Make Yourself A Presidential Candidate

Pretty slick. Get your own Presidential commercial:



-

The Colbert Report | WTF Is Palin?

This is a few days old but it's hilarious. From Stephen Colbert with at least a dozen great lines:



-

Barack Obama | Labor Day And Unions

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GOP Police State Minneapolis?

Bill of Rights? Shmill of Rights... Welcome to GOP Minneapolis
"..Targeting people with machine-gun-carrying SWAT teams and mass raids in their homes, who are suspected of nothing more than planning dissident political protests at a political convention and who have engaged in no illegal activity whatsoever, is about as redolent of the worst tactics of a police state as can be imagined.."



Jane Hamsher of firedoglake.com and Glenn Greenwald of Salon.com interview peace protesters whose homes were raided by Ramsey County Police on August 30, 2008.

More.

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Gustav Bearing Down

Damn this looks bad. Gustav's path



-

John McCain Is Told It Would Be Palin

-

Alaskan Blogger's On Sarah Palin

From Mudflats:
What is McCain Thinking? One Alaskan’s Perspective.
"..I, and all Alaskans will be interested to see how this whole process unfolds. This is definitely a gamble for McCain, and in my humble opinion, a gift to Obama and to Joe Biden who just got thrown a big hunk of red meat for the vice presidential debate."















"Downtown" Walissa.
Kind of reminds me of the tv show "Northern Exposure"

From Progressive Alaska:















"..I’m all about killing and grilling moose. So is Sarah. But to the degree she will influence elections by spending $400,000 of state money to propagandize her position to shoot wolves and bears out of planes is bizarre. You would think Alaska has a ban on the importation of Viagra for all the fervor to chase animals with airplanes.
--Shannyn Moore"

Go to the Alaska Wildlife Alliance for the story on Goveror Palin's campaigns against wolves and polar bears.

-

Friday Evening Video | John Barleycorn

Seems like all of America's heading out to a lake or somewhere for a fun Labor Day Weekend and I'm sitting here on a laptop Blogging my life away. Here's Traffic Live 1972(a pretty good year), "John Barleycorn Must Die"



-

Martian Sunrise From Phoenix Lander

The sun rising on the morning of sol 90, Aug. 25, 2008, the last day of the Phoenix nominal mission.



-

Cover Girl For McCain's VP?

"This woman makes Dan Quayle look reasonable."
--Greg Valliere, CNBC


The (Runner up)Beauty Queen creationist

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Barack Obama | The Speech

I watched this on CSpan1. The Toady...er..Today Show had that well loved longtime Democratic speaker and supporter on this morning to analyze Obama's speech, and so Peggy Noonan(Uh What!) said that overall the speech was a bust...surprise! Here it is with a short DNC video introduction, you be the judge:


Personally I thought it was an excellent speech. Certainly the best of this convention and actually the best I've seen in years. I'll go out on a limb(HAH!) here and say Noonan will adore McSame's speech next week. As long as he can stay above a dubya semi-coherent drooling.

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Evening video | Thunder Road

Evening all. Anyone watching the convention? I've just turned on CSpan for a minute for the background. The wife should be home from work shortly.
Here's Bruce Springsteen and Melissa Etheridge with, "Thunder Road"




Off the "Born to Run" album. I bought the album in the fall of 1975(I think). Along with Aerosmith's "Toys in the Attic" and Rush's "2112". All classics they've turned out to be
Hey, Cheryl Crowe is playing gotta go!


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The Democratic Convention | What's Missing

Glenn Greenwald SAYS what I been thinking.
The Democrats(as usual) are far to nice and they're missing some of the worst of the Bush/Republican high crimes and misdemeanors of the last eight years.
I found it over the top myself that virtually ALL the major Democratic speech makers-Kerry(better than the rest), both Clintons and the rest just couldn't seem to resist throwing into their speeches what a great guy John McCain is, what a hero, what a friend and wonderful American. The only one really who came out firing on all cylinders was Dennis Kucinich.
Bet the bank that the Republicans won't do the same in the Twin Cities.

----------------------------------------------
What's missing from the Democratic convention?

"..First, there is almost no mention of, let alone focus on, the sheer radicalism and extremism of the last eight years. During that time, our Government has systematically tortured people using sadistic techniques ordered by the White House; illegally and secretly spied on its own citizens; broken more laws than can be counted based on the twisted theory that the President has that power; asserted the authority to arrest and detain even U.S. citizens on U.S. soil and hold them for years without charges; abolished habeas corpus; created secret prisons in Eastern Europe and a black hole of lawlessness in Guantanamo; and explicitly abandoned and destroyed virtually every political value the U.S. has long claimed to embrace...

