Open Letter To The Former John McCain Campaign

Dear FJMcCC,

I would like to thank you for choosing Alaska Governor Sarah Palin for the vice-president slot in last year's election cycle. If you hadn't done so, then we (the public) would likely not have been treated to the ongoing sideshow that is her family. I mean, it's possible that any seated governor's sister-in-law being arrested for burglary would have made the news, but your elevation of this eminently disfunctional family to the national spotlight has been a boon for senses of humor around the country and, indeed, around the world.

Thanks ever so much,
Bob

Sad News In Our Little Corner of Blogistan

Steve's (aka pidomon) sister Michele has moved on. There is no right thing to say at a time like this, but this quote from one of my favorite books comes to mind:

May the hand of the Creator shelter you, and the last embrace of the Mother welcome you home.

April Foolish

Yes, I know that yesterday was the day, and all that, but it kinda slipped past me (I think I was laughing too much at the Bob Cesca post I linked to in the previous post). Consequently, I didn't really catch any of the pranks.

Luckily, there's Google (who, btw, had some good ones this year). After looking through a bunch of this year's pranks, I have decided that I like this one best.

Aviary Launches Crane! By Meowza Katz on April 01, 2009 Aviary is proud to announce that it has launched its newest product, Crane, the web's first paper-based image editor. [snip] For example, to draw in Crane, simply place the Pencil Tool between your index finger and thumb (located on your dominant hand). Press the tip of the Pencil Tool down onto your canvas and using controlled strokes, you will be able to simulate the act of digital drawing on your canvas.

Read the whole hilarious thing here.

The Republican Budget Proposal

Bob Cesca nails it to the wall over at HuffPo.

A sample:

Yes, the Democratic budgets will be so out of control they'll eventually make little curly-cues and travel backwards in time -- adding to past deficits -- while also looping around the word "government" -- you know, because the Democrats love government.

You really should read the whole thing.

Speaking Of A Crisis Of Competnce

With a hat tip to Jesus' General, here's a compilation of quotes from Fundy Forums:

Tut Tut: It Looks Like Rain

As Jen has already mentioned, today the rains came. And came. And, as of this writing, are still coming. She tells me that once the Rainy Season settles in, the daily torrent will mostly be confined to midafternoon (much like summer thunderstorm time in Teh Mountains, NC), but that here at the begininning, there's no telling how long it will rain.

So far it's been about six hours, and I have no problem with any of it. I've always enjoyed the sound of rain on a tin roof.

The power has flickered a couple times, which is something that, while I don't love it, I'm certainly used to it, having grown up in the penultimate house on a Rural Electric Authority line. There were times that it seemed like my Dad's sneezes (which, I must admit were prodigious -- not to mention that they echoed through the hills [I'm totally not kidding]) were enough to knock the power out back in the hills in the day.

Had dinner upstairs* with Jen and the girls, and a good time was had by all, with recorder serenades and (virtual) science inventions and more than a little giggling (although I did try to contain myself). And now I'm back downstairs, where it's much cooler, winding down and checking blogs and posting this.

Oh, by the way, if you haven't been by there this evening, stop by Steve's place, and leave some love for him and his family.

*for those who do not know, I'm living in the downstairs apartment of an up/down duplex, so as to allow everybody to grow used to the idea of me being here.

Cool Earth Hour Pics

From the website Boston.com, comes a series of "Before" and "During" photos from around the world, showing this past Saturday's observation of Earth Hour. Wait for the whole page to load, and then click the individual pics to see them "dim".

Here are the two shots of the Acropolis (that's in Athens, Greece, btw):

Posted Without Comment

(h/t to Bob Cesca)

The Pressure Is On

Hmmm. It appears that I have been put on notice -- on the hotseat -- the onus is on me -- to post "something of interest". I'm not in a position at the moment to do an essay on amortization, however.

I will say that I enjoyed going to the farmer's market here in San Rafael. Beaucoups fresh fruits and veggies and all kinda stuff. I got some nice looking tomatoes, some new taters and some onions, a hat for to keep the tropical sun off'n my haid, and Jen and I shared a traditional dish from El Salvador, pupusa, which is a flatbread(ish) thing. Corn flour with black beans cooked on a griddle, then a filling with cabbage and (some kind of) meat and a spicy sauce. It was very good and much more of a meal than I thought it would be. I may have to find a recipe.

And now it's time for dinner and then possibly some Harry Potter movie action. B'bye!

Wherein I Pose A Question

To wit:

Is it still Wal-mart if it's called Hiper Más and it's in Costa Rica? Cause if it is, I totally blew my boycott. But my kitchen is all set up now and I have a chair for the table I built yesterday. Here's a poor photo of the desk:


Also too and?

