John McCain is A Sore Loser

McCain has changed his stance on ending don't ask, don't tell:

A former war hero, McCain said he would support ending the ban once the military's top brass told him they were okay with it.

"The day that the leadership of the military comes to me and says, 'Senator, we ought to change the policy,' then I think we ought to consider seriously changing it because those leaders in the military are the ones we give the responsibility to," McCain told an audience of college students during the "Hardball" college tour on MSNBC.

Well guess what? That day has come. Defense Secretary and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs both declared in hearings that DADT should end. But McCain still doesn't want to change DADT. And was a real jerk about it today. So what changed? Did gay people become less able to shoot people in the last year? He didn't get it from home, cause his foxy daughter is all for gay rights (I follow her twitter). So what changed? Well, John McCain lost an election last year. He's really pissed about it. We been over this before. You want McCain to support something? Whatever you do, don't kick his ass in an election.

For Some, War is Still the Answer

I find it amazing at this late date in history, Daniel Pipes is still out there banging the drum for war with Iran. As if the last ten years never happened, as if we still aren't dealing with the last two wars, and not well. Keep in mind, if the GOP ever gets back into power Mr. Pipes goes from "crank" to "trusted policy guy." We are always just one election away from disaster.

Oh Man

I always thought of the Mars Spirit Rover as the little robot that could, but XKCD's take on it almost made me cry:



You are home, little guy.

You are home.

Why Not Defense?

We spend staggering, mind-blowing, gob-smacking amounts of money on defense. $768.2 billion in the new budget. Everybody knows this. We spend more money than the rest of the world combined, including allies like France and Great Britain. The defense budgets of counties that might be considered enemies, like North Korea and Iran, are rounding errors to the Pentagon. We continue, at this late date, to maintain huge military presences in both Germany and Japan, despite WWII being over for a while now and both countries being under threat from no one. If someone was really serious about cutting the Federal Budget, you would have to cut defense. The point is so obvious that even GOP member of the House are forced to concede the point.

And Now Three Covers of Use Somebody

There's something about this song that makes people want to sing it:







Which ones best?

Our World

I think this sums up the state of thing very nicely:

The United States has suspended its medical evacuations of critically injured Haitian earthquake victims until a dispute over who will pay for their care is settled, military officials said Friday.

Best care in the world, except no care is given, because we can't figure out how to pay for it. Which makes it no care, which makes it the worse care.

We can't brag about the best care in the world unless we figure out how to pay for it.

Home Field Something

I know it hurts to lose a Senate seat in Kennedy's Massachusetts, but keep in mind we just last election won a Senate seat in Sarah Palin's Alaska. For all our talk of red states and blue states, lots of stuff happens in elections, and the lines of where everyone stands isn't clear. Why, Palin herself might have trouble herself in Alaska.

Static

Internet trouble here at Craigorian Chant world headquarters last night, so I was left unable to both watch or comment on the State of the Union. Just assume both Obama gave a good speech and my commentary was both insightful and funny.

Banned

Federal Appeals Court upheld a ban on Dungeons & Dragons in prison. Officially, officials do this because D&D “foster an inmate’s obsession with escaping from the real-life correctional environment, fostering hostility, violence and escape behavior,” and lead to "fantasies about escape." This sounds pretty thin to me. Are there prisoners out there who don't have fantasies of escape? My guess, it that D&D is banned becuase it's fun. Can't go having fun in prison. As if it being prison wasn't enough, you have to take their fantasies too.

I'm thinking of starting a nerd rights organization. Our first task: appealing this case the Supreme Court.

Body by Who?

I highly recommend this Pandagon post on exercise, muscles and women's body image. Amanda Marcotte breaks down the current rage for a super-skinny beauty ideal and the fact that diet, i.e. starving yourself, is the first choice for women over exercise. Women are given a pretty good dose of fear over becoming "bulky" or "too muscular" if they work out. The celebrity press freaks out over any famous women with a bit of muscle tone, be she actress or First Lady. This is terrible. Hitting the weights will do you far more good than stopping eating. And you'll be sexier. I've been over this before, but the fashion world is a group of people who don't find women attractive.