..Even while acknowledging those realities, the Democrats, as a result of these omissions, are largely guilty of doing what they typically do: appearing listless and amorphous by standing for nothing other than safe and uncontroversial platitudes. The loudest reaction Bill Clinton provoked last night was when he proclaimed, in passing and without elaboration, that Obama is "ready to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States." So much of the case against the Bush administration -- much of what has fueled high-level Democratic energy to remove the GOP from power -- has been driven by the GOP's radical transformation of the core political values of the country, trampling on the Constitution and overtly embracing policies that are completely anathema to how Americans perceived of their country...

..More politically damaging still is the absence of any truly stinging attacks on John McCain. Even Joe Biden's speech -- billed as the "attack dog" event -- almost completely avoided any criticisms of McCain the Person, who will emerge from the four days here as a Wonderful, Honorable, Courageous Man -- a friend to Democrats and Republicans alike -- who just happens to be wrong on some issues. The Republicans will spend the next four days mercilessly ripping Barack Obama's character to shreds, as they did to John Kerry in 2004...

..The GOP assaults on Barack Obama will be -- have already been -- even more vicious and personalized, which means by the end of their Convention next week, John McCain will be, by all accounts, an honor-bound, principled and courageous patriot (who, at worst, is wrong on some issues), while Barack Obama will be some vaguely foreign, weak, appeasing, super-ambitious, exotic, empty-headed, borderline un-American liberal extremist.."

--

I've watched most of the convention. Of the speeches there's only been four that I've completely turned off. Sadly they're our major Democratic players(which might be some help in understanding why the country's in the shape it's in); Nancy "Impeachment is off the table" Pelosi, Harry "FISA" Reid, Corporate Steny 'the bottom feeder" Hoyer, and Jay "TelCom" Rockefeller.

-

Evening Vid | Wish You Were Here

From...Well you know who.. Thought of this one while watching the Convention, thinking of people gone and what might have been:


"Wish You Were Here" Live..

-

"The best America has to offer"

Warning: Pointless evil this way comes.

"My soldiers conduct is consistently honorable. [...] Again, this young man has a vivid imagination and I promise you that this by no means reflects the truth of what is happening here. I’m currently serving with the best America has to offer."
-1SG Hatley

--

"In March or April 2007, three noncommissioned United States Army officers, including a first sergeant, a platoon sergeant and a senior medic, killed four Iraqi prisoners with pistol shots to the head as the men stood handcuffed and blindfolded beside a Baghdad canal, two of the soldiers said in sworn statements...

..The accounts of and confessions to the killings, by Sgt. First Class Joseph P. Mayo, the platoon sergeant, and Sgt. Michael P. Leahy Jr., Company D’s senior medic and an acting squad leader, were made in January in signed statements to Army investigators in Schweinfurt, Germany.

In their statements, Sergeants Mayo and Leahy each described killing at least one of the Iraqi detainees on instructions from First Sgt. John E. Hatley, who the soldiers said killed two of the detainees with pistol shots to the back of their heads.

...Last month, four other soldiers from Sergeant Hatley’s unit were charged with murder conspiracy for agreeing to go along with the plan to kill the four prisoners, in violation of military laws that forbid harming enemy combatants once they are disarmed and in custody."
-Here

Link.

-

John McCain Gets Some Gasolina

From the General:
--

"..Remember how everyone laughed at me when some dumb bastard leaked that I couldn't use an electrical typing intertubes machine? well, I'm using one now, aren't I. I'm saying these words, Joe Lieberman is typing them; and you're reading them on the General's electrical typing intertubes machine pamphlet.

I proved 'em all wrong didn't I.

They also laughed at me when I said my favorite song was ABBA's Dancing Queen. They said it wasn't hip, but I didn't care. It ranks right up there with Turkey in the Straw and Oh Susannah in my book.

But still, you have to play their game, so I found this guy the Mexican kids like. His name is Daddy Yankee. I like that. It sounds patriotic and reminds me of Steinbrenner. He's kind of like a Daddy Yankee. Funny story. Steinbrenner invited me to his house once and when I got there, I thought it was one of my houses, so I just walked straight in and turned on the teevee. No Matlock. I thought someone had touched the channel changing thing again and reacted in the only way a man can. I kicked in the tee vee screen, tore out a a jagged piece of glass, and drove it deep into George's leg.."

Continue.

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Hill's Speech

Speaking of Hillary here's her speech in all it's glory:



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Schweitzer Convention Clip

The most entertaining speech last night(IMO) was Governor Schweitzer of Montana. Here's a clip:



I didn't see all the goings on but I had it on in the background(CSpan1) so I caught the high-lights. Hillary did well with a really good rousing speech. I'd heard that Warner of Virginia said he'd do a "bi-partisan" speech, so naturally I didn't pay much attention to him. What I caught of THE man Dennis Kucinich's speech was great also.
Governor Schweitzer is an entertainer. When he first came out I thought wow, this guy is governnor? Once he got rolling though you can really see why.

-

Leaving Fear Behind | Dreaming For Tibet

Leaving Fear Behind (in Tibetan, Jigdrel) is a heroic film shot by Tibetans from inside Tibet, who longed to bring Tibetan voices to the Beijing Olympic Games.



