Irreverent Truthiness

2011-10-20T15:42:00.002-06:00

The truth is that this President has done a good job in what has been one of the most difficult periods of modern history. He saved the economy from ruin (until the Tea Party took over Congress) with a stimulus that was as large as possible given the political realities, presided over a stock market that fairly quickly recouped many of its losses, presided over almost consecutive monthly increases in private sector job growth (unfortunately balanced by monthly decreases in public sector jobs which I attribute to the GOP further starving government), enacted the only meaningful healthcare reform ever in our history, passed financial reform (no matter what the Left says, he did this), saved the auto industry (which Romney is on record opposing), fired the first salvo of the Arab Spring with his address in Cairo no less, drawn down our footprint in Iraq in a responsible way (and headed toward almost total withdrawal), stopped numerous terrorist attacks in this country, stopped torture as policy, repealed DADT, joined the international community in a measured and responsible way to bring down an odious tyrant in Qaddafi, and killed a whole generation of al Qaeda leaders. And taking out Osama bin Laden the way he did will go down as one of the bravest military actions in American history.

I know this President is not popular, and it is very unpopular to defend him in such a way. I don't care. For this country to dump him for anyone on the other side would be a terrible thing. Progress is slow and painful, but we are doing it. Is that fashionable to say? No. Again, I don't care.

2011-08-19T08:58:00.001-06:00

AS Keepers

2011-08-04T11:52:00.003-06:00

http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2011/08/who-is-washingtons-most-effective-politician.html

http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2011/08/the-question-for-the-day-ii.html

Parties

2011-07-10T21:21:00.000-06:00

"When a Party grows strong and feels its power, it becomes intoxicated, grows presumptuous and extravagant and breaks to pieces. You may depend on it."

~ John Adams

On the American Character in 1816

2011-07-07T07:14:00.000-06:00

"The people of the United States are the most conceited people that ever existed on this Globe... the most proud, vain, ambitious, suspicious, jealous... and I am as guilty of any of them."

~ John Adams

interesting and not far off base.

2010-04-16T13:15:00.001-06:00

2009-12-03T08:07:00.001-07:00

It's like doing peyote and sneezing slowly for six hours

If this is where Joe Wilson is spending his campaign dollars, he should spend more.

2009-09-15T08:20:00.004-06:00

Upon opening an article about Rep. Stark, I saw an advert for a Joe Wilson campaign ad. Somehow I doubt that The Raw Story crowd is going to create a reliable stream of campaign funds for Joe Wilson.

A Backwards Sort of Thinking?

2009-09-14T10:00:00.005-06:00

Todays news brought me the sad headline "Charles Darwin film 'too controversial for religious America" - but I'm not entirely sure it's not just a PR play for a bigger distributor.

I would be willing to guess that at least an indie distributor would pick a film like this up. Initially the headline bothered me, but chances are it's no more real than the Vampire Diaries actresses being picked up for topless flashing in Georgia. I mean, which of those actresses is actually going to spend time in bum-fuck Tennessee - er, I mean Georgia?

At least, fake PR play is the hope. Is America really so backwards as to have no market for a Darwin movie? God I hope not.

Libertarians Can Suck My Left Nut

2009-09-11T08:07:00.004-06:00

Being a Libertarian may be in vogue with the Boulder crowd, but whenever someone thinks that less government is a good thing, that less government is better because people inherently behave - I like to point out the Montreal riots of 1969.

In 1969, Police went on strike for 16 hours. That night bank robberies doubled and mobs caused $2-3 million dollars worth of damage.

I'm pro civil-liberties, but I'm well aware of a mobs ability to do damage.

Historical CBC Video Report on the Aftermath

In relation to that last post...

2009-09-02T17:39:00.001-06:00

Rise above above the inherent stupidity and ignorance!

WTF!? of the Day

2009-09-02T17:38:00.001-06:00

From NBC's Mark Murray
This coming Tuesday, President Obama is set to deliver a speech on education and its importance to students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, VA.

The speech also will be broadcast on the White House's Web site, and Education Secretary Arne Duncan has encouraged principals across the country to have their students tune in.

Yet somehow, the chairman of the Florida Republican Party, Jim Greer, believes Obama's speech as a platform "to spread" his "socialist ideology."

Says Greer: "As the father of four children, I am absolutely appalled that taxpayer dollars are being used to spread President Obama's socialist ideology. The idea that school children across our nation will be forced to watch the President justify his plans for government-run health care, banks, and automobile companies, increasing taxes on those who create jobs, and racking up more debt than any other President, is not only infuriating, but goes against beliefs of the majority of Americans, while bypassing American parents through an invasive abuse of power."

More: "While I support educating our children to respect both the office of the American President and the value of community service, I do not support using our children as tools to spread liberal propaganda. The address scheduled for September 8, 2009, does not allow for healthy debate on the President's agenda, but rather obligates the youngest children in our public school system to agree with our President's initiatives or be ostracized by their teachers and classmates."

Has the state of our political discourse devolved to the point where a president's speech about the importance of education gets called a socialist power grab?

*** UPDATE *** We just spoke with Florida Republican Party spokeswoman Katie Gordon, who said that Greer's concern is the recommended lesson plan from Education Secretary Arne Duncan. One example for pre-K to 6th graders: "As students listen to the speech, they could think about the following: What is the President trying to tell me? What is the President asking me to do? What new ideas and actions is the President challenging me to think about?"

Gordon tells First Read that the Florida GOP believes that students should be taught to respect the office of the presidency. Its beef, she said, is that parents should be able to decide whether their children should be allowed to participate in this kind of discussion.

Quote of the Day

2009-08-11T21:21:00.002-06:00

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness, for salvation belongs to them.

~ matthew 5:10

Quote for the Day

2009-07-30T09:53:00.001-06:00

If you do a survey of Medicare, most people are happy with Medicare. There are no bureaucrats interfering between doctors and patients in Medicare. But there are a lot of bureaucrats interfering between private health insurance companies and patients and doctors. … It’s time that the special interests in Congress stopped influencing folks to make their choices for them, and let the American people choose.

~ Howard Dean (yeah, he's a doctor by the way)

Wall Street Journal Endorses Torture

2009-04-23T14:00:00.004-06:00

Take a note: April 23, 2009 is the date the WSJ backs Bush Administration policies of torture.

WSJ's torturous opinion piece

A complete slam of the Bush years and Annunciation that grown-ups are in charge

2009-01-20T11:33:00.001-07:00

My fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition. Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans. That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet. These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land - a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights. Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America - they will be met.

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord. On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics. We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness. In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom. For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life. For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth. For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn. Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction. This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions - that time has surely passed.

Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America. For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act - not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do. Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions - who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage. What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them - that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply.

The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works - whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account - to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day - because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government. Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control - and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart - not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good. As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals.

Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more. Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint. We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort - even greater cooperation and understanding between nations.

We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you. For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist. To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment - a moment that will define a generation - it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all. For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate. Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things are true.

They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task. This is the price and the promise of citizenship. This is the source of our confidence - the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny. This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed - why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath. So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people: "Let it be told to the future world...that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]." America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Touch Screen

2008-12-23T12:27:00.004-07:00

VATICAN CITY – The Vatican is endorsing new technology that brings the book of daily prayers used by priests straight onto iPhones.