It gets dark early and fast here. Like 6pm(ish). Remember those views I posted t'other day? North and South? Here they are at night:

I Love The Smell Of Sawdust In The Morning

So, when Jen got home from work yesterday we went to the neighborhood hardware and lumber store. For those of you who may not have ever been in a Costa Rican hardware store, it's quite different than a Lowe's or Home Depot. First of all, the people who work there know what all the stuff is that they sell. Second, it's set up like an auto parts store in the States -- a long counter, and several rows of shelves behind it where all the stuff is kept. You tell the knowledgeable and friendly (yes, even with my limited Spanish, I could tell) person what you want and he brings it to you.

We went to pick out some lumber with which to build a desk for my computer and also a bed. Most of you know that Jen has a wee li'l car (the Purple Hatchback of... oh, wait I'm not allowed to say the name), and we were buying boards that were between 3.5 and 4 meters (11 1/2 to 13 feet) long, so that would have been a bit of awkward hauling. I noticed that they had a cutting station set up in the back of the lumber yard and Jen asked the nice dude if he would cut the boards to length and he said sure, and we managed to figure it all out and get it done without any 8x10 color glossies with pictures and arrows and a paragraph on the backa each one and also with me only having to say "No comprendo" once.

So, anyway, here's the Pile O' Lumber after we got it home:

Then it was time for dinner, which was Green Food -- and very good.

So, this morning, afore Jen headed off to work, we went back and got some nails and bolts and stuff, and then I got to work:




And before long, viola! I have a computer desk:


Some time over the next couple days, we'll get me a chair and then Whoa, Nelly! I'll be ... sitting there doin' stuff.

Thursday Panty Rythom

Discovery Channeled

Jen is under the impression that she has taken me out of the mountains.

If so, then what the hell, pray tell, be these?




They be, by the way, around 6000' (or close to 1800m) in elevation.

In other words, here there be dragons mountains!!

Like I Said

If Anybody Needs Me...

...I'll be here ...

...around 5pm EDT.

/shuts down computer, packs in suitcase, heads to airport, gets on plane to Costa Rica/

Still Unclear As To What Happened To The Economy?

Michael Rushkoff explains it brilliantly:

With any luck, the economy will never recover. In a perfect world, the stock market would decline another 70 or 80 percent along with the shuttering of about that fraction of our nation’s banks. Yes, unemployment would rise as hundreds of thousands of formerly well-paid brokers and bankers lost their jobs; but at least they would no longer be extracting wealth at our expense. They would need to be fed, but that would be a lot cheaper than keeping them in the luxurious conditions they’re enjoying now. Even Bernie Madoff costs us less in jail than he does on Park Avenue. Alas, I’m not being sarcastic. If you had spent the last decade, as I have, reviewing the way a centralized economic plan ravaged the real world over the past 500 years, you would appreciate the current financial meltdown for what it is: a comeuppance. This is the sound of the other shoe dropping; it’s what happens when the chickens come home to roost; it’s justice, equilibrium reasserting itself, and ultimately a good thing. (emphasis original)

(h/t to Blue Gal)

Saturday Song

Is That A Real Poncho, Or Is That a Sears Poncho?

Holder of a Place

Went to visit my parents today, and looking at a busy weekend.

More later

March Madness Is Here!

Have you heard?

It's time to fill out your bracket (click to embiggen)!


What's that? You thought I was talking about basketball? Pish.

Click here to fill in your picks.

Random Python Monty: My Nipples Explode With Delight

Quote of the Day

"But you know when you give billions and billions of dollars to the Pirates of Penzance you can hardly be surprised if they, you know, spend it on women and grog." -- Jonathan Turley on Countdown last night, pointing out the "vapors" that members of Congress are having regarding the AIG bonuses.

Watch it:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

You Know I Can't Let 17 March Pass Without Posting A Song

Allison Krauss and The Chieftans, Molly Bán.

From the YouTube comments:
"Go raibh céad maith agat as ucht seo. Is maith liom an leagan seo agus is binn an glór atá ag Alison Krauss chomh maith le láidir agus cumhachtach fósta. Cuireann sí áthas ar mo chroí."

What can one add to that?

This Post Has Nothing To Do With AIG

Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina:


Denali, Alaska:

I just thought everyone could use a break from the bs.

Super Heroed Again!!

Last year it was this post, and now, with a hat tip to Utah Savage, I present to you...



And now you (and I) know.

Post #912

It's a chilly, rainy Sunday here, and I'm just marking time.

And Dick freakin' Cheney was on TV (and hence, all over the Internets) today, lying and snarling and, well, being Dick Cheney.

Therefore, I have nothing to say.

Saturday Songs

Davy Sπllane*

traditional:


and not so:


And, of course, he's playing the uillean πpes**, in honor of π Day.

*Spillane
**pipes

Fox's Shepard Smith Goes Off The Reservation

A montage (thanks to Think Progress) of Smith dissing the all-powerful (and completely loopy) Glenn Beck:



I'm pleased to say I've never actually watched Fox News, but I think I remember reading that Shepard Smith has done this sort of not-toeing-the-company-line thing before.

I like it.


