Sunday, August 31, 2008
skippy's sunday nite music club
dick hyman - the finger breaker
dick plays the old jelly roll morton show off piece.
say what?
republicans who can't track billions of dollars in iraq aid want us to send our hurricane donations to them to handle?
Labels: corruption, hurricane, iraq war, republicans
if mccain and the rethugs are heading to nola
we need to remind the american public what happened when rethugs went down to the gulf after katrina.
so, if mccain and palin are truly "mavericks" and wanting to stop government waste and crony corruption, they need to call out the profiteering from republiccan friends, family, etc. they need to call for hauling haley barbour, senator mel martinez, halliburton and joe allbaugh up to congress to do some seriously explaining. 3 years to late, but if they are truly "mavericks", the need to do this.
i'm not holding my breath on this happening, however.
pacific views reminds us who was in touring the 9th ward right after katrina and who held a hearing on the destruction....and who didn't.
so, if mccain and palin are truly "mavericks" and wanting to stop government waste and crony corruption, they need to call out the profiteering from republiccan friends, family, etc. they need to call for hauling haley barbour, senator mel martinez, halliburton and joe allbaugh up to congress to do some seriously explaining. 3 years to late, but if they are truly "mavericks", the need to do this.
i'm not holding my breath on this happening, however.
pacific views reminds us who was in touring the 9th ward right after katrina and who held a hearing on the destruction....and who didn't.
... "there is not a sense of urgency in this administration to get this done," said [sen. barack obama (d-il)]. "you get a sense that will has been lacking in the last several months."
obama, the senate's only african-american member, was in new orleans for a field hearing on gulf coast rebuilding conducted by the senate homeland security and governmental affairs committee.
... after monday's field hearing, the senate committee took a bus tour of the city's lower 9th ward, a low-income black neighborhood where many ruined homes sit empty and bear the painted x-marks used in the chaotic weeks following the hurricane to show which buildings had been searched for survivors.
... the hearing is one of the first that the homeland security committee has scheduled since the senate passed to democratic control. no republican members attended. ...
Labels: katrina, mccain, palin, republicans
quote of the day
the official whiskey fire reaction to the sarah palin vice presidential nomination:
what, was victoria jackson busy?
pardon us, but we'll take a nanny state any day
police in minneapolis have conducted "pre-emptive" raids on hippies in the twin cities in advance of the gop conventin. startrib:
five people were arrested and more than 100 were handcuffed, questioned and released by scores of deputies and police officers, according to police and elected officials familiar with the raids.
in a statement saturday morning, ramsey county sheriff bob fletcher said the st. paul raid targeted the rnc welcoming committee, a group he described as "a criminal enterprise made up of 35 self-described anarchists...intent on committing criminal acts before and during the republican national convention."…
but the raids drew immediate condemnation from activists and st. paul city councilman dave thune, whose district includes the former theater at 627 smith avenue south, which was rented by activists as a gathering space.
"this is not the way to start things off," thune said saturday morning. "this is sending the wrong message. regardless of how you feel about these people...they had a right to be there."
the vast majority of people harrassed and detained (and handcuffed) by the police were later released w/o charges. and it seems that sheriff fletcher may have over-stepped his jurisdiction:in a statement saturday morning, ramsey county sheriff bob fletcher said the st. paul raid targeted the rnc welcoming committee, a group he described as "a criminal enterprise made up of 35 self-described anarchists...intent on committing criminal acts before and during the republican national convention."…
but the raids drew immediate condemnation from activists and st. paul city councilman dave thune, whose district includes the former theater at 627 smith avenue south, which was rented by activists as a gathering space.
"this is not the way to start things off," thune said saturday morning. "this is sending the wrong message. regardless of how you feel about these people...they had a right to be there."
thune was especially critical of fletcher for taking action within st. paul city limits.
"i'm really ticked off...the city is perfectly capable of taking care of things," thune said. "if they had found anything that could have been used to commit a crime they would have arrested somebody."...
those arrested could be held through the weekend, [lawyers' guild representative bruce] nestor said. a judge will review their case within 48 hours. nestor said the conspiracy to commit a riot charges are vague.
"this is a charge that police use for preventive detention," he said. "it requires that no actual criminal act be committed and borders on criminalizing political advocacy."...
thune estimates that about 100 people were in the theater and detained. he said deputies knocked down the door using a police battering ram and then deputies went in with guns drawn, forcing people to the ground.
the group says they are now accused of a fire code violation and the theater was boarded shut on orders of fletcher. this last action also upset thune, who said the sheriff had no authority to order city staff to keep people out of a building.
jane hamsher and cliff shechter of fdl were there at the scene of one of the raids. lindsay beyerstein was at another.
"i'm really ticked off...the city is perfectly capable of taking care of things," thune said. "if they had found anything that could have been used to commit a crime they would have arrested somebody."...
those arrested could be held through the weekend, [lawyers' guild representative bruce] nestor said. a judge will review their case within 48 hours. nestor said the conspiracy to commit a riot charges are vague.
"this is a charge that police use for preventive detention," he said. "it requires that no actual criminal act be committed and borders on criminalizing political advocacy."...
thune estimates that about 100 people were in the theater and detained. he said deputies knocked down the door using a police battering ram and then deputies went in with guns drawn, forcing people to the ground.
the group says they are now accused of a fire code violation and the theater was boarded shut on orders of fletcher. this last action also upset thune, who said the sheriff had no authority to order city staff to keep people out of a building.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
skippy's saturday nite music club
sure, it's supertramp, but still...
supertramp - give a little bit - live!
supertramp - give a little bit - live!
thanks, kevin!
our good friend kevin drum, who is now blogging at mother jones, was kind enough to put us on his new blogroll.
be sure to read him daily. we do! if only to say, "thanks for remembering the little guys, kevin!"
be sure to read him daily. we do! if only to say, "thanks for remembering the little guys, kevin!"
palin by comparison
the ktva channel 11 in anchorage report on gov. palin's admission that her office did indeed pressure walt monegan to fire palin's ex-brother-in-law mike wooten from the state troopers.
the funny part comes at the end, when the anchor gives the result of the phone-in poll which asks "do you believe the governor when she says she knew nothing about these phone calls?" only 12% answered "yes."
the truth "behind" sarah palin
rhebus canneebus
the sailor has a palin-drone over at vidiotspeak.
there's no business like cho business
our good friend joe gandelman of the moderate voice had a guest appearance on vh1's margaret cho show.
go over and see the embed of the promo featuring joe!
go over and see the embed of the promo featuring joe!
was mcmuffin thinking w/his big head or little head?
best website about veeps evah: vpil.com
addendum: if anyone fears that the choice ofmichael sarah palin will appeal to disaffected pumas, pls. read the comments on ben smith's blog.
double addendum: take a look at mudflats, an alaskan blog, for an on-the-ground view of troopergate, as well as other details about sarah.
addendum: if anyone fears that the choice of
double addendum: take a look at mudflats, an alaskan blog, for an on-the-ground view of troopergate, as well as other details about sarah.
mad about sarah palin
mad kane, that is!
so much for all that talk about experience...
john mccain has picked sarah palin, the governor of alaska, to be his running mate. one of two things made this happen. either he was forced to settle on palin because mitt romney, rudy giuliani, mike huckabee, tim pawlenty, ron paul, fred thompson, duncan hunter, joe lieberman, tom ridge, kay hutchinson, condi rice, colin powell, eric cantor, john ashcroft, christine todd whitman, dan quayle, ann coulter, rush limbaugh, dennis miller, ted nugent, harriet miers, and dick cheney all told him to p!$$ off... or mccain has, in fact, gone totally bonkers. i'll place my money on the second possibility.
next subject...
next subject...
Labels: election, it is what it is, mccain, politics
Friday, August 29, 2008
skippy's friday nite music club
a whiter shade of palin
the reaction has some reactions to mcmuffin's veep pick:
mccain picks alaska's gov. sarah palin
mccain's own dan quayle
mccain chooses sacrificial lamb for vp
mccain vp confusion: staff had canadian actress sarah polley in dayton hotel for htree days
mccain picks alaska's gov. sarah palin
mccain's own dan quayle
mccain chooses sacrificial lamb for vp
mccain vp confusion: staff had canadian actress sarah polley in dayton hotel for htree days
q ratings
remember this next week: 38 million view obama's speech: highest-rated convention in history
the audience estimate of 38.3 million means that mr. obama’s speech reached more viewers than the olympics opening ceremony in beijing, the final “american idol” or the academy awards this year, the associated press notes.
furthermore, the four-night democratic convention ranks as the most-watched convention of either party, democratic or republican, since nielsen began measuring conventions in 1960.
the four nights of “common coverage” by networks — 10 to 11 p.m. monday through thursday — were viewed by an average of 22.4 million households, nielsen said friday. previously, the highest-rated democratic convention occurred in 1980 with 20.5 million households watching, and the highest-rated republican convention occurred in 1976 with 21.9 million households watching.
we can't wait for the start of football season!
furthermore, the four-night democratic convention ranks as the most-watched convention of either party, democratic or republican, since nielsen began measuring conventions in 1960.
the four nights of “common coverage” by networks — 10 to 11 p.m. monday through thursday — were viewed by an average of 22.4 million households, nielsen said friday. previously, the highest-rated democratic convention occurred in 1980 with 20.5 million households watching, and the highest-rated republican convention occurred in 1976 with 21.9 million households watching.
woot! woot! wooten!
more on gop veep nominee michael sarah palin's brother-in-law problems:
the biggest concern for the alaskan governor now seems to be the fact that, while her aide frank bailey insists he was acting w/o her knowledge when he called the public safety commission to get palin's ex-brother-in-law, mike wooten, fired from the state troopers, palin has only suspended bailey, with pay, as a result.
now, that's not so bad. but gov. palin has fired the head of the public safety commission who refused to fire trooper wooten.
the anchorage daily news sees this as an ethics conundrum for gov. palin:
questions of "experience" have been lobbed at barack "to the future" obama, and yet when the same questions are brought to bear against gov. palin, the hardly-ever-right's talking point seems to be "she has far more 'executive' experience than obama."
irrespective of the validity of comparing experience in the executive branch of goverment to that in the legislative branch (what, a senator doesn't delegate? doesn't pick staff? doesn't run an office?), the question comes up pondering what kind of 'executive' experience this messy divorce/firing scandal shows gov. palin to be capable of.
at the very best, it proves that gov. palin picks bad people to work for her. frank bailey, if we take him at his word, went out on his own to pressure a government agency to fire an in-law on behalf of the governor w/o her knowledge. surely anybody with the political acumen of barney fife would know how that would look when it got out.