The Vatican's Pontifical Council for Social Communications is embracing the iBreviary, an iTunes application created by a technologically savvy Italian priest, the Rev. Paolo Padrini, and an Italian Web designer.

The application includes the Breviary prayer book — in Italian, English, Spanish, French and Latin and, in the near future, Portuguese and German. Another section includes the prayers of the daily Mass, and a third contains various other prayers.

After a free trial period in which the iBreviary was downloaded approximately 10,000 times in Italy, an official version was released earlier this month, Padrini said.

The application costs euro0.79 ($1.10), while upgrades will be free. Padrini's proceeds are going to charity.

Monsignor Paul Tighe, secretary of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Social Communications, praised the new application Monday, saying the Church "is learning to use the new technologies primarily as a tool or as a mean of evangelizing, as a way of being able to share its own message with the world."

Pope Benedict XVI, a classical music lover who was reportedly given an iPod in 2006, has sought to reach out to young people through new media. During last summer's World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia, he sent out mobile phone text messages citing scripture to thousands of registered pilgrims — signed with the tagline "BXVI."

And yet, Pope Benedict had to issue a statment that all Catholics must rememeber to venerate and not worship St. Steven of Jobs

Yahoo

Coulter, You Man-Whore

2008-12-23T12:05:00.003-07:00

This column on why Sarah Palin is the "conservative of the year" is by Ann Coulter. It is an entire poem dedicated to someone regarded as the savior of conservatism in which not a single actual policy response to a single contemporary problem is discussed.

In Palin and Coulter, you have the two sides of contemporary conservatism: identity politics and malice. That's why they lost. They had nothing substantive to say.

Sullivan

Truth To Power

2008-12-19T11:18:00.004-07:00

Every now it Hitchens comes up with a good one. But as usual, he's not musing on the hypothetical, but is trapsing through a world of hopes and dreams of an atheist:

Serious Christians, of the sort I have been debating lately, would have no choice but to consider such news as absolutely calamitous. The light of the world would have gone out; the hope of humanity would have been extinguished. (The same obviously would apply to Muslims who couldn't bear the shock of finding that their prophet was fictional or fraudulent.) But I invite you to consider things more lucidly. If all the official stories of monotheism, from Moses to Mormonism, were to be utterly and finally discredited, we would be exactly where we are now. All the agonizing questions that we face, from the idea of the good life and our duties to each other to the concept of justice and the enigma of existence itself, would be just as difficult and also just as fascinating. It takes a totalitarian mind-set to claim that only one Bronze Age Palestinian revelation or prophecy or text can be our guide through this labyrinth. If the totalitarians cannot bear to abandon their adoration of their various Dear Leaders, can they not at least arrange to hold their ceremonies in private? Either that or give up the tax-exempt status that must remind them so painfully of the things of this material world.

Slate

Proud

2008-11-05T06:34:00.003-07:00

Never in my adult life have I been more proud of my country than today. I'm buying a goddamned flag.

It's how he wanted to go

2008-10-31T13:35:00.001-06:00

RAVENNA, Mich. - A Michigan man who bowled his first perfect game immediately collapsed in the bowling alley and died.

Don Doane belonged to the same team at a bowling alley for 45 years.

On Oct. 16 at Ravenna Bowl, he scored a perfect 300.

As he was being congratulated by his teammates, local television reports said Doane collapsed on the floor.

The 62-year-old was taken to a local hospital but could not be saved. A medical examiner later determined that a heart attack killed Doane.

posting gone mobile

2008-10-24T16:39:00.000-06:00

From public transpetstio, I bring you my first mobile post. It's unfortunately about nothing. But you read it anyway. Suckers!

Overheard at the Office

2008-10-21T16:53:00.003-06:00

One co-worker to another:
"She's a religious, right-wing Republican... Not that there's anything wrong with that."

I find it funny that the Seinfeld born statement qualifier ("Not that there's anything wrong with that") could be applied to right-wingers like it was to the gay community back in the nineties, or whenever it was that people paid attention to Seinfeld. Times have changed....

Playing th Game

2008-10-17T07:59:00.004-06:00

They think they are going to lose. So the Republicans have started their two pronged attack to diffuse the reality that America has fall out of love.

First, the pundits are starting to throw in the towel:

Red State:

Let's be brutally honest. Barack Obama is going to win the presidential election, and probably by a lot. We'll avoid recriminations and "I told you so"s and second guessing here. Let's just face the reality. Obama is trading at 84 on in-trade. Overnight quickie polls show the public overwhelmingly thinks Obama won last night's debate - which probably has less to do with any "objective" scoring and more to do with the fact that folks have simply decided to vote for Obama.

To be perfectly honest, yes, they do believe this. But they are really trying to lower expectations in hopes that Americans will backlash against Obama, the so called "anointed one." To me that funny, because in my in-box this morning was an E-Mail from Joe Biden saying we can't quit, we have to fight until the very end. It is the Republican pundits who are anointing Obama the winner in hopes that Americans will perceive some sort of entitlement in Obama and vote against him.

Second Prong:

TPMLast week, John McCain told a Florida crowd: "There are serious allegations of voter fraud in the battleground states across America. They must be investigated." The GOP standard-bearer has continued to sound the alarm over ACORN since then, and brought it up at last night's debate.

Oh yes, the old voter fraud allegations. Fired former US Attorney David Iglesias said: "I'm astounded that this issue is being trotted out again," Iglesias told TPMmuckraker. "Based on what I saw in 2004 and 2006, it's a scare tactic." Make no doubt about it, they are alleging voter fraud to de-legitimize any win by Obama. If the election is tainted by these allegations, then some how Obama becomes as in illegitimate President. And they will do all they can to undermine his Presidency, rather than work to restore bipartisanship and the faith of Americans in government.

These two tactics do two things for the Republican base. One, it scapegoats McCain. He becomes a deficient candidate if he loses and it allows the base to say there is nothing wrong with the Republican brand, we just didn't have an inspiring candidate. I call it "The Bob Dole" Defense.

Two, voter fraud allegation is a way of de-legitimizing the election. And yes, if McCain loses the election and the Republicans bitch (because they're whiners and sore-losers) about voter fraud and Dems tell them to shut the hell up, the Republicans will point to 2000 and say "see rampant voter fraud costs both sides elections" And they may take it to court. But let's be clear, Al Gore did not lose Florida on account of Voter Fraud, he lost on account of Election Fraud, which is perpetrated by election officials not voters. You can count on your finger ands toes the number of people who have been prosecuted for voter fraud in the last ten years in the country. Voter Fraud had never and will never impact an election to point of deciding it. Election Fraud remains a true problem in this country that need serious redress. But that is for another post.

The Republicans are setting up for both scenarios. If they lose, they had a bad candidate that lost in a invalid election. If they win, McCain defied the odds to become the greatest Presidential candidate since Reagan.

You just can't make this stuff up. It's Pathetic!

Joe the Plumber is Full of Shit

2008-10-16T14:22:00.003-06:00

So Joe the Plumber doesn't have a plumber's license. And no plan for actually buying the business he said he'd buy.

Somebody's septic tank is backed up and overflowing.

