A brief airline rant:

Why is it that a flight from Tallahassee, FL going to Atlanta, GA costs twice what a flight to Washington D.C. costs for the same days and time given that the flight to D.C. stops in Atlanta?

That's right-- a flight that connects in Atlanta cost half what the flight to Atlanta costs on its own.

Remember this when Delta wants a bailout...

Great Toon:

The Times of Harvey Milk

Pretty cool documentary on, well, the subject says it all. Enjoy:

GOP Mock Draft

I have decided to start a new fantasy league. I'm still figuring out how we'll do the scoring and I still need to recruit a few more teams, but it will be related to all things GOP. And it will have to crown it's champion by April 24th. Because the NFL Draft is on the 25th.

Each team will need to start one former president, two media representatives, two senators and two governors.

Limbaugh, McCain, Reagan all fine first round picks and I know Bobby Jindal is jumping up your draft board right now, but I'm thinking Bay Buchanon may be the supersleeper to take me to a championship.

More to follow..

Rourke Rules

Fuck Oscar:

Being Glenn Beck

So Glenn Beck wrote an article that pissed me off because he's basically calling the government solution to a problem he publically endorsed "socialism." And the whole time, he had the STUPID look on his face.

Instead of ripping his article, I thought I'd take a look at the guy behind the guy. So I went here.

And I finally understood. He knows he sucks. He's a suckup who knows how lucky he's got it. He is completely full of shit:

What is the best advice you have ever received?
Understand the power of "I AM", and you’ll accomplish all that you think.

What the shit? I have some different advice for you, Glenn. His sense of humor could be described as robotic. Almost forced. Unnatural. Is dead fish an adjective? And beyond that, he has NO imagination.

If you could invite any three people (dead or alive) to dinner, who would they be?
Jesus, a really good cook and my wife (only because if I didn’t, I’d never hear the end of it).

I've heard that question asked a hundred times and this is by far the worst answer I've ever heard. Jesus. A cook. And I suppose my wife (out of guilt)? First off, isn't it assumed there'd be a cook anyway? Is there a need to include him? Or is he trying to find the ABSOLUTE safest response to a softball question. I think your wife would understand if maybe you wanted Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Or Jesus, her and Mickey Mantle (although Mickey'd be half in the bag by the time the entree arrived). I mean the options are limitless which such a question. And that's it? Way to bring it home, Glenn.

So.. I get it. It makes total sense. I don't like him because he is a tool.

3 Former Latin American Presidents Urge End to Drug War

Here lays an interesting piece about a rational and sane approach to dealing with black market drugs and the drug trade. If you have thought clearly (or if you were stoned, objectively) about this subject before you probably are not going to read anything you haven't thought already yourself. However, the fact that the former heads of three countries- Brazil, Columbia, and Mexico- are writing an open letter calling for a reappraisal of a long failed global policy is a very productive development.

We in the U.S. need to be vocal in our disgust for a failed and painfully expensive policy. We can no longer afford prohibition. For more, see the new widget on the right.

Sunday Funnies

I can relate.

Just A Reminder

August Rush

So.. I just watched the film August Rush. This post has nothing to do with the content of the film itself. I was rather intrigued by the MPAA warning however.

This film was rated PG. It was brought to my attention that this film contains "thematic elements."

Does that even make sense? Isn't that a quality of any well thought out film (even the really bad ones)? That's like saying beer contains "bubbles." Why did the MPAA feel the need to make a point about this? The PG ranking was created so that parents could monitor the content of what their kids are watching. Is there a danger younger children might learn something. Or is it code for "may not be the best choice for three year olds." But that would be dumb. It could be boring for a lot of people.

Usually you see warnings that a film may contain violence or drug use, nudity or potty mouths. "Thematic elements" must be somehow offensive? Or maybe younger viewers only have a cursory understanding of thematic elements and could be adversely impacted by seeing them in the context of a fictional medium. Or maybe the MPAA doesn't have a clue.

Polonius Revisited

Former White House secretary, Ari Fleischer says in an interview airing tonight what we've been screaming for years.. Saddam Hussein had no WMDs. He stops short of calling W a dumbass who should've stayed focused on Osama bin Laden and Afghanistan, but trillions of dollars later, I'll pick up the slack and say it for him. He then tells Obama to keep it real.