and at it's worst, the whole affair smacks of reverse nepotism, and corruption at the highest level. problems in the family? the governor's office just picks up the phone and gets the problem relative fired! (or tries to).
and even overlooking either best or worst case scenario, the fact that the governor fired the public safety commissioner who wouldn't buckle under to pressure, but is still paying her aide who excerted the pressure is not good.
beyond that, it's being reported that mcmuffin only met gov. palin once. what does that say about his judgement?
the biggest concern for the alaskan governor now seems to be the fact that, while her aide frank bailey insists he was acting w/o her knowledge when he called the public safety commission to get palin's ex-brother-in-law, mike wooten, fired from the state troopers, palin has only suspended bailey, with pay, as a result.
now, that's not so bad. but gov. palin has fired the head of the public safety commission who refused to fire trooper wooten.
the anchorage daily news sees this as an ethics conundrum for gov. palin:
why is gov. sarah palin's aide frank bailey still collecting a state paycheck?
a recorded phone call proves that bailey used his official position to try to get the alaska troopers to fire officer mike wooten. bailey made it clear he was acting on the governor's concerns about trooper wooten, who happens to be her estranged former brother-in-law. wooten was suspended but not fired for what his supervisor determined was "a significant pattern of judgment failures" and "a course of conduct totally at odds with the ethics of our profession."…
the facts here are not in dispute. with the behavior documented on the recording, he has discredited her avowed goal of running an ethically responsible administration, and he should be fired…
there's no reason for gov. palin to pussyfoot around with bailey's case. this is not one of those state personnel matters where you have to move heaven and earth to sack the offending employee. bailey, a former campaign aide, is a political appointee and can be fired at will.
public safety commissioner walt monegan also served at the pleasure of the governor, and she got rid of him. she cited performance issues, rather than his refusal to re-open wooten's case for further disciplinary action.
so gov. palin's ethically compromised aide frank bailey gets to stay on the state payroll, despite doing dirty work on the governor's behalf, but she gives the hook to the ethically upright public safety commissioner who refused to do bailey's bidding.
what kind of message does that send to alaskans?
the bigger question is, what kind of message does this send to americans looking to choose a new administration in november?a recorded phone call proves that bailey used his official position to try to get the alaska troopers to fire officer mike wooten. bailey made it clear he was acting on the governor's concerns about trooper wooten, who happens to be her estranged former brother-in-law. wooten was suspended but not fired for what his supervisor determined was "a significant pattern of judgment failures" and "a course of conduct totally at odds with the ethics of our profession."…
the facts here are not in dispute. with the behavior documented on the recording, he has discredited her avowed goal of running an ethically responsible administration, and he should be fired…
there's no reason for gov. palin to pussyfoot around with bailey's case. this is not one of those state personnel matters where you have to move heaven and earth to sack the offending employee. bailey, a former campaign aide, is a political appointee and can be fired at will.
public safety commissioner walt monegan also served at the pleasure of the governor, and she got rid of him. she cited performance issues, rather than his refusal to re-open wooten's case for further disciplinary action.
so gov. palin's ethically compromised aide frank bailey gets to stay on the state payroll, despite doing dirty work on the governor's behalf, but she gives the hook to the ethically upright public safety commissioner who refused to do bailey's bidding.
what kind of message does that send to alaskans?
questions of "experience" have been lobbed at barack "to the future" obama, and yet when the same questions are brought to bear against gov. palin, the hardly-ever-right's talking point seems to be "she has far more 'executive' experience than obama."
irrespective of the validity of comparing experience in the executive branch of goverment to that in the legislative branch (what, a senator doesn't delegate? doesn't pick staff? doesn't run an office?), the question comes up pondering what kind of 'executive' experience this messy divorce/firing scandal shows gov. palin to be capable of.
at the very best, it proves that gov. palin picks bad people to work for her. frank bailey, if we take him at his word, went out on his own to pressure a government agency to fire an in-law on behalf of the governor w/o her knowledge. surely anybody with the political acumen of barney fife would know how that would look when it got out.
and at it's worst, the whole affair smacks of reverse nepotism, and corruption at the highest level. problems in the family? the governor's office just picks up the phone and gets the problem relative fired! (or tries to).
and even overlooking either best or worst case scenario, the fact that the governor fired the public safety commissioner who wouldn't buckle under to pressure, but is still paying her aide who excerted the pressure is not good.
beyond that, it's being reported that mcmuffin only met gov. palin once. what does that say about his judgement?
you got to hand it to the reds
we think she's an obscure, inexperienced, forced-life, creationist from upper-outer-nowhere, but on the values that republican's care about, like abuse of executive power, she's ready on day one:
see tpm.
see tpm.
mccain to senior staffers: "i said michael palin!!"
john mcmuffin has effectively undercut all the hardly-ever-right's talking points against barack obama by picking somebody w/less experience than anyone else short of gladys kravitz to be his running mate. cnn:
sen. john mccain on friday announced alaska gov. sarah palin as his vice presidential candidate, calling her "the running mate who can best help me shake up washington."…
palin is a first-term governor who unseated incumbent gov. frank murkowski in the republican primary in 2006 and went on to defeat former gov. tony knowles, a democrat, in the general election.
she will be the first woman to be nominated for vice president as a republican and only the second to run for vice president on a major party ticket, after democrat geraldine ferraro in 1984.
even tho gov. palin has scant experience on the national stage, she will probably fit right in w/the repubbblican party in washington, dc. as think progress points out, she's under investigation:palin is a first-term governor who unseated incumbent gov. frank murkowski in the republican primary in 2006 and went on to defeat former gov. tony knowles, a democrat, in the general election.
she will be the first woman to be nominated for vice president as a republican and only the second to run for vice president on a major party ticket, after democrat geraldine ferraro in 1984.
but palin’s reformer image took a hit last month when she was accused of attempting to get a state trooper fired. that state trooper was her former brother-in-law who had gone through “a messy divorce” with her sister. after the trooper’s boss wouldn’t act on the governor’s request, she fired him. though palin says she doesn’t “have anything to hide” and she “didn’t do anything wrong there,” an investigation has found that one of her aides pushed the firing:
think progress also mentions that ted stevens and his son, both currently under investigation, are also from alaska, and that sen. stevens endorsed gov. palin, and gov. palin returned the favor by refusing to call for stevens' resignation when his scandal broke.
gov. sarah palin on wednesday revealed an audio recording that shows an aide pressuring the public safety department to fire a state trooper embroiled in a custody battle with her sister.
palin, who has previously said her administration didn’t exert pressure to get rid of trooper mike wooten, also disclosed that members of her staff had made about two dozen contacts with public safety officials about the trooper.
palin, who has previously said her administration didn’t exert pressure to get rid of trooper mike wooten, also disclosed that members of her staff had made about two dozen contacts with public safety officials about the trooper.
august 29, 2005
the visual reminder of the two americas.
one american celebrated his birthday at the same time an american city drowned.
Labels: katrina, mccain, new orleans
Thursday, August 28, 2008
skippy's thursday nite music club
my robot friend - robot high school
let's do "skippy!"
we just realized that joe biden's son's name sounds like the banana fanna song:
biden biden beau biden
banana fanna fo fiden
fee fi mo miden...biden!
biden biden beau biden
banana fanna fo fiden
fee fi mo miden...biden!
yes we klan
raw story picks up an interesting point which was first reported, strangely enough, by a fox affiliate about the mcmuffin campaign's latest tv ad.
apparently the local fox news anchor found a rather disturbing image in the ad: the "c" and the "e" in the word "change" had been blacked out to leave another word hanging over obama's head:
apparently the local fox news anchor found a rather disturbing image in the ad: the "c" and the "e" in the word "change" had been blacked out to leave another word hanging over obama's head:
the words "higher taxes" are transposed on an image of obama standing in front of a crowd. the background is blurred at the edges so that the words from obama's signature theme -- change -- has been cut down to the word "hang." the shot appears for about a second. you can watch the ad in its entirety below.
asked about the image, the mccain camp said, "we're not even validating such an outrageous and preposterous claim with a comment."
strikingly, the image of obama with the word hang in the background is blurred far more heavily on the side where the c would have been, suggesting the decision was intentional. the company that produced the ad refused to comment when the local fox affiliate inquired.
not everyone is buying the claim the transposition is deliberate. even at the liberal blog daily kos, an informal poll indicated 76 percent thought the image was deliberate, with 23 percent saying it was a coincidence.
sure, it's a coincidence. just like the picture of mcmuffin w/the word "schmoldfartkbbllqrst" superimposed over his head, w/a few letters blacked out.
asked about the image, the mccain camp said, "we're not even validating such an outrageous and preposterous claim with a comment."
strikingly, the image of obama with the word hang in the background is blurred far more heavily on the side where the c would have been, suggesting the decision was intentional. the company that produced the ad refused to comment when the local fox affiliate inquired.
not everyone is buying the claim the transposition is deliberate. even at the liberal blog daily kos, an informal poll indicated 76 percent thought the image was deliberate, with 23 percent saying it was a coincidence.
barack you like a hurricane
obama was pretty classy opening his speech by thanking hillary and bill.
plus, he seems to be switching between talking to the crowd of 85,000 and right to the camera w/ease and comfort, being intimate w/both.
great line: "america, we are better than these last 8 years." wow, out of the park w/that one!
also nice: next week in minnesota, the party that brought you the last two terms will ask you for a third.
tag of the night: 8 is enough!
more great moments (taken from the nytimes transcript):
plus, he seems to be switching between talking to the crowd of 85,000 and right to the camera w/ease and comfort, being intimate w/both.
great line: "america, we are better than these last 8 years." wow, out of the park w/that one!
also nice: next week in minnesota, the party that brought you the last two terms will ask you for a third.
tag of the night: 8 is enough!
more great moments (taken from the nytimes transcript):
but the record's clear: john mccain has voted with george bush 90 percent of the time.
senator mccain likes to talk about judgment, but, really, what does it say about your judgment when you think george bush has been right more than 90 percent of the time?
i don't know about you, but i am not ready to take a 10 percent chance on change.
. . .
now, i don't believe that senator mccain doesn't care what's going on in the lives of americans; i just think he doesn't know.
. . .
washington has been talking about our oil addiction for the last 30 years. and, by the way, john mccain has been there for 26 of them.
and in that time, he has said no to higher fuel-efficiency standards for cars, no to investments in renewable energy, no to renewable fuels. and today, we import triple the amount of oil than we had on the day that senator mccain took office.