Tibetans wish to tell the world of their plight and their heartfelt grievances against Chinese rule. The footage was smuggled out of Tibet under extraordinary circumstances. The filmmakers were detained soon after sending their tapes out, and remain in detention today.

-

Things That Make You Go WTF!

Yeah this is gonna be a big help. What's sugar momma gonna do stomp her feet till those mean Russians give in? Buy another vacation home? Take Condi Rice slumming for shoe bargains? So many questions and the jokes can almost write themselves.

(Reuters) - Cindy McCain, wife of U.S. Republican presidential candidate John McCain, is traveling to Georgia this week to assess the humanitarian situation there after its military conflict with Russia.."

Photo link
"This has to be good news for John McCain!"
-corporate news media

Linked
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Watching The Convention?

I haven't watched a lot of the Democratic convention on it's opening night but I've seen some of the highlights. The Jimmy Carter salute video, Carolyn Kennedy's speech, the Ted Kennedy video and his speech(he did show up).
Being a political junkie and a z-list Blogger I had to watch some of the goings on.
I suspect in the background it's one big party(not that there's anything wrong with that). Oops, speaking of which, Michelle Obama is about to speak now. I'll be back.

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Interesting Videos | Cat House On The Kings

Interesting little video. It's good to know there's places like this. If you have the time and extra cash follow the link and throw them a little money.



The Cat House on the Kings, is no-cage, no-kill, lifetime cat sanctuary and adoption center run by Lynea Lattanzia in Parlier, California. There are currently over 700 cats living on the 6 acre sanctuary and all of them are up for adoption.

Linked LS.

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Funny Vid | FAUX News Gets "Protested"

This is teh funny.
A "bubble headed bleach blonde" on FAUX News introduces boy reporter Griff Jenkins(yes that's the name) who is in Denver for the Democratic Convention. Fearless Griff starts "interviewing", or actually taunting the "leftist" protesters(they must be leftists to even protest you see) and for his troubles starts getting chants of "F*ck Fox News! F*ck Fox News!"
Needless to say it's cut short. Hilarious!



What's especially funny is FAUX News and Griff's comments about "protesters and leftists", lumping them all together. It's almost like watching a local tv news bit from 1970. except we get the happy ending of F*CK FOX NEWS!!

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Sunday Blessing | Grand Spiral Galaxy NGC 1232

Grand Spiral Galaxy NGC 1232
"..Dominated by millions of bright stars and dark dust, caught up in a gravitational swirl of spiral arms rotating about the center. Open clusters containing bright blue stars can be seen sprinkled along these spiral arms, while dark lanes of dense interstellar dust can be seen sprinkled between them. Less visible, but detectable, are billions of dim normal stars and vast tracts of interstellar gas, together wielding such high mass that they dominate the dynamics of the inner galaxy. Invisible are even greater amounts of matter in a form we don't yet know.."

Better image

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Video | Who Is Joe Biden?

ABC took a close look:



-

Obama/Biden 2008!

It's official the running mate is Joe Biden.
Joe's a lot better than some of the other names tossed out. I was pretty sure it would be him or Hillary, but I feared the worse. I would've been agreeable to either of them so Joe'll do.
He's to corporate a Democrat for me, to big biz and drug war forever, to security state and defense spending. On many other key issues like energy policy, the environment, middle class problems, stem cells,etc. Biden and I wouldn't be to far apart.
Read Kevin Hayden's take on Biden

The Tide Is Turning:



Linked


Wait till America meets Jill Biden.

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Eisenhower's Granddaughter Leaves Republican Party

Susan Eisenhower the granddaughter of President Dwight D. Eisenhower has given up on the Republican party. Changes her registration to Independent.












---
Reflections on Leaving the Party

"I have decided I can no longer be a registered Republican. For the first time in my life I announced my support for a Democratic candidate for the presidency, in February of this year. This was not an endorsement of the Democratic platform, nor was it a slap in the face to the Republican Party. It was an expression of support specifically for Senator Barack Obama. I had always intended to go back to party ranks after the election and work with my many dedicated friends and colleagues to help reshape the GOP, especially in the foreign-policy arena. But I now know I will be more effective focusing on our national and international problems than I will be in trying to reinvigorate a political organization that has already consumed nearly all of its moderate “seed corn.” And now, as the party threatens to trivialize what promised to be a serious debate on our future direction, it will alienate many young people who might have come into party ranks.."

"..As an independent I want to be free of the constraints and burdens that have come with trying to make my own views explainable in the context of today’s party. Hijacked by a relatively small few, the GOP of today bears no resemblance to Lincoln, Roosevelt or Eisenhower’s party, or many of the other Republican administrations that came after. In my grandparents’ time, the thrust of the party was rooted in: a respect for the constitution; the defense of civil liberties; a commitment to fiscal responsibility; the pursuit and stewardship of America’s interests abroad; the use of multilateral international engagement and “soft power”; the advancement of civil rights; investment in infrastructure; environmental stewardship; the promotion of science and its discoveries; and a philosophical approach focused squarely on the future.."

