Wednesday, April 30, 2008
skippy's tuesday nite music club
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
free scoop day at ben & jerry's
the company is celebrating 30 years. ben has been busy with true majority.
You Are Phish Food Ice Cream |
 You've been described as gooey and fudgey. Sorry. |
Monday, April 28, 2008
skippy's monday nite music club
down the penrose lane
rip jose simon
one of skippy's dearest friends, jose simon, the founder of san francisco's comedy day, died last week at the age of 63. sfchron:
in the bay area, where local comedians are revered as gods, jose was revered as zeus.
and the chronicle goes on:
he was generous of heart, and had impeccable taste and timing. the comedy world, and the bay area comedy scene in particular is a little less funny tonite.
godspeed, jose.
mr. simon and fellow comedian mike pritchard brought the idea of comedy day in 1980 to the chronicle, which agreed to sponsor what became an annual event drawing upward of 50,000 people to the park to hear dozens of comedians for free.
"i helped blow the wind into his sails, but it was totally his idea," recalled pritchard, who said he was thrown out of mr. simon's hospital room last week because they were laughing too hard. "it was because he didn't like the idea of a comedy competition. he liked the celebration."
mr. simon was also a founding member of the latin rock group sapo, formed by vocalist richard bean after he left malo. a sapo reunion is planned for may 23 at santa clara's avalon nightclub. mr. simon was practicing on bass for the reunion...
he played in bands up and down broadway, including a group called the four of a kind, which also featured future tower of power vocalist rick stevens and a founding member of santana, conga player michael carabello.
skippy himself played at comedy day several years. he also was in more than a few sf improv groups with jose during the jurassic period of comedy in the late 70's."i helped blow the wind into his sails, but it was totally his idea," recalled pritchard, who said he was thrown out of mr. simon's hospital room last week because they were laughing too hard. "it was because he didn't like the idea of a comedy competition. he liked the celebration."
mr. simon was also a founding member of the latin rock group sapo, formed by vocalist richard bean after he left malo. a sapo reunion is planned for may 23 at santa clara's avalon nightclub. mr. simon was practicing on bass for the reunion...
he played in bands up and down broadway, including a group called the four of a kind, which also featured future tower of power vocalist rick stevens and a founding member of santana, conga player michael carabello.
in the bay area, where local comedians are revered as gods, jose was revered as zeus.
and the chronicle goes on:
mr. simon also attended improvisational theater classes run by the committee, where he first met another aspiring comedian, robin williams.
"jose was a gift," williams said in a statement. "he was the chicano godfather of comedy. he will be missed."
jose was an inspiration to all the comics and improvisors of the early days."jose was a gift," williams said in a statement. "he was the chicano godfather of comedy. he will be missed."
he was generous of heart, and had impeccable taste and timing. the comedy world, and the bay area comedy scene in particular is a little less funny tonite.
godspeed, jose.
Labels: entertainment, passings
celebrate!
it has been five years since the war has been over in iraq. any suggestions on how we can celebrate flight suit day?
Labels: anniversary, aWol, bipartisanship, iraq war
it's not the treasure of the sierra madre
it's the wildfire.
oh, boy...this is going to be one long hot crispy summer. wonder if fred c. dobbs is up fighting the fire for a bit o' gold.
firefighters gained ground sunday against an early season wildfire that slowly chewed its way through dense brush near los angeles, forcing more than 1,000 people from homes in the foothills.about 500 firefighters attacked the 400-acre fire, aided by two helicopters and water-dropping air tankers, said elisa weaver, spokeswoman for the city of sierra madre. residents evacuated at least 550 homes saturday night and sunday, but none had burned. - ap
pursuant of a formal mutual aid request, the los angeles fire department has assigned two helicopters to assist the sierra madre fire department and allied agencies in their battle against a brush fire in the san gabriel mountains near arcadia and sierra madre, california 20 miles northeast of our city. - lafd blog
oh, boy...this is going to be one long hot crispy summer. wonder if fred c. dobbs is up fighting the fire for a bit o' gold.
Labels: brush fires, los angeles
Sunday, April 27, 2008
skippy's sunday nite music club
ethel merman & donald o'connor - you're just in love
from irving berlin's great show call me madame...ethel merman created her role on broadway, and reprised it in this film version, only one of two she ever did.
the great thing about this number is the counterpoint of merman's theme to o'connor's, which, when sung separately at the beginning, didn't seem to even be in the same tempo, let alone the same song.
Labels: skippy's music club
environmental stories sunday
the future of dirt. an increasing number of scientists are starting to emphasize the extent to which soil — even more than petroleum or water or air — is a limited and fragile resource. - boston globe
water failing state's tests. people in 37 small communities across the state are drinking tap water that violates new health standards for radioactive contaminants, according to state records - denver post
jumbo squid invade waters off pacific coast. the jumbo squid now thought to be lurking off the pacific northwest coast could be a threat to salmon runs and a sign of ocean changes that are perhaps brought on by global warming. - wenatchee world
nuclear crossroads. in washington state, a 1-million-gallon plume of radioactive waste is seeping from hanford nuclear reserve toward the columbia river. meanwhile, doe's cleanup budget has plummeted for the fifth year in a row, dropping $1 billion in just the past three years. - high country news
u.s. report urges japan to forget its beef safety. the united states urged japan on friday to eliminate all controls on u.s. beef imports linked to the prevention of mad cow disease and to fully open its market despite renewed fears in japan about the safety of u.s. beef. - japan times
does global warming compromise national security? for senator john warner, climate change is a matter of national security. and his position has helped shift the political landscape in the senate. - time magazine
water failing state's tests. people in 37 small communities across the state are drinking tap water that violates new health standards for radioactive contaminants, according to state records - denver post
jumbo squid invade waters off pacific coast. the jumbo squid now thought to be lurking off the pacific northwest coast could be a threat to salmon runs and a sign of ocean changes that are perhaps brought on by global warming. - wenatchee world
nuclear crossroads. in washington state, a 1-million-gallon plume of radioactive waste is seeping from hanford nuclear reserve toward the columbia river. meanwhile, doe's cleanup budget has plummeted for the fifth year in a row, dropping $1 billion in just the past three years. - high country news
u.s. report urges japan to forget its beef safety. the united states urged japan on friday to eliminate all controls on u.s. beef imports linked to the prevention of mad cow disease and to fully open its market despite renewed fears in japan about the safety of u.s. beef. - japan times
does global warming compromise national security? for senator john warner, climate change is a matter of national security. and his position has helped shift the political landscape in the senate. - time magazine
Labels: climate change, ecology, environment, food safety, nuclear power
say hello
to kittywampus.
Labels: say hello
happy blogiversary
to carrie's bar & grill! three years blogging today!
Labels: blogiversary
why 'expelled' is bad
the ben stein lie-fest expelled is bad. really bad.
not 'bad' in the sense of 'bad film making'...that goes without saying.
but sara seltzer over at rh (reproductive health) reality check.org makes the cogent argument that the proponents of intelligent design are closely tied to the anti-abortionist movement:
not 'bad' in the sense of 'bad film making'...that goes without saying.
but sara seltzer over at rh (reproductive health) reality check.org makes the cogent argument that the proponents of intelligent design are closely tied to the anti-abortionist movement:
the film, and the creationist movement behind it, are all too relevant to reproductive justice activists. this crowd shares goals and fears, tactics and leaders, with anti-choicers. it's two sides of the same coin, a multi-pronged mission to insert fundamentalist religious principles into all areas of public discourse.
the filmmakers themselves make that connection for us; by playing ominous music and using shadows over an old planned parenthood poster, they indicate that in their minds, family planning and abortion are direct outgrowths of the so-called-evil ideas of the darwinists'. id advocates and anti-choicers both argue that we are made in the divine image, ignoring the hard science which shows us to be highly-developed animals. both movements encompass this denial of the randomness and fragility of life: an embryo is just a few cells, a person is just an intelligent primate. but there are plenty of people who accept that randomness and that science, and still are able to find purpose and spirituality -- and none of them were interviewed for the film...
this inability to accept rational scientific evidence and the use of rumor and speculation reminds me of anti-choicers who whisper about the motivations of abortionists and promiscuous women, but refuse to confront the hard evidence that the number of abortions actually goes down when it is legal and safe and a full range of reproductive freedoms are available.
and apparently, stein proves godwin's law:the filmmakers themselves make that connection for us; by playing ominous music and using shadows over an old planned parenthood poster, they indicate that in their minds, family planning and abortion are direct outgrowths of the so-called-evil ideas of the darwinists'. id advocates and anti-choicers both argue that we are made in the divine image, ignoring the hard science which shows us to be highly-developed animals. both movements encompass this denial of the randomness and fragility of life: an embryo is just a few cells, a person is just an intelligent primate. but there are plenty of people who accept that randomness and that science, and still are able to find purpose and spirituality -- and none of them were interviewed for the film...
this inability to accept rational scientific evidence and the use of rumor and speculation reminds me of anti-choicers who whisper about the motivations of abortionists and promiscuous women, but refuse to confront the hard evidence that the number of abortions actually goes down when it is legal and safe and a full range of reproductive freedoms are available.
the nastiest tactic of all. at the end of "expelled," stein visits gas chambers and weeps, claiming that this is what hitler's interpretation of darwinism has wrought. claiming that the holocaust was motivated by "social darwinism" erases a long, sordid history of european anti-semitism, including countless massacres and pogroms. it was this anti-semitism, inspired by the religious idea that the jews killed christ, that informed hitler's willing executioners, ordinary citizens who enabled the genocide machine to function. oh, and hitler's anti-semitism? that was religiously-motivated too. the pseudo-science came later.
you know who else likes to bring up the nazis? anti-choicers, when they're not comparing abortion to slavery. they share steins' desire to use the most vivid horrors in western memory to manipulate people's emotions, ignoring the fact that nazism and slavery were systems which imposed a fanatical amount of control over individual lives and took away people's bodily autonomy -- sound familiar?
all too familiar.you know who else likes to bring up the nazis? anti-choicers, when they're not comparing abortion to slavery. they share steins' desire to use the most vivid horrors in western memory to manipulate people's emotions, ignoring the fact that nazism and slavery were systems which imposed a fanatical amount of control over individual lives and took away people's bodily autonomy -- sound familiar?