. . .
you know, john mccain likes to say that he'll follow bin laden to the gates of hell, but he won't even follow him to the cave where he lives.
. . .
we are the party of roosevelt. we are the party of kennedy. so don't tell me that democrats won't defend this country. don't tell me that democrats won't keep us safe.
the bush-mccain foreign policy has squandered the legacy that generations of americans, democrats and republicans, have built, and we are here to restore that legacy.
. . .
as commander-in-chief, i will never hesitate to defend this nation, but i will only send our troops into harm's way with a clear mission and a sacred commitment to give them the equipment they need in battle and the care and benefits they deserve when they come home.
. . .
the times are too serious, the stakes are too high for this same partisan playbook. so let us agree that patriotism has no party. i love this country, and so do you, and so does john mccain.
the men and women who serve in our battlefields may be democrats and republicans and independents, but they have fought together, and bled together, and some died together under the same proud flag. they have not served a red america or a blue america; they have served the united states of america.
so i've got news for you, john mccain: we all put our country first.
on a humorous note, mrs. skippy thought that the sky cam draped w/red & white banners looked like "the guys that talk on mystery science theater."
senator mccain likes to talk about judgment, but, really, what does it say about your judgment when you think george bush has been right more than 90 percent of the time?
i don't know about you, but i am not ready to take a 10 percent chance on change.
. . .
now, i don't believe that senator mccain doesn't care what's going on in the lives of americans; i just think he doesn't know.
. . .
washington has been talking about our oil addiction for the last 30 years. and, by the way, john mccain has been there for 26 of them.
and in that time, he has said no to higher fuel-efficiency standards for cars, no to investments in renewable energy, no to renewable fuels. and today, we import triple the amount of oil than we had on the day that senator mccain took office.
. . .
you know, john mccain likes to say that he'll follow bin laden to the gates of hell, but he won't even follow him to the cave where he lives.
. . .
we are the party of roosevelt. we are the party of kennedy. so don't tell me that democrats won't defend this country. don't tell me that democrats won't keep us safe.
the bush-mccain foreign policy has squandered the legacy that generations of americans, democrats and republicans, have built, and we are here to restore that legacy.
. . .
as commander-in-chief, i will never hesitate to defend this nation, but i will only send our troops into harm's way with a clear mission and a sacred commitment to give them the equipment they need in battle and the care and benefits they deserve when they come home.
. . .
the times are too serious, the stakes are too high for this same partisan playbook. so let us agree that patriotism has no party. i love this country, and so do you, and so does john mccain.
the men and women who serve in our battlefields may be democrats and republicans and independents, but they have fought together, and bled together, and some died together under the same proud flag. they have not served a red america or a blue america; they have served the united states of america.
so i've got news for you, john mccain: we all put our country first.
all the cool kids are playing it tonight
from those fun lovin' folks at chicagoist....
if drinking games aren't your thing and you're looking for something interactive for tonight's highly anticipated speech by sen. obama at the democratic national convention, there is still time time to purchase your obama bingo card.
Labels: obama
quote of the day
kevin drum, at his new digs over at mojo:
if walter cronkite could manage to talk semi-intelligently for hours on end during an apollo countdown in which, literally, absolutely nothing was happening, why can't today's talking heads find something semi-intelligent to say while they cover political conventions for hours on end? it is a mystery.
if molehill won't go to the media, the media will go to the molehill
we were amazed to see truth posted under the auspices of a multi-millionaire media banner. on newsweek.com under the stumper blog, andrew romano sez what dared not be said: the hillary-obama feud was just so much media hype:
reports that hillary "wasn't vetted" for the veep slot have spread like wildfire, spurring a small but vocal posse of disgruntled clintonistas to wail that obama is not doing right by her, and never has--nevermind that she asked to skip the formal process, or that team obama had more than enough info after 17 months of oppo research to evaluate her alongside her fellow finalists. this gnashing of teeth and rending of garments has in turn encouraged the mccain campaign to release a pair of troublemaking ads questioning why obama didn't pick clinton, including its latest, "debra," which features a clinton delegate saying "a lot of democrats will vote mccain" because he's the only "one with the experience and judgment to be president." smelling drama--or at least the illusion thereof--the press has pounced, producing a flurry of breathless reports on the tensions that either a) "boil between the obama [and] clinton camps" or b) "linger as some clinton supporters are left frustrated." others have opined that with hillary speaking tuesday, bill speaking wednesday and hillary's name being placed into nomination thursday, team obama has effectively let her steal the show and undermine that whole purpose of the convention (that is, to launch obama's candidacy in earnest). either way, the convention, according to the chatterati, is shaping up to be a clinton-obama cagematch.
please. anyone who thinks that a roll-call vote and some sad silver-medalists constitutes a controversial convention probably didn't pay much attention in u.s. politics 101. "by historical standards the clinton nomination is totally mild," says costas panagopoulos, professor of political science at fordham university and author of "presidential nominating conventions in the media age". "looking back historically, conventions have tended to be hotbeds of controversy, and this year simply won't compare."…
to fill the growing void with the stuff of news-that is, conflict--the media is content to make ever-bigger mountains out of ever-smaller molehills. and this year's molehill is the clinton controversy. "no offense to your profession, but there will be 15,000 journalists in denver seeking to make any minor differences seem like a major controversy," says panagopoulos. "they'll be reading between every line to detect notes of disunity." ultimately, scrutiny will help obama as much as it helps the networks--as panagopoulos notes, the "nice thing about the appearance of controversy is that it attracts attention and pulls in viewers who would've otherwise not watched the convention." (and remember: the clintons will be singing obama's praises on stage, and her supporters would've been a lot angrier had they been denied a roll call vote. that's more unity, not less.) as for the rest of america, though, hyperbole isn't particularly useful. so while you're watching wolf blitzer and chris matthews jabber endlessly about this year's soap opera, just remember what real conflict looks like--and adjust the volume accordingly.
this is pretty much what we feel. the mmm has tried and tried to force a "hillary v. obama" narrative on this convention, and has utterly failed. once again, reality does not measure up to a good pre-judged narrative, and the media is left with unacknowledged egg on its collective face.
please. anyone who thinks that a roll-call vote and some sad silver-medalists constitutes a controversial convention probably didn't pay much attention in u.s. politics 101. "by historical standards the clinton nomination is totally mild," says costas panagopoulos, professor of political science at fordham university and author of "presidential nominating conventions in the media age". "looking back historically, conventions have tended to be hotbeds of controversy, and this year simply won't compare."…
to fill the growing void with the stuff of news-that is, conflict--the media is content to make ever-bigger mountains out of ever-smaller molehills. and this year's molehill is the clinton controversy. "no offense to your profession, but there will be 15,000 journalists in denver seeking to make any minor differences seem like a major controversy," says panagopoulos. "they'll be reading between every line to detect notes of disunity." ultimately, scrutiny will help obama as much as it helps the networks--as panagopoulos notes, the "nice thing about the appearance of controversy is that it attracts attention and pulls in viewers who would've otherwise not watched the convention." (and remember: the clintons will be singing obama's praises on stage, and her supporters would've been a lot angrier had they been denied a roll call vote. that's more unity, not less.) as for the rest of america, though, hyperbole isn't particularly useful. so while you're watching wolf blitzer and chris matthews jabber endlessly about this year's soap opera, just remember what real conflict looks like--and adjust the volume accordingly.
holy change of subject batman! pow!
image by darkblack, courtesy of
steveaudio
tpm election central:
in an interview with kdka radio in pittsburgh, pennsylvania, john mccain pow-pow-powed when asked about charges that he's an elitist who's out of touch with the american worker on kitchen-table issues.
hey, john, what'd you have for lunch?mccain: well you know i have town hall meetings all the time, everywhere across this country, and i hear from people....
and in all due respect my friends, i know what it's like to not have a house, i know what it's like not to have a kitchen table. i know what it's like not to have a table or a chair. for five and a half years, i sat in a cell with nothing but concrete floor and three boards to sleep on.
this underscores again the degree to which the mccain campaign wants the discussion about the economy to morph into a conversation about character, rather than a discussion of, you know, actual policy differences. dems say mccain's policies show that he's out of touch with the real needs of working people. mccain replies that his pow past shows he knows what it's like to struggle, which he hopes will settle the question of whether he's out of touch or not.and in all due respect my friends, i know what it's like to not have a house, i know what it's like not to have a kitchen table. i know what it's like not to have a table or a chair. for five and a half years, i sat in a cell with nothing but concrete floor and three boards to sleep on.
i know what it's like not to have lunch for 5 1/2 years! pow!
no bounce for obama
what's that you say? oh, wait...yes there is...
princeton, nj -- democratic candidate barack obama has gained ground in the latest gallup poll daily tracking average from monday, tuesday, and wednesday, and now leads republican john mccain among registered voters by a 48% to 42% margin.
but it's within the margin of error, right? oh, wait...no it's not...the general-election results are based on combined data from aug. 25-27, 2008. for results based on this sample of 2,723 registered voters, the maximum margin of sampling error is ±2 percentage points.
not necessarily inside edition
lol! not really reality, but an incredible simulation!
white supremacists w/rifles? no big deal. black inmate w/baby powder? credible threat
dave neiwert, the best writer in blogtopia and yes, we coined that phrase, writes over at firedoglake about the disparity in the colorado justice system towards threats against presidential candidates.
dave goes on to investigate u.s. attorney troy eid, who was part of the karl rove-harriet miers team.
but we do have to wonder, what's the big deal? a meth head with a rifle, that's not dangerous at all!
it seems there may be a reason federal law-enforcement officials are not interested in pursuing serious charges against the white-supremacist tweakers who were caught this week in denver: the man making the decision is a republican operative. and when it came to a threat against john mccain by a black man, he had a completely different approach.
the ap story describing the official pooh-poohing of the threat gives us a clue:
as dave points out, on the serious threat meter, this is how it goes: a black inmate sending letters w/baby powder - serious threat. white men w/rifles, a caches of guns and ammo, consipiring to kill obama...not so much.the ap story describing the official pooh-poohing of the threat gives us a clue:
"we're absolutely confident there is no credible threat to the candidate, the democratic national convention, or the people of colorado," u.s. attorney troy eid said in a statement.
but when a black man in prison sent john mccain a threatening letter containing baby powder, it was another story altogether:the man accused of sending a threatening letter to john mccain through mccain's colorado headquarters office detailed the contents of his letter in an exclusive interview with 7news friday.
marc ramsey, an inmate in the arapahoe county jail, admitted that he sent the letter.on friday afternoon, the us attorneytroy eid announced ramsey will be charged with knowingly threatening to harm or kill through the u.s. mail. the charge is punishable up to five years in federal prison and up to $250,000 fines.