(edited to correct spelling of the host's name. Oopsie)

Jon Stewart Flashback

So, the Stewart -v- Cramer (Jim Cramer, of CNBC's Mad Money) is all over Teh InterWebs Tubes, and I'm sure that nearly all of you have seen at least excerpts by now. I'm glad that it's getting such airplay, and I hope it has "legs", as they say in The Business, because Stewart makes some excellent points.

Watching the video, and reading reactions around Blogistan, reminded me of Jon's appearance on CNN's Crossfire, and so I thought I'd post that here.

Random Python Monty: Bruce

Quote of the Day

...because Bush has been “credibly accused” of supporting torture in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Canada has a legal obligation to deny him entry under Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. The law says foreign nationals who have committed war crimes or crimes against humanity, including torture, are “inadmissible” to Canada. “The test isn’t whether the person’s been convicted, but whether there’s reasonable grounds to think that they have been involved,”

-- Vancouver lawyer Gail Davidson, who wants Dubya either denied entry or, better yet, arrested when he tries to go to Calgary to speechify in April.

All I can say is... Hell, yes!!

(h/t -- this post at Think Progress)

This May Come As A Shock To Some Of You....

Take the test for your own self!

(h/t to Think Progress -- check out the post)

I Don't Care That It's Nowhere Near Thanksgiving

WKRP, Turkey Drop, in its entirety. One of the best half hours 24m18s of American TV ever:

A Post For Spinal Tap Fans

(found at Obamicon.me)

Quote of the Day

An earmark simply is a congressional decision to allocate part of appropriation for a particular purpose. Eliminating the allocation doesn't reduce the appropriation, it simply leaves the allocation decision to a federal department or agency rather than to Congress.

Stan Collender, talking about the bloviating about earmark "reform".

In other words, if earmarks were totally banned, it would not result in one dollar less being spent.

Classical Monday

Today is Samuel Barber's birthday (1910 - 1981). Who is Samuel Barber, you may ask? Well, he's the guy who wrote this:

String Quartet №1 in B Minor, op.11 (2nd and 3rd movements)



And then later adapted it to this:


I doubt there are many people out there who haven't heard this somewhere (including in the movie, Platoon).


And, for those two of you who haven't already clicked away to another blog, here's a choral arrangement:


To me, this is one of the most beautiful and haunting pieces ever written, and will always make me think of a certain theatre production I was once in (thanks, Petulant -- and, Icaia, of course).

Quote of the Day

Today the Republican Party is rooting for doom. And since the Republicans are now anti-American members of an Obama-must-fail insurgency, lies become a self-fulfilling prophecy: talk doom, and keep the economy in a panic and we may get what we wish for. Don't conservative Republicans object to the lies? No, because the Republicans don't have any actual and traditional conservative followers left. The Republican base is now made up of religious and neoconservative ideologues, and the uneducated white underclass with a token person of color or two up front on TV to obscure the all-white, all reactionary all backward -- there-is-no-global-warming -- rube reality. Actual conservatives, let alone the educated classes, have long since fled.

Frank Schaeffer in a post at The Huffington Post.

Bonus Content: Schaeffer on the DL Hughley show --



And another of Shaeffer's posts.

I've Gone Looney... Tunes, That Is

Saturday Video Clip: Just For Jen Version

Saturday Not Video

Why are there no videos of the Tazmanian Devil cartoons on YouTube?

Why, why, why, why?

I May Never Be The Same Again

Whatever you do, do not go and read this post.

I think I'm gonna be ill.

ETA: Link is repaired.

Mea Culpa

(or wev the correct phrase is)

My comments have experienced a hostile takeover.

I'm trying to correct the problem, but my code is malformed. I hate it when that happens.

This has not been the best tech week in my life, that's for sure.

ETA: Aaaand, we're back to Blogger comments. My suggestion to all of you (and I know it's too late for you Dusty) is to AVOID THE INTENSE DEBATE COMMENTING PLATFORM AT ALL COSTS!!!

CTA*: Tell Congress To Impeach Judge Jay Bybee

Email received this morning:

Dear Friend, When presidents and federal judges take office, they must swear to support and defend the Constitution. But federal judge Jay Bybee worked long and hard to undermine the Bill of Rights - and to make sure that President George W. Bush could do the same. On March 2, the Justice Department released a series of legal memos, some authored by Jay Bybee, that made a mockery of the Constitution, and gave the Bush Administration legal cover to wiretap Americans without court approval, to send prisoners oversees where they were likely to be tortured, to use U.S. military forces for domestic purposes, and a number of other actions that previously would have been considered unconstitutional. For his service, Bybee was rewarded by the Bush administration with a federal judgeship. Working Assets (now CREDO) worked to oppose that nomination, but only 19 senators sided with us, and Bybee was overwhelmingly confirmed. Now that we know the extent of the horrors he authorized - the extent to which he worked against our own Constitution - Bybee must be impeached. I just took action to tell my representative to impeach Judge Bybee. I hope you will, too. Please have a look and take action. Thanks!