Labels: movies, religion, science, womens issues
it' be fine with him
via the carpetbagger report, here's the great new commercial by the dnc:
doh! don't you hate it when people use your own words against you?
doh! don't you hate it when people use your own words against you?
no intelligence period
the box office for the ben stein lie fest expelled has fallen over 60% since last weekend, boxofficemojo tells us.
friday's receipts for the deceit was a mere $450,000, down 62.8% from last friday's take.
friday's receipts for the deceit was a mere $450,000, down 62.8% from last friday's take.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
skippy's saturday nite music club
the pierces - boring
we heard the pierces (two sisters not named pierce) first on the otherwise forgettable canterbury's law...their cute-sounding but deadly serious secret was played as the final court room scene saw some murder defendant get off thanks to great lawyering or some such nonsnese.
we then googled the lyrics to secret and found this very hip and great sounding duo. this song makes fun of the glitterati of the social scene, aka paris and lindsay.
Labels: skippy's music club
a rose by any other name
we wondered why aWol's team had decided to ban the word "jihadist" from the current version of newspeak.
now we know. they're guarding our supply lines in afghanistan.
now we know. they're guarding our supply lines in afghanistan.
pentagoing pentagon
politicky bitch sends us this youtube to followup on pudentilla's post on the rent-a-generals pimping out to the news networks.
Labels: multi-millionaire media, pentagon
Friday, April 25, 2008
skippy's friday nite music club
mad about john mccain
does sadr close on sadrday?
mediabloodhounds reports that mclame hates all sadrists...especially jon stewart and stephen colbert:
aboard his campaign plane yesterday afternoon, the republican presidential candidate answered a question about the dangers of sadrists waging an all-out war on us troops, saying, "well, here's some straight talk for you - i think sadrists like jon stewart and stephen colbert have been waging a war on our troops for years. and it's about time, my friends, that we face this reality and confront them head-on."
attempting to correct the arizona senator, new york times journalist elizabeth bumiller, the reporter who had asked him the question, said, "uh, senator. i don't think stewart and colbert are the sadrists i was referring to."
but mccain, vigorously reiterating his position, replied, "well, maybe not. but they're two of the most popular out there. ratings are high, kids love 'em. here's some more straight talk - i've been on jon's show but i'll admit i was wrong to do it, and i hope my democratic opponents will have the courage to denounce their associations with him, too. the point is, anyone with military chops knows the best strategy for victory is to cut the snake off at the head. my friends, it's time we take these jokers out."
when bumiller tried to correct him one last time, mccain erupted, "look, i don't come to your office at the times, elbow my way threw that third world newsroom of marxist homosexual terrorists, and stand over your desk telling you how to type! so, please - please - my friend, don't tell me how to win a war!"
attempting to correct the arizona senator, new york times journalist elizabeth bumiller, the reporter who had asked him the question, said, "uh, senator. i don't think stewart and colbert are the sadrists i was referring to."
but mccain, vigorously reiterating his position, replied, "well, maybe not. but they're two of the most popular out there. ratings are high, kids love 'em. here's some more straight talk - i've been on jon's show but i'll admit i was wrong to do it, and i hope my democratic opponents will have the courage to denounce their associations with him, too. the point is, anyone with military chops knows the best strategy for victory is to cut the snake off at the head. my friends, it's time we take these jokers out."
when bumiller tried to correct him one last time, mccain erupted, "look, i don't come to your office at the times, elbow my way threw that third world newsroom of marxist homosexual terrorists, and stand over your desk telling you how to type! so, please - please - my friend, don't tell me how to win a war!"
it's no us festival
skippy wishes he was about 30 years younger, he'd be at coachella music festival this weekend.
nice line up, including several bands that have been featured on our late night music club, such as
the verve
the breeders
fatboy slim
tegan and sara
goldfrapp
sharon jones and the dap-kings
vampire weekend
kraftwerk
duffy
(somehow we have failed to feature prince, dwight yoakum, roger waters or holy f*ck. we promise to correct that situation in the near future.)
but it sure sounds like coachella will be rockin' the desert this weekend. wish we were there.
nice line up, including several bands that have been featured on our late night music club, such as
the verve
the breeders
fatboy slim
tegan and sara
goldfrapp
sharon jones and the dap-kings
vampire weekend
kraftwerk
duffy
(somehow we have failed to feature prince, dwight yoakum, roger waters or holy f*ck. we promise to correct that situation in the near future.)
but it sure sounds like coachella will be rockin' the desert this weekend. wish we were there.
Labels: music, skippy's music club
say hello
to who would jesus vote for?
Labels: say hello
imagine yoko winning ben stein's money
yoko ono has brought suit against the producers of the ben stein lie-fest expelled for use of john lennon's song "imagine" w/o permission in that film. asspress:
addendum: thanks to pz and the pharyngulans, we have successfully tipped the scales on the expelled myspace page poll:
in a lawsuit filed in federal court in manhattan, ono accuses the producers of "expelled: no intelligence allowed" of suggesting to viewers that those who guard john lennon's legacy somehow authorized or sponsored the film.
the producers of the film, which features ben stein challenging darwinian theories that prevail in academic circles and suggesting that life could have emerged through intelligent design, said they used only "a very small portion of the song."
"based on the fair use doctrine, news commentators and film documentarians regularly use material in the same way we do," premise media said in a statement. "unbiased viewers of the film will see that the 'imagine' clip was used as part of a social commentary in the exercise of free speech and freedom of inquiry."
ono's lawsuit claims the producers did not ask for permission either because they knew they couldn't get it or because they did not want to pay for the rights. it objects to the way "imagine" is listed in the film's credits, saying it suggested to members of the news media and others that the song's use had been approved.
box office mojo tells us that expelled has grossed about 1/3 as well as the al pacino ham-fest 88 minutes, which opened on the same weekend, but is in twice as many theaters.the producers of the film, which features ben stein challenging darwinian theories that prevail in academic circles and suggesting that life could have emerged through intelligent design, said they used only "a very small portion of the song."
"based on the fair use doctrine, news commentators and film documentarians regularly use material in the same way we do," premise media said in a statement. "unbiased viewers of the film will see that the 'imagine' clip was used as part of a social commentary in the exercise of free speech and freedom of inquiry."
ono's lawsuit claims the producers did not ask for permission either because they knew they couldn't get it or because they did not want to pay for the rights. it objects to the way "imagine" is listed in the film's credits, saying it suggested to members of the news media and others that the song's use had been approved.
addendum: thanks to pz and the pharyngulans, we have successfully tipped the scales on the expelled myspace page poll:
should intelligent design be taught in our education system?
yes = 677 votes
no = 34685 votes
as a side note, we vote for "pz and the pharyngulans" as the best rock band name ever!
yes = 677 votes
no = 34685 votes
why we fight
from last night's newshour segment on the media rent-a-generals -
"And Robert Zelnick, he spent more than 20 years with ABC News and served as their Pentagon correspondent from 1986 to 1994. Today, he teaches journalism at Boston University."
"And Robert Zelnick, he spent more than 20 years with ABC News and served as their Pentagon correspondent from 1986 to 1994. Today, he teaches journalism at Boston University."
"BOB ZELNICK: I wasn't surprised at all. In fact, when I covered the Pentagon, I often sought information from retired generals and admirals and colonels because I knew they were well-informed."I knew they kept in touch. I knew they had drinks at the Army-Navy Club. I know they went to Army-Navy football games on special trains together. I knew that many of them were serving as what we called Beltway bandits or consultants.
So I wasn't surprised at all, except by the amount of space devoted to this piece by the New York Times.
And if I were giving advice to anybody, it would be, if you have an admiral on who is or a general who is currently a consultant to the Pentagon, that should be disclosed right at the top of the interview."
............."BOB ZELNICK: I don't think the Pentagon recruits for ABC News; at least it didn't when I worked there. And I don't think they recruit for Fox or CNN or any of the other networks or cable operations.
I think the term "recruit" was used rather loosely to mean they recommended, perhaps, former generals or admirals to the various networks and, once they had them, they kept them informed.
And I think that's to the good. It meant that more information was available.
If occasionally a general or an admiral or a colonel who was retired and used in this fashion allowed himself to be dictated to, that's his fault. And I think any solid news person or executive editor running one of these programs would have discerned that early on and quit using him."
.............
"BOB ZELNICK: I covered the First Gulf War, and they had just as many military analysts on the networks and the cable shops as they had this time. So it was something that the networks perceived was in their own interest to develop these kinds of contacts.And it was in their interest. It certainly was in my interest as a Pentagon correspondent."
.............
question: quis custodiet ipsos custodes? - juvenal 6.347-348
answer: it sure as heck ain't abc.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
skippy's thursday nite music club
lefty frizzell - cigarettes and coffee blues
lefty frizzell was the premiere honky tonk singer of his time, and the big hit "if you've got the money honey, i've got the time."
wikipedia tells us that lefty once had four songs on the top ten chart, a record that fell only to the beatles.