Linked.

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Waiting For The Veep

Like every politically aware voter in the country I'm just waiting for the V.P. selection. This has apparently been another smart move by the Obama team. The topic of lot's of office and Internets chatter today.


Apparently it's not Kaine- And I'm kinda glad

Apparently it's not Bayh- And I'm even more glad

Is it Joe Biden?
Sounds better anyway.

Looks like we'll find out for sure tomorrow.

-

Friday Evening Video | "Mandolin WInd" Live

Rod Stewart and Ron Wood with a pretty good live version of "Mandolin Wind" with Rod playing banjo. All the best to Ron Wood hopefully he'll do well with the re-hab.



From one of my top albums of all time, "Every Picture Tells a Story".

-

Hanging In There Weekend Greetings

Have a fun and safe weekend surfers.
Don't fall asleep while doing anything important.

HELLOoooooooo..




















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KY Senate Race | Bruce Lunsford's New Ad

Bruce Lunsford is to much of a "corporate" Democrat for me. Meaning big on big corporate tax breaks, mountain top removal and the war on drug(users),etc. With that said he'd still be ten times better for the middle class than Miss Mitch Mo' Money McConnell. McConnell is-and always has been a complete Republican corporate rightwing toady. Here's Bruce Lunsford's new ad:



Linked.

Attacking but STILL only talking about McConnell's oil company connections. There's SO MUCH more to hit McConnell with. If nothing else show him shmoozing with "Bloody" dubya at least once every commercial.

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McCain Spokesman Foolishly Angers "Dungeons And Dragons" Players

HUH OH!

"..It may be typical of the pro-Obama Dungeons & Dragons crowd to disparage a fellow countryman's memory of war from the comfort of mom's basement, but most Americans have the humility and gratitude to respect and learn from the memories of men who suffered on behalf of others.."
--Michael Goldforb

They've done it now:

+2 for hope



“Pro-Obama Dungeons and Dragons Crowd” group at MyBarackObama.com.

Hillary Clinton's Brother Meets With McCains?

Throwing up a few posts while I have a free evening.

Is this true and why?
Hillary's brother meets with McCain people

-

Democratic Convention Brings Us "Gitmo On The Platte"

Now those Democrats they're not like those police state Republicans. Putting protesters miles away, zapping them with tazers and throwing them in cages on a whim. Because you know Obama, Hillary, Bill, Biden and those folks know what this country stands for and that...what? Oh, never mind:
The DNC brings you "Gitmo on the Platte":



Link


The Denver police get prepared:
















-

Barack Obama's VFW Speech

Slicin' and dicin' Johnie McSame:



Jedreport: Obama has started hitting back hard.

-

TMW | I'm Worried About That Obama Fellow

Tom Tomorrow features a concern troll.



















-

Rachel Maddow Gets Her Own Show

Good morning from office world! MSNBC finally gave Rachel Maddow her own show.



A bit late with this but I certainly want to throw it up. It's GREAT news for Liberal political junkies. An actual Liberal on the tube with her own show!

-

Obama Vs. McCain | Who Supports Whom

This is something that should tell you all you need to know:

Here:
Troops Deployed Abroad Give 6:1 to Obama

And here:
Top CEOs give ten times more to McCain


-

Keith Olbermann To John McCain

"Grow Up!"



-

Bushco Countdown..WIll Humanity Survive?

One hundred and fifty five more days to go.














Mucho Thanks to C and L

-

Stuart Shephard | Worst Person In The World

Olbermann gives former Lexington tv station chief meteorologist Stuart Shepard his "Worst Person In The World". I find it hard to believe that there aren't millions more deserving. Then again Stuart is such a perfect Dick he does deserves something:



-

Brave New Films | McCain's Mansions

The latest film from Robert Greenwald and Brave new Films, "McCain's Mansions":



-

Wolf Harassing Mama Bear And Cubs

From a remote motion-activated video camera placed in Glacier National Park by the USGS comes this rather strange inter-action between a playful(?) wolf and a mother grizzly with two cubs.



I haven't seen(or read) much politics yet today and yes I know the day is nearly over. I saw Michael Phelps win his 8th Olympic gold and that was just an awesome moment.
I heard that Barack Obama is now pandering to the religious Rightwing crowd. Doing interviews and hoping for miracles. no surprise there.
Gotta go see Dear daughter off to bed.

-

WAAAH! Weekend's Over Man

Back to the work tomorrow...sigh. I've barely been on the net and virtually no Blogging this whole weekend.


Link and link

The only good thing about work(other than food and a roof over our heads) is that I actually Blog more there than on my weekend's at home...Strange..

Wish my job was walkable or bike-able.

-

The Daily Show | "Countries Don't Invade Countries In The 21st Century"?