Not to mention the fact that you're not taxed on your REVENUES, you're only taxed on your INCOME. So, apparently this small business plumbing company has over $250k in NET INCOME, which would mean that revenues are most likely over a couple of million dollars, assuming the profit margin is around 7% (read, profits are 7% of total sales) which is fairly standard for most small businesses. And $3.5MM in revenues constitues a small business?!

Also, what people don't understand is that you'll only be taxed the higher rate on the portion of income ABOVE the threshold. So, if he makes $300,000 in net income, he gets taxed on $250k at the lower rate and $50k at the higher rate.

Stupid heads.

Debate Thoughts

2008-10-16T08:11:00.001-06:00

John McCain did himself no favors. He constantly had that "How Am I Losing To This Guy" look on his face.

McCain's Al Gore Moments

2008-10-16T07:34:00.000-06:00

**SIGH**

The Sorest of Losers!

2008-10-10T12:48:00.003-06:00

I cannot believe the news coming out of campaign rallies. Obama may win or he may not, Don't know yet, but the perception inside the base of the Republican party is terror. They are scared and they are mad. They know they have a shit candidate, with a shit for brains running mate. They are afraid of the this awful notion that if Obama is elected we will become the Soviet Union of America.

(Being afraid of Socialism is so passe. The times when this country has had it's greatest leaps forward have been times that were fomented with a progressive social agenda. The Socialism bogeyman that the pundits whip up is just a straw man to scare the ignorant and uninitiated conservative. You notice in this election that those conservative who actually pay attention and aren't populist flag-waving demagogues like Sean Hannity, are the one's very disappointed in how McCain is running his campaign. But I digress)

But this frustration by the Republican base is dangerous, because it's tempered with threats of violence. Racial epitaphs and calls to "bomb Obama" are common place. It's is disgusting, offensive and exceedingly Un-American.

In the darkest days of the 2004 election, when, let's face it, Bush was poised to win, one never heard these sorts of threats from the left. People on the left, at least the not the crazy people, would never shout out their desire for physical harm to be done to a presidential candidate. Sure, a lot of people were calling for him to be sent to prison for violating the law, but no one threatened the president. If someone proves me wrong on this point, I'll admit it. But it didn't happen.

The problem with those base republicans and there hatred of Obama, is that they are afraid of losing. The last eight years has been a paradise for them. But now they are afraid losing the America they see through rose-colored glasses. Which makes them sad losers. To make threats such as this are deeply disturbing to conscience.

And has McCain done anything to temper this? Hell NO! His ambition to be President runs so deep he allows the base to whip itself up and utterly destroy his campaign. Lest he forget, to the independent and moderate voter, the actions and words of the base in the last week, are appalling to most Americans. He dooms his own campaign by allowing this vehement and militaristic hatred against Obama to go on.

And if Obama wins, he will reach out his hand to these people, and say let's heal this nation together. But they will shun him, be obstructive, and participate in the politics of hate. And the nation will continue to languish in the bi-partisan whirlpool of the last eight years, unable to solve it's problems.

Today, at a time when people should be rallying together for a common cause to end the problems of the country, we continue to bicker and fight and lie about opponents. Well I say , the opponent in an election is destined to become your ally in governance. And that fact is never remembered.

America has become a sad place.

Blogging On the Front Lines: Perspective From a Local Dive Bar

2008-10-07T17:55:00.022-06:00

Tonight's sponsor is the Skylark Lounge, just off of South Broadway. The lighting is dim, and the decor of choice is early fourties pinup art, courtesy of World War II era pop stars and starlets. Nothing beats a buxom pinup.

5:30 - I arrived at about 5:15 to beat the crowd, and beat them I did. Not long after I arrived, two equally foreign looking patrons staked out their own claims for a table. Sorry ladies, the best seat in the house belongs to me. Unfortunately, arriving early has its dangers too: I am on an empty stomach, I've already had a cocktail, and I'm fresh off a no smoking kick with a full pack of cigarettes and lighter in hand.

Should my typing get sloppy, I apologize to all two of my readers.

6:20 - I just had a nice conversation with a woman named Alicia, who's father was a speech-writer for President Carter. We talked a little about health care reform, the rising costs of privitized medicine and the shit storm of negative campaigning that's been unleashed the past couple of days. We're hoping that the Obama campaign rips into the McCain campaign for attempting to side track voters' attention from issues that matter. Politico.com is reporting that "few expect punches." I'm hoping otherwise.

6:26 - The tables are all seated. A few people look around for better seating, and most of the 25 lawn chairs set out in front of the flat screen TV are seated or covered in jackets. Conversation in the bar is getting noisy.

6:37 - I just checked the Dow. The market closed at 9447.11. As Thinkprogress.org points out when Bush assumed the presidency the Dow was at 10,587.59.

6:49 - The volume has been turned up, and the punditry begins. Josh & Ian have entered the bar, and discussion of what shots to order has commenced. I'm two rum & cokes, and one PBR into the evening. The debate hasn't even started. Wolf Blitzer yammers somewhere in the background about this evening's high tech graphs.

7:02 - Tom Browkaw just took the stage. Obama was cheered. McCain was booed. Loudly.

Allan Shaffer, a questioner, has a distractingly southern drawl. Economics question. Obama is up. The bar got surprisingly quiet. McCain answers, and his shoulders look unnaturally hunched and distracts with a discussion about energy independence and home valuation. No reaction from the crowd. The bar is packed. Packed and possibly over capacity.

Treasury Secretary question: Obama answers that we can't rely on trickle down economics. Neither answers who they would appoint as a Tresury secretary.

7:11 What's going to help the economy? McCain gets booed when he mentions that he suspended his campaingn. Obama is blinking. Alot.
Obama corrects McCain's answer about McCain being a deregulator. The crowd cheers. McCain's bill did not pass, and McCain's campaign manager is a former Fannie Mae lobbyist. Crowd cheers.

McCain starts talking, so does the crowd.

Teresa Finch asks a bad question (paraphrase) Both parties fucked up, how can we trust either party?" Crowd laughs. McCain says he was a consistant reformer and the crowd gets loud. Bipartisan talk is met with the crowd looking around. Smiles, shakes of the head, side talk and disapproval. McCain's comment of disapproval about a $3 million dollar "overhead projector" at the Chicago Planetarium pisses me off. I've seen that "overhead projector." It's badass.

Nerd approval of McCain declines sharply.

Ian comments that family is mentioned by Obama frequently. Obama's comments on energy independence within 10 years gets cheers.

7:28 - Since WWII, we have not been asked to sacrifice outside of blood. McCain states that defense spending has to be scrutinized.

Obama invokes 911 for the first time this evening. Bar immediately gets quiet. Mentions Bush telling us to so shopping, comment gets laughs and claps. Interest graph goes up. Bar gets interested again. Calls on Americans scrutinizing their own energy expenditures gets cheers. Doubling Peace Corps gets more cheer.

Obama anser about breaking America's bad habit of easy credit logets chatter around the bar. Scalpel on the economy metaphor gets cheers. McCain's Jello being nailed to the wall gets jeers and the crowd sharply loses interest. Crowd begins booing.

Straight talk express losing a wheel gets cheers and claps.

7:40 - McCain invoking Ronald Regan gets jeers and boos. I find myself booing as well. "Our best days are ahead of us." Met with blank stares, and shock that such a stupid comment could be made. Not stupid because it isn't true, stupid because it's a half-assed attempt at rallying the troops.

