Monday, February 4, 2008
T Minus 351 Days
"You work three jobs?... Uniquely American, isn't it? I mean, that is fantastic that you're doing that."
Sunday, February 3, 2008
The Greatest Upset Ever
As I was driving to work this morning, I flipped on WFAN, the all sports station in New York and all I heard was the following (paraphrasing): "Let's face facts. After all the hype of the last two weeks, and after everyone has calmed down and faced reality, the Giants really have no shot at winning this thing." And I thought, "Well, hell. Why don't they just forget all about playing the game and just give the trophy to the Patriots? After all, why play? Someone could get injured and if there's no sense in trying to win the game, if indeed it's a foregone conclusion, then just give up now."
Now as I've said before, I'm not a Giants fan. But I am a fan of the underdog. Just as I'm a fan of Dennis Kucinich and John Edwards. They didn't make it, but the Giants did. JumpyPants, a guest blogger over at Bob Cesca is equating what happened tonight to what may happen on Super Tuesday.
I'm sticking with my predictions for Obama on Tuesday night. And I'm sticking with the parallels I drew: that the Giants had the heart to win this Super Bowl, just as Obama has the heart - and skills and determination - to carry this nomination...and the general election.Do I think the fix is in? No. Do I believe Obama has major hurdles to climb in a racist United States? Absolutely. Do I believe Barack Obama can pull out Super Tuesday and make a run at the nomination? After a $32 million month and watching the California debate, I'm a believer now.
Congratulations to the New York Giants and all Giants fans!
And just a reminder: 12 days until pitchers and catchers.
Bush? Lincoln? Who's The Greatest?
The Bush-Lincoln comparison by these buffoons is scary. But here's what "billw" at C & L had to say and it's so damned funny, you need to read it for yourself:
You know, I think I really learned a lot from this (propaganda) documentary from (Pravda) Fox News. I really don’t know how it is that I hadn’t noticed previously how much George Bush is just like Abraham Lincoln, the founder of the Republican Party, or that Bush is already known for giving “some of the most eloquent and visionary speeches ever delivered by an American President,” just like the Gettysburg Address!
So, which of Bush’s speeches do you think will be memorialized for generations to come? Will George W. Bush go down in history as being a great President, or the greatest President?
Super Sunday
Well, in a few hours the two weeks of hype will finally be over and we'll have a game and a winner. I'm not a Giants fan. I'm a Jets fan (a sorry one at that), but my hatred for the New England Patriots over the last few years has superceded my disgust for the Miami Dolphins so I'll be rooting for the underdog Giants tonight.
3 - Patriots fans piss me off.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Bill Clinton Does NOT Want An Economic Slowdown
WHAT BILL CLINTON SAID: “And maybe America, and Europe, and Japan, and Canada — the rich counties — would say, ‘OK, we just have to slow down our economy and cut back our greenhouse gas emissions ’cause we have to save the planet for our grandchildren.’ We could do that.
But if we did that, you know as well as I do, China and India and Indonesia and Vietnam and Mexico and Brazil and the Ukraine, and all the other countries will never agree to stay poor to save the planet for our grandchildren. The only way we can do this is if we get back in the world’s fight against global warming and prove it is good economics that we will create more jobs to build a sustainable economy that saves the planet for our children and grandchildren. It is the only way it will work.”
"In a long, and interesting speech, he characterized what the U.S. and other industrialized nations need to do to combat global warming this way: “We just have to slow down our economy and cut back our greenhouse gas emissions ’cause we have to save the planet for our grandchildren.”How moronic do you have to be to get that wrong? Either he's being deliberately misleading or Tapper is a pinhead. Of course, before you know it, everyone from The Drudge Report (pinhead)to Rush Limbaugh (fat pinhead) is off to the races with the twisted "truth." This after the fact that everyone, Democrat and Republican, has debunked the story; and even after all that, Tapper still claims to be uncertain about what Bill Clinton meant. How does this guy have a journalism job?
At a time that the nation is worried about a recession is that really the characterization his wife would want him making? “Slow down our economy”?
I don’t really think there’s much debate that, at least initially, a full commitment to reduce greenhouse gases would slow down the economy….So was this a moment of candor?"
(H/T Carpetbagger and C&L)
Writers's Strike May Be Settled Soon
1010WINS: LOS ANGELES - A breakthrough in contract talks has been reached between Hollywood studios and striking writers and could lead to a tentative deal as early as next week, a person close to the ongoing negotiations said Saturday.
The two sides breached the gap Friday on the thorniest issues, those concerning compensation for projects distributed via the Internet...
Bill Clinton Knocks Ted Kennedy and Links Him To Bush
It's time for the Big Dog to either tone it down or for someone in the Hillary campaign to put a muzzle on him. Bill Clinton has criticized Senator Ted Kennedy twice in the last week and linked him to George W. Bush and the No Child Left Behind fiasco."I want you to think about this, and I have to say, this was a train wreck that was not intended. No Child Left Behind was supported by George Bush and Sen. Ted Kennedy and everybody in between. Why? Because they didn't talk to enough teachers before they did that," said Clinton on Thursday, according to the Associated Press.
Obviously these statements come after the Massachusetts senior Senator endorsed Barack Obama and not Hillary Clinton. I can only assume that these comments would not have been made had Kennedy's endorsement gone to Hillary. What do you think?
Maybe Bill should have continued his diatribe and let his audiences know that the "everybody in between" included his wife. Hillary voted FOR No Child Left Behind. Or maybe someone in the Obama campaign will shed some light on that fact if the question is raised. That would be sweet.