Personally I thought it was arrogant hypocracy but Jon Stewart may be right, it could just be a complete lack of short term memory:



-

Friday Video | Randy Newman, A Few Words In Defense

Randy Newman has been putting out great music for a long time. I've got a couple of his late seventies albums in the ol' Dean Library and they still sound good. He also composes great music for films(Toy Story,etc). Here from Macworld Expo 2008 is "A Few Words In Defense Of My Country" from Harps And Angels:



-

Bill O'Reilly Hates Hip-Hop?

Yes there's another reason. Ms. O'Reilly.

The real reason Bill O’Reilly hates hip-hop


-

baracky II | The Video

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"Not Fit For Publication" | Obama Campaign Blasts Corsi Smear Book

I don't have much to say about these political smear books but the Obama campaign(and John Kerry) apparently learned a lesson about "swift boating" in the 2004 election. Nip it in the bud.
I've also heard that the reason these books become "best sellers" is that they're bought in bulk by conservative money.

---
Obama Campaign Issues Forty Page Rebuttal to Corsi Smear Book

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama hit back Thursday with a 40-page rebuttal to the best-selling book "The Obama Nation," arguing the author is a fringe bigot peddling rehashed lies.

The Obama campaign picked apart the book's claims in a rebuttal titled "Unfit For Publication," to be posted on the Obama campaign's rumor-fighting Web site, FightTheSmears.com. The title is a play on the book Corsi co-authored against 2004 Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry's military service called "Unfit For Command."

---
Actually this bit of information should be all you need to know about this book:
"Obama Nation" is published by Threshold Editions, a division of Simon & Schuster that is run by Mary Matalin, the former aide to Vice President Dick Cheney."


It's also been said that Jerome Corsi could be a bi-sexual goat lover. I'm just putting the question out there.

-

Thursday Video | Mark Knopler "Done With Bonaparte"

Friday is the birthday of Napoleon Bonaparte(Aug. 15, 1769) children. He was really good at death and destruction himself.
Here's Mark Knopfler with "Done With Bonaparte" from Golden Heart:
Crank. It. Up.



The best video I could find of it.

-

Widespread Rape In Darfur

The Sudanese government uses rape as a weapon against its own people.

Help Dream for Darfur speak out.

Sign the petition calling on Secretary Rice to protect Darfuri women now.

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Keep John McCain's Hands Off Social Security

"It's a disgrace, and it's got to be fixed."
-John McCain(worth over a 100 million, owner of 9+ homes, gets around on a $12 million corporate jet, wears $520 Italian loafers, oh and he got over $23,000 in social security payments last year)
McCain just like George W. Bush and many other super-wealthy want to "privatize" Social Security.

Here's the grandson of Franklin Delano Roosevelt talking about FDR, about the years before S.S., and about it's benefit to America's senior citizens;


McCain is being called on his comments big time go read more.

-

Protesters Greet Nancy Pelosi For No Impeachment Hearings

She was in Los Angeles to discuss her recently published book “Know Your Power: A Message to America’s Daughters.” Instead, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi got slammed by protesters screaming that she has been derelict in her duties for not authorizing impeachment hearings against George W. Bush.
--LATimes



Linked.

-

Gunman Kills Arkansas Democratic Party Chairman

Is this another FAUX News/O'Reilly/Limbaugh loving Wingnut?

--

A man barged into the Arkansas Democratic headquarters Wednesday and fatally shot the state party chairman before speeding off in his pickup. Police later shot and killed the suspect after a 30-mile chase.

Little Rock police spokesman Lt. Terry Hastings identified the suspect as Timothy Dale Johnson, 50, of Searcy. Police said they don't know a motive. However, they said that moments after the shooting he pointed a handgun at the building manager at the nearby the Arkansas Baptist headquarters. He told the manager "I lost my job," said Dan Jordan, a Baptist convention official.

Chairman Bill Gwatney died four hours after the shooting. The 48-year-old former state senator had been planning to travel to the Democratic National Convention later this month as a superdelegate. He had backed Hillary Rodham Clinton but endorsed Barack Obama after she dropped out of the race.

Chairman Bill Gwatney



Link.


-

Worst Album Covers Of All Time

Some good(bad?) stuff here.
















#61 Tijuana Picnic

-

John McCain = Grandpa Simpson?

You decide:



Scary right?

-

Neo-Con Irony - Dubya Scolds Russia For Doing What He Did

Further proof that neo-cons are missing the genes for both irony and hypocrisy detection:

"Russia has invaded a sovereign neighbouring state.... Such an action is unacceptable in the 21st century.... We have no doubts about it. This is a deliberate attempt to destroy an entire country and change the regime."

-Beijing Bush, regarding the Russian attack on Georgia

The US now has very little moral authority left thanks to this soulless idiot.

-

Dubya's Been Found!

Having some fun as always..



Meanwhile in the rest of the world-
In Iraq-Tal Afar:








From the blitz on Georgia by Russian forces-













Linked.