Waxing My Conspiracy Theory

Something is rotten in Gaza.

Always be wary of the messenger. Especially if it's John Kerry, known member of Skull & Bones.

Obama received a message, allegedly from Hamas whom America has recognized as a terrorist organization. What it says, Kerry claims not to know. The envelope appeared with some mystery materials and was addressed to Obama. It was turned over to the Consul in Jerusalem.

Hamas denies sending the letter. Yet the consulate says it's legit.

Doesn't this smell like a set up?

Fucked:

And you thought the economy was bad...





Today, Israel's President Shimon Peres (seen left shacking hands with Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu), who is a two time Prime Minister and a Nobel Peace Laureate, had the dubious distinction of destroying cellular life on this and all other planets. The lack of life on Neptune is merely a prelude to his most recent actions.


How did it come to this?


Just last week the Sobriety Party of Israel won 28 seats in their national election, which is one more than the 27 seats that Benjamin Netanyahu's Bomb Anything Muslim Party got in the same polls. 61 seats are necessary to form a majority coalition. President Peres thought (correctly, I'm afraid) that Netanyahu would be better equipped to form a government since 65 seats were won by other parties that also advocate various forms of ethnic cleansing, genocide, and short sighted fiscal policy.

It wasn't the President's fault the voters voted this way--and considering the behavior of Hamas in Gaza I don't blame them-- but Peres should have been smarter and resigned. Yes, he should have refused this shame of a man his dutiful post. As a matter of fact, he should have pulled a Howard Beale, walked into the Knesset and...

A final act of defiance.

Where are our Gadflies when we need them most?

Netanyahu believes very strongly in the necessity of nuclear war with Iran, Syria, and Yugoslavia. That's right, he does not trust the reports that later dissolved years ago and campaigned that a nuke was the only way to ensure the deed had actually been done.

So he will be Prime Minister, again, and we will all suffer for it. Time to trade in your umbrella for a bunker, baby.

Bye-bye cruel world. We'll miss ya.

Where to start?!?

I found this video on http://www.rebuildtheparty.com/, the launching pad for the new school GOP. This ain't your Granddaddy's Republican Party! They got every minority member in the party to make an appearance and there's also firearms and the ghost of Ronald Reagan (okay, that last one was predictable) Where's the footage of W? Curiously absent. Grassroots.. use of the internet to organize.. where have I seen this before? The biggest difference between the Obama campaign and this video, is that people in the Obama videos actually have souls and know how to smile. The drones in this video look like there is a Kaleshnikov just off camera and they are the subjects of an "Islamic extremist" snuff film. I think the overall message here is "don't be ashamed to be a Republican," but I gotta be honest.. just watching this took me out of my comfort zone. People like this really exist.

African-American

I hate this word. It's a seven syllable word for Black.

This is February. It's not called African-American History Month. James Brown didn't sing a song called, "I'm African-American and I'm Proud." There is no such thing as African-American on African-American crime. Tyler Perry didn't write a play called "Diary of a Mad African-American Woman." There is not a Congressional African-American Caucus. Rod Tidwell didn't tell Jerry Maguire to yell , "I love African-American people."

Using the word "Black" to describe a race of people is not offensive. Black people in Europe are not referred to as African-Europeans. They are Black. Is the term White offensive to describe paler skinned people? No. Then what is the deal with uptight Americans that we need to go to such great lengths to prove our racial sensitivity?

Attorney General Eric Holder hits it on the head. "We are a nation of cowards."

In a recent address, the newly appointed Attorney General speaks on Black History Month and how we as a nation have voluntarily segregated ourselves despite all the hard fought ground gained in the Civil Rights Movement. He challenges Americans to be honest with themselves about the sensitive topic of race and how we contribute to this downward cycle of division. (GOP: See Barack the Magic Negro or a just look at a photo of any RNC convention for the last 100 years.) Some will call this an opportunistic plea for attention, but the truth resonates within the message itself and it wouldn't matter who delivered it.