Labels: skippy's music club
snipes hunt
wesley snipes, tax evader, was sentenced to three years in prison. nytimes:
mr. snipes, who was convicted in february, received one year for each count, to be served consecutively, and an additional year of probation. the sentence was handed down by judge william terrell hodges of federal district court.
mr. snipes, who apologized for his actions before the sentence was announced, showed no immediate reaction to the verdict.
judge hodges allowed mr. snipes and a co-defendant, douglas rosile, to remain free on bond until they were summoned by either the united states marshals service or the federal bureau of prisons.
of course, wesley is used to being summoned by the u.s. marshals.mr. snipes, who apologized for his actions before the sentence was announced, showed no immediate reaction to the verdict.
judge hodges allowed mr. snipes and a co-defendant, douglas rosile, to remain free on bond until they were summoned by either the united states marshals service or the federal bureau of prisons.
that's a riot
suburbn guerilla thinks rush limbaugh might be subject to federal law for his remarks:
rush limbaugh:“we do, hopefully, the right thing for the sake of this country. we’re the only one in charge of our affairs. we don’t farm out our defense if we elect democrats … and riots in denver, at the democratic convention will see to it we don’t elect democrats. and that’s the best damn thing that can happen to this country, as far as i can think,” limbaugh said.is this enough to file charges?…inciting a riot applies to a person who organizes, encourages, or participates in a riot. it can apply to one who urges or instigates others to riot. it does not apply to someone who merely advocates ideas or expresses beliefs, if those ideas and beliefs do not involve advocating violence.the federal crime of inciting a riot carries a possible penalty of up to five years in prison a fine.
Labels: democrats, limbaugh, multi-millionaire media, prez campaign
expellicious
go to expelled: the movement (a myspace space...he can have his space, just keep his space out of our face)...scroll down to under "what others are saying" and vote "no."
earth day birth day; or, none of your falcon business
the san jose falcon cam witnessed the hatching of three chicks on tuesday. abc30.com:
san jose is buzzing over a web cam, showing live baby birds. it's called "falcon cam 2008."
18 stories above the street on top of san jose's city hall, three of four falcon chicks hatched on live tv tuesday morning, as thousands watched from their computers.
click here for the falcon cam 2008
a fourth egg should be hatching any day now.
18 stories above the street on top of san jose's city hall, three of four falcon chicks hatched on live tv tuesday morning, as thousands watched from their computers.
click here for the falcon cam 2008
knuckleheads
we got this from a friend of ours, and we have to admit, this is exactly how we feel about the presidential race these days:
Labels: clinton, hillary, mccain, obama, prez campaign, snark
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
skippy's wednesday nite music club
shorty long - devil with the blue dress on
shorty's version is less rambunctious, and more funky than the mitch rider cover with which you are undoubtedly familiar.
shorty long was one of the original artists signed by motown, and in fact, was the only one besides smokey robinson who was allowed to produce his own recordings.
this was shorty's first of two hits, the other being "here come the judge," which inspired a whole running gag on rowan and martin's laugh-in.
we apologize for the lack of actual video; this youtube clip only shows the cover of shorty's album.
Labels: skippy's music club
the coming depression
and what we mean by "the coming depression," is how you'll feel after reading digby's email from a friend:
meanwhile, the economy is headed south into a recession. unemployment is on the rise, as is inflation. ninety percent of americans think the economy is “not good or poor.” ten percent of ohioans are now on food stamps and the number of americans nationwide on stamps has just set a record. this is the first time an economic expansion has ended and median family income is lower now than it was at the onset. eighty-one percent of americans think the country is on the “wrong track,” another record. by a 20-point margin over iraq, the economy is now cited as the number one issue by voters.
the fed has now become a merger and acquisitions specialist for investment banks. after the public has been put on the hook for $29 billion in highly questionable securities in the bear stearns debacle, there is an acknowledgement by the treasury that there should be just a bit more regulation…
the financial sector broadly defined is now over 20% of the economy. the addiction to risk and debt in the financial sector has dragged down the whole economy. miracle returns at some private equity firms and hedge funds are built on cheap leverage. meanwhile, the small investors saving for retirement are like lambs being led to slaughter. when measured in euros since the peak in 2000, the dow has lost nearly 40% of its value. many of those baby boomers can forget about those extended european retirement trips.
iraq remains a quagmire and now we have the secretary of state openly taunting one of the shiite clerics. this is just like george bush and his infamous “bring ‘em on.” but the administration has managed to keep the war largely off the front page…
but there is little doubt the democratic nominee will have to defeat both mccain and the media in the fall.
the fed has now become a merger and acquisitions specialist for investment banks. after the public has been put on the hook for $29 billion in highly questionable securities in the bear stearns debacle, there is an acknowledgement by the treasury that there should be just a bit more regulation…
the financial sector broadly defined is now over 20% of the economy. the addiction to risk and debt in the financial sector has dragged down the whole economy. miracle returns at some private equity firms and hedge funds are built on cheap leverage. meanwhile, the small investors saving for retirement are like lambs being led to slaughter. when measured in euros since the peak in 2000, the dow has lost nearly 40% of its value. many of those baby boomers can forget about those extended european retirement trips.
iraq remains a quagmire and now we have the secretary of state openly taunting one of the shiite clerics. this is just like george bush and his infamous “bring ‘em on.” but the administration has managed to keep the war largely off the front page…
but there is little doubt the democratic nominee will have to defeat both mccain and the media in the fall.
Labels: democrats, economy, iraq, mccain, multi-millionaire media, prez campaign
oil be missing you
distributorcapny explains the 'crude' truth:
we have many insatiable cravings – more hours of american idol, haagen-dazs® vanilla, watching the travails of britney, talking about who wears flag pins and brent crude.
what is brent crude?
brent crude is a type of sweet crude oil that is used as a benchmark for the prices of other crude oils. brent crude is the brad pitt of petroleum.
like the addict looking for his/her next fix, the us will pay almost anything to satisfy its cravings. and this craving for brent (as well as his cousins dubai crude, arab light and saharan blend) does not come cheap. he is no two-bit hooker, not the kind of guy larry craig would meet in reagan national airport. realizing he is one popular dude, brent has seen his value rise dramatically in the past 7 years, and especially in the past 2 years.
to say the us is dependent on brent crude is the understatement of the millennium. to keep the engine of this country running we are literally transferring our children’s future to other governments and national oil companies – including countries that have been training the very people we have been labeling “turrists’ who hate america.
it is no secret why we are in iraq – and it has nothing to do with roses and candy, spreading democracy or bush’s deep concern with bettering the life of the average iraqi. it has totally do with brent crude.
what is brent crude?
brent crude is a type of sweet crude oil that is used as a benchmark for the prices of other crude oils. brent crude is the brad pitt of petroleum.
like the addict looking for his/her next fix, the us will pay almost anything to satisfy its cravings. and this craving for brent (as well as his cousins dubai crude, arab light and saharan blend) does not come cheap. he is no two-bit hooker, not the kind of guy larry craig would meet in reagan national airport. realizing he is one popular dude, brent has seen his value rise dramatically in the past 7 years, and especially in the past 2 years.
to say the us is dependent on brent crude is the understatement of the millennium. to keep the engine of this country running we are literally transferring our children’s future to other governments and national oil companies – including countries that have been training the very people we have been labeling “turrists’ who hate america.
it is no secret why we are in iraq – and it has nothing to do with roses and candy, spreading democracy or bush’s deep concern with bettering the life of the average iraqi. it has totally do with brent crude.
double digits!
mediabloodhound tells us the networks win pennsylvania in a landslide!
meanwhile, the moderate voice analyzes last night's primary, with views from the mmm and blogtopia and yes, we coined that phrase!
meanwhile, the moderate voice analyzes last night's primary, with views from the mmm and blogtopia and yes, we coined that phrase!
Labels: clinton, democrats, hillary, multi-millionaire media, prez campaign, primaries
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
skippy's tuesday nite music club
alice faye - wild about harry
the beautiful alice faye sings this great eubie blake number in rose of washington square, a story so blatantly based on the real life of zigfeld follies girl fanny brice (barbara streisand played her in funny girl) that ms. brice successfully sued 20th century for invasion of privacy.
alice, or rose, or fanny, is accompanied by the great louie prima as the equally beautiful tyrone power looks on. and yes, that is bert lahr, the cowardly lion at the bar!
Labels: skippy's music club
to quote duncan....
weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!
ed. addendum: via calculated risk, economist robert shiller predicts housing prices could slump worse than the great depression:
foreclosures spiked across the bay area and california during the first quarter, rising more than 300 percent as home values continued to fall. - sfgate
ed. addendum: via calculated risk, economist robert shiller predicts housing prices could slump worse than the great depression:
from the wsj: yale’s shiller: u.s. housing slump may exceed great depression (hat tip hopeinsd)
as of the end of 2007, the case-shiller house price index showed national prices were off 10.2%. i suppose this means shiller is estimating prices fell 5% nationally in q1. very possible.
yale university economist robert shiller ... said there’s a good chance housing prices will fall further than the 30% drop in the historic depression of the 1930s. home prices nationwide already have dropped 15% since their peak in 2006, he said.
“i think there is a scenario that they could be down substantially more,” mr. shiller said during a speech at the new haven lawn club.
mr. shiller, who admitted he has a reputation for being bearish, said real estate cycles typically take years to correct.
historically housing busts take about 5 to 7 years from price peak to trough. if we date the current bust as starting in early 2006, the price bust for existing homes will probably last until 2012 or so. i suspect 2008 will see the steepest price decline, followed by a few years of smaller percentage declines in the bubble areas.“i think there is a scenario that they could be down substantially more,” mr. shiller said during a speech at the new haven lawn club.
mr. shiller, who admitted he has a reputation for being bearish, said real estate cycles typically take years to correct.
as of the end of 2007, the case-shiller house price index showed national prices were off 10.2%. i suppose this means shiller is estimating prices fell 5% nationally in q1. very possible.
Labels: california, economy, foreclosure
did you hug it today?
Labels: earth
punxatawney hill sees shadow, six more weeks of infighting
and she wins pretty decisively, 55% to 46%. abc:
the pressure was on clinton today to win by a large margin. she won 55 percent of the vote, to obama's 45 percent, with 85 percent of the precincts reporting so far.