Don't misunderstand, I think either candidate is going to make a good president, but since my horse has gone back to the stable, I'm putting my money on Obama. I suppose you can call this the official "Broadway Carl's Blog-O-Mania!" endorsement of Barack Obama which I am sure will propel him over the top and begin his landslide victory in the Democratic race and onto the White House.
And it only makes matters worse for Clinton to have her husband stumping the old-fashioned way: with mudslinging and half truths. Someone has got to control him, not only because it reflects poorly on the Clinton campaign, but it's really unbecoming of a former President. I almost feel embarrassed for him when I see him blow a gasket.
If that's what Hillary calls "change", I ain't buying it.
Montel Williams Cancelled After Fox & Friends Interview
I'm a couple of days late on this but just did some research after hearing about it on the Mike Malloy Show.
Montel Williams was being interviewed by the schlubs over at Fox & Friends to discuss the tragic death of Heath Ledger. What they got instead was unexpected. Here's the video.
And let's not forget that Montel Williams is a 22 year veteran of the Marines.
After the break, Montel Williams was not on the set. Four days later, after a number of Fox stations decided not to renew his television show for the next season, CBS announced that it would cancel The Montel Williams Show after 17 years. Not only that, it's not going to produce any new shows. CBS will air the "best of" Montel for the next full year. After all, they wouldn't want to give him a platform to shed light on what's been happening in the Middle East that 98% of the American population doesn't know about because we're being inundated with Ledger or Anna Nicole or Britney or Lindsey or Paris or O.J. or Mary Kate & Ashley or Jessica and Tony Romo... and the list goes on and on.
I don't know if the cancellation was in the works and Montel knew about it before his Fox interview, and therefore felt like he could put it out there without repercussion, or if he thought that enough is enough and really wanted to open a discourse of why the media isn't covering the loss of our military and the occupation and escalation in Iraq as diligently as it should. Either way, Montel said was has been desparately needed to be voiced for far too long.
(H/T to Manila Ryce at The Largest Minority)
T Minus 353/352 Days
Released tapes prove that Enron, which was Bush's top career patron until 2004 and among his top donors in the 2000 election, was responsible for the rolling blackouts in California as part of a price-gouging scheme.
Friday, February 1, 2008
Mets Finalize Santana Deal
MLB.com: Neither the value not the length of the contract is known, but executives in the game had said since early Friday afternoon that they expected Santana to have a contract through 2014 worth $139 million. That figure would reflect annual salaries averaging about $22 million and a signing bonus of about $7 million that would increase the 2008 earnings of the two-time American League Cy Young Award winner to about $20.25 million. The average annual value of the deal would be about $19,587,000.
UPDATE: Santana and the Mets agreed Friday to a $137.5 million, six-year contract extension...
Krugman: The Edwards Effect
I was listening to John Edwards last year and what Paul Krugman summarizes is what I remembered. Over the course of the year, it became a little muddied in my mind. Who was initiating the bold ideas like universal health care that the Democratic candidates suddenly seemed to latch on to after sweeping it under the rug for so long?
Sure, Dennis Kucinich was for "Medicare for all" (HR 636) but unfortunately and as usual, no one in the mainstream cared to listen to what Kucincich had to say.
Luckily, Edwards was in the forefront just enough and had the populist message that many wanted to hear, and the rest of the pack had to follow because the message was so enticing . We have John Edwards to thank for what we are hearing from Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton now.
KRUGMAN: ...Mr. Edwards, far more than is usual in modern politics, ran a campaign based on ideas. And even as his personal quest for the White House faltered, his ideas triumphed: both candidates left standing are, to a large extent, running on the platform Mr. Edwards built.
...Suddenly, universal health care became a possible dream for the next administration. In the months that followed, the rival campaigns moved to assure the party’s base that it was a dream they shared, by emulating the Edwards plan. And there’s little question that if the next president really does achieve major health reform, it will transform the political landscape.
...Unfortunately for Mr. Edwards, the willingness of his rivals to emulate his policy proposals made it hard for him to differentiate himself as a candidate; meanwhile, those rivals had far larger financial resources and received vastly more media attention.
...One thing is clear, however: whichever candidate does get the nomination, his or her chance of victory will rest largely on the ideas Mr. Edwards brought to the campaign.
Exxon Sets Record Profits Again
NY TIMES: Exxon Mobil delivered its strongest performance ever last year, earning a record $40.6 billion in net income because of surging oil prices, the company said Friday.
The figure, a 3 percent increase from the previous year, exceeded the company’s own record for profits at an American corporation, set in 2006, and is nearly twice what it earned in 2003.Exxon said its fourth-quarter net income rose 14 percent, to $11.7 billion, or $2.13 a share. That also made it the company’s most profitable quarter ever.
...Exxon, like most oil companies, has benefited from a near-doubling of oil prices last year. In New York, oil futures rose from a year-low of about $50 a barrel in early 2007 to a peak of nearly $100 by the end of the year.
GO, GEORGIE! GO!!!
Who Let George Out?
Uh, oh. President Bush is talking about the economy again. It is now 11:52am EST and the Dow is up 35.04. I wonder how low it'll be before he finishes.
11:55am - Dow Jones at +24.06
12:09pm - Dow Jones at +20.48
4:27pm - Go figure. Microsoft bids on Yahoo for $45 billion shooting it up 48%, Massachusetts sues Merrill Lynch, Exxon's profits are the highest ever, and a whole bunch of other shit happened. But the most important thing? Bush stopped yappin'.
