Friday, September 29, 2006

quote of the millenium...

The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt.
--Bertrand Russell (accumbens)

[provided by Bill in Portland, ME, via DailyKos]

Thursday, September 28, 2006

george bush hates us for our freedoms...

Keep reading...

america to declare martial law...

From Amnesty Int'l via Art Levine at HuffPo:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/art-levine/democrats-cave-on-torture_b_30420.html

"Tell your elected officials no compromise on torture. Last Thursday, President Bush and several members of the Senate struck a deal on human rights. In the process, they dealt away America's commitment to fundamental human rights principles.

"Make no mistake about it, this deal is a betrayal of the America we believe in. No human rights activist can remain on the sidelines in the days ahead. Call on your Senator to oppose these dangerous provisions.

"We are literally days away from action in Congress on a proposal to:

"Abandon the rule of law and give the President the freedom to interpret the Geneva Conventions any way he sees fit.

"Provide immunity to those responsible for past human rights abuses.

"Exempt from prosecution those who authorize treatment traditionally considered torture.

"Strip detainees of access to US courts.

"The soul of our nation is in jeopardy. Everything we believe in is on the line. If America renounces the Geneva Conventions like President Bush wants to do, nations all over the world will follow. American soldiers will be placed in greater threat of torture and cruel treatment when captured, not just by one or two rogue nations, but by many nations that follow America's lead.

"Call 1-800-AMNESTY and our operators will connect you or call the Congressional switch board directly at 202-224-3121 (or look up your officials info). Let the person on the phone know that you are a constituent, and tell them that the deal President Bush has struck is a betrayal of the America you believe in. Ask your Senator and representative to stand firm in defense of human rights."

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

he ain't heavy, he's my brother...

and he sent this:


"Hey blog boy...this you?"

Well, le'see... trees, check... up, check... barking, okayyyy check...

I guess it is.

cheeriooooo...

Here's a new take on an old trick (courtesy of Ken Levine)...

Feel free to watch it again and again...

and again...

Monday, September 25, 2006

the addicted american...

An op-ed comic in this morning's Richmond Times Dispatch shows a man hugging a gas-pump while exclaiming "I can guzzle again!" -- noted mentally as I filled up before driving back to D.C. just after noon, and gas was indeed down to $2.05 for the regular. Transitory relief though it may be, I am nonetheless dismayed by the prospect of our having learned nothing from the last five years.

Sidebar: Pretty damned convenient the timing of the price-drop too, don't you think?

Meanwhile, Al Franken replayed in its entirity Barack Obama's energy speech given at The George Washington University last week. In it he pointedly uses the phrase "Americans addicted to oil."

And last night, Bravo replayed NBC's series pilot "Studio 60," the opening scene of which Judd Hirsch goes on, Howard Beale-like, about the vast television wasteland, likening the TV remote to a crack pipe. I saw this as my 85 year-old father was flipping around and away from my program of choice, the New England Patriots playing flat against the Broncos.

I appreciate there is longevity in my genes, but my father with a remote in hand is a monumental pain in the ass.

Good to escape, even on a Monday, but as I write this I can't help but remember my last visit with my physician, who, although informally, diagnosed me with having "I T addiction."

At least the television is off.

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

edward hopper...



Edward Hopper (1882-1967)
"Edward Hopper, the best-known American realist of the inter-war period, once said: 'The man's the work. Something doesn't come out of nothing.' This offers a clue to interpreting the work of an artist who was not only intensely private, but who made solitude and introspection important themes in his painting."
Thought I'd take a step back from the anger today and enjoy a favorite painter. Please note Elvis is not the soda-jerk here. The link has more of Hopper's work.

Monday, September 18, 2006

fine... ! bring back the draft...

This is what I know:

1) Jack Murtha says we either redeploy or reinstitute the draft, because Dubya's slowly decimating our Army;

2) Assuming, then, we bring back the draft because Dubya is -- Oh, how can I put this? -- a fucking idiot!! -- then here's what we do:

a) instead of a lottery, we *means-test* the draft from the top-down, starting with the Bush twins. Oh yes, girls go too! The next phase, of course, we send induction notices to the upper one percent pro-Iraq war families, induct their silver-spittle prick offspring wherever in the world they are - and NO EXCEPTIONS!! No waivers, no deferments! Ya' get me?!!

b) Follow them with the limousine lib upper 1%-ers, and work your way down through the upper middle class, registered Republicans first, of course. Bottom line: the draft is applied and prioritized by parental income;

c) And we just GOT t'send these little Jesus-camp fuckers, i.e., the Bush Youth, as the first wave into Iran:
"I want to see them as radically laying down their lives for the gospel as they are in Palestine, Pakistan and all those different places," Fisher said. "Because, excuse me, we have the truth."

