legislation later this year in all three areas."

...

And it's always the 20 - 30% who believe (the Dead End Quarter), regardless of the facts or what the last 8 years have proven about conservatism (at least, in the American political sense).

Fixer Rule of Thumb: If it comes out of a Republican, you can assume it's bullshit and you're gonna get screwed somehow.

Two ... two ...

Two links in one day, by the same blog! One of the greatest blogs in the world, WTF Is It Now?!?, has seen fit, thanks to the Blogmeister Maru and her partner in crime, UL, to link to one of my posts and one of Gordon's in the same day. I consider it a singular (or doubular, as it were) honor! Thanks, guys!

New logo for the Dead End Quarter

Actually, it's less than a quarter and falling fast. Its demise cannot come soon enough.

Gopasaurus

Stolen from Kos hisself. Who knows where he stole it.

Unbelievably stupid self-serving statement of the day

Think Progress

Speaking with a group of Stanford students Monday, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice declared that al Qaeda is a greater threat to the United States than Nazi Germany was because Germany "never attacked the homeland of the United States." [...]

Lemme see if I got this right - a buncha goat humpers who got in a lucky punch on a blind complacent giant are a bigger danger than a madman who took control of Europe and murdered millions as a matter of policy?

A few thousand people, tops, who want to fuck things up and return the world to the dark ages are a bigger threat than an industrial giant with millions of soldiers who wanted to shape the world to their own thousand-year dark ages?

Does she think the Nazis would not have "attacked the homeland (awful term)" if we had not thrown our own industrial might and millions of soldiers at them and stopped them before they could do it? Believe me, they had plans in the works.

I don't think so, Condi.

Update:

"Condi pulls a Nixon."

Ms. Rice, it's over. Sanity has returned to most of this country. The neocons' Thousand Year Reich has been thwarted, and all that remains is to clean up your mess and exact justice on the perpetrators, of whom you are one. Say what you will to try and stay out of jail, but I suggest you go home and get your affairs in order.

Live Whiskey-Blogging President Obama's News Conference

The Rude Pundit loves him some whiskey! Frees him up to say what he wants. Heh.

Frankly, the Rude Pundit doesn't give a happy monkeyfuck about what day this is in the President's presidency. Of course, of course, there's significance to round numbers and such shit. But, you know, it ain't like there's jackshit we can do if we don't like what's happening. Barack Obama ain't a bottle of wine that you sip and send back. But, hey, like a sickeningly in-love couple giving gifts on their one-month dating anniversary, we're gonna celebrate.

8:02 - He calls it "H1N1," not "swine flu," thus proving how he's actually Muslim. If this was Bush, he'd be telling us to shoot on sight anyone who was coughing.

8:08 - Sweet Jennifer Loven asks about quarantining and closing borders. Expect AP article on how Obama was too cool about the coming pandemic and how he needs to bug the fuck out, shit himself, and tell everyone we're fucked.

Good point. This administration hasn't used near enough fearmongering yet to panic folks into giving them what they want like the Bush cabal did.

8:17 - "We could have gotten this information in other ways," he says. Sean Hannity's forehead explodes.

8:26 - Some bald dude from Reuters asks about withdrawal from Iraq. Obama is so comfortingly boring. That sounds idiotic, but after eight years of a scowling drunk glaring at us and yelling, "Eeevil" like a senile gypsy in a 1930s film, it's just nice to hear that the President is more concerned about the minutiae of policy. We're just getting used to it still.

8:32 - He bitch slaps the Republican idea of bipartisanship.

8:41 - Tequila makes the Rude Pundit an angry drunk. It's like a bar fight in a shot glass. Good, deep whiskey works a different nerve. It's more of a massage than a slap.

"Bar fight in a shot glass" is an excellent description of cactus juice. Heh.

8:57 - Gives a list of the shit that he's gotta deal with as a way of saying, "Jesus, are you fuckin' kidding me," and he's out.

