Classic performance from the 2009 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival
Bonnie Raitt ~ Women Be Wise
ZviZeav has a buncha really good blues and other stuff on his channel.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
A little Saturday afternoon Bonnie
Bonnie Raitt, who at three weeks shy of 60 years still qualifies (to me, at least) as 'young stuff', tears it up in New Orleans. There were several tunes to choose from (see her NOLA playlist), but I chose this one. Enjoy.
ZviZeav has a buncha really good blues and other stuff on his channel.
ZviZeav has a buncha really good blues and other stuff on his channel.
Enriched Pootonium
Fixer started it with a tip from Comrade Misfit, and it was brought along by a comment by our pal David Aquarius:
And finally, brought to the big screen by our gal Rachel, obviously a discriminating reader of these blogs.
Seems ta me like they better be checking coyote poop as well. Who knows where this will end?
"Home, Home on the Range
Where the squirrels and chipmunks all bark
where seldom is heard
a discouraging word
and the jack rabbits glow in the dark"
And finally, brought to the big screen by our gal Rachel, obviously a discriminating reader of these blogs.
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Seems ta me like they better be checking coyote poop as well. Who knows where this will end?
OBAMABUSTERS!
Have your bottle of brain bleach ready for the visual caused by the headline of MoDo's op-ed:
I warned ya...
Go see their logo and where they stole it from.
Swell. I hope I'm dead by then.
Daisy Chain of Cheneys
I warned ya...
I imagine that if you called the new consulting firm of Cheney, Cheney & Cheney and got put on hold, you’d hear the “Ghostbusters” theme:
“If there’s someone weak,
if you’ve sprung a leak,
if the world looks bleak,
if you hide and seek,
who ya gonna call?
OBAMABUSTERS!”
It’s hard to believe that the Bush dynasty, which limped away in disgrace after smashing our economy and the globe, has spawned another political dynasty.
The influence-peddling firm will be wildly successful, no doubt, because if anyone has shown a golden touch, it’s Dick Cheney. And there are bound to be oodles of clients who want coaching on how to make things look totally the opposite of what they are.
The blonde 43-year-old lawyer, a mother of five hailed by her fans as “a red state rock star,” teamed up this week with Bill Kristol to start a new group called “Keep America Safe.” Kristol, of course, was the chief proponent of the wacky notion that Dan Quayle, and later Sarah Palin, could Keep America Safe, which somewhat undermines the urgency and gravity of the group’s moniker.
Go see their logo and where they stole it from.
Kristol joked to Politico’s Ben Smith that the venture might serve as a launching pad for Liz to run for office. (A Senate bid from Virginia, where she lives, or Wyoming, which she still calls home?)
That raises the terrifying specter that some day we could see a Palin-Cheney ticket, promoted by Kristol.
Sarah would bring her content-free crackle and gut instincts; Liz would bring facts and figures distorted by ideology. Pretty soon, we’re pre-emptively invading Iran and the good times are rolling all over again.
Swell. I hope I'm dead by then.
Cindy McCain Bankrolled Conference That Called for Ban on Mercenaries
Rebel Reports, links at site.
I'm liking the McCain women more and more. Yes, I know they're still Repugs. Go read the rest.
By Jeremy Scahill
A little-publicized US Naval Academy conference named after Senator John McCain and bankrolled by his wealthy wife, Cindy, issued a call earlier this year for the US government to ban the use of armed private security contractors like Blackwater in US war zones, stating bluntly, “contractors should not be deployed as security guards, sentries, or even prison guards within combat areas.”
[...] At present, there are 74,000 contractors on the DoD payroll in Afghanistan—roughly 10,000 more than the number of US troops. Thousands of other contractors work for the US State Department and other agencies. (my em)
The McCain conference raised questions about “the privatization of combat support functions,” including intelligence collection and analysis, as well as “advising/training for combat.” It concluded, “In irregular warfare environments, where civilian cooperation is crucial,” barring the use of armed contractors “is both ethically and strategically necessary.”
I'm liking the McCain women more and more. Yes, I know they're still Repugs. Go read the rest.
I thank god ...
My high school still holds a grudge and refuses to invite me to a reunion. It'll be 30 years next year and I'm grateful:
It's amazing how conservatives rewrite/remember history to suit themselves.
The latest tear-jerker from Glenn Beck will remind some readers of that drunken idiot who cornered you at the last reunion and wasted ten minutes of your life describing, with malodorous inaccuracy, how fucking awesome everything was when you were in high school together.
...
It's amazing how conservatives rewrite/remember history to suit themselves.
Blue Saturday ...
Supposed to be shitty weather all weekend in NY so I found a blues number that I love along with a video of a drive I've done quite a few times, along the beach in Ft. Lauderdale.
Susan Tedeschi - Friar's Point
Saturday Emmylou Blogging
I have this song on a Johnny Cash LP from the late '50s. Sigh.
From Nashville Now 1980's
Emmylou Harris ~ I Still Miss Someone
Thanks to 1000Magicians, UK.
Friday, October 16, 2009
McCain apologizes for boob tweet
Raw Story
Meghan McCain, one of the daughters of former Republican presidential candidate John McCain, has apologized for using Twitter to post a picture in which she displayed an ample amount of cleavage.
