Friday, October 31, 2008

Quote of the Day

"With so much energy in Venezuela, how can we be without power?" asked Fernando Aponte, 49, whose slum neighborhood of Las Delicias in San Felix spent 15 days without electricity


KT has yet another lesson on the long and winding road to FAIL that is socialism.

He certainly is


Sick and tired of that shorn, wife-beating, tax-cheating campaign mascot that’s in the news every time you turn around? Sure you are. Then sink your teeth into this authentic American alternative:

I AM BILL. I am the everyday forgotten little guy in your neighborhood, the quiet anarcho-syndicalist family man who gets up early and punches the clock at the local state university, writing the manifestos and polemics and grant proposals that keep America humming. I'm just doing my job, and all I ask in return is a little respect. And tenure. And Chicago Citizen of the Year awards. And two graduate assistants to grade exams for Practicum in Imperialist Racist Hegemony 311, because I'm teaching two sections this semester. Also, a sabbatical to Italy next summer would be nice.


More here from Iowahawk.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

The sadly obligatory Philly Fan "celebrates" World Series victory post

Philly's finest arrive just in time to (almost) save a car from getting trashed and then flipped.



... but what was the person who owned that car thinking when he/she parked there?

Quite by accident or more accurately, force majeure, MLB commish Bud Selig stumbled into quite an appealing idea... to us at least. That 3-1/2 inning ballgame we watched last night was great! High drama in primetime that decided the World Series winner all wrapped up in a nice neat 1 hr. and 15 minute bow. What's not too like about that?

Anyway, congrats to the Phillies and the city of Philadelphia which had gone 25 years without a championship in any of the 4 major sports. But as ESPN analyst and former Phillie himself, John Kruk said last night: "In Philadelphia, it just seems like so much longer."

H/T: DeadSpin

Just asking because we really don't know


Is there any way to know whether or not this picture was taken at sunrise or sunset?

Does the difference in temperatures (colder at dawn than at dusk) or moisture content in the air do anything to visibly alter the color spectrum where one could tell by the naked eye when this picture was taken?

With a front moving in this afternoon, it should be a spectacular sunset this evening.

Suit, Lies and Videotape

"The more important point is that the Obama campaign, to my knowledge, has played no role in the decision made by the Times."


In a normal election, making the explicit point that the candidate’s campaign had nothing to do with a media outlet’s decision would seem to be redundant but given that this is no normal election and given that the media’s treatment of the subject candidate vis a vis the other candidate has been extremely suspect, this statement speaks volumes.

More here from Alan Dershowitz on the videotape the L.A. Times refuses to show as they allege it came from a confidential source - excuse #4 that was 3 days in the making.

We don’t believe them anymore.

H/T: LGF

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Meanwhile, back at the Ranch....


"...‘millipede’, ‘spigot’, ‘curvaceous’, vivacious’, ‘shade tree’, ‘cool breeze’, ‘bill of lading’, and of course, ‘socialist’, ‘street corner, ‘anthropod’, ‘Geico customer’, ‘hard hat’, ‘steel-toe safety shoes’, ‘wire-rim glasses’, ‘Cheech’, ‘Chong’, ‘Return to the Valley of the Dolls’, ‘Ring of Fire’, ‘cyclical’, ‘cynical’, ‘biblical’, ……

….’Coach Janky Spanky’, ‘Dr. Dooitch Bigg’, ‘random acts of kindness’, ‘quatrain’, ‘Coltraine’, 'Train in Vain' 'Ron Cey', 'Ron Mexico', 'Ron Turner', 'Bachman-Turner Overdrive', ‘polling data’, ‘double digit inflation’, ‘triple-digit, I.Q., ‘single-digit interest rates’, ‘Tony Romo’, ‘FDR’, ‘JFK’, ‘HUD’, ‘HHS’….”


(lone remaining reporter): “Uhh, governor… excuse me... excuse me, governor but the state of New York faces a historically unprecedented 4-year budget deficit of $47 billion which is $20 billion higher than projected since you started these remarks a couple of months ago."

Patterson: “What? Oh yeah, that’s correct. That’s why I’m going to Washington to get my marker in for federal aid. Everyone realizes the Big Apple is the engine that drives this nation’s financial sector and with the hit we’ve taken… well, let’s just say that I’m losing my ass big-time without that white collar tax revenue and I need a little somethin’-somethin’ to fund Medicaid and the state’s unemployment insurance."

Reporter: "Are you worried that after the Big Three auto manufacturers have come to Washington with their hat in hand that the public might be tired of these bailouts?"

Patterson: "They have?"

Reporter: "Who? The public?"

Patterson: "No, the Big Three."

Reporter: "Yep."

Patterson: “Well, damn. I gotta on a roll there and kinda lost track of time. Hey, at least I’ll be the first state in line for a federal handout…. I’ll beat that chump Schwarzenegger to the trough who will probably be whining about a slumping movie industry or illegal immigration or something like that. Besides, I want to do it here in short order. Groveling by the light of the Holiday tree just appears unseemly."

Reporter: "How much are you going to ask for, governor?"

Patterson: "I don’t want to be too direct… but I was thinking of something well below most of the other bail outs to not draw too much attention to our plight but also a nice round number like… $89 billion. Whaddya think?"

Reporter: “Whatever you say, gov’. So when are you going up to the Hill?”

Patterson: “Tomorrow”

Reporter (playfully): “So no big plans for tonight?”

Patterson: “Very funny, wise guy. Listen, when I got into this business of “public service” there was quite a bit of quid for the quo, if you know what I mean but Spitzer had to go and screw the whole deal up. Hookers…? Please."

Reporter: “Good night, then, governor.”

Patterson: “Late’…”

Our photo entry today for...

...You Park like an A-hole.com


A long-awaited change

... but first, Awful Announcing's picture and caption contest...

and the winner is...



"Worst. Renaissance Fair. Ever."- Anon


On a somewhat related football note, the Chargers' Defensive Coordinator, Ted Cottrell was fired yesterday and will be replaced by linebackers coach, Ron Rivera. We're sure Cottrell is a good man who is a good husband and a loving and caring father but he was a horrible fit for this defense. His insistence in having the Chargers' aggressive defensive backs sit back in a zone while simultaneously not getting any pressure on the quarterback was a recipe for disaster. Now it's Rivera's turn to see what he can do to get the defense back on track.

Rivera, while at Chicago as the Bears' D-Con was known for his aggressive, blitzing style. While we are not saying that this is the formula for success for every defense, the Chargers' personnel certainly lends itself to aggressive man-to-man coverage and getting to the quarterback off the edge with the pass rush. It will be interesting to see how Rivera adjusts to the Chargers' 3-4 scheme as he ran a 4-3 in Chicago. Regardless, this is the move that had to be made if the Chargers hope to make it to the playoffs and at 3-5, they had to pull the trigger sooner than later.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Slashers: Congressional Style


Curious as to what a veto-proof Democratic Congress may look like? In keeping with the spirit of Halloween, a couple of Democratic Congressmen give us a peek at coming attractions.