Three PBRs, 2 rum & cokes, four cigarettes - McCain starts talking out his ass about Obama fining for health care non-compliance gets the crowd rowdy. OBAMA ANSWERS THAT HEALTH CARE IS A RIGHT GETS CLAPPING AND CHEERS. Browkaw asks Obama to keep within his time. McCain's comment about fining for a time overage is met with blank stares.

8:00 - Obama's comment about invading a country that had nothing to do with 911 gets the loudest cheers of the evening. By far. Getting the $10 billion a month at home gets cheered. Discussion of ethnic cleansing has a silence accompanying it, not being around the world for everything is discussed. Providing logistical support gets cheers.

McCain opeingin with "my friends gets jeered. That line is getting old fast.

8:09 - "Should the United States ignore Pakistan's sovreignty?" is the gist of the question. Obama states that the war on terror began in the Afghan, Pakistani region. Obama does not feel we should coddle the Pakistani dictator. Expand non military aide.

McCain's talk about Rosevelt gets jeered.

Obama discussion of bomb bomb bomb Iran gets swoons for Obama from Crystal at our table. She's in love.

Cold war, blah blah blah. Russia, blah blah blah. Interest dips.

Drinking game: When McCain says "my friend" everyone drinks. McCain says "stinking corpse" interest drops through the floor. Some chick yells "shut up" loudly. The beer goggles around my eyes get shiny.

McCain refuses to shake Obama's hand. Cindy picks up for her husband and shakes Obama's hand for her husband. Maybe she isn't the c**t John McCain purports her to be. Maybe John's just a dick.

Speaking of dicks: At the end of the debate, some squirrely character dropped these off at our table.

Looking at the Polls: Where's Fox's?

2008-10-04T19:18:00.003-06:00

I was really curious about where Fox News' poll results were. Interesting thing is: they're not there. Anywhere.

Apparently, they either don't do any of their own polls (yeah, right) or their polls are so bad and correlate with other polls turning against McCain that they've removed that portion of their site altogether.

Look for yourself (as of 10/4/2008, anyways...):

http://elections.foxnews.com/

But check out the rest, their polling info is easy to find (where Fox News just appears to have either removed, or ignored that aspect of journalism.

CNN:http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/calculator/

MSNBC: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032553/

Gallup: http://gallup.com/Home.aspx

CBS: http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/sepd-elec08.pdf

Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/politics/

Nuclear. Say It!

2008-10-03T08:18:00.002-06:00

A tribute to right-winger's inability to say a simple word (thanks, Palin).

Can't believe I missed this:

2008-09-26T12:36:00.001-06:00

Baghdad plans to build giant Ferris wheel

We're trying turn Iraq into Mexico II, a spring break desitination for college kids and retirees.

Does Not Compute

2008-09-25T07:16:00.005-06:00

It's as if she's wholly incapable of producing a reasoned, understandable answer to questions. This person has zero credibility.

Having Run Out of Campaign Managers, McCain Fires Himself

2008-09-24T13:15:00.005-06:00

With nowhere else to turn but on his own campaign for the plummeting polls, John McCain has suspended his bid for election until the financial "crisis" is solved, world peace is achieved, or Sarah Palin has another baby. Whichever comes first.

Left-Wing Nut Jobs

2008-09-24T08:19:00.006-06:00

PETA recently sent probably the stupidest corportate request I've ever seen to Ben & Jerry's asking them to replace cow's milk with human milk.

Picture it.... factories full of recently pregnant women, likely third-world migrants with little skill, showing up for work only to have them hooked up to suction pumps. Yeah, that'll solve the world's problems.

I'm sure Ben & Jerry's would sell at least one pint of the new flavored ice cream before they went out of business.

Here's their letter:

September 23, 2008

Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, Cofounders

Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc.

Dear Mr. Cohen and Mr. Greenfield,

On behalf of PETA and our more than 2 million members and supporters, I'd like to bring your attention to an innovative new idea from Switzerland that would bring a unique twist to Ben and Jerry's.

Storchen restaurant is set to unveil a menu that includes soups, stews, and sauces made with at least 75 percent breast milk procured from human donors who are paid in exchange for their milk. If Ben and Jerry's replaced the cow's milk in its ice cream with breast milk, your customers-and cows-would reap the benefits.

Using cow's milk for your ice cream is a hazard to your customer's health. Dairy products have been linked to juvenile diabetes, allergies, constipation, obesity, and prostate and ovarian cancer. The late Dr. Benjamin Spock, America's leading authority on child care, spoke out against feeding cow's milk to children, saying it may play a role in anemia, allergies, and juvenile diabetes and in the long term, will set kids up for obesity and heart disease-America's number one cause of death.

Animals will also benefit from the switch to breast milk. Like all mammals, cows only produce milk during and after pregnancy, so to be able to constantly milk them, cows are forcefully impregnated every nine months. After several years of living in filthy conditions and being forced to produce 10 times more milk than they would naturally, their exhausted bodies are turned into hamburgers or ground up for soup.

And of course, the veal industry could not survive without the dairy industry. Because male calves can't produce milk, dairy farmers take them from their mothers immediately after birth and sell them to veal farms, where they endure 14 to 17 weeks of torment chained inside a crate so small that they can't even turn around.

The breast is best! Won't you give cows and their babies a break and our health a boost by switching from cow's milk to breast milk in Ben and Jerry's ice cream? Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Tracy Reiman

Executive Vice President

Well Put!

2008-09-16T07:51:00.002-06:00

It is not sexist to point out that the Palin candidacy is a farce. A man with her non-qualifications, long, long record of demonstrable, outright lies and utter lack of interest in foreign policy would never have been considered for the role.

~Andrew Sullivan

Moose Meat

2008-09-14T14:43:00.002-06:00

It's like a Turducken. Scary and funny all wrapped up into one.

Brinksmanship

2008-09-12T07:50:00.003-06:00

Now she's upholding brinkmanship of war with Russia, saying that if Georgia was in NATO and Russia attacked Georgia again that we would do whatever necessary to defend our allies. These people, McCain and Palin, are dangerous. They are cartoons; parodies of what is wrong with the neo-conservative movement. But mostly they are dangerous.

Josh Marshall at TPM said he would prefer to see 4 more years of Bush than to see McCain elected. I agree. At least Bush has seen the sobering reality of the actually conducting foreign policy which has undercut the legs from his so-called Bush Doctrine.

The hypothetical rhetoric coming out of the McCain campaign is dangerous. Palin, via the McCain Campaign talking points said that if Russia remained aggressive we should look into things like economic sanctions. The complete ignorance of that statement lies in two parts:

1) UN economic sanctions would have to be approved by the Security Council of which Russia is member with veto power.

2) The United States government is not going to embargo Russia goods, which consist mostly of energy supplies

2) Russia is a major producer of Oil and Natural Gas. Putting Economic sanctions on Russia would cause a skyrocket spike in pricing of Heating Oil, Natural Gas and Crude, all before winter.

So in essence, the McCain camp is advocating higher energy costs for the oncoming winter. Way to put the American people in further economic danger.

This Palin is an absolute joke of a candidate. She doesn't know her ass from a hole in the ground. She's a lying sack of crap and this claim of political maverick? She is politically expedient. She took on the Alaska establishment? No! she cozied up to them to get ahead and then threw them under the bus when it suited her advancing political career. And they accuse Obama of being an opportune politician. She would through her own mother to the curb if would help her get ahead.