Very nice, hon, no offense taken. They look very comfortable. The only people who'd take offense at your mildly cute picture are the ones who feign outrage about 'moral values' in public and consume mass quantities of porn in private. Oh, that's right, those are your people. Live with it.
Come ta think of it, I bet your Dad'd got a few more votes if he'da turned you out for the bikers' wet T-shirt contest last summer instead of your mom. Wouldn'ta been enough votes anyway, of course, but it'da been a lot more fun!
Enjoy 'em while ya got 'em, Meghan. They'll dry out and wither and droop pretty soon like all Repug broads' tits do. And, oh yeah, your face'll get all desiccated like a mummy too like the rest of 'em.
I don't know this first-hand of course, because I only hang out with good Librul gals who stay gorgeous and juicy forever thank you Jesus, but I understand there are other parts of Repug women that dry out and become useless too. That might explain a lotta the goings-on of Repug senators and congresspukes.
$400 a gallon
The Hill
Guess whose 'burden' it is. That's right - ours. No wonder those Repug senators didn't want rape victims to be able to take their rapists to court!
Maybe if they get somebody besides Halliburton to haul it we could get it down to $350. Yeesh.
No cost analysis available yet as to the 'fully burdened' cost of officers' whiskey in Afghanistan. $400 a gallon's probably pretty close if they don't get the good stuff.
The Pentagon pays an average of $400 to put a gallon of fuel into a combat vehicle or aircraft in Afghanistan. (my em and holy shit! - G)
“It is a number that we were not aware of and it is worrisome,” Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), the chairman of the House Appropriations Defense panel, said in an interview with The Hill. “When I heard that figure from the Defense Department, we started looking into it.”
The Pentagon comptroller’s office provided the fuel statistic to the committee staff when it was asked for a breakdown of why every 1,000 troops deployed to Afghanistan costs $1 billion. The Obama administration uses this estimate in calculating the cost of sending more troops to Afghanistan.
The $400 per gallon reflects what in Pentagon parlance is known as the “fully burdened cost of fuel.”
Guess whose 'burden' it is. That's right - ours. No wonder those Repug senators didn't want rape victims to be able to take their rapists to court!
Maybe if they get somebody besides Halliburton to haul it we could get it down to $350. Yeesh.
No cost analysis available yet as to the 'fully burdened' cost of officers' whiskey in Afghanistan. $400 a gallon's probably pretty close if they don't get the good stuff.
Your government is trying to kill you
The best line in this is "my underwear looked like the mudflaps on a swamp buggy" (been there, done that), but my main point is: if there's any lingering doubts that the pundits, and in particular Little Miss Becky, have no limits as to the depths they will plumb to spew fear over nothing, this oughta take care of 'em:
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Doubt Break '09 | ||||
| ||||
Colorado Balloon Boy Named Head of GOP
SPR
I watched a few minutes of the Great Balloon Chase. Shot with a long lens from a helicopter, the balloon looked like it was really big and going really fast. Turns out it wasn't very big at all and was going pretty slow. Just like the GOP.
"When you think about it, it's really the perfect choice - an immature person, surrounded by hot air, but who still never gets off the ground."
I watched a few minutes of the Great Balloon Chase. Shot with a long lens from a helicopter, the balloon looked like it was really big and going really fast. Turns out it wasn't very big at all and was going pretty slow. Just like the GOP.
Obama proposes $250 for retirees
We got one of these in May. It bought us a new washing machine right when we needed one. Looks like we're gonna get another one.
The Hill
I applaud the sentiment, but me 'n Mrs. G are probably the least hardest hit by the recession. Everything we own is paid for, we only use our credit cards for internet purchases, gas, and travel, and hardly ever so much that we can't pay it off every month without difficulty, we have retirement accounts that just sit there, in short, we planned ahead a little and it's paying off, at least in financial peace of mind.
I'm sure there are folks out there to whom $250 will make a difference, and I feel for them. I don't mean to sound like the old rich white guy I'm not, but that amount ain't shit these days. It used to be you could buy a pretty good car or bike for that, but I wouldn't sleep in a $250 car these days!
All that said, I'll gladly accept some of my tax money back, and I hope it comes soon. My TV quit the other day and I had to buy a new one (Energy Star rated, of course), and 500 bucks'll just about cover it.
Just as an aside, when I properly disposed of the old TV at the recycling center, it took me an' a Mexican to get it out of my truck and into the bin. I can lift the new one with one hand and it was $200 cheaper too and uses less electricity. That's progress. TVs, like all appliances, aren't made to last as long as they used to be. The old one lasted 8 1/2 years as opposed to the TV in the spare bedroom which is 25 years old and works fine. That's the flip side of progress.
The Hill
President Barack Obama proposed giving payments of $250 to more than 50 million retired Americans who won't get an increase in their Social Security checks next year.
"Even as we seek to bring about recovery, we must act on behalf of those hardest hit by this recession," Obama said.
I applaud the sentiment, but me 'n Mrs. G are probably the least hardest hit by the recession. Everything we own is paid for, we only use our credit cards for internet purchases, gas, and travel, and hardly ever so much that we can't pay it off every month without difficulty, we have retirement accounts that just sit there, in short, we planned ahead a little and it's paying off, at least in financial peace of mind.