"A lot of people die for God," one camper said, "and they're not afraid."
Sorta reminds me of something George Carlin once said was the good news about "the soft and fruity baby-boomers raising soft and fruity kids": The kid who swallows marbles doesn't grow up to have kids of his own!

Sunday, September 17, 2006

i very much regret you're having a psychotic episode...

The Nazi-symp Pope's not sorry he said Mohammed was "evil and inhuman," but he's very very sorry so many people are going bonkers over it:
“I am deeply sorry for the reactions in some countries to a few passages of my address,” the pope told pilgrims at the summer papal palace of Castel Gandolfo, “which were considered offensive. . .

"The true meaning of my address,” he [added], “in its totality was and is an invitation to frank and sincere dialogue, with great mutual respect."
Faithful readers of this site may be surprised I'm a hundred percent behind Herr Benedict XVI on this one. Not so much for the content of his put-down -- I don't know jack about Mo -- but that he doesn't apologize for it; just for the fanatics' reaction.

Nobody should ever have to apologize for speaking what they believe to be a truth, least of all when some dope decides to get offended by a perceived affront to his or her nebulous belief system, faith or religion. Better the dope apologize to you for being such a tight-ass in expecting you to believe as he does.

sunday football...

What a woman would never believe of her man, the one addicted to the NFL and his team thereabouts, is he'd like to be outside on his day off too. But when your team is playing the J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets on local TV, what're ya' gonna do on a beautiful day like today?

And when you're team isn't on local TV, you're where? Why, at the Shark Club (N.E. Pats-centric sports pub here in NoVA) of course.

Hey, well, at least I cleaned up this mess; washed the clothes, did the dishes, removed the rubbish and recycled the bottles & cans. Would've saved time with a steam shovel.

And I put in an hour walk before the late aft kick-off. So there y'go!

Ooo! Skins/Cowboys in 1/2-hour!!

Friday, September 15, 2006

and now for something completely different...


Mrs. Nuff Nuff honors mine (and per her request: image courtesy of Joe-KS).

precognitive idiot savants (ok, skip the "savants" part; and i'm not so sure an insider's knowledge constitutes precognition either), et al...

One ought get this confirmed with Nancy Reagan's astrologer:
In arguing for legislation that would define US interpretation of the Geneva Conventions in a way that many would argue would allow certain forms of torture, Bush said, "I wish I could tell the American people, 'Don't worry about it. They're not coming again.' But they are coming again."

"Time is running out," the President concluded.
No word as to whether what should have been the inevitable next question was asked: "Do you know if they'll hit before November 7th?"

And for my next trick question: "In the absence of any act of terrorism conveniently conforming with our Congressional elections and your agenda's time-table, Mr. President, is your administration planning any contingency to destroy another American city in order to prove your point?"

But then I'd never get past the loyalty oath.

yahoo! chess...

1304 wins...
748 losses...

any takers... ?

update: make that 1305...

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

educating america the hard way...

One good thing from all this: No one refers to them as "MOSLEMS" anymore...

conspiracy, like natural selection, is not a theory...

Brotherman the Elder turned me onto the 9/11 conspiracy video Loose Change when I was up in Massachusetts on Labor Day. It's about an hour-and-a-half long, is highly compelling, and carries with it the implication the Bush administration had more to do with the attacks on September 11th than the corporate media would be willing to have us believe... that is, until Paula Zahn's producers at CNN put together a profile of the film and its producers:
ZAHN: Well, the nation remembered the victims of 9/11 yesterday. This rally took place near the site of what was the World Trade Center. A group of conspiracy theorists gathered to demand an investigation of who was really behind the terror attacks. It's all because of an Internet film called "Loose Change" that is challenging the official version of 9/11. Deborah Feyerick set out to find out more about the people behind it.
Brotherman, Sisterwoman, Nephew (different one from my California vaycay), and I sat and watched the thing Labor Day night. Each of us, jaws dropped, were simply blown away, such that a half-hour into the video, the computer crashed, requiring us to reboot and watch the thing from the start all over again. And so we did.

Do check it out!

The producers make assertions of events even I didn't know about; e.g., Osama actually denied involvement with 9/11. Did anybody else know this? I was always under the impression he was proud of his handiwork; must be that video the Loose Change producers show was likely phonied. Another very important point, also of which I was unaware: the airplanes that crashed in Pennsylvania and into the Pentagon left behind no wreckage!! Usually -- okay, always!! -- airplanes that crash leave behind tons of metal debris. So I have to ask: Is it true about there being no wreckage? And where in Hell is the corporate media not asking these questions? Maybe Jon Benet Ramsey could tell us.

This documentary, which was created amazingly on a laptop and w/but $2,000 in, uhm, loose change, is comprehensive in its detail on the events and how they allegedly did or did not transpire. Every assertion is plausibly backed-up and is on-point.

And now I am made to wonder if ABC has plans to air it anytime soon before this November's elections.