Dow Jones ends the day at +92.83.
T Minus 354 Days
"I think we need not only to eliminate the tollbooth from the middle class, I think we should knock down the tollbooth."
Olbermann's Special Comment: Of FISA and the Telecoms
Our stalwart Commander in Chief wants the FISA bill as soon as possible to protect us from the evildoers. That is of course only if it includes retroactive immunity for the telecom companies. Otherwise, he'll veto it. Boy, I'm sure glad he's watching over us, aren't you? The eavesdropping provisions of FISA have obviously had no impact on counter-terrorism, and there is no current or perceived terrorist threat, the thwarting of which could hinge on an e-mail or a phone call going through room 641-A at AT&T in San Francisco next week or next month. And if there is one thing we know about you, Mr. Bush, one thing that you have proved time and time again under any and all circumstances, it is that you are never responsible.
This is probably the best Special Comment I've seen from Keith Olbermann.
Because if there were, Mr. Bush, and you were to, by your own hand, veto an extension of this eavesdropping, and some terrorist attack were to follow, you would not merely be guilty of siding with the terrorists, you would not merely be guilty of prioritizing the telecoms over the people, you would not merely be guilty of stupidity, you would not merely be guilty of treason… but you would be personally, and eternally, responsible.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
FCC Fines ABC Big Do-Re-Mi?
Who are the idiots heading up the Federal Communications Commission? Some nitwit at the FCC has decided that an episode of NYPD Blue that originally aired on February 25, 2003, five fucking years ago, is subject to a $1.4 million fine for indecency because it "depicts sexual organs and excretory organs - specifically an adult woman's buttocks."
I remember watching this particular episode and was pleasantly surprised at viewing Charlotte Ross' "buttocks" for about .2 seconds. (Okay, I just found the video and the total amount of nudity time is about 5 seconds over a 42 second clip.) But maybe someone should remind the geniuses at the FCC of their own definition.
Title 18 of the United States Code, Section 1464, prohibits the utterance of “any obscene, indecent or profane language by means of radio communication.” Consistent with a subsequent statute and court case, the Commission's rules prohibit the broadcast of indecent material during the period of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. FCC decisions also prohibit the broadcast of profane material between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.They're going after NYPD Blue, a show that's been off the air since 2005, and aired its episodes from 10p.m. to 11p.m., outside the FCC's own "indecency" time guidelines. Here's the YouTube clip in its entirety.
But the real moron seems to be FCC Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate, who apparently can't trust America's parents to judge or police the television content their children watch.
"Our action today should serve as a reminder to all broadcasters that Congress and American families continue to be concerned about protecting children from harmful material and that the FCC will enforce the laws of the land vigilantly," Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate said.
We can't let our children watch this kind of filth on television because it'll prevent them from developing normally, cause them to go on sex rampages and become sexually deviant Republican politicians. Initially, ABC argued against the FCC's contention that buttocks are a "sexual organ", but the FCC rejected that argument apparently because they have anal sex on the brain.
If they really want to prevent children from watching something harmful, why do they keep allowing those damned Republican debates on the air?
Non-existent Homeless Vets Fight O'Reilly
When this story started emerging a few weeks ago, I knew something like this would happen. I wonder how Bill O'Reilly and Fox News will (or won't) cover it.
John Edwards, who until bowing out of the campaign, was making poverty and homeless veterans a staple of his stumping, was being lambasted by O'Reilly when he would let the American people know the truth and point out the fact that over 200,000 veterans of our Armed Forces are sleeping on the streets on any given night. As recently as January 16, O'Reilly took to the airwaves to rain ridicule upon Edwards, saying, "Well, we're still looking for all the veterans sleeping under the bridges,...so if you find anybody, let us know." As we reported two days later, Robert Greenwald and his crew at Brave New Films did exactly that.
Now, a group from Fitzgerald House, an "organization representing homeless veterans," plans to bring their fight for recognition to Fox's doorstep. They plan on visiting the Fox News Channel Studios today at 3:00 pm, and will come carrying a petition signed by 17,000 people demanding an apology from O'Reilly for his ignorance and abuse.
Leave it to Robert Greenwald, slayer of all things Fox, to take this head on and expose Bill O'Reilly as the egomaniacal misinformationist that he is. Take a look at the video.
CDC Suppressed Toxic Trailer Warnings
FEMA, oh FEMA... is there nothing you can't fuck up?
...the nation's top public health agency, suppressed repeated warnings from one of its top scientists, raising questions about whether the CDC bowed to pressure from FEMA to conceal the long-term health risks of formaldehyde in the trailers it distributed to hurricane victims - health risks like cancer and birth defects...
...Dr. Christopher De Rosa, director of the CDC's Division of Toxicology and Environmental Medicine, told his superiors "there is no safe level of exposure" to formaldehyde in trailers. That warning never made its way into any public report about the trailers...
...two of his staff members had been directed by FEMA officials to not "address longer term health effects" of formaldehyde in this February 2007 report... In fact, it wasn't until October 2007 - after eight months and pressure from congressional investigators that the CDC revised its February report and finally issued warnings about cancer and other long-term health risks of formaldehyde.
T Minus 355 Days
Since today's calendar "quote" isn't really a quote at all, but a description of Google's "miserable failure" link bomb that would link directly to the White House website bio page on Herr Bush, I've decided to take a quote from Bush's latest State of the Union address. Can you tell who he's talking about?