*Call To Action

To Prove I Can See Videos, I'll Post One

I am firmly of the belief that what you (or I) believe is up to you (or me), and your beliefs have no control over me (or vice versa). AKA, your rights end where mine begin.

Ergo, my personal beliefs make no never mind. And the reverse is equally true.

But whatever your belief system, if you are a rational person you should find this funny:



(I got it from Bill, who got it from PZ, who got it from....)

Re: Can't Get Flash Working

Okay everybody, go ahead and point and laugh. Just go ahead and do it.

Oh, you want to know why?

Okay. Well. Ummm. /sigh/

Here's the thing. I installed Linux from the live CD, and all that. And the default browser was something called Konqueror. Which, although it seemed a friendly little browser, wasn't Firefox. So I downloaded and installed (after figuring out how) Firefox. Yay! Happy dance!

Wait. Not so much. Videos don't work!?!? Noooooooo!

And so the three day search to figure things out began. Tried this and that and the other, and determined that Flash Player 10 (for Linux, even) was installed, but Just. Wouldn't. Work.

Searched, tried, pouted, cursed, etc....

Tried Flewellyn's link from my previous post about this (btw, thanks Flewellyn!!) and nothing, repeat nothing could get me videos in Firefox. Oh, they showed up just fine in Konqueror.

I tried another browser (Opera... meh) to see if there was video, and Lo, there was. Now it's getting really frustrating.

Konqueror was too plain, and Opera, well, see above, and dangit, I really like Firefox! Anyway, I did a Google search of "linux browsers" and came to a site that listed eight or ten of them, including Firefox, and -- well, here, let me just show you what it said (emphasis mine):

Firefox [Free] The most popular open source web browser. Available for all major operating systems and included in all major Linux distributions. Numerous extensions are available..

Yes, Dear Reader, the pre-installed Firefox works just fine. But not knowing it was already there, I installed another copy of it. But the system didn't point to the one I was opening, so none of my attempts were directed where I wanted them to be.

Now I need to figure out which iteration of FF is the one I don't need, and get rid of it.

As it says in my URL, I am such a Phydeauxp. Point and laugh.

Quote of the Day

"I haven’t actually read the book but my understanding is that in Atlas Shrugged they’re actually building a high-speed rail link from Las Vegas to Disneyland." -- Matthew Yglesias

Pheaux Phyre Phorum: The First Linux Edition

Yeah, I know. MY OS makes no difference in your viewing pleasure, but there it is.

Looking around for better chat interface (especially since I ditched Haloscan), and this is the one that Blue Gal is now using for her Salon on Mondays, so it must be worth trying out.

Shall we?

ETA: Just so you know, when you show up in that chat, you can't see what's already been said. So, just dive right on in.

FINAL EDIT: I'm closing that down for tonight. We'll try again next week, m'kay?

Calling All Geeks

As I mentioned yesterday, I broke Windows on my computer, which kinda sucks.

The upside is, I've wanted to explore Linux for some time, and since Windows no longer works on my computer, this is the perfect opportunity. So, I've installed the OS (Kubuntu 8.10) and figured out how to do things like start Firefox, and listen to online music and vital fun stuff like that. For someone who isn't really a tech-head, I don't think I'm doing so bad.

Except for one thing.

I cannot get Adobe Flash to install. Do you realize how much flash is used on Teh InterWebs Tubes? People (including me) post videos without any description or anything. And that appears as an empty box, thusly:


Here's what I've tried:

• Clicked on the above (well, not the picture of it, the actual occurrence). See next bullet point.
  
• Clicked on the "Install Missing Plugins" at the top of the window. I'm told that Adobe Flash Player isn't available.
• Gone to the Adobe website and downloaded the latest Linux version (each of the four possible ones) of flash and installed it. But it doesn't take. Even after restarting Firefox and, indeed, the whole computer.
• Pouting.
• Cursing.
• Gnashing of teeth.
  

So, anybody out there got suggestions?

Added: I just tried the default browser that came on the install disc (Konqueror), and flash is working there. So, it is installed, just not working with Firefox.

Rass'n Frass'n Consarn Idjit....

That would be me.

I was doing some computer maintenance last night and somehow deleted a key bit of Windows.

Yeah. Brilliant, eh?

So I don't quite have the BSOD*, but it's close, as the computer didn't come with a system restore disk and the Windows Product Key sticker was conveniently placed on the top of the tower, where Puff used to like to snuggle 'cause it's warm. So the sticker is mostly worn down to nothing. The code that must be entered to "Activate" Windows is long since gone, and I never -- to the best of my recollection -- copied it down anywhere.

Again. Brilliant, eh?

I'm sneaking online right now, to try and find some way out of this predicament, but I just couldn't wait to let y'all know what a doofus I am.

Hmmm. Perhaps now is the perfect time to further explore Linux....

Couple More Remarks For Today...