"we won't stand for threats of this kind in colorado," eid said. "a death threat is not a legitimate form of political expression," eid said.
marc ramsey, an inmate in the arapahoe county jail, admitted that he sent the letter.on friday afternoon, the us attorneytroy eid announced ramsey will be charged with knowingly threatening to harm or kill through the u.s. mail. the charge is punishable up to five years in federal prison and up to $250,000 fines.
"we won't stand for threats of this kind in colorado," eid said. "a death threat is not a legitimate form of political expression," eid said.
dave goes on to investigate u.s. attorney troy eid, who was part of the karl rove-harriet miers team.
but we do have to wonder, what's the big deal? a meth head with a rifle, that's not dangerous at all!
the big dog
is back.
"the world is always more impressed by the power of our example than the example of our power."
Labels: clinton
deja vu....
all over again?
hurricane gustav is headed in a straight line for new orleans and i can tell you first-hand that the hydraulic pumps don't work. who manufactured the defective pumps? moving waters (mwi), which is owned by j. david eller, who was once a business partner of former florida governor jeb bush. (from 1989 to 1993 the two operated the company bush-el, which marketed mwi pumps.) - jesseleyn radack's great orange satan diary
Labels: jeb bush, katrina, new orleans
if you can get to an emergency room
according to mccain's healthcare advisor, that mean's you're insured.
...california still has the highest number – not percentage – of uninsured residents at 6.7 million, compared with 5.7 million texans. the texas number is up from 5.5 million in 2006.just because you don't call it "uninsured" doesn't make it so. and, the uninsured make healthcare more expensive for everyone.
...but the numbers are misleading, said john goodman, president of the national center for policy analysis, a right-leaning dallas-based think tank. mr. goodman, who helped craft sen. john mccain's health care policy, said anyone with access to an emergency room effectively has insurance...
"so i have a solution. and it will cost not one thin dime," mr. goodman said. "the next president of the united states should sign an executive order requiring the census bureau to cease and desist from describing any american – even illegal aliens – as uninsured... - dallas morning news
..when a hospital treats a person in an emergency room or performs surgery on someone who can't pay their bill, harbage said, "the hospital, like any other business, is going to try to recoup its cost by charging other people more."
california already has 6.5 million uninsured people. the proposed budget would add another 1 million people, the largest health care rollback in state history, according to an earlier study by health access california. - sacbee
Labels: budget, california, healthcare, mccain
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
skippy's wednesday nite music club
darker my love - two ways out
kewl video.
tony strickland....the joe isuzu of ca politics
the courage campaign has a terrific truth telling ad exposing the "greenwashed" politico running for california's 19th district...the district that tom mcclintock is supposedly still head of even though he now resides in ca 4th and running against charlie brown.
anyway...don't let the green washing fool you.
anyway...don't let the green washing fool you.
Labels: advertising, liars
economic train wreck
watch it at bank implode-o-meter.
Labels: banking, financial markets, recession
not in much of a convention-loving spirit...
i ain't got time for that now...
Labels: music
return to scarborough country of the dead
crooks&liars has today's segment of joe scarborough's msnbc appearance in which one of his on-air personalities interviews bloggers in the big tent in denver, asking them (a) do they eat cheetos, (b) do they have star wars figures at home and (c) do they blog in their mother's basement.
most of the bloggers answered "no" to all three questions, and the film segment reflected the fact. joe scarborough however, after the clip, said the bloggers were lying.
joe would know something about lying. bluegal at c&l implies that none of the bloggers ever had a dead intern show up in their office. as we pointed out way back in 2006, joe cannot say as much:
we suggest every blogger go back and re-acquaint themselves with the sad story of lori klausutis, and how she wound up dead in joe scarborough's office.
then send someone onto joe's set and ask him three questions:
(1) do you eat cheetos? (2) do you have a star wars figure at home? (3) don't you think the fact that the medical examiner who did the questionable autopsy on the intern found dead in your office should have disqualified himself, if not because of his immediate supervisor's multiple contributions to your political campaign, then at least because of the fact that his license had been revoked in another state due to gross negligence, as well as previously in florida itself, because of failure to disclose said legal malfeasence?
or maybe just the one question.
most of the bloggers answered "no" to all three questions, and the film segment reflected the fact. joe scarborough however, after the clip, said the bloggers were lying.
joe would know something about lying. bluegal at c&l implies that none of the bloggers ever had a dead intern show up in their office. as we pointed out way back in 2006, joe cannot say as much:
even before skippy international set up its headquarters to bring you the best in blogtopia (y!wctp!), we had been following the strange story of lori klausutis, wondering why this never became a scandal along the lines of gary condit/chandra levy, which happened at approximately the same time.
lori was a staff member of congressman joe scaroborough, and one day her dead body was found in the congressman's fort walton beach office. the medical examiner quickly pronounced it a death of natural causes, there was a short blurb in the washpost about it, scarborough resigned from congress, and nothing was ever mentioned again, much to our dismay.
denis wright and chris george wrote in ampoljo:
that's the lying part that we were talking about with which joe should be quite familiar.lori was a staff member of congressman joe scaroborough, and one day her dead body was found in the congressman's fort walton beach office. the medical examiner quickly pronounced it a death of natural causes, there was a short blurb in the washpost about it, scarborough resigned from congress, and nothing was ever mentioned again, much to our dismay.
denis wright and chris george wrote in ampoljo:
the story was simply dropped. a young female employee of one of florida's congressmen had died unexpectedly in the congressman's office. there were no witnesses to her death and the cause of death was not apparent. klausutis' boss, joe scarborough had recently resigned from congress prematurely and unexpectedly, amid rumors about his marital fidelity and soon after a divorce. he had also abruptly resigned as publisher of the independent florida sun, claiming that resigning from congress and as publisher was necessary to spend more time with his sons.
…on friday, july 20th, the body of lori klausutis, 28, was found slumped next to a desk on the floor of florida republican congressman joe scarborough's fort walton beach office where lori had served as a constituent services coordinator since may, 1999. her body was found around 8:00 a.m. on friday morning by a couple arriving for an appointment. she had been dead for some time. a second employee, who would have normally arrived for work at around the same time, was away on vacation. police cordoned off the area for investigation, later announcing that there was no reason to suspect foul play, nor were there signs of suicide.
among the causes for suspicion, which probably helped fuel katherine harris' demented dreams, was the fact that scarborough himself told reporters that lori had a "complicated medical history" including "stroke and epilepsy," tho this was absolutely not true.
…on friday, july 20th, the body of lori klausutis, 28, was found slumped next to a desk on the floor of florida republican congressman joe scarborough's fort walton beach office where lori had served as a constituent services coordinator since may, 1999. her body was found around 8:00 a.m. on friday morning by a couple arriving for an appointment. she had been dead for some time. a second employee, who would have normally arrived for work at around the same time, was away on vacation. police cordoned off the area for investigation, later announcing that there was no reason to suspect foul play, nor were there signs of suicide.
among the causes for suspicion, which probably helped fuel katherine harris' demented dreams, was the fact that scarborough himself told reporters that lori had a "complicated medical history" including "stroke and epilepsy," tho this was absolutely not true.
we suggest every blogger go back and re-acquaint themselves with the sad story of lori klausutis, and how she wound up dead in joe scarborough's office.
then send someone onto joe's set and ask him three questions:
(1) do you eat cheetos? (2) do you have a star wars figure at home? (3) don't you think the fact that the medical examiner who did the questionable autopsy on the intern found dead in your office should have disqualified himself, if not because of his immediate supervisor's multiple contributions to your political campaign, then at least because of the fact that his license had been revoked in another state due to gross negligence, as well as previously in florida itself, because of failure to disclose said legal malfeasence?
or maybe just the one question.
call the olympics, a new gold medal needs to be issued
if this is not the fastest invoking of godwin's law on a thread, then it surely must be in the running. over at talkleft, on a post about howard wolfson's faux news dissing of olbermann & matthews, the third comment from the top:
calling olbermann a journalist is like calling hitler a humanitarian.
wednesday afternoon youtubery...
frickin' bloggers, get out of your parents' basement and deal w/real life, already!
and we are talking to the lefty bloggers here...
scout prime over at first draft keeps us up to date on the insensitivity of some in blogtopia and yes, we coined that phrase, who are such navel-gazers that they are hoping for a natural disaster of katrina-proportions to hit when the gop convention starts:
scout prime over at first draft keeps us up to date on the insensitivity of some in blogtopia and yes, we coined that phrase, who are such navel-gazers that they are hoping for a natural disaster of katrina-proportions to hit when the gop convention starts:
more than just a few nola bloggers have ripped will bunch and a kos diary for writing how hurricane gustav hitting the gulf coast at the time of the republican convention could be a "nightmare" for the republicans. the nola bloggers find it insensitive and callous to be speaking of "a realpolitik point of view" as they possibly face another disaster…
but having read the many above linked posts, i find i have very hard time with kos diarist digitalapoptosis describing gustav as
are not 1720 dead enough of a reminder?...
do we really need another disaster to remind us of the terrible last one which occurred only 3 years ago? i can guarantee you the people on the gulf coast don't need a reminder as they are still living it each day. and if the rest of us need a new disaster as a reminder of katrina then what the hell is wrong with us?
we don't need a reminder, we just need to fucking remember.
amen.
but having read the many above linked posts, i find i have very hard time with kos diarist digitalapoptosis describing gustav as
"this perfect reminder of the 3rd anniversary of hurricane katrina."
is katrina not perfect enough as a reminder for us?are not 1720 dead enough of a reminder?...
do we really need another disaster to remind us of the terrible last one which occurred only 3 years ago? i can guarantee you the people on the gulf coast don't need a reminder as they are still living it each day. and if the rest of us need a new disaster as a reminder of katrina then what the hell is wrong with us?
we don't need a reminder, we just need to fucking remember.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
skippy's tuesday nite music club
rupa & the april fishes - un americaine a paris
kewl retro parisian cabaret video...and an interesting note: rupa is a medical doc from the bay area, whose band is getting some attention.
just imagine reading this
in the newspaper...what would you think?
thank you hillary for putting those cracks in the glass ceiling. thanks for changing the way many young girls will look at their futures. thank you for that terrific speech this evening. i didn't vote for you, i thought another candidate was more aligned with my beliefs and i didn't like the way your campaign was handled, but that doesn't mean i don't honor your determination.