Powerful House Democrats are eyeing proposals to overhaul the nation’s $3 trillion 401(k) system, including the elimination of most of the $80 billion in annual tax breaks that 401(k) investors receive.
House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller, D-California, and Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Washington, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee’s Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support, are looking at redirecting those tax breaks to a new system of guaranteed retirement accounts to which all workers would be obliged to contribute.


“Overhaul”… “Obliged”…? Hmmmm. It does have a softer tone than “wreck” and “forced”, though, doesn’t it?


Let’s break this down to the basics. We are in debt. We are massively in debt and face even more debt as we contemplate bailing out the auto industry and depending on who’s getting sworn-in in January, toy with the idea of universal health care amongst all other manner of foolishness. And who’s going to pay for all this goodness? Well, you are, of course….. but how? For one, by Congress getting their hands on the estimated $2 trillion of estimated revenue over the past 15 years lost to the government because of tax-deferred savings accounts.

But don’t worry, Teresa Ghilarducci of the New School for Social Research (that title alone has train wreck written all over it) has got a plan. In return for wacking our 401(k) tax deferment, we would receive a $600 annual inflation-adjusted subsidy (read: a, hey, no hard feelings, bub “government kickback”) in return for being “obliged” to “invest” 5 percent of our pay into a guaranteed retirement account administered by the Social Security Admin which would pay a whopping 3% a year, adjusted for inflation.

Now, if you are thinking, “Gee, Beers, that sounds suspiciously like something we are “obliged” to pay into already that is administered by the SSA”, you would be entirely correct in that assessment but Ms. Ghilarducci, who has been testifying to this effect in front of Miller and Baghdad Jim, frankly doesn’t give a damn what you are thinking.

“I want to stop the federal subsidy of 401(k)s,” Ghilarducci said in an interview. “401(k)s can continue to exist, but they won’t have the benefit of the subsidy of the tax break.”

Under the current 401(k) system, investors are charged relatively high retail fees, Ghilarducci said.
(ed.: what this statement has to do with anything relative to what she is proposing is lost on us)

“I want to spend our nation’s dollar for retirement security better. Everybody would now be covered” if the plan were adopted, Ghilarducci said.
She has been in contact with Miller and McDermott about her plan, and they are interested in pursuing it, she said.


Awesome.

Its so nice to know that someone much smarter than us has got our back whether we realize it or not.

Unfortunately and despite what Ghilarducci has to say, 401(k)s will cease to exist if this plan is implemented because that big fat tax deferral at the front end of the paycheck along with the employers’ matching contribution is perhaps the biggest reason why people got into 401(k)s in the first place.

But all that, with the corollary benefit of depriving the federal government trillions of dollars while pumping the same into the private sector.... gone come January.

Think about it.

Exit question: How long is it before Congress starts talking about eliminating the home loan interest exemption?

Dear Obama, please protect us from your supporters Pt. II

"Our practice is when someone is thrust quickly into the public spotlight, we often take a look" at them, Jones-Kelley said, citing a case where a lottery winner was found to owe past-due child support. "Our practice is to basically look at what is coming our way."

That from Helen Jones-Kelly, director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services and Obama supporter(?) confirming that, yep, she OK’d the check on Joe the Plumber.

What we hope is coming her way is some sort of criminal investigation.

But there’s nothing to worry about…

Democrat Gov. Ted Strickland is satisfied that there are no political overtures to the check on Wurzelbacher, a spokesman said.
"Based on what we know to this point, we don't have any reason to believe the information was improperly accessed or disclosed by a state employee," said Keith Dailey, Strickland's press secretary.


Ya hear that? Now, just move along because there is nothing more here to see.

P.S. Would be curious to know her and Strickland's stance on FISA.

Survivors for....?


Given Suit’s rather suspect voting record in the matters of reproductive health(?), any further commenting would risk venturing into “poor taste” territory.

H/T: Little Green Footballs

Monday, October 27, 2008

Time for some hard ball?


We got back from Vegas a few hours ago and have been in de-compress mode ever since. Between a bowl of soup, the Monday Night game and Game 5 of the World Series, we’ll share some random thoughts on our weekend in Sin City, baseball, football and the elections that were, unfortunately, encroaching into our Vegas bubble more than we desired, in a series of updated posts.

And speaking of Game 5… the Phillies have themselves set up perfectly to wrap things up at home this evening as their ace Cole Hamels (4-0 in the playoffs this year) takes the hill against the Tampa Rays, Scott Kazmir. This should give Philly’s finest a riot-control live scrimmage opportunity against Philly's passionate and championship-starved fans in preparation for 8 days from now when this historic election will take place and win or lose, hordes of Sarah Palin supporters will take to the streets in America’s larger cities in either a really good mood or a very nasty mood.

The Giants-Steelers game yesterday was a highly entertaining affair featuring two of the more high profile teams in the league and would’ve been a perfect fit for NBC’s Sunday night prime-time slot except for the fact there was no Sunday night game last night. Why? Fox was broadcasting Game 4 of the World Series and the NFL was protecting one of its broadcast partners (Fox carries the NFC games) by not airing a game opposite that most surely would bury any World Series match up short of Red Sox-Yankees (uhhh, Beers? The Sox cannot play the Yankees in the World Series. Well, there you have it.) in what is already a historically low-rated Series.

We understand why the NFL does want to protect Fox but next time the T.V. contract is up and we’re Roger Goddell, we make it very clear to Ed Goren and the gang at Fox that the free pass on that first Sunday of the Series is over and that the NFL intends on running the Sunday night game as scheduled. Hey, we’re not totally heartless towards the national pastime… if the NFL has decreed Sunday night as “Football Night in America” with the prime match-ups then they need to start acting like it. As such, we could be talked into possibly giving up the now second-tier Monday night game (which, on the whole, has provided better games than the Sunday night affairs) for this late-October baseball sacrifice.

Picture is from I-15 North and the first pulse-quickening look at the California-Nevada border and its casinos.

(UPDATE #1): Suit was everywhere in Vegas and boy, was that ever a bummer. Well, to be precise, he was on T.V. an awful lot which we still resented. Imagine chilling at the the sportsbook, keeping an eye on the games while handicapping the ponies, when the benevolent patriarchal visage of America’s favorite infanticidal socialist pops-up on the big screen. Buzz. Kill. At least Kerry had the common decency (if not the funds) to not interrupt our blissfully ignorant-to-the-rest-of-the-world Breeder’s Cup weekend back in ’04.

Bumper stickers: We have absolutely no data to back this up – it is merely an anecdotal observation but for all the passion that Suit has supposedly generated among the Democratic faithful, we recall actually seeing more Kerry-Edwards stickers out and about in '04 than Suit-Gas Bag bumper stickers.

… and is anyone really surprised by this:

"State and local officials are investigating if state and law-enforcement computer systems were illegally accessed when they were tapped for personal information about "Joe the Plumber."
The speed by which the dirt on Joe the Plumber was unearthed certainly suggested something was amiss.

Or this: Barbara West, a news anchor in south Florida was interviewing Gasbagus Maximus and had the unwitting bad luck to use the word “Marx” as in, “Karl Marx” with regard to a question she asked concerning Obama’s economic policies. Gas-Max didn’t appreciate it and, again, faster than one can say, "G. Gordon Liddy" we find out that Barbara West's husband is a scofflaw of very minor proportions. Again, do not answer that door!

