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!
Showing posts with label the internets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the internets. Show all posts
Friday, June 25, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
NewsBusters.org Esposing liberal media bias (agree with us or else!)
Last political post for some time, I promise.
So I recently signed up for the twitter feed belonging to NewsBusters since I so enjoy hearing/reading the viewpoints of people I don't necessarily agree with. Their motto seems sincere enough. Just as there is conservative media bias there is definitely liberal media bias and I am not naive enough to believe that only one side is guilty.
It took less than a week to find out that this site is full of crap and needs a completely different site to try and capture all of the bias that they are guilty of.
Almost every story I read is basically a hack job attempt at spin to make liberals look as bad as possible. It's exactly the type of site that a bunch of amateur bloggers would come up with where everyone can agree with each other without fear of having someone disagree with them.
As my previous post would indicate I like perusing the message boards and so I took the time one day to register so that I could join the discussion. Knowing how touchy these places can be I phrased a very articulate reply asking a reasonable question with a firm belief that it wasn't so inflammatory as to get my comment deleted.
It took less than a day for my account to be banned completely. I thought this weird and maybe I didn't verify my account properly so I tried again only to see that my email address had been banned from the site. From that point, with open eyes, I started reading the comment sections on a few pages only to see that is was chock full of lib-hating people in all their glory with nary a lefty comment to be seen. Ah ha.
So feeling oppressed launched a google query asking about getting banned from Newsbusters only to see that this is apparently how they operate. A site claiming to look for media bias rejects any and all two-sided discussions. Does that seem wrong to anyone else?
Ultimately it's not a big deal. These people have a club and there ain't no libs allowed. No biggy. I just thought it odd that a site attempting to be fair would be so close minded. I'll just have to find another enemy battleground to encroach on.
So I recently signed up for the twitter feed belonging to NewsBusters since I so enjoy hearing/reading the viewpoints of people I don't necessarily agree with. Their motto seems sincere enough. Just as there is conservative media bias there is definitely liberal media bias and I am not naive enough to believe that only one side is guilty.
It took less than a week to find out that this site is full of crap and needs a completely different site to try and capture all of the bias that they are guilty of.
Almost every story I read is basically a hack job attempt at spin to make liberals look as bad as possible. It's exactly the type of site that a bunch of amateur bloggers would come up with where everyone can agree with each other without fear of having someone disagree with them.
As my previous post would indicate I like perusing the message boards and so I took the time one day to register so that I could join the discussion. Knowing how touchy these places can be I phrased a very articulate reply asking a reasonable question with a firm belief that it wasn't so inflammatory as to get my comment deleted.
It took less than a day for my account to be banned completely. I thought this weird and maybe I didn't verify my account properly so I tried again only to see that my email address had been banned from the site. From that point, with open eyes, I started reading the comment sections on a few pages only to see that is was chock full of lib-hating people in all their glory with nary a lefty comment to be seen. Ah ha.
So feeling oppressed launched a google query asking about getting banned from Newsbusters only to see that this is apparently how they operate. A site claiming to look for media bias rejects any and all two-sided discussions. Does that seem wrong to anyone else?
Ultimately it's not a big deal. These people have a club and there ain't no libs allowed. No biggy. I just thought it odd that a site attempting to be fair would be so close minded. I'll just have to find another enemy battleground to encroach on.
What's in a name?
Ever since I started paying attention to politics I've enjoyed checking in on various websites and reading the comments that readers leave behind. As abrasive and crazy as people can be in public it doesn't even come close to what is exhibited when these people get the protection of electronic anonymity.
It is in these forums where you will see every example of awful debate, immaturity, ignorance, and zero class. You might think that people who immerse themselves in politics might be somewhat interested in a good eye opening debate. In fact they usually just want to stay safe within the secure confines of like minded people. Occasionally they may lead a sortie consisting of straw man arguments, blanket statements, ad hominem attacks, and the ever present violation of Goodwin's law but they will then retreat swiftly and ignore and points made against them.
Perhaps my favorite element of this little world would have to be the user names of conservatives on these message boards. It's very rare to see a simple last name + year of birth combo or anything equally innocent. Instead you get declarations that instantly make them better Americans than you. Take this page for example. On this page you get the following:
Old Yankee
Tea Party Patriot
Preacher 's justice
Patriot
wakeuppeople
Don't tread on me!
real American
One_Nation_Under_God
Statesman/Patriot
mad vet
Concerned_American
american boy
These are actually kind of tame compared to other pages I've seen but the point remains the same. Is it wrong that I think this is hilarious? It's kind of like a preemptive strike. "Sure you can try to refute my logic of why Obama is purposely trying to destroy the country but you can't win because the word 'Patriot' is in my username." That's the only way I can interpret this stuff.
Is there a reason that conservatives spend a good portion of their time telling each other how American or how patriotic they are? Is this part of the mentality that leads them to believe they can instantly discard any opposing viewpoint simply because they think the other person is a "libtard"?
I consider myself a "real American". I consider myself patriotic. I am firm in my beliefs and yet I have no need to tell everyone just how American I am. Part of me wants to ignore the circle jerk that is conservative discussion but the other part can't help but think about dudes who tell everyone how much ass they get to cover for the fact that they aren't getting any.
So it's absolutely fine that these people need to dub themselves "SuperPatrioticMan" or "MoreAmericanThanU" but it really does not mean a god damn thing. It also means nothing when Sean Hannity names 2 bimbos and himself the "Great American Panel". There is no validity behind the name "Keep America Safe" when in actuality all you are doing, Liz, is performing revisionism on the past.
So what's in a name? Absolutely nothing... as long as you're capable of seeing past the book cover.
It is in these forums where you will see every example of awful debate, immaturity, ignorance, and zero class. You might think that people who immerse themselves in politics might be somewhat interested in a good eye opening debate. In fact they usually just want to stay safe within the secure confines of like minded people. Occasionally they may lead a sortie consisting of straw man arguments, blanket statements, ad hominem attacks, and the ever present violation of Goodwin's law but they will then retreat swiftly and ignore and points made against them.
Perhaps my favorite element of this little world would have to be the user names of conservatives on these message boards. It's very rare to see a simple last name + year of birth combo or anything equally innocent. Instead you get declarations that instantly make them better Americans than you. Take this page for example. On this page you get the following:
Old Yankee
Tea Party Patriot
Preacher 's justice
Patriot
wakeuppeople
Don't tread on me!
real American
One_Nation_Under_God
Statesman/Patriot
mad vet
Concerned_American
american boy
These are actually kind of tame compared to other pages I've seen but the point remains the same. Is it wrong that I think this is hilarious? It's kind of like a preemptive strike. "Sure you can try to refute my logic of why Obama is purposely trying to destroy the country but you can't win because the word 'Patriot' is in my username." That's the only way I can interpret this stuff.