"hillary clinton needs a clear and convincing victory today in pennsylvania if she wants to continue on in this nominating process," democratic strategist tad devine told abc news this morning.
with neither candidate able to get the 2,025 delegates needed to win the party's nomination, tonight's win in pennsylvania will bolster clinton's argument to superdelegates — the 795 democratic party officials and members of congress who may ultimately decide the nomination.
the latimes points out it's hillary's home state:"hillary clinton needs a clear and convincing victory today in pennsylvania if she wants to continue on in this nominating process," democratic strategist tad devine told abc news this morning.
with neither candidate able to get the 2,025 delegates needed to win the party's nomination, tonight's win in pennsylvania will bolster clinton's argument to superdelegates — the 795 democratic party officials and members of congress who may ultimately decide the nomination.
scranton, pa. -- after six weeks of testy campaigning by hillary rodham clinton and barack obama for the affections of this working-class city that has seen better days, voters streamed to the polls tuesday. and if people such as simon lipchus were any indication, the television ads, interminable robocalls, bad bowling and whiskey sipping didn't make a whole lot of difference.
lipchus, the 64-year-old proprietor of simon's restaurant on market street, a little place with a screen door and great omelets, knew more than a year ago that he would vote for clinton. it was personal: she's from here. no obama miracle or clinton mistake would budge him.
"when her dad passed away, we were down on court street at the methodist church to see her at the funeral," said lipchus from behind the counter, wearing, as was his entire staff, a clinton t-shirt…
she mused about her grandfather toiling in a scranton lace mill at age 11, and the happy summers she spent at the family cottage on nearby lake winola. he set one of his many ads here, won the endorsement of native son sen. robert p. casey jr., and ate pancakes at the landmark glider diner.
for their part, scrantonites thoroughly enjoyed the attention. it was the first time in a generation anyone cared what they had to say in a presidential primary, and if things go the way many want, this morning they will pat themselves on the back for giving clinton's campaign yet another reprieve.
"this felt good," said frank tunis, 60, a republican who switched parties just so he could vote for clinton.
lipchus, the 64-year-old proprietor of simon's restaurant on market street, a little place with a screen door and great omelets, knew more than a year ago that he would vote for clinton. it was personal: she's from here. no obama miracle or clinton mistake would budge him.
"when her dad passed away, we were down on court street at the methodist church to see her at the funeral," said lipchus from behind the counter, wearing, as was his entire staff, a clinton t-shirt…
she mused about her grandfather toiling in a scranton lace mill at age 11, and the happy summers she spent at the family cottage on nearby lake winola. he set one of his many ads here, won the endorsement of native son sen. robert p. casey jr., and ate pancakes at the landmark glider diner.
for their part, scrantonites thoroughly enjoyed the attention. it was the first time in a generation anyone cared what they had to say in a presidential primary, and if things go the way many want, this morning they will pat themselves on the back for giving clinton's campaign yet another reprieve.
"this felt good," said frank tunis, 60, a republican who switched parties just so he could vote for clinton.
Labels: clinton, democrats, hillary, obama, prez campaign, primaries
happy earth day!
as is our tradition here at skippy, we urge you to celebrate earth day by visiting these fine earth-friendly blogs:
creek running north
the biomes blog
snow moon
and our own cookie jill.
creek running north
the biomes blog
snow moon
and our own cookie jill.
Labels: blogtopia, environment
aWol is #1!
in disapproval ratings, that is! usatoady:
president bush has set a record he'd presumably prefer to avoid: the highest disapproval rating of any president in the 70-year history of the gallup poll.
in a usa today/gallup poll taken friday through sunday, 28% of americans approve of the job bush is doing; 69% disapprove. the approval rating matches the low point of his presidency, and the disapproval sets a new high for any president since franklin roosevelt.
the previous record of 67% was reached by harry truman in january 1952, when the united states was enmeshed in the korean war.
bush's rating has worsened amid "collapsing optimism about the economy," says charles franklin, a political scientist at the university of wisconsin-madison who studies presidential approval. record gas prices and a wave of home foreclosures have fueled voter angst.
plus, he's just stupid.
in a usa today/gallup poll taken friday through sunday, 28% of americans approve of the job bush is doing; 69% disapprove. the approval rating matches the low point of his presidency, and the disapproval sets a new high for any president since franklin roosevelt.
the previous record of 67% was reached by harry truman in january 1952, when the united states was enmeshed in the korean war.
bush's rating has worsened amid "collapsing optimism about the economy," says charles franklin, a political scientist at the university of wisconsin-madison who studies presidential approval. record gas prices and a wave of home foreclosures have fueled voter angst.
maybe ohio should run for president
blue girl, red state, thinks mccain's pep-talk to out of work citizens of the rust-belt is a bit, well...self-involved:
john mccain chose to stand in front of a shuttered factory in ohio to tell voters to "reject protectionism" and then went on to draw parallels with the regions economic woes and his own electoral fortunes."a person learns along the way that if you hold on — if you don't quit no matter what the odds — sometimes life will surprise you," mccain said in a speech at youngstown state university after meeting the five remaining workers at fabart, a steel-fabricating factory that had more than 100 employees a few years ago…apparently, he said this with a straight face. in youngstown, ohio. in front of a shuttered factory that used to support families and afforded college educations for the regions children and good-paying union jobs for the residents.
how churlish to make the false-equivalency he made - as if his personal experience with winning the republican nomination in a year when the republican brand is toxic is comparable to the economic malaise that free-trade has brought to the rust-belt.
Labels: economy, mccain, prez campaign
Monday, April 21, 2008
skippy's monday night music club
snow business like show business
we hate to say it, but tim f. at balloon juice makes good sense about tony snow signing on w/cnn:
at least snow is a communications professional, engaging and not obviously retarded.
in fact, that is why i think it was a good choice by cnn. i don’t mean that in any ironic snarky way, it just was. look at it this way: snow might be the one, singular high-level bush appointee who showed a basic ability to do his job. he ran the press in circles of bullshit and empty phrases, but one could say that is the press secretary’s primary job. he didn’t out any cia agents. if the cable channels must pay someone to repeat right-slanted nonsense every few hours, and it’s pointless pretending that won’t happen, i honestly prefer snow to most of the alternatives.
in fact, that is why i think it was a good choice by cnn. i don’t mean that in any ironic snarky way, it just was. look at it this way: snow might be the one, singular high-level bush appointee who showed a basic ability to do his job. he ran the press in circles of bullshit and empty phrases, but one could say that is the press secretary’s primary job. he didn’t out any cia agents. if the cable channels must pay someone to repeat right-slanted nonsense every few hours, and it’s pointless pretending that won’t happen, i honestly prefer snow to most of the alternatives.
Labels: cnn, multi-millionaire media, snow
quote of the day
will at moue magazine, talking about the mmm's penchant for assuming hillary gets the support of bowlers, gun owners and beer drinkers:
the article makes no mention of how they managed to differentiate between these groups; indeed, where i live, bowlers, gun owners, hunters and beer drinkers generally form a single demographic, usually referred to as “the entire goddamn population.” when we bowl, for example, the ball and the lane are optional, but the beer is not.
Labels: class warfare, multi-millionaire media, prez campaign
lowered expelled-tations
ben stein's lie-fest expelled premiered this weekend at the number 9 spot in the nation, right behind horton hears a who, which is in its sixth week.
while we admit that it did only open on a little over 1,000 screens in the nation (which is hardly anything), we are willing to bet that the audience decreases rather than increases. that's the normal trajectory for a film's audeince numbers in these days of big opening weekends. and, as entertainment weekly sez:
expelled not only has to deal with big science and darwin-slanted authority, it also runs up against those damn closed-minded movie critics that dismiss any film that doesn't adhere to the artificial standards of "good," "coherent," and "entertaining."
rotten tomatoes (a aggregate site of national media and cyber critics) gives expelled a mere 9%, meaning only 9% of the reviews of the movie were positive. more specifically, only 2. and one of them was from christianity today.
we predict that, unlike the last temptation of christ, expelled will lose numbers in the coming weeks. but of course, numbers are math, and math is so closely related to science.
and as chaz panzienza said, he blinded me without science.
while we admit that it did only open on a little over 1,000 screens in the nation (which is hardly anything), we are willing to bet that the audience decreases rather than increases. that's the normal trajectory for a film's audeince numbers in these days of big opening weekends. and, as entertainment weekly sez:
also of note, ben stein's political/science documentary expelled: no intelligence allowed (no. 9) earned $3.2 mil. that's a very respectable total for a documentary, although non-fiction fare rarely opens in 1,052 theaters, as this right-leaning movie did. it's also, as you'll no doubt read elsewhere, substantially smaller than the $23.9 mil that the left-leaning fahrenheit 9/11 debuted with in 2004 — but i'm not sure that's a fair comparison given how michael moore's film was about a much more resonant topic, had broad mainstream buzz, and opened during the summer.
also, michael moore was factual in basis, but other than that, it's just the same. expelled not only has to deal with big science and darwin-slanted authority, it also runs up against those damn closed-minded movie critics that dismiss any film that doesn't adhere to the artificial standards of "good," "coherent," and "entertaining."
rotten tomatoes (a aggregate site of national media and cyber critics) gives expelled a mere 9%, meaning only 9% of the reviews of the movie were positive. more specifically, only 2. and one of them was from christianity today.
we predict that, unlike the last temptation of christ, expelled will lose numbers in the coming weeks. but of course, numbers are math, and math is so closely related to science.
and as chaz panzienza said, he blinded me without science.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
skippy's sunday nite music club
skippy just saw scorsese's documentary shine a light. while it was no last waltz, it did inspire us for tonight's music club...
rolling stones - satisfaction
this clip is not from the movie, but the song is.
and for tonite's discussion, we ask you, which was the best stones album ever?
rolling stones - satisfaction
this clip is not from the movie, but the song is.
and for tonite's discussion, we ask you, which was the best stones album ever?
Labels: skippy's music club
steamed rice
condoleezza rice, in the safety of the green zone in iraq, scolded shi'ite cleric al-sadr's warning of open warfare. washpost:
oh, wait...
secretary of state condoleezza rice backed iraq's crackdown on militias in a visit on sunday to baghdad, where the worst fighting in weeks killed 23 after shi'ite cleric moqtada al-sadr threatened all-out war.
rockets blasted the fortified green zone compound where rice met prime minister nuri al-maliki and other officials and praised their month-old campaign against sadr's followers.
she had harsh words for the reclusive cleric, who on the eve of rice's visit vowed "open war" if the crackdown continues. sadr has not appeared in public in iraq in nearly a year.