Not to say this is the only way to define sexy, but being attractive to members of the opposite sex is a pretty good benchmark. Look at the difference in women's bodies in magazines that sell to women and the magazines that sell to men. Cosmo and Glamor are filled with women who are Paris Hilton skinny. And guess what? Men don't buy stuff with Paris Hilton skinny. We buy stuff like American Curves, filled with women with asses you could bonce a quarter off of.

So everybody, go to the gym, you'll be healthier, live longer, and more people will want to have sex with you.

Soros on Bubbles

When it come to markets, listen to the billionaire.

Ratfucker Goes Down

Ratfucking, for those of you new to this game, is political dirty tricks. The term comes out the Watergate era. Those guys trying to break into the DNC back in the day? Ratfuckers.

Well the modern equivalent just got himself in similar hot water. James O'Keefe the guy behind the bazaar "dress up like a pimp and see if the ACORN receptionist does anything about it" incident got picked up by the FBI yesterday in a plot to bug the office of Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu's office. A classic ratfucking maneuver.

So where does this all lead? Not to White House, but O'Keefe is plugged into the whole conservative network - media, money, and activists. Who does he work for? Who funds him?

Via

The Science of Monkey Ku Fu

Big Bail Bond

There are special interest groups out there you have never even heard of, and they are screwing things up for all of us.

Honestly, do you know of a single local jail that isn't described as "overcrowded?" Do you know of single sherrif department that isn't looking at a jail exspantion costing millions? There's a reason for that, and it is not a crime wave.

Pitchfork Time

E.J. says it is time for populism.

Mixed

Beau Biden son of Joe has announced that he will not be seeking his father's Senate seat, left vacant by Joe's ascension to VP, this year. On the one hand, good that the Senate seat from Delaware doesn't become like the Biden family watch, passed down from generation to generation. We are already way too close to an unofficial aristocracy in this country, what with all the Clintons and Bushes running around.

On the other hand, this makes it much tougher to hold that Senate seat. And we need that seat.

In Honor

In honor of the Saints, who won tonight and spared us all weeks of "Bret Farve goes to the Super Bowl" media hype:

It's Money

This is Ke$ha, she's the next hot thing:



I can only conclude that her popularity is due to the spelling of her name with a $. Money is good, see. Therefor I will now be know as ¢raig.

Today's Moment oif Uplift

45 Million?

My new goal in life is to get fired by NBC.

Ever Better

And now the Supreme Courts comes in with a ruling making it easier for corporations to buy elections. As if they didn't already have enough power in the system already.

Best week ever.

Looks Like We are in a Bit of Trouble

Scott Brown wins in Massachusetts, time for waves of Democratic panic and recriminations.

Sorry About the all the Coups

Let's pull your people out of the rubble to make up for it.

Having people like you isn't hard. Just save their lives instead of killing them, and things turn around in a hurry.

So know How Much Trouble are We in?

We found out today, with the special election to replace Teddy the K in Massachusetts today. The race has been very close, with the Republican even wining in some polls, which is scary because, you know, blue state. With things being so tight in the Senate, going from 60 votes to 59 votes could make a real difference on how health care turns out. If Teddy knew things would go like this, he never would have died the way he did.

But don't worry folks, I've got an eye on the situation.

Bedfellows

Looks like Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez doesn't like the US humanitarian efforts to help in Haiti.

You know who also doesn't like it? Limbaugh and Beck.

Of course, Mr. Chavez really is a socialist, having his government sieze oil buisnesses and the like. Which means that Beck and Limbaugh are on the same side as a socialist. Which, if I understand the rules of evidence used in Beck's chalkboard of crazy, makes Beck and Limbaugh socialists.

Socialist! Evil!

Don't you see? They are everywhere!

Pride

For MLK day:

Play On

Wyclef Jean's 911

Seems fitting for the moment.

King of the Iron Fist

Oooo a Tekken movie. I killed many a quarter on the Tekken arcade game at the student union back in the day. Last stand-up arcade game I ever cared about. And like all good video games, eventually it gets its own bad movie:

Jerks

No matter what the disaster, we can always count on some jerks to say the worse thing possible. Conservative commenter's are very reliable like that.

Some people just don't know when to stop talking.

Who Killed NBC?

That would be Jeff Zucker, that's who. I could never say I love a TV network. But for a long time, I really liked NBC. You know, as a friend. But somewhere along the line, the whole relationship went south. And now Gawker makes the case for who to blame.

