Kilmeade shows us how it's done

I know I said no more politics but I just couldn't let this pass by...



(meh, having trouble getting this video embedded. Until I get it to work right, here's the gist-

Kilmeade: It took Obama only "hours" to appoint Petraeus, "so why is it taking months to plug the leaking oil?")

God... it's just so STUPID!

Just to remind you, this is the portion of FOX news that is considered "news" and not opinion.

In other excellent questions:

It only took Bush 6 years to damage the economy, divide the nation, launch multiple wars, and wreck political discourse... why hasn't Obama been able to fix all this yet?

It took decades of neglect by presidents and congresses of both parties for the country to fill up with illegal immigrants yet Obama has not managed to fix this situation? Why?

It only took a few moments for him to eat breakfast this morning, so why hasn't Social Security been fixed yet?

Obama had a successful meeting with Russian leaders this week, why hasn't he been able to end violence in Africa?

The questions are endless! We need Obama to stop pussyfooting around and solve these problems!

When keeping it real goes wrong

So there's this issue that really has not gotten much press lately (sarcasm for those who don't pick that up). Apparently a Rolling Stone news reporter was spending time with General McChrystal recently and kind of exposed the ugly side of military-civilian relations. The article reveals a number of statements/impressions given by McChrystal and his aides that are not exactly complimentary of President Obama, Vice President Biden, Afghanistan ambassador Karl Eikenberry, and a few others. As usual, hilarity ensues.

My take: McChrystal fucked up. Pure and simple. Should he be fired? I believe so. Or at least his resignation should be accepted to save him some face. The first rule in business is that no one is irreplaceable. In this political climate with the longest war in US history taking place a man in his position has no place to be having this sort of report be released to the public. That is inexcusable. The office of President of the United States of America demands a certain respect, regardless of who fills that position. Turd burglars like you and I can feel free to run our mouths about these guys as much as we want but a certain decorum is expected for those in important government/military positions.

That isn't to say that I think that McChrystal should be punished for his (alleged) views. What gets him in trouble is that, a) a reporter was given the access to these candid statements, and, b) his aides and staff were under the impression that they could be this candid with the reporter. I am certainly not as naive as to think that every member of the military would be infatuated with Obama or those who have never served. That's just delusional. Regardless, the fact that this did come to light and will now grace the pages of Rolling Stone, a magazine that regularly places a shirtless Shawn White on the cover, is an incredible lapse of judgement.

I've heard a number of conservative pundits run their mouths in the time since this story broke and not too many of them have recognized the serious breach of protocol and are instead acting as if they are the damaged party. It's exactly the way a child acts when guilty. That's besides the point. They just don't seem to get it. Just because they and their couple million listeners want the president impeached/executed for made-up offenses is not reason. There has to be some actual substance. So while they are spending their air time finding justification for McChrystal's misstep the man himself is answering to his boss and taking responsibility for it.

Consequence. Again these people have proven they have no idea what consequence is about.

So it is a shame that something like this was exposed to the public. I've often heard that civilians have no business being privy to what goes on in military life and that is something that I agree with 100%. We the people are too squeamish. Too easily offended.

So McChrystal made a mistake. He's a four star general who will now be forever associated with this and that is unfortunate, but it is the truth. Political junkies are now eagerly awaiting the news of whether or not a replacement will be needed for the Afghanistan campaign but largely the actual military implications of this event will be far outweighed by the politics as each side will now jockey to inform/misinform the public on what it all really means. It's already getting wore out by Rush. Mark Levin was bitching like crazy last night. It's just the current bullshit du jour right now. McChrystal kept it real... and it definitely went wrong.

Stand up and be counted... or not

Lately there's been too much stupid going on in politics in the wake of the health care debate for me to sort it out. Combine that with a rise of many exciting sports happenings and all the political noise quietly takes a back seat. Lately though I've been hearing some really really idiotic bickering about the friggin census. The census? That's right. The census.

Only in today's political retard-ery can you find seemingly normal Americans arguing about the census. I'm not quite sure how the whole debate began but it seems to me that someone on the right started spreading the idea that the census was a tool of the Obama administration used to keep track of everybody in an evil Big Brother sort of way. Michelle Bachmann and others like herself have also been pushing the idea that participating in the census would somehow allow the Obama administration to round everyone up and stick them in internment camps like we did with Japanese-Americans during World War II. Michelle Bachman is also a crazy person.

What is it that could drive seemingly normal people to become this paranoid? The current mindset of the most vocal opposition of Obama seems to take every single piece of propaganda and treat it like gods-honest gospel. We are less than halfway through one term of Obama's presidency and I have heard just about every accusation that you could make of a man. There is no interest in anyone educating themselves. It's simply a daily process of people listening/ reading/ watching hour after hour of political punditry and then repeating it ad nauseum to anyone who will listen. It's an all too frequent event where I hear conservative individuals all use the same phrases and talking points almost the exact same day.