Quote of the Day Pt. II

"This has been a terrible year, capping off a terrible eight years, because we have been betrayed by the party we thought most wedded to the cause of liberty."


Despite living in a blue state and despite the bad news(?) from the polls, B-Daddy reminds us of why its important we turn out on November 4th, here.

P.S. Yes, we're back. We'll have more on our trip to Vegas in a jif.

Quote of the Day

The “mainstream” media, or what is left of it, has favored and fawned over Obama from the start--even before the current parade of official endorsements. Much of the coverage has been egregiously slanted. Just ask Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Who said it? Capt. Ed? Brent Bozell? Ann Coulter? Nope.

That assessment would come from none other than one working in the belly of the beast in the person of Howard Fineman, Newsweek's senior Washington Correspondent and columnist, senior editor and deputy Washington Bureau Chief.

Exit question: To highlight the absurdity of Big Media's behavior, ask yourself what got all the play last week? Biden's paranoid-delusional rant about Obama's foreign policy inexperience or Sarah Palin's wardrobe?

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Picture of the Day



For the love of all that is right... DO NOT ANSWER THAT DOOR!!!

H/T: Baseball Crank

Got Icon?



IowaHawk in an uncommon moment of seriousness with thoughts on Joe the Plumber.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

'Cause if you can't laugh at yourself...

The following was a reader comment left at article here. It amused us as it was a warm-hearted critique given in the context of a brass knuckled-election season.


McCain handles his campaign like someone who does not know how to decorate a Christmas tree... Every day it seems like a decoration he put in there before, he does not like and he swaps it out for another decoration. Time and time again he switches out the lights, and replaces them with others. He just can't get a handle on whether to get the lights from Walmart or..., and in the end he buys them at Macy's, because Cindy likes the ones at Macy's, she is used to get the ones at Macy's. Then the Christmas tree decorating is interrupted to buy some more lights, because instead of bying the evergy savers, he decides on the incandescents anyway. Finally he is in a quandrum about how the tree looks... it's crooked and he decides to start all over again. Instead of an artifical one he orders one from Alaaskaa... a real one! He asks Joe the lumber guy to seek one out, when it arrives on site, the tree is too tall and Joe must cut the top off to get it in the living room. He hires Sarah to decorate the tree and she does not like John decorations, so she goes out shopping to get some new ones at "Tarjee." Finally they set it up and when it is finally up and decorated, they all realize they forgot to put the live tree in a bucket to keep it watered and moist. They both decide they will leave it the way it is, because they will get rid of it anyway after the season, and before soon the tree dries up and loses all of it's needles before the end of the season. Joyeux Noel... they sing, and their wishes went in the mail without their names...
- The Christmas Tree


Pax.

So, what do you got going on tomorrow?

Received an email from our old roommate from Seminary, Jonesy, title “Busy Sunday”



Greetings,

Becca & I have a very busy Sunday.

Here is our itinery:

9:00 AM Awake after victory celebration of PSU's win over OSU.

10:30 AM Attend church service , give thanks for PSU's win over OSU, pray for Philly teams.

1:00 PM Attend Eagles Game at the Link, watch Birds beat up on Falcons. Watch Philly's own Matt "Ice" Ryan play well in loss.

4:00 PM Attend Flyers-Devils game at First Union/Watchovia/Wells Fargo stadium. Hopefully Flyers get 1st win of season.

8:00 PM Morgan heads to Phillies game at Citizens Bank Balpark for Game 4 of World Series.

9:00 PM Becca heads over to Spectum to see Who concert with friend.

12:00 PM Meet up in parking lot and head home for recovery.

Total Cost of Day: $(redacted). Totally worth it.


Later.


A busy day, indeed that might even get the nod over Mongo’s Saturday afternoon/evening double dipping at the Coliseum (USC) and Rose Bowl (UCLA) which entails a cross-town commute as opposed to Jonesy’s sojourn in the South Philly sports complex where all these venues reside.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Theocracy Rescue

...by the time this is posted, we will hopefully be in the warm and loving embrace of the South Point Hotel and Casino sports book throwing good money after bad at the ponies in the first day of the Breeder's Cup Challenge and since we are out of pocket, we apologize in advance for not hitting you back on any comments you leave for the rest of the weekend.

Hey, you thought that strong-arming private banks to sell shares to the government thing was a bitchin’ idea? Wait ‘til you see what Argentina’s government is doing to get their hands on more cash. Let’s put it this way: If you live in Argentina, the “your” in “your 401(k)” is wide open to interpretation.

KT has the scoop, here.

This comes on the heels of Congress going Willie Sutton and holding hearings to ummmm… “persuade” private universities to spend a little of their fat endowments.

It would appear, "private" is quite open to interpretation currently in the good ol' U.S. of A.

Your much anticipated Tim Mahoney update

Mahoney..? C'mon, you remember him.

Unfortunately, though, there is not a whole lot on which to update.


H/T: Instapundit. We swear it... Glenn Reynolds sent us there.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Covering the bases

Police departments in cities across the country are beefing up their ranks for Election Day, preparing for possible civil unrest and riots after the historic presidential contest.
Public safety officials said in interviews with The Hill that the election, which will end with either the nation’s first black president or its first female vice president, demanded a stronger police presence.


Because win or lose, it's very possible hordes of Palin supporters will be taking to the streets on Election night.

Some worry that if Barack Obama loses and there is suspicion of foul play in the election, violence could ensue in cities with large black populations. Others based the need for enhanced patrols on past riots in urban areas (following professional sports events) and also on Internet rumors.


No internet rumors cited or linked to.

Democratic strategists and advocates for black voters say they understand officers wanting to keep the peace, but caution that excessive police presence could intimidate voters.
Sen. Obama (Ill.), the Democratic nominee for president, has seen his lead over rival Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) grow in recent weeks, prompting speculation that there could be a violent backlash if he loses unexpectedly.

Carville said Democratic anger in 2004 “would be very small to what would happen in 2008” if the same problems arose.
Carville said earlier this month that “it would be very, very, very dramatic out there” if Obama lost, a statement some commentators interpreted as predicting riots. In an interview Tuesday, however, Carville said he did not explicitly predict rioting.

TEMPLATE. SET.

Story here.

H/T: American Thinker

As surely as the Sun rises in the East...

The State of Hawai'i drops its Universal health care coverage for children.

"People who were already able to afford health care began to stop paying for it so they could get it for free," said Dr. Kenny Fink, the administrator for Med-QUEST at the Department of Human Services. "I don't believe that was the intent of the program."


Yeah, we don't believe it was the intent of the program either, Doc, but that was the 100%, sure-fire, guaran-dadgum-teed consequence of providing a "free" service.

Story here.

Snopes is never going to give you up


We received an email from some friends and family members titled:

"Snopes is owned by a flaming liberal and this man is in the tank for Obama."

No way. No way are we falling for that. We looked for a link on this email which would send us to hurtling head-long to the hell that is rick rolled but did not find any such link.

OK, then. Perhaps we dodged that bullet. But what, then, of the claim? The body of the email claimed long-held suspicions and also that YouTube videos in question “didn’t square with the Snopes propaganda.”