"The advance of liberty is opposed by terrorists and extremists -- evil men who despise freedom, despise America, and aim to subject millions to their violent rule." Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Edwards To Drop Out of Race Today - UPDATED
The only remaining candidate to run an honorable campaign thus far is bowing out of the bid for the presidency. John Edwards will make his announcement at 1pm today.
Let's face facts. The only remaining candidate willing to take on corporate interests and insurance companies, and whom corporations viewed as the most dangerous of the three top Democratic candidates, was John Edwards. He also played a major role in the Democratic debates and on the campaign trail, focusing the discourse on the issues rather than on backbiting. Edwards will be sorely missed.
The former North Carolina senator will not immediately endorse either candidate in what is now a two-person race for the Democratic nomination, said one adviser, who spoke on condition of anonymity in advance of the announcement. Both candidates would welcome Edwards' backing and the support of the 56 delegates he had collected.
Edwards waged a spirited top-tier campaign against the two better-funded rivals, even as he dealt with the stunning blow of his wife's recurring cancer diagnosis. In a dramatic news conference last March, the couple announced that the breast cancer that she thought she had beaten had returned, but they would continue the campaign.
You can call me a conspiracy theorist if you want, but you have to believe that the mainstream media shut Edwards out because of his message. He was the only candidate consistently talking about poverty, the saving of the middle class, corporate greed and lobbyist corruption. The MSM is owned by corporations and therefore ignored him completely even after beating Clinton in Iowa and being outspent by his opponents 9 to 1.
...The strategy at first seemed shrewd: build on Edwards' surprisingly good showing in Iowa in 2004 and make his native South Carolina his firewall while garnering union support. It was designed to take on the establishment candidate that everyone knew was going to run: former First Lady Hillary Clinton.
What no one, not Clinton or Edwards, was prepared for was the insurgency candidacy of Senator Barack Obama. Suddenly Edwards was running against a version of himself in 2004: the young, fresh, optimistic face, the Washington outsider with a thin resume but lots of charm, ruffling some feathers as he jumped the line. Except this version was an African American celebrity candidate with a cult-like following. Big and small donors flocked to Obama, the freshman senator from Illinois, as did the endorsements, and suddenly Edwards seemed like a third wheel.
...Edwards leaves the race having made a big impact on the two remaining candidates. His populist rhetoric forced his rivals to compete for union support, and he was the first out of the gate with detailed plans for universal healthcare and education, putting pressure on the field to match him. The former trial lawyer arguably won a majority of the debates, time and again challenging his opponents to refuse money from lobbyists and speed up their plans for withdrawing combat troops from Iraq.
Mets Land Santana
Today, I'm a happy Mets fan. I hope it holds.
Margaret Truman Daniel (1924-2008)
NY TIMES: Margaret Truman Daniel, the president’s daughter who achieved renown in her own right as a concert singer, radio and television host, and author of best-selling biographies and mysteries, died on Tuesday in Chicago. She was 83 and had lived until recently on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
T Minus 356 Days
Let's not forget Dick Cheney's birthday today. So here's a myriad of quotes from the man who shoots the faces off of his hunting buddies.
White House: Troop Cuts? ...Nevermind
President Bush is rethinking cutting troop levels in Iraq after announcing that he would do just that this past September.Four months after announcing troop reductions in Iraq, President Bush is now sending signals that the cuts may not continue past this summer, a development likely to infuriate Democrats and renew concerns among military planners about strains on the force.
Well, well... did we really expect any different from the reverse King Midas? Everything this lazy, dim-witted bastard has ever touched has turned to shit. His only successes throughout his entire life are those that his family has handed to him; his failures covered up by bailout after bailout. And now it's up to the next President to clean up this man's murderous mess.
Mr. Bush has made no decisions on troop reductions to follow those he announced last September. But White House officials said Mr. Bush had been taking the opportunity, as he did in Monday’s State of the Union address, to prepare Americans for the possibility that, when he leaves office a year from now, the military presence in Iraq will be just as large as it was a year ago, or even slightly larger.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
McCain Wins Florida - Rudy's Out
While announcing and analyzing McCain's win in Florida, MSNBC and others confirm with two separate sources that Rudy Giuliani will drop out of the race tomorrow and endorse John McCain at the Reagan Library. Talk about irony! Is this a good thing for McCain?...given Rudy's stands on abortion, guns and gay rights, his endorsement of McCain would also add some ballast to Romney's central argument going forward -- that of the two remaining contenders for the GOP nomination, he is the more conservative.
Looks like we won't have Rudy Giuliani to kick around anymore... and it was becoming one of my favorite pastimes.
As of this writing, Hillary Clinton has won the raw vote over Barack Obama in Florida, but no delegates were awarded due to the stripping of Florida's delegates after breaking party rules and holding their primary early.
Although Michigan (which is in the same boat) and Florida have been stripped of delegates, the Clinton campaign is challenging the Democratic National Committee's ruling."Nothing has changed," a party source said. "Florida will still have zero delegates. The party has booked no rooms for them at the convention."
T Minus 357 Days
"The War on terror involves Saddam Hussein because of the nature of Saddam Hussein, the history of Saddam Hussein, and his willingness to terrorize himself."
-Grand Rapids, MI, January 29, 2003
Back From Toronto - Address Predictions
Okay, I've been almost completely devoid of the political scene for the last three and a half days (except for a couple of hours of CNN on Saturday watching Obama win the primary in South Carolina) and before I watch Raisinbrain's State of the Union Address, I'll make a couple of predictions on what I might hear:
- Economy is stable but Congress needs to push through those tax cuts ASAP and make the previous cuts permanent.