however, we have so much further to go. but, hillary...thanks for leading the way.
barack obama wears one b&w sleeveless shirt on a morning talk show and a simple blue suit at the democratic national convention and suddenly, he's the king of political fashion?a catty tone.....sounds like you would think these two are all fluff and no substance, eh? that isn't exactly what was written in the latte times...but this is an example of the subtle sexism that is acceptable in our society. it's not what women in politics are saying...but what they are wearing that is seemingly most important.
what about joseph biden, who has been struggling in the style spotlight for 20 years? we all know those boxy jackets, dowdy suits, proper cufflinks and a conservative coif.
thank you hillary for putting those cracks in the glass ceiling. thanks for changing the way many young girls will look at their futures. thank you for that terrific speech this evening. i didn't vote for you, i thought another candidate was more aligned with my beliefs and i didn't like the way your campaign was handled, but that doesn't mean i don't honor your determination.
however, we have so much further to go. but, hillary...thanks for leading the way.
the chuck stops...no....skips anywhere but
the "twin cities"....
sen. chuck hagel (r-neb.) is skipping the gop convention.
hagel, who has split with the republican party over the iraq war, will spend aug. 27 through sept. 3 on an official tour of central and south america. he will not be at the xcel energy center in st. paul, minn, when sen. john mccain formally accepts the party's nomination to be president on sept. 4. - the hill
more music, more music, more music...
say hello
to publius endures.
malkin after midnite
imagine our distress to see this headline on memeorandum: michelle malkin attacked at dnc; "kill michelle malkin!"
we are no fans of ms. malkin or her politics; however, the last thing the left needs is blood on their hands at the democratic convention. so we sat and watched the accompanying youtube:
all. nine. minutes.
granted, the guy alex jones, a 911 truther, is loud and obnoxious and in michelle's face. and his buddy in the green does yell "kill michelle malkin" (twice).
and the crowd follows michelle as she casually walks away, trying to ignore them.
but, gee, when we see the word "attacked," we imagine actual physical violence, with flesh meeting flesh, and blood on the sidewalk.
not only did alex not physically assault michelle, the crowd continually admonished each other "don't touch them" and "settle down."
the worse that happened was when alex called michelle a "prostitute of the new world order." then the rightist accompanying michelle yelled back "f*ck you."
now, we will be the first to admit that calling someone a prostitute of the new world order is not nice. (actually, we'd be the first to admit that it doesn't really make sense.) but it was the right that descended into invective.
we are amazed, but not surprised, that the right can think they (in the person of michelle) can continually harangue half of the population of america (ie, liberals), and not expect to get harangued back when they/she shows their/her face on the street.
or as one commentor sez on the peoples press collective:
yes, according to the hardly-ever-right. gateway pundit: the michelle malkin attack; founding bloggers: michelle malkin attacked in denver part 2 (sequels are never as good); and pajamas media: malkin in jeopardy ("i'll take immigrant bashing for a thousand, alex!").
well, kids, you can't have your strawmen and eat them, too. if you make a career provoking people, don't get surprised when they are provoked.
addendum: another commentor on the peoples press collective starts out w/this incorrect observation:
ergo, we would submit that it very well could have not been the left at all making the problems.
we are no fans of ms. malkin or her politics; however, the last thing the left needs is blood on their hands at the democratic convention. so we sat and watched the accompanying youtube:
all. nine. minutes.
granted, the guy alex jones, a 911 truther, is loud and obnoxious and in michelle's face. and his buddy in the green does yell "kill michelle malkin" (twice).
and the crowd follows michelle as she casually walks away, trying to ignore them.
but, gee, when we see the word "attacked," we imagine actual physical violence, with flesh meeting flesh, and blood on the sidewalk.
not only did alex not physically assault michelle, the crowd continually admonished each other "don't touch them" and "settle down."
the worse that happened was when alex called michelle a "prostitute of the new world order." then the rightist accompanying michelle yelled back "f*ck you."
now, we will be the first to admit that calling someone a prostitute of the new world order is not nice. (actually, we'd be the first to admit that it doesn't really make sense.) but it was the right that descended into invective.
we are amazed, but not surprised, that the right can think they (in the person of michelle) can continually harangue half of the population of america (ie, liberals), and not expect to get harangued back when they/she shows their/her face on the street.
or as one commentor sez on the peoples press collective:
if my wife or sister had made a career out of baiting loons and then got yelled at by said loons when she showed up at one of their loony events, and then cried about it, i’d tell them to man up and grow some testicles. geez, what a bunch of whiners the right has become - i guess that came along with taking over the mantle as the party of big government and welfare.
it might have been scary for michelle, having a group of people yell incoherently at her. (insert your own punchline about her family reunions here). but, "attack"?yes, according to the hardly-ever-right. gateway pundit: the michelle malkin attack; founding bloggers: michelle malkin attacked in denver part 2 (sequels are never as good); and pajamas media: malkin in jeopardy ("i'll take immigrant bashing for a thousand, alex!").
well, kids, you can't have your strawmen and eat them, too. if you make a career provoking people, don't get surprised when they are provoked.
addendum: another commentor on the peoples press collective starts out w/this incorrect observation:
the guy in the green t-shirt is not saying “kill michelle malkin”, he’s saying “go michelle malkin”. listen closely.
wrong. the guy is clearly saying "kill michelle malkin," something that is not a nice thing to do. however, this commentor goes on to correctly point out: a few seconds later the same guy says “alex jones is a capitalist stooge”. he’s just trying to stir up trouble. but go ahead and martyr the woman who thinks it’s okay to lock up innocent americans in internment camps.
that part is true. when we first saw the video, we wondered why this guy would change points of view so suddenly. but the commentor is probably right; the guy in green is just a provacateur (french for "asshole"), trying to stir up trouble.ergo, we would submit that it very well could have not been the left at all making the problems.
political food fighting
using real recipes...
"not only do i eat, i also am a democrat," wrote frank sinatra in an intro to 1960's "many happy returns: the democrats' cook book, or how to cook a g.o.p. goose" (the sales of which helped buy tv air time for candidates). "not only should every democrat own a copy of this book, but he should load up all his or her friends, and even smuggle some copies into pasadena and other points where the enemy is strong and square." - latte times
forget running for the border....
perhaps a run to your bank is in order.
the health of u.s. banks is quickly deteriorating, and the government fund set up to protect depositors might not have enough money to insure everybody, analysts told abcnews.com.
..at the beginning of the year, 90 banks were on the fdic watch list. there are now 117, fdic chairwoman sheila c. bair announced at a news conference this afternoon. that is the highest number in five years, but some analysts expect the list to grow even more in coming months.
"i think there's going to be a steady drip, drip, drip of bad news," said sean ryan, a banking analyst with sterne agee. "we've only seen the very tip of the iceberg in terms of bank failures."even though only nine banks have failed so far this year, ryan expects that to quickly climb with more than 100 failures before the end of 2009- abcnews.com
Labels: banking, depression, foreclosure, recession
hunting for pumas
the salon.com report about "angry pumas" at the denver convention nails their illogic on the head:
but to vote for mcmuffin just because sen. clinton lost the primaries? skippy's mother used to have a rather gory saying: "you're cutting off your nose to spite your face."
skippy's mother was seriously derranged, but in this case, she had a point.
i asked [clinton for mccain contingent member robin] carlson why, if she was offended by being called "sweetie" and invested in the legacy of her foremothers, she would express her disappointment over obama's nomination by supporting a man who would rob women of their reproductive rights and who does not support equal-pay legislation. "we are really sick and tired of having women's rights held over our heads as a threat," she said. "it's country over party now."
we can understand if somebody who supported sen. clinton is ticked off enough to write in her name next november...we could even understand if they choose to vote for a third party candidate who espouses a platform similar to sen. clinton (ie, green).but to vote for mcmuffin just because sen. clinton lost the primaries? skippy's mother used to have a rather gory saying: "you're cutting off your nose to spite your face."
skippy's mother was seriously derranged, but in this case, she had a point.
from the blog posts we never bothered to finish reading dept:
megan mcardle at the atlantic:
i am resigning from the human race.
don't let the door hit your ass on the way out, megan!
while eyes are on the hijinks in denver
some serious decisions are being made without people noticing back here on the central coast....
and, by the way...wtf is this?
nearly 40 years after a disastrous oil spill off the santa barbara coast galvanized the nation and gave birth to the modern environmental movement, the county board of supervisors is poised to vote today in support of offshore drilling. - latte timescalitics has more.
and, by the way...wtf is this?
the oil industry is holding an “energy mid-day reception for invited guests only” today at the democratic convention. “location: unannounced,” writes the houston chronicle. “the event is sponsored by the american petroleum institute, the american gas association and the edison electric institute.” - houston chronicle (ht think progress)
Labels: california, drilling, oil, santa barbara
he just had to open that door, didn't he?
for those who don't already know, i love the band rush. for reasons which have never been clearly explained to me, however, this seems to be a problem with more than a few folks -- and none more so than the big roo himself. for the life of me, i cannot understand why. rush is just a rock trio from canada. if they all turned out to be members of al-qaida or some $#!+, okay, i would repent and condemn them as loudly as anyone else. but come on...
anyway, i have been informed that i am not to post any youtube clips of rush on this blog. any other band is allowed. but no rush. skippy, it's understood. i shall not post any rush clips over here, ever. and may the flying spaghetti monster strike me dead if i do.
but i will post them over there. so nyah nyah!
do open that door again sometime. i like it when you do that...
anyway, i have been informed that i am not to post any youtube clips of rush on this blog. any other band is allowed. but no rush. skippy, it's understood. i shall not post any rush clips over here, ever. and may the flying spaghetti monster strike me dead if i do.
but i will post them over there. so nyah nyah!
do open that door again sometime. i like it when you do that...
Labels: funny stuff, music
a little tuesday morning youtubery...
"give a little bit" by the goo goo dolls.
it's rare for me to find a cover version of a song which i like more than its original. but this is one of those...