These people were the same that caused an uproar that Obama was going to indoctrinate our children when he addressed schools last year. It's a shame they have no idea they are allowing themselves to be indoctrinated for hours every single day.

You know the people. We have a local radio guy who comes on after Rush and Beck who actually has a level head. He will say something on the show about how the propaganda du jour is ridiculous and all of a sudden a flood of phone calls come in from all the sheep. They'll say "It's true that blah blah blah". He'll respond, "Ok, why?" and these people have literally no answer other than, "Well Rush said...", or, "Don't you think Obama wants this country to fall apart", and absolutely nothing to back it up. When pushed further they start sputtering nonsense and start calling the host a liberal and it just descends from there. That's right, because if you have no idea what you are talking about then the host must be a liberal.

These ideas are easily picked up through rote learning but it does absolutely nothing for your critical thinking.

As opposed to several other essays in stupidity, I actually want these people to continue believing this horseshit about the census. When Eric Erickson from Redstate and CNN says he is going to shoot a census worker, just let him talk like that. The best thing about this is that the more these people refuse to complete the census it simply means that their district will be counted less in upcoming elections. That's the beauty in this whole hot mess of dumb. These people are allowing their own nonsense to render them irrelevant. It'll be awfully hard for them to "take their country back" if this keeps up, don't you think?

Wait a second, this party has nothing to do with tea!

Just in case you were wondering what the Tea Party movement was actually all about, they've been kind enough to release their own declaration of independence that spells it all out for you.


"WxvÄtÜtàÉÇ Éy gxt ctÜàç \ÇwxÑxÇwxÇvx "
(that's kind of awesome. behold the wonders of cut & paste. what it actually says is "Declaration of Tea Party Independence")