A White man is only referred to as a Caucasian on police blotters, in census bureaus or when he first fills out paperwork for a new doctor or dentist. A Black man does not BECOME an African-American because he achieves a certain level of status or rank becasue of hard work and commitment. THAT is racist. Assigning a label that implies one excels beyond what limits society has predetermined and set for them. Why can't we just say that we have black lawyers, doctors, professors and now a black president? The PC 90s set back progress on the race issue by forcing this word into the national lexicon (Is this a byproduct of Affirmative Action?). That's why I choose not to use this unneccessary and counterproductive word.

Todays NY Post Toon:

The cartoon displayed above is meant, I assume, to be provocative. What do ye think of it?

Advice

If you are one of the thousands of state employees laid off in California, Gov. Schwarzeneggar has some advice for you. First, don't be an economic girlie man. Second.. Hit the gym. It's exhilirating.

The Myth of Justice

George Bush has been making promises to bring various terrorists, villains and ne'er-do-wells "to justice" for the past eight years. It has been an empty threat of his that placated his supporters, but never really carried much weight. In America, Justice is not only blind, she's a whore that pleases the one with the deepest pockets. Bernie Madoff fleeced hundreds of people for B-B-BILLIONS of dollars. People killed themselves because their life's savings were flushed down the toilet. He ruined lives. Today he's sitting in a posh Manhattan apartment, with all the amenities and toys he could ask for, awaiting trial. He's trying to hide whatever assets he has left (passing millions off to his wife, mailing jewelry to relatives, etc.)

At worst, he'll pay $5M in fines and serve 20 years in prison. Not Attica or San Quentin, mind you. He'll sit in some club med for guys who got caught. Is that just?!? He's the Charles Manson of white collar crime! ~~SEGUE~~


Now Roman Polanksi is trying absolve himself for.. what was it he did again? Oh yeah.. he used champagne and quaaludes to coax a 13 year old girl to have sex with him.

I don't care that it happened over 30 years ago. I don't care that he settled a civil suit with her out of court. I don't care what the victim is saying to support him now that she's the ripe old age of 45. I don't care that he was still grieving for his murdered wife.

What he did was wrong in 1977 and it's wrong today. The only difference between him and Gary Glitter was gender and quantity. The punishment, exile from the US, fit the crime. To overturn it now would be.. sadly predictable.

Smack My Bitch Up

General Pervez Musharaff seized control of Pakistan in a coup d'etat in 1999 (with the intent of combating extremists), declaring himself president in 2001. He side-stepped notions that he had anything to do with the assassination of political rival, Benazir Bhutto, although I'm not sold he was unaware of the plot at all. Then while under impeachment threats, he resigned in the summer of 2008, leaving us with Asif Ali Zardari , Bhutto's widow who spearheaded impeachment proceedings, to try to hold together the nation of Pakistan.

Ali Zardari is a billionaire who is trying to live his wife's leagacy and believes in many things I feel would be positive chnages for the people of Pakistan. ...if it weren't for the Taliban, that is.

The influence of the Taliban has spread through the lesser goverened areas of Pakistan, twisting the arm of the Pakistani government to impose Islamic Law in the Malakand region of Pakistan to placate this group whose existence is predicated on Shariah Law. The Taliban, in turn, has granted a very short "cease fire" on, well, being genocidal fuckheads.

The mantra of the US, regardless of commander-in-chief, is that we don't give terrorists an inch. For Ali Zardari, they are kind of in his backyard so it's not that easy. This move not only means the Taliban are once again a big influence in an already volatile region. It means a whole new territory of women and young girls are exposed to this chickenshit ideology which prevents them from attending school (in fear of being sprayed with acid), showing any skin except the hands, or getting any protection or retribution for the countless acts of battery and sexual assault that go unpunished in this warped existence.

YT on DW

Bill's still got it

Check out his response when quesitoned about his complicty in the economic mess:

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

This is what desperation looks like:

I hope Aerosmith sues these puss-brained geeks. They should be forced to spend the rest of their days in close quarters, doped out on PCP, with no food or clothing, and nothing to do but listen to the foul stench of their own rhetoric.