"he is still living in iran. i guess it's all out war for anybody but him," rice told reporters. "his followers can go to their death and he will still be in iran."
you tell 'em, condi! nothing's worse than a leader who talks tough but refuses to join the fighting himself!rockets blasted the fortified green zone compound where rice met prime minister nuri al-maliki and other officials and praised their month-old campaign against sadr's followers.
she had harsh words for the reclusive cleric, who on the eve of rice's visit vowed "open war" if the crackdown continues. sadr has not appeared in public in iraq in nearly a year.
"he is still living in iran. i guess it's all out war for anybody but him," rice told reporters. "his followers can go to their death and he will still be in iran."
oh, wait...
Labels: condaleeza, iraq war, violence
retail sales are booming!
as long as you are selling gasoline. other retailers are hurting.
happy earth day....
from santa barbara..."ground zero" of earth day celebrations. (and rated #10 best green city in america by country home.)
santa barbara newspress editor thomas storke:
ecological disaster brought reality check. crude oil blasted nine stories into the air on Jan. 28, 1969, from a pipeline that blew out in the santa barbara channel. for the environmental movement, this disaster was the spark that launched earth day...the story goes that earth day was conceived by senator gaylord nelson after a trip he took to santa barbara right after that horrific oil spill off our coast in 1969. he was so outraged by what he saw that he went back to washington and passed a bill designating april 22 as a national day to celebrate the earth. - CEC
when the santa barbara pipeline burst 39 years ago, crude oil flowed for 10 days, eventually covering an 800-mile square area with a dark sheen. the oil even silenced the tide. with the viscous oil melded to it, the waves no longer lapped at the shore. instead, they landed with a heavy thud . bridgeport connecticut post
santa barbara newspress editor thomas storke:
never in my lifetime have i ever seen such an aroused populace at the grassroots level. this oil pollution has done something that i have never seen – it has united citizens of all political persuasions in a truly nonpartisan cause.”u.s. president richard nixon:
it is sad that it was necessary that santa barbara should be the example that had to bring it to the attention of the american people. what is involved is the use of our resources of the sea and the land in a more effective way and with more concern for preserving the beauty and natural resources that are so important to any kind of society that we want for the future. the santa barbara incident has frankly touched the conscience of the american people.go out and hug a tree, ride a bike, take a deep breath, walk through a forest, listen to the birds. show mother earth how much she is appreciated.
Labels: earth, environment, oil, santa barbara
next time i hear a politician say...
"it's hard work!"...i say ship'm on up to work on sig's or phil's boat. now that's freakin' hard (deadly) work.
Labels: alaska, fish, television
Saturday, April 19, 2008
skippy's saturday nite music club
you read it here second
because you probably read it on newshoggers first:
just breaking is the news that muqtada al-sadr has threatened to end his movement's ceasefire, unless the maliki government and us military end their crackdown, in a statement posted to his website.
the cleric says he is giving his final warning to the iraqi government to stop working with the u.s. military against him or he will "declare an open war until liberation."that would also mean that sadr would have to give up any attempts to remain a part of the political process, as general petraeus recently hoped he would. given all that has gone before, including maliki's promise to sideline sadr politically if he didn't disband the mahdi army, i don't see maliki backing down, so...
the threat to lift a more than 7-month-old cease-fire comes amid fighting between al-sadr's mahdi army militia and u.s.-iraqi troops in baghdad's sadr city and the southern city of basra.
the most trusted name in noose
this...is cnn? nypost:
cnn personality richard quest was busted in central park early yesterday with some drugs in his pocket, a rope around his neck that was tied to his genitals, and a sex toy in his boot, law-enforcement sources said.apparently, according to the post, police were able to identify the substance in his pocket as meth, because quest said, "i've got some meth in my pocket."
quest, 46, was arrested at around 3:40 a.m. after a cop spotted him and another man inside the park near 64th street, a police source said...
he was charged with loitering and criminal possession of a controlled substance. his unusual get-up didn't lead to a lewdness charge because he wasn't exposing himself, the police source said...which hotel? the sherry nooserland?
quest's lawyer, alan abramson, had a much more innocuous version of events.
"mr. quest didn't realize that the park had a curfew," abramson said. he was simply "returning to his hotel with friends."
Labels: cnn, multi-millionaire media, scandals, sexscapades
Friday, April 18, 2008
skippy's friday nite music club
we realized we should include this song in our "best covers ever" list...
whitney houston - i will always love you
dolly parton, who wrote this song, has publicly thanked whitney for all the bucks rolling her way due to the popularity of this version.
it does have the best modulation ever in popular music, at around 3:08.
whitney houston - i will always love you
dolly parton, who wrote this song, has publicly thanked whitney for all the bucks rolling her way due to the popularity of this version.
it does have the best modulation ever in popular music, at around 3:08.
Labels: skippy's music club
say hello
to the wild wild left.
Labels: say hello
to be fair, mccain is younger than several jokes we've used on this blog
your mother should know
mediabloodhound gives us the untelevised portion of wednesday's debate:
charles gibson, abc anchor: for the televised portion of this debate, we began segments with brief quotes from the constitution apropos to what we would be discussing. for the untelevised portion, we will move away from the constitution and quote liberally in a wild card fashion from whatever source seems appropriate. ok, so let's continue. "sitting on a cornflake, waiting for the van to come. corporation tee-shirt, stupid bloody tuesday. man, you been a naughty boy, you let your face grow long. i am the eggman, they are the eggmen, i am the walrus, goo goo g'joob."
gibson: that is a quote from the beatles drug-inspired anthem "i am the walrus." senator obama, exactly how stoned were you the first time you heard this song? and did the bog hits, combined with the tabs of acid you ingested, make this song less or more enjoyable?
senator barack obama: you know, charlie, i've already addressed my slight dabbling with drugs when i was a confused youth. i think i went through what many troubled youths go through when –
gibson: but how wasted were you the first time you heard "i am the walrus," senator, and did your psychotic drug binge -- which may have caused you to black out for days on end while committing unspeakable acts you don't remember -- add or subtract from your listening pleasure?
obama: again, charlie, i'm not sure how this helps get americans health insurance, brings home our troops, or fixes the economy.
gibson: i'll take your response as an admission that pot and acid do, in fact, make this song better. but shooting heroin and the possible murders you committed during your unconscious fugue state detracted somewhat from the overall listening experience.
george stephanopoulos, abc anchor: senator clinton, if a tree falls in the woods but no one is there to hear it, did it make a sound?
senator hillary clinton: george, that is something which has been debated for centuries.
stephanopoulos: so you admit there was no gunfire that day you landed in bosnia?
addendum: tim f. over at balloon juice, gives us some back door phone numbers to reach abc to let them know what you think about the debate:gibson: that is a quote from the beatles drug-inspired anthem "i am the walrus." senator obama, exactly how stoned were you the first time you heard this song? and did the bog hits, combined with the tabs of acid you ingested, make this song less or more enjoyable?
senator barack obama: you know, charlie, i've already addressed my slight dabbling with drugs when i was a confused youth. i think i went through what many troubled youths go through when –
gibson: but how wasted were you the first time you heard "i am the walrus," senator, and did your psychotic drug binge -- which may have caused you to black out for days on end while committing unspeakable acts you don't remember -- add or subtract from your listening pleasure?
obama: again, charlie, i'm not sure how this helps get americans health insurance, brings home our troops, or fixes the economy.
gibson: i'll take your response as an admission that pot and acid do, in fact, make this song better. but shooting heroin and the possible murders you committed during your unconscious fugue state detracted somewhat from the overall listening experience.
george stephanopoulos, abc anchor: senator clinton, if a tree falls in the woods but no one is there to hear it, did it make a sound?
senator hillary clinton: george, that is something which has been debated for centuries.
stephanopoulos: so you admit there was no gunfire that day you landed in bosnia?
bc new york newsroom: (212) 456-5100 newsradio@abc.com newsroom fax machine 212.456.5150
peter salinger (the man in charge of election coverage) director, special events & sports 212.456.5105 peter.salinger@abc.com
cristi landesmanager, programming 212.456.5107 cristi.d.landes@abc.com
wayne fisk director, programming 212.456.5327 wayne.fisk@abc.com
jeff fitzgerald executive director, operations 212.456.5554 jeffrey.t.fitzgerald@abc.com
heidi oringer executive director, entertainment 212.456.5541 heidi.b.oringer@abc.com
jon newman news coverage 212.456.5100 jonathan.m.newman@abc.com
joyce alcantara assignment manager 212.456.5106 joyce.a.alcantara@abc.com
jim kane deputy d.c. bureau chief 212.222. 6604 james.f.kane@abc.com
andrew kalb executive director, programming 05.567.2269 andrew.l.kalb@abc.com
robert garcia executive director, news & sports 212.456.5103 robert.garcia@abc.com
double addendum: real journalists write a polite, but firm, letter to abc decrying gibson and snuffleupagus.peter salinger (the man in charge of election coverage) director, special events & sports 212.456.5105 peter.salinger@abc.com
cristi landesmanager, programming 212.456.5107 cristi.d.landes@abc.com
wayne fisk director, programming 212.456.5327 wayne.fisk@abc.com
jeff fitzgerald executive director, operations 212.456.5554 jeffrey.t.fitzgerald@abc.com
heidi oringer executive director, entertainment 212.456.5541 heidi.b.oringer@abc.com
jon newman news coverage 212.456.5100 jonathan.m.newman@abc.com
joyce alcantara assignment manager 212.456.5106 joyce.a.alcantara@abc.com
jim kane deputy d.c. bureau chief 212.222. 6604 james.f.kane@abc.com
andrew kalb executive director, programming 05.567.2269 andrew.l.kalb@abc.com
robert garcia executive director, news & sports 212.456.5103 robert.garcia@abc.com
Labels: debates, multi-millionaire media, snark
quote of the day
by commenter dale (of that's just what i said) over on the carpetbagger report about the democratic debate:
hey since obama wears a flag pin now, obama’s pin laden.