That County Ain't Got No Luck

Haitian earthquake has destroyed most of the capital city of Port-au-Prince.

The T Stands for Trouble

A port in North Carolina had themselves a bad spill:

The incident occurred when a forklift unloading a vessel punctured a large container and the drums inside it that contained the explosive compound PETN

PETN, that sounds familiar, isn't that...

The suspect in the attempted bombing of Northwest Flight 253 used a highly explosive substance called PETN, a law enforcement official told CBS News Saturday.

The stuff used by the underwear bomber. Unsuccessfully.

Oh and also:

Back in 2001, Richard Reid also tried to use PETN on a plane, and hid the explosive in his shoe. But all he set off was more safety precautions.

Yep, PETN is responsible for 2 failed bombs and an accidental spill. Lots of trouble this chemical.

First Question

Does it have floating mountains or giant, sexy, blue cat-people?

This is now the first question we must ask whenever they find a new planet these days.

These new planets feature a surface temperature of of 2,00 degrees, so I'm going to guess no lush jungles here.

Shoot.

Keep looking!

Oh Crap

TV shortens your life. Which means my current Deadwood marathon is sucking the life right out of me.

Guess I should stick with blogging. Till the next study comes out...

Via

Stunning News

Sarah Palin to become a Fox News contributor.

This could very well be the least surprising new I have ever heard.

The Pope Backs Action on Climate Change

How about that.

Around election time, there always lots of static about Pro-Choice Catholic politicos. How about we see some pressure on Catholic politicos who are trying to block action on climate change.

Let's put that Catholic guild to good use, for a change

Today's Activity

Yes!

Really good piece on terrorism, fear of terrorism, and all that.

I Swore I Predicted This

I could have sworn I wrote a blog post before the show was on the air about how the Jay Leno Show at 10:00 was doomed to failure, that there was no way Leno's shtick would hold up in prime time and the whole affair was going doom NBC.

But damn it if I haven't been all over my archives and can't find that post. I sure at the time I was thinking of writing it. I demand partial credit.

Real Life Lacks a Sense of Timing

So we did figure out that the underwear bomber needed a good hard look, just a little too late:

Reporting from Washington - U.S. border security officials learned of the alleged extremist links of the suspect in the Christmas Day jetliner bombing attempt as he was airborne from Amsterdam to Detroit and had decided to question him when he landed, officials disclosed Wednesday.

In the movies, of course, the database search would have gone "ding" and the phone call would get made and the agents would rush to airport gate JUST IN TIME. This being the real world, timing was a little off. We were waiting for him in Detroit, after he lit his fuse.

Everybody Hates Joe

Turns out, being a jerk doesn't make you popular. Joe Lieberman now has a job approval rating of 25% in Connecticut. That's really, really bad, just in case your wondering. 67 percent disapprove of the job he's doing. 19% Approve of the job he's doing on health care.

You know what, I really comforted by this poll. Bad actions should result in bad poll numbers. Joe Lieberman worked very hard to make health care reform legislation worse, for no other reason than spite. That kind of thing needs to be punished at the polls or we will never get better government.

So yeah, voter of Connecticut!

Not the Right Kind

There are certain scandals one would associate with the White House Office of Management and Budget Director. Not getting the numbers to add up is a perennial problem, and generally beyond any individual to fix. Actually telling the truth to the Atlantic Monthly that Supply-side economics is a giant scam and that your Administration has no clue with regard to the budget is my personal favorite.

But OMB directors are nerdy types, anti-social and concerned with math and numbers and such. This kind of stuff just isn't what you expect.

Lost is Coming Back!

The last season. Last chance to answer all those questions. And I have a lot of questions.

Here's a little video to catch everyone up on what's been going on for the last five seasons. I wouldn't think that would be possible in 8:15 or even eight hours, but here it is:

Retirements

So word is out that two Democratic Senators will not be seeking re-election this year. That's Dodd of Connecticut and Dorgan of North Dakota. Given how hard it is to knock off incumbent politicos in this Country, retirements have huge impacts on election outcomes. Dorgan leaving is a major hit. North Dakota doesn't exactly lean to the left, it is going to be damn hard to replace Dorgan with a Democrat. Dodd leaving, ironically enough, helps the donkeys. Dodd has been caught up in a rather thin scandal over his mortgage, and was going to have trouble getting re-elected. But Connecticut, Holy Joe not withstanding, does lean to the left, and whatever Dem runs in Dodd's place will have a better chance than Dodd himself.