So what did we do, then? Oh, you better believe we did. Of course we went to Snopes.com to ask them if they were owned by “a flaming liberal”. The search results page is here. Nothing. Nada. Zippo. Which is mildly curious in and of itself since we have yet to have an alleged urban myth forwarded to us to which Snopes did not have a response.

So BeerswithDemo.com on the claim that Snopes.com is owned by “a flaming liberal who is in the tank for Obama”.

Status: Inconclusive

Stay tuned

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Crisis Averted

Baseball and those who still follow the sport were spared a match-up between the most vile and hate-filled fans in sports and the most over-the-top obnoxious fans in sports.

The Tampa Bay Rays, they of the most indifferent fans in baseball, will square-off against the Philadelphia Phillies and their venom-spewing followers.

Baseball Crank, a schizophrenic blog site that can’t decide whether or not they want to be a sports site or a politico/currents site (dontcha hate those?) breaks down the keys to the success of the Rays' worst to first season here.

We like the Rays for no other reason than the Rays wrapped up the ALCS against the Red Sox on Sunday, had a nice little two day break and are back at it again for Game 1 this evening at home while the Phillies last played what seems like last month. Momentum, continuity, pitching rotation/rest all thrown out of whack due to the long layoff.

He can see Maryland from, ummm…. oh yeah, Delaware.


Oh no, its…the other Joe… and the unveiling of the Obama foreign policy.

Self-described foreign policy expert, Joe Biden was unleashed upon an unsuspecting audience of supporters this past Sunday in Seattle where he got off some of the strangest campaign rhetoric we’ve heard in quite a long time.

Story with speech here.

Since its Biden we really have no idea what he’s talking about so we’ll just have to bust out the divining rods and do the best we can.

"We do not have the military capacity, nor have we ever, quite frankly, in the last 20 years, to dictate outcomes," he cautioned. "It's so much more important than that. It's so much more complicated than that. And Barack gets it."

That statement may come as a surprise to members of our armed forces who served in both Gulf Wars as well as Kosovo.

But Joe is really freaked-out by the specter of an Obama Presidency and how our enemies out there might take advantage of that and we, frankly, can’t blame him.

"Mark my words," the Democratic vice presidential nominee warned at the second of his two Seattle fundraisers Sunday. "It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy. The world is looking."
.
"And he's gonna need help. And the kind of help he's gonna need is, he's gonna need you - not financially to help him - we're gonna need you to use your influence, your influence within the community, to stand with him. Because it's not gonna be apparent initially, it's not gonna be apparent that we're right."


Whisky…

"This guy has it. But he's gonna need your help. Because I promise you, you all are gonna be sitting here a year from now going, 'Oh my God, why are they there in the polls? Why is the polling so down? Why is this thing so tough?' We're gonna have to make some incredibly tough decisions in the first two years. So I'm asking you now, I'm asking you now, be prepared to stick with us. Remember the faith you had at this point because you're going to have to reinforce us."

Tango…

"There are gonna be a lot of you who want to go, 'Whoa, wait a minute, yo, whoa, whoa, I don't know about that decision'," Biden continued. "Because if you think the decision is sound when they're made, which I believe you will when they're made, they're not likely to be as popular as they are sound. Because if they're popular, they're probably not sound."

Foxtrot…?

"I've forgotten more about foreign policy than most of my colleagues know, so I'm not being falsely humble with you. I think I can be value added, but this guy has it," the Senate Foreign Relations chairman said of Obama."

No, Joe… really. You’ve done quite enough already. Stop, please.

Seriously, what is this guy talking about? He sounds paranoid-delusional. Well, since Joe is in lock-down currently, we’re forced to come to our own conclusions as to what Biden meant.

What he was doing was introducing or unveiling the Obama administration foreign policy of “pre-emptive capitulation”. Read all his quotes and taken in the context of what he said about the military, he’s simply projecting that if, for instance, Iran starts lobbing nukes at Israel, China blockades Taiwan or Russia invades the Ukraine we…. won’t do jack squat. That was all just a friendly little heads-up.

Shoot, we’d love to be proved wrong but we suppose we’ll find out in a few months…. Joe said so.

Blue Crab Boulevard has its take on Joe’s fulminations here and of course a translation of Joe’s rant from Iowahawk, here.

The making of the new "C"-word

Whether its emissions or early-stage life, M.T. Suit sees both forms of carbon-based matter as a burden to the planet and society. B-Daddy has more on Suit’s fool-proof method to beat down the economy, here.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

October 2007


It was one year ago this week that San Diego was under siege from the Witch Creek and Harris fires, respectively.

It was a bizarre week full of angst, terror and uncertainty, but also of caring, compassion and hope.

A little retrospective is in order this evening as we look back on some generosity of spirit and some some-what misguided but fun-filled BwD relief efforts here and here.

PAC-10 Refs breathe a sigh of relief (fixed?)

Knees bent, head up and drives throoooough the ball carrier. Great form, kid.



...appears not to be working. Try here.

South Carolina quarterback, Stephen Garcia had to be wondering what the heck just hit him. Well, that would be Wilbur Hackett Jr., a three-year starter at linebacker for Kentucky in the late 60s….. who also happens to currently be a referee in the SEC.

Thanks to reader and commenter 'Dawg for passing this along.

'Cause there ain't no free speech like chilled free speech


It hasn’t escaped our notice that in the past couple of weeks or so, after the ACORN indictments started piling up and the Obama/Ayers association got some traction, suddenly, as if on cue, the talking points came out of the DNC and the Sunday talkies and newspaper columns went abuzz with the “racism” that the McCain-Palin campaign was fomenting out on the trail.

E.J.Dionne of the WaPo in article here is typical of the spin about the rise of the fringe right and of knight riders within the ranks of the GOP in the most wistfully hopeful tone:

“Are we witnessing the re-emergence of the far right as a power in American politics? Has John McCain, inadvertently perhaps, become the midwife of a new movement built around fear, xenophobia, racism and anger?”

Of course, he stretches to come up with any evidence of this. Apparently, Sarah Palin going after unrepentant terrorist Bill Ayers is off limits because it evokes the guilt-by-association tactics of the 50s and 30s and he forgets that the “Obama is a Muslim” charge got started back in the primaries with Clinton Inc. And even the incident in Scranton, PA, where on the word of a single reporter, Big Media went nuts with the alleged “kill him” shout, has remained completely unfounded.

And despite having sufficient cover from Big Media, Suit’s surrogates are not content with just that. We now have writers at HuffPo requesting that the Secret Service investigate the McCain-Palin campaign “for inciting crowds at rallies to make threats against a presidential candidate.” And now, Obama’s General Counsel, Robert F. Bauer has formally requested an investigation by the U.S. Attorney General of the McCain-Palin campaign for their “…systematic development and dissemination of unsupported, spurious allegations of vote fraud.”, or what may also be referred to as: “…talking about what’s been in the news of late.”

So, were left to wonder: Is this the sort of behavior exhibited by people so deluded by HopenChange that they lash out in a completely irresponsible, irrational and Constitutionally-suspect manner or rather is this the new(?) mindset and M.O. of the liberal-Left that has found a comfortable home within the confines of Camp Obama? Re-education, anyone? We’re kind of thinking it’s a big ol’ steaming pile of both.