-

Monday Video | Remy Zero "Save Me"

Stuck in work-land. Here's Remy Zero with "Save Me":



Comment of the day:
"I know Hawaii is a state"
-Cokie Roberts, 2008

-

Where In The World Is Duhbya?

Regarding my previous comment about NBC and the "duh-bya" Olympics. Apparently I'm not the only one to notice that while Russia and Georgia are killing each other NBC has Bloody dubya playing beach volleyball. Here's the question from American Street:

Where Is Our Commander In Chief - Where Is Putin?

-

The Drilling Answer In Just Over A Minute

This morning my local paper dubbed the "Herald-Libral" by wordy conservatives had their usual 4 to 1 conservative advantage in their editorial page. From John Stossel(actually sane today), to Bill "Luffa" O'Reilly, and pearl clutcher David Broder whining about the Obama mystery. All they needed was Mona Charon to round out their usual Sunday conservathon.
Progressive voices represented? None, unless you count Paul Krugman and I suppose you probably could. He seems to live in the reality-based world most of the time.
We're going to see a movie this afternoon and family voting says it's going to be "Wall-E". I'll take a few minutes and throw up a post before it's time to go. For the above rant and to ask if we can call these Olympics the "Duhbya Olympics" brought to you by NBC and GE?
Oh, and to paste up the following video.


From the caterwauling you'd think ANWR and off-shore drilling gifts to the oil companies were the Republican's last hope for our country. Here's an instructional little video that tells you a few things that the corporate "news" probably isn't allowed to:

Linked.

Update Note: I tried to edit this post earlier tonight for an hour and Blogger kept kicking me out. If I can actually edit it now I want that noted.
Oh, and WALL-E was pretty good.

-

RIP Bernie Mac

What the Hell? Bernie Mac has died from complications with pneumonia. What a freaking bummer. Bernie Mac you were a helluva funny man.
















-

2.5 Million-Year-Old Mastodon Skeleton Un-Earthed

Wow.
You know theoretically this fossil could be older than John McCain.

--

Intact Mastodon Skeleton Unearthed in Romania
A.P.

Aug. 8, 2008 -- Miners in Romania have unearthed the skeleton of a 2.5 million-year-old mastodon, believed to be one of the best preserved in Europe, a local official said Friday..

..The mastadon became extinct in Europe two to three million years ago. Codrea, of Babes Bolyai University in Cluj, said 90 percent of the skeleton's bones were intact, with damage to the skull and tusks..."

..The animal -- 10 feet high and 23 feet long -- was a forefather of today's elephants. It is related to the mammoth, but fed on leaves instead of grazing and had straight tusks, instead of curved ones. The reason it died out was probably due to climate change, said Codrea.."

Link.

-

Police Raid Mayor's Home Shoot His Two Dogs

Another Police Raid; More Dead Dogs

Just north of D.C., in the small suburb of Berwyn Heights, a county SWAT team raided a house last week after a shipping service delivered a large quantity of illegal drugs to the front door.

Good police work in the war on drugs? Probably not.


The house is home to Berwyn Heights mayor Cheye Calvo and his wife Trinity Tomsic, and their two black Labs (pictured left). Though the package containing more than 30 lbs. of marijuana was addressed to Tomsic, the couple may have had nothing to do with the drugs. In recent months there have been incidents in which large quantities of drugs were shipped to homes in the D.C. area, where they were then supposed to be intercepted by drug dealers — all without the package addressees’ knowledge or involvement. Calvo and Tomsic may have been caught up in just such a scheme.

The police action was yet another guns-ablazin’, no-knock raid, in which the officers (in what seems like SOP) shot the couple’s dogs, even as one of the pups tried to run away. The cops then handcuffed Calvo and Tomsic’s mother-in-law and interrogated them for hours, while the dogs’ bodies laid in pools of blood nearby. The cops later found the package of drugs — unopened, as if it were an unexpected package. No arrests were made.

"We're not in the habit of going to homes and shooting peoples' dogs, If we were, there would be a lot more dead dogs around the county."
-Sgt. Mario Ellis, a Sheriff's Office spokesman, with what sounds like a threat to nosy dog owners.

Link.

-

Fiscal Conservatives Vs. Tax And Spend Liberals

Another illustration of Things the Liberal Media won't tell you.















From DWT.

-

Videos | Rogue Wave Wednesday

It's Rogue Wave Wednesday!

"Chicago x 12":


And one of my favorite songs from 2007 "Lake Michigan" live at Lollapalooza:


-

Part Of The Plan | Thomas Frank's "The Wrecking Crew"

Thomas Frank, the author of the excellent book "What's the Matter With Kansas?" has a new book out, "The Wrecking Crew: How Conservatives Rule", which gives us the how-to history of the conservative era -- specifically how to destroy a government, leave Americans in the lurch, and enrich yourselves all at the same time.
The following excerpt comes from a short essay from the book here:

---
Follow This Dime
Why Misgovernment Was No Accident in George W. Bush's Washington

"..It is just this: Fantastic misgovernment of the kind we have seen is not an accident, nor is it the work of a few bad individuals. It is the consequence of triumph by a particular philosophy of government, by a movement that understands the liberal state as a perversion and considers the market the ideal nexus of human society. This movement is friendly to industry not just by force of campaign contributions but by conviction; it believes in entrepreneurship not merely in commerce but in politics; and the inevitable results of its ascendance are, first, the capture of the state by business and, second, all that follows: incompetence, graft, and all the other wretched flotsam that we've come to expect from Washington.