First, today was Dr. Seuss' birthday, and the ever-playful folks at Google paid homage to him with this:



Second, if you're not sure what a push poll is, look at this:


Notice how the two questions are asking the same thing? Well, 17% of those asked did not. (second photo found at Volcano Monitors site, found courtesy of comments at the home of that paradigm of True Conservatism, Jon Swift)

But What About All The Comments?

As I mentioned yesterday, one of the changes included with the new look (and name) of the place was to stop using Haloscan. As most of you already know, Haloscan was bought out last summer by JS-Kit. They are supposedly migrating all users to the JS-Kit platform, and, as such, apparently stopped doing support on Haloscan, so the performance of that commenting system has been steadily going downhill. As long time commenters on any site that has used Haloscan know, there have been problems aplenty with Haloscan for some time.

It has pretty much become unreliable for those of us who don't have upgraded (meaning paid) accounts, so I decided to not link this new template to it. I still have the account and can access the comment archives, and all the comments are still there.

I have looked at JS-Kit before (last year when I was first looking for a new platform for the Phyre), but found it to be unwieldy and confusing. They say they're working on it, and it may well become easier to use soon. And if that happens, I can supposedly import all the old Haloscan commments into the new platform, and thereby restore all your glorious ruminations on my posts.

But until I'm sure the new is better than the regular Blogger comment platform? Not gonna change.

I will be looking for something a bit more ... vibrant ... than the Blogger comment platform for use in the Phyre, which, yes, I do intend on continuing, despite my slackitudiness of the past few weeks. A lot of that has been due to wanting an easy and fun commenting platform which Haloscan definitely no longer was.

Anyway, that's what's up with that.

Carry on.

The White Lion Of March

We all know the old saying about March, "In like a Lion/Lamb, out like a Lamb/Lion" (whichever the case may be any given year). Well, I guess this year the "in" is a lion, cause here in the middle of the flatlands of North Carolina we woke up to this:




and this:




and this:


today. From what I read and hear on the radio, the further north you go, the deeper it gets.

I hope that if you're in a place that's getting snow, you a) like snow, b) either don't have to drive or at least not far, and c) have a big ole mug of hot chocolate like I do right now.

Roar on, March!

Oh! I Almost Forgot!

The new blog title was Jen's suggestion.

And, no more Haloscan!!!

A New Look

So, two years ago today I started this li'l blog. And here we are, about 900 posts and a lot of changes (both macro and micro) later.

So I figured this would be a good time to change the look of the place. I'll be playing around with the layout and sidebar elements for a while, but this is pretty much the new place.

Whattaya think, y'all?

Attention All K-Mart Shoppers Readers

Playing with comments... getting rid of Hell-0-Scam... you may not be able to comment at times... sorry.

ETA: Apparently Haloscan doesn't like to give up an account, as I can't get the blogger comments to come back on. So, for now, we'll all have to deal with ... /sigh/ ... Haloscan.

See Bob Make "A B C..." *

Dear Rest of the InterWebs Tubes,

There's plenty of valid complaint to be had. Please stop distorting/overreacting to things that, in the end, simply lower the level of discourse.

That's what the MSM is for, you know.

Growing weary of the Fauxrage,
Bob

(*aka, I Write Letters)

Have You Heard What Really Happened?

Governor Piyush "Bobby" Jindal of Louisiana, is a Lying Liar of the first degree. During his ... painfully bad ... presentation of the Republican 'response' to the President's speech to a joint session of Congress (Which, by the way, I didn't see any smoke in the chamber at all. I don't think they had any joints -- What? Oh. Never mind.)...

Where was I? Oh, right. Jindal's Lies. For those who had something better to do than listen to a Serious Politician talk as though he was reading "See Spot Run" to five-year olds, Jindal claimed to have entered the office of Jefferson Parish Sheriff Harry Lee and overheard a conversation about how, after the Gummint-built levees broke and flooded New Orleans, people with non-Gummint boats trying to get into the city to rescue other people stranded on rooftops were being turned away by Evil Gummint Officials (which, by the way, must have been Bush's Brownie-led FEMA officers, but ole "Bobby" don't want to point that bit out). When Our Hero asked the Good Reeve of the Shire what the matter was and heard about it, he was all, "Goo-oo-ool-ee, Sheriff Taylor Lee, we got to let them good non-Gummint people in there to save them poor stranded people from the Failures of Gummint!"

To which the Sheriff replied, "Damn right! Else they might try to find food and shelter in the rich part of town, and we cain't have that!" And so the Sheriff hollered into the phone, "Loot here, now. "Bobby" Jindal says if you don't let them boats in that he's gonna let people know about it.. in about three and a half years!"

Yeah, well, didn't happen.

But here's the truth.

In the early morning hours of August 29, 2005, The Lord spoke unto "Bobby" Jindal, saying, "Lo! Ye who hath cast out the demon! Verily hath I brought forth The Storm to smite the Heathen of New Orleans! Alas, I have also been busy preparing a young man named Sanjaya for an upcoming American Idol and so did allow The Storm to stray from my intended path.