- We are winning in Iraq because the surge worked.
- Congress needs to cut earmarks... the Democrats I mean.
I'll have to catch up with the rest of what happened at a later date. If I can stomach the SOTU tonight, I'll have a little critique later.
PS Our trip was relaxing (ahh...). The show was fun and Monica was great.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Toronto Weekend
The wife and I are traveling to Toronto this weekend (I hear the weather is a balmy 24°) to visit our friend Monica and see her in Dirty Dancing, so blogging will be nonexistent until sometime on Tuesday. It'll give me some time to recharge by blogging batteries - there's been so much to write about, but not a lot of time - so it'll be nice to step away from the desk, take a deep breath and get my thoughts in order.
I'm sure I'll have "the time of my life" while I'm up north. In the meantime, I'll finish up with a countdown quote a day or two early. Don't forget to watch the State of the Union (crappy) Address on Monday. I'll TiVo it.
MONDAY, JANUARY 28, 2008
T Minus 358 Days
- Washington, DC, January 2004
T Minus 360/359 Days
"I've been to war. I've raised twins. If I had a choice, I'd rather go to war."
One More Kick For Giuliani
I just re-read the NY Times endorsement of John McCain, the least unattractive of the Republican candidates in their opinion. Isn't it sad that a guy who said he would keep troops in Iraq for 100 years is the best choice? Anyway, I just had a shit-eating grin on my face while coming across the reasons they decided not to go with America's Mayor, so I thought I'd cut and paste for posterity.
NY TIMES: Why, as a New York-based paper, are we not backing Rudolph Giuliani? Why not choose the man we endorsed for re-election in 1997 after a first term in which he showed that a dirty, dangerous, supposedly ungovernable city could become clean, safe and orderly? What about the man who stood fast on Sept. 11, when others, including President Bush, went AWOL?I never get tired of reading that. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. They could have gone on and on (but only had limited space) about this authoritarian freak who once said, "...freedom is not a concept in which people can do anything they want, be anything they can be. Freedom is about authority. Freedom is about the willingness of every single human being to cede to lawful authority a great deal of discretion about what you do."
That man is not running for president.
The real Mr. Giuliani, whom many New Yorkers came to know and mistrust, is a narrow, obsessively secretive, vindictive man who saw no need to limit police power. Racial polarization was as much a legacy of his tenure as the rebirth of Times Square.
Mr. Giuliani’s arrogance and bad judgment are breathtaking. When he claims fiscal prudence, we remember how he ran through surpluses without a thought to the inevitable downturn and bequeathed huge deficits to his successor. He fired Police Commissioner William Bratton, the architect of the drop in crime, because he couldn’t share the limelight. He later gave the job to Bernard Kerik, who has now been indicted on fraud and corruption charges.
The Rudolph Giuliani of 2008 first shamelessly turned the horror of 9/11 into a lucrative business, with a secret client list, then exploited his city’s and the country’s nightmare to promote his presidential campaign.
Freedom is about authority? ... Yeah... that's the kind of guy I want running my country. Just get your sorry-ass debacle of a campaign over with and quit already.
Friday, January 25, 2008
New York Times Endorses Clinton and McCain
That liberal rag ,The New Tork Times, has endsorsed Senators Hillary Clinton and John McCain as the presidential nominees for their respective parties.
In endorsing Clinton, they state that at this point for the Democrats, it's hard to get excited about a candidate in a usually "uninspiring pack" but that this year, that is not the case.
However, here is what they had to say about the Republican runners.
We have strong disagreements with all the Republicans running for president. The leading candidates have no plan for getting American troops out of Iraq. They are too wedded to discredited economic theories and unwilling even now to break with the legacy of President Bush. We disagree with them strongly on what makes a good Supreme Court justice.Given the fact that the horribly liber-ul Times has endorsed McCain, I'm wondering if this is a bad thing for my friend, Mr. Straight Talk. Will Republicans now rally around a candidate who is the opposite of what the New York Times hates least? Will they be that stupid?
They voted for Bush... twice. So it's a possibility.
John Gibson Apologizes for Ledger Remarks
...Probably because his job was threatened if he didn't. He's still an asshole.
From Media Matters: ...I'm sorry that some took my comments as anti-gay and insensitive. I'm aware that Ledger has a family and many fans who were grief-stricken by his sudden death.
As I speak, a crowd is gathering at the funeral home where Ledger's funeral services will be held. Those who knew him say he was a good actor and a loving dad. And what happened to him was terrible, but was evidently an accident. Once again, to anyone offended by my comments, I'm sorry. But I'm also sorry that Heath Ledger is no longer alive and with us.
T Minus 361 Days
"See, one of the interesting things in the Oval Office - I love to bring people into the Oval Office - right around the corner from here - and say, this is where I office, but I want you to know the office is always bigger than the person."
The GOP Florida Debate
Got home from work and prepared myself to watch the GOP Debate (I TiVo-ed it). So there I sat with my bottle of Tums and a waste paper basket next to me just in case.
Looks like Rudy "3% in the Primaries" Giuliani is front and center as I predicted he would be. At least MSNBC and the MSM plays fair and square in deciding who is to participate in these debates according to viability. I was wrong in my prediction that Ron Paul would be on the end podium.