Standby for more of the same.

ODS

In San Francisco, some religious figures are just more socially acceptable than others.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Rich Rodriquez would be pleased to know he was being compared to ol’ you-know-who.


And upon descending from the plane in his first visit to the U.S. and upon seeing the crowds this past Sunday, Hitler remarked, “Well, shoot… I must be more popular than Jesus”.

Honestly. Where the hell does all this all come from? We are obviously obsessed with the man at every level and extent of our culture to where that sweet, lisping grandfatherly figure you see pictured felt compelled to play the Hitler card over the weekend in the context of….. Michigan’s football program? Either that or we are just too damn lazy and dumbed-down to make any cogent and relevant analogies any longer.

Good lord, people. Enough!

The details (and reader comments, of course) here from Deadspin

Quote of the Day

“I asked a question. When you can’t ask a question to your leaders anymore, that gets scary. That bothers me.” - Joe the Plumber

"Now, the well-to-do elites who run the Democratic Party — and their surrogates — greet these people with brickbats. They insult them, talk down to them, and even try to destroy them. Isn’t that the sort of war on the working class that Democrats are always accusing those greedy and heartless Republicans of waging?"

That from Ruben Navarrette Jr. who also opines here on the dogged determination of the press to look into every facet of Joe Wurzelbacher's life but not execute due diligence regarding Obama's ties to less savory characters like Tony Rezko and Bill Ayers.

H/T: InstaGlenn

"And so it was written in desert dust for the followers of The One to obey so that they may enter the Promised Land."


Resolved:
…. Since it looks like its going to go down as the polls might indicate… to have as much fun as humanly possible in the next two plus weeks and beyond. Because if you thought having a dim bulb from Texas in office for 8 years was a hoot just think how much fun 4 (8?) is going to be with a infanticidal socialist running the works.

Remember, dissent is patriotic

And on a related topic of elections, dissent, looting and parasites, KT has an excellent post on the book that had a profound impact on our world view when we read it a year or two out of Seminary.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Quote of the Day

ESPN’s excellent and under-utilized, Eric Kuselias on the radio this afternoon:

“The three worst words in sports: Dr. James Andrews.”

Kuselias was speaking in reference to the New Orleans Saints’ Reggie Bush’s visit to the famed doctor scheduled for tomorrow in Atlanta as it appears Bush tore the meniscus in his left knee in today’s 30-7 loss to the Carolina Panthers which may sideline him for 2-4 weeks. We wish Reggie the best and a speedy recovery.

The obligatory (the real) Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live post (fixed?)

Let's try this...





And if these still don't play, please go here.

Programming Alert


We’re off to Vegas this coming weekend for our annual late October Breeder’s Cup/college football/pro football challenge weekend. We’ll be staying at the Excalibur but depending on the Excal’s sports book, we may be commuting down to the South Point which, in our humble opinion, remains the best sports book in Vegas.

And we want to use this opportunity to announce the unveiling of the first ever BwD general election guide which will be rolled out later this week. Primary focus will be lent to the local and state propositions that are on the ballot. Stay tuned.

Finally, B-Daddy has some words of wisdom regarding the mortgage meltdown and you know who that will never see broad circulation before Nov. 4.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

A hopeless attempt at playing catch-up on college football coverage


Just when you stopped worrying and learned to love the (zone read) spread option offense, Gary Danielson, former Purdue quarterback and current CBS college football analyst says its dead.

A while back we wrote of how Rich Rodriguez’s arrival in Michigan from West Virginia with the spread option offense represented the full mainstreaming of that offense into college football culture and how it would continue the trend of other schools mimicking the offense.

In addition to “big boys” such as Oklahoma and Florida using this set as their primary offense, Auburn has adopted it also this year but with disastrous results. 4-3 Auburn’s HC, Tommy Tuberville fired his offensive coordinator Tony Franklin last week.

But no matter, we figured this offense to represent a seismic shift in offensive philosophies across the country and the type of athletes that were recruited to a) run it and b) defend it. We thought we saw the future during the 2006 Rose Bowl when a 7-point favorite USC and their fast, free-flowing defense simply did not have an answer for uber-athlete QB Vince Young running the Texas Longhorn offense out of the spread option set.

We envisioned a move away from the traditional power running game and the vertical passing game to this more horizontally-oriented multi-faceted attack. 300 lb. defensive linemen were out and a front seven that averaged between 220 and 260 lbs. and which could all run 4.5s was going to be in.

Or perhaps not. Not that Danielson necessarily thinks it’s a gimmick but rather, much like the veer and triple option-type attacks that have been used by the service academies over the years to compensate for a lack of size and speed, the spread option has been used by non-traditional powers to vault themselves into the national spotlight. See: Missouri and West Virginia. And lack of talent is something that the traditional powers should not have a problem with. Here’s Danielson:

"Instead of teams going more to it, I think you'll see teams going to it as part of an offense. The top schools can get the best talent. For them, there's no need to do it ... I love it as a part of my package, not as the only package."

And for a system that is so reliant on the quarterback, Danielson doesn’t think the risk is worth the reward:

"Still, it's somewhat of a high-wire attack, and as West Virginia has learned recently, when you're quarterback (Pat White) gets nicked, you lose your passing game and a good part of your running game. You go away from that, and it's not a great fit.
"When an Alabama, LSU or Ohio State falls (from their offensive scheme), they land on the sidewalk, brush off the scratch and walk away. When a Missouri, Kansas or West Virginia falls from the high wire, they break their legs. You've got to have more that you can do."


Danielson claims he saw his own version of the future earlier this season when the spread option jumped the shark.

"The spread officially peaked (early this season) when I saw Michigan spread out and running a fake snap count, (with the quarterback) looking to the sideline, trying to fool Miami of Ohio ... which Michigan used to just line up and run over."

We respect Danielson quite a bit and think he is a very good analyst and while we don’t think that we’ll ever see a program like USC, for instance, go with the spread option as its primary set, we still think that as defenses continue to load up with speed and athleticism, offenses will need an effective counter by which a well-run spread option offense will affect.

Story here.

Friday, Oct. 17 2008



Just missed sunset last night at LaJolla cove but caught some of the afterglow with these odd cloud patterns that were rolling in from the water. Is this Santa Ana breaking? Doesn't necessarily feel like it this morning.

Friday, October 17, 2008

Not necessarily waiting for the other shoe to drop

Well, that didn’t take long. Suit’s debate opponent, Joe the Plumber owes back taxes, doesn’t even possess a plumber’s license and is in danger of being denied practicing his trade in hand, altogether. Fat chance now on ever owning that plumbing business which is poor Joe’s idea of the “American Dream”. Clueless Joe… what was this guy thinking by having the audacity to question Suit’s tax plan? Didn’t he get the message about what happens when you are not fully prostrate before The One. Trust us, we are running as fast as we can in the opposite direction if we are ever within eye-shot of Suit.

Of course, Joe experiences the misfortune of being an American citizen (as far as we know) and not an illegal alien whereby an impenetrable lead shield would’ve protected Clueless Joe from a righteously dogged media.