"I. As the course of human events winds its way through History, it has found some paths
lead to Tyranny and some to Liberty. In seeking a path to Liberty, a great and powerful
movement is now rising from every corner of our land. Created by the Will of the
American People, it rejects unconstitutional domination by the Government that is
supposed to be its servant. This movement has arisen, in large part, because our elected
officials have failed us.
For much of its history the United States has been a land of prosperity and liberty, sound
policies such as fiscal responsibility, constitutionally limited government and a belief in
the free market have safeguarded this condition. In recent years however, Congress, the
President, the Federal Reserve Board and the Courts have replaced those practices with
profligate government spending and expansion of the government power beyond what is
constitutionally permissible.
This course, if not reversed, can only lead to economic collapse and tyranny.
Therefore, Individuals acting through the Tea Party Movement, seek to restore the
policies, which are proven to safeguard liberty and prosperity for all. We will organize,
demonstrate and vote until this restoration has been achieved. We will stay focused on
this goal and remain INDEPENDENT from any persons or political parties who seek to
distract us from this end.
Many seek to define this Movement, to use it, to lead it, to co-opt it, to channel it, to
control it, to defeat it.
WE WILL NOT LET THIS HAPPEN.
The Tea Party Movement is in agreement with our Founders that the government that
governs least governs best. We believe that Capitalism – NOT GOVERNMENT - is
essential to the creation of wealth and a vastly reduced government provides the
foundation for a thriving Capitalist system.
The Tea Party Movement of America embraces and serves people of all races, creeds,
religions, and political affiliations, and we declare ourselves to be independent of all
those forces that seek to manipulate our actions or control our destiny.
II. We Declare ourselves INDEPENDENT of the Democrat Party and its power drunk
junta in Washington DC, which is currently seeking to impose a Socialist agenda on our
Republic.
We reject arrogant Left-wing politicians who furtively hide from public scrutiny, as they
cut corrupt deals loaded with earmarks and pork in order to produce 2000 page pieces of
legislation so purposely incomprehensible, they do not even bother to read them before
foisting them upon us.
We reject the endless creation of myriad federal government agencies that drown free
enterprise and local control in the swarms of education, energy, ecology, and commerce
bureaucrats who style themselves “czars” sent to harass us. We reject the creation of
federal government regulations and agencies which demand the States pay for unfunded
Federal mandates.
We reject a Democrat Party which refuses to give credence to our demands for just
redress of grievances and which insults and seeks to demonize our legal right to
peacefully protest the unjust laws it inflicts upon us.
We reject a profligate Government that is spending TRILLIONS of dollars on worthless
socialist schemes designed to bankrupt us and put the American people in a position of
dependence on the State, as peasants begging for their very sustenance from self-styled
“educated classes” and so-called “experts”.
We reject a foreign policy which bows and scrapes and apologizes before the world for
America.
We reject an Attorney General of the United States who offers succor and rights to
vicious terrorist murderers and seeks to protect them with a mock civilian trial when such
enemy combatants, captured on the field of battle, should be tried in secure military
courts.
We reject the claims of an un-elected Federal Judiciary to violate the separation of
powers by demanding its decisions be enforced by the other coequal branches of
government, regardless of how unconstitutional the other branches of government may
think those decisions are.
We reject all acts that ignore or diminish the 2nd and 10th Amendments to the US
Constitution and we seek to have all powers not delegated to the United States by the
Constitution to be reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
III. We Declare ourselves INDEPENDENT of the Republican Party, which has in the
past manipulated its Conservative Base to win election after election and which then
betrays everything that Base fought for and believed.
We reject the idea that the electoral goals of the Republican Party are identical to the
goals of the Tea Party Movement or that this Movement is an adjunct to the Republican
Party.
We reject the Republican Party professionals who now seek to use the Tea Party
Movement for their corrupt and narrow political purposes.
We acknowledge that standing on our principles does not mean throwing out our
common sense; we will NOT abandon our principles in the name of a nonexistent
bipartisanship or a misguided devotion to an illusion of “pragmatism”, which disguises a
desire to betray us in its name.
We reject the scare tactics of the Republican Party, which seeks to herd us into voting for
candidates who supposedly represent the “lesser of two evils” in the name of fealty to the
principle of small government and then having to suffer such candidates as they betray
that principle. We are not well served by parasites whose livelihoods depend on the very
State whose power to reward or sanction we elected them to limit and proscribe.
We insist that the Tea Party Movement does NOT consider the election of Republicans in
and of itself to be necessarily beneficial to our goals.
We demand the Republican Party understand that we reject its attempts to co-opt us.
WE WILL WORK AGAINST THEM when they oppose our views by trying to force
Republicans In Name Only (RINO) on us. When Republicans are in accord with their
Conservative Base as well as the Independent voters who align with it, IT WINS; when
they are NOT in accord with the Conservative Base and the Independent voters who align
with it, IT LOSES.
We reject RINO money; we reject RINO “advice”; we reject RINO “professional experience”;
we reject RINO “progressivism”; we reject RINO support of Big Government; we
reject RINO back room deal making; we reject RINO pork spending; we reject false
RINO professions of Conservative views and we reject the RINO’s statist subversion of
the principles of small government for which the Republican Party is supposed to stand.
Republican Party attempts to ignore the will of the Base, as it did in 1976, 1992, 1996,
2006 and 2008, resulted in disaster; when it embraces the will of the Base, as it did in
1980, 1984 and 1994, it wins historic victories.
We demand the Republican Party recognize that while the Tea Party Movement cannot
guarantee their aid will help them win elections, it is very likely WE CAN MAKE THEM
LOSE if they are disdainful of our goals.
IV. We Declare ourselves INDEPENDENT of the Media, which has proved itself to be
anything BUT a fair and balanced enterprise and which focuses more on entertainment,
fear mongering and shock value than investigation and unbiased fact.
We reject the fiction that an unbiased media still exists; there is friendly media and there
is unfriendly ENE-media. The Tea Party Movement refuses to give false credence to the
self-aggrandizing, self-deluding lie that ANY PART of the Fourth Estate is free of the
self-serving agendas of those who own them.
V. We Declare ourselves INDEPENDENT of self-styled “leaders” who claim to speak
for the Tea Party Movement. This movement is not a brand name to be used to sell
product; nor is it a logo to be used to justify profiting off its name.
We reject those who seek to personally capitalize on our popularity and momentum by
trying to associate with our cause.
We reject the idea that the Tea Party Movement is “led” by anyone other than the
millions of average citizens who make it up. The Tea Party Movement understands that
as a Free People, we need to SAVE OURSELVES, BY OURSELVES, FOR
OURSELVES.
The Tea Party Movement is not “led.” The Tea Party Movement LEADS.
VI. We are united in our common belief in Fiscal Responsibility, Constitutionally
Limited Government and Free Markets. This threefold purpose is the source of our unity
in the Tea Party Movement.
We reject the idea that the Tea Party Movement must all be unanimous in our specific
policy views in order to win. We recognize that the current situation requires we come
together in confederation to achieve the MANY MUTUAL GOALS we all seek to
accomplish.
We recognize that the current situation requires that we concentrate on the many things
we have in common rather than those few things about which we may disagree.
We are the Tea Party Movement of America and we believe in American Exceptionalism.
We believe that American Exceptionalism is found in its devotion to the cause of Liberty.
We believe that Liberty is based in rational self-interest, in freedom of thought, in free
markets, free association, free speech, a free press and the ability granted us under the
Constitution TO DIRECT OUR OWN AFFAIRS FREE OF THE DICTATES OF AN
EVER EXPANDING FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WHICH IS AS VORACIOUS IN
ITS DESIRE FOR POWER AS IT IS INCOMPETENT AND DANGEROUS IN ITS
EXERCISE.
We believe that either fate or history has chosen this Country to be a beacon of freedom
and prosperity to the whole world because of America’s belief in and vigorous defense of
political and economic Liberty. The United States has been the instrument of Liberty
against the many tyrannies that have threatened the people of this world.
The Tea Party Movement rejects the idea that America has to apologize to a far guiltier
world that has been largely unappreciative of the sacrifices made on their behalf by the
brave and noble members of our Armed Forces, whose sacrifice and patriotic service in
our defense makes all else possible.
The Tea Party Movement rejects the imposition of “transformational change” performed
on our Nation by smug elites who call themselves the “educated class”.
The Tea Party Movement understands that our Nation is NOT the same thing as our
government and that America is much more than simply a militarily and economically
powerful State.
The Tea Party Movement sees America as something exceptional, as something unique,
as something that came into existence to fulfill the hope of all previous generations that
longed for freedom.
It came into existence because it is more than simply a country with land and population
and riches and armaments. America came into existence because LIBERTY is an eternal
concept in the mind of both God AND Man.
The United States of America came into existence because Mankind needs freedom the
same way it needs food and air and property and security and love.
And what is freedom other than the RIGHT to be free of the tyranny of Government and
the elitist, self-styled aristocrats who seek to run it at our expense and to our detriment?
The Tea Party Movement will fight this danger to our Liberty as long as its members
have breath in their bodies.
When America didn’t exist men and women were compelled to invent it, BECAUSE
MANKIND CANNOT EXIST WITHOUT FREEDOM AND STILL BE FULLY
HUMAN.
To this goal we mutually pledge to each other, as our Founding Fathers did over two
centuries ago, our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.
February 24, 2010"