- Let's see... McCain wants to make the Bush tax cuts permanent because people who are trying to figure out their budgets in 2010(?!) need to know sooner than later. I wonder if he knows that many Americans out there live paycheck to paycheck. He's worried about pork barrel spending and bridges to nowhere but doesn't mention the $11 BILLION we spend in Iraq. Each. Month.
- Giuliani... there's that vomit feeling in the back of my throat - also wants major tax cuts for... wait for it... CORPORATIONS AND CAPITAL GAINS.
- Huckabee: $150 billion stimulus package will be borrowed from China to buy Chinese products. Fix the infrastructure to fix the economy. The Huckster makes sense. He must have heard John Edwards say the same thing last week.
- Mitt Romney also favors the tax cuts because according to him, that's what got our economy going the last time. According to me, that's what got us in trouble in the first place.
- McCain: GOP lost the 2006 election because of their lack of restraint in spending. Silly me, I thought it was about the war.
- Hey! Ron Paul was finally acknowledged by being asked a question 17 minutes into the debate.
- Giuliani won't take blood money from a Saudi prince, but same prince can bail out the troubled US banks. Nothing like free trade, huh, Rudy? Actual Rudy quote: "How much can we sell to the rest of the world?" Well, products? I'm all for it. But selling our debt?
- McCain claims that even though the GOP fucked up the economy over the last 7 years, America should vote for a Republican because you can't trust the Democrats when it comes to spending. Pass the Tums, please.
- Actually Romney quote: " When Republicans act like Democrats, America loses." He says this regarding our economy after the GOP and Bush has sucked the treasury dry. Russert also prefaced the question by saying when Bush took office, we had a surplus, lower unemployment, lower inflation, and lower gas prices.
- McCain dismisses a question asking how we're supposed to stay in Iraq indefinitely (as he has suggested) with a broken military and the impossibility of keeping it up financially by stating that the military isn't broken and that we are winning in Iraq. Then takes a swipe at Hillary Clinton who would "raise the white flag of surrender." Romney jumps in on the Clinton bashing.
- Q: Was the war in Iraq a good idea and worth the blood and treasure?
McCain: Good idea at the end of the day; badly managed.
Rudy: Hillary was in favor of it; "I'm for it"; Islamic terrorist war -Boo!
Ron Paul: Bad idea, not worth the sacrifice and treasure; Al-Qaeda wasn't there before, but NOW they are; no WMD. (Applause during his answer.)
Huck: We owe George W. Bush our thanks. Just because we didn't find WMD doesn't mean they weren't there.
Mitt: The surge is working. I'm for the war and will always be for the war.
I can't take it anymore. Taking some Advil for my headache, Tums for my stomach and going to bed. I'll most likely have nightmares about one of these chumps in the Oval Office. Now that's one scary-ass nightmare.
Maybe I'll watch the rest tomorrow... but it's highly unlikely as I value my health and sanity.
Amy Winehouse in Rehab? Yes, Yes, Yes
"Amy decided to enter the facility today after talks with her record label, management, family and doctors," Universal Music Group said in a statement.
"She has come to understand that she requires specialist treatment to continue her ongoing recovery from drug addiction," the statement said.
Good luck, Amy.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Douchebag John Gibson Defends Mockery of Ledger Death
What a classless asshole that John Gibson is. Not only did he make fun of Ledger's death and claimed he had a serious drug problem even before an autopsy was conducted, but then after the public outrage over his comments (thanks Dan Abrams, Keith Olbermann and GLAAD)... he defends them!
GIBSON: "Yeah, I mean, I feel bad about his death, but that’s…That’s no point in passing up a good joke."
I will be counting the days until that pasty-faced bastard kicks the bucket and have a good chuckle as I piss on his grave. Yeah, yeah, I know that's pretty classless in and of itself, but truthfully tell me he doesn't deserve it.
Bob Cesca's Bush Graphics
Bob Cesca updated an actual Fox News graphic of our pResident.
As Bob himself would say, "Awesome!"
Dennis Kucinich Bows Out
Breaking news from MSNBC asserts that Dennis Kucinich has told the Cleveland newspaper "Plain Dealer" that he is ending his presidential run for the White House.
Kucinich will make the announcement Friday at a news conference in Cleveland. In an exclusive interview with Plain Dealer editors and reporters, Kucinich said he will explain his "transition" tomorrow.
Thank you Dennis for bringing to the forefront, controversial issues that probably would not have been addressed, had you not led the way.
Senate Rejects Judiciary Version of FISA Law
(Updated below.)
The Senate has just voted to kill the Judiciary Committee's version of the FISA reauthoization law that excludes retroactive immunity to the telecom companies that illegally wiretapped citizens at the request of the Bush administration. The vote was 60-34.
There were immediate requests for amendments to be attached to the Intelligence Committee version by Senators Feingold and Rockefeller. Senator Dodd wanted to weigh in as well and there was an obection by Mitch McConnell.
I guess it's time for Chris Dodd to do some filibustering.
UPDATE: Feingold was interviewed by Huffington Post and disagreed with Reid on his initial procedure. But Reid says, "Senators Dodd and Feingold will seek to strike the immunity title entirely. I oppose immunity, and will support their amendment," said Reid. "If this amendment is not adopted, there will be other amendments to limit the immunity provisions in the Intelligence bill... As I have said before, if there are senators who don't like these amendments and think they should be subjected to 60-vote thresholds, these senators are going to have to engage in an old-fashioned filibuster."
By the end of Thursday debate had been postponed to Monday, after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell moved for a vote on cloture on the Intelligence committee version and Reid objected.