I'm sure there are folks out there to whom $250 will make a difference, and I feel for them. I don't mean to sound like the old rich white guy I'm not, but that amount ain't shit these days. It used to be you could buy a pretty good car or bike for that, but I wouldn't sleep in a $250 car these days!
All that said, I'll gladly accept some of my tax money back, and I hope it comes soon. My TV quit the other day and I had to buy a new one (Energy Star rated, of course), and 500 bucks'll just about cover it.
Just as an aside, when I properly disposed of the old TV at the recycling center, it took me an' a Mexican to get it out of my truck and into the bin. I can lift the new one with one hand and it was $200 cheaper too and uses less electricity. That's progress. TVs, like all appliances, aren't made to last as long as they used to be. The old one lasted 8 1/2 years as opposed to the TV in the spare bedroom which is 25 years old and works fine. That's the flip side of progress.
The gang rape and the Republicans
Mark Morford on the pro-rape Repugs:
I think these 30 asshole senators aren't as much pro-rape as they are pro-tort reform, as in there should be no civil or criminal or any recourse by the peasant victims of their big contributors. They've got it rigged so what Halliburton et al do overseas stays overseas.
That said, I think there are at least a few who think rape is what women are for, being vessels of unholiness and properly subservient to 'men' as the rightful Masters of the Universe and all, and that they should have no rights other than the God-given right to be dominated and humiliated by the same so-called 'men'.
Mainly, Morford's right. It's all about the money. It's disgusting and I hope this comes back to bite 'em all on the ass.
It is with this wonky filter in mind we turn our gaze to the gaping hellmouth that is the U.S. Senate, that drab cauldron of grumpy old men, defeminized women and tiny handful of rebellious dissenters, all of whom claim to have your best interests at heart but mostly only really give a damn about which lobbyist will help them best make their next boat payment.
It's the same old spectacle, isn't it? There they go, tossing around the health care reform issue like it didn't affect millions of humans every single day, throwing in massive compromises and snags just so the GOP can fellate its pals in the insurance industry and a gaggle of aggrieved Democrats can get their egos fluffed and you still won't be able to get a decent dental plan for your family.
But now, just for fun, let's take it a step further. Or rather, darker. Let's go ahead and step right onto one of those large, rusty nails sticking up from the senate floor, so painful as to make your stomach turn, a bit of your lunch jump back into your throat.
Here is freshman Minnesota senator Al Franken's first-ever legislative action, a relatively simple, almost laughably surefire bill requiring the Pentagon no longer do business with any contractor -- hi, Halliburton! -- that requires its employees to agree that she cannot sue said contractor if she is, oh let's just say, gang raped by its employees.
You read that right. It's a can't-sue-us-if-you're-raped clause. In a U.S. government contract. Aimed squarely at Halliburton. Thanks, Dick Cheney!
Let us pause to imagine if, say, Wal-Mart had such a clause. Or maybe Toys 'R' Us. Starbucks. Let us imagine the appalled outcry. But Halliburton? Dick Cheney's vile little spitwad of shameless war profiteering? No problem. Hey, it's Republican-endorsed military contracting. No one said it was ethical.
The most repellant part is the 30 U.S. senators -- Republicans each and every one -- who just stepped forth to vote against the Franken amendment, essentially saying no, women should have no right to sue if they are sexually abused or gang raped, Halliburton and its ilk must be protected at all costs, and by the way we hereby welcome Satan into our rancid souls forevermore. God bless America.
Let us repeat, for clarity. Franken's amendment passed with a vote of 68-30. Meaning 30 U.S. senators voted against the elimination of the rape/sue clause. Meghan McCain, call your dad. He's one of them.
So perhaps all we can do is ponder how pathetic and sad these various senator's lives must be, how these bitter old men will now go home at night and announce around the dinner table that, yes, today they worked very hard to help improve the welfare of the nation by essentially enabling rape and sexual abuse, tried their darndest to prevent women who've been viciously attacked from having much legal recourse. And lo, Satan will chuckle happily.
Then maybe these senators will try and hug their wives, or their daughters. And maybe, if there's any justice in the universe, their wives and daughters will slap them as hard as humanly possible, lock them in a shipping container, and never let them touch them again.
Why look, there's grandpa McCain. There's disgraced man-child John Ensign. Hooker-lovin' David Vitter. Saxby Chambliss. Inhofe. It's a veritable welfare-state who's who of Dick Cheney's sanctum of oily fluffers, and many more who would love to be. Shall we write a nice letter to them? Or maybe their wives and daughters?
I think these 30 asshole senators aren't as much pro-rape as they are pro-tort reform, as in there should be no civil or criminal or any recourse by the peasant victims of their big contributors. They've got it rigged so what Halliburton et al do overseas stays overseas.
That said, I think there are at least a few who think rape is what women are for, being vessels of unholiness and properly subservient to 'men' as the rightful Masters of the Universe and all, and that they should have no rights other than the God-given right to be dominated and humiliated by the same so-called 'men'.
Mainly, Morford's right. It's all about the money. It's disgusting and I hope this comes back to bite 'em all on the ass.
As usual ...
The American taxpayers are supporting the "red" states. It really chaps my ass that those who can't wrap their heads around having a black President benefit most from his largess.
Weren't these the states whose governors "rejected" the stimulus money? Just askin' because the governor of New York is about to cut everything to prevent us going belly up. We could use any extra the "big government" might have.