Is there a reason that conservatives spend a good portion of their time telling each other how American or how patriotic they are? Is this part of the mentality that leads them to believe they can instantly discard any opposing viewpoint simply because they think the other person is a "libtard"?
I consider myself a "real American". I consider myself patriotic. I am firm in my beliefs and yet I have no need to tell everyone just how American I am. Part of me wants to ignore the circle jerk that is conservative discussion but the other part can't help but think about dudes who tell everyone how much ass they get to cover for the fact that they aren't getting any.
So it's absolutely fine that these people need to dub themselves "SuperPatrioticMan" or "MoreAmericanThanU" but it really does not mean a god damn thing. It also means nothing when Sean Hannity names 2 bimbos and himself the "Great American Panel". There is no validity behind the name "Keep America Safe" when in actuality all you are doing, Liz, is performing revisionism on the past.
So what's in a name? Absolutely nothing... as long as you're capable of seeing past the book cover.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
MediaMatters: Will BP be Fox News' tipping point?
Just read this post over at MediaMatters and I couldn't agree more:
Will BP be Fox News' tipping point?
June 23, 2010 8:51 am ET by Eric Boehlert
Eight-two percent.
That’s the number you need to keep in mind as you listen to the right-wing caterwauling about how poor, helpless BP has been tormented and demonized by the bullying, Constitution-hating Obama White House.
Eight-two percent.
According to the latest CNN poll, a huge, huge, huge majority of Americans supports the $20 billion escrow fund that BP agreed to create in order to help pay for the Gulf of Mexico cleanup.
And get this: According to the same CNN poll, a microscopic 5 percent of Americans think Obama has been “too tough” on BP. Just 5 percent.
But apparently those 5-percenters all host radio and TV shows, or blog online, because that radical claim that Obama’s to blame for creating the hated escrow fund (not to mention for causing the oil spill in the first place), has been exploding within the GOP Noise Machine as pundits, bloggers, and talk show hosts rush to defend BP and denounce one of the most popular things Obama has ever done.
And, of course, helping lead the charge to guard BP from Obama’s wicked ways has been Fox News.
Fox News is programmed for Obama dead-enders, that much is clear. They’re the radical minority of political hyper-partisans who hold as a matter of faith that Obama is a Manchurian candidate. It’s not just that Obama was born in Kenya and isn’t truly of this country, or culture, and that his policies are misguided and wrong for America. It runs much deeper. It’s that Obama ran for the Oval Office with the explicit plan to ruin America from within once he was elected. He ran for president in order to destroy this country by stripping it of its freedoms and liberties and transforming the United States into some sort of socialist or communist outpost.
That’s how far out on the ledge Fox News now operates. And FYI, if you view the world from that demented perspective, it probably does look like BP got jobbed. (Just like of course the Clinton White House sold nuclear secrets to China during the `90s; Democratic presidents are a treasonous bunch.)
As I said, the dead-enders represent a radical minority. And yet they have an entire right-wing media complex set up explicitly to whet their Obama-hating appetite. There is no thought put into the rhetoric anymore, or their partisan jousting. Instead, the content revolves around a very simple premise: If Obama did it, it’s wrong. Not just wrong. More like, if Obama did it, it’s evil and dangerous and ghastly and un-American.
So the stimulus bill was evil and un-American. Bailing out GM and Chrysler was evil and un-American. Passing health care reform, of course, was evil and un-America.
But securing $20 billion from BP to pay for the cleanup and to compensate working Americans for the damage done to their livelihoods. That was evil and un-American?
According to Fox News it was.
And with that audacious claim, I’m wondering if Fox News isn’t pressing up very closely to its tipping point; to the moment where Fox News reveals how certifiably insane it is by rushing to BP’s defense, and just how distant its programming is from the American mainstream.
I don’t mean it’s the tipping point in terms of there being some sort of collective realization within Fox News that its signature form of partisan Obama hatred has jumped about 19 different sets of tracks and its incessant campaign of smears and lies makes a mockery out of the news business, as well as does real damage to democracy. (I’m pretty sure everyone at Fox News already knows that.)
I’m referring instead to a collective realization among people outside Fox News and the GOP Noise Machine that there’s something fundamentally wrong with a so-called news organization siding with BP after what the oil giant has done to the Gulf of Mexico and the reckless, cavalier way it has ruined the livelihoods of countless of residents.
That there’s something just plain wrong and illogical in being so robotically ant-Obama that the Fox News team would consciously side with today’s version of Public Enemy No. 1 and insist, with complete conviction, that it’s the president of the United States who’s to blame for the big oil disaster, and it’s the president of the United States who should be attacked, smeared, and ridiculed for getting BP to set aside $20 billion in damages.
The tipping point could come when everyday Americans, as well as mainstream reporters, observe the right-wing media’s radical embrace of BP (fueled by all-consuming Obama Derangement Syndrome), look at each other and utter various equivalents of, “WTF?”
Because not only is Fox News in effect defending BP, but it’s using the occasion of the $20 billion agreement to depict Obama as some sort of monster bent on destroying America. How? By holding BP financially responsible.
Again, you can almost hear the “WTF’s” as the realization of the Fox News attack campaign sinks in. Rupert Murdoch’s channel is siding with BP over the United States???
You better believe it. From Fox News’ Andrew Napolitano:
I think you could argue that the government is, in large measure, responsible for this mess.
The reason I’m (perhaps naïvely) suggesting there may soon be a collective A-ha moment about Fox News with regard to its defense of BP, whereas the channel’s outrageous programming in the past has not triggered that kind of response, is that this is different because it’s not about politics. That Fox News will relentlessly attack Obama and Democrats about every conceivable issue is, at this point, a given -- Fox News functions as the Opposition Party.
But the BP disaster, and the callous disregard for how it was handled by the oil company, is different. The environmental fiasco very much resembles an attack on the United States by a foreign entity. (An act of eco-terrorism, if you will.) And common sense tells us that that should never be a partisan issue. And common sense dictates that no sane person would side with BP, let alone condemn the government for securing $20 billion in private funds to pay for the disaster.
Or would they?
It’s difficult to put into words just how isolated and extreme the right-wing media’s embrace of BP has been over the last week. It’s mind-bending that a major political movement in this country, driven by its media “news” outlets, would rush out onto the battlefield of public debate in order to plant its flag alongside BP, even as the incompetent petroleum giant remains unable to turn off the underwater gusher that is destroying the Gulf of Mexico.
And yet turn on Fox News or tune into Rush Limbaugh or Mark Levin, or a whole host of other BP apologists, and get a daily earful about how BP is being unfairly maligned and that Obama should be condemned for securing $20 billion in cleanup funds. (Keep in mind that no one associated with BP has ever suggested the White House bullied the company, or that BP was the victim of a “shakedown.” No one.)