As it is, we suppose we’ll have to wait just a little bit longer for the truth squad to get around to reporting-out on some tax problems of Suit’s very own campaign treasurer.

H/T: Hot Air

Potatos

The walking, talking gaffe-meister, Sarah Palin, was at it again out on the campaign trail. It must be that Alaska public education that makes it difficult to count on one hand. Video here.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Rhymes with “sacrifice”, “moving the runner over” and “small ball”


When we sat down and pondered what these people had to say, it really made us examine who it was we were voting for and why. We think, “reconsider” may be too strong of a word but they do make a very compelling case, and besides, a vote for McCain would be the ultimate in selfish and self-serving behavior and we don’t think that’s something anyone wants hanging over their head.

"Think about it. With Barack Obama in office, assholes like us will fade into a distant unpleasant memory. Don't get us wrong, we'll still be hanging around, probably as junior staffers in some federal arts agency. But you have our word on it -- we'll be practically invisible. No more C-word t shirts, no more intersection blockades, no more vandalism until the next election cycle. Nosirree, we'll be timid and well-behaved and quiet as church mice, working away on grant proposals. We think you will also be pleased to know that under Obama, negative news stories and the steady flow of shitty anti-American war movies will virtually disappear overnight."

More from these followers of M.T. Suit over at Iowahawk’s joint.

Accomplishing what Eugene V. Debs never could...?

Blue Crab Blvd. has more here.

And speaking of "spreading the wealth", here’s Suit talking to Joe the Plumber who is questioning Obama’s tax plan on small businesses, one of which Joe hopes to purchase. As a way of explaining it (around the 1:40 mark), Suit tells Joe that if he had voted for Obama a number of years back when he wasn’t making all that scratch, he would’ve benefited from Obama’s tax plan and had that much more money to put towards the purchase of his plumbing business.

Don’t look at the present or even the future, Joe. Its way too confusing and even I can’t adequately explain my own tax plan without resorting to my trusty time machine here to transport us back in time when your pathetic, miserable life would’ve been less so if you had just voted for me back then.

(If video link does not work, go here, and click on video at top left of page)

Oktoberfest on my Mind

B-Daddy here. Well, it's just been a little too depressing in the news and in the blogosphere, even here on the normally lighthearted BwD. To restore a little of the natural order, I thought I would review a beer. Took a big chance on my weekend Costco run. We were completely out of beer and we were having... Jeesh, I can't remember, but when is beer not appropriate with dinner? Anyway, Costco only sells cases of beer, so this was a big choice. Dean was unavailable to help me out of this jam (no lifeline for B-Daddy). So I went for the Gordon Biersch, pictured at left, largely on the two buck price differential over the Karl Strauss competing product.

I was very prepared not to like this beer, given that I had purchased the full case. But I was very pleasantly surprised. This beer has a great hearty malt base but not too sweet, unlike Michelob's Porter. Also, they use a generous amount of hops, but not overwhelming for a great finish. The hops are tasty, but somehow this beer isn't as bitter as one might expect. All in all, a decent purchase for $19.99 per case.

Also, our condolences to Road Dawg, who hasn't been able to sample any micro-brew in some time, if his emails are to be believed.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Do you know why "capitalism" didn't fail...?


Two words: Wells Fargo

The chief executives of the nine largest banks in the United States trooped into a gilded conference room at the Treasury Department at 3 p.m. Monday. To their astonishment, they were each handed a one-page document that said they agreed to sell shares to the government, then Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said they must sign it before they left.

The chairman of JPMorgan Chase, Jamie Dimon, was receptive, saying he thought the deal looked pretty good once he ran the numbers through his head. The chairman of Wells Fargo, Richard Kovacevich, protested strongly that, unlike his New York rivals, his bank was not in trouble because of investments in exotic mortgages and did not need a bailout, people briefed on the meeting said.


That was the setting late yesterday afternoon at the Treasury Department where, like a scene from a gangster flick, SecTres, Henry Paulson made the CEOs of the nine largest banking institutions an offer they couldn’t refuse by “offering” to buy stock in the banks.

And did you get that? Wells Fargo didn’t even need or want the bailout but wound up capitulating in the end under the pressure of Paulson and the other 8 banks.

At the wave of his hand, Paulson commits the government to another $2.25 trillion in the form of capital infusion, insuring senior debt issued by the banks and insuring deposits in non-interest bearing accounts. Of course, this is triple the size of the original $700 billion bailout package upon which there was actually a vote.

Originally, the buzz surrounding this latest bailout was that it was going to be voluntary – banks that did not wish to participate would not have to. Uh, yeah. Obviously, there was no way in hell, Kovacevich was going to get out of that meeting alive without signing on. You just can’t have a solvent institution like Wells Fargo thumbing their nose at the government and the other Big Boys and still maintain the façade of an all-emcompassing financial crisis. Fall in line, boys…

A couple of weeks back, we were talking to our banker…. from Wells Fargo. We asked her about this whole mess and she told us that during the housing boom she got frustrated when she saw competing banks snatch up a lot of the mortgage lending business and yes, she was aware that Wells never offered the greatest rates of return on a lot of their banking and investment plans but that fiscal responsibility was always one of the institutions top priorities.

We don’t want to do any cheerleading but here is a perfect case of a financial institution operating in the free market, providing a service to its customers in the form of investment opportunities and capital for home and small business loans all the while turning a profit for its shareholders. All of that was accomplished in a responsible and sober manner and as a result, they are on solid footing.

Not that that matters anymore...

Picture (and caption) of the Day.

Our choice as the winning commenter submission for Awful Announcing’s Create the Caption contest for this one of Brother Eli after Monday night’s beating at the hands of the Brownies.




- "I. Did not have. Sexual relations. With that woman."- Via Anon

Very similar to the "N"-word....

B-Daddy, curator of TILoBO, has returned from a bout of bipartisan-induced illness with a vocabulary lesson you might find useful.

Bloggers hate the state of Utah

CBSSports.com has their Top 25 blog poll out. Results here.

Both Missouri and LSU fell hard after their losses on Saturday to OK St. and Florida, respectively and USC moves up only one spot to #9 after their sloppy win against Arizona St. (it would seem bloggers are as similarly unimpressed with SC as we are given they are #6 in the AP poll). But Utah and BYU both fall several spots after victories this weekend. A little MWC disrespect, here? We would bring up there stellar record against the Pac-10 this year but, sheesh, its only the Pac-10.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

So, about those stadium songs...

...particularly the ones they play at the conclusion of the ballgame. Everyone is familiar with the Yankees playing Sinatra’s “New York, New York” after victories but they will also play that song after defeats… except that Liza is doing the singing. Because nothing says disappointment like…

And the Red Sox will blast the Standell’s “Dirty Water” after victories but what of defeats like the one we so thoroughly enjoyed this evening as the Rays took the Sox to the shed, 11-4 (finish the deal, Rays… Finish. The. Deal!)? They leave that duty to the stadium organist who was playing a tune that was vaguely familiar but… what was it? Can’t quite place it… sounds like…. That’s it! “Ooo-oooh, child, things are going to get easier…”

The "(Five) Stairsteps" and "Ooh Child"



... and here for a grittier live version.