I see alot of rejection... but what is it that they want?

More Republican Hypocrisy

Hypocrisy, in addition to Jane's Addiction, is my obsession of the week, apparently. With the increasing communication between the President and the Republicans in Congress you are seeing a lot of shady behavior. The Republicans say how much they want to work with the President but tell their constituents that they are going to do whatever it takes to stop him. It's really odd to watch this behavior in a day and age where everything that is said can be captured and immediately put on the internet.

Rachel Maddow did a segment on the extremely unpopular stimulus bill recently and how Republicans are reflecting it's success (and failure) to the public. In this clip she shows the large number of politicians who stand on camera and declare the bill a failure, yet in their home town they are all too happy to present this money to the people as if it came from their own pocket.



It shouldn't be shocking, but it is. This is another reason why Obama needs to give up on the bipartisanship issue altogether.

Do Republicans have a monopoly on hypocrisy? Hell no. However, in my 30 years I haven't seen this level of hysterical rhetoric employed in bringing down a president since Newton Leroy Gingrich blew up the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal while he was cheating on his own wife.

I have come to the belief that, since the election of Obama, Boehner and McConnell have given no thought at all to working with Democrats. It has been their goal from the moment McCain conceded to tear down everything to get Republicans back in power.

And now for my other obsession!



I have also come to the belief that Dave Navarro does not own a single shirt.

Showdown in Baltimore: Obama vs "Jim"

Last week appeared to be a good one for the President. His State of the Union address went well, I believe. The entire concept is kind of silly, in my opinion, but I understand that it is just one of those things that we have to deal with. I'm most pleased with the fact that it didn't interfere with the season premier of Lost (back tomorrow baby!).

Back to the SOTU. Did you ever really notice how silly it is? The up and down of the VP and Speaker. The stony silence of the minority party. It's kind of funny.

Despite that, and within the context of the speech, though, I though Obama did alright. He is a charismatic speaker. He does well up there. I have to give him that. There was nothing in the speech that particularly blew me away, nor was there anything I took issue with. I would rather that he didn't mention the "inheritance" that the previous administration left him but he and his people seem to think it was necessary. It's at the point where the people who do not recognize that Obama was left with a mess are doing so of their own free will. It isn't for lack of information. Those who think Obama is responsible for all of the mess are doing it because they want. But that's their prerogative and they're going to do what they want to do.

The GOP response was laughable. Honestly, who designed the set? A black person behind McDonnell on one side and an Asian on the other. Christ almighty does it get any more transparent than that?

My favorite line was:

"We want cooperation, not partisanship."

Tell me, what about the actions of the minority party would indicate that they are interested in cooperation?

Tell me, when voting results in almost every single Republican voting the same way (that being against whatever Democrats are trying to do), how is that bipartisan?

Anyway, the biggest STFU moment of the entire event was Chris Matthews stating that he forgot Obama was black. What the hell does that mean? I'm not even sure what he was trying to say, but in the current political environment you need to be damn sure that what you are saying is not going to get you put through the grinder.

After the speech the news broke that the GDP had gone through a major uptick compared to the last year. This is kind of "so what" for me as a major increase after a an even bigger decrease is not so impressive as it sounds at first. However, we need all the good news we can get with the economy.

It would be nice if Obama's opponents would be as hysterical over the improvements in the GDP and the Dow as they were when these same economical indicators were sliding, but that would also mean there was an ounce of integrity in the political discussion these days, which I think we can all agree is not true.

In the grand scheme of things, the only thing that matters right now is unemployment. It would make no sense for businesses to start hiring before things stabilize, so it's understandable. However, positive signs are starting to appear, little by little. It would be perhaps too optimistic to think that unemployment will get back in the single digits during 2010. It's always faster to make a mess than it is to clean it up.