And yes, I realize some conservative loud mouths claim that just because they’re attacking the White House over the $20 billion “shakedown,” that doesn’t mean they’re defending BP, or that they agree with Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) and think the oil giant deserves an apology. But gimme a break. That’s a distinction without a difference because even before the “shakedown” meme was launched late last week, the same right-wing outlets, including Fox News, were weeping hysterically at how the White House was trying to “demonize” little ol’ BP, and how its poor executives were going to be paraded before Congress for a nasty “show trial.” Meaning, the right wing’s desire to throw its body in front of BP and protect it from alleged government abuse has been a constant for weeks now, and extends far beyond the “shakedown” defense.
The fact is, forced to pick a villain in the BP disaster, Fox News chose America and set its sights on the White House, not the foreign oil giant; a giant that even industry players have tagged as being reckless and guilty of “gross negligence.”
Has Fox News finally reached the point of no return?
Will BP be Fox News' tipping point?
June 23, 2010 8:51 am ET by Eric Boehlert
Eight-two percent.
That’s the number you need to keep in mind as you listen to the right-wing caterwauling about how poor, helpless BP has been tormented and demonized by the bullying, Constitution-hating Obama White House.
Eight-two percent.
According to the latest CNN poll, a huge, huge, huge majority of Americans supports the $20 billion escrow fund that BP agreed to create in order to help pay for the Gulf of Mexico cleanup.
And get this: According to the same CNN poll, a microscopic 5 percent of Americans think Obama has been “too tough” on BP. Just 5 percent.
But apparently those 5-percenters all host radio and TV shows, or blog online, because that radical claim that Obama’s to blame for creating the hated escrow fund (not to mention for causing the oil spill in the first place), has been exploding within the GOP Noise Machine as pundits, bloggers, and talk show hosts rush to defend BP and denounce one of the most popular things Obama has ever done.
And, of course, helping lead the charge to guard BP from Obama’s wicked ways has been Fox News.
Fox News is programmed for Obama dead-enders, that much is clear. They’re the radical minority of political hyper-partisans who hold as a matter of faith that Obama is a Manchurian candidate. It’s not just that Obama was born in Kenya and isn’t truly of this country, or culture, and that his policies are misguided and wrong for America. It runs much deeper. It’s that Obama ran for the Oval Office with the explicit plan to ruin America from within once he was elected. He ran for president in order to destroy this country by stripping it of its freedoms and liberties and transforming the United States into some sort of socialist or communist outpost.
That’s how far out on the ledge Fox News now operates. And FYI, if you view the world from that demented perspective, it probably does look like BP got jobbed. (Just like of course the Clinton White House sold nuclear secrets to China during the `90s; Democratic presidents are a treasonous bunch.)
As I said, the dead-enders represent a radical minority. And yet they have an entire right-wing media complex set up explicitly to whet their Obama-hating appetite. There is no thought put into the rhetoric anymore, or their partisan jousting. Instead, the content revolves around a very simple premise: If Obama did it, it’s wrong. Not just wrong. More like, if Obama did it, it’s evil and dangerous and ghastly and un-American.
So the stimulus bill was evil and un-American. Bailing out GM and Chrysler was evil and un-American. Passing health care reform, of course, was evil and un-America.
But securing $20 billion from BP to pay for the cleanup and to compensate working Americans for the damage done to their livelihoods. That was evil and un-American?
According to Fox News it was.
And with that audacious claim, I’m wondering if Fox News isn’t pressing up very closely to its tipping point; to the moment where Fox News reveals how certifiably insane it is by rushing to BP’s defense, and just how distant its programming is from the American mainstream.
I don’t mean it’s the tipping point in terms of there being some sort of collective realization within Fox News that its signature form of partisan Obama hatred has jumped about 19 different sets of tracks and its incessant campaign of smears and lies makes a mockery out of the news business, as well as does real damage to democracy. (I’m pretty sure everyone at Fox News already knows that.)
I’m referring instead to a collective realization among people outside Fox News and the GOP Noise Machine that there’s something fundamentally wrong with a so-called news organization siding with BP after what the oil giant has done to the Gulf of Mexico and the reckless, cavalier way it has ruined the livelihoods of countless of residents.
That there’s something just plain wrong and illogical in being so robotically ant-Obama that the Fox News team would consciously side with today’s version of Public Enemy No. 1 and insist, with complete conviction, that it’s the president of the United States who’s to blame for the big oil disaster, and it’s the president of the United States who should be attacked, smeared, and ridiculed for getting BP to set aside $20 billion in damages.
The tipping point could come when everyday Americans, as well as mainstream reporters, observe the right-wing media’s radical embrace of BP (fueled by all-consuming Obama Derangement Syndrome), look at each other and utter various equivalents of, “WTF?”
Because not only is Fox News in effect defending BP, but it’s using the occasion of the $20 billion agreement to depict Obama as some sort of monster bent on destroying America. How? By holding BP financially responsible.
Again, you can almost hear the “WTF’s” as the realization of the Fox News attack campaign sinks in. Rupert Murdoch’s channel is siding with BP over the United States???
You better believe it. From Fox News’ Andrew Napolitano:
I think you could argue that the government is, in large measure, responsible for this mess.
The reason I’m (perhaps naïvely) suggesting there may soon be a collective A-ha moment about Fox News with regard to its defense of BP, whereas the channel’s outrageous programming in the past has not triggered that kind of response, is that this is different because it’s not about politics. That Fox News will relentlessly attack Obama and Democrats about every conceivable issue is, at this point, a given -- Fox News functions as the Opposition Party.
But the BP disaster, and the callous disregard for how it was handled by the oil company, is different. The environmental fiasco very much resembles an attack on the United States by a foreign entity. (An act of eco-terrorism, if you will.) And common sense tells us that that should never be a partisan issue. And common sense dictates that no sane person would side with BP, let alone condemn the government for securing $20 billion in private funds to pay for the disaster.
Or would they?
It’s difficult to put into words just how isolated and extreme the right-wing media’s embrace of BP has been over the last week. It’s mind-bending that a major political movement in this country, driven by its media “news” outlets, would rush out onto the battlefield of public debate in order to plant its flag alongside BP, even as the incompetent petroleum giant remains unable to turn off the underwater gusher that is destroying the Gulf of Mexico.
And yet turn on Fox News or tune into Rush Limbaugh or Mark Levin, or a whole host of other BP apologists, and get a daily earful about how BP is being unfairly maligned and that Obama should be condemned for securing $20 billion in cleanup funds. (Keep in mind that no one associated with BP has ever suggested the White House bullied the company, or that BP was the victim of a “shakedown.” No one.)