Given the state of the Congress, this is how the entire progressive legislative agenda will be determined: by the career choices of aging US Senators. The right guys retire, its better health care, financial regulation, and the world doesn't die in fire. The wrong guys call it quites, and not so much.

White Hat

Ahmadinejad's web page got hacked.

Spy World/Real World

So last week a suicide bomber in Afghanistan killed seven CIA guys and a Jordanian Intelligence officer, the bomber turned out to be a trusted informer for Jordanian Intelligence. The incident is shining a light on the US-Jordan intelligence relationship.

You know where I first learned of the US-Jordan intelligence relationship? The movie Body of Lies. This is how my education in tradecraft works. I see the movie version, then I find out about the real.

UPDATE: Wow. David Ignatius, columnist for the Washington Post, wrote the book Body of Lies was based on. He also writes about the real stuff, and seems is a bit of a hack. All this real and fiction spy stuff is getting mixed up.

I'm not sure who to trust.

A Symbol for Our Age

Dubai just opened the Burj Khalifa, the worlds new tallest building. Sure the whole country is on the verge of default, much of the building is going to go empty for lack of tenants, and three workers died in making the thing, but darn if it don't look impressive.

They Think He's Coming Back

Matt Y flags this from the New York Times:

A half-dozen former senior Bush officials involved in counterterrorism told me before the Christmas Day incident that for the most part, they were comfortable with Obama’s policies, although they were reluctant to say so on the record. Some worried they would draw the ire of Cheney’s circle if they did.

Why would they fear Cheney? I mean, yes, he's a evil, vindictive son-of-a-bitch, but he's never going to be in power again, right? I mean, he was the most unpopular part of a disastrously unpopular Administration. He's never going to get elected to anything ever again. He will never be a position to punish people for praising Obama Administration policies, would he? He is as dead politically as we have in American. Unless...

I've been using the wrong pop culture reference to understand Cheney. What if he isn't "Darth Cheney?" What if he really is destined to return, in defiance of all logic and common sense? I mean, the only way he could come back is dark magic, right? Really dark.

Do we need to start calling him the Vice-President-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?

Time to Get Tricky

Looks like Congress will be bypassing the normal way of doing things in order to get health care reform to the finish line.

Why? Because Congressional procedure has become a twisted parody of itself, used only by a nihilistic opposition to destroy any chance at real reform. Damn the procedure, full steam ahead.

Off Broaway

And now an off Broadway production of the Science Fiction, um, "classic" Independence Day:

ID4: Off Broadway from Samuel Eidson on Vimeo.

Via

Movie Review:Street Fight

Finally worked through my netflix's que to Street Fight an extremely compelling documentary about the 2002 mayoral campaign in Newark, New Jersey. I know it seems like you couldn't care about this if lived outside of Newark, New Jersey, but trust me, you will care about who wins this race between the golden boy challenger Cory Booker and the willy old incumbent, Sharpe James. What unfolds in this race hits every issues at play in American politics: race, age, reform, class, scandal, urban renewal and more.

The film also shines a light on a much rougher and darker brand of local politics than I've come across in my time. I've worked a number of campaigns in jurisdictions across Northern California and worked in local government in a few more and I've never seen the kind of dirty that gets played in Newark. The incumbent administration had police and firefighters tearing down the challenger's signs in broad daylight and uses City Code Enforcement officials to shut down business's that support the opposition. Not to get too self-righteous, but that kind of crap just would not just not fly where I'm from. It would hit the press in a second and anybody trying it would be roasted alive. But New Jersey is just a different kind of place, those kind of moves just get shrugged off as "politics."

But enough about a much cleaner NorCal politics is that Jersey, your main take-away from this post is that Street Fight is well worth your time to check out.

Can't Help Myself

What's Coming in 2010

In an effort to improve the prediction technology used here at Craigorian Chant, I was reviewing previous predictions posts, all of which can be accessed with this handy label. I think this one from last year holds up very well:

The Obama administration will do four things to annoy the crap out of me, and will do 15 things that just tickle me pink.

Too bad this one didn't:

I will miss the comic stylings of Sarah Palin, especial in these hard economic times.

How can I miss her if she never leaves!