The correct diagnosis is the "bad apple" thesis turned upside down. There are plenty of good conservative individuals, honorable folks who would never participate in the sort of corruption we have watched unfold over the last few years. Hang around with grassroots conservative voters in Kansas, and in the main you will find them to be honest, hardworking people. Even our story's worst villains can be personally virtuous. Jack Abramoff, for example, is known to his friends as a pious, polite, and generous fellow.

But put conservatism in charge of the state, and it behaves very differently. Now the "values" that rightist politicians eulogize on the stump disappear, and in their place we can discern an entirely different set of priorities -- priorities that reveal more about the unchanging historical essence of American conservatism than do its fleeting campaigns against gay marriage or secular humanism. The conservatism that speaks to us through its actions in Washington is institutionally opposed to those baseline good intentions we learned about in elementary school.

Its leaders laugh off the idea of the public interest as airy-fairy nonsense; they caution against bringing top-notch talent into government service; they declare war on public workers. They have made a cult of outsourcing and privatizing, they have wrecked established federal operations because they disagree with them, and they have deliberately piled up an Everest of debt in order to force the government into crisis. The ruination they have wrought has been thorough; it has been a professional job. Repairing it will require years of political action.

Conservatism-in-power is a very different beast from the conservatism we meet on the streets of Wichita or the conservatism we overhear talking to itself on the pages of Free Republic. For one thing, what conservatism has done in its decades at the seat of power is fundamentally unpopular, and a large percentage of its leaders have been men of eccentric ideas. While they believe things that would get them laughed out of the American Sociological Association, that only makes them more typical of the movement. And for all their peculiarity, these people -- Grover Norquist, Tom DeLay, Jack Abramoff, Newt Gingrich, and the whole troupe of activists, lobbyists, and corpora-trons who got their start back in the Reagan years -- have for the last three decades been among the most powerful individuals in America. This wave of misgovernment has been brought to you by ideology, not incompetence.."

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An "i-9/11 Event" And The Coming i-Patriot Act

You're not going to like this very much:

Lawrence Lessig, a respected Law Professor from Stanford University told an audience at this years Fortune’s Brainstorm Tech conference in Half Moon Bay, California, that “There’s going to be an i-9/11 event” which will act as a catalyst for a radical reworking of the law pertaining to the Internet.

Lessig also revealed that he had learned, during a dinner with former government Counter Terrorism Czar Richard Clarke, that there is already in existence a cyber equivalent of the Patriot Act, an “i-Patriot Act” if you will, and that the Justice Department is waiting for a cyber terrorism event in order to implement its provisions.

Linked.

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The Anthrax Killer | Or Was He?

I wanted to throw up Glenn Greenwald's great work regarding the strange death, and subsequent naming of the(maybe) anthrax killer. It really hasn't passed the smell test to me and many others . The FBI appears to be desperate to get a culprit, any culprit real or not and bury this case.
As Glenn says most of the media blithely put out whatever is fed to them by the burea and others.
Go read Glenn's work on it..Here's a hint:

The FBI's emerging, leaking case against Ivins

It's certainly possible that once the FBI closes its investigation and then formally unveils its evidence -- which apparently will happen tomorrow -- a very convincing case will be made that Bruce Ivins perpetrated the anthrax attacks and did so alone. But what has been revealed thus far -- through the standard ritual of selected Government leaks which the establishment media, with some exceptions, just mindlessly re-prints no matter how frivolous -- is creating the opposite impression. The FBI's coordinated leaking is making their claim to have solved the anthrax case appear quite dubious, in some instances laughably so.

Continue.

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The Beijing Summer Olympics | China Girl

Here's to the Beijing Summer Olympics and to China's mighty struggle to appear moderate during the build up and the games. This is an oldie but a goodie. Not perfectly fitting, but I got nothing else at the moment. David Bowie's "China Girl":




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On Ron Suskind's New Book

Also from This Modern World is this little item from Ron Suskind's new book "The Way of the World".
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CIA Agent Allegedly Involved in Forged Iraq Letter Ran Previous Operation to Create Pretext for War
In Ron Suskind’s interview on NPR today (and also in his new book), he names CIA operative John Maguire as one of the people allegedly involved in the Iraq letter forging..
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I saw ToadyToday Show's Meredith Vieira do a poor interview of Ron Suskind this morning. I believe more and more that to be a modern tv "journalist", you have to forget everything you know and wake up every day with no memory of what's been said or done the days before. I had a lot more written but Blogger just screwed me and threw it away. Just read the article and for heaven's sake don't get your news from corporate tv only.