And yes, I realize some conservative loud mouths claim that just because they’re attacking the White House over the $20 billion “shakedown,” that doesn’t mean they’re defending BP, or that they agree with Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) and think the oil giant deserves an apology. But gimme a break. That’s a distinction without a difference because even before the “shakedown” meme was launched late last week, the same right-wing outlets, including Fox News, were weeping hysterically at how the White House was trying to “demonize” little ol’ BP, and how its poor executives were going to be paraded before Congress for a nasty “show trial.” Meaning, the right wing’s desire to throw its body in front of BP and protect it from alleged government abuse has been a constant for weeks now, and extends far beyond the “shakedown” defense.
The fact is, forced to pick a villain in the BP disaster, Fox News chose America and set its sights on the White House, not the foreign oil giant; a giant that even industry players have tagged as being reckless and guilty of “gross negligence.”
Has Fox News finally reached the point of no return?
Friday, April 23, 2010
I'm a homo...
...wner
Homeowner. That's what I meant to say. Stop being immature.
So yes, at 2:00 today Hot Mary and I will commence signing paperwork that will ensure that we will be in debt for the next couple decades. We may not have money to eat or throw at strippers but we will have a roof over our heads that we can call our own. Looks like someone needs to get himself a lawnmower and a couple illegal immigrants.
By the way, my interneting has been reduced lately as I try to make myself a much more efficient employee. That leaves little time for blogging and other useless garbage like that so I'll do a quick roundup on some of the other events going.
-I am quickly making myself become "Scotch guy". Not quite sure when this happened but there are a few liquors out there that I've never tried and scotch is the first one that I've delved in to. When I was in college my liquor intake was limited to vodka, whiskey, whatever it is they dump in a long island iced tea, and a couple stints with tequila. So i really wanted to give scotch and brandy a try. Scotch is good, i like it. The buzz it gives you comes with a lot of fuzzy warmth. Now my intake for the most part has been limited to super cheap brands like Old Smuggler, but good buddy Matt recently bought me some good stuff for my birthday and I can't wait to give it a try. The first step in my efforts to become just like Ron Burgundy is now complete. I must now go about acquiring many leather bound books.
-Next up, the NFL draft was last night, and I was pleased with what the Skins did with their #1 pick by selecting Oklahoma Offensive Tackle, Trent Williams. The only thing that would have been better would have been if they somehow managed to trade down and get some more picks as well as trading both Albert Haynesworth and Jason Campbell for picks. I definitely had my concerns that the Redskins would pull some crazy shenanigans and draft Tebow or something but this is good. The team that takes the field this year will definitely be different that what I am used to seeing. That has to be a good thing, right?
By the way, the draft coverage today has been awful. You'd think that Tim Tebow was the only selection last night. There is literally no talk of anything else. Tim Tebow Tim Tebow Tim Tebow... and what it means for Brady Quinn. Awesome. I'm not at all tired of hearing about Tebow. Keep it coming. Asses. All of you.
What else...
-My fantasy team is playing like garbage. No thanks to awful performances from my closers. Every time that my starting pitchers manage to put together a somewhat respectable job one of the closers comes along and allows 3 runs in an inning, thus ruining my ratios, taking a loss, and not giving me a save. Dan Haren and Josh Beckett are doing the exact opposite of what you expect from an ace. Granted, we're not even 3 weeks in to the season but it still sucks. Meh.
-So have you heard of this new sandwich from KFC called the Double Down? It's two pieces of fried chicken as the bread with cheese and bacon in the middle. I have to admit that I did go and try it and let me just say this: all hype. What could be better right? I love chicken. I love bacon. I love cheese. Sounds like a slam dunk. Wrong. It was ok, but it cost something like 6 bucks and all I could taste was sodium. KFC also had some secret sauce on that thing that was kind of nasty. I don't know what I expected but I figured I should try it as soon as it came out because otherwise I'd be wondering about it all the time. Now I got it out of the way and I can live happily ever after.
-Lost is an awesome show and I'll miss it when it's gone.
That's all for now I think. My heart isn't really in to the blogging this morning since all I can think of is what needs to be done with the house. So have a good weekend people. And lets get this shit done Red Wings!
Homeowner. That's what I meant to say. Stop being immature.
So yes, at 2:00 today Hot Mary and I will commence signing paperwork that will ensure that we will be in debt for the next couple decades. We may not have money to eat or throw at strippers but we will have a roof over our heads that we can call our own. Looks like someone needs to get himself a lawnmower and a couple illegal immigrants.
By the way, my interneting has been reduced lately as I try to make myself a much more efficient employee. That leaves little time for blogging and other useless garbage like that so I'll do a quick roundup on some of the other events going.
-I am quickly making myself become "Scotch guy". Not quite sure when this happened but there are a few liquors out there that I've never tried and scotch is the first one that I've delved in to. When I was in college my liquor intake was limited to vodka, whiskey, whatever it is they dump in a long island iced tea, and a couple stints with tequila. So i really wanted to give scotch and brandy a try. Scotch is good, i like it. The buzz it gives you comes with a lot of fuzzy warmth. Now my intake for the most part has been limited to super cheap brands like Old Smuggler, but good buddy Matt recently bought me some good stuff for my birthday and I can't wait to give it a try. The first step in my efforts to become just like Ron Burgundy is now complete. I must now go about acquiring many leather bound books.
-Next up, the NFL draft was last night, and I was pleased with what the Skins did with their #1 pick by selecting Oklahoma Offensive Tackle, Trent Williams. The only thing that would have been better would have been if they somehow managed to trade down and get some more picks as well as trading both Albert Haynesworth and Jason Campbell for picks. I definitely had my concerns that the Redskins would pull some crazy shenanigans and draft Tebow or something but this is good. The team that takes the field this year will definitely be different that what I am used to seeing. That has to be a good thing, right?
By the way, the draft coverage today has been awful. You'd think that Tim Tebow was the only selection last night. There is literally no talk of anything else. Tim Tebow Tim Tebow Tim Tebow... and what it means for Brady Quinn. Awesome. I'm not at all tired of hearing about Tebow. Keep it coming. Asses. All of you.
What else...
-My fantasy team is playing like garbage. No thanks to awful performances from my closers. Every time that my starting pitchers manage to put together a somewhat respectable job one of the closers comes along and allows 3 runs in an inning, thus ruining my ratios, taking a loss, and not giving me a save. Dan Haren and Josh Beckett are doing the exact opposite of what you expect from an ace. Granted, we're not even 3 weeks in to the season but it still sucks. Meh.
-So have you heard of this new sandwich from KFC called the Double Down? It's two pieces of fried chicken as the bread with cheese and bacon in the middle. I have to admit that I did go and try it and let me just say this: all hype. What could be better right? I love chicken. I love bacon. I love cheese. Sounds like a slam dunk. Wrong. It was ok, but it cost something like 6 bucks and all I could taste was sodium. KFC also had some secret sauce on that thing that was kind of nasty. I don't know what I expected but I figured I should try it as soon as it came out because otherwise I'd be wondering about it all the time. Now I got it out of the way and I can live happily ever after.