I was strangely certain at the start of 2006 that Phil Angelides was going to become Governor of California in 2006, but otherwise my 2006 election prediction remains my best to date.

So what's next?

Avatar wins every special effect, sound, and technical Oscar available. They will even create new awards to give it. Screenplay? Not so much.

I will get a new job. Or become homeless. Could go either way at this point.

The Obama Administration will continue to tickle and annoy in the same ratio as in 2009.

Frozen Concentrated Orange Juice Futures. Invest now. You heard it here first.

The 2010 mid-terms elections are going to be largely a wash. Hundreds of millions spent, millions of words written, and the Congress is going to look pretty much the same, before and after.

Jerry Brown is going to become Governor. Again. Oh boy.

David Simon is going to have a new show. I'm going to be looking forward to it.

Very good public policy will continue to die a slow death in the Senate.

I will continue to get conservative bullshit e-mails forwarded to me, and I will try to not respond. I won't be able to help myself.

We will leave Iraq. It will be so anti-climatic you won't even believe it happened.

My apartment is getting clean. Today. It will not stay that way.

We will stay in Afghanistan. That's going to get dramatic.

Finally pushed to far, an aroused and heavily armed citizenry will finally fight back against the tyranny of the SociNaziTerrBama Administration. Hopefully the FBI arrests all three before they hurt anybody.

All Craigorian Chant readers will have a safe and happy New Year.

What do you think is going to happen?

Decade in Review

Economically speaking, it sucked.

Things that Make You Go Hmmmmm

I don't mean to alarm anybody but in a poll on the most admired man by Americans, Glenn Beck is tied with THE POPE

Hillary and Barack remains comfortably at the top, but sill, boy, Americans, I just don't know.

Russia to Deflect Asteroid

Sure, the odds of this particulate asteroid hitting the earth so this is kinda a waste of time and money, but this how awesome Russia is going to feel when they do this. They totally kicked that asteroid's ass. So much better than say, invading a neighboring Country, which is something that Russia is always a threat to do.

I'm a big advocate of space exploration. The benefits are many, but one is that it gives you all the excitement and hard-ons of war, without all the death.

Good Long Talk

Vice Magazine has a epic interview with David Simon, creator of the The Wire.

Geing Old Doesn't Mean Slowing Down

The 86-year-old governor of a southern Indian state has resigned, after a tape came to light showing him in bed with 3 women.

Wow.

I mean, sorry about losing your job and all, grandfather, but still...

Well done sir, well done.

West Wing Gossip

Your red hot West Wing gossip of the day:

Resident Obama Administration nerd and Director of the Office of Management and Budget Peter Orszag is now engaged to ABC newsbabe Bianna Golodryga.

We now return to our regualy scedualed policy program, "Balacing the Federal Budget in 124 Easy Steps

The Fight Goes On

Fresh wave of protests and crackdowns in Iran. Stay safe people

The Science of Avatar

A professor of astrophysics gives his take. Except for the floating mountains, pretty good marks.

More Restrictions

It comes like clockwork. Attempt gets foiled and more restrictions get put in place. How long before flying just becomes impossible. At what point do we kill that which we are trying to protect?

Lego Christmas

I get legoes every year.

Today's Moment of Zen

Avatar Reviewed

First off, lets make this clear Avatar is the best looking thing you will in theaters this decade. Absolutely amazing. From broad scenery porn to the tiniest detail, every single bit of this movie is staggeringly good-looking.

As for plot, what you've heard is true. Dances with Wolves IN SPACE. The aliens are the clearest Native American stand-in you've ever seen in Sci-Fi.

I do have some nit-picks. The alien mineral at the root of the movies conflict is called Unobtanium. For real. Dozens of amazing creatures and war machines created down to last detail and they couldn't spend another 10 minuets to come up with a better name that Unobtanium. Its not unobtainable! Obtaining this material is triggering an interstellar war! Get a better name name.

One last point. If, in the future we ever find a race of noble alien savages living atop an incalculably valuable resource, we are going to let them be. You know why? Because we will all have grown up seeing the movie classic Avatar, and we will know better.

60

We got sixty votes on health care. Sure it was messy, Lieberman made it worse, Nelson made it worse, and the whole proccess make you want to vomite, we are getting close to the end.