These people must be defeated, the future of American Democracy depends on it

What's your Obama tax cut?

2008-09-11T13:20:00.001-06:00

Find out here! http://alchemytoday.com/obamataxcut/

Reformer My Ass!

2008-09-11T11:32:00.004-06:00

This Palin woman loves the Pork Barrel:

For the 2009 Alaska Fiscal Year, Palin requested almost $180 million from the federal government.

Mind you not all the request were for pork (like $150,000 for training law enforcement to teach D.A.R.E.) but there are requests to study seal DNA in attempt to understand why their population is declining.

She is a political blowhard, a hypocrite, and a liar.

When will she finally answer to her bullshit.

Alaska Federal Appropriations Requests

Wow, What Gravitas Bullshit

2008-09-10T16:19:00.006-06:00

13 damn days without a press availability.

This lady is hiding in an undisclosed location with Dick Cheney. Is she that inept that she can't field a few questions from the media? If she's such a strong woman why doesn't she stand-up and face the fire?

Maybe it because she's a corrupt, un-prepared typical flip-flopping politician that will be exposed for a hypocrite thus diminishing her unwarranted aura as a "Maverick."

The Republicans are scared to put it on the table and debate issues. That's why they lie and perpetuate lies with hacks and pieces of shit like Hannity and Limbaugh.

John McCain is a bigger pussy than W. So much for an open and honest campaign.

She's EXTREEEME, dude.

2008-09-08T13:58:00.000-06:00

Contra Palin

2008-09-05T10:58:00.000-06:00

She was mayor of a town of 5000 to 6000 people for 8 years. In that time (as she should have) she often lobbied the state and federal government for city project funding. Also while mayor she managed to cut taxes and raise city spending that put Wasilia in debt.

She came to power as Governor of Alaska by political expedience and throwing the good old boys under the bus when it suited her. Her popularity is mostly due to the fact that she gave thousands of dollars in oil windfall profits checks to Alaska citizens. Under her watch Alaska will receive the most federal dollars for “pork barrel” spending per capita than any other state of the union.

She has no foreign policy experience. She has no experience on health care. No known stance on economic policies or immigration. She is well versed in oil industry energy policy, but not in any other area like renewable energy or clean energy. She has never issued a command as the head of the Alaska National Guard. She doesn’t seem to be well versed in the civics of American government. Where most politicians have business, legal, or political science degrees, she has a degree in Journalism from a state university. Her views on abortion are out of line of even the most women in the Republican Party. Foremost, she is one of those Bible thumping Pentecostal evangelicals, a sect of believers that tend to view the world in black and white, us versus them, good versus evil. We have had enough of that kind of world view with George Bush.

I see why she appeals to the base of Republican Party. She embodies what it has become in the last decade. To me it’s quite depressing that millions of American have come to embrace these kinds of politicians. She is a culture warrior for the Republican base, and that is all they want. They would rather fight a culture war about gays and abortion with the left rather then work towards compromise and solutions to economic and energy problems that are much more important.

The truth is, we need to return to a type of government were policy is studied and measured, where experts and experienced people, not political hacks, are in charge of policy. We could have got this with a McCain-Pawlenty Ticket or even McCain-Lieberman Ticket. But I fear that is now impossible.

3,958 Imposters Are Out There

2008-09-03T12:25:00.002-06:00

http://howmanyofme.com will tell you how many people share your first, last and full name.

That's 3,958 people to blame for my terrible credit.

The Perfect Figureheads

2008-09-01T22:21:00.002-06:00

PR, Rove Style: Pushing the Other Out, Gets You In

2008-09-01T09:19:00.002-06:00

I was confused by an exchange that took place on Fox News recently:

Confused for a couple of reasons:
1) Why would a Fox News lean into Karl Rove of all people?
2) Why would a non-news issue become such an issue the day before McCain announces his VP pick?

For one, Obama was giving his DNC speech that same day. I'm of a mind that Rove was manufacturing news (bad journalist. bad. bad.). Why? Because keeping Obama commentary off the news, and McCain's name on Politico.com/teh internets was perhaps the only goal. Yellow journalism at its finest. Dicks. Granted, not much coverage of the issue took place, but it came so out of nowhere that it felt some part of an orchestrated game.

And this Palin pick. An FBI check. One meeting a year ago, another the day he offers her the job? As far as I can tell that's the extent of her vetting process. She has experienced in foreign affairs because Alaska's right next to Russia (somebody please shut Cindy McCain up). You've got to be kidding me. The Palin pick was about press, that's all. Why did Bush fail so miserably? His insistence on spin and gut-felt decisions rather than sound reasoning. It's the hallmark of these people.

Keeping yourself in the press, manufacturing false crises... distract, distract, distract. God forbid someone in charge use their political power to make a sound policy decision.

Vetting Palin

2008-08-29T10:33:00.006-06:00

Palin's husband is a "proud" union man.

Does that open up a can of worms for the Republicans who have a rather anti-union platform?

I wonder what she thinks of Ted Stevens?

Sent excess oil revenues back to the people of Alaska? That what the law requires her to do.

I sure hope she bring civility to this campaign. She talks the talk, can she walk the walk?

Did she forget to mention that McCain was a POW? Wait, no she didn't.

She stumps like a state politician, I think her acceptance speech today was not great. She will need to connect with voters on a much more visionary level to motivate undecideds to vote McCain. I think her Convention Speech will be very telling of her ability to inspire.

Bizzare Choice

2008-08-29T09:35:00.003-06:00

Palin? WTF?

She doesn't help McCain consolidate in the south or in Florida. She doesn't help in Ohio and Michigan. She brings no national policy experience.

If McCain was angling for Hilary Clinton's supporters, why would you pick a woman who is so vehemently pro-life, contrary to so many PUMA supporters.

Yes, McCain is trying to take the news cycle away from Obama's speech last night and this is very newsworthy that will get the pundits head spinning, but her inexperience is going to be quite the exposable problem when she start campaigning and debating Biden.

Strange doesn't begin to start.

The Magical Goat

2008-08-29T08:02:00.000-06:00

The Best Part of Obama's Acceptance

2008-08-29T07:19:00.002-06:00

This country of ours has more wealth than any nation, but that's not what makes us rich. We have the most powerful military on Earth, but that's not what makes us strong. Our universities and our culture are the envy of the world, but that's not what keeps the world coming to our shores.

Instead, it is that American spirit – that American promise – that pushes us forward even when the path is uncertain; that binds us together in spite of our differences; that makes us fix our eye not on what is seen, but what is unseen, that better place around the bend. That promise is our greatest inheritance. It's a promise I make to my daughters when I tuck them in at night, and a promise that you make to yours – a promise that has led immigrants to cross oceans and pioneers to travel west; a promise that led workers to picket lines, and women to reach for the ballot.

God is Clearly Displeased with James Dobson

2008-08-28T21:25:00.001-06:00

So on August 13, 2008 James Dobson's racket for defrauding stupid people (known to some as the foundation Focus on the Family) asked its followers to pray for rain during Obama's speech at the close of the Democratic National Convention.

It's not raining.