And it's over. Once again, he was the President, man, the guy who knows his shit, keeps his cool, and will not be fucked with. There was some bob and weave, sure, on accusing the previous administration of crimes on torture, but there's very little the man's gonna give away until he's ready. The Rude Pundit's said it before and he'll say it again: Obama plays rope-a-dope. That's his game. Sit back and watch who's the dopes next time.

Much, much more. Enjoy.

Ridiculous ...

[A big Brain welcome to Maru's readers - F.]

That CNN has the balls to give Obama a "grade" for his first hundred days. It'd be nice if we could give CNN a grade on how well they "kept them honest" during the Bush administration:

...

This whole 100 Days ritual navel gazing has always been stupid, but they've reached unprecedented heights this time. They've turned it into a Major TV Event, in which the only thing that actually happens is that the usual fatuous gasbags blather on for hours about nothing in advance of a mundane press conference. Talk about riveting television.

...

Late ... See yas later.

Not that it means shit ...

But after 100 days, I give Barry a B-minus. Woulda got a B-plus or A had he not tried to keep Bush's "unitary executive" bullshit going.

Knob job

I'm sorry, but I just can't seem to get too serious today. This didn't help:


Caution: Under no circumstances should you click any of the thumbnails after the video. Heh.

Thanks to advucol, Greece.

The Specter of Republican marginalization

Paul Krugman

What strikes me, however, is the extent to which this is a self-inflicted wound. If Pat Toomey of the Club for Growth weren’t so diligent about enforcing supply-side purity; if Republicans hadn’t made Rush Limbaugh the effective head of the party; Specter might still be GOP, and the Obama agenda much more limited.

Instead, though, we have a party that seems to be in a death spiral: the smaller it gets, the more it’s dominated by the hard right, which makes it even smaller. In the long run, this is not good for American democracy– we really do need two major parties in competition. But I’ll settle for getting that back after we get universal health care and cap-and-trade.

I'll settle for it after I'm dead.

100 Days Of Opposition

Think Progress, links and comments at site.

In the first 100 days of the Obama presidency, the conservative movement has undergone a period of radicalization. From knee-jerk opposition to the President's policies, to petty insults and conspiracy theories aimed at smearing Obama, to the embrace of the radical tea party protests, the Republican party has responded by lurching further to the right. ThinkProgress's Victor Zapanta compiled a video report on the radical right's 100 days of opposition. Watch it:

In pivoting to the extreme right, the Republican party has all but abandoned moderates and independents. Yesterday, Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter left the party to become a Democrat, and today, Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) warned that "being a Republican moderate sometimes feels like being a cast member of 'Survivor.'"

I think the way the Repugs are going, by the end of Obama's first year they'll look like a cross between 'F Troop' and 'Lost', although not as funny as either one.

Cruise Ship Fights Back Against Pirates

Sky News (UK). Cool photo gallery too.

An Italian cruise ship that came under attack by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean fired back with pistols and water hoses.

But in a new twist to the increasing scourge of Somali pirate hijackings, private Israeli security forces aboard the MSC Cruises liner returned fire.

He said as soon as the pirates "saw our fire and also the water from the water hoses" they retreated.

"It was a piece of cake to give them the hose job" said Israeli Special Agent Ziva David.

I mighta made part of that up...

Also from Sky News. Same attack, different story:

Wyn Rowlands was celebrating his 62nd birthday with a dream cruise onboard the MSC Melody near the Seychelle Islands when he spotted armed pirates in a speedboat trying to clamber on to the vessel.

Mr Wyn, a retired engineer from Bangor-on-Dee, picked up a deck-chair and flung it down at the gang before raising the alarm.

The ship’s captain Ciro Pinto was then able to out-manouevre the pirates to prevent them boarding the cruise ship.

Mr. Wyn is recovering from injuries sustained just after his 300lb. wife, who was sunbathing in the deck chair when he threw it at the pirates, was winched back on board.

I mighta made part of that one up too...

A Derepugdemic?

[Welcome to UL's readers - F.]

Tony Peyser

A great many Republicans are now all up in arms

Loudly calling this move outrageous.

