For this and future Grab Bags, please feel free to click on Comments below the column and leave your own rants and raves.
LOVING THE MONKEYS The Arctic Monkeys are the best band in the world right now. Their premiere album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, is totally MEGA. It is quite literally a generation defining album much in the same way as Sgt Pepper, London Calling, or Nevermind. They sound like The Beatles, The Jam, The Clash, The Libertines and Franz Ferdinand all rolled into one beautiful British cup of tea. I haven't been this taken by a band in a loooong time.
The lyrics of the album tell a story of what it's like to be young, hitting clubs, falling in love....all within the UK (yea, baby!) as the setting. And what a beautiful story it is...I can't say enough about how great this band sounds. They will be performing on Saturday Night Live this Saturday March 11th. You must own this record and see them live when they come to your town. Here's to Sheffield!!
THOSE HOLIDAY BLUESIs it just me or is there a holiday every other week? And what is the deal with people taking them realllllllly seriously? Last May, I had a woman ask me what I was doing for the holidays to which I replied......"you mean Christmas in seven months?" She looked at me, with an ashen white, shocked face, and replied, "It's Mother's Day this weekend." So, Mother's Day is now "the holidays?"
When I was a kid, we celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas and watched football on New Year's Day. And that was the end of "the holidays" until the next fucking year. These days, kids celebrate President's Day. What the?!!? Even more confounding is the fact that several business were shut down on President's Day this year.
Well, it's no wonder the US is lagging behind in the world....we take off stupid-ass holidays! Next thing you know everyone will be out fondling trees on Arbor Day for crying out loud!
GIANT COCK
Sean Hannity is a fucking douchebag. Does anyone out there actually believe that he is more than just a mindless sycophant? Last week, when everyone and their uncle in the newsmedia was talking about how stupid George Bush was with the whole ports deal, this toolbox (left) grudgingly ran a bit about DPW at the top his show, Hannity and Colmes, and then launched into a tirade about Al Gore. Gore, Hannity said, had accepted money from the bin Laden family to speak at an engagement in Saudi Arabia and so, therefore, he was a traitor.Excuse me? Sean, do you really want to go down the path of "the Saudis and who, in our government, is friendly with them?" Especially the bin Ladens? I think that YOUR President has been fucking up so much lately that you have run out of material.
Fuck off, you no talent ass clown....I bet all your listeners, who think that you are "fighting the good fight" for the common folks, would be interested to know that you insist upon a private jet and tens of thousands of dollars to speak at events and functions.
And would someone please ring the producers of Hannity and Colmes and let them know that Alan Colmes should replaced by Markadelphia? That way, Sean can actually have a real man to spar with and not an alien-human hybrid like Mr Colmes.
AT LAST!
I guess more conservatives are listening to me now. Bruce Bartlett, longtime Conservative intellectual and Reagan aide, is releasing a book on how George Bush is basically full of shit, ruining this country, and (gasp!) not really a conservative. Mr Bartlett was recently fired from his job at the conservative think tank, The National Center for Policy Analysis, for being too critical, personally, of President Bush. His book arrived in stores on Feb 28th.Many conservatives are also speaking out against the wiretaps now. Maybe it's because of....Uh....what is that thing again that they don't trust....um.....BIG GOVERNMENT? Oh yeah....that's it....good thing we don't have that now......yeeesh.
And, if that weren't enough, House republicans plan to rip the Bush administration a new one over the Katrina response and gross mismanagement of funds allocated for said disaster. Well, at least some people in our government have the spine to stand up to mountain of crap from the last five years. Lord knows the Democrats won't. And speaking of the Democrats...
LAME LIBSFor those of you who think I am too one sided, the Democrats really pissed me off two weeks ago when they forced Paul Hackett (left) out of the Senate race in Ohio. If there is ever a straight shooter, Paul is the one. If there are ever stupider people, the Democratic Leadership are the ones to beat.
Democratic Leaders like Charles Schumer and Harry Reid felt that Hackett's bluntness and coarse language would be unpopular with voters so they encouraged donors to give to his opponents. What a couple of toolboxes! Hackett, you may recall, nearly won a congressional seat in a largely Republican Ohio district last year. He called President Bush a "loser" and an "idiot" and referred to the Iraq War as "total fuck up" by the White House. He would know. He is the first Iraqi War Veteran to run for office.