Labels: music
michael and me...
got an e-mail from michael moore, or rather, someone authorized to speak for mr. moore. it said he has a new book out, and he would like me to read it. i've read a few of his books. overall, i thought they were pretty good.
after reading the e-mail, i unsubscribed from his mailing list. needless to say, i won't be reading his new book.
not sure why i did that. i haven't started hating him, or anything. far from it -- i've been a fan of his films for many years. i guess, well, i know what he's going to say before i hear him say it, just like i had a pretty good idea of what would be in that e-mail before i opened it, and maybe i just don't want to hear what he has to say anymore. even if i know i'll agree with most of it. maybe it was time to just cut him loose, nothing more or less.
has anyone else felt this way about michael moore? or any other left-leaning person with name recognition? or is this just one more example of me being me?
curious...
after reading the e-mail, i unsubscribed from his mailing list. needless to say, i won't be reading his new book.
not sure why i did that. i haven't started hating him, or anything. far from it -- i've been a fan of his films for many years. i guess, well, i know what he's going to say before i hear him say it, just like i had a pretty good idea of what would be in that e-mail before i opened it, and maybe i just don't want to hear what he has to say anymore. even if i know i'll agree with most of it. maybe it was time to just cut him loose, nothing more or less.
has anyone else felt this way about michael moore? or any other left-leaning person with name recognition? or is this just one more example of me being me?
curious...
Labels: life
Monday, August 25, 2008
skippy's monday nite music club
leo kottke - last steam engine train
baby face
so when you saw the obama kids did you think
a) aw, so cute
b) shouldn't those kids be in bed; or
c) god mcPOW is so f'ing old
just asking.
a) aw, so cute
b) shouldn't those kids be in bed; or
c) god mcPOW is so f'ing old
just asking.
hep-cats go blue
play it eight to the bar, daddy-O.
paging mr. machiavelli...mr. prince machiavelli, please pick up a gop courtesy telephone
tbogg nails the convention reporting by the media today over at fdl:
tho there are hardly any cited sources or highly-placed people speaking for attribution, that doesn't stop the media from creating a picture of a party in complete disarray.
we were going to write something about how the gop is obviously feeding poison into the cw, accusing its enemies of its own failures. but a commeter at time's swampland beat us to it:
in other words, to distract the american public (and to try to turn the conventional wisdom narrative around), the corporate press is ignoring the huge rifts in the repubbblican constituency and manufacturing one among the democrats.
granted, there are those that will vote contrary to their own needs just out of spite, and such nitwits are in both parties.
but we posit that any "trouble" among hillary supporters is, at the very least, being exaggerated, and probably is made up of whole cloth.
certainly, a new cnn poll says that
to which we reply, how interesting, considering that the latest washington post/abc poll has obama 6 points ahead.
cnn can, as in this case, pull its own poll out ofits ass context and make whatever result they need.
and that's what we think most of the media is doing. we are not surprised. but we are dismayed.
addendum: 538.com agrees w/us, and provides a much more detailed explanation of how cnn jerks us all around w/their polling results.
reporting from the lockers by the girls gym and, omg! just, like, three days before the prom, this is tiffany.
back to, like, you, heather.
they are all gossip girls, insisting on creating the narrative of a rift between some of sen. clinton's followers (and the clintons themselves) and obama.back to, like, you, heather.
tho there are hardly any cited sources or highly-placed people speaking for attribution, that doesn't stop the media from creating a picture of a party in complete disarray.
we were going to write something about how the gop is obviously feeding poison into the cw, accusing its enemies of its own failures. but a commeter at time's swampland beat us to it:
i appreciate this, but the real story is republican disunity.
how about mccain hating romney, but possibly being forced to pick him? mccain clearly lied about romney during the florida primary, and romney was bitter about it. well, for a little while because he doesn't have much of a soul to actually feel pain.
how about mccain liking huckabee, but knowing that huckabee is a religious extremist who is broke and would scare people? sure would be interesting to see the texts of all those huckabee sermons they won't release. if he gets picked that would be a fun circus!
how about all those paul supporters? is mccain going to stick a thumb in their eyes?
how about guilani - the all adultery ticket?
how about pawlenty, the empty suit who can't even get 50% in his own state and who seemingly brings nothing to the table but platitudes?
republicans are roiling under the surface, with the conservative authoritarians in a slow death match against the conservative libertarians. i'm praying lieberman gets the nod, because that will bring it all down. one can reliably count on kristol to be completely wrong, and of course he is on this score as well.
bush has really damaged this ship, and that story still gets lumped under all this nonsense clinton drama.
to which we would add, what about the rank and file religious fundamentalists that aren't so comfortable voting for an adulterer like mcmuffin? how about mccain hating romney, but possibly being forced to pick him? mccain clearly lied about romney during the florida primary, and romney was bitter about it. well, for a little while because he doesn't have much of a soul to actually feel pain.
how about mccain liking huckabee, but knowing that huckabee is a religious extremist who is broke and would scare people? sure would be interesting to see the texts of all those huckabee sermons they won't release. if he gets picked that would be a fun circus!
how about all those paul supporters? is mccain going to stick a thumb in their eyes?
how about guilani - the all adultery ticket?
how about pawlenty, the empty suit who can't even get 50% in his own state and who seemingly brings nothing to the table but platitudes?
republicans are roiling under the surface, with the conservative authoritarians in a slow death match against the conservative libertarians. i'm praying lieberman gets the nod, because that will bring it all down. one can reliably count on kristol to be completely wrong, and of course he is on this score as well.
bush has really damaged this ship, and that story still gets lumped under all this nonsense clinton drama.
in other words, to distract the american public (and to try to turn the conventional wisdom narrative around), the corporate press is ignoring the huge rifts in the repubbblican constituency and manufacturing one among the democrats.
granted, there are those that will vote contrary to their own needs just out of spite, and such nitwits are in both parties.
but we posit that any "trouble" among hillary supporters is, at the very least, being exaggerated, and probably is made up of whole cloth.
certainly, a new cnn poll says that
27 percent of clinton supporters now say they'll back republican mccain -- up from 16 percent in late june.
but this same poll says obama and mcmuffin are now tied.to which we reply, how interesting, considering that the latest washington post/abc poll has obama 6 points ahead.
cnn can, as in this case, pull its own poll out of
and that's what we think most of the media is doing. we are not surprised. but we are dismayed.
addendum: 538.com agrees w/us, and provides a much more detailed explanation of how cnn jerks us all around w/their polling results.
things to do in denver when you're a democrat
the brad blog, who is reporting from the convention in denver, describes the fun faux news is having w/protesters:
the following video report, as seen live on fox "news" yesterday, demonstrates that the far-right "news" channel has no clue what the words "raucous", "out of control" or "freedom of speech" actually mean, as "reporter" griff jenkins is seen taunting dnc convention demonstrators, only to receive chants of "fuck fox news", live on air, in the bargain...
oh...no
santa barbara south coast median price home drops....to $940,000.
betcha most people know how many homes they own here....zero.
betcha most people know how many homes they own here....zero.
Labels: housing bubble, santa barbara
Sunday, August 24, 2008
skippy's sunday nite music club
burning brides - come alive
*not* skippy's sunday nite music club...
now and then, cookie jill makes a music club request, and skippy fulfills it. that's the biggest difference between jill and me -- she has the good manners to ask first. as for me, when it comes to king crimson, i have no manners to speak of -- whenever i gotta have me some king crimson, i just plain go and get it, that's all there is to it.
and here it is. this song is called "pictures of a city":
and here it is. this song is called "pictures of a city":
enjoy. or don't, whichever suits you better...
Labels: music
mad about bill kristol's sudden feminist roots
mad kane, that is!
worst vice presidential pick ever
let us be clear: the selection of joe biden as obama's veep makes us seriously not care one way or the other now if the democratic senator from illinois wins or not.
obama, now, is rather like bill clinton has been to us: when everybody gangs up on him, we are prone to defend and support him. but when there's no one treating him unfairly and he starts making decisions, we wonder what we saw in him in the first place.
there has been much to-do in blogtopia and yes, we coined that phrase, about ron fournier's opinion piece in the asspress calling obama out for this selection.
granted, as steve benen points out, fournier was working for mcmuffin as recently as last year, which does call his objectivity into sharp question.
but steve, if we were to discount every politico who goes onto write for a journalistic organ, we'd discount almost everybody in the media. which, coincidentally, we do, anyway.
and even a blind and broken pig clock finds truffles twice a day. fournier simply points out what mrs. skippy said when she heard the news about biden: "so much for change..."
and we have objections to the senator from delaware that go even further.
biden was instrumental in getting the bankruptcy bill of 2005 pushed into law. jackson williams tells us over at huffpo:
in summary, after obama's fisa vote, his dismissal as a woman's mental health for a valid reason for an abortion, his complete shunning of wesley clark after the general stood up for him, and his pandering to the religous right (including using a homophobic opening act during his campaign), we are not surprised that he would pick such a corporate lackey insider as a veep.
but we are completely uninterested in whether or not he becomes president at this point.
as we have said before, if you don't vote for the person you support to be president, then for sure the person you don't support will win.
addendum: we forgot to add, picking the guy who couldn't come close in 88 and again this year for your team? smooth move, ex-lax!
obama, now, is rather like bill clinton has been to us: when everybody gangs up on him, we are prone to defend and support him. but when there's no one treating him unfairly and he starts making decisions, we wonder what we saw in him in the first place.
there has been much to-do in blogtopia and yes, we coined that phrase, about ron fournier's opinion piece in the asspress calling obama out for this selection.
granted, as steve benen points out, fournier was working for mcmuffin as recently as last year, which does call his objectivity into sharp question.
but steve, if we were to discount every politico who goes onto write for a journalistic organ, we'd discount almost everybody in the media. which, coincidentally, we do, anyway.
and even a blind and broken pig clock finds truffles twice a day. fournier simply points out what mrs. skippy said when she heard the news about biden: "so much for change..."
the candidate of change went with the status quo.
in picking sen. joe biden to be his running mate, barack obama sought to shore up his weakness — inexperience in office and on foreign policy — rather than underscore his strength as a new-generation candidate defying political conventions.
he picked a 35-year veteran of the senate — the ultimate insider — rather than a candidate from outside washington, such as govs. tim kaine of virginia or kathleen sebelius of kansas; or from outside his party, such as sen. chuck hagel of nebraska; or from outside the mostly white male club of vice presidential candidates. hillary rodham clinton didn't even make his short list.
we are no pumas, but if, as the pundits are saying, that biden's selection will help w/the blue collar workers in pennsylvania & ohio (biden was born in scranton, pa), then we wonder why obama didn't go ahead and pick hillary clinton, who won those states?in picking sen. joe biden to be his running mate, barack obama sought to shore up his weakness — inexperience in office and on foreign policy — rather than underscore his strength as a new-generation candidate defying political conventions.
he picked a 35-year veteran of the senate — the ultimate insider — rather than a candidate from outside washington, such as govs. tim kaine of virginia or kathleen sebelius of kansas; or from outside his party, such as sen. chuck hagel of nebraska; or from outside the mostly white male club of vice presidential candidates. hillary rodham clinton didn't even make his short list.