They look at Collins & Snowe, think about swine flu

And hope Arlen won’t be contagious.

Outbreak Of Swine Flu In U.S. Traced To Rush Limbaugh

CLG

The Center for Disease Control in Atlanta announced on Tuesday that they have traced the origin of the flu to talk show host Rush Limbaugh. “This is extremely troubling,” said Sarah Tinsdale of the CDC, “as Limbaugh has contact with millions of Americans every day.”

Doctors say the symptoms of swine flu are getting hot under the collar with fever, the sudden inability to think for yourself, lack of appetite for the truth and diarrhea of the mouth.

“One minute I started sneezing,” said Roger Wombat of Hickory, North Carolina, “and the next minute I said I wanted President Obama to fail.”

More.

Just as an aside, 'oink oink' in Spanish is 'cui cui'. Rushole's a pig in any language.

Control your enthusiasm ...

Don't break into "The Dance of Joy" just yet. Skippy shows us the reality of the "60 vote majority":

...

we are not so sure that a 60 seat majority would automatically assure that the democratic agenda get passed easily...there are still, after all, many a blue dog still running around ...

Republican 'vision' ...

For Rethugs, thinking long-term is wondering what they're gonna have for dinner. The RNC token 'chairman':

Republican National Committee chair Michael Steele defended GOP opposition to pandemic preparedness funding in the stimulus bill in an interview with CNN Tuesday, saying the party had no way of knowing that such a threat might actually materialize. "Did we know this at the time of the vote?" Steele asked. "Don't come back and make this link six months after the fact ... we don't know what tomorrow holds." He added, "I'm not going to sit here and accept that connection."

...

So, we should only worry about stuff is if it's a threat now. Sort of like volcano monitoring and hurricane prediction (run away!!!). They're sure into spending a lotta money to counter the Soviet ballistic missile threat though.

Oh ... wait ...

Obama's Stress Position

Gleeped from YubaNet.

Mount Olympia ...

Will Ms. Snowe be next? Sounds like she's putting out feelers:

...

But Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine, who also supported the Obama administration’s economic stimulus legislation, said Mr. Specter’s decision reflected the increasingly inhospitable climate in the Republican party for moderates.

"On the national level of the Republican Party, we haven’t certainly heard warm, encouraging words about how they view moderates, either you are with us or against us," Ms. Snowe said. She said national Republican leaders were not grasping that "political diversity makes a party stronger and ultimately we are heading to having the smallest political tent in history for any political party the way things are unfolding."

...

Looks like she's about had it too.

Great thanks to Dr. Atta J. Turk (Podiatrist to the Stars) for the link.

Quote of the Day

PhysioProf on the Sphincter Specter defection:

Rat deserts the sinking ship.

Guv Goodhair thinks we're jealous of Texass

Political Carnival

Stop me if you've heard this one before. It's a real knee-slapper... Gov. Ricky thinks we're jealous of his state:

From the link:

AUSTIN — Darling of the Tea Party conservatives, a bad whiff of the Old South, or Gov. Who?

All three. Wasn't 'Gov. Who' a Brit TV show?

See, now Ricky's accusing us of being jealous. Of Texas. Economically. Choose any of those last three points and do what you will with them:

To those who might poke fun at Texas or call it backward, he says, they are “most likely jealous of this state’s position ... economically.”

Chagrined or incredulous might be more accurate, some say.

Some very well might. Why, here's Some now! Larry Sabato:

“This was a throwback to the Old South, a South that was out of the mainstream and viewed as something of an embarrassment. You think of people like George Wallace when you think of the claim of states’ rights. I don’t think that’s the image that modern Texas wants,” Sabato said.

Want it or not, that's the image they got. I'm old enough to remember when Texas was a Western State. Not any more it ain't. Sorry, West Texas. Maybe you should have your own state. Fuck the South.

I'm also old enough to remember how glad we were when Alaska became a state because it shut those Texas loudmouths up about being the biggest everything. They can lay claim these days to being the biggest failed state.

Jealous of you? Bite me, Goodhair.