I'm sorry, at the risk of offending many great progressives down there, but fuck these people. They're the ones who yell the most about the "lack of values in New York or San Francisco", yet are the ones with the highest teen pregnancy rate and highest percentage of divorces. They are the ones who dismiss any federal program as "big government intruding into their lives" or "wasting their tax dollars" yet are perfectly willing to accept every dime they get from it.
Fuck them.
The next time one of their elected leaders makes a stink about federal money going to "welfare queens" or "those that don't deserve it", let's cut back on the amount of federal money they get. Let's face it, they should just say they don't want federal programs designed to help those who aren't Christian and Caucasian, not necessarily in that order, for heaven forbid they turn away any coming to them.
They're worried about the deficit should the health care bill pass with a "public option"? I'm worried about the deficit because we're spending so much on defense vis-a-vis the actual risk (psst ... the Cold War is over). How about we cut back on bombs and bullets and take care of Americans here? That wouldn't happen down there, would it? Not with all the defense contractors putting red staters to work. There's a government program is I ever saw one.
My message to those folks: How about shutting the fuck up and saying "thank you" to the rest of us?
WASHINGTON – Businesses reported creating or saving more than 30,000 jobs in the first months of President Barack Obama's stimulus program, according to initial data released Thursday by a government oversight board. Military construction led the way, and states in the South and Southwest saw the biggest boost. [my em]
...
Weren't these the states whose governors "rejected" the stimulus money? Just askin' because the governor of New York is about to cut everything to prevent us going belly up. We could use any extra the "big government" might have.
I'm sorry, at the risk of offending many great progressives down there, but fuck these people. They're the ones who yell the most about the "lack of values in New York or San Francisco", yet are the ones with the highest teen pregnancy rate and highest percentage of divorces. They are the ones who dismiss any federal program as "big government intruding into their lives" or "wasting their tax dollars" yet are perfectly willing to accept every dime they get from it.
Fuck them.
The next time one of their elected leaders makes a stink about federal money going to "welfare queens" or "those that don't deserve it", let's cut back on the amount of federal money they get. Let's face it, they should just say they don't want federal programs designed to help those who aren't Christian and Caucasian, not necessarily in that order, for heaven forbid they turn away any coming to them.
They're worried about the deficit should the health care bill pass with a "public option"? I'm worried about the deficit because we're spending so much on defense vis-a-vis the actual risk (psst ... the Cold War is over). How about we cut back on bombs and bullets and take care of Americans here? That wouldn't happen down there, would it? Not with all the defense contractors putting red staters to work. There's a government program is I ever saw one.
My message to those folks: How about shutting the fuck up and saying "thank you" to the rest of us?
Great thanks to Ol' Fez for the link.
How long ...
Have we been saying Joe Lieberman has to go?
...
We're told that Lieberman needs to still be part of the action because he's with us on everything except the war. Now we have to include health care on his list of shit he's against us on. What next?
...
Thursday, October 15, 2009
So ...
That's how they make Easter eggs. (h/t Comrade Misfit)
...
A government contractor at Hanford, in south-central Washington State, just spent a week mapping radioactive rabbit feces with detectors mounted on a helicopter flying 50 feet over the desert scrub. An onboard computer used GPS technology to record each location so workers could return later to scoop up the droppings for disposal as low-level radioactive waste.
...
"...left to their own devices, the nation's health insurers admit they're gonna ass rape us."
The Rude One on the insurance cartel's threats about health care reform. Links at site.
I hope the AHIP mafia stepped on their dicks enough that folks take notice. The way to deal with bullies is to confront them. Then beat the shit out of 'em.
The horse's head of a report delivered by the American Health Insurance Providers to the beds of sleeping senators is quite a document, not just because of what it threatens, but because of what it admits. [...]
[...] In other words, left to their own devices, the nation's health insurers admit they're gonna ass rape us. They just wanna make sure we understand that if reform passes, they'll also...(tsk, tsk, such language! - G)
[...] Seems like a clusterfuck of such epic proportions that there's no fucking way you are going to understand any of this? No shit. The Rude Pundit just wrote that, and it seems like it's not only opposed to common sense, but it's where common sense goes to vomit and die.
Because the natural response to any of the insurance companies' threats is "Wow, there's an industry that needs the government to step in." And thus the circle is complete.
The Rude Pundit has tried to come up with a rational reason why the public option is still even being debated and is not the centerpiece of the bill. He can't do it. By AHIP's own admission, they have to be stopped or they'll kill again. The report is a taunt, a thug-level threat, terrorism, if you will. With no government alternative to corporate health insurance, it's like asking captured bank robbers if they'd mind not robbing banks anymore. When they say, "Yes, we mind," you ask if they'd stop shooting hostages. And when they say, "We'll think about it," you thank them for accepting their punishment so gracefully and release them.
I hope the AHIP mafia stepped on their dicks enough that folks take notice. The way to deal with bullies is to confront them. Then beat the shit out of 'em.
Fahrenheit 451, with fried chicken and all the sides
This is NOT satire. Raw Story:
I don't give a shit what they burn as long they paid for the books and music, but it looks like the preacher figured out how to attract all 14 members of his congregation. Heh. Gotta cook the chicken over something and most of these books may serve their highest usage as cooking fuel anyway.