The last thing of note for the week that was: Obama's trip to Baltimore to take questions from the GDP. The idea itself, is great. Hopefully this is the start to a tradition of direct confrontation rather than speaking through twitter, politico, blogs, and whatever outlet our politicians can get their hands on.

If you don't think that Obama was impressive during that session, I would really need to hear why. He showed himself to be knowledgeable on just about everything that was thrown at him, and he certainly didn't take bullshit. At the same time, he was comfortable enough to be direct when necessary, and crack a joke afterwards.

The one thing I noticed him struggle on is trying to delicately explain to the GOP that Democrats were the majority party, and so Republican attitude that compromise means "their way or nothing gets done" is not an accurate representation of the democratic process. There were a lot more "mmmm"s and "ummm"s during that exchange. I can understand that since it should be common knowledge.

The biggest point Obama made is on the Republican attitude during Obama's administration. Obama has been demonized beyond the point of rational behavior. This tactic started before Obama stepped in to the White House as President. Everything he has done has been criticized as "ruining the country" and "government take over"; no matter how small the issue. To put it in numbers terms: Obama's actions have ranged from 0 to 100 on how far to the left, yet Republican response to these actions has consistently been in the 80-100 range in how they criticize them.

So, as Obama says, it does not leave the Republicans much room to work with the President when they go and tell their constituents how fucking awful Obama is. When faced with that level of opposition, how can they expect Obama to want to listen to them? What does he have to gain?

We're currently in a situation where health care reform is being compared to Nazi behavior. Why? Here's how it should have been played out. Democrats, with Obama in office and a super majority in Congress should have started off with a heavy effort on single payer, doing everything they could do get it. If they were faced with stiff opposition, then they should have conceded to go with public option, and nothing less.

Instead, the level of demonizing rhetoric has been consistent throughout the process from start to finish. How is that not obvious to every person in the country that all the GOP cared about was stopping any and all reform? There is no room to negotiate, because only one side cares about getting this done.

Now, when public opinion on HCR tanks, the GOP spins it as the nation not wanting it when it's obvious that now the left leaning are also voting against it because the legislation is a joke.

What should happen now is that the whole thing should go back to the drawing board where they can go back to square one, go for universal health care, and say fuck you to the GOP. But that won't happen. Why? Because the Democrats in Congress are pussies.

The final question of the session was a man who just spouted a bunch of Hannity & Rush b.s. I'm pretty sure I learned something about Obama right there. The thing that has driven me nuts about Barry is how he stays quiet on a number of heated issues. The answer should have been obvious: It's because he doesn't really dignify fringe accusations with an answer. I'd say good for him, but in many instances certain people treat silence the same as admission of guilt. However, saying "with all due respect, Jim" would have been much more sincere if his name had actually been Jim, instead of Jeb.

It was an interesting dialogue on Friday. I loved seeing the piss & vinegar back in Obama, as I have been getting rather disappointed in his lack of involvement. This was the Obama that people voted for. Hopefully, this means a change in attitude. If there is one thing he could learn from George W Bush, it is how to handle Congress. I need a shower after that statement.

Despite my optimism in all of this, I am remaining extremely reserved in my attitude going forward. I will definitely need to see Obama continue with the attitude he displayed. It's one thing to talk a big game, it's another altogether to put that in to action. This country needs leadership right now. In a time when the loudest mouths on the right appear to be Rush and Palin, it should not be hard to take control and move forward. The next three years will be a test for Obama, and I hope for his sake that he's up to the task.

The problem with polls

The problem is, of course, that everyone has one supporting what they want to say.

Take health care reform, for example. For this entire debate I have heard Republican after Republican declare that "the American people have spoken" or "the American people don't want this". I'm not sure what specific poll they are referring to, but I assume that there must be one somewhere supporting that statement.

Then you have stuff like this. There you have it; a poll showing support for the public option.

So who's right? Ultimately, it doesn't even matter. It's like the global warming debate. Who's right: the scientists who say it exists or the ones who don't?

Information can be a powerful thing. Information is the source of power in this modern era, but you can cherry pick it any way you want to tell the public whatever you want. I'm in the accounting field. I know what can be done.

It would be nice to assume that people would not take advantage of the powers of information, but power is power. If you had a movement that was near and dear to your heart, who's to say what lengths you would go through to see it successful.

So, as I always do, I will pay attention to the great modern debates and the people on both sides. As for the information, don't mind me if I look in to it myself.

Pussies hiding behind the bible

There's nothing I love more than smug assholes twisting the words of the Bible and the Constitution to suit their needs. The Bible-thumpers are particularly disturbing as ones faith in God can be a very powerful thing.

For some, faith can be the driving force that keeps them going. It can help people through tragedies and trials. It can bring people back from the brink of self-destruction. It can also be a routine every day source of happiness. There's any number of reasons why faith and religion can be a positive influence in the world.

For others, it is a motivation for actions that one would normally be too chicken shit to conduct without some viable excuse. The Bible is a large book. There's a lot of business going on in there. In fact, there's enough material in there to supply any twisted fuck with enough divine guidance to do just about anything their perverted mind wishes to undertake.