and we have objections to the senator from delaware that go even further.
biden was instrumental in getting the bankruptcy bill of 2005 pushed into law. jackson williams tells us over at huffpo:
the final version of the bill was cleverly titled the "bankruptcy abuse prevention and consumer protection act of 2005," but it wasn't aimed at preventing abuse or protecting consumers, and everyone knew it…
i've never filed bankruptcy, but like bill clinton i'm moved by those demographics. not so our joe. of all the presidential contenders lined up on the stage in chicago, he was the only one who had voted for the bill. not senators dodd, clinton and obama (edwards was no longer in the senate in '05), and not house member dennis kucinich. only joe biden.
and he didn't just vote for it, he helped carry the water on it. some democrats tried to soften the bill with a series of amendments; for example, exempting military personnel at war in iraq. biden joined the majority of his colleagues -- all the republicans and too many democrats -- in knocking down every possible change that was offered.
for the record, biden's home state famously holds the incorporation papers of large credit card and financial services companies. he obviously knows how his bread is buttered in delaware, which means a "profile in courage" by 'ol joe on the bankruptcy bill was out of the question...
anyone who cares about progressive politics, or the salt of the earth, knows that the bankruptcy bill is a disaster for average folks. joe biden is a big reason why this is so. he supported it and voted for it, many times over many years.
friend of the working man? as the real joe biden blog points out, only if that working man is working for mbna:i've never filed bankruptcy, but like bill clinton i'm moved by those demographics. not so our joe. of all the presidential contenders lined up on the stage in chicago, he was the only one who had voted for the bill. not senators dodd, clinton and obama (edwards was no longer in the senate in '05), and not house member dennis kucinich. only joe biden.
and he didn't just vote for it, he helped carry the water on it. some democrats tried to soften the bill with a series of amendments; for example, exempting military personnel at war in iraq. biden joined the majority of his colleagues -- all the republicans and too many democrats -- in knocking down every possible change that was offered.
for the record, biden's home state famously holds the incorporation papers of large credit card and financial services companies. he obviously knows how his bread is buttered in delaware, which means a "profile in courage" by 'ol joe on the bankruptcy bill was out of the question...
anyone who cares about progressive politics, or the salt of the earth, knows that the bankruptcy bill is a disaster for average folks. joe biden is a big reason why this is so. he supported it and voted for it, many times over many years.
in today’s repost of an article he wrote for the american spectator in 1998, byron york provides a detailed profile of joe biden, “the senator from mbna,” the “giant credit-card company based in his home state” of delaware that was bought up by bank of america in 2006.
be sure to read york’s article, but to be brief, as described by nndb.com, biden’s record in regards to credit card company mbna is enlightening, to say the least:
and let's not forget that joe biden voted for the iraq war resolution in 2002. senator chris dodd:be sure to read york’s article, but to be brief, as described by nndb.com, biden’s record in regards to credit card company mbna is enlightening, to say the least:
over his long career in politics, biden’s biggest financial supporter has been the giant credit card company mbna, which was also one of george w. bush’s biggest donors in 2000 and 2004. his son, hunter biden, was hired as a management trainee at mbna straight out of law school, and was quickly promoted to executive vice president. the younger biden has since left mbna to establish his own lawyer-and-lobbying firm, but still receives a $100,000 per year consulting fee from the bank, which has since been swallowed by bank of america. in 2006, hunter biden was appointed by president bush to a five-year term on the amtrak reform board.
opensecrets reports for campaign years 1998 through 2004 alone, mbna was indeed biden’s top contributor—$214,050. in 2006, mbna contributed $80,625; in this campaign cycle, for 2008, bank of america has contributed $58,000 and mbna corp, $56,625. more on biden’s lobbyist cash here.senator and presidential candidate chris dodd today released the following statement regarding senator joe biden's comments in the des moines register defending his vote authorizing the war in iraq, and saying he thought president bush acted "rationally" up until that point.
"joe and i agree on many things, but 'rational' is not a word i would attach to this president's approach to the war. we were misled by an administration that manipulated intelligence to sell a false bill of goods to the country. as i've said before it was a mistake to trust them, and continuing to try to justify our actions now won't change that fact.
"what we can do now is end this war. that is why i also disagree with joe's support to continue funding this misguided war. it's time to end this war and the only way to get that done is to end funding for combat operations."
what strikes us as quite odd is that all of blogtopia and yes, we coined that phrase, had nothing but disdain for biden for these two specific acts during his senatorial tenure. but as of saturday, nary a peep has been found by the very people who formerly were calling biden on his bad choices."joe and i agree on many things, but 'rational' is not a word i would attach to this president's approach to the war. we were misled by an administration that manipulated intelligence to sell a false bill of goods to the country. as i've said before it was a mistake to trust them, and continuing to try to justify our actions now won't change that fact.
"what we can do now is end this war. that is why i also disagree with joe's support to continue funding this misguided war. it's time to end this war and the only way to get that done is to end funding for combat operations."
in summary, after obama's fisa vote, his dismissal as a woman's mental health for a valid reason for an abortion, his complete shunning of wesley clark after the general stood up for him, and his pandering to the religous right (including using a homophobic opening act during his campaign), we are not surprised that he would pick such a corporate lackey insider as a veep.
but we are completely uninterested in whether or not he becomes president at this point.
as we have said before, if you don't vote for the person you support to be president, then for sure the person you don't support will win.
addendum: we forgot to add, picking the guy who couldn't come close in 88 and again this year for your team? smooth move, ex-lax!
ridin' w/biden round blogtopia
and yes, we coined that phrase!
the reaction has quite a few...well, reactions...pro-, luke-warm, mildly positive, mildy positive from a hillary supporter, and quite positive.
our friend melina tells us we can get an obama-biden car magnet if we contribute to the campaign.
shaun mullen, over at the moderate voice, has known biden since the two were teenagers in delaware.
anita thompson at talkleft is underwhelmed.
steven benen, at his new post at the washmonthly, admits he called it wrong.
the reaction has quite a few...well, reactions...pro-, luke-warm, mildly positive, mildy positive from a hillary supporter, and quite positive.
our friend melina tells us we can get an obama-biden car magnet if we contribute to the campaign.
shaun mullen, over at the moderate voice, has known biden since the two were teenagers in delaware.
anita thompson at talkleft is underwhelmed.
steven benen, at his new post at the washmonthly, admits he called it wrong.
the 3:00 a.m. text message
the thing we enjoyed most about obama's text message gambit was the panic it created amongst media types. one would almost think the real message was intended for them and it was worded something like, "meet the democratic candidate who finally realizes that you are the enemy and who doesn't believe you will fairly mediate his communication with the public - and mcfournier, we're looking at you."
Saturday, August 23, 2008
skippy's saturday nite music club
in honor of obama's incredibly bland vice president pick...
judy garland & the king's men - bidin' my time
pun aside, the laconic tone of this comic gershwin number from girl crazy reminds us of biden's, and by extension, obama's approach to politics...waitin', triangulatin', and not really getting much done in the meantime.
judy garland & the king's men - bidin' my time
pun aside, the laconic tone of this comic gershwin number from girl crazy reminds us of biden's, and by extension, obama's approach to politics...waitin', triangulatin', and not really getting much done in the meantime.
the chuck stops here....and endorses?
senator chuck hagel seems to give a verbal thumbs up on the choice of biden for veep.
"joe biden is the right partner for barack obama. his many years of distinguished service to america, his seasoned judgment and his vast experience in foreign policy and national security will match up well with the unique challenges of the 21st century. an obama-biden ticket is a very impressive and strong team. biden's selection is good news for obama and america." - tpm
biden his time
and talking back.....showing some green spine
congress should not lift the ban on offshore oil drilling. - joe biden
"a gift to the oil companies"
Labels: biden, environment, oil, veep
for a visual housing comparison
bus your own tray presents a side-by-side photo comparison of john mccain’s sedona estate and the 57,000 square foot aaron spelling mansion in holmby hills.
Labels: arizona, los angeles, mccain
that right wing ap guy, fournier
has some serious screws loose. he's saying that by picking biden, obama is showing a "lack of confidence," and is siding with "the status quo." wtf? and should ap really be just another media wing of the right delivering hatchet jobs on democrats and opinion instead of news?
..in march, for example, fournier wrote an item -- whether it was a news article or an opinion piece was unclear -- that said barack obama is "bordering on arrogance," "a bit too cocky," and that the senator and his wife "ooze a sense of entitlement." to substantiate the criticism, fournier pointed to ... not a whole lot. it was basically the Republicans' "uppity" talking point in the form of an ap article.
but much of the ap's coverage has deteriorated since. there was a slam-job on obama that read like an rnc oppo dump, followed by a scathing, 900-word reprimand of obama's decision to bypass the public financing system in the general election, filled with errors of fact and judgment.
....the ap pushed the objectivity envelope a little further with a mind-numbing, 1,100-word piece on obama "being shadowed by giant flip-flops."
...and then, within hours of obama announcing his running mate, there's fournier again, writing up another piece -- whether it's a news article or an opinion piece is, again, unclear -- that the mccain campaign just loves.- washington monthly
Labels: multi-millionaire media, obama, rnc
Friday, August 22, 2008
skippy's saturday nite music club
baka beyond - awaya baka
these folks base their music on the songs of the baka tribe from cameroon, mixing it in w/traditional celtic & other western forms.
pretty interesting result.
mccain may have 8 homes
but some people in this country have none.
no, john. the economy is not working well for those who did not marry multi-millionaire heiresses.
they rise early and drive to the beach for breakfast before miller drops off his wife at her new job and heads to the library where the kids can play and read while he tries to rebuild his business. after he picks up his wife, they head out again, sometimes back to the beach for dinner before ending at the santa barbara, calif., parking lot where they sleep for the night. - abc
no, john. the economy is not working well for those who did not marry multi-millionaire heiresses.
they rise early and drive to the beach for breakfast before miller drops off his wife at her new job and heads to the library where the kids can play and read while he tries to rebuild his business. after he picks up his wife, they head out again, sometimes back to the beach for dinner before ending at the santa barbara, calif., parking lot where they sleep for the night. - abc
to all those obsessing over who obama's veep is gonna be...
will you please stop doing that?
stop it. just stop it. now. thankyew.
you'll know who it is soon enough. in the meantime, go play with your kids. or your dog. or maybe go out to dinner at a nice restaurant with your spouse. or a nice long walk in the park with him or her instead. or why don't the two of you go to a movie? or take your kids with you? i dunno, why not throw yourselves a picnic? or better yet, a backyard barbecue -- why wait until labor day weekend for that? or...
oh hell, why don't you all just turn off the m&%$^@f*&k!@' computer for a day or two? then you'll all have the time you need to marvel at the way our planet continues to spin on its axis of its own accord, regardless of what the cocktail wiener crowd sez you should consider blogworthy. mmm-kay? might do you some good.
oh, what's that? you love that spectator sport aspect of politics? bully for you, then. i've heard that the late great groucho marx loved his cigar, too. but at least he took it out of his mouth once in a while...
stop it. just stop it. now. thankyew.
you'll know who it is soon enough. in the meantime, go play with your kids. or your dog. or maybe go out to dinner at a nice restaurant with your spouse. or a nice long walk in the park with him or her instead. or why don't the two of you go to a movie? or take your kids with you? i dunno, why not throw yourselves a picnic? or better yet, a backyard barbecue -- why wait until labor day weekend for that? or...
oh hell, why don't you all just turn off the m&%$^@f*&k!@' computer for a day or two? then you'll all have the time you need to marvel at the way our planet continues to spin on its axis of its own accord, regardless of what the cocktail wiener crowd sez you should consider blogworthy. mmm-kay? might do you some good.
oh, what's that? you love that spectator sport aspect of politics? bully for you, then. i've heard that the late great groucho marx loved his cigar, too. but at least he took it out of his mouth once in a while...