When the Bullet Hits the Bone

Excuse me Amigo, but can you help me find Iraq on a map?

The U.S. military is offering citizenship to beef-up recruitment, and I think its a great idea. For starters, every new citizen we have reduces our individual national debt burden a bit, so that's a plus!

What I found scary from this piece is the following:



Recruiters expect that the temporary immigrants will have more education, foreign language skills and professional expertise than many Americans who enlist, helping the military to fill shortages in medical care, language interpretation and field intelligence analysis.



Lets be honest with ourselves--the Octomom is the future, as (gulp) Peggy Noonan eloquently points out in yesterdays WSJ.

Behold--Idocracy is a prophecy! This is just (give or take a few facts) exactly how the film saw it all playing out:



There is a plaque inside the Statue or Liberty that reads:

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,With conquering limbs astride from
land to land;Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand A mighty woman with
a torch, whose flame Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles.
From her beacon-hand Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command The
air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame."Keep, ancient lands, your storied
pomp!" cries she With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,Your huddled
masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.Send
these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden
door!"

And so it is. What of the above is still relevant today? Will there even be a tomorrow? Is The Government reading this?!?

I am not sure where this post is going, has gone, or is going to go next, but that's the point, I think, of what I am trying to say. If intelligent, capable folk still desire to resettle here, I am all for it, as we now need them more then they need us.

SNL on the GOP

Help a Sister Out:

I just got this in an email. It sounds serious:

Dearest,

I am writing this mail to you with tears and sorrow from my heart.My name is maditha Dominic Dim Deng, 24yrs old, female and I held from Sudan. My father Lt. Gen Dominic Dim Deng and my mother including other top Military officers and top government officials had been on board when the plane crashed on Friday May 02, 2008. You can read more about the crash through http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7380412.stm

After the burial of my father, my uncle sold my father's properties to one Chin ease Expatriate and live nothing for me. One faithful morning, I opened my father's briefcase and found out the documents which he have deposited huge amount of money in one bank in Burkina Faso with my name as the next of kin. I traveled to Burkina Faso to withdraw the money so that I can start a better life and take care of myself. On my arrival, the Branch manager of the Bank whom I met in person told me that my father's instruction to the bank was the money be release to me only when I am married or present a trustee who will help me and invest the money overseas.

I am in search of an honest and reliable person who will help me and stand as my trustee so that I will present him to the Bank for transfer of the money to his bank account overseas. I have chosen to contact you after my prayers and I believe that you will not betray my trust. But rather take me as your own sister. Though you may wonder why I am so soon revealing myself to you without knowing you, well, I will say that my mind convinced me that you may be the true person to help me. More so, I will like to disclose much to you if you can help me to relocate to your country because my uncle have threaten to assassinate me. The amount is $10.4 Million and I have confirmed from the bank in Burkina Faso. You will also help me to place the money in a more profitable business venture in your Country.

However, you will help by recommending a nice University in your country so that I can complete my studies. It is my intention to compensate you with 10% of the total money for your services and the balance shall be my capital in your establishment. As soon as I receive your interest in helping me, I will put things into action immediately. In the light of the above, I shall appreciate an urgent message indicating your ability and willingness to handle this transaction sincerely.

Please do keep this only to your self. I beg you not to disclose it till i come over because I am affraid of my weaked uncle who has threatened to kill me.

Sincerely yours,

maditha Dominic Dim Deng.

Goodell Gets It

Maybe this will rub off on other high paid leaders with fancy Manhattan offices. Goodell knows turbulent times are coming for the NFL with the Collective Bargaining Agreement about to expire and he sets a great example with this move. $11M is enough for anybody (Do you hear that Wall St.?!?!?!?)

Joaquin is full of shit

Hollywood is such a bore. So now Joaquin Phoenix is putting out this story that he's giving up acting to start a rap career. He's grown a full beard that makes him look like he should be in the band Stillwater from the movie Almost Famous. He's acting like he's a drugged up space cadet and trying register hits on the shock meter. TMZ and Perez Hilton may be creaming their jeans with this non-story, but I give it a thumbs down. It's tough to act like an outcast and a rebel, when you are prancing in front of a crowd of wannabes lost in the limelight of decadent L.A. bullshit. They say any publicity is good publicity in Hollywood, but this is a pretty transparent schtick. He's not even a poor man's Andy Kauffman. That beard will be gone as soon as he has exhausted this puerile cry for attention and he needs another acting gig to support his shallow lifestyle.