Quite a few years ago I recall some documentary that was interviewing some backwoods hillbilly. He was sitting there on his bed with a high-powered rifle across his lap and discussing his hatred for gays. The one line that has stuck in my head, and always will, is, "...and if the good lord tells me to shoot, I will shoot." This man believed that he was God's tool to kill homosexuals.

Another example are the anti-abortion fanatics. Abortion in itself is a very controversial topic. Unfortunately, it has become a very political issue and there are millions of people who will vote primarily on that issue alone. Personally, as long as the procedure is deemed legal, it should be up to the choice of the individual. If, for some reason, it is overturned, I will accept the decision and move on, without loss of sleep. It is not that big of an issue (to me). However, there are some who believe that it is necessary that doctors who do these procedures should be killed. In doing this, they believe that they are doing God's work. I call bullshit. The murder of a doctor does not make you a saint. It makes you a murderer, and you will burn in Hell. Plain and simple.

There are countless examples of religious fanatics justifying their actions by saying God told them to do it (George W Bush claiming that God told him to go to war in Iraq, Spanish Inquisitions, etc.). The point is, I'm not buying any of it. It's things like this which cause my view of religion to be somewhat jaded. How is it that, with the potential for so much good, so many of the faithful use religion as an excuse for insidious deeds?

Which brings me to my point: the extreme religious right using God and the Bible as justification for absolute insanity in their stance on President Obama. The idiocy started right about a year ago when stupid-ass chain emails were being tossed around declaring Obama was the anti-christ. My dear parents were receiving these emails weekly from a church acquaintance which allowed me the opportunity to read the crap first-hand.

Let me tell you something, the Bible can be interpreted to justify just about anything if you want it to. I bet that, with a little work, I could use the good book to justify me eating a whole pizza for lunch, skipping out on work early, getting piss drunk, and then hitting up the titty-bar. Pretty sure I could also use it to justify punching you in the face. Whatever.

Cowards do this on a regular basis. There's nothing quite as motivating as divine justification.

The latest in extreme religious right wing actions is the fad known as "hide-behind-scripture-wishing-for-the-death-of-Obama-without-actually-saying-it". I came upon an article yesterday which talks about these new bumper stickers/ t-shirts/ assorted asshole merchandise which reads some variation of "Pray for Obama - Psalm 109:8". Without doing any research or having the Bible committed to memory, one would think this is a nice thing by nice religious people. If you look up the Psalm however, you get this:

"Let his days be few; and let another take his office and charge"

Still, no big deal, right? Other than the fact that it looks like some douche bags are using scripture to pray Obama out of office, of course. I mean, the line between religion and government has been blurring for some time now, and for the religious right it has ceased to exist altogether.

When you read on to the next line, however, you get this:

"Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow"

...and now you are just in asshole fuck religious fanatic territory.

Just come out and say it, cowards. Come right out and make your t-shirts say, "Pray for the murder of Obama". That's what you really want to say. So just come out and say it. Don't be coy and sneaky. And what makes these people different from the fanaticism of the likes of Al Qaeda? Not too much, in my opinion.

What would happen if we had people doing the same thing releasing this merchandise in regards to George W Bush? You know what would happen. What's the difference? These people are justified because of their faith.

With Secret Service recently reporting that death threats have skyrocketed since Obama took office, I find it extremely irresponsible with the way that some are inciting violence and anger. For 99.9% of the population, it is all just talk. But there are those few, who take it upon themselves to do the unthinkable, and it is those who are the most dangerous. What sets those few apart from the docile masses?

Why, it's God, of course. And each one of those individuals believes that God is on their side.

How about a list of corporations that aren't corrupt?

In response to legislation currently in the works in the effort to de-fund ACORN, it looks like there is now a fledgling effort to reduce all activity between the government and companies engaging in fraudulent activity. Representative Alan Grayson (D-Fla) has since asked for the publics' assistance in identifying said companies.

The list, so far, is impressive.

"Has the world gone crazy???"

The last few days have been a bit crazy for this young(ish) accountant and so I haven't been able to blog much. There are these people here who make me do work and sometimes it's so annoying. Know what I'm sayin'? So, I'll try to roll up the shit that's been on my mind in to one post.

• Palin and the attack of the "death panels".

By now I'm sure you know my feelings on Sarah Palin. I will leave the character attacks out of it for a change and just comment on her recent criticisms about the health care plan. I'm not sure what role she aspires to fill in the world of politics now that she has bailed on the people of Alaska, but so far it seems like she is trying to spread misinformation and hysteria.

Last Friday, on her facebook page, Palin made a statement claiming that the lives of her parents and her son with Down Syndrome would have to stand before Obama's "death panel" to get approval for medical treatment. First of all, why does she constantly bring her family in to political matters when she implores that everyone else leave them out? Second, what page exactly details this part of the plan? Third, didn't she tell the media to stop making things up?