If these morons knew how close to Catholicism, aka 'those bloody papists', the Church of England, aka 'Anglican Catholics' or 'Episcopalian' really is, they'd burn the 'Authorized Version' as well and just make up their own like everybody before them did.
My personal Sacred Texts are motorcycle service manuals.
A Baptist Church near Asheville, N.C., is hosting a "Halloween book burning" to purge the area of "Satan's" works, which include all non-King James versions of the Bible, popular books by many religious authors and even country music.
Church leaders deem Good News for Modern Man, the Evidence Bible, the New International Version Bible, the Green Bible and the Message Bible, as well as at least seven other versions of the Bible as "Satan's Bibles," according to the website. Attendees will also set fire to "Satan's popular books" such as the work of "heretics" including the Pope, Mother Teresa, Billy Graham and Rick Warren.
"I believe the King James version is God's preserved, inspired, inerrant and infallible word of God," Pastor Marc Grizzard told a local news station of his 14-member parish.
The event also seeks to destroy "Satan's music" which includes every genre from country,rap and rock to "soft and easy" and "Southern Gospel" and" contemporary Christian."
Church leaders did not respond to Raw Story's requests for comment, but the website notes they will be providing "bar-b-que chicken, fried chicken and all the sides" at the book burning.
I don't give a shit what they burn as long they paid for the books and music, but it looks like the preacher figured out how to attract all 14 members of his congregation. Heh. Gotta cook the chicken over something and most of these books may serve their highest usage as cooking fuel anyway.
If these morons knew how close to Catholicism, aka 'those bloody papists', the Church of England, aka 'Anglican Catholics' or 'Episcopalian' really is, they'd burn the 'Authorized Version' as well and just make up their own like everybody before them did.
My personal Sacred Texts are motorcycle service manuals.
Majority Of Newspapers Now Purchased By Kidnappers To Prove Date
From The World's Best News Source, after The Daily Show of course:
And let's not forget that there's nothing better than newsprint for firing up the woodstove and lining the birdcage, not to mention the classic presentation of fish and chips.
Besides, where else can you find out which of your neighbors are being foreclosed on without the 'notice of trustees sales' in the classified ads?
NEW YORK—According to a report published this week in American Journalism Review, 93 percent of all newspaper sales can now be attributed to kidnappers seeking to prove the day's date in filmed ransom demands.
"Although the vast majority of Americans now get their news from the Internet or television, a small but loyal criminal element still purchases newspapers at a steady rate," study author and Columbia journalism professor Linus Ridell said. "The sober authority of the printed word continues to hold value for those attempting to extort large sums of money from wealthy people who wish to see their loved ones alive again, and not chopped into pieces and left in steamer trunks on their doorsteps."
"These are sick, sick individuals," Ridell added. "God bless them for saving our industry."
"They're also great for wrapping up a severed ear and mailing it to the family when they don't come through with the cash fast enough," the source continued. "And I always enjoy reading For Better Or For Worse."
[...] While most Americans have cut back on specialty publications, kidnappers still find them useful for making cut-and-paste ransom letters and death threats.
Although newsstand sales remain steady, neither newspapers nor magazines have seen much growth in terms of subscriptions, as their last existing consumers are extremely reluctant to provide permanent addresses.
"In order to reflect the purchasing habits of our most loyal customers, we will work with our distributors to ensure that these people can get newspapers at all hours of the night in inconspicuous, security-camera-free venues," said billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch, who later offhandedly mentioned that his wife often takes late-evening walks all by herself. "As long as violent sociopaths continue to abduct those closest to affluent people for huge cash ransoms, the long and storied tradition of the American newspaper will be preserved."
And let's not forget that there's nothing better than newsprint for firing up the woodstove and lining the birdcage, not to mention the classic presentation of fish and chips.
Besides, where else can you find out which of your neighbors are being foreclosed on without the 'notice of trustees sales' in the classified ads?
A lot of talk ...
But I'll believe it when I see it. With Harry Reid at the helm, any threats made by the U.S. Senate toward the insurance industry have a slim chance of coming to fruition. But while we're talking about yanking the insurance industry's anti-trust exemption, why not include a provision to jerk the tax-exempt status of churches, synagogues, and mosques? Times are hard (except for those on Wall St.) and communities need all the help they can get.
Late for work ...
Late for work ...
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
The best explanation I've heard ...
About why Obama should have won the Nobel. Michael Moore via Maru:
I'm down wid dat.
...
The simple fact that he was elected was reason enough for him to be the recipient of this year's Nobel Peace Prize.
Because on that day the murderous actions of the Bush/Cheney years were totally and thoroughly rebuked. One man -- a man who opposed the War in Iraq from the beginning -- offered to end the insanity. The world has stood by in utter horror for the past eight years as they watched the descendants of Washington, Lincoln and Jefferson light the fuse of our own self-destruction. We flipped off the nations on this planet by abandoning Kyoto and then proceeded to melt eight more years worth of the polar ice caps. We invaded two nations that didn't attack us, failed to find the real terrorists and, in effect, ignited our own wave of terror. People all over the world wondered if we had gone mad.
And if all that wasn't enough, the outgoing Joker presided over the worst global financial collapse since the Great Depression.
...
I'm down wid dat.
And ...
As if you didn't know, Tom Friedman is still an idiot.
...