Music aside, the best thing to ever come outta Texas is Interstate 40. I can remember when it was US 40. The Interstate is a big improvement. You can get outta Texas faster.

Swine flu linked to Smithfield Foods factory farm?

Facing South

Grist Magazine online has a must-read story by North Carolina-based food editor Tom Philpott examining a possible link between the outbreak of swine flu and Smithfield Foods of Virginia, the world's largest pork producer and processor.

Philpott notes that the Mexico City daily La Jornada has reported on the possible connection between the flu outbreak and Smithfield's operations, noting that a Mexican health agency has acknowledged that the original carrier of the disease may have been the flies that breed in the company's hog waste lagoons.

"Hog waste lagoons." Sounds like a dream destination resort, huh? Blechhh...

The swine flu outbreak has led to a drop in Smithfield's stock prices, with analysts increasing their loss estimates for that company has well as Arkansas-based Tyson Foods due to consumer concerns about pork.

I've seen Smithfield products on the shelves and I think I've bought some over the years. Not again.

I don't buy anything with the brand name 'Tyson' just because of Tyson's Repug connections, and I check to see where store-brand chicken comes from. I use California-based Foster Farms products when I can.

It's interesting that the flu outbreak may be tied to a large corporation, nez pas? Gee, I wonder which brand of politicians Virginia-based Smithfield gives money to? I wonder...

The Repug gasbags are trying to blame this deal on Obama. Probably closer to the truth to lay it at the feet of the Repugs who are famous for removing laws that protect consumers. Watch them try to cover up this part of the flu story.

White House Call For Prosecution Of Torture

BuzzFlash

Wouldn't it be nice... if the White House would release a statement containing these words:

"Today, on the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, the United States declares its strong solidarity with torture victims across the world. Torture anywhere is an affront to human dignity everywhere. We are committed to building a world where human rights are respected and protected by the rule of law."

The White House did release a statement starting with these words. But it wasn't from the Obama Administration. No, this statement came on June 26, 2003 -- under the reign of George W. Bush.

Really.

"The United States is committed to the world-wide elimination of torture and we are leading this fight by example. I call on all governments to join with the United States and the community of law-abiding nations in prohibiting, investigating, and prosecuting all acts of torture and in undertaking to prevent other cruel and unusual punishment."

Well, you know how he lies. Of course he may have been referring to heads of state who torture without covering their ass by quasi-legal-sounding flim-flammery that will confuse everybody when he gets caught.

More at the site.

We got 60!

Politico

Specter to switch to Democratic party

Yo, Minnesota Al, go beat the crap outta Coleman and get down to D.C. and take yer seat!

Coleman Update:

Coleman contends that he plans to appeal to the Federal Circuit Court, a Federal Appellate Court and the Supreme court if he loses. If the Supreme Court appeal fails , Coleman will appeal to the International Court of Justice, International Criminal Court (ICC), International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) Special Court for Sierra Leone, Special Tribunal for Cambodia and the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Ho-hum...

Update el segundo:

The Rude One in "Some Conservatives Discover Their Morality on Torture":

And now with Arlen Specter switching parties to save his political ass, there's a chance for a pandemic of Republican abandonment.

I can live with Specter as a Democrat, but I hope the rest of the Repugs 'abandon' by just running screaming back to wherever they came from. Look out, Repug Moms, better get them bloomers outta the way!

That said, I hope Joe Sestak beats the pants off Specter in a Democratic primary in 2010.

Incoming!

Krugman via Maru:

...

What else did the right oppose recently? I just want enough information to take cover.

Quote of the Day

Fez-head (in toto):

Dear GOP,

You are obstructing the confirmation of a Secretary of HHS during an outbreak of a possible pandemic.

Why do you hate...well, everything that isn't a fetus?

Don't fuck around ...

Listen, we New Yorkers can deal with anything, but to those of us who lost 3000 of our relatives, friends, and neighbors, this was definitely bad form:

NEW YORK (WABC) -- A photo shoot involving an Air Force aircraft and a fighter jet led to hundreds of frightened calls from residents and workers in Lower Manhattan Monday.