I'll extrapolate a couple of thoughts from the fact that there is no rain to be indicative that:
1) God hates James Dobson
2) God likes Barack Obama
3) Someone spent time and money on another piece of Christian trash propaganda, thereby making the world an uglier place
and
4) Christians are by and large petty, petty people

Biden's Mom

2008-08-28T08:20:00.001-06:00

A quote to take to heart:

You are defined by your sense of Honor and redeemed by your loyalty.

Listen Up!

2008-08-27T15:56:00.002-06:00

I know no one read this tiny little blog but, HEY, Hillary supporters:

You are Fucking Democrats!

Would you rather have another four years to endure of Republican bullshit or do you want vote help democrats win the presidency. Because it wouldn't be just Obama, it would be a democrtic AG, Sec of State, and Associate Justices to SCOTUS, to name a few.

So get over it, suck it up, and think logically or you are really going to hurt this country.

Wrinkly Old Bastard Wins Again

2008-08-27T08:58:00.003-06:00

Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska won the Republican primary in his home state on Tuesday, soundly defeating six Republican challengers less than a month after he was indicted by a federal grand jury for concealing more than $250,000 in gifts from an oil services company

Mr. Stevens, who has been in office for 40 years and is revered for bringing home billions of dollars in federal spending, had received 63 percent of the vote with 61 percent of precincts counted.

Alaska has to be the most corrupt state in the union. Not only do they make massive amounts of income form oil drilling, the state gets billions in government handouts, and it's all thanks to the Stevens senatorial family.

He's going win in November, despite missing a month of campaigning due to his trial in DC. That's quite impressive for a man who is 84 and is obsessed with tubes, Especially his Swedish Penis Enlarging Pump.

Party rift? Who's saying that?

2008-08-26T22:34:00.001-06:00

Not Hillary.

What's On TV?

2008-08-26T14:25:00.004-06:00

So you see, the last two weeks were the Olympics and my wife hates sports and now we have the conventions and my wife hates politics. So we had to find something else to watch. So here is the best counter programming to the DNC:

6:00 - Top Gear - Clarkson for President!

7:00 - The Closer - Sedgwick is a much better looking blond than Clinton, even if her face is a rectangle laid on its long side.

8:00 - No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain - Anthony travelled to Egypt and spent his whole time there hanging out with men and goat testicles. But, if this was the only program you would ever see on Egypt, you would realize that country is entirely devoid of women. I like one big circle jerk of a country.

So there you have it, tune in for these fine programs next week so you don't have to listen to Bush's bullshit when he talks on Monday in St. Paul.

And yes this whole article was to make fun of the Egyptians for being gay. I hope they don't bomb my house now.

Suspicious, I tell you. Suspicious.

2008-08-26T11:51:00.005-06:00

I have a hard time believing that these women are actually out there voting for McCain. There might be a few, sure. But, are these just Republican plants, made to make the party look like it's fractured?

Hillary supporters don't exactly have membership cards.

Truly, Karl Rove is a professional limbo player to be reckoned with. The man must have some limitations, right?!?!

Ass-hat of the week: Rush Limbaugh

2008-08-22T15:51:00.002-06:00

Rush makes himself such an easy target. He deserves a permanent place in the Halls of the Ass-Hat.

From the August 20 broadcast of Premiere Radio Networks' The Rush Limbaugh Show:

LIMBAUGH:

Quickly, L.A. Times poll: "More striking, however, is the drop in Obama's favorable rating. Obama's favorable rating has slid from 59 percent to 48 percent since June. At the same time his negative rating has risen from 27 to 35 percent. The bulk of that shift stems from Republicans souring on Obama amid ferocious attacks on the Democrat by McCain and his allies." That's it -- see, there are Democrats -- the drive-bys are just so upset with these so-called "ferocious attacks." These have been benign. Even the Britney Spears/Paris Hilton ad was funny. It was benign.

Obama's patriotism is not being attacked in an ad. McCain's just out there saying he's putting his own personal political ambition ahead of the country's. It's -- you know, it's just -- it's just we can't hit the girl. I don't care how far feminism's saying, you can't hit the girl, and you can't -- you can't criticize the little black man-child. You just can't do it, 'cause it's just not right. It's not fair. He's such a victim.

Comic Comment Gold

2008-08-21T11:54:00.001-06:00

brian Says:
August 21st, 2008 at 12:46 pm
I think if our wealthy, wealthy leaders are going to throw around words like “rich” and “elitist” as insults, they should all be forced to dress and act like hobos.

Synonym(?) of the Day

2008-08-21T08:52:00.005-06:00

There are two ways to spelling the same(?) word (!):

rescission

Main Entry: re·scis·sion Pronunciation: \ri-ˈsi-zhən\ Function: noun Etymology: Late Latin rescission-, rescissio, from Latin rescindere Date: 1651 : an act of rescinding

recision

Main Entry: re·ci·sion Pronunciation: \ri-ˈsi-zhən\ Function: noun Etymology: French, from Middle French, alteration of rescision, from Late Latin rescission-, rescissio rescission Date: 1611 : an act of rescinding : cancellation

Small difference in the spelling, but it turns out both are correct. I get amused by the simplest things.

A Purpose Driven Problem

2008-08-16T09:51:00.005-06:00

Rick Warren: The difference is that there are no death squads in America. The worst you can get here is that you can get blogged, you can get Lewinskied, on the Internet. There is a difference between that and living under oppression, living with fear for your life. That's why whether or not they found weapons of mass destruction in Iraq is beside the point. Saddam and his sons were raping the country, literally. And we morally had to do something. If you have a Judeo-Christian heritage, you have to believe it when God says that evil cannot be compromised with. It has to be resisted, it has to be overcome.

Sullivan:

America exists to defend the defenseless. Really? All of them? Now? And foreigners as much as Americans? And then we hear it simply doesn't matter that a war launched as a matter of self-defense was based on false pretenses. If a dictatorship exists, if rulers are raping a country, it is America's moral duty to stop it. Why have we not invaded North Korea and Zimbabwe and Burma and ... well, you get the picture. When you have had the kind of Christianity that Bush represents in power for so long, maybe it's only inevitable you will end up with thinkers of the caliber of Warren actually holding debates for presidential candidates. And even worse: have presidential candidates who will agree to attend.

I don't have to be so even handed. This Rick Warren guy gets the cover of Time last week. And yes he's very influential. But there was something in that article, when included with his thoughts (highlighted by Sullivan) that make me very disgusted with this man and his brand of Christianity.

In the Time article, he said that God commands people to do his will and that people's job is to serve the will of God. Let me say this, Rick Warren can fuck off. I am not not going to do that. Warren couches the universal moral imperative in terms of a Christian's duty to right the wrongs and ills of the world. The problem is that America is not founded on the moral imperative and it's why we get ourselves in trouble when we try to apply the moral imperative to our foreign policy.

I recall that George Washington said to beware of foreign entanglements.

Warren overreaches with his theory of on foreign policy. The Christian is also commanded to know their limits. When a person over gives of themselves they break and either become one of the needy or become unable to give any longer, thus rendering themselves impotent. The same thing comes of America when it over-stretches, we are no longer able to help because we don't have the capacity to do so.