Dear Obama, please protect us from your followers.

There has been some debate over at KT’s place on the use of Nazi references with respect to followers of the Suit. Some argue that the references are completely inappropriate owing to the horrific nature of the crimes against humanity perpetrated by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis.

Since we have aligned ourselves with a political philosophy that is the frequent target of Nazi references, we see the point, though our reaction to those assaults is not so much anger but a shaking of the head as an acknowledgement of the true intellect of those hurling the rocks.

So while flinging around the Nazi references is not really our cup of tea, with each passing ACORN indictment, we are less inclined to wince when the same is used with respect to followers of the Suit.

Why is this? Well, for one thing, “Nazis” have lost a lot of their juice. Let’s face it, when Mel Brooks goes “Hitler on Ice” nearly 30 yrs. ago, being tagged a “Nazi” as the most egregious of epithets jumped the shark and doesn’t carry the weight that it used to. And that’s a shame because now days calling someone a “Maoist” or “Stalinist (two guys who in terms of body counts put Hitler to shame) just gets you a funny look. Who..?

But more importantly is the fact that followers of the Suit bring it upon themselves. When we saw the video of the hymnal-singing schoolchildren from Venice, Santa Monica or whatever Westside commune those people came from, the very first thing we thought was…. Nazi Youth. And when we read about Secret Service agents at the behest of followers of the Suit knocking at the door of a person who didn’t have the most glowing things to say about Suit or we hear of threats of criminal prosecution being used to silence those who aren’t down with Suit, the very first thing we think of is … Gestapo tactics.

And doesn’t the textbook publisher that has contributed to Suit’s campaign and who devotes 15 pages of an elementary school textbook to Suit’s “Life of Service” smack of indoctrination? Just a little…?

So, again, though we promise to do our level best to refrain from any active participation in lobbing "Nazi grenades" we will exclaim that after years and years of being broad-brushed-by-association as a Nazi, we are delighted to finally see what fascist behavior actually looks like!

Got Legs?

Recall in the run-up to the ’06 midterm elections the fury that surrounded Florida Republican Mark Foley in the wake of revelations that he was sending suggestive text messages to Congressional pages.

Foley stepped down in disgrace and the Democrats used this incident as an example of the culture of corruption that existed in Washington under Republican leadership. In fact, Foley was about all we heard about from a breathless media and indignant Democrats between the time it happened some 3-4 weeks before the election as the Democrats realized that running against the Iraq War was a losing proposition.

Well now it appears the man who replaced Foley, Tim Mahoney, a Democrat has got some issues of his own as it was revealed he’s forking over $121, 000 in hush money to a former mistress. Dude didn’t even wait ‘til he got into office to continue this south Florida district’s reputation for untoward behavior as he apparently started this affair when he was running for Congress.

But where did the money come from? It was reported that Rahm Emmanuel a senior Democrat who was one of the chief town criers during the Foley er, affair “counseled” Mahoney last year after rumors of the affair started swirling around Capitol Hill.

For her part, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Monday for a House ethics inquiry which we are sure will move at breathtakingly glacial speed.

Again, where did this money come from and where is the Republican leadership in this whole thing?

And let’s see if Big Media pursues this story with the same doggedness and gives it the legs they did with Foley? Don’t hold your breath.

Parting shot: Friends of Ms. Allen told ABC that she had sought to break off the affair when she learned that Mr. Mahoney was involved in other extramarital relationships.

Story here.

Because being the world's oldest profession means never having the day off

Around here, we always thought that a good leading indicator of how the economy is going is how much disposable income is going out the door to ummm…. less-than-ecclesiastical pursuits. Apparently, we’re wrong.

Yeah, we know what you were thinking. Congress did break for five weeks over the summer and will be in recess over the elections. Get your mind out of the gutter.

Story here.

Monday, October 13, 2008

Without Columbus, none of this would've been possible


It was an absolutely gorgeous weekend that is spilling over into a Holiday Monday that celebrates the bringing of disease, involuntary conversions, enslavement and overall conquest of the peaceful native Americans by the White Man from Europe. So to properly recognize the occasion, we’re taking the day off!

By the time you read this, we will hopefully be out in the East County somewhere in the hoopdie playing around in the dirt/sand and taking pictures that we hope to share with you all later.

In the meantime, a few quick thoughts on this weekend's activities:

- USC did not play like a team that is currently ranked #6 in the nation on Saturday against Arizona State. Aside from some singular moments of excellence by running back Joe McKnight, the offense was sluggish and out-of-synch. QB, Marc Sanchez threw 2 picks in the 3rd quarter deep in his own territory that were about as bad as we’ve seen in a while. Playing like they are, currently, there is no way they beat the five teams above them in the polls.

- USC linebacker (and contributor/faithful commenter Mongo's nick-namesake) Rey Maualuga is a very bad man. His 3rd quarter alone would be a highlight reel for an entire season for most linebackers in the nation. On one play in that 3rd, he shot the gap on a play-action fake and swallowed whole the ASU running back (seriously, no one has seen Keegan Herring since) and upon realizing Herring didn’t have the ball, he lept to his feet to track down Rudy Carpenter, the QB, for a sack. An amazing play. And in that same possession, he knocked Rudy Carpenter out of the game for the 2nd straight season.

- The Chargers played an entire game for the first time this season against the Patriots last night. LT still looks a little wobbly with that bad big right toe and the great debate now is on whether or not to sit him for a week to let the toe heal. Because they are now only 3-3 and go on the road to Buffalo and then to England (England!) to play the Saints, they may not have that luxury.

- Exit question: Everyone says the Chargers/Pats have a “rivalry” going. Don’t you have to beat that team in a truly meaningful game (i.e. the playoffs), something the Chargers have not accomplished against the Pats, for there to be a rivalry?

Nuance (UPDATED)


Remember folks, when describing the words and actions of some people its called “passion” and with other less desirable types its called “anger”.


Other Obama supporters have threatened critics with criminal prosecution. In September, St. Louis County Circuit Attorney Bob McCulloch and St. Louis City Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce warned citizens that they would bring criminal libel prosecutions against anyone who made statements against Obama that were “false.” I had been under the impression that the Alien and Sedition Acts had gone out of existence in 1801-02. Not so, apparently, in metropolitan St. Louis. Similarly, the Obama campaign called for a criminal investigation of the American Issues Project when it ran ads highlighting Obama's ties to Ayers.

More, here, on what to expect from followers of The One from Michael Barone.

UPDATE #1: More fun in the New World...

Jessica Hughes of Lufkin, Texas, former Marine, mother of three, answered her cell phone in the car, coming home from the emergency room. Her 9-year-old had suffered a mild concussion, but was OK.

The caller was a female Obama volunteer who asked if Jessica would support Obama for president.

Jessica replied, "No, I don't support him. Your guy is a socialist who voted four times in the state Senate to let little babies die in hospital closets; I think you should find something better to do with your time." Then Jessica hung up.

The next day, a man and a woman in suits showed up at the door of her home, identifying themselves as members of the Secret Service.

The Secret Service agents stated that the Obama campaign had complained of a death threat. They had quoted Jessica as saying, "I will never support Obama, and he will wind up dead on a hospital floor."