There is no such measure being taken in the new health care reform but that doesn't stop such GOP standouts as Newt Gingrich and Glen Beck from supporting Palin's claims. It's so odd that the people in charge with spreading the talking points can find these conclusions so easily but people trying to verify them have a hard time of it. I wonder why that is. Palin then followed up her statement by urging her mates to "not give the proponents of nationalized health care any reason to criticize us", in response to the mob scenes active at the town hall meetings. How can she instigate one day and try to calm the next?

Palin has no business being involved with any sort of civil discourse. She has neither the integrity nor the intelligence to be discussing matters that can affect life or death.

• Rush and the "liberals are Nazis" b.s.

Last week I bounced out of the office on two occasions during lunch and both times I caught him in the middle of a tirade about how liberals are soooo similar to Nazis. I hate this and hate that I am even posting about it. To spare you most of my ramblings about this first please read about Godwin's Law and Reductio_ad_Hitlerum.

I already discount Rush as an actual informed political, sociological, economical, psychological, and whatever else -ical mind as I have heard him lying so often it's sickening. He just makes shit up so often and presents things to his viewers as fact, and these "dittoheads" go ahead and spew the same garbage without doing themselves the favor of researching anything.

Example, a few weeks ago the hearings were going on about Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor and, as I've previously stated, Rush was very unhappy about this because we Democrats want to put someone who wants to destroy the Constitution on the Supreme Court. He was playing clips from it and, if you recall, there was an exchange between her and Senator Al Franken about an episode of ... Perry Mason was it? Anyway, Rush played a clip where Franken was asking a question about the show and, just before he finished it, she jumps in. Rush then has a hissy fit about how she must have known the questions ahead of time. He went about this for quite a while. What he either lied, misled, or was ignorant of was the fact that he was picking up the question after Sotomayor and Franken had already been discussing it. She wasn't coached or anything of the sort. The thing that is ironic is that acts like these are the very same acts that he attacks in the drive-by media that he hates so much. And he does them multiple times a day. That could qualify him as a hypocrite. As would attacking drug users while being an addict himself. Nothing new here.

So, anyway, Rush has been getting in the business of comparing liberals to Nazis. Why? I guess because it is the goal of his life to demonize them by any means as a way to earn votes for the Republican party. That's just a guess. Liberals are like Nazis because: liberals try to prevent pollution, liberals are against big businesses, and liberals hate Jews. The first two reasons sound good enough. Sure, that sounds like liberals. The third, eh, not so much. But, if you read the argumentative fallacies that I listed above you know that individual characteristics of an ideology does not a Nazi make. That's rookie shit. To play the same game as Mr Limbaugh I will list the reasons that conservatives are like Nazis: they were anti-homosexuals, they had an extreme sense of patriotism coupled with a racial superiority, believed that certain freedoms must be given up for protection, racism, nationalism was the core, they fundamentally rejected liberalism, they were a defense against and opposed communism (Russia), believed in self-sufficiency (drill baby drill!), diversity would only make a country weak, and finally militarism.

Now, because of those reasons do I believe that conservatism is similar to Nazism? No. You can find dozens of reasons why Nazis and Hitler are similar to anyone and anything. That is why the argument is so weak, and so irresponsible. I said it before and I'll say it again. Conservatives right now are overrun with loudmouths who cater to basest of emotions in order to push public opinion and push votes. It is disgusting, and it is irresponsible. This is why we have ignorant fools at rallies carrying signs with pictures of Obama and the Nazi symbol. This is why people referred to Hillary Clinton as "Hitlery".

I don't think these people understand just how evil Hitler and his machinations were. I don't think they understand how serious and soul-damning the Holocaust was. I don't think they can even fathom what kind of legacy these people left behind. This is hard to believe because alot of those who hurl these comparisons about on TV were alive at the time, so I can only assume they forgot. Hitler and his political party murdered thousands upon thousands and caused a war that killed even more. Yet, there is a reasonable explanation for some to compare that to the modern day liberal because of the Health Care Reform bill??? Un-fucking-believable.

• Are you ready for some football???

The NFL is back baby! I'm allowing myself to get amped for the season bit by bit. I've been so focused on baseball that I've barely had time to pay attention to what is going on in the NFL and, more specifically, my Redskins. Unfortunately, ESPN and FSR are spending way too much time on the trio of Favre, Vick, and Plaxico and they seem to leave out any actual sports news. I know it's the state of the business that people look for the drama but what I want to hear about is how Cutler is starting to look with the Chicago offense, how any number of running back battles are progressing, and which team has the finest cheerleaders. But that's just me. I just say no to T.O.

As for my Skins, I don't know. Normally there is a ton of buzz about the team because the would have gone out and signed some flashy free agents for too much money. This year they seem to be much more quiet. They did stir it up a little while looking for upgrades at QB (Mark Sanchez and Jay Cutler), but I'm kind of happy they stuck with Campbell. The kid obviously has tools, but he's had a different offensive system every single year that he's played ball, going back to college. I like him. He didn't make many mistakes at all last year and used his legs a few times to get him out of trouble. I am concerned with how well he will adapt to the West Coast offense. Campbell seems more of a strong arm guy, and not so much a short pass accuracy guy. But we'll see. He has one year of the offense under his belt, and hopefully the trio of rookies from last year will progress to the point where they can actually be useful. Portis will be Portis, but he needs some help from Betts and Cartwright if he is going to last a whole season. Finally Moss and Cooley need to keep doing what they're doing as well.