He also said that the Republicans were being "hijacked by the religious right who aren't all the different from Osama Bin Laden." (Hee Hee...oh that is so funny....bwa hah hah....hoo hoo...hee)After he was asked to apologize, he said, "I stand by what I said."
A Democrat with balls?
I think I just came in my pants.
OIL FOR SNOW
I
Every wonder where all that money goes to in the Middle East that we spend on oil? Well, look no further than the pictures above (provided to me by a fan of Notes From The Front).
The United Arab Emirates, currently in charge of the Department of Homeland Security, have a ski hill in Dubai.....in the middle of the desert.
That seems profoundly helpful and deeply beneficial to mankind. Thank goodness that they are using their money for something good instead of say....educating the Muslim world on how NOT to blow themselves up and kill people over art. And while we are on the subject of Dubai...
MORE PORTS SHIT
Rep. Peter King (R) of New York, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said officials from the Homeland Security and Treasury departments told him weeks ago that their 30-day review of the deal did not look into the question of links between DP World and al Qaeda.What in the fuck do we even have a Department of Homeland Security for? Holy Hannah, what a bunch of idiots.
Port of New Orleans (left)
THE TUBE
Battlestar Galactica (left) is the best show on TV. Laugh all you want because I know the 70s version was cheesy but the revamped version....dark and gritty.....is filled with deeply passionate acting and characters that are extremely well written.I have found myself standing up, talking to the TV, and downright yelling during some episodes of this wonderful show because it is so fucking intense.
And the chicks are so hot, dude....my God, I feel like I am a 14 year old boy again every time Kara Thraice (played by Katie Sackhoff, above, right) comes on the screen. I definitely have plenty of whipped cream for that vanilla shake of hers......
It starts with a mini series and there are 2 DVD box sets available which are set immediately after the mini series. This show is so good....you must watch it.
I find it sad that NBC cancelled the wonderful show "The Book of Daniel." (left) Conservative Groups like the American Family Association fought to have the program off the air because it depicted a vicadin addicted Episcolpalian priest, with a gay son and pot selling daughter, who had regular conversations with Jesus Christ. So...I believe in Jesus....what's the problem here?I think the show was an accurate, poignant potrayal of family life in the 21st century. It was also very funny. I think the Jesus character was played very honestly and humbly portrayed. Oh well, that's life in Bush country. They know what's best for me, I guess! And since they all KNOW EXACTLY what Jesus was like....well....we must submit to their vision!!!!!
You know what I love? People that decide for me what is good and what is bad. Here's a thought...if a show offends you...DON'T WATCH THAT SHOW!!. I loathe TV evangelists but they have a right to have their fucking show. Just like I have a right to watch Book of Daniel. I wanted to watch it but I can't now because of people in this country who want to DICTATE morality to me. Fuckers....
US DROPS TO NUMBER 2 IN THE WORLD
I know it's sad but it's true. Iran has replace the United States as the country with the most negative impact in the world. The study, which asked 39,435 people in 33 nations across the globe, listed Russia, China and India as rounding out the top five.
And the response from the NCD's (Neo-Con Douchebags)? "Ah, they's all a bunch of fir'ners. Let's kill 'em. And while you're at it, get me a Busch Light from the fridge, bitch. The race is a gonna be on right quick. Hee Haw!"
DRUGGED OUT IN MNIn an effort to further squeeze the American consumer out of his last nickel, US Customs has begun seizing prescription drugs from Canada claiming that they are illegal contraband. People in Minnesota have been hit particularity hard by this as these drugs are available to order through the State of Minnesota web site. Governor Pawlenty has championed this cause and now faces even more pressure from his pals in the Bush Administration to disallow this practice.
This issue really hits home for me as many elderly family members and friends that I know were skipping pills because they were too expensive. They started buying the pills from Canada because they were tons cheaper (and the exact same drug btw) and thus, they can take them everyday like they are supposed to do.
Yes, yes I know. American Pharmaceutical companies need that money for cancer research. NOT! What a bunch of bullshit.....classic spin...what they really need it for is to keep that salary up around 20 million a year so their golf buddy, Anderson T. Wilson, oil exec, doesn't poke fun of them at the next country club party. And we are stupid enough to put up with this?
FINAL WORD
And I can truly say that it is, too. For all of you NCDs out there that have claimed for years that the media is liberally biased, I have two words for you: SHUT THE FUCK UP! The media has never been liberally biased....most of the time acting like unofficial spokespeople for the government....and now a study has been done to back it up.