The rest of the story here.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Attempts to plumb the depths of American Zeitgeist fail on the pages of Slate.com

You remember that movie “Red Dawn” from back in the ‘80s that starred Patrick Swayze and Charlie Sheen as the “Wolverines” defending small-town Colorado as “insurgents” against a Soviet-backed invasion? A tad hokey, completely over-the-top and…. a lot of fun. We bet it ranks in the top-10 movies of all-time if Weasel Zippers were doing the rankings and that’s cool with us.

Well, that movie is kinda like our occupation of Iraq except for the fact that our leader wasn’t carrying out a genocide of an ethnic minority and wasn’t sponsoring terrorism in the Middle East and our “occupiers” aren’t purposely killing civilians and the Wolverines aren’t religious fanatics deluded by the promise of 72 virgins upon their death and our forces there are actively working with the Iraqis to transform their country into a fully functioning democracy…. But other than that…

Article here.

Rumors of its demise have been greatly exaggerated

Men rarely ask me about lighting. Women frequently do, wanting reassurance that it isn’t too bright.

Women more often ask if a menu has leaner, healthier options. Men more often ask if they can get a decent steak.


Finer New York eateries don’t stoop to “1/2-off ladies night” so they have to be a little more creative when dealing with those just-won’t-seem-to-ever-go-away differences between the sexes.

Your Sunday morning spot with the Times (sans crossword puzzle) here.

Saturday, October 11, 2008

"How sweet it is to be loved by you"


So what was it that got our esteemed leaders in the err.. House to vote for it after they voted against it?

Taxpayer.net has the top 10 "sweeteners" here.

The Penn St. Nittany Lions and the JoePa Experience


To paraphrase a rotund cable sports personality, no one circles the wagons like Joe Paterno. Every time people try to start shoveling dirt on his career, he comes out of the gates undefeated and has his team in the Top 10 and angling for BCS glory.

And everytime this occurs as is happening this season as 6-0 Penn St. goes on the road to Camp Randall Stadium to take on the Wisconsin Badgers, the fact that Joe is too old and too out of touch to get out on the road and make personal recruiting visits is alternately perceived as wisely “delegating” those responsibilities to his younger assistants. And, of course, Penn St. goes from having a “stagnating program” without any “succession plan” in a post-JoePa world to that of “Joe’s feeling great and the passion is still there so don’t expect him to step down any time soon”.

While back at Penn St. a couple of weeks back, never more did we witness a football program and an entire Unversity that was dominated more by the past legacy and current force of personality of a single person than there in State College, PA. And we saw this fully-justified reverence/kool-aid drinking dichotomy, firsthand, along with some rather interesting rationalizations for a big-time college football program: “Actually, the program is designed to make a run at the BCS championship (only) every 4 or 5 years.”

And don’t delude yourself for a moment to think that Joe’s (pending?) retirement plans are not inextricably tied to those of Florida St.’s Bobby Bowden, who is in a very similar situation and who is locked in a Wild West stare-down with JoePa as the two vie for the honor of most collegiate coaching victories. (Currently, Paterno has 378 and Bowden sits at 376. Who’s gonna blink first?

Anyway, good read here regarding Greg Schiano, former Paterno assistant, current Rutgers HC and alleged heir apparent to Paterno and who has, himself, what would appear to be some “stagnation” problems with his football program that is of this posting, 1-4.

Friday, October 10, 2008

Programming Alert


We’ll be up in L.A. this weekend taking in the USC/Arizona St. game with friends so unless we are able to check in remotely, the posts over the weekend will be a collection of scheduled posts and guest contributions.

The Launch of the USNS CARL BRASHEAR

Folks, you know you’ve hit the big time when you get on YouTube. The launch, which is part of a larger tribute to Carl Brashear the first amputee Navy diver and the first African-American Navy Master diver, is at the front of the video clip. Previous posts on the launch here.

You will be able to see the smoke from the grease caused by the friction between the sliding ways and the ground ways and the tsunami effect from the water that was displaced by ship pushing it out, rushing back in (and soaking quite a few people on the launch of the 1st ship of the class, the LEWIS AND CLARK) as well as the ship’s stern kicking out to port as a result of Bernoulli’s principle.

Enjoy!


Again.... It's all about one's perspective.

A double standard? Perhaps. Sexist? Quite Possibly. Welcome? You bet!

Big Media can’t seem to help themselves when it comes to peddling GOP flesh. All we have to say is that it beats the hell out of the alternative.

H/T: Foxfier

Warning: potentially seditious speech ahead

KT thinks he has the answer to some our economic woes. Careful though, his brand of “prudiciouness” is considered to be, in some circles, subversive. Decide for yourself, here.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Ladies and Gentlemen, introducing your Pahrump Cowboys

For starters, Obama paid ACORN, which has endorsed him for president, $800,000 to register new voters, payments his campaign failed to accurately report. (They were disguised in his FEC disclosure as payments to a front group called Citizen Services Inc. for “advance work.”)
.
.
Obama downplays his ties to ACORN, and his campaign denies coordinating with ACORN to register voters.


And in other news today…

In Nevada, state officials say the fraudulent registrations included forms for the starting lineup of the Dallas Cowboys football team, including quarterback Tony Romo.
"Romo is not registered to vote in the state of Nevada," Secretary of State Ross Miller said, "and anybody trying to pose as Terrell Owens won't be able to cast a ballot on Nov. 4."



ACORN… You all remember those guys. Not content to just play fast and loose with mortgage lending practices, they are also heavily into voter registration drives and as a result are the subject of investigations and criminal indictments nationwide. And because all this fraudulent behavior seems to be a result of business-as-usual group-think at the state/local level rather than any nation-wide coordination, it may spare ACORN a RICO investigation but... one can always hope.

What slays us about all this is that the people perpetrating this fraud don’t even make an honest(?) effort at deception. Just fill-out a bunch of voter registration cards with funny names and dump them at the registrar’s office to deal with.

And isn’t it comforting to know that all these “get out the vote” efforts and community organizing is done on your nickel?

But we’re going to give M.T. Suit the benefit of the doubt here. It is indeed rather difficult to accomplish anything of note or consequence… hell, anything at all when his every waking hour is spent distancing himself from unsavory associations.

P.S. Fire up that Short Bus!

And, as The Post reported Monday, another pro-Obama group, Vote Today Ohio, took advantage of a quirk in that state's law, which allows people to register and vote on the same day without having to prove residency, to drive hundreds of people from homeless shelters and drug-rehab centers to the polls.

H/T: Hot Air

Perspective

We were going to take some time to complain about our busy week in this post. We wanted to get involved in the community a little so for the past couple of years we’ve volunteered to help pass out, door-to-door, our Rolando Beach community newsletter. Also, in preparation for election day, we volunteered to deliver 90 April Boling for City Council yard signs to the homes of supporters in the east San Diego area.

Well, that’s all come to a head this week as on top of everything else we’ve got going on, we are trying to accomplish the aforementioned with a nasty head cold that is descending into our chest in the midst of a 95 degree heat wave. Good times.

Yeah, we were going to whine a little until we were reminded of some other community organizers and the trials they face on a daily basis.