-Lost is an awesome show and I'll miss it when it's gone.
That's all for now I think. My heart isn't really in to the blogging this morning since all I can think of is what needs to be done with the house. So have a good weekend people. And lets get this shit done Red Wings!
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Bank Happy
While reviewing the 2009 Annual Report for Mr CFO, I noticed that our wee little bank made it in to the top 10 of the 2009 Best Banks countdown in Forbes magazine. Suck it, Flagstar Bancorp!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Monday, March 1, 2010
"We Can’t Wish Away Climate Change"
I'm not the biggest Al Gore fan in the world but I do admire his efforts. Unfortunately, Gore is one of the least charismatic politicians to ever grace the earth. I honestly believe that he would have been a much better president than George W Bush, but I also believe that Bush was more suited to the tasks that fell to him in the wake of 9/11. However, the whole Iraq thing will forever tarnish him in my eyes.
But this isn't a Bush/Gore critique so moving on...
Gore recently wrote in to the New York Times with, what I think, is a really good piece on the recent climate change hysteria. I'm not sure why he is wasting his time with addressing the people who think a snow storm during winter in DC automatically makes climate change a hoax while ignoring the fact that Vancouver was experiencing weather in the 50s while trying to conduct the Winter Olympics. The weather in one place at one time does not a global climate theory make.
But now such esteemed minds as Sean Hannity and random twitter guy are calling for Gore to be called before Congress to face charges of fraud. Really? So working on this case for years has suddenly become a crime because of a snow storm in the nations capital? It's mind-blowingly insane.
Give the piece a read, it might make sense to you. At the very least for the haters it'll give you something to get cranky about.
But this isn't a Bush/Gore critique so moving on...
Gore recently wrote in to the New York Times with, what I think, is a really good piece on the recent climate change hysteria. I'm not sure why he is wasting his time with addressing the people who think a snow storm during winter in DC automatically makes climate change a hoax while ignoring the fact that Vancouver was experiencing weather in the 50s while trying to conduct the Winter Olympics. The weather in one place at one time does not a global climate theory make.
But now such esteemed minds as Sean Hannity and random twitter guy are calling for Gore to be called before Congress to face charges of fraud. Really? So working on this case for years has suddenly become a crime because of a snow storm in the nations capital? It's mind-blowingly insane.
Give the piece a read, it might make sense to you. At the very least for the haters it'll give you something to get cranky about.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
"Barrack Obama is being punk'd"
A nice little article from Albert Brooks:
"Okay. Time is up. Barack Obama is being punk'd.
"Okay. Time is up. Barack Obama is being punk'd.
Sarah Palin had notes written on her hand at the same moment that she was making fun of Obama for using a teleprompter. One of the radio "hosts" who makes fun of the teleprompter daily said that Palin's notes on her hand were "endearing." The "host" also blamed Obama for televising his day with the Republican leadership, saying that if he was serious, he would have done it in private. This was after a solid month of daily beatings for not making the health care negotiations public.
The Democratic Party can now be assured forever that nothing, nothing, nothing they will do will stop the insanity. Or Sean Insanity, whatever you want to call it. If they are hoping for good publicity from the majority media, (yes, I'm sorry Fox, but you are now the highest rated news network) forget it. Writing on the hand is okay, teleprompter is not. Opening up health care is okay, opening up the meeting with Republicans is not. It would not surprise me if Ashton Kutcher popped out of the West Wing and told Obama that he has been punk'd.
The swift boat ad that killed John Kerry was not an aberration, it was just the beginning. They took a man who actually served in Vietnam and made him a coward compared to a man who didn't. And people bought it. Now it's everywhere. Right is wrong, wrong is right, crazy is normal, good is bad, hot is cold. I am not sure what the anti-Christ's plan is, but I can't imagine this is not part of it."
Couldn't have said it better myself, which is why my ramblings are on this little blog, and not somewhere important.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Goodness Gracious Great Balls of Fire!
I just found this clip on the internets
I'd probably poop myself if I saw that.
I'd probably poop myself if I saw that.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Now you tell me!
Happy Thanksgiving Y'all!!!
This post comes to you from the often-sought rarely-seen "Chuck's PC" at home base. With extra PTO days to spare this young(ish) accountant has taken advantage and is spending Black Friday at anyplace-but-work. Have fun working that Daily Recap succkas!!!
So Thanksgiving was turkey goodness as always. Mom throws together a nice meat and potatoes meal and the relatives are good people. The only downside is that I was able to tune in to the Green Bay - Detroit game, which stank, and then had to turn the channel to Sam the Fireman for the benefit of nephew Nate. Ohhhh welllll.
But none of that has anything to do with anything. This morning I have all sorts of free time on my hands. So as I am busy putting together a kick ass radio station courtesy of Pandora.com, I was just reading the latest edition of Jambaroo over at Deadspin and came across this as the Redskins vs Eagles preview:
Redskins at Eagles: A friend of mine just got engaged. For you bachelors out there, there is nothing more terrifying than the time in between the moment you buy an engagement ring, and the moment you propose. Not because you're getting nervous about marriage. But because you're walking around with a bauble in your pocket worth thousands of dollars. You want to get rid of that shit as fast as you can, to give it to your woman so she assumes all responsibility for it. That whole time YOU have the ring, you freak the fuck out over losing it. That's why I never suggest you plan on bringing an engagement ring to some tropical locale, or try hiding it in a soufflé, or some retarded thing like that. Just get rid of the fucker ASAP.
Ha! I had to laugh because I went through the same thing. Have you ever spent multiple days traveling a serious distance in strange lands with a multi-thousand dollar item in your posession? Man is that scary. Not only did I have multiple layovers, I was travelling to Colombia. You know all the rumors about Colombia? It ended up all for the best in the end, but complications like customs and checkpoints were a constant worry. Just before we got to Parque Tayrona we had to get searched by a couple military dudes. I was freaking out the whole time because, A) I didn't want them to pull out the ring and ruin the surprise, and B) I'm sorry for gringo tendencies but I was not, at that point, confident that there was no corruption in the military. So, I had to act all fishy and kind of interject my body between the guys and my fiance.
Luckily, everything worked out, I didn't get robbed, and I didn't just lose it because I'm stupid like that. I just wish I had that piece of advice a little beforehand.
This post comes to you from the often-sought rarely-seen "Chuck's PC" at home base. With extra PTO days to spare this young(ish) accountant has taken advantage and is spending Black Friday at anyplace-but-work. Have fun working that Daily Recap succkas!!!
So Thanksgiving was turkey goodness as always. Mom throws together a nice meat and potatoes meal and the relatives are good people. The only downside is that I was able to tune in to the Green Bay - Detroit game, which stank, and then had to turn the channel to Sam the Fireman for the benefit of nephew Nate. Ohhhh welllll.