The study took the Sunday Morning News shows on ABC, CBS, and NBC as an example. From the years 1997-2005 the conservative voices on these shows consistently outrated the liberals in quantity. Another study, which set out strongly to find liberal bias in the media, failed because the study itself was too conservatively biased from the outset and, as a result, it became flawed.
Sorry, neo-cons, but the old "poor me" attitude about the liberal media won't fly anymore. You really need to give up on this one. It really is too bad when someone criticizes you, isn't it? Gosh, it's tough when reality hits you in the fucking head as you realize that you....yes YOU...are capable of making mistakes and someone else is actually going to call you on your shit. That doesn't mean that they are liberal for cripes sakes. Holy Hannah!
COMMENTS
How about you? What are you chawing on this week? Good or bad....leave some comments below..................
13 comments:
The defensiveness which you have displayed toward the subject of the media being liberal tells me there is validity to the charge of liberal media bias.
When you state your case, you’re “questioning your government”, when anyone says anything back you tell them to “get over it”. If some liberals distrust big government so much, like with regards to the whole NSA spying deal, why are they advocating universal healthcare?
I can see bias in the stories that the media DOESN'T talk about. Did any of you know that Ruth Bader Ginsburg fell asleep at a hearing last week? Didn’t think so. It appears that none of the three network news shows mentioned Justice Ginsburg's nap during the oral argument of the Texas redistricting case earlier this week. If it were Alito or Roberts that fell asleep you can bet that we would have heard about it.
Last week the Senate voted 89-10 to renew the Patriot Act. Didn’t hear too much about that did we?
At least when you're listening to right-wing talk radio, you know you're listening to right-wing talk radio. Here's some quotes to chew on...if they were made on Air America I say no big deal...look at the source of these quotes...
Former CBS and NBC morning host Bryant Gumbel dislikes the winter Olympics for "a paucity of blacks that makes the Winter Games look like a GOP convention." (Yep, right down the middle)
"The day I say Dick Cheney is going to run for President, I’ll kill myself. All we need is one more liar."
— Hearst White House columnist Helen Thomas, as quoted in the "Under the Dome" column by Albert Eisele and Jeff Dufour in The Hill newspaper, July 28.
(No agenda with her!)
Dan Rather: "My principal problem was that I stuck by the [Memogate] story, I stuck by our people for too long. I’m guilty of that. I believed in the story, and the facts of the story were correct. One supporting pillar of the story, albeit an important one, one supporting pillar was brought into question. To this day no one has proven whether it was what it purported to be or not....You know, I didn’t give up on my people, our people. I didn’t and I won’t." [Applause]
Marvin Kalb: "Dan, thank you. You said, I believe you just said, that you think the story is accurate."
Rather: "The story is accurate."
— From The Kalb Report
(It's that pesky "belief" thing again)
"An Advocate for the Right."
— Headline over a New York Times "news analysis" of Judge John Roberts’ judicial philosophy, July 28.
vs.
"Balanced Jurist at Home in the Middle."
— Headline over a June 27, 1993 New York Times story on Supreme Court nominee Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
(BAAAAHAAHAAA)
When was the last time the Minneapolis Star-Tribune endorsed a republican for president? Over 20 years ago. Nope, no bias there! Right down the middle!
How about that GEOGRAPHY teacher going on the anti-Bush rant in Colorado? Nope, no bias there! Just stating objective facts! Do you parents on here think Geography teachers should be teaching state capitals or going on political rants?
I am not defensive...just frustrated by the fact that people are so blind that they can't see what is being done to them.
There really isn't any point in trying to convince you because your mind is already made up. Imagine me trying to convince you that people in the Quad Cities are all the most motivated and forward thinking people in this country. You would be like...uh...NO! I would find a few articles to back up my point and then you would say, dude you are full of shit. I lived there and here is what it is really like.
Now imagine how you would feel if I was unwavering in my view on the Quad Cities and that's exactly how I feel when I talk to NCDs these days. They won't listen to reason...
Generally speaking, I agree with many points that conservatives have...smaller, efficient government, states governening themselves, lower taxes, less spending...etc. In my opinion, Bush Co looks nothing like this.
The Geography teacher said some things that were too virulent but let's look at the motivation for it. It's all about the frustration that many, many people have about the Bush administration. He and his people have done some horrible things in the last five years.