More importantly, I thought we understood that this kind of adolescent, swaggering attitude turned out not to be the best way to deal with the rest of the world. I guess it's a sign of maturity that Friedman isn't advocating shock and awe this time, but it's clear he hasn't yet grokked the fact that the US can't rely on bombast and bombs to deal with foreign governments, legitimate or not.
Quote of the Day - Zwei
Athenae:
... It is entirely possible to hold in one's mind the idea that Obama is the best president we've had in a long time, and that he's not doing enough on X, Y or Z to move things along.
McDonald's At The Louvre
Thanks, YubaNet.
From the looks of the lady making the comment, her fries follow her wherever she goes too...
GOP Claims Olympia Snowe Was Born in Kenya
Andy Borowitz via YubaNet
Just moments after she broke with fellow Republicans and voted in favor of health care reform, Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) came under fire from the GOP for allegedly lying about her nation of birth.
"This vote is going to raise suspicions, once again, that Sen. Snowe was born in Kenya," said GOP Chairman Michael Steele. "We demand that she prove, once and for all, that she is definitely not Kenyan."
Orly Taitz, leader of the so-called "birther" movement, said that Sen. Snowe's vote was "textbook Kenyan" behavior: "She's putting her tribe first."
Elsewhere, the Rev. Moon married 10,000 people, putting him slightly ahead of Liza Minnelli.
Ready to eat your face and scream
Mark Morford is talking about horror/apocalypse movies, and manages to talk about the far right in that context. As long as we have ignorant Repugs, I don't need to go see any horror movies.
As long as it's a massacree of us godless librul commie fucks, I guess. The christards have been willingly duped to twist the whole concept of what they claim to believe in into something that would horrify Jesus. Probably make a good horror movie.
I mean, we adore violence, mayhem, the id unleashed. We are eternally fascinated by our own decay and demise, enthralled by our most disturbing fantasies, everyone not so secretly wishing they really could turn into a zombie, vampire, werewolf or a hundred other misunderstood mutant monsters because, well, that's what we all like to think we are, right? Some noble, misunderstood beast? Hey, I get it.
What's more, fear is where the money is. Fear is where the power is. Who wants to hear a tale where everyone wakes up to their divine natures, where suddenly everyone in town starts channeling the Dalai Lama and no one steals anything or molests anyone or calls the president a commie socialist Nazi whilst humping their Bible and quoting their gun? Oh wait, that's backwards. Or not.
Even the laughable "Left Behind" series of apocalypse porn books written for undereducated Christian paranoids traffics in the same violence-drenched, juvenile chyme as your average dimestore horror flick. Turns out even Christian euphoria and enlightenment are bathed in gunfire and blood. After all, everyone knows Jesus loves nothing more than a good, flesh-rending massacre, right?
As long as it's a massacree of us godless librul commie fucks, I guess. The christards have been willingly duped to twist the whole concept of what they claim to believe in into something that would horrify Jesus. Probably make a good horror movie.
For Zappatistas
Article in LATimes.
Now there's a headline that catches your eye. Yes it turns out that late Frank Zappa, the restless musical genius who may have been the most committed inconoclast in the history of rock, was a pal to the late Jack Kirby, the cosmic dreamer who is arguably the second most essential figure in the history of the American comic book. (You have to put Superman at first.)
Quote of the Day
The first little bit of a good article by Robert Parry on the reasoning behind Obama's Nobel:
Last year, Barack Obama did something extraordinary for the cause of world peace. He built a campaign that wrested control of the U.S. government from a gang of duplicitous warmongers.
"If you need a goat f****d, CNN will do it!"
Funny and sad but true at the same time, Jon Stewart roasts CNN and by extension, cable 'news'.
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| CNN Leaves It There | ||||
| ||||
Brings a whole new level ...
To the term "Eat Me". God, I love the French:
Paris Chocolate Fashion Show: feast for chocolate lovers
Irony and Satire are dead ...
Been saying it since the Chimp's first term. Even Gordon, our eternal optimist, has to label his satirical posts as such because people will believe they're real. Hey, the truth is more ironic than The Onion nowadays. To wit:
Sigh ...
...
"We're not going to be the party of angry white guys," [Self-hating closeted homosexual Sen. Lindsay] Graham told the irate, overwhelmingly Caucasian crowd, apparently ignoring the obvious irony of his directive.
...
Sigh ...
Great thanks to our pal UL for the link.
Is this where the line forms ...
To kiss Olympia Snowe's old white ass?
Is she a Democrat? No. Will she bring other Republican votes with her on the final health care bill? Probably (almost certainly) not.
Mr. Obama, one Republican vote, given so grudgingly, does not bipartisanship make. Fuck Olympia Snowe and all the Republicans (and their corporate puppeteers) and give the overwhelming majority of Americans what they want. A publicly supported health care program that is good and affordable.
President Obama appeared in the Rose Garden late Tuesday afternoon to hail the Senate Finance Committee's passage of a health-care overhaul bill - singling out Sen. Olympia J. Snowe (R-Me.) for her "courage" and "seriousness of purpose."
...
Is she a Democrat? No. Will she bring other Republican votes with her on the final health care bill? Probably (almost certainly) not.