Besides, America was not founded on Christian moral principal. The Constitution, not the Bible is founding principles of this land. The Constitutions many crux is the the American Imperative is provide for the common good of Americans. America's imperative is purely secular. America's imperative is rationale and is based on common sense. To interject faith in the divine will, what ever that may be, is to interject emotion. And when emotion enters the equation when determining the course of action, the country and those in charge of it begin to make judgment calls which are completely devoid of rationality. The founders of this country put in the system they did. To avoid having people like Rick Warren interject his un-Constitutional moral imperative and, hence, emotional decision making into how this country determines its foreign (and domestic policy).

Beware anyone who says that this a Christian nation, it never has been, and hopefully it never will be. This country should be led by men who are grounded in the secular American imperative. America is at it's greatest when it is a champion of Democratic secularism across the world and at home; with leaders who believe that faith is personal matter but that actions that effect the Republic are rooted in founding pluralistic imperative.

Interjection of faith when our politicians make decisions create a black and white, right and wrong decision making process that is devoid of rationality and often gets America in trouble. And it allows the government to use emotional wedges, like fear and greed, to past policies contrary to the public interest. The problems of the last 7 years is evident in the fact that Bush administration was often making decisions based on emotional faith-driven policies. The fact that me like Warren pedal so much influence today, the reason this country is such bad shape. We have so blurred the line between faith and politics, that we have a choice to make. Either stand up now for rationale founding imperative or we are doomed to lose it forever.

Shitty Return On Investment

2008-08-15T21:51:00.002-06:00

Surprsingly, one was bought by an Appalacian couple, who said it was cheaper than digging a new hole.

Seattle relieved to lose its high-tech toilets

City officials have finally gotten rid of five high-tech self-cleaning toilets that cost Seattle $5 million — but sold online for just $12,549.

The city installed the modernistic stand-alone toilets four years ago, hoping they would provide tourists and the homeless a place to do their business while downtown. But the automated loos became better known for drug use and prostitution than for relief.

Puns are great, but it's easier when you can cuss.

Denver Be Not Proud

2008-08-15T13:23:00.002-06:00

Are we ashamed of all these adjectives?:

I Think Not.

Anti-Christ Cometh

2008-08-15T08:16:00.002-06:00

The authors of the Left Behind series say Obama isn't the Anti-Christ.

"I've gotten a lot of questions the last few weeks asking if Obama is the antichrist," says novelist Jenkins. "I tell everyone that I don't think the antichrist will come out of politics, especially American politics."

"I can see by the language he uses why people think he could be the antichrist," adds LaHaye, "but from my reading of scripture, he doesn't meet the criteria. There is no indication in the Bible that the antichrist will be an American."
Good thing that's settled.

Sullivan

The part that gets me is this: Revelations, that bullshit of book that so many people base their entire extistence on waiting for, was written some 1500 years before the advent of America. Tim LaHaye is full of it. For his reading of the bible, good Lord. This man thought that the invasion of Iraq would bring the UN to move it's seat to Baghdad and usher in the new world order.

Besides, Obama is black, and Revelations says that the anti-christ will be a fair-skinned man from Eastern Europe. So, it can't be Obama.

So to recap, Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins don't think Obama is the Anti-Christ, and neither does John "The Great Whore of Texas" Hagee. So can we put it to rest or do we have to get Pat "9/11 = Homo's" Robertson's approval too. Fuck!

Translation: Step up, or STFU

2008-08-14T12:34:00.003-06:00

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili called on McCain to put some action behind his words that "...we're (Americans) all Georgians now."

In other news, John McCain is still lagging slightly behind in the polls.

Yeah....

2008-08-13T08:06:00.002-06:00

Way to go Big Corporate!

2008-08-12T08:20:00.005-06:00

2/3rds of U.S. companys paid NO TAXES between 1998 and 2005. About the same percentage of foreign owned corporations (68%) also paid nothing.

Who does pay? The little people.

Exactly

2008-08-07T11:27:00.000-06:00

"This maverick stuff is a lot of hooey. And for him to claim that he’s some sort of Washington outsider who has — who’s divorced from the Bush administration is the ultimate hypocrisy"

Jack Cafferty, CNN

Cake or Death?

2008-08-01T10:22:00.002-06:00

Uppity Black Man

2008-08-01T09:08:00.005-06:00

I am absolutely flabbergasted that the Republican party has been able to recast the POPULIST Barack Obama as a an arrogant elitist.

Looking at the last two Republican candidates for President:

One comes from long time political family whose grandfather was a senator and whose father was a former president and parlayed his father's Saudi Oil ties in to many failed Texas Oil businesses and then used his family name to secure the governorship.

The other comes from a prominent military family whose father and grandfather were Navy Admirals and who, after Vietnam, parlayed his fathers connections with defense and banking industry lobbyist ties into an election as US Congressman, and later Senator.

The Democratic nominee on the other hand comes spent his teenage years living in a middle class family, parlayed hard work into a scholarship to Harvard and became a community activist in inner-city Chicago gaining a namesake as a populist leader who helps struggling communities, using that to become a State Assemblyman.

Given these biographies, Who are the elitists?

Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em

2008-07-30T08:21:00.002-06:00

It's a proud day for our square state. Princeton Review has ranked the top 368 colleges in the country in various categories.

Well, two Colorado schools have placed in the top ten of a category called "Reefer Madness" i.e. prevelence and easy access to the use marijuana on campus.

So were giving 21 bong hit salute to Colorado University at Boulder and Colorado College, that liberal bastion among the sea of Colorado Springs morons.

Princeton

McCain Slams Obama for Not Kissing Enough Screaming Babies

2008-07-27T08:21:00.005-06:00

In a glaringly obvious attempt to get media attention, John McCain slammed Barack O'Bama for not kissing enough screaming babies on the campaign trail. Senator McCain stopped short of accusing the junior senator from Illinois of kicking a basket full of puppies.

Obama's spokesman could not be reached for comment.

Yo' Mama

2008-07-25T15:29:00.004-06:00

Ok, so there's this website that makes affirmations of you self-worth by making Barack Obama your best friend. And who wouldn't want to be Barack's friend (short of racists, Hilary Clinton and John McCain, who are just jealous) because he seems like a really cool guy, like the buddy that takes you rock climbing.

But the name of the website is down right unfortunate:

backobamaisyournewbicycle.com

Too me, it's like saying the Barack Obama is the neighborhood bicycle, everyone wants a ride, especially the sycophantic and obviously homosexual individual that came up with this site. Snap!

Real Power

2008-07-25T15:06:00.001-06:00

Vladimir Putin's comments drive a company's stock down $6 billion

Putin is a pussy. George Bush can do that with three sentences and it would be the entire US Economy.

Fucking Russian Amateurs.

Overheard at the Office

2008-07-25T14:52:00.000-06:00

"I just put a big thing in my box."

That's what she said, wokka wokka.

Huzzah!

2008-07-23T18:08:00.002-06:00

I've been looking a place to put all of those passive-aggressive notes I've been leaving on my neighbor's car because he felt the need to wake the neighborhood at one in the morning.

Not that it's really that inconvenient. And not that he may not have had good reason to leave his car alarm honking intermittently over the span of two hours. But did I call the cops? No, because I'm better than that.

Proof Bob Novak Doesn't Care About the Little People

2008-07-23T13:36:00.005-06:00

Today Bob Novak hit a pedestrian. Apparently a bicyclist had to speed ahead of Bob and block his path before driving away from the site of the accident. Bob has deadlines to meet!