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The Rise And Fall Of Stupidity

From Tom Tomorrow:



















You can still see these people on cable news every day.

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Fancy Farm Update

Photo: 2007

Larry Dale Keeling, the Kykurmudgeon gives us a report on the barbeque and politics from this year's Fancy Farm Picnic.
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Scenes from a sweltering Fancy Farm Picnic

"..Considering the heat, it was good that a variety of groups were handing out statement-making fans. The most creative came from the D's and offered the following Top 10 Reasons to Re-elect Mitch McConnell:

"10. $4.00 per gallon gas is too cheap.

"9. Chinese jobs are more important than ours.

"8. Health insurance is overrated.

"7. Millionaires deserve tax breaks more than I do.

"6. The minimum wage is too high.

"5. I prefer my tax dollars going to build bridges in Iraq instead of building bridges in Kentucky.

"4. Working three jobs is the American Dream.

"3. Seniors shouldn't get a free ride called Social Security and veterans don't deserve benefits.

"2. $9.5 trillion in national debt just isn't enough.

"1. I want the next six years to be worse than the last six."

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Evening Video | Year Of The Cat

From Al Stewart. I'm fairly sure that I've still got this vinyl album, "Year of the Cat":



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Video From Meet The Bloogers

On Meet The Bloggers Cenk UyGur interviews Rachael Maddow and various Bloggers about sending more troops to Afghanistan:



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Internet Trolls Examined

The New York Times Has an article on Internet Trolls coming SUnday.

“Malwebolence - The Trolls Among Us”

In the late 1980s, Internet users adopted the word “troll” to denote someone who intentionally disrupts online communities. Early trolling was relatively innocuous, taking place inside of small, single-topic Usenet groups. The trolls employed what the M.I.T. professor Judith Donath calls a “pseudo-naïve” tactic, asking stupid questions and seeing who would rise to the bait.

Linked at LS.

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Frightening Pic Of The Day

OMG!




















Back up...slooowly!
Don't look him in the eyes
Don't act scared!
SLOWLY back away..

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Fancy Farm Picnic Starts Tomorrow

Barbeque, politics and fun. The 128th Fancy Farm Picnic starts tomorrow in Graves County Kentucky. Mitch Mo'Money McConnell and Bruce Lunsford will be trading barbs.

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And Damn You Obama For Being SOOO Popular!

From Huffington Post on the latest McCain ad.

John Ridley: Damn You Obama For Being So Cool!

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A Post In Honor Of Jon Voight

Speaking of The Onion here's one for Jon. It'll make his head explode:

Al Gore Places Infant Son In Rocket To Escape Dying Planet











Young Gore sets out for his new home, where the sky is clear, the water is clean, and there are no Republicans.

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This Just In | Jon Voight Apparently Main-lining The Kool-Aid

I didn't know that Jon Voight had completely lost his mind, or has he always been like this? I've heard rumours here and there through the nets that he was...let's just say, a FAUX News loving, Wingnut drooling maroon. He has an op-ed up at the Washington "Moonie" Times. Where you'll learn that Jon is still fighting the commie-pinko war, which peaked in the sixties and crashed during Reagan. Some fun stuff as long as you take it for what it's worth, another Rghtwing "up is down" tirade. More of FAUX News Republican channel's whole purpose in broadcasting, to demonize Democrats and Liberals as "evil over-throwers of guv-ment". It always amazes me the Right's fear of "the left", when I personally consider many of the signers of our constitution as Liberals of their times.
I prescribe Jon Voight time off from AM radio, and NO corporate "News" for at least a month. It's a sad thing when someone you've respected says things that are childish in the extreme and, what's the word I'm looking for..oh yeah...Wacko! On the other hand it's(unintentional) entertainment. Worthy of The Onion.
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"..The Democratic Party, in its quest for power, has managed a propaganda campaign with subliminal messages, creating a God-like figure in a man who falls short in every way. It seems to me that if Mr. Obama wins the presidential election, then Messrs. Farrakhan, Wright, Ayers and Pfleger will gain power for their need to demoralize this country and help create a socialist America.

The Democrats have targeted young people, knowing how easy it is to bring forth whatever is needed to program their minds. I know this process well. I was caught up in the hysteria during the Vietnam era, which was brought about through Marxist propaganda underlying the so-called peace movement. The radicals of that era were successful in giving the communists power to bring forth the killing fields and slaughter 2.5 million people in Cambodia and South Vietnam. Did they stop the war, or did they bring the war to those innocent people? In the end, they turned their backs on all the horror and suffering they helped create and walked away."

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PSSST...Jon I'm not just a Democrat, I'm a Liberal, and I'm not out to take over anything, if anything I'm for taking all of our freedom's back that Cheney/Bushco have taken away in eight years. My scariest thought is that Barack Obama doesn't intend to give them back either.

I always knew "Ratso" Rizzo was the smarter of the two.

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