Labels: obama
Thursday, April 17, 2008
skippy's thursday nite music club
it's request time at skippy's late night music club! and this one's for enigma4ever over at watergate summer who asks to hear...
young@heart choir - i wanna be sedated
young@heart choir - i wanna be sedated
Labels: skippy's music club
debate and switch
brad at sadly, no! gives us some more detailed info on complaining to abc:
main abc switchboard: 212-456-7777
please be polite. let the people at the abc switchboard know that you are not upset at them. ask them politely if they would convey to someone in charge how deeply displeased you were with the questions in tonight’s debate. let them know that you are distressed that it took the “reporters” moderating the debate a full 45 minutes to ask one single question about substance.
seriously, folks, i’ve just about had it with our pathetic, petty “press corps.” the people who ran this debate deserve to be shamed and humiliated. please help out.
(thanks to...for the number.)
update: a little bird has informed me that when you call, you should ask for news, and then press 2 then 199. then you can leave a message for “other news.” also, this is the personal e-mail complaint form. i’ve lodged a complaint here as well, and i urge you to do the same.
please be polite. let the people at the abc switchboard know that you are not upset at them. ask them politely if they would convey to someone in charge how deeply displeased you were with the questions in tonight’s debate. let them know that you are distressed that it took the “reporters” moderating the debate a full 45 minutes to ask one single question about substance.
seriously, folks, i’ve just about had it with our pathetic, petty “press corps.” the people who ran this debate deserve to be shamed and humiliated. please help out.
(thanks to...for the number.)
update: a little bird has informed me that when you call, you should ask for news, and then press 2 then 199. then you can leave a message for “other news.” also, this is the personal e-mail complaint form. i’ve lodged a complaint here as well, and i urge you to do the same.
Labels: action alert, debates, multi-millionaire media
hacken stein
ben stein not only plays fast and loose with the facts in his new propaganda piece expelled, he also plays fast and loose with copyright laws, apparently.
he has used john lennon's imagine in his new flick w/o permission. huffpo:
he has used john lennon's imagine in his new flick w/o permission. huffpo:
in fact, the three producers of the movie have admitted they used the song without permission.
this from the wall street journal:
count slowly to 25 seconds and imagine looking at pictures of nazi death camps and hearing john lennon (evidently where they use the song in the movie.)
momentary.
which brings me to ben stein.
ben stein works in hollywood. ben stein knows the rules. ben stein has been proud to go on tv show after radio show and print interview after that and discuss the movie.
i would like to ask ben stein how he feels about using john lennon's song without permission.
and we would like to imagine a song parody about the whole thing. luckily for us, lambert of correntewire is two steps ahead of us!this from the wall street journal:
"in a written statement, the film's three producers -- walt ruloff, john sullivan and logan craft -- acknowledged that they did not seek permission, but they called the use "momentary." "after seeking the opinion of legal counsel it was seen as a first amendment issue and protected under the fair use doctrine of free speech," the statement said. a spokeswoman said under 25 seconds of the song are used in the movie."
momentary. that's what walt, john and logan call stealing, momentary.count slowly to 25 seconds and imagine looking at pictures of nazi death camps and hearing john lennon (evidently where they use the song in the movie.)
momentary.
which brings me to ben stein.
ben stein works in hollywood. ben stein knows the rules. ben stein has been proud to go on tv show after radio show and print interview after that and discuss the movie.
i would like to ask ben stein how he feels about using john lennon's song without permission.
imagine ben stein’s ethics
they’re easy to deny
no good faith above him
below it he will lie
the banality of evil
stealing all away
one thing you can't hide, is when you're crippled inside.they’re easy to deny
no good faith above him
below it he will lie
the banality of evil
stealing all away
Labels: judicial, movies, music, religion, right hypocrisy, science
not up for debate
jill at brilliant at breakfast weighs in on last night's "debate"...
the war in iraq doesn't matter because it's going so swimmingly, even after a suicide bomber hit a funeral procession just north of baghdad today iraq is not "standing up so we can stand down" and vp-wannabe condi "totture dominatrix" rice says that diplomats who refuse posts in iraq will be terminated. the economy doesn't matter, even though oil has topped $115/barrel, housing starts have reached a 17-year low, there's a global shortage of rice which is already causing a humanitarian crisis in volatile north korea. bank stocks are tanking so badly that when the results are slightly less horrendous than expected, the dow picks up over 200 points -- for one day. states with no money to burn are using band-aids to stop the crack in the mortgage dam and keep the foreclosure mess from destroying their towns and cities. if you're arrested for any federal crime (not convicted, just arrested), your dna will be captured and kept by the government forever, even if you are exonerated via trial or charges are dropped. and just to top things off, they're fighting in the gaza strip again.
but does any of this matter to the washington pundit corps? not one bit. what a bunch of multimillionaire pundits are telling you should be important to you is not your dying neighborhood, or your lost job, or your son in iraq, or the trillions of dollars in debt with which your new grandbaby is going to be stuck.
tom shales of the washpost wasn't impressed either:but does any of this matter to the washington pundit corps? not one bit. what a bunch of multimillionaire pundits are telling you should be important to you is not your dying neighborhood, or your lost job, or your son in iraq, or the trillions of dollars in debt with which your new grandbaby is going to be stuck.
for the first 52 minutes of the two-hour, commercial-crammed show, gibson and stephanopoulos dwelled entirely on specious and gossipy trivia that already has been hashed and rehashed, in the hope of getting the candidates to claw at one another over disputes that are no longer news. some were barely news to begin with.
the fact is, cable networks cnn and msnbc both did better jobs with earlier candidate debates. also, neither of those cable networks, if memory serves, rushed to a commercial break just five minutes into the proceedings, after giving each candidate a tiny, token moment to make an opening statement. cable news is indeed taking over from network news, and merely by being competent.
gibson sat there peering down at the candidates over glasses perched on the end of his nose, looking prosecutorial and at times portraying himself as a spokesman for the working class. blunderingly he addressed an early question, about whether each would be willing to serve as the other's running mate, "to both of you," which is simple ineptitude or bad manners. it was his job to indicate which candidate should answer first. when, understandably, both waited politely for the other to talk, gibson said snidely, "don't all speak at once."
for that matter, the running-mate question that gibson made such a big deal over was decidedly not a big deal -- especially since wolf blitzer asked it during a previous debate televised and produced by cnn.
the boyish stephanopoulos, who has done wonders with the network's sunday morning hour, "this week" (as, indeed, has gibson with the nightly "world news"), looked like an overly ambitious intern helping out at a subcommittee hearing, digging through notes for something smart-alecky and slimy. he came up with such tired tripe as a charge that obama once associated with a nutty bomb-throwing anarchist. that was "40 years ago, when i was 8 years old," obama said with exasperation.
the fact is, cable networks cnn and msnbc both did better jobs with earlier candidate debates. also, neither of those cable networks, if memory serves, rushed to a commercial break just five minutes into the proceedings, after giving each candidate a tiny, token moment to make an opening statement. cable news is indeed taking over from network news, and merely by being competent.
gibson sat there peering down at the candidates over glasses perched on the end of his nose, looking prosecutorial and at times portraying himself as a spokesman for the working class. blunderingly he addressed an early question, about whether each would be willing to serve as the other's running mate, "to both of you," which is simple ineptitude or bad manners. it was his job to indicate which candidate should answer first. when, understandably, both waited politely for the other to talk, gibson said snidely, "don't all speak at once."
for that matter, the running-mate question that gibson made such a big deal over was decidedly not a big deal -- especially since wolf blitzer asked it during a previous debate televised and produced by cnn.
the boyish stephanopoulos, who has done wonders with the network's sunday morning hour, "this week" (as, indeed, has gibson with the nightly "world news"), looked like an overly ambitious intern helping out at a subcommittee hearing, digging through notes for something smart-alecky and slimy. he came up with such tired tripe as a charge that obama once associated with a nutty bomb-throwing anarchist. that was "40 years ago, when i was 8 years old," obama said with exasperation.
Labels: debates, multi-millionaire media
stephanopoulos on top of us
in light of last night's travesty of a political debate, we took a look (via news hounds) at the comments on george stephanopolous' abc news bio page:
george, i'm not sure if you are a sell out, because you might have always been a muckraker, and your performance last night but another brick in the stonewalling of real issues. you know, the housing crisis and the economy, health care, fisa, torture
abc news looked pathetic last night. it was a dark day for american journalism.gibson and stephanopolos should apologize to america and then resign. my blind cat could have done a better job!
hey george- nice job dancing like a fox news puppet last night with the question about ayers that hannity demanded you ask. you and charlie did a fine job of taking up an entire hour with rehashed tabloid snoozers about lapel pins as opposed to substantive questions about the environment, education, and health care. hell, even your cameraman was solidly in the clinton camp showing chelsea again and again as if there were no obama suppoters in the house. now i know why i no longer watch abc for news. as an undecided independent prior to the debate, thanks for helping me make my choice for obama.
i am a truly undecided voter who tuned in hoping to hear a substantive discussion of the many serious problems facing our nation and the next president. your questions did not allow either candidate to explain how they are going to address the problems families like mine (approx. family income = $35,000) deal with on a daily basis. i was hoping for questions about the economy and the recent inflation – the worst in thirty years, and if the pledges to bring our troops home are realistic given the likely situation on the ground etc. etc., and instead we got questions about flag pins, obama being “friendly” with ayers, and more beating of the dead horses of rev. wright and bosniagate. shame on you george and shame on abc! your behavior is despicable. is this what you consider being society’s watchdog? asking ludicrous sensationalistic questions apparently given to you by none other than sean hannity!? perhaps if you host another debate you could have rush limbaugh come on as a guest moderator. i will tune in on sunday hoping for a sincere apology for that sorry excuse of a debate. i hope it will not be for the last time.
last night's debate losers: george and charlie. you guys are normally on your game but last turned into a petty debacle that was less informative than the daily show. citizens are interested in real issues, not the "inside the beltway" gossip you posed as questions. admit it: you tried too hard. rather coming off as smart and informed, charlie and you looked like combative poly-sci sophmores, on red bull, in a q&a line-up. this was an opportunity that was lost.
what a disgraceful performance by a little boy who pretends to be a journalist. once a "yes-man" always a "yes-man". nothing more.remember george - whenever i hear the phrase "media-hoares" (and yeah i do know the correct way to spell that), i will see an image of you and charlie in my mind.journalist?? i think not. nothing more than an overpaid prostitute.shameful. despicable.