Labels: snark
say hello
to mahesh online.
you've been veeprolled...
august j. pollack, the artist who rendered skippy's official portrait so lovingly in the masthead of this humble space, has the inside scoop on obama's veep pick:
springfield, il - august 23, 2008 - in front of a cheering crowd as well as in a text message to over three million anxious supporters, u.s. senator and prospective democratic party presidential nominee barack obama declared to the world that he had selected 1980's pop musician rick astley to be his vice-presidential running mate.
"and now, america, what you've all been waiting to hear!" shouted the junior senator from the state of illinois, as an american-flag-decorated curtain dropped behind mr. obama, immediately followed by the familiar opening drum beats and funk synthesizer chords of astley's 1987 hit single, "never gonna give you up."
pumping his fists downward in a striking motion as he spoke, mr. obama continued, "you just got rickrolled, america!"
while the title of "greatest prank ever" remains speculative, experts from the guinness book of world records verified shortly before press time that obama's announcement likely set the world record for the longest sustained silence from a crowd of over 10,000 people, at roughly over seven minutes.
this is the paragraph that we were hoping wasn't really a joke:"and now, america, what you've all been waiting to hear!" shouted the junior senator from the state of illinois, as an american-flag-decorated curtain dropped behind mr. obama, immediately followed by the familiar opening drum beats and funk synthesizer chords of astley's 1987 hit single, "never gonna give you up."
pumping his fists downward in a striking motion as he spoke, mr. obama continued, "you just got rickrolled, america!"
while the title of "greatest prank ever" remains speculative, experts from the guinness book of world records verified shortly before press time that obama's announcement likely set the world record for the longest sustained silence from a crowd of over 10,000 people, at roughly over seven minutes.
markos moulstas, founder of the liberal weblog dailykos.com, has not been seen since obama's announcement. san francisco police have begun an extensive search of local bars for bodies.
ok, that's not true. what we were actually hoping was that the paragraph mentioned duncan black, too.mad about mcmuffin not knowing how many homes he owns
mad kane, that is!
Thursday, August 21, 2008
skippy's thursday nite music club
pere ubu - waiting for mary
the ubus are joined by debbie harry & david sanborn (as this clip is from sanborn's old show night music). however, loudon wainright iii and phillip glass sit this one out, more's the pity.
the hell with it...
i'm gay. either that, or i'm very very open to suggestion -- which i strongly doubt, because i have never been less open to suggestions of any kind than i am today. i suppose i could try to explain how this is a rather recent development in my life, considering how i never felt, or at least never thought i felt, anything resembling affection toward another man until, i dunno, a year and a half or so ago. i've read articles claiming some people go from straight to gay, or vice versa, later on in life, and maybe that's my case. but i've also read articles saying you're born one way or another, and for whatever reason, you don't come to realize it until you're older. whatever. all i know is, after spending a good deal of time trying to figure out what's going on, i've come to realize that i am not sexually interested in women. at all.
i thought i was straight, even though i tended to live more like a monk than a bachelor on the prowl. you know, that maybe i was just the sort of guy who took monogamy to borderline ridiculous lengths. nothing in my life openly suggested to me, or anyone else, that i was attracted to other men until last year or so -- i mean, had i placed chippendale calendars on my wall year after year, or maintained a subscription to playgirl magazine, that would have made it quite obvious earlier on. but... well, i just kinda noticed a certain feeling i had one day, and thought nothing of it, but then i noticed it again, and again... and again... and... you get the idea. these days, i notice it damn near all the time.
thinking it over, it actually explains quite a few personal things about me. i'm not sure i'm ecstatic about it, but i'm all right. at the absolute worst, i don't mind being gay. it's just odd how this is coming to pass.
my 2 cents.
til further on...
i thought i was straight, even though i tended to live more like a monk than a bachelor on the prowl. you know, that maybe i was just the sort of guy who took monogamy to borderline ridiculous lengths. nothing in my life openly suggested to me, or anyone else, that i was attracted to other men until last year or so -- i mean, had i placed chippendale calendars on my wall year after year, or maintained a subscription to playgirl magazine, that would have made it quite obvious earlier on. but... well, i just kinda noticed a certain feeling i had one day, and thought nothing of it, but then i noticed it again, and again... and again... and... you get the idea. these days, i notice it damn near all the time.
thinking it over, it actually explains quite a few personal things about me. i'm not sure i'm ecstatic about it, but i'm all right. at the absolute worst, i don't mind being gay. it's just odd how this is coming to pass.
my 2 cents.
til further on...
Labels: it is what it is
"yesterday's faded, nothing can change it"...
"life's what you make it" by talk talk.
ain't that the truth...
how many average americans do you know
who are clueless as to how many houses they own?
sen. john mccain (r-az) said yesterday in an interview with politico that he did not know how many houses he and his wife cindy own. “i think — i’ll have my staff get to you,” mccain said. “it’s condominiums where — i’ll have them get to you.” his staff has since said “the correct answer is at least four,” but the mccains actually own 7more about the "rich and out of touch" mcain....here.
houses. - think progress
down the penrose lane
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
skippy's wednesday nite music club
charlie parker & dizzy gillespi - hot house
earl wilson (along w/leonard feather) introduces bird & dizzy on earl's ny show "stage entrance" back in 1951. accompanying bird & dizzy are the famous dick hyman on piano, sandy block on bass, and charlie smith on drums.
"one by one, the guests arrive"...
"the guests" by leonard cohen.
without question, the best song he ever wrote...
pundits change minds, call election for mcmuffin
joe gandelman @the moderate voice goes wading in the ocean of political punditry and doesn't get his feet wet - most agree that obama has "squandered" a lead and is now in trouble:
this position pre-supposes that the long, drawn-out democratic nominating procedure (lasting almost into june), with obama's (and sen. clinton's) name blasted across the airwaves 24/7 had little to do w/the sen. from illinois' amazing poll numbers back in the spring.
remember that mcmuffin hardly said or did a thing, just watching and waiting to see how the dem fight sorted out.
also, we'd like you to examine this idea (as voiced by robert arena at americablog (no link to them until somebody over there starts linking to us...you know who you are, aravosis!)):
no, we are not invoking the bizarro world explanation (a favorite of lefty commentors). what we are saying that a combination of the rightist echo-chambered fact-free infrastructure and the media's vested interest in a close presidential race makes today's poll standings not only expected, but inevitable.
don't get us wrong. we'd love to see barack "to the future" obama way out front. and we have no delusions that his winning the presidency is inevitable. we have said before, if there's any one who can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, it's the democrats.
but to have expected anybody to maintain a comfortable lead from june until november, and then to cry havoc and release the dogs of cable news when the lead slips, is not only unreasonable, it borders on the hysterical. it's drama queen territory.
what we are saying is this: polls tightening as the race goes on? what's next? dog bites man? sky is blue? goldstein quits blogging?
obama, his advisers and spinners have shown self-assurance. what they have to show now is political smarts because current polls now suggest a campaign that has been outfoxed and is flat-footed.
just weeks ago, mccain had been accused by many of squandering the long democratic primary season and remaining stagnant in the polls. now it can be argued that obama has squandered his lead — and let mccain effectively define him before he has effectively defined mccain.
joe goes on to quote many a poll which shows mcmuffin gaining on obama, or actually ahead, and then concludes that this is somehow not to be expected. joe joins the punditry in their pearl-clutching and vapors, as if a tightening presidential race towards the end of summer is a new thing, unfathomable or even impossible.just weeks ago, mccain had been accused by many of squandering the long democratic primary season and remaining stagnant in the polls. now it can be argued that obama has squandered his lead — and let mccain effectively define him before he has effectively defined mccain.
this position pre-supposes that the long, drawn-out democratic nominating procedure (lasting almost into june), with obama's (and sen. clinton's) name blasted across the airwaves 24/7 had little to do w/the sen. from illinois' amazing poll numbers back in the spring.
remember that mcmuffin hardly said or did a thing, just watching and waiting to see how the dem fight sorted out.
also, we'd like you to examine this idea (as voiced by robert arena at americablog (no link to them until somebody over there starts linking to us...you know who you are, aravosis!)):
imagine if someone had told you that the most charismatic democratic speaker in a decade would be in a dead-heat with a republican has-been corrupt waffler - you would have laughed in their face. after eight years of george bush? no way, people are fed up - that’ll never happen.
to that we would respond: the same thing could have been said 8 years ago about the us invading a country that had not provoked us or shown any aggression in any way. inconceivable. but it happened.no, we are not invoking the bizarro world explanation (a favorite of lefty commentors). what we are saying that a combination of the rightist echo-chambered fact-free infrastructure and the media's vested interest in a close presidential race makes today's poll standings not only expected, but inevitable.
don't get us wrong. we'd love to see barack "to the future" obama way out front. and we have no delusions that his winning the presidency is inevitable. we have said before, if there's any one who can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, it's the democrats.
but to have expected anybody to maintain a comfortable lead from june until november, and then to cry havoc and release the dogs of cable news when the lead slips, is not only unreasonable, it borders on the hysterical. it's drama queen territory.
what we are saying is this: polls tightening as the race goes on? what's next? dog bites man? sky is blue? goldstein quits blogging?
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