"Yea Lo, Verily! I speak unto thee! Let not thy attention wander to Carrie Underwood's breasts!", The Lord commanded, and "Bobby" was like unto smote, crying, "Forgive me, O Lord! How might this humble servant help Thee?"

And the Lord did ope his mouth and speak again, "Verily, even I am finding it difficult to get Sanjaya to sing well, and so I do call upon thee, who, I believe I mentioned, hath cast out the demon, to insure that The Storm striketh only those poor and infirm, who, despite the words of My Son, are obviously lesser in My Sight, be the ones who suffer from The Storm. That their homes might be declared unfit for habitation so that The Wealthy, who are beloved of Me, might take control of their lands and build expensive condos and casinos wherein Bankers and Hedge Fund Managers might live and play, these being Most Worthy in My Sight.

"This must ye do above all others!" The Lord spakest, "Allow not the good-hearted to rescue the poor, for it hath been ordained that they must suffer disproportionately!"

And, yea, though "Bobby" fell into a fitful sleep, he didst remember the Commandment of The Lord, and, upon waking, he who had cast out the demon did as The Lord bid him do.

This is Where I Lived For Ten Years

Asheville from Adrian Paul Spiteri on Vimeo.

(h/t to the awesome (and Asheville-based) Scrutiny Hooligans)

Truth In Advertising

(h/t to Bob Cesca)

A Bit O' Humour For A Thursday

(h/t to my sister via email)

Blatant Falsehoods: They're Not Just For Republicans Anymore!

While it's true that Republicans are masters at the Blatant Lie -- some of their greatest hits include "Maglev to Vegas" and "The Salt Marsh Mouse Chronicles" -- but they're getting lots of help from that Bastion of the Librul Media, the New York Times (emphasis added):

President Obama will propose further tax increases on the affluent to help pay for his promise to make health care more accessible and affordable, calling for stricter limits on the benefits of itemized deductions taken by the wealthiest households, administration officials said Wednesday. The tax proposal, coming after recent years in which wealth has become more concentrated at the top of the income scale, introduces a politically volatile edge to the Congressional debate over Mr. Obama’s domestic priorities.

A "politically volatile edge", eh? Politically volatile must mean that it would affect a significant portion of the voting public, right?

Not so much.

As Matt Yglesias points out, the top two tax brackets -- the people who will be affected by this proposed change -- comprise... are you ready for it... 0.7 percent of households. Here's Matt's handy pie chart, in case you need a visual representation:



So here's my question: Does that tiny little sliver of a bit of a piece of that big ole pie look to be politically significant?

Yup

Just 'Cause

Well I'll Be

Chet Scoville writes:

Know how lots of bloggers, including me, kept saying that Harry Reid ought to make the Republicans filibuster? Well, turns out I was wrong, because I was misinformed about how filibusters actually work these days. Mea maxima culpa. Turns out it's not Harry Reid's lack of spine that's the problem. No, the problem is that the U.S. Senate is the Dumbest Legislative Body on Earth.

Read the rest for the awful truth.

It's a wonder anything gets done at all, I tell you what.

No Time For Blogging!

As I am making a point to not watch the Oscars. Actually, I'm not really making a point of not watching, because that would imply that I care one way or another. Seriously, do people really watch that still? So, ... ummm... that's it, I suppose.

Later, y'all!

Deep Thoughts, Not By Jack Handy

Political Conjugation:

Republican -- First person singular

Democrat -- First person plural

Bet You Never Thought You'd See a Hip-Hop Video At My Place...

HA! Fooled you! This is a SCIENCE video. More info here.

I May Well Lose Some Of You On This One....

But I really like this band, and this cover.

Asleep At The Wheel, Route 66:

Blame Jen and Gine

The greatest cartoon of all time:

Can I Have A Turn Next?

(h/t to Bob Cesca)

Surrealism

SPAM subject line:

When your friend in the raised state to live is easier!

I'm not sure how to interpret that. Any suggestions?

I... It's... I Mean.... But...

WTF?

If your[sic] finding that your encounters with your mate are turning into a “bridge to nowhere,” wear PALIN CONDOMS.

Seriously.

I'm... not sure.

Non Sequitur Silly

Heh. In my random search for something about which to post tonight, I think I just created a meme:

1. Grab the nearest book - no matter what it is. Textbook, novel, pop-up book, building code study guide, whatever.
   
2. Turn to page 25.
3. Read the 10th word on that page, or the following if that one is blank.
4. Type that word into Google Image search.
5. Post the third image.
6. Tag 4 people and tell them.
7. Link back to this post.

And here's my result:




(My word, by the way, was "tune")

Let's see if we can make this spread like a plague wildfire.

I tag pidomon, Lisa, Mauigirl, and FranIAm.

Sunday Classical

First part of the Mozart Quintet for Clarinet and Strings:

How Cool is This?

Remember This

The US House of Representatives passed the Stimulus Bill, once again, with no Republican votes. John Boehner cried again about how it was "turned into a bill that's about spending, spending, spending."