As if there is a shortage of unlistenable music in this world...

Bill sucks ass

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Bill O'Reilly's Right to Privacy

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things With Demetri Martin

Funny Political News
Joke of the Day

715

...just a thought.

Surgeon General's Warning

NORML has sent a petition with some 2300 signatures attacking Kellogg's cereal for dumping Michael Phelps as a paid sponsor. They are calling on people to boycott their products (including favorites like Corn Flakes, Cheez Its, Rice Krispies and Pop Tarts) for demonizing what millions of Americans including presidents and members of Congress have done at least once or twice.

NORML has been working to de-criminalize marijuana for years and may have found the president and the economic circumstances to finally get the necessary support to do it. It got me thinking what the Surgeon General's Warning would look like on a package of legal cannabis. Maybe something like this:

Smoking By Pregnant Women May Result in Fetal Injury, Premature Birth, And Low Birth Weight. Smoking Marijuana May Cause Drowsiness, Paranoia or Bad Taste in Music. Chronic Use of Marijuana Can Contribute To Excessive Procrastination, Decreased Levels of Motivation and a Low Sperm Count. Do Not Operate Heavy Machinery or Enter Credit Card Information Over the Internet For Any Reason While Under the Influence of Cannabis. If Driving While High, Stay in the Right Lane. Marijuana Has Been Known To Induce Feelings of Euphoria And Relaxation.

Am I crazy to think the US may actually legalize pot in the next 8 years? Maybe so, but there are so many benefits I can think of that would support doing it, why can't this be part of the CHANGE we've been promised too? And as for Phelps.. the dude won 8 Golds and he's likely not done. Is he less of a man because of this? No. Is he less of a role model? Not to hackey-sackers and ultimate frisbee players.

Sick of the bailout

FOX analysts are picking it apart like a Thanksgiving turkey.. if they were such fiscal conservatives, how come they were so supportive of W's spending spree? I forgot, it was the Dem led Congress that screwed the economy up.. Oy. At any rate.. for those wishing to take a break from the rigamarole, I recommend taking a look back into the not-so-distant past. A time when music was not pre-packaged, safe and vacant. Here's a glimpse of a great little documentary on a counterculture I knew well:

Obama Speaks!

Wow. I had nearly forgotten what a president is supposed to really sound like. After years of innuendos, fear tactics and guffaws, I was hypnotized by the straightforward answers the Prez gave in his first real address since taking office. No Hollywood glitz. No sugarcoating. And no broken record montage of bringing someone "to justice" or "fighting the war on terror." Just straight talk from a guy who inherited a double shitburger that this nation still has to digest somehow. A lot of tough questions on the economy, the Middle East and nuclear prliferation. The guy from the Post asked about A-Rod which was irrelevant. The guy from FOX asked a question that had no real basis (on some cryptic, random Biden quote, as if that's in short supply), but was intended to shed a negative light on the evening. Obama smiled through it and pretty much said, "I have no idea what this is about, but I'll try to give you a soundbite." Overall, it was a breath of fresh air to see a leader once again leading the country instead of, well.. you know.

Taliban self-image gets a boost

Those wacky extremists are at it again and this time they are telling Polish geologists everywhere to keep their grubby hands off of rocks that don't belong to them. Some four months ago, Piotr Stanczak was kidnapped in the North West Frontier Province, overrun with Taliban rabblerousers. Since the Poles keep sending troops to fight their brothers in Afghanistan and the Pakistani government simply won't release dozens of their captured comrades, the Taliban decided to send a message by beheading a guy who was hoping never to face the all-too-real dangers that prompted the creation of "hazard pay." The Taliban feels pretty fucking good about it too! What greater joy can one guy feel since they banned.. well everything fun? I sincerely hope they will lift restrictions on bicycle riding soon so they can move a hair closer to being a civilized society (that almost sounded plausible). Of course, http://www.rawa.org/ reminds us that womens' rights might be a few generations away.