Time for Holiday Special

The story of Prep & Landing, the elite group of elves who make Christmas possible:

How the Wire has Affected my Brain

Posting those best quotes of The Wire has triggered a full blown marathon rewatching. I've made it through seasons 1-3. I'm debating season 4, cause that one always makes me cry. Carver, when he can't help Randy pounding the steering wheel. Gets me every time. But this massive download has started to affect my brain. In particular:

1. I find myself whistling "Farmer in the Dell" whenever I walk down a dark city street at night. I find myself walking down dark city streets a lot more.

2. I catch myself about to say stuff a 32-year old white guy just shouldn't say. Prop Joe's "I'm living with some burdensome niggers" is a personal favorite.

3. When hitting on women, I find myself asking "what would Jimmy McNulty do?" in business situations, I find myself asking "What would Prop Joe do?" Asking yourself "What would Stringer Bell do?" works well for both situations.

4. I now know that a man must have a code. I'm working on my code.

5. When I start my massive criminal empire, I will be known simply as "The German." Of course, I'm not even German.

6. I no longer get dressed. I "make myself correct."

7. The Gods will not save me. I am coming to terms with this.

8. I am not cut out for this gangster bullshit. That, I have come to terms with it.

9. I'm drawing out the i when I say shit. I've attempted to hold entire conversations using only the word fuck. Sadly, I have yet to be in a situation where calling someone a gaping asshole would be appropriate, but I hope to soon.

10. More and more, I'm starting to think that the war on drug is a horrible farce.

Your Cathartic Moment

Franken denies Lieberman more speaking time:



Maybe a little petty, but at this point, Lieberman deserves all the petty we can heap on him.

Making Lists

and naming "of the year" is a good way to spend the waning days of 2009. Plus, we are closing out the decade so you can also write up "of the decade"

For my money, Salon's Crazy of the Year is well worth reviewing. For my money, the rise of Glenn is the most fascinating and/or scary development of the year, hands down.

William F Buckley Really is Dead

They are letting the John Birch Society back into the conservative movement.

More here.

Procedure Sucks

Well done:

To make matters more complicated, the Senate stumbled into health care gridlock after a Republican senator forced the clerk to read aloud a 767-page amendment.

Parliamentary procedures of all kinds, including my own nemesis, Robert's Rules of Order, are intended to allow meeting and decision to be orderly, rational, and fair. When we all have to live with the laws and policy being created, be they by your local school board or the US Senate, there has to be rules for making those laws. Anything else is dictatorship. Maybe a small and petty dictatorship (HOA's!) but still "Got to. This America, man."

But every parliamentary procedure system I've seen runs into the same fatal flaws to one degree or another. Too complex, to easy to manipulate, too dependent on the whims of the officials. Done right, procedure means decisions are timely, democratic, and open. But in the hands of the dumb or the venal you get the reading aloud of a 767 page amendment.

I Take It All Back

Fight Health Care Reform, get a free trip to Hooters!

There are huge amounts of money at stake in the health care debate, and lots of money being made by bad, bad people. People who are willing to spend a lot of money and say just about anything to kill reform and keep their money. A free trip to Hooters is just funny, but is just the edge of the massive resources being brought to bear to kill HCR.

This is hard

I Love Italy

So a crazy-man hit Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in the face with a statuettes of Milan's cathedral.

The statuette is now a best seller.

Keys to the Kingdom

Well, it may not be the missing time on the Nixon White House Tapes, but there could be something real there:

The White House has announced a settlement in a lawsuit filed by two good-government groups concerning emails that went missing over a two-and-a-half year period during the Bush administration.

Under the terms of the deal, 94 days of emails -- which could shed light on controversial topics that the Bush administration sought to obscure from public view, such as the Valerie Plame scandal and the run-up to the war in Iraq -- will be transferred to the National Archives, and eventually made public.

Now, the Bush Administration fought long and hard to keep these e-mails from the light of day, including lying about whether the e-mail even existed, so I'm assuming that they contain a bit more than Karl Rove's lunch order. Normally, this stuff would only be useful for the historians, but with Cheney and daughter-of-Cheney running around telling us how to run the Country, know the inside scoop on how they messed it up is pretty usfull.