I loved the signing of Albert Haynesworth, even if I hate Hayneworth himself. I can't even remember the last time Washington has had a game-changing DT to force teams to game plan around. Hopefully he will make the other members of the line even better. I also loved the first round pick of Orakpo. Use him at OLB and DE and wherever you can to get after the QB. I predict at least 10 sacks in his rookie season. Seeing Shawn Springs go was a bummer. The dude was a lock down corner but I can understand the move. He missed multiple games every year due to injury and sometimes you just have to go with the guy you can count on week after week. The emergence of DeAngelo Hall made it possible to lose Springs and so the duo of Hall and Carlos Rogers will have to get the job done. You have to love LaRon Landry and Chris Horton at safety. Once those two got acclimated to each other they were a hell of a force.

My main concern is the O-Line. for the longest time that was the one part of the team you could count on for a solid performance at all times but these guys keep getting older and more nicked up. Jansen isn't even on the team anymore after one too many leg injuries. If they don't do well it doesn't matter how fresh Portis is feeling or how prepared Campbell is. I'm missing "The Hogs" already.

• Music sucks these days

For real

• Movies!

I've had the free time to watch a few movies lately. Some good, some awful. I'll start with those first.

Babel

I heard nothing but good things about this one and so for the longest time I've wanted to see it. Man, was I disappointed. Award-winning my ass. It was painful. Too long. Too full of itself. It was supposed to be the combination of four connected stories. Honestly, I really think they would have been better off splitting it in to 3 movies. The only story I was remotely interested in was the one taking place in Morocco. That seemed to be what it was really all about. Young herders accidentally shoot American tourist. Let both sides of the "is it a terrorist act" discussion commence. The third story taking place back in the USA seemed kind of forced. It was somewhat interesting to show the children of the tourists in Morocco and how conversations looked on either side, but the trip down to Tijuana for the wedding wasn't necessary. If that was forced, the Japan setting was a whole other pile of crap altogether. The resolution of that set piece leaves a half dozen unanswered questions and odd suggestions of incest.

Rachel Getting Married

Again, "Award Winning Performances"!!!! Oh boy, was I going to be in for a treat! Let me tell you something about me: I like just about every movie. Movies, in general, are a good time. Even if I'm feeling kind of blah about it I will still finish it, if only to know how it ended. This one I couldn't even finish. It just seemed to drag on and on. They shot it documentary style, which was interesting, but perhaps because of that they felt compelled to include alot of mundane non-events that wouldn't have been included in a normal movie. The most painful scene of all was probably the rehearsal dinner of said wedding. It seemed like at least 5 people gave speeches. Also, there were several impromptu music performances throughout the movie which were just plain awful. The one thing I will give credit for is how they included music throughout. Your average movie will have a soundtrack with whatever song playing at the appropriate time. Because of the way this was shot a soundtrack wasn't really appropriate, as it was was supposed to be sort of like a home movie. So, to substitute a soundtrack, they always had some sort of musician doing something in the background whenever they wanted to inject some music. It was kind of neat. The movie itself? Kind of crappy.

Changeling

I really liked this one. Angelina Jolie was great in it and the story was very interesting. Movies based on a true story are always better, eh? Woman willing to do whatever it takes to get her son back vs. Police chief willing to do whatever it takes to improve public image. And good times were had by all. Except the son. I think he dies.

Burn After Reading

Weird movies are typically good for me. I'm always down for a black comedy now and then. This one definitely fits the bill. Brad Pitt was kind of hilarious in the movie. There is a scene where he is hiding in George Clooney's closet and about to be discovered so he puts this smile on his face as he starts to stick his head out that is just ridiculous. This is seconds before George's character shoots him in the head. Anyway, all the actors in the movie do a great job.

The Watchmen

Ooohhh. I really liked this one. I had never read the comic but it was described to me as a "dark superhero" movie. It's not your typical Superman or Spiderman movie at all. There's people getting messed up bad, blood, shootings, politics, alternate reality where Nixon is a 3rd term pres, superheroes getting it on, and prison fights. I believe it was made by the same people who did the 300 so that would describe why the mood is the way it is. It's kind of facinating where there is a superhero genre that has only one person with any actual superpowers. The rest are all just people getting dressed up and distributing some vigilante justice. The ending is especially refreshing considering what you might normally expect to happen in a superhero movie. Hollywood must be running out of ideas at this point so anything new and creative is worth a look.

Alright, well I'm really running out of steam with this blog post so I'm going to call it quits. And, to tie it all back to the title I present to you some Lebowski awesomeness.

Wow... just wow

I don't even know what to say...