A-Rod Eats It

Stimulus Package

Tax cuts for the rich. With a side of pork. Hold the funding for education. Oh yeah.. are you hiring?

NFC WINS PRO BOWL!!!

30-21

Alaskan Moose Hacked My Computer

After a frustrating week of troubleshooting, I think I may have finally gotten my computer back to normal. During my hiatus from posting, I saw about 1200 articles on the whole Ashley Judd/Sarah Palin war of words over the practice of shooting wolves from helicopters to prevent them from killing moose and caribou in Alaska.

As mentioned countless times on this (and other) websites, Sarah Palin is a dumb twat. While debating this point with a couple of Republicans I work with, the argument was made that Palin is being targeted merely because she's a Republican. To be clear, I have no moral opposition to hunting. I wish there was a program that encouraged hunters to donate unused portions of their kill to food banks, but there isn't. Native Americans didn't waste a bit of what they took from Mother Nature, finding a use for everything they killed from the nose to the hoof. Sadly, we are a lazy and wasteful bunch.

The thing that pisses me off about Palin isn't that she labels the group Judd has aligned herself with as an "extreme fringe group" that "distorts the facts." It's that she doesn't know the facts. Shocker, I know.

James Swan is an avid and well-educated outdoorsman who knows a thing or two about wildlife in Alaska. A couple years back, he wrote about the declining numbers of moose in Palin's home state. According to Swan, the declining numbers are not caused by hunting or natural predation, rather they are caused by a shrinking of natural habitat. He called for a plan to create a more suitable habitat for moose to thrive that incorporated the use of contolled burns to maximize the number of adult trees a moose can feed off of and the building of fences for protection along roads and railroad tracks.

Palin asks people to investigate the facts on this before passing judgement. Since she refuses to divulge the name any news source, magazine, book or resource she consults when assessing situations and how to best act, I have no clue if she has read this case study from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. In it, it DOES highlight that wolves are indeed responsible for the majority of moose that meet unnatural demises. It also breaks down how reproductive rates are intimately tied to the severity of the weather in a given period. Predatory control programs are not new, but this report makes a point that they would prefer to avoid their use if they can. Ultimately, we must await the results of this more recent effort by the ADF & G which has an emphasis on creating a better habitat for the Alaskan moose before we know where things truly stand.

This I do know.. Alaska is home to the largest remaining population of gray wolves. They have been largely eradicated from the lower 48. Moose are nowhere close to becoming extinct, despite a dip in numbers recently. The practice of killing wolves to save the moose is short-sighted and discriminatory. Of course, the whales don't get much help either and they only eat krill.

Superbowl Porn

Obama's Op-ed

As many of you are by now probably aware, President Obama wrote a pitch in the Washington Post for his economic stimulus plan. Like many, I have great reservations about the entire thing, and think the House Dems are quit possibly acting like its winter 1993, which of course brought us the fall election of 1994. If this fails, I want to say to Pelosi, much like The Dude once said to Walter:

Shit! Nancy , you fuck... you fucked it up! You fucked it up! Her life (our economy) was in our hands, man (woman) !

To which I would love for her to reply:

Nothing is fucked here, Dude. Come on, you're being very un-Dude.

The new jobless numbers are out and they are too depressing for me to type. Something has to be done and it needs to be done now or our economy might bleed to death. Of course you could argue that it needs to die, much like the system did in the Soviet Union, and on paper that makes sense. We probably need a 20 year period of hellishness to punish us for all our economic and glutenous sins of yore. But I don't want to live through that...do you?

I don't know the answer, and how could I? The best minds that know the most about this stuff seemingly don't either. But hey, no sympathy for the Devil, right?

Oh well, whatever, nevermind.

I'll see ye at the soup kitchen. Don't forget your spoon.

Bon appetit!

PS- Mr. President, we are looking for writers. If you want to communicate with the American people, see the link on the right. Drop us a line, sir...

Happy Superbowl....