Bob Novak stated that he was unaware he had hit anyone. And, that he feels terrible.

L'Ennui de Vie (Bored with Life)

2008-07-18T16:55:00.002-06:00

The Museum of Bad Art did not accept my submission for an artistic critique of a recently posted piece. So fuck them, I'm posting it myself.

The immortal figure of Death sitting down with Life for a game of chess is forever captured, yet easily forgotten, in this impressionist symbolic rendering.

One should take note of the symbolism in Life's only visible chess pieces being the king and a pawn. Death clearly has the advantage. The artist's choice of cool colors is futher emphasized by Death's exaggerated slouch, which conveys to the viewer a feeling of complete and utter boredom.

Despite Life's attentive posture (suggesting interest in continuing to play against an unconquerable foe), Death seems to be longing for the fate he is assigned to eternally dole out.

"Rather Have A Ghost In Their House Than Ernie Hudson"

2008-07-18T15:44:00.001-06:00

Fridays Are Fuckin' Fun Around Here

2008-07-18T15:28:00.002-06:00

"Did A Gypsy Put A Curse On You?"

2008-07-18T13:09:00.002-06:00

Overheard at the Office

2008-07-18T09:13:00.002-06:00

Closet Homosexual James:

"All doughnuts are not the same. That's like calling a Long John a Ding Dong."

Spoken Truthfully

2008-07-17T11:50:00.001-06:00

The answer is simple: Unjustified war and unconstitutional abridgment of individual rights vs. ill-conceived tax and economic policies - this is the difference between venial and mortal sins. Taxes, economic policy and health care reform matter, of course. But how we extract ourselves from the bloody boondoggle in Iraq, how we avoid getting into a war with Iran and how we preserve our individual rights while dealing with real foreign threats - these are of greater importance," - Larry Hunter, New York Daily News.

What Theocons Will Never Understand

2008-07-16T13:24:00.003-06:00

"You cannot be a man of faith unless you know how to doubt. You cannot believe in God unless you are capable of questioning the authority of prejudice, even though that prejudice may seem to be religious. Faith is not blind conformity to prejudice - a "pre-judgement". It is a decision, a judgement that is fully and deliberately taken in the light of a truth that cannot be proven. It is not merely the acceptance of a decision that has been made by somebody else."

~Thomas Merton

That Annoying Friend

2008-07-16T12:01:00.003-06:00

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

American Democracy - Get A Goddamned Calander

2008-07-16T08:54:00.004-06:00

Polled Washingtonians were asked: What is the primary date?

Click On The Image To Read:

The Answer is August 19th, Morons!

Nay Doth The Momo Church Allowith Thee To Take It Off

2008-07-15T07:43:00.005-06:00

Excommunicated: LDS Church boots creator of 'Men on a Mission' calendar

"The creator of a 2008 calendar that featured shirtless Mormon missionaries was excommunicated Sunday after a disciplinary meeting with local church leaders in Las Vegas."

Link: SLT

I Agree

2008-07-11T08:53:00.000-06:00

Just look at Lindsay Graham.

2008-07-10T14:04:00.002-06:00

2008-07-10T13:56:00.000-06:00

McCain is a Scientologist

2008-07-10T13:54:00.002-06:00

ANWR

2008-07-10T13:49:00.001-06:00

2008-07-10T13:41:00.000-06:00

John McCain: Older than dirt

2008-07-10T09:52:00.003-06:00

2008-07-10T09:48:00.001-06:00

2008-07-08T13:09:00.003-06:00

Death to the Presidential Pooch

2008-07-08T13:07:00.005-06:00

Today the AP reported that Obama is petless.

Who. Cares.

As for myself, I only care enough to comment that this sort of reporting isn't feel-good news. It's nauseating.

I say get rid of the obligatory presidential pooch. Don't make the office of the president seem more people friendly. The office of the president can only come off as more professional when there's not a dog humping the Prime Minister of Paraguay - or wherever's leg.

Wall-E Wills Whistful Wanting

2008-07-07T15:36:00.002-06:00

"Wall-E" says that humans have within themselves the freedom to rebel, to overthrow that which dominates and alienates us from our true selves, and our own nature. But you have to question the prime directive; that is, you have to become conscious of how they way you're living is destroying your body and killing your soul, and choose to resist.

"Wall-E" contends that real life is hard, real life is struggle, and that we live most meaningfully not by avoiding pain and struggle, but by engaging it creatively, and sharing that struggle in community. It argues that rampant consumerism, technopoly and the exaltation of comfort is causing us to weaken our souls and bodies, and sell out our birthright of political freedom. Nobody is doing this to us; we're doing it to ourselves. It is the endgame of modernity, which began in part with the idea that Nature is the enemy to be subdued -- that man stands outside of Nature, and has nothing to learn about himself from Nature's deep logic.

Dreher

Holier Than Thou

2008-07-07T12:02:00.001-06:00

This really just helps him with Catholics. Right?

Jesse Helms Is Dead, Wills Slaves To Republican Party

2008-07-07T08:01:00.001-06:00

Ken Layne:

Here's a July 4 history lesson we should print on the back of the American Flag: If you hate long enough and hard enough, you can go to the very top of the Washington garbage heap.

Jesse Helms died today, 25 years too late, but the stench of his rotten career will always linger in the Senate, and over the South.

He was a hero to bigots and the cigarette corporations, a menace to the poor and downtrodden, and a mean little troll whose heart was so wrecked by wickedness that doctors had to patch it up with coronary valves from a pig.

Jesse Helms was an ugly extremist even within his own party. His idea of reconciliation with those who had been dragged to America in chains? Ranting on the Senate floor against a holiday for Martin Luther King, who was gunned down peacefully struggling for the American rights Helms dedicated his miserable life to crushing.

The foreign policy of Helms was no different. Dictators and right-wing death squads never had a better friend than Jesse Helms, who used his control of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to push his own sick version of diplomacy, rewarding monsters with money and weapons from Washington.

His elections were always narrow victories, his campaigns based on motivating just enough angry white racists to the polls to give him another six years of hateful rule.

Fathered by a vicious, racist cop in the rural North Carolina hill country, Helms cowardly evaded combat in World War II by working as a Navy recruiter safe at home in the South. He was too dumb and lazy to graduate college, but mean enough to go to work for segregationist Democrats, where he spread rumors that his political opponents went out with black women, and wrote campaign material like this:

"White people, wake up before it is too late. Do you want Negroes working beside you, your wife and your daughters, in your mills and factories?"

He drifted to AM radio, ranting against the Negro. He wound up on the local TV news, giving the wingnut commentary at the end of the broadcast. His enemies were the same as always: "Negro hoodlums," the United Nations, "sex perverts," poor people.

For a dozen years he spewed his hate through the North Carolina airwaves, which was enough to -- barely -- win one of the state's Senate seats. He would never win by more than 55%

Once in Washington, Dixiecrat Helms became the new, stupid face of the Republican Party, the party that left behind intellectualism and civil rights and took up the Southern Strategy of pandering to bitter white losers while actively working against that same white working class. Helms was the perfect hack, the kind of lifelong fraud who made his career on the ignorant resentments of the same people he screwed so hard by always representing the mill owners and the tobacco corporations.

He was mean, cheap, petty and unloved. He was the ugliest kind of bigot and a stain on America. Anybody who says different is a liar.

AOL