But none of that has anything to do with anything. This morning I have all sorts of free time on my hands. So as I am busy putting together a kick ass radio station courtesy of Pandora.com, I was just reading the latest edition of Jambaroo over at Deadspin and came across this as the Redskins vs Eagles preview:
Redskins at Eagles: A friend of mine just got engaged. For you bachelors out there, there is nothing more terrifying than the time in between the moment you buy an engagement ring, and the moment you propose. Not because you're getting nervous about marriage. But because you're walking around with a bauble in your pocket worth thousands of dollars. You want to get rid of that shit as fast as you can, to give it to your woman so she assumes all responsibility for it. That whole time YOU have the ring, you freak the fuck out over losing it. That's why I never suggest you plan on bringing an engagement ring to some tropical locale, or try hiding it in a soufflé, or some retarded thing like that. Just get rid of the fucker ASAP.
Ha! I had to laugh because I went through the same thing. Have you ever spent multiple days traveling a serious distance in strange lands with a multi-thousand dollar item in your posession? Man is that scary. Not only did I have multiple layovers, I was travelling to Colombia. You know all the rumors about Colombia? It ended up all for the best in the end, but complications like customs and checkpoints were a constant worry. Just before we got to Parque Tayrona we had to get searched by a couple military dudes. I was freaking out the whole time because, A) I didn't want them to pull out the ring and ruin the surprise, and B) I'm sorry for gringo tendencies but I was not, at that point, confident that there was no corruption in the military. So, I had to act all fishy and kind of interject my body between the guys and my fiance.
Luckily, everything worked out, I didn't get robbed, and I didn't just lose it because I'm stupid like that. I just wish I had that piece of advice a little beforehand.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Into the flood again... again?
Some random Friday things...
I had no idea that the new incarnation of Alice in Chains had released their first CD in something like 50 years until I checked out Deadspin this morning. Read through the football previews a bit and you'll see their youtube link to the first single. It's uncanny how new guy sounds so much like Staley. The song itself sounds so much like vintage AinC it's ridiculous. So, as can be expected, I'm mighty stoked about this. My music preferences for some reason seem to be stuck on repeat in the 1990-1995 era and haven't been able to move past brooding lyrics, thick ugly distortion, and subject matter mostly limited to losing buddies to heroin. That's Alice in Chains to a T. My lunch break may feature a trip over to Best Buy (and Subway?) later. Or perhaps I will have to scoot on home after work and visit Isohunt instead. Viva le Grunge!
And in other Friday surprises, I was also unaware that hockey started yesterday. If you were a casual ESPN radio listener you would think that the only thing that happened yesterday was this:
ALEX OVECHKIN SCORES 2 GOAAAALLLLLSSSSSS!!!!!!
rather than this:
Washington 4, Boston 1
Montreal 4, Toronto 3 OT
Calgary 5, Vancouver 3
Colorado 5, San Jose 2
Ever since the NHL signed on with Vs and broke off their relationship with ESPN, the worldwide leader has made it painfully clear that they could give two shits about hockey. If there is a person alive who cares more about Who's Now than what's happening in hockey they deserve to be sodomized with Stuart Scott's head.
Still, hockey's back and that is good for me. Despite the fact that it hasn't gotten out of the 40s here in central New York this is the best time of year. Baseball playoffs, Football, and Hockey all at my disposal. Thus ends my pathetic attempts at being outside and active as those give way to sitting in front of teevees, eating shitty food covered in cheese, and pounding Pabst Blue Ribbons. You gotta love sports!
In other news, Letterman let on last night that he's been getting down and dirty with some of his co-workers. Apparently some douche on another show has known about it and has been trying to extort some cash from Letterman. I honestly don't know if I care. Of course it's a dick move as it's safe to assume that this has been going on while he's been with whatever lady he recently married, but who's to say that they haven't already addressed this privately. Still, extortion-guy really fucked up by trying to blackmail him. You're just getting your own ass in trouble in that situation.
I had no idea that the new incarnation of Alice in Chains had released their first CD in something like 50 years until I checked out Deadspin this morning. Read through the football previews a bit and you'll see their youtube link to the first single. It's uncanny how new guy sounds so much like Staley. The song itself sounds so much like vintage AinC it's ridiculous. So, as can be expected, I'm mighty stoked about this. My music preferences for some reason seem to be stuck on repeat in the 1990-1995 era and haven't been able to move past brooding lyrics, thick ugly distortion, and subject matter mostly limited to losing buddies to heroin. That's Alice in Chains to a T. My lunch break may feature a trip over to Best Buy (and Subway?) later. Or perhaps I will have to scoot on home after work and visit Isohunt instead. Viva le Grunge!
And in other Friday surprises, I was also unaware that hockey started yesterday. If you were a casual ESPN radio listener you would think that the only thing that happened yesterday was this:
ALEX OVECHKIN SCORES 2 GOAAAALLLLLSSSSSS!!!!!!
rather than this:
Washington 4, Boston 1
Montreal 4, Toronto 3 OT
Calgary 5, Vancouver 3
Colorado 5, San Jose 2
Ever since the NHL signed on with Vs and broke off their relationship with ESPN, the worldwide leader has made it painfully clear that they could give two shits about hockey. If there is a person alive who cares more about Who's Now than what's happening in hockey they deserve to be sodomized with Stuart Scott's head.
Still, hockey's back and that is good for me. Despite the fact that it hasn't gotten out of the 40s here in central New York this is the best time of year. Baseball playoffs, Football, and Hockey all at my disposal. Thus ends my pathetic attempts at being outside and active as those give way to sitting in front of teevees, eating shitty food covered in cheese, and pounding Pabst Blue Ribbons. You gotta love sports!
In other news, Letterman let on last night that he's been getting down and dirty with some of his co-workers. Apparently some douche on another show has known about it and has been trying to extort some cash from Letterman. I honestly don't know if I care. Of course it's a dick move as it's safe to assume that this has been going on while he's been with whatever lady he recently married, but who's to say that they haven't already addressed this privately. Still, extortion-guy really fucked up by trying to blackmail him. You're just getting your own ass in trouble in that situation.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
"Find me a Steelers fan who's an actual fucking steelworker, and I'll put a unicorn in your driveway."
A good buddy, and soon to be best man, of mine recently turned my attention to the glorified blog world of Deadspin. They've been working on a pretty friggin hilarious serious called "Why Your Team Sucks". They've all been good but the one that takes the cake is the one for the Steelers. Read and enjoy.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Another super group?
Dave Grohl and Josh Homme must have the life. Their lives are like one big jam session.
I just found out today that the two of them teamed up with John Paul Jones to form Them Crooked Vultures and they already have a decent number of songs written and will be touring this year all around the globe (mostly the U.K). From what I can get off of youtube they sound pretty decent.
I still get a thrill out of seeing Grohl behind the drum kit. If he could bring that energy over to his frontman duties with Foo Fighters it would make the band at least twice as good.