Mr. Obama, one Republican vote, given so grudgingly, does not bipartisanship make. Fuck Olympia Snowe and all the Republicans (and their corporate puppeteers) and give the overwhelming majority of Americans what they want. A publicly supported health care program that is good and affordable.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Light to none blogging today
A part broke on my motorcycle (Imagine that! It's only nine years old!) and I gotta go to Reno and get a replacement so I'll have a running bike until the snow flies. See yas later.
Yeah, why not?
Jill just had to have a procedure and after a successful outcome asks a question:
Fortunately, like Jill, the Mrs. and I have good health insurance. They've always been there to put me back together and the Mrs.' week-long stay (with surgery) in Sloan-Kettering a few years back would have bankrupted us (or brought us really close to the edge) were it not for our insurance.
There are many Americans one hospitalization, one surgical procedure, one emergency room visit away from financial ruin. We have people debating whether or not to allow undocumented immigrants die from their illnesses instead of someone paying to treat them.
For those taking the insurance companies' side in this, I have a question of my own: Where's your humanity?
With what the insurance companies spend ensuring their position and monopolies (don't forget, they lobby Congress all the time, not just when something of this much import to them is on the table), they could have insured everyone in America who needed it. It is disgraceful on both the insurance companies' part and those in Congress who enable them.
Jill agrees with me on another point:
American health care policy has become a form of legalized robbery, the same way defense contractors were allowed to loot the Treasury at the height of the Iraq War. It's time for guys like Harry Reid (and you too, Mr. President) to grow some nut and call it like it is. The insurance companies and their elected cohorts have traded their humanity for profit and campaign donations. It has to stop now.
...
I'm fortunate in that even if I do have to pay for it, it won't bankrupt me. I would guess that this is not the case for up to 90% of Americans. The difference between me and Republicans is that I ask "Why can't everyone have this", whereas Republicans say "I get my health care -- fuck you."
...
Fortunately, like Jill, the Mrs. and I have good health insurance. They've always been there to put me back together and the Mrs.' week-long stay (with surgery) in Sloan-Kettering a few years back would have bankrupted us (or brought us really close to the edge) were it not for our insurance.
There are many Americans one hospitalization, one surgical procedure, one emergency room visit away from financial ruin. We have people debating whether or not to allow undocumented immigrants die from their illnesses instead of someone paying to treat them.
...
There are six insurance company lobbyists for every member of Congress. These lobbyists have spent $380 million in the last few months buying the minds of American Idiots and the votes of Congresscritters so that their gravy train will keep on rolling. That's enough to pay the premiums for family coverage for over 29,000 families. Assuming $5000 per colonoscopy (WITH anesthesia), that's enough to pay for 76,000 colonoscopies. Even if you believe that insurance company executives are entitled to eight-figure compensation packages, do you also think that lobbying is the best way to spend $380,000,000? [my em]
...
For those taking the insurance companies' side in this, I have a question of my own: Where's your humanity?
With what the insurance companies spend ensuring their position and monopolies (don't forget, they lobby Congress all the time, not just when something of this much import to them is on the table), they could have insured everyone in America who needed it. It is disgraceful on both the insurance companies' part and those in Congress who enable them.
Jill agrees with me on another point:
...
Here's how Wikipedia defines "protection racket":
...
American health care policy has become a form of legalized robbery, the same way defense contractors were allowed to loot the Treasury at the height of the Iraq War. It's time for guys like Harry Reid (and you too, Mr. President) to grow some nut and call it like it is. The insurance companies and their elected cohorts have traded their humanity for profit and campaign donations. It has to stop now.
Quote of the Day
Digby:
... Personally, I think that a report put out by my cat would be more reliable than one that was put out by the insurance companies. (And he's not even an economist.) ...
Monday, October 12, 2009
Quote of the Day
Dave Zirin, sports editor of The Nation on TRMS about Rushole's past drug use re owning a team:
No shit!
Maybe video later.
"If OxyContin keeps Limbaugh from owning an NFL team, it truly is the miracle drug!"
No shit!
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
It's called extortion ...
Being it's Columbus Day, this is quite apropos. The Mothers And Fathers Italian Association used to call it "protection".
"Ey, ya nevah know when ya might have a fiah or some punks wanna trow a rock tru yer windah. We make shuah dat don't happen ... for a small weekly payment, ya heah."
I guess the insurance industry finally decided they weren't going to get the kind of sweetheart deals that PHarma and the Hospitals got, so they've gone on the warpath by holding a gun to ... er ... releasing a "cost projection" report about the effects of health care reform. I'm sure you won't be surprised to hear that it says they will raise premiums sky high if reforms are passed.
...
"Ey, ya nevah know when ya might have a fiah or some punks wanna trow a rock tru yer windah. We make shuah dat don't happen ... for a small weekly payment, ya heah."
Quasi-Holiday Bonus Music Blogging
Since today is kinda sorta a holiday, I thought I'd slip in a little bonus music.
Guy Clark performing with Emmylou Harris at the 2005 Americana awards, with Shawn Camp on the fiddle.
Guy Clark w/Emmylou Harris ~ Dublin Blues
Thanks to Txmusicam.
Support the Troops? NIMBY!
[Welcome to Crooks and Liars readers. Thanks, Mike! ~ F]
Veterans For Common Sense
Yeah, 'support the troops' is fine. Until they need support. Then they're all crazed time bombs and should go live in someone else's neighborhood or under a bridge. Maybe especially female veterans - PTSD combined with PMS might level the joint.