As President Obama said last week, "Just what do you think a stimulus is?"

Just how far will the Republicans marginalize themselves?

Random Python, Constitutional Edition

Pheaux Phyre Phorum: The Edition Edition

Hey Y'all!

So, when last we met, we used Skype for our little confabulation, and it worked well. Too well, apparently. Skype has updated to 4.0, and no longer supports public chat. So, we're back to the old, lovable Hell-0-Scam.

If anybody's interested.

Where I Crawl Into The Cesspool Minds of Republicans

Okay, so the Republicans are, as I've said before, only interested in themselves and their portfolios and the availability of frozen hot chocolates. So I see no sense in talking to them, and trying to get them to adopt a "inasmuch as you have done this to the least of these" attitude (because, apparently, the Jesus they worship didn't actually say that, and, if he did, he was winking at the fatcats of the day so it doesn't really count).

However.

I certainly think that we can talk about them and their motives. Bob Cesca does just that over at HuffPo, and does a fine job enumerating some of the (from the vantage point of the Reality-bsed Community) ridiculous and hypocritical things the Party of Lincoln Rush is saying. I'll pause a moment or two whilst ye take a gander to refresh your memory of the Raving Wingnuttia....

Oh, hai. You're back.

So, why are the Republicans engaging in all these blatant falsehoods? First and foremost, duh, because they're politicians and, let's face it, that's the nature of the beast, no matter the flavor.

Let's look at a bit of Bob's post:

They're screaming about fear-mongering, even though we had eight years of this. They're screaming about fiscal responsibility, even though we had eight years of this. They're screaming about free speech, even though we had eight years of this and this and this. They're honest to God screaming about fascism, even though we had eight years of this and this and this.

Why, Dear Reader, do you suppose they think they can get away with all this? I believe it's because they read and listened to those of us in the Reality-based Community over the last eight years, crying out about these injustices and lies, and knew we were right. And, further, they know that their followers are too ... unengaged (bless their hearts) to realize that, while the we were decrying lies and largesse and unConstitutional behavior on the part of the Executive Branch of the Federal Gummint, and trying to protect We the People, the Grand Obstructionist Party is doing it to score political points.

Think I'm exaggerating? I'm not. On Hardball with Chris Matthews today, Rep. Peter King said that if, after arguing against the bill tooth and nail (and egregious lie), the stimulus package works and the economy recovers, the Republicans will then say something along the lines of, 'Well, the economy would have recovered as soon or sooner without this wasteful spending.'

The old Heads-I-win, Tails-you-lose game.



You know, eventually, cooler heads will prevail in the Republican Party. I'm afraid that it may be a long time, though, and that the country, and therefore the whole world (we're all one big market now) will suffer greatly in the intervening years.

Quote of the Day

“When (President Franklin) Roosevelt did this, he put our country into a Great Depression,” Austria said. “He tried to borrow and spend, he tried to use the Keynesian approach, and our country ended up in a Great Depression. That’s just history.”

- Representative Steve Austria (R-OH)

By the way, is it just me, or does today's Profile In Republican Fail subject (right) look like yesterday's (left)?







UPDATE: He left the link in comments, but I heartily recommend you go read boatboy-srq's post on this topic.

More From The "Just Don't Get It" Department

Bailed-out firms rename their cash bonuses as ‘retention awards.’


Dear Huge Companies,

It's not the name, you over-entitled, privileged, completely-out-of-touch-with-the-real-world, frozen hot chocolate (wtf is that, anyway?) drinking, money-grubbing assholes. It's the fact that you're giving each other multi-millions of dollars while everyone else suffers.

(I) Sincerely (hope you choke on your frozen hot chocolate),
Bob

Random Thought...

How many "Country First" Republicans have accounts at the bank called RBC?

Wingnut FAIL

Since when is it acceptable for an American to ask the president for something? The president is the servant of the people, not the other way around. This reminds me of a different type of relationship: slave/master or serf/noble.

Jonathon Gardner at Federal Way Conservative. (Yes, you read the rollover on that link correctly, the post is titled "Slave Begs her Master for a House")

Any road,... according to the tortured (and false) logic in the above quote, it is unacceptable to ask a servant to do something.

(h/t to Doctor Zaius)

To Boldly Stimulate ....

Apparently the Stimulus Package includes interstellar travel. Who knew?

The Party of Lincoln FAIL

Did I heah you right, son? Ah say -- ah say -- did you really stand up in the Missouri legislature and say, “What we are dealing with today is the greatest power grab by the federal government since the war of northern aggression”?

State Rep. Bryan Stevenson, Republican (duh) -- pictured left -- actually said that in session. For those of you who don't know, "The War of Northern Aggression" is what racist redneck Southerners call the American Civil War.

Ah do -- ah say -- ah do believe it's time to inform the GOP that they can no longer call themselves the Party of the Great Emancipator.