The Downfall of Rudy Giuliani
Good op-ed from Timothy Egan in the New York Times.
From "Goodbye Rudy, Tuesday":
...It’s worth stepping back for a moment to recall how far and how quickly Giuliani has fallen. For most of the summer and well into the fall, he was the Republican frontrunner. His campaign consisted of a hagiography: the hero of 9/11. His fundraising was strong. Now the campaign is all but broke and he’s getting his clock cleaned in some states by Ron Paul – Ron Paul! – the 97-pound libertarian who thinks the war on terror is bogus.
...More broadly, you can summarize Giuliani’s problems in the line he no longer uses. When the World Trade Center towers came down, he turned to his loyal sidekick Bernie Kerik, and said he was glad George Bush was president.
Now, that line is a triple loser. Kerik, his police commissioner, is under federal indictment, in a sea of troubles. Bush is despised by two-thirds of Americans, and even a majority of Republicans want to go in a different direction. As for the big scare, give Senator Joe Biden credit for writing what may be Giuliani’s obit: “There are only three things he mentions in a sentence: a noun, a verb and 9/11.”
Yet Giuliani still wants to frighten people into voting for him...
T Minus 362 Days
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Giuliani's Strategery
Rudy's been consistently getting his ass kicked by Ron Paul. Even Fred Thompson beat him on a regular basis... and he's already quit the race!
Wolfrum over at Shakesville has a great take on the whole thing:
MIAMI -- After stumbling through a 1-15 season in 2007, the Miami Dolphins have announced that they will play in, and win Super Bowl XLII on Feb. 3 in Phoenix, Ariz.Keep it up, Rudy - it's working out perfectly... for the rest of us.
The stunning announcement came after Dolphins officials emerged from a two-hour meeting with GOP Presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani. The former mayor of New York has been campaigning almost exclusively in Florida, and Miami officials credit him for creating the plan that will make them Super Bowl champions.
...Giuliani, a one-time favorite for the Republican nomination for the 2008 presidential election, has stumbled badly in the state primaries, though has insisted all along that his plan for victory is intact.
"It’s playing out the way we thought it would," Giuliani said after polls showed that his one-time 33-point lead in his home state of New York is now a 12-point deficit.
Why John Gibson is a Fucking Asshole
Opening his radio show with funeral music yesterday, Fox News host John Gibson callously mocked the death of actor Heath Ledger, calling him a “weirdo” with a “serious drug problem.”
Playing an audio clip of the iconic quote, “I wish I knew how to quit you” from Ledger’s gay romance movie Brokeback Mountain, Gibson disdainfully quipped, “Well, he found out how to quit you.” Laughing, Gibson then played another clip from Brokeback Mountain in which Ledger said, “We’re dead,” followed by his own, mocking “We’re dead” before playing the clip again.
WTF, Harry Reid?!
(Updated below)
Listed among Senator Harry Reid's accomplishments is his boxing past when he was a young man. Well, it looks like any fight Reid had left in him remained in the boxing ring all those years ago because he has done nothing but capitulate and kowtow to the Republican minority since becoming Senate Majority "Leader."
The latest insult comes in the form of Reid's insistance that the current FISA bill up for consideration including telecom immunity of the illegal wiretapping that was done on the behalf of the Bush administration, be finished this week, and threatening that filibustering the bill would be a true filibuster. Not like when he licks the boots of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell whenever he threatens a 60 vote majority or filibuster to almost every single bill to which the Republicans are opposed. If that's the case, then Reid just whines and moans and gives in anyway.
Glenn Greenwald: That is what Democrats have been urging Reid to do to the filibustering Republicans all year -- in order to dramatize their obstructionism -- but he has refused to make them actually filibuster anything, generously agreeing instead that every bill requires 60 votes. Instead, he reserves such punishment only for the members of his own caucus trying to take a stand for the rule of law and the Constitution, those who are trying finally to bring some accountability to this administration.
This bill more than any other in recent history puts the country at a Constitutional crossroads. If the telecom industries receive retroactive immunity for illegal eavesdropping at the behest of George W. Bush, it will destroy any chance of investigation and accountability of this corrupt White House and deny any US citizen their fourth amendment rights.
Aww, poor Congressional leaders...
Meanwhile Reid stated that the true filibuster threat he made was directed at Republicans over a 60 vote majority, not to his Democratic allies, which seems unlikely. He probably received tons of emails and calls saying, "Senator Reid, with all dur respect, What The Fuck?!
T Minus 363 Days
"I know how hard it is for you to put food on your family."
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Thompson Is Done
So much news, so little time to blog. Fabulous Frederick of Hollywood has ended his bid for President of the United States. I suppose the rigors of the campaign trail interrupted his naps one too many times.
Its a good thing too. If he had actually won for some reason, I don't know how anyone would have understood his State of the Union addresses in Huttese.
Heath Ledger Dead at 28
NY TIMES: Heath Ledger, the Australian-born actor whose breakthrough role as a gay cowboy in the 2005 movie “Brokeback Mountain” earned him a nomination for an Academy Award and comparisons to the likes of Marlon Brando, was found dead Tuesday in an apartment in Manhattan with sleeping pills near his body, the police said.
... The chief police spokesman, Paul J. Browne, said the police did not suspect foul play.
“There was no indication of a disturbance,” he said, adding that there were no signs that Mr. Ledger had been drinking. Nor were any illegal drugs found in the loft, which neighbors said Mr. Ledger had occupied for several months.