The planes flew over Lower Manhattan and in the vicinity of the Statue of Liberty during the 30-minute flight, between 10 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.

...

It's an understatement to say we're a little gun shy of low flying jet aircraft. Next time, fucking tell us you're gonna pull some shit like this.

...

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg says he is furious that the federal government flew the planes near Ground Zero. Bloomberg says the flyover so near the World Trade Center site showed "poor judgment" and was insensitive. He says he is furious that the NYPD and another city agency were notified last week, but did not tell him.

...

No fucking shit, twits.

How to Have Fun with the Coming Pandemic

The Rude Pundit is a the kinda guy who likes to stir things up, like running an outboard motor in the punch bowl. Heh.

Hey, kids, swine flu's got you down? Then do what the Rude Pundit does: when life gives you a virus, make virusade. You can use the swine flu outbreak to totally fuck with the nutzoid right and help along their delusional, conspiratorial fantasies about Barack Obama and the federal government. Shit, maybe we can get 'em to the point where they barricade themselves in caves, armed to the teeth, daring the feds to find them. Over at places like Free Republic, they're startin' to get monkeyfuck crazy about the whats and whys. Michelle Malkin has broken out her red, white, and blue 10-inch vibrator that pumps her kooz to the strains of Ted Nugent's "Wango Tango" in order to write how the virus makes the country needs "to get serious" about stronger borders more than ever. Here's a few spreadable rumors to egg 'em on:

I don't doubt that we'll actually hear a few of these from the whackjob right.

Just go see. Total liquid alert!

Flu You, M*****F*****s

Think Progress, links at site:

In Attempt To Placate The Right Wing, Collins and Specter Endorsed Pandemic Flu Funding Cut

On February 5, Karl Rove took to the pages of the Wall Street Journal to argue against President Obama's Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act because, in his view, the spending was not targeted to create or preserve jobs. In particular, Rove complained about the fact that the bill included "$900 million for pandemic flu preparations." He contended that such spending was unnecessary because the health care sector "added jobs last year."

Rep. David Obey (D-WI) included the pandemic preparation funding in the package because he believed "that a pandemic hitting in the midst of an economic downturn could turn a recession into something far worse." But Rove was not concerned with the actual substance of the funding.

Rather, as Paul Krugman explained at the time, in attempting to oppose and discredit the economic recovery package, conservatives in the media and Republicans in congress aligned themselves around a strategy that amounted to "snickering at stuff that they think sounds funny." Unfortunately, this "snickering" at funding priorities had very real impacts.

Not on Congress. They have the health care plan we should all have. But then it wouldn't be special as befits their lofty positions.

Now, in light of the current outbreak of swine flu, their attempts to placate the conservative wing of their party by standing up against extremely important funding priorities looks extremely shortsighted. Ironically, those ultra conservatives in office who led the fight against the stimulus, like Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX), are seeking government assistance in addressing the swine flu outbreak.

Lemme see now, this flu outbreak started in Mexico, right? I think there might be a case or two of it wade across the Rio Grande. Better Goodhair should secede Texas. After all, he doesn't like federal funds and it would be cheaper for the rest of us.

Bwahahahahahaha!

Judge: It's 'high time' to legalize pot

The Raw Story

A judge and Vietnam veteran from Orange County, California is on a publicity crusade to get marijuana legalized.

From NBC San Diego:

Jim Gray is a Vietnam combat veteran who spent 25 years on Orange County's 'bench'. He's riled a lot of anti-drug crusaders with his critiques of America's war on narcotics.

In his view, it's 'high time' -- so to speak -- for another approach to marijuana.

"We would make marijuana less available for our children than it is today," Gray said.
"Why is that? Because alcohol is controlled by the government, and illegal drugs are controlled by drug dealers, and they don't ask for ID. So what's not to like?"

If you're interested in the drug war debate, definitely click through and check out the full interview with Mr. Gray. Here's a recent video of him (uploaded by Law Enforcement Against Prohibition) spreading the legalization message on Fox:

Go see.