Anyway, can't wait to hear more from the group, and kudos to the two young pups that they now have the clout to get a guy like Jones to join in. It's kind of funny to read the comments on the youtube page to see someone post, "who's that other guitarist?". Ahhh, the youtube generation at it's finest. I bet if it was Ciara or John Mayer they would have recognized him.
I just found out today that the two of them teamed up with John Paul Jones to form Them Crooked Vultures and they already have a decent number of songs written and will be touring this year all around the globe (mostly the U.K). From what I can get off of youtube they sound pretty decent.
I still get a thrill out of seeing Grohl behind the drum kit. If he could bring that energy over to his frontman duties with Foo Fighters it would make the band at least twice as good.
Anyway, can't wait to hear more from the group, and kudos to the two young pups that they now have the clout to get a guy like Jones to join in. It's kind of funny to read the comments on the youtube page to see someone post, "who's that other guitarist?". Ahhh, the youtube generation at it's finest. I bet if it was Ciara or John Mayer they would have recognized him.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
This is what we are up against
Recently a leaked memo has been the subject of much conversation. This memo:
Unfortunately it doesn't look too good here, but follow this link to see it better if you would like. The front page is pretty harmless, actually. It's the subsequent content that shows how disgusting the anti-health care reform people are. It's best supplemented with a number of videos on youtube, but Rachel Maddow has a great summation of it all here:
It was a surprise to find out this crap is going on in my own town of syracuse. This is the tactic of the opponents of health care reform: when a man stands up to ask his elected representative a question about the single payer system, another man stands up and tells him to sit down and shut his mouth. That is their strategy. Regardless of how you feel about the reform, this is not the way policies are supposed to be discussed. To think that there is a body at work spreading this strategy as helpful hints is repulsive.
As usual, the spin is coming from the right wing clowns. So far I have heard the alternate reality version from the likes of Limbaugh, Beck, and Hannity. Hannity tells his audience that representatives are being held responsibly for their socialist agenda. Limbaugh tells his minions how the people are starting to rise up against this awful plan that is planning the death of the elderly. And Beck, who I was able to catch on the radio on the way to work after being held up by both an accident and a dead battery, describes the scene as "real Americans" not standing for this.
Beck, I have a particular problem with. He must be particularly upset about health reform as it has caused him to liken our government to a monarchy. You see, when your "side" loses the election by a significant margin and you don't like what the winning party is doing, it means that their policies are not supported by the people. He seriously said that the antics of the people fucking around in the Town Hall meetings were the actions of "real Americans" who were upset that Washington politicians were doing things they didn't want them to do. Is he retarded? Possibly. The man is certainly unstable. There are a number of videos out there with him (fake) crying because he just loves his country so much. He also went on about how the government is using the cash for clunkers program to seize your computer. That is a lie, and the lie has already been refuted, but that doesn't stop him from repeating it for all of his idiot listeners to get worked up in a lather about it.
Michelle Malkin has also been running her dirty hooker mouth about how wonderful this grassroots movement is. Why do all of these right wing tools completely ignore the fact that the proof is out there that there is nothing grassroots about it. Does it give the idiots that actually go to these town hall meetings to fug it up a warm and fuzzy feeling to think that they are part of something like that? Do they have any idea that they are tools? I don't know. But judging by the lady waving a bible in the video I can only guess that these participants were produced from a questionable gene pool. It's right up there with the lady in the birther video who suggests that everyone stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. I don't remember where I read it, maybe facebook, but someone said that scene reminded me of a scene during National Lampoon Christmas Vacation where the old lady stands for the pledge at dinner. As far as I'm concerned, this is the only grassroots movement I want to be part of:
Yeah!
Where was I... oh yeah, here's my real problem. The purpose of these Town Hall Meetings is to spread information and answer questions in such a way that the public can understand what it is that the people we elect are trying to do. Most of us are smart enough to understand when those people doing the explaining are lying out there ass or being evasive. We can use that information and combine it with whatever we are able to dig up on the internet or at the library or whatever the case may be to come to a rational conclusion about legislation. That is part of the democratic process. We can then cast our vote depending on who we think has the country's best interests in mind. So what I don't understand is why these people think that this harassment and disruption is good for the country.
These are the first people to preach about the Constitution, our forefathers, the Declaration of Independence, patriotism, and calling Democrats/Liberals such things as nazis and fascists. And yet their contributions to the democratic process consists of bullying and harassment? How does that make sense? You would have to be a complete moron to come to that conclusion. If this legislation is so bad, why are they afraid of the people getting a chance to learn about it? Wouldn't you think that asking intelligent questions and hearing the details would derail the effort if it is that horrible? What are they afraid of?
That is the key question. What are they afraid of, indeed. The far-right wing pundits and politicians have been using fear as their main motivation tool for most of my politically involved life. The peak of this was when Bush told us that if we didn't vote for him we were going to get nuked. Fear is extremely useful when used the right way, and it is being used expertly right now in the health care debate. A local radio guy, Jim Reith, took the time to read the bill and answer questions on it a couple weeks ago, and it only proved to emphasise the amount of ignorance out there. He calmly listened to lie after lie and found the appropriate page of the legislation and set it right. No, the new system would not kill off the elderly. No, you would not be forced to take this insurance if you change jobs. No, you would not be denied because the government does not decide what help you can have. The listeners would get angry because Sean Hannity told them otherwise, and would hang up. Reith is not a liberal commie, by the way. He's as middle of the road as you can get.
So, it comes down to fear and the manipulators who spread the fear. I just hope that the people can be intelligent enough to know that they can make decisions for themselves. All they have to do is shut out the noise.
Update: And the spin continues. Hannity last night led off his radio show gushing about how "proud" and "inspired" he was about these great patriots shouting down elected representatives and bullying town hall attendees in to silence. That man is a disgusting piece of work. He's actually hoping to promote this activity. The irony comes with his scathing discussion of speculated anonymously reported bully tactics used by Rahm Emanuel.
Also, my hometown area (Utica) once again made the news. Michael Arcuri and Steny Hoyer were there speaking about a high speed rail system they are trying to implement when a bunch of rednecks, dubbed the Fort Stanwix "Patriots", started yelling at them about health care. Now, I may not have been present at the time that Fort Stanwix was in full operation but I visited it once in elementary school and at no point did they mention how they successfully fought off socialized health care or anything of that sort. Perhaps my Mohawk Valley history is lacking. Here's the video. The Utica stuff is at about 3:00.