Police officials said that a bottle of prescription sleeping pills were found on a nearby night table, but that they did not know whether the pills had anything to do with Mr. Ledger’s death. Officers who checked the apartment found other prescription medications in the bathroom. A spokeswoman for the medical examiner’s office said an autopsy would be conducted on Wednesday.
Mr. Browne said no obvious indication of suicide, like a note, was found in the bedroom.
UPDATE (1/23 11:05am): An autopsy of the actor... was performed on Wednesday morning, but the results are inconclusive...
Additional blood and tissue testing needs to be performed before the manner and cause of death can be determined... the process could take 10 days to two weeks.
UPDATE II (1/24 8:45pm): Pretty in depth coverage of the Ledger story.
CNN Debate in South Carolina
Quick note. I just finished watching the debate in Myrtle Beach, SC. I thought I would like the freer form... and I did! But I must say that Wolf Blitzer is absolutely useless as a moderator. There was really no reason for him to be there except as emcee.
It was nice to hear the candidates get passionate and defend their policies and positions against the rhetoric that's been thrown around... I suppose Barack Obama did the best in that sense since most of the arrows were aimed at him regarding his "present" votes in the Illinois legislature and his recent quotes on the Republicans and Ronald Reagan.
Two questions were completely idiotic (paraphrasing): 1- Asking Obama if Clinton was the best black president we ever had and 2- asking if we should withdraw from Iraq or win. Who the hell submitted that question, LIEberman? McCain? Giuliani? Karl Rove?
And once again, just like MSNBC and ABC, CNN excluded Dennis Kucinich from the debate presumably on the opinion that he is not a viable candidate.
So help me God, if MSNBC or CNN or any other "news" organization carries the next Republican debate and INCLUDES Rudy Giuliani, after Mr. 9/11 has gotten trounced in every primary so far by almost every candidate including a continual ass kicking by Ron Paul, I'm going to stick an ice pick in my eye. Let's see how serious these supposed serious news organizations are when the time comes to pick who will debate then.
I predict as always, they will kowtow to the corporate demigods and all six, SIX!, remaining Republican candidates will be on the stage. And just like they did with Kucinich and Mike Gravel early on (when they were still included), they'll place Ron Paul on an end podium and have Ghouliani dead center. And why? To have a man with a vote count average 3% seem like he has any shot at actually winning this thing? Please.
Enough of the media deciding for us who the viable candidates are. One more lackluster finish for John Edwards, and I can see them excluding him from the next Dem debate as well.
Armadillo Joe: ...I fear that [Edwards] is suffering from a tacit conspiracy to exclude candidates who could actually shake-up a system (for better or worse) that works really well for the people who run it; Kucinich and Paul also come to mind. Edwards is just the most high-profile, successful and legitimate of the group.Time will tell soon enough.
T Minus 364 Days
"Then I went for a run with the other dog and just walked. And I started thinking about a lot of things. I was able to - I can't remember what it was. Oh, the inaugural speech, started thinking through that."
Monday, January 21, 2008
Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Why I Am Opposed to the War in Vietnam"
April 30, 1967, Riverside Church, New York
This seems to be an edited audio recording of the entire transcript. But on this day, take the time to listen to it. Substitute "Iraq" for "Vietnam" and this speech rings as true today as it did over forty years ago.
It's a dark day in our nation when high-level authorities will seek to use every method to silence dissent. But something is happening, and people are not going to be silenced. The truth must be told, and I say that those who are seeking to make it appear that anyone who opposes the war... is a fool or a traitor or an enemy of our soldiers is a person that has taken a stand against the best in our tradition.
...change came from America as we increased our troop commitments in support of governments which were singularly corrupt, inept, and without popular support and all the while the people read our leaflets and received regular promises of peace and democracy and land reform. Now they languish under our bombs and consider us... the real enemy.
...I oppose the war... because I love America. I speak out against this war, not in anger, but with anxiety and sorrow in my heart, and, above all, with a passionate desire to see our beloved country stand as the moral example of the world. I speak out against this war because I am disappointed with America. And there can be no great disappointment where there is not great love. I am disappointed with our failure to deal positively and forthrightly with the triple evils of racism, economic exploitation, and militarism. We are presently moving down a dead-end road that can lead to national disaster. America has strayed to the far country of racism and
militarism...
... I call on every man and woman of good will all over America today. I call on the young men of America who must make a choice today to take a stand on this issue. Tomorrow may be too late. The book may close. And don't let anybody make you think that God chose America as his divine, messianic force to be a sort of policeman of the whole world.
T Minus 365 Days
Superbowl XLII: Patriots vs. Giants
Wow! What a shock to see the Giants make it to the Super Bowl.Tynes’s 47-yard field goal 2 minutes 35 seconds into overtime gave the Giants a 23-20 victory in the National Football Conference championship game. The Giants will next head to Super Bowl XLII in Glendale, Ariz., where they will be two-touchdown underdogs to the undefeated New England Patriots on Feb. 3.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Suzanne Pleshette Dies at 70
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Suzanne Pleshette, the husky-voiced star best known for her role as Bob Newhart's sardonic wife on television's long-running "The Bob Newhart Show," has died at age 70.
Pleshette, whose career included roles in such films as Hitchcock's "The Birds" and in Broadway plays including "The Miracle Worker," died of respiratory failure Saturday evening at her Los Angeles home, said her attorney Robert Finkelstein, also a family friend.
Pleshette underwent chemotherapy for lung cancer in 2006.
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