Our country looks nothing like it did in 2000. People are finally starting to wake up to this fact, thank God, but there is still an extraordinary amount of frustration with people like yourself, Crab, who can't see the forest for the trees.
You mean you are on here trying to convince people to change their views? That’s an uphill battle you will be fighting for the rest of your life and I’m glad that’s not the reason I post on here. You say my mind is already made up…and yours isn’t? Like Neoconprog said in our last discussion, facts are presented that contradict your postings and they are easily brushed off as “republican spin and nothing more”. I’ve noticed the lack of response with regards to the quotes I posted above from our “objective, right down the middle” major news media in this country, hence I’m not going to type much else in this thread beyond this post – when I get home tonight I’m going to pepper this comment section with even more quotes just like Helen Thomas’ quote. Quotes like that do much more to bolster my position than anything I could ever say on the issue.
If you were to say that about the people in the area I grew up in I would agree with you to a point. Not sure why you said I would have to “imagine me trying to convince you” about that when I am the one who told you about many of the friends I played volleyball and softball with deciding not to pursue a college education and having children out of wedlock (sometimes on purpose). While I may disagree and get frustrated with their life choices they are still nice people and good friends. Also, let’s not forget – not every area of ths country is as prosperous as the Twin Cities and Chicago and lots of people in this country can’t afford college.
Bush Co aren’t going to be on any ballots in the future. Your time would be better served providing examples to all of us sheep of Hillary’s steadfast leadership on issues you care about since you’ve already made up your mind that you are voting for her. Give me her record on original legislation passed.
People are finally starting to wake up? They’re frustrated with people like me? I thought the citizens of this country were stupid? (you’ve said so several times on this very blog) You say that this country is falling further and further behind – maybe it’s because geography teachers in public schools are teaching kids that Bush = Hitler and not teaching them geography. Regardless of what a liberals motivations are for their words, do you think a high school geography class, a funeral, a memorial service, a supreme court confirmation hearing, a Hollywood awards ceremony, etc are situations ripe for advancing ones political agenda?
Speaking of quotes, here’s a good one specifically for you...
The mark of an educated man is not in his boast that he has built his mountain of facts and has stood on top of it, but in his admission that there may be other peaks in the same range with men on top of them, and that, though their views of the landscape may be different from his, they are none the less legitimate.
- E.J. Pratt
Well, that's a nice quote but how does that relate to criminals running our country? I am not just talking about Republicans here...Democrats too.
Y'see, that's the frustration. Bush Co is very clearly to me breaking the law. Not just constitutional law but criminal law. To you, it's just a matter of opinion when I say Bush is breaking the law so I hope you can see my frustration here.
I haven't fully made up my mind yet that I will vote for Hillary. I do like her but maybe there will be someone better. Wouldn't it be nice to have to choose between her and McCain or her and Guilliani? These are three good people and it would be nice to NOT have to choose between the lesser of two evils.
As far as your quotes go, here is my opinion.
Byrant Gumbel is a dick. I don't like him. But to say that Republicans are all about black power....well, the revisionist history that the Right is currently engaged in is hilarious. And don't even bother coming back to me with Democrats from the south because 1. I agree with you and 2. They are all NCDs now anyway(Zell Miller)
How is Helen Thomas wrong? Dick Cheney is a liar. He is probably one of the most horrible people to ever hold office. Crab, you are good person. Dick Cheney is so far beneath you morally that I am surprised that you hold him in any sort of esteem.
Of course the story that Dan Rather told was accurate. Bush skipped out on his guard duty. His rich daddy got him out of service. Rather was a victim of the "liberal" media.
Ginsburg voted yes to allow the government to seize property along with all the rest of the neocons on the court so I don't know where you are going with this one...she might be liberal on some things but she seems in the middle on others
The quote doesn’t have anything to do with GWB/Cheney, etc, it has to do with you. You said on this blog somewhere that people should be striving for the pursuit of knowledge. For example, there are a lot of experts of constitutional law out there that say that the NSA program is legal and necessary yet you still hold your opinion that GWB is taking away freedoms and that he should be impeached for it. Dems tried very hard to push that as an impeachable offense but they backed down after a week and a half. You can call them wussies, I think it took a few days for all the facts and precedence to come out and they left that issue like the parsley on the plate at a truck stop. There still is a concept in US law called "innocent till proven guilty in a court of law".