Like, right on, Your Dudeship.

Oh, the irony...

Ironic Times

MAN IN THE STREET
This Week's Question: Is waterboarding torture?

Tomas de Torquemada, inquisitor:

"No. It is a safe, time-tested method of interrogation."




Vlad the Impaler, impaler:

"Of course not. You want torture? I'll show you torture. My card."




Pol Pot, mass murderer:

"Yes, it's torture. For the person administering it! Borrring."




Idi Amin, cab driver:

"It is if I'm doing it. Hey, you call this a tip?"




Dick Cheney, sportsman:

"No. It is a safe, time-tested method of interrogation."

***

Liz Cheney Defends Harsh Interrogation
Says she was waterboarded and slammed into walls as a child “with no lasting effect.”

Whatever you say, Liz, but maybe ya oughta get that looked at...

Listen to me ...

This weekend, I heard wave upon wave of talking twits on TV say we shouldn't prosecute guys like Yoo and Bybee. Their justification is lawyers shouldn't be prosecuted for doing what they're supposed to do, for giving legal opinions.

Fuck them.

These guys were given a problem: Parse the laws to find some sort of exemption (or muddy the waters enough) to allow torture. These 'lawyers' knew what they were doing. They knew they were giving cover to criminals (see: Bruce Cutler - at least Cutler tried to twist the law in his client's favor after the fact), giving them justification to commit multiple crimes. There should be no cover for them.

Prosecutions should begin with Yoo and Bybee, include Gonzalez and Addington, and end up with Rove, Cheney and Bush. They knew what they were doing was wrong, both morally and criminally, and were looking for an 'end' to justify the means. Anything short of prosecutions will not do.

For once ...

I agree with Bill "The Bloody" Kristol"

... Let's have George Tenet testify. Let's have Mick Hagen testify. Let's have a serious debate, let's have Dick Cheney take on anyone that the left wants to produce about whether we were responsible ...

Yes, let's, Bill. Let's put Cheney, under oath, before a congressional committee.

***

Sill working on the house but we're getting close.

The Hardware Store

This is dedicated to Fixer, who is no stranger to these places.

This is a short spoof of the original music video/song by Weird Al Yankovic made by Connor McCaslin, 7th grader, Lake Travis Middle School, for a theater arts project.

I hope the kid got an A+ for this one!

Thanks to smccaslin.

The Sunday Talk Shows

Thanks to eli0125, Manila.

Inside The Beltway Blues

Taj Mahal ~ The Bourgeois Blues

Thanks to WellExcuuuseMeee.

The Cuckoo's Nest

Filched from Daniel Kurtzman.

"...perverted lawyering and pornographic amorality"

Daddy Frank agrees with me:

In other words, the ticking time bomb was not another potential Qaeda attack on America but the Bush administration’s ticking timetable for selling a war in Iraq; it wanted to pressure Congress to pass a war resolution before the 2002 midterm elections. Bybee’s memo was written the week after the then-secret (and subsequently leaked) “Downing Street memo,” in which the head of British intelligence informed Tony Blair that the Bush White House was so determined to go to war in Iraq that “the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy.” A month after Bybee’s memo, on Sept. 8, 2002, Cheney would make his infamous appearance on “Meet the Press,” hyping both Saddam’s W.M.D.s and the “number of contacts over the years” between Al Qaeda and Iraq. If only 9/11 could somehow be pinned on Iraq, the case for war would be a slamdunk.

But there were no links between 9/11 and Iraq, and the White House knew it. Torture may have been the last hope for coercing such bogus “intelligence” from detainees who would be tempted to say anything to stop the waterboarding.

President Obama can talk all he wants about not looking back, but this grotesque past is bigger than even he is. It won’t vanish into a memory hole any more than Andersonville, World War II internment camps or My Lai. The White House, Congress and politicians of both parties should get out of the way. We don’t need another commission. We don’t need any Capitol Hill witch hunts. What we must have are fair trials that at long last uphold and reclaim our nation’s commitment to the rule of law.

And I agree with him.