Labels: clinton, debates, hillary, multi-millionaire media, obama, prez campaign
amanda sucks
and not just because pandagon dropped skippy from their blogroll.
physioprof explains the importance of graciousness in academia and how it applies to blogging.
physioprof explains the importance of graciousness in academia and how it applies to blogging.
Labels: blogtopia
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
skippy's wednesday nite music club
the audacity of pope
a bunch of people sang happy birthday to the pope on the whitehouse lawn today:
one of the largest crowds ever to gather on the lawns of the white house sang an impromptu chorus of happy birthday to pope benedict xvi as the pontiff, who turned 81 today, began the first full day of a visit to the united states.
more than 9,000 guests packed the sun-drenched south lawn as benedict became only the second pope ever to visit the white house and the first in nearly 30 years. he received a 21-gun salute and heard kathleen battle, the american soprano, produce a haunting rendition of the lord's prayer.
81? he's almost as old as john mccain!
more than 9,000 guests packed the sun-drenched south lawn as benedict became only the second pope ever to visit the white house and the first in nearly 30 years. he received a 21-gun salute and heard kathleen battle, the american soprano, produce a haunting rendition of the lord's prayer.
master debaters
abc livestreams the debate here.
addendum: enigma4ever over at watergate summer thinks it was the worst debate ever, and has contact info if you'd like to complain to abc.
addendum: enigma4ever over at watergate summer thinks it was the worst debate ever, and has contact info if you'd like to complain to abc.
Labels: clinton, democrats, hillary, obama, prez campaign, primaries
bitter-bing! a joisey boy!
hillary clinton's ad featuring pennsylvanians who are angry about barack obama's "bitter" remark seems to have hit a snag...mainly, one guy in the ad is actually from new jersey. chitrib political blog the swamp:
clyde thomas, who sports a goatee in the ad and says, “the good people of pennsylvania deserve a lot better than what barack obama said,” is actually registered in new jersey. he voted there for clinton feb. 5. he only recently moved to bethlehem, pa.
“it shouldn’t be a big deal. i explained it to the campaign,” thomas said in an interview. “i see pennsylvanians for what they are. i grew up with the values of pennsylvanians”…
thomas said he was born in scranton, but has lived his entire life in somerville, n.j. he is a 46-year-old unemployed environmental engineer…
asked about the fact that thomas isn’t registered in pennsylvania, clinton campaign spokesman mark nevins said: “clyde has deep roots in pennsylvania and is moving back to the state after having voted in new jersey in their primary for hillary clinton.”
we suppose they can be bitter in jersey, too, but it doesn't help sen. clinton's campaign to present "pennsylvanians," when one of them lived his whole life in the garden state.“it shouldn’t be a big deal. i explained it to the campaign,” thomas said in an interview. “i see pennsylvanians for what they are. i grew up with the values of pennsylvanians”…
thomas said he was born in scranton, but has lived his entire life in somerville, n.j. he is a 46-year-old unemployed environmental engineer…
asked about the fact that thomas isn’t registered in pennsylvania, clinton campaign spokesman mark nevins said: “clyde has deep roots in pennsylvania and is moving back to the state after having voted in new jersey in their primary for hillary clinton.”
oliver willis opines:
a friend of mine noted that the clinton camp has a habit of super-shortsighted flailing. they attack and pile-on at the moment without any sort of long term plan for what to do. it feels good, so they do it, without paying attention to any of the possible long term consequence.
meanwhile, gallup reports that obama's "bitter" remark has changed the minds of pennsylvania voters at the rate of...absolutely none:
obama hypothesized that many of the voters he was talking about "cling" to religion because of their frustration with their economic state. but there is no evidence that more religious democratic voters have shifted their support away from obama as a result of his statement. prior to the controversy, 49% of democrats who say religion is an important part of their lives supported obama and 42% preferred clinton. obama maintains a similar five-point lead among religious democrats in the more recent data...
it certainly appears that, as of april 14 interviewing, obama's remarks have not hurt him -- either among the democratic electorate as a whole or among the democratic constituencies obama was referring to. wednesday night's debate may shine a spotlight on those comments and make them known to a wider audience, so the possibility remains that obama has not completely weathered the storm.
conceivably, obama could be hurt more in a general-election context, where voters with the characteristics he describes might already have an inkling to vote republican, and such remarks could nudge them more in that direction. but gallup's general-election tracking data -- like that for the democratic nomination -- have so far shown no deterioration in obama's standing versus presumptive republican nominee john mccain.
in other words, if the cable screeching heads had reported on something else this week...say, something like...oh, we don't know...off the top of our heads, maybe...torture, then the words "bitter" and "economy" wouldn't have echoed so much in people's minds.
instead the tv news has just reinforced what people are feeling...angry at the wealth being redistributed from the middle class to the monied elites.
and they are bitter.
we'd never thought we'd type these words, but we'll leave you with the thoughts of andrew sullivan:
the latest data from gallup analyzing the democratic race among those with less education and income. no meaningful change. the scandal of obama's alleged elitism seems restricted to ... elites.
if this pans out in the actual primary, then a very large number of pundits and bloggers and pols are going to be revealed as hopelessly out of touch with the country they are talking about.
if this pans out in the actual primary, then a very large number of pundits and bloggers and pols are going to be revealed as hopelessly out of touch with the country they are talking about.
Labels: clinton, democrats, hillary, obama, prez campaign
it takes one to know one
rep. john murtha, himself no spring chicken, sez mclame is too old to be preznit. asspress:
murtha is 75, four years older than mccain. he says they are nearly the same age, and the rigors and stress of running the country is too much for guys their age.
"i've served with seven presidents," murtha told a union audience. "when they come in, they all make mistakes. they all get older."
"this one guy running is about as old as me," he said, drawing laughter and applause. "let me tell you something, it's no old man's job."
if elected, mccain would be the oldest man to become president at age 72. ronald reagan became president at age 69, but he served as president for eight years and was just a few weeks shy of his 78th birthday when he left office.
and just a few tacos shy of a combination plate."i've served with seven presidents," murtha told a union audience. "when they come in, they all make mistakes. they all get older."
"this one guy running is about as old as me," he said, drawing laughter and applause. "let me tell you something, it's no old man's job."
if elected, mccain would be the oldest man to become president at age 72. ronald reagan became president at age 69, but he served as president for eight years and was just a few weeks shy of his 78th birthday when he left office.
Labels: mccain, prez campaign
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
skippy's tuesday nite music club
deep in the heart of taxes
over at jonestown distributorcapny tells us that the only guarantees are death, taxes and that awol is an asshole.
verrrry interesting...
mmm gives props to blogger!
our good blog buddy bradblog got some kudos from the beacon news (and as goes the beacon news, so goes the nation):
if the mass media ever did its job, brad friedman could go back to his former life, the one before 2004 when election scandals became his full-time vocation.
friedman, 41, who lives in los angeles, used to be a computer programmer.
today, he operates the widely known -- in certain circles -- bradblog.com web site that first publicized william singer's complaints against eslate manufacturer hart intercivic.
if the mass media ever did its job, brad friedman could go back to his former life, the one before 2004 when election scandals became his full-time vocation.
friedman, 41, who lives in los angeles, used to be a computer programmer.
today, he operates the widely known -- in certain circles -- bradblog.com web site that first publicized william singer's complaints against eslate manufacturer hart intercivic.
while the associated press offered a scant few paragraphs to describe the recent unsealing of singer's whistleblower lawsuit filed against hart intercivic in federal court in colorado, friedman wrote and extensively analyzed the case.
"the depth and the detail, i was blown away," friedman said of the lawsuit against hart intercivic, which has supplied voting machines to kane county.
four years ago, bradblog had a few pictures of friedman's cat and some doonesbury cartoons. but the site transformed after a vice presidential debate where dick cheney talked about information later "scrubbed" from the white house web site, friedman said. after john kerry's loss in the 2004 presidential election -- where voting concerns in ohio raised questions -- the site and friedman took on a new persona with a mission to expose election fraud.
"the depth and the detail, i was blown away," friedman said of the lawsuit against hart intercivic, which has supplied voting machines to kane county.
four years ago, bradblog had a few pictures of friedman's cat and some doonesbury cartoons. but the site transformed after a vice presidential debate where dick cheney talked about information later "scrubbed" from the white house web site, friedman said. after john kerry's loss in the 2004 presidential election -- where voting concerns in ohio raised questions -- the site and friedman took on a new persona with a mission to expose election fraud.
Labels: blogtopia vs. mmm
mclame makes a mcstake
via blue girl, red state, mclame screws up again...and this time the military times caught it:
republican presidential candidate sen. john mccain of arizona may not have been paying the closest of attention last week during hearings on the bush administration’s iraq policy.
speaking monday at the annual meeting of the associated press, mccain was asked whether he, if elected, would shift combat troops from iraq to afghanistan to intensify the search for al-qaida leader osama bin laden.