And now, some Bugs Bunny (there is an incredibly racist stereotypical bit about 2:45 in, but... warts and all, you know?):

Quote of the Day

Can you fucking believe these asshole cocksucking motherfuckers? They cut Food Stamps! Fucking! Foodstamps! Those stupid motherfuckers! That's economic stimulus on goddamned steroids for the love of sweet milk chocolate jebus horatio goddamned christ on a motherfucking skateboard! Are they that fucking stupid? That fucking greedy? That fucking clueless? I feel like going back out into the shed and beating my fucking plowshare back into a goddamned sword. I fucking hate a bunch of goddamned fucking farming anyway.

-- The Minstrel Boy

Quote of the Day

Where does the senator think the $800 billion will go? Down a rabbit hole? Even if the entire sum were to be stolen by federal employees and spent entirely on fast cars, fancy homes, gambling junkets and fancy clothes, it would still be an $800 billion increase in the demand for goods and services -- a pretty good working definition for economic stimulus. The only question is whether spending it on other things would create more long-term value, which it almost certainly would.

- Steven Pearlstein, Washington Post Business Columnist

Would Someone Please 'Splain To Me

Why anyone, much less Think Progress, is wording it like this?

Supporters Of $1.3 Trillion Bush Tax Cuts In 2001 Now Call $900 Billion Recovery Plan Billion ‘Too Much’ Such objections are indeed ironic coming from some of the greatest advocates for President Bush’s $1.35 trillion tax cut package in 2001.

What am I missing here? As I understand it, back in 2001 Congress cut taxes by $1.3 trillion. Now the people who voted to cut the Gummint coffers -- from which spending is done -- are saying that spending $800 billion is a bad idea.

Remember my post the other day, and how I said that no matter how loony-sounding or just plain wrong for the country (and, yes, pretty much everything the Repellicans say these days is antithetical to moving the country to a better place) the Republican positions are, they are completely self-consistent?

Slashing monetary intake ... being against spending. Duh. There's no irony here. We haven't had that since 1983.*

In 2001, they cut taxes and then, over the next few years, doubled spending. If the above title and post had pointed that out, fine. But it chose to go in a different direction, akin to "water is wet".

With the Republicans, it's all about the words. Actions don't enter into it, because they know that a large enough percentage of the electorate will forget the actions -- if, in fact, that percentage even notices the actions in the first place -- and see only the replayed soundbites.

You (and I'm talking to those who continue to write volumes of posts about "the Republicans are...") might as well argue with that oak tree just outside this office window, for all the effect you're gonna have on the outcome of things. You're wasting your time (in writing) and mine (reading).

Put that energy to use in some more useful manner. Go shovel snow off your front walk, or turn some soil to prepare your Victory Survival Garden or play with your kids or something.


(*this one is worth 1173 irredeemable points)

Yeah, I've Posted This Before

But it's purty.

I went over to my parents' today for my Mom's SURPRISE Birthday Party (it's her Piano Birthday -- 846 irredeemable points to the first in comments to figure that out), and took the Béla Fleck & The Flecktones: Live at the Quick CD with me.

Listened to this track over and over at high volume whilst tooling along on the Interstate.

The Call and Response in the middle between bass and soprano sax is a true thing of beauty. Plus, you gotta love a band that sports a bassoon.

Turn it up and enjoy....

Just What Do You Think A Stimulus Is?

More of President Obama's speech last night (a part of which I quoted below):

Quote of the Day

"When you start hearing arguments on the cable chatter, just understand a couple of things. Number one, when they say, well, why are we spending $800 billion -- we've got this huge deficit? First of all, I found this deficit when I showed up."

President Barack Obama, telling it like it is.

Random Python, Monty

Pheaux Phyre Phorum: The I'm Just Not Feeling It Edition

Meh.

That's pretty much how I feel about what's going on with the world right now. The Grand Obstructionist Party is apparently being successful at rebranding the Stimulus Package as a Pork Barrel Spending Bill (with lots of help from Democrats who just can't stop themselves adding things). People are all "When will the MSM start reporting the truth!?!?!1??eleventy?????" when anyone with half a brain can see that it will never happen as long as news agencies are part of capitalism, because it's not about getting the truth out, it's about the bottom line of the ledger.

President Obama is either playing a very, very good game of chess with the Republicans, or else he's no better than any other man to live in the White House in the last 30 years.

All I want to do is curl up with a good book, or a special someone, and veg.

Talk amongst yerselves, if ye wish.

Close Encounters...

So, you may or may not know that Google released Google Earth 5 yesterday. There are several new features, including Google Mars.

I was checking it out last night, and this popped up on my screen:

(click to embiggen)

Contact!!!

Which, of course, makes me think of this:





Klaatu Barada Nicto, Bitchez!!

And Another Thing

Hmmmm.

I had a big ole, thinky type post all in my head, that I was gonna write up for all of you to read.

It's gone.

I can't even remember what it was gonna be about.

/blames the 80s/

In Honor of Super Bowl Sunday...

The best commmercial ever to grace the Super Bowl (IMHO):