Republican policies toward blacks and Dick Cheney being a criminal/you thinking I hold him to some kind of esteem is not the issue here – those issues are for another thread. The issue here is that you are trying to tell us that the people in the major media (newspapers and the big 3 networks) don’t favor any 1 side. I’m posting direct quotes that lead me to believe that those people who are just supposed to "report" the news have an agenda just like everyone else.
Fact – the documents Rather based that story on were typed in Times New Roman font (kind of hard to get that font from a 1970’s typewriter) and the documents that was the "smoking gun evidence" of that whole story were proved to be fake.
Again, Ginsburgs voting record isn’t the issue here, the issue is the NYTimes calling her a "right down the middle" sort of person as well as the rest of the media ignoring the fact that she took a nap on the job. But since you want to talk about that case...Fact – SC Justices who voted against property rights, for the big developers and for eminent domain - Ginsberg, Breyer, Stevens, Kennedy and Souter. SC Justices who voted againt eminent domain and for property rights - Rehnquist, Thomas, Scalia, plus O'Connor (who wrote the minority report). Now what was that you were you saying about Ruth Bader Ginsburg voting with neocons on that issue? Looks to me like the neocons were on the other side of her on that vote. Who are you trying to fool here?
You’re wrong about something else too - I’m not a good person.
Markadelphia your blog today was beautiful! You kept me interested and laughing and I did NOT skip ALL the political parts! "I have two words for you 'SHUT THE FUCK UP!'" Hee hee. Good one.
Thanks anonymous, are you a girl and are you hot?
Anyway, Crab, let me hear your "both barrels" about FISA.
Go out and google Bush and National Guard and see what you come up with on both sides. I think you will find the whole thing rather interesting.
Yeah, I thought Ginsburg voted with the neocons on that one. My mistake.
As I stated before the election, GWB's National Guard record is about as spotty as Kerry's Vietnam record and I didn't care about either story then and I still don't.
I’ve noticed that many Democrats agree with the President's decision to order the NSA to intercept international terrorist communications, including those with one end in the U.S. While they want the NSA to listen in on Al Qaeda calls to the U.S. they also want the President to "follow the damned law too!" As you know, I already posted a few of the five federal appellate decisions standing for the proposition that the President has the constitutional authority under Article II to order warrantless surveillance for foreign intelligence gathering purposes. This means that the NSA program is legal.
Presumably the "damned law" they are talking about is that they want the NSA to comply with FISA. But the Constitution, as well as FISA, authorizes the President to carry out electronic surveillance. As the FISA court of appeals wrote in 2002, if FISA tried to limit the President's Article II power to conduct warrantless surveillance, it would be unconstitutional to that extent.
Section 109 of FISA also says that FISA does not apply where surveillance is "authorized by [another] statute." The administration argues, supported by the Hamdi case, that Congress's Authorizaton for the Use of Military Force authorizes intercepting enemy intelligence, which, like detaining enemy combatants, is a "fundamental and accepted incident of war." If the Bush administration is right, FISA does not come into play at all here.
I think I know what the critics are getting at now – they want the administration to "follow the damned law"(FISA's procedures) without negatively impacting the NSA’s ability to intercept enemy communications. Unlike what the mainstream media and lefty bloggers have been saying, obtaining a FISA order is a very complicated matter. A large amount of information must be assembled, and legal opinions must be obtained. The statute does contain a 72-hour "emergency" provision that would allow surveillance to begin immediately, as long as a judge signs an order within 72 hours thereafter but that provision doesn’t come into play here as Attorney General Alberto Gonzales repeatedly explained during his testimony the other week. Surveillance cannot begin until the Attorney General makes a finding that 1) an "emergency situation exists," and 2) "the factual basis for issuance of an order under this subchapter to approve such surveillance exists". That means that even in an emergency, the same procedures and documentation that is normally made to a judge must be made to the Attorney General - legal opinions, procedures, and so on. In the meantime, Al Qaeda nutjobs overseas can continue calling their American contacts as much as they want.
Some things on my mind today..
Arctic monkeys- AWESOME!
Kirby Puckett- downer
Abortion and South Dakota- major downer.
If you haven't heard about SD- google it.
YIKES!!!!
I am the first "anonymous" who said your blog was beautiful. That entry anyway. Yes I am female and can't answer the part about being hot. I'm room temperature.
Later,
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