“i would not do that unless gen. [david] petraeus said that he felt that the situation called for that,” mccain said, referring to the top u.s. commander in iraq.
petraeus, however, made clear last week that he has nothing to do with the decision. testifying last week before four congressional committees, including the senate armed services committee on which mccain is the ranking republican, petraeus said the decision about whether troops could be shifted from iraq to afghanistan was not his responsibility because his portfolio is limited to the multi-national force in iraq.
decisions about afghanistan would be made by others, he said.
speaking monday at the annual meeting of the associated press, mccain was asked whether he, if elected, would shift combat troops from iraq to afghanistan to intensify the search for al-qaida leader osama bin laden.
“i would not do that unless gen. [david] petraeus said that he felt that the situation called for that,” mccain said, referring to the top u.s. commander in iraq.
petraeus, however, made clear last week that he has nothing to do with the decision. testifying last week before four congressional committees, including the senate armed services committee on which mccain is the ranking republican, petraeus said the decision about whether troops could be shifted from iraq to afghanistan was not his responsibility because his portfolio is limited to the multi-national force in iraq.
decisions about afghanistan would be made by others, he said.
Labels: afghanistan, iraq, mccain, military
expelling bee
our buddy bad tux the snarky penguin has some advice to those of us who want to help pz myers and the national center for science education get the nsce's cite to debunk ben stein's lie-fest expelled higher up on google ranking.
i will point out that the best way to increase the page ranking for expelledexposed is to type the search term "expelled" into google, then scroll down to expelled exposed and click through. google pays far more attention to click-throughs when doing page rankings than to link farming. also search for "expelled movie" and click through to expelled exposed.
here's the google page, go down and click expelled exposed.Labels: religion, right hypocrisy, science
i can't believe it's not bitter!
blogtopia discusses "bittergate":
buzzflash sez it was the myth of ronald reagan that lured the working class into economic destruction;
the freewayblogger gives us the transcript from "sean hannity's america" in 1863 where the panel discusses the question "can lincoln survive gettysberg?"
buzzflash sez it was the myth of ronald reagan that lured the working class into economic destruction;
the freewayblogger gives us the transcript from "sean hannity's america" in 1863 where the panel discusses the question "can lincoln survive gettysberg?"
sean hannity: well, we've got the transcript right here and it looks like mr. lincoln's really put his foot in it this time. the question for our panelists is: "after gettysburg, does lincoln still have a chance for re-election?" pat?
pat buchanan: i'd have to say no sean. right from the start he's set himself up as another liberal elitist, hopelessly out of touch with the voters. "four score and seven..." the number he's looking for is eighty-seven. maybe if he put down his chablis and brie plate for a minute he'd understand how real people actually speak.
laura ingraham: and the whole thing was written on the back of an envelope for cryin' out loud. hey abe, get a clue: it's called "paper." not everybody can use a perfectly good envelope, which as all americans know is meant for mailing things... and he uses it for scratch paper! give me a break!
pat buchanan: i'd have to say no sean. right from the start he's set himself up as another liberal elitist, hopelessly out of touch with the voters. "four score and seven..." the number he's looking for is eighty-seven. maybe if he put down his chablis and brie plate for a minute he'd understand how real people actually speak.
laura ingraham: and the whole thing was written on the back of an envelope for cryin' out loud. hey abe, get a clue: it's called "paper." not everybody can use a perfectly good envelope, which as all americans know is meant for mailing things... and he uses it for scratch paper! give me a break!
Labels: faux news, multi-millionaire media, obama
expoiled
your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to get the national center for science education's counter site to the ben stein laff-riot expelled higher rankings on the search engines.
the way to do that is to link to the site using the word expelled.
the ncse site contains detailed refuting of the bogus claims of the movie expelled, on a case by case basis, as well as general discussion of evolution and intelligent design from a scientific standpoint (ie, reproducable results), as opposed to the faith-based (and apparently lie-based) propaganda found in the movie expelled.
also on the site: a look at the movie's dishonest approach to interview techniques and other bad journalistic/documentary practices.
getting the nsce site higher on the search engine rankings is the idea of pz myers, who himself got expelled from the movie expelled.
the way to do that is to link to the site using the word expelled.
the ncse site contains detailed refuting of the bogus claims of the movie expelled, on a case by case basis, as well as general discussion of evolution and intelligent design from a scientific standpoint (ie, reproducable results), as opposed to the faith-based (and apparently lie-based) propaganda found in the movie expelled.
also on the site: a look at the movie's dishonest approach to interview techniques and other bad journalistic/documentary practices.
getting the nsce site higher on the search engine rankings is the idea of pz myers, who himself got expelled from the movie expelled.
blue plagiarism special
clifford irving, jayson blair, stephen glass...cindy mccain???
huffpo:
of course, the media will probably only report that michelle obama's recipe for tollhouse cookies calls for "bitter" chocolate.
huffpo:
it seems that cindy mccain, john mccain's perfect, blonde beer-baroness wife is about to find herself painted as the latest example of plagiarism on the campaign trail.
this past sunday, lauren handel, an eagle-eyed attorney from new york, was searching for a specific recipe from giada delaurentis, a chef on the food network. yet whenever she googled the different ingredients in the recipe, the oddest thing happened: not only did the food network's site come up, as expected, but so did john mccain's campaign site.
on a section of mccain's site called "cindy's recipes," you can find seven recipes attributed to cindy mccain, each with the heading "mccain family recipe." ms. handel quickly realized that some of the "mccain family recipes," were in fact, word-for-word copies of recipes on the food network site.
at least three of the "mccain family recipes" appear to be lifted directly from the food network, while at least one is a rachael ray recipe with minor changes.
you can examine both sets of recipes on the huffpo page.this past sunday, lauren handel, an eagle-eyed attorney from new york, was searching for a specific recipe from giada delaurentis, a chef on the food network. yet whenever she googled the different ingredients in the recipe, the oddest thing happened: not only did the food network's site come up, as expected, but so did john mccain's campaign site.
on a section of mccain's site called "cindy's recipes," you can find seven recipes attributed to cindy mccain, each with the heading "mccain family recipe." ms. handel quickly realized that some of the "mccain family recipes," were in fact, word-for-word copies of recipes on the food network site.
at least three of the "mccain family recipes" appear to be lifted directly from the food network, while at least one is a rachael ray recipe with minor changes.
of course, the media will probably only report that michelle obama's recipe for tollhouse cookies calls for "bitter" chocolate.
Labels: food, mccain, prez campaign
bitter vote
Monday, April 14, 2008
skippy's monday nite music club
cowboy troy w/big & rich - i play chicken with the train
purists of both country and hip hop will disagree, but cowboy troy merges the two genres...it's more sh*t-kicker than m*therf*cker, but it's still got a beat and you can dance to it, we give it a 10.
Labels: skippy's music club
the radio goddess....randi rhodes
returns....to the airwaves and west palm beach.
the goddess has truly come home.
following her departure from the liberal air america talk radio network last week, controversial host randi rhodes is bringing her nationally syndicated afternoon drive-time show back to wjno-am 1290 in west palm beach, starting today. - palm beach post
wjno 1290
mon-fri, 3:00pm-6:00pm (live)
sat, 9:00am-noon (best of)
talkline: 866-87-randi
she's blogging over at her new syndicators, nova m radio, too. podcasts are coming soon!
Labels: air america, florida, randi
good ol' boy
editor's addendum: luckily for the multi-millionaire media, another verbal gaffe has come along just as obama's bittergate starts to fade, thus absolving the screeching heads of the responsibility to report on war crimes or torture or anything inconsequential like that.
language raises it's ugly elephantine head.
language raises it's ugly elephantine head.
....u.s. rep. geoff davis, a hebron republican, compared obama and his message for change similar to a "snake oil salesman."
..."i'm going to tell you something: that boy's finger does not need to be on the button," davis said. - polwatchers and talking points memo
guess davis is now apologizing...
my poor choice of words is regrettable and was in no way meant to impugn you or your integrity. i offer my sincere apology to you and ask for your forgiveness. - firstread msnbcwhy...bless his little heart.
Labels: racism, republicans
like, "duh!"
i have some money down on the hayward fault getting "jiggy wit it."
california has more than a 99% chance of having a magnitude 6.7 or larger earthquake within the next 30 years, according scientists using a new model to determine the probability of big quakes.santa barbara certainly knows earthquakes. "adobe disneyland" got walloped in 1925 with a 6.3 and had about 36 blocks of downtown leveled.
the likelihood of a major quake of magnitude 7.5 or greater in the next 30 years is 46%-and such a quake is most likely to occur in the southern half of the state. - science news
Labels: california, earthquake
poor african americans
used as "lab rats" by the government. yet, again.
scientists using federal grants spread fertilizer made from human and industrial wastes on yards in poor, black neighborhoods to test whether it might protect children from lead poisoning in the soil. families were assured the sludge was safe and were never told about any harmful ingredients.
nine low-income families in baltimore row houses agreed to let researchers till the sewage sludge into their yards and plant new grass. in exchange, they were given food coupons as well as the free lawns as part of a study published in 2005 and funded by the housing and urban development department.
...in the late 1990s the government began underwriting studies such as those in baltimore and east st. louis using poor neighborhoods as laboratories to make a case that sludge may also directly benefit human health.meanwhile, there has been a paucity of research into the possible harmful effects of heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, other chemicals and disease-causing microorganisms often found in sludge.
..the maryland court of appeals likened the study to nazi medical research on concentration camp prisoners, the u.s. government's 40-year tuskegee study that denied treatment for syphilis to black men in order to study the illness and japan's use of "plague bombs" in world war 2 to infect and study entire villages.
"these programs were somewhat alike in the vulnerability of the subjects: uneducated african-american men, debilitated patients in a charity hospital, prisoners of war, inmates of concentration camps and others falling within the custody and control of the agencies conducting or approving the experiments," the court said. - ap via examiner.com san jose
so..where's the "outrage" over this? where's the concern for the health of the kids who played on this stuff? oh, yeah...forgot. it's not plastic toys made for white kids and we can't blame the chinese.
for shame. and, like, who was "in charge" in the late 1990's?
Labels: government, racism, toxins
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