Never a Cop Around

So today I tried to get a fix-it ticket signed off. Seeing as I can't get a cop to come straight to my door unless my neighbor shoots me, I have to go to them. I had to try three different police stations before I actually found one with somebody home. Two stations, the two closest to Craigorian Chant World Headquarters, now have no office hours. None. Clearly this is a budget thing, and hopefully no cops at the station means more cops on the street, but I have to admit, walking up to police stations with no police in them doesn't make one feel very safe.

Lieberman

Would you look at that, Lieberman is doing his best to stop health care reform. Keep in mind that this is a guy who want John McCain to be President, so in the end it's not surprising that in the end, he tries to screw Obama. The sad fact is that in a Senate that needs 60 votes to pass something, Lieberman is the 60th vote. That gives the man tremendous leverage, leverage which he has been using to both make the legislation worse and to block it outright. It really is an unfair world where the health of millions lies in the hands of one old disgruntled Senator, but this is world we have.

Rock the Season

Let's Get Trippy

Let's Get Seasonal Up in Here

Via

Soccer!

The United State's first game of the World Cup next year is agaist England. Epic! Here's the story of the last time these teams got it on in the Cup.

Also it looks like Landon Donovan is heading to Everton on loan. This is very exciting news. Everton, official English Premier League Team of Craigorian Chant, has just been wrecked with injuries. Donovan needs top-flight experience, and Everton needs goals. Everton already has the best American Goalie in the world in Tim Howard, so why not add the best American striker.

And just to prove that I am no johnny-come-lately Everton fan, here's a shot of my authentic supporter's scarf, airmailed to me straight from England:

Surreal Moment of the Day

Obama accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, talking of wars.

More Greatness from The Wire

All the great lines from The Wire cannot be contained in just one 10-minute YouTube clip. Here's some more:



Not even close to safe for work. You get a lot of things out of The Wire, not the least of which, it will elevate your swearing game.

Just Go Right to the Rebutal

Don't bother to read Sarah Palin piece of crap Op-Ed on climate science today. It's just lies. Not even worth the time it takes to let it load up on your browser.

Just go to this version, which comes with all the lies already refuted. Much more efficient.

Forgot the Safe Word

You know, this is why I stay away from activities that require a safe word.

Republican sex: really dangerous.

Jobs!

Obama rolls out new jobs initiative.

GOP plan? Not so much.

One Hit

Congratulations to Daniel Powter, whose "Bad Day" has been named One Hit Wonder of the Decade by Billboard Magazine. I always liked this song, despite the overplaying, and the video is just too cute for words.

Things I Never Understood

Why nice, trying-to-be reporter neutral Mara Liasson allows herself to be set up as the "liberal" on FoxNews panels. She sucks at presenting the liberal case, because she thinks of herself as a reporter who doesn't take sides but being on Fox News and being on those panels hurts her credibility as a reporter

So why does she do it?

Making Sausage

When the United States Senate starts making policy, it's hard to watch.

Crashing is a Superpower

Express Yourself

24 ways to give the finger.

Rock On

Not Brazil, Not Brazil, Not Brazil.

World Cup final draw today. Very important that team USA draw countries that we can beat, and stays out of groups with world powerhouses.

Here's hoping for nice, doable countries, like Denmark or Uruguay. No whammies. Germany or Spain is a whammy.

UPDATE: England! Our old friend. Plus Slovenia and Algeria. England's always tough, but those two we can take.

Invest in Piracy!

Other forms of investment may be fraud, so why just invest in outright robbery instead.

A more honest form of crime

Conversation of the Day

"Oh great!"

"What?"

"Now we are going to get weeks and weeks on Tiger Wood's penis and what it's done."

"Really isn't any of our business, is it?"

"Well, he keeps trying to sell me a Buick. I think I should know what his penis has been up to."

Ban Divorce

A real California Prop. Proposed anyway. This state always surprises me. It's time for the "Defense of Marriage" folks to put up. Letting gay folks get married doesn't hurt marriage. In fact, that leads to more marriages! Divorce is what hurts marriage. Without divorce, marriage would be perfectly safe. Make divorce illegal, and everyone stays married.

And happy.

The Magic of the CIA

No, no its not a code word or tech that looks like magic.

They really did use magic.

Lego Matrix

Something to start your week off right:


EMBED-The Matrix Done with Legos - Watch more free videos

Dick Cheney: Still Evil

Keep in mind that as we chew over Obama's new moves on Afghanistan, he is cleaning up after the worst of the worst.