Unfortunately it doesn't look too good here, but follow this link to see it better if you would like. The front page is pretty harmless, actually. It's the subsequent content that shows how disgusting the anti-health care reform people are. It's best supplemented with a number of videos on youtube, but Rachel Maddow has a great summation of it all here:
It was a surprise to find out this crap is going on in my own town of syracuse. This is the tactic of the opponents of health care reform: when a man stands up to ask his elected representative a question about the single payer system, another man stands up and tells him to sit down and shut his mouth. That is their strategy. Regardless of how you feel about the reform, this is not the way policies are supposed to be discussed. To think that there is a body at work spreading this strategy as helpful hints is repulsive.
As usual, the spin is coming from the right wing clowns. So far I have heard the alternate reality version from the likes of Limbaugh, Beck, and Hannity. Hannity tells his audience that representatives are being held responsibly for their socialist agenda. Limbaugh tells his minions how the people are starting to rise up against this awful plan that is planning the death of the elderly. And Beck, who I was able to catch on the radio on the way to work after being held up by both an accident and a dead battery, describes the scene as "real Americans" not standing for this.
Beck, I have a particular problem with. He must be particularly upset about health reform as it has caused him to liken our government to a monarchy. You see, when your "side" loses the election by a significant margin and you don't like what the winning party is doing, it means that their policies are not supported by the people. He seriously said that the antics of the people fucking around in the Town Hall meetings were the actions of "real Americans" who were upset that Washington politicians were doing things they didn't want them to do. Is he retarded? Possibly. The man is certainly unstable. There are a number of videos out there with him (fake) crying because he just loves his country so much. He also went on about how the government is using the cash for clunkers program to seize your computer. That is a lie, and the lie has already been refuted, but that doesn't stop him from repeating it for all of his idiot listeners to get worked up in a lather about it.
Michelle Malkin has also been running her dirty hooker mouth about how wonderful this grassroots movement is. Why do all of these right wing tools completely ignore the fact that the proof is out there that there is nothing grassroots about it. Does it give the idiots that actually go to these town hall meetings to fug it up a warm and fuzzy feeling to think that they are part of something like that? Do they have any idea that they are tools? I don't know. But judging by the lady waving a bible in the video I can only guess that these participants were produced from a questionable gene pool. It's right up there with the lady in the birther video who suggests that everyone stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. I don't remember where I read it, maybe facebook, but someone said that scene reminded me of a scene during National Lampoon Christmas Vacation where the old lady stands for the pledge at dinner. As far as I'm concerned, this is the only grassroots movement I want to be part of:
Yeah!
Where was I... oh yeah, here's my real problem. The purpose of these Town Hall Meetings is to spread information and answer questions in such a way that the public can understand what it is that the people we elect are trying to do. Most of us are smart enough to understand when those people doing the explaining are lying out there ass or being evasive. We can use that information and combine it with whatever we are able to dig up on the internet or at the library or whatever the case may be to come to a rational conclusion about legislation. That is part of the democratic process. We can then cast our vote depending on who we think has the country's best interests in mind. So what I don't understand is why these people think that this harassment and disruption is good for the country.
These are the first people to preach about the Constitution, our forefathers, the Declaration of Independence, patriotism, and calling Democrats/Liberals such things as nazis and fascists. And yet their contributions to the democratic process consists of bullying and harassment? How does that make sense? You would have to be a complete moron to come to that conclusion. If this legislation is so bad, why are they afraid of the people getting a chance to learn about it? Wouldn't you think that asking intelligent questions and hearing the details would derail the effort if it is that horrible? What are they afraid of?
That is the key question. What are they afraid of, indeed. The far-right wing pundits and politicians have been using fear as their main motivation tool for most of my politically involved life. The peak of this was when Bush told us that if we didn't vote for him we were going to get nuked. Fear is extremely useful when used the right way, and it is being used expertly right now in the health care debate. A local radio guy, Jim Reith, took the time to read the bill and answer questions on it a couple weeks ago, and it only proved to emphasise the amount of ignorance out there. He calmly listened to lie after lie and found the appropriate page of the legislation and set it right. No, the new system would not kill off the elderly. No, you would not be forced to take this insurance if you change jobs. No, you would not be denied because the government does not decide what help you can have. The listeners would get angry because Sean Hannity told them otherwise, and would hang up. Reith is not a liberal commie, by the way. He's as middle of the road as you can get.
So, it comes down to fear and the manipulators who spread the fear. I just hope that the people can be intelligent enough to know that they can make decisions for themselves. All they have to do is shut out the noise.
Update: And the spin continues. Hannity last night led off his radio show gushing about how "proud" and "inspired" he was about these great patriots shouting down elected representatives and bullying town hall attendees in to silence. That man is a disgusting piece of work. He's actually hoping to promote this activity. The irony comes with his scathing discussion of speculated anonymously reported bully tactics used by Rahm Emanuel.
Also, my hometown area (Utica) once again made the news. Michael Arcuri and Steny Hoyer were there speaking about a high speed rail system they are trying to implement when a bunch of rednecks, dubbed the Fort Stanwix "Patriots", started yelling at them about health care. Now, I may not have been present at the time that Fort Stanwix was in full operation but I visited it once in elementary school and at no point did they mention how they successfully fought off socialized health care or anything of that sort. Perhaps my Mohawk Valley history is lacking. Here's the video. The Utica stuff is at about 3:00.
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
I'm starting to like Rachel Maddow more and more...
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
The Trustworthy Encyclopedia
If you're ever in the need of a good laugh, I strongly urge you to head on over to a little-known gem on the internet called Conservapedia. Seriously, anyone would enjoy the shenanigans and hi-jinx contained therein. Right on the front page you will find this delightful picture:
The related heading is "Evolutionary Racism of Hitler and Darwin". The image helps the reader along the journey to reach the realization that not only are the ideas of Darwin and Hitler similar, they may in fact be twins separated at birth. Also, let's not rule out entirely that if you are a believer in evolution there is a good chance that you are a closet Nazi.
There are a number of highlights on this website. Let's say you want to find out more about our recently elected president, Barrack Obama. Well, go here and you may discover that he is "likely the first Muslim President", "has consistently shown himself to be an elitist who looks down on 'ordinary' Americans", and that "He has no clear personal achievement that cannot be explained as the likely result of affirmative action".
Or maybe you want to know about Liberal Hypocrisy. Follow the link and you will discover everything you need to know including examples of that grave offenses committed by liberals such as George Clooney, Leo DiCaprio, Marky Mark (jury is still out on the funky bunch) , and Katie Couric.
The best part of Conservapedia is the man in charge, Andy Schlafly. Mr Schlafly is the spawn of activist Phyllis Schlafly, who occupies herself by running around giving speeches on how women are unhappy due to feminism. Conservapedia, like Wikipedia, has talk/discussion pages where users can discuss any topic and decide what is best for the associated page. Choose any random controversial topic and look up the talk page and just witness idiocy in all its glory. I'd love to detail some of these but being overly detailed on a blog and making posts to said blog at work are hardly conducive to a healthy career.
So, with that being said I think I need to finish things up at the office. First however, a new post...
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)