Yeesh. Moral values, you know. It's for the children. Hooray for the red, white, and blue. Until the chickens come home to roost, that is.
Veterans For Common Sense
October 11, 2009, Taylor, Texas (Austin American-Statesman) — A California company wants to convert an empty facility formerly used as nursing home into a trauma assistance center for as many as 88 female veterans, including those who have been sexually assaulted by fellow soldiers.
But some Taylor residents say they don't want the facility in their town.
Wolbrueck lives across the street from the proposed facility where veterans would live. She said she fears that veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder might attack residents in the Buttermilk Hill neighborhood.
"They can have an episode where a flashback transports them back into a combat situation, and they can perceive anyone as a threat: an elderly person taking a walk around the neighborhood, or a child on a bike," she said.
Yeah, 'support the troops' is fine. Until they need support. Then they're all crazed time bombs and should go live in someone else's neighborhood or under a bridge. Maybe especially female veterans - PTSD combined with PMS might level the joint.
Yeesh. Moral values, you know. It's for the children. Hooray for the red, white, and blue. Until the chickens come home to roost, that is.
Oh, the irony...
Ironic Times
Legalization of Marijuana Gains Support in California
Legalization of OxyContin gains support in Mississippi.
Drop in Birth Rate Blamed on Recession
Babies having second thoughts about being born already $40,000 in debt.
Physicist Working on Large Hadron Collider Arrested for Al Qaeda Links
Terrorists reportedly trying to obtain a black hole.
McDonald's Opens in the Louvre
Officially brings to close 500-year epoch of European cultural dominance.
Pity me ...
It's Columbus Day, in New York, and I work for an off-the-boat Italian. It's gonna be all Italy, all day:
I wonder if the Native-Americans celebrate today too?
Today is a holiday because a Spanish queen sent some bocciagalupe out to get her a curry and he got lost and found chocolate and syphilis instead ...
I wonder if the Native-Americans celebrate today too?
Wingnut logic ...
George W. Bush (if the Scandinavians would stop smoking dope) should be the one to get the Nobel Peace Prize. Scott takes a look:
Being a godless infidel, I hadn't been to a church service in a while (aside from weddings and funerals) and I hadn't realized they changed their whole schtick.
Last mass I went to, Fr. Joe talked about the church carnival that raised money to help the disadvantaged in South America and Africa. He talked about helping your fellow man who'd fallen on hard times (it was during the 'Nixon Recession') and the losses to our parish in the Veitnam war (everybody knew a family where a father or son was killed there). He talked about kindness and caring for all of God's children.
I guess all that compassion went out the window in the past 35 years in favor of hate and prejudice. Services in this guy's church must resemble a Klan meeting.
Doug Giles, pastor of Our Lady of Free In-Room Coffee and HBO, and father of Fantasy Camp Follower Hannah Giles, is here to pierce Obama’s Nobel Prize-winning pretension like a Roman soldier poking Jesus with a spear to see if he’s done.
...
Being a godless infidel, I hadn't been to a church service in a while (aside from weddings and funerals) and I hadn't realized they changed their whole schtick.
...
What kind of Scandinavian trip weed are you guys roasting up there in your skull bongs? You blondies are orbiting the moon on this one!
...
Of course, if the Nobel boys truly wanted to dole out props to people who actually brought real peace to rank regions, men such as George W. Bush, who liberated 50 million Muslims in Iraq living under jackass Hussein’s murderous boot
...
Last mass I went to, Fr. Joe talked about the church carnival that raised money to help the disadvantaged in South America and Africa. He talked about helping your fellow man who'd fallen on hard times (it was during the 'Nixon Recession') and the losses to our parish in the Veitnam war (everybody knew a family where a father or son was killed there). He talked about kindness and caring for all of God's children.
I guess all that compassion went out the window in the past 35 years in favor of hate and prejudice. Services in this guy's church must resemble a Klan meeting.
Just sayin' ...
What gets me is that the news media spends more time talking about Dave Letterman's, and now Jimmy Kimmel's, sex lives when all evidence so far shows they were faithful to their partners when in committed relationships.
How come, when the senators and reps who are part of the 'moral' and 'family values' crowd (and generally the loudest) cheat on their wives, multiple times, it's glossed over? Reported on once or twice and then down the memory hole?
Hypocrisy (not even) among late night talk show hosts isn't detrimental to the running of the nation, yet we make a big deal of it. Though when our elected reps cheat and lie, well, that's business as usual.
How come, when the senators and reps who are part of the 'moral' and 'family values' crowd (and generally the loudest) cheat on their wives, multiple times, it's glossed over? Reported on once or twice and then down the memory hole?
Hypocrisy (not even) among late night talk show hosts isn't detrimental to the running of the nation, yet we make a big deal of it. Though when our elected reps cheat and lie, well, that's business as usual.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Quote of the Day
The Rude One speaking of Michael Moore:
...
America has always been his subject, and there are few people who have loved this country as much as Michael Moore. But while most Americans love this nation as if it's their hometown football team, he loves it like you love your child. That means that, while he may be ready with the praise, he is ready to scold it and correct it and try to make it better as it grows. For what else do we want for our children than for them to be confident, happy, and secure adults?
...
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