Actually, I'm not.

Sidebar... Here's another conspiracy, not so much a theory as a gut hunch, of which I would be loathe to dismiss: The Bin Laden and Bush families, having such a well-documented and chummy relationship, have agreed not to disagree anymore; or more simply: Why haven't they attacked inside the United States since 9/11, and why haven't we gone and gotten Osama in that province in Pakistan as if we didn't know precisely where he cops a squat?

Quid pro quo? You think I'm nuts? Ask yourself this, then: Is Karl Rove or Dick Cheney, in any way, not capable of this kind of carnage? (Editor's note: Beware!)

One imagines the Dems, should they win back the House in November, must thoroughly investigate how the administration conducted itself in the run-up to 9/11 and also in their subsequent rush to war in all the wrong places -- as though it's never been done before... because, y'know? -- it hasn't.

Aww jeez, I forgot about my other conspiracy theory: the Dems won't win because the fix is in!

Monday, September 11, 2006

bummin' or something like it...

Naahm de Plume and I were supposed to take in the UMass/Villanova game this weekend, but betwixt family duties and a boss-on-wheels, welllll... But I am cheered to see his foray back into the commentariate.

Welcome back, old boot.

Sunday, September 10, 2006

is it basketball season yet, and is larry bird still playing... ??

Tom Brady, on the first play from scrimmage for the N.E.Pats of '06, is sacked, fumbles; Buffalo recovers, takes it into the end zone for a touchdown: BILLS!!

You can file that one under "Jeeeeeeezus Christ!!"

Don't know why this reminds me of the '86 Sox season, except that on the first pitch from Jack Morris of Detroit (and that was the very first game of that season for all of MLB), Dwight Evans parked it into the left field seats. Sox went on to win the '86 Series -- oop! except for Bill Buckner...

So maybe this inauspicious beginning can be, like, a "good" luck charm? Like when a seagull drops a plop on your shoulder?

UPDATE: Laurence Maroney: two carries, one for 27 yards, another for 22. Jeeeezus Christ!!

Saturday, September 09, 2006

please, oh please, can't someone impeach this fucker... ?

Kevin Drum makes a fine point to illustrate the Bushies aren't incompetent... but they are criminally depraved:
"However, this is the clearest evidence I've seen yet. The guy who was actually in charge of logistics has now directly confirmed that Rumsfeld not only didn't intend to rebuild Iraq in any serious way, but threatened to fire anyone who wasted time on the idea. Needless to say, he wouldn't have done this unless it reflected the wishes of the president.

"And this also means that all of Bush's talk about democracy was nothing but hot air. If you're serious about planting democracy after a war, you don't plan to simply topple a government and then leave.

"So: the lack of postwar planning wasn't merely the result of incompetence. It was deliberate policy. There was never any intention of rebuilding Iraq and there was never any intention of wasting time on democracy promotion. That was merely a post hoc explanation after we failed to find the promised WMD. Either that or [Brigadier General Mark] Scheid [chief of the Logistics War Plans Division after 9/11, and one of the people with primary responsibility for war planning] is lying."
And so, may I propose to all you SUV drivers, vehicles festooned with "Bush/Cheney '04" and "My SUV [Heart] Iraqi Oil" bumper stickers, and, of course, with "Support Our Troops" ribbons: please procede to the nearest precipice... and give 'er the gun.

Friday, September 08, 2006

you can't handle the truth... !!

Dateline: Somewhere in Florida, September 11, 2001...



"Well Goddamn! They tol' me it'd be different when I became Prez'nit. Those Sonsabitches!! Ah'd get t'call the shots, they said. And now lookah me: sittin' on my ass, sayin' squat about Karl & Dick's dopey plan to 'stir up serious shit' -- whatever the hell that means . . . Waehl as long as we can blame it on Saadam, that's all Ah care about . . . But why couldn't they tell me what the freakin' plan was? . . . Goddamn! Ah hate when they talk down t'me!! . . . Heyyyy, wait a minute! This book's a snooze. Must be one o'them Shakespeares."

Thursday, September 07, 2006

dig it... !

For all you rednecks who abhor Natalie Maines and have predicted her professional demise due to her quite proper and very public aversion to W=War Criminal, she was just spotted on NBC's NFL opening night tease singing a hard rock variation of ABC's Hank Williams Jr "R U Ready 4 Some Foooooobaaawllll.. ??!!"

Oh that liberal media, tsk... !

KIAFFL'06 - Wk1

I must be verrrry confident the Pats will handle the Bills, er, handily, this Sunday at Gillette. I pick 'em for my Survivor League, and I've activated Laurence Maroney and Ben Watson in place of Jamal Lewis and Hines Ward, the latter pair with injury concerns, as does Maroney, except he isn't even on the injury list. So, late switch on the bulletin board -- 7:07 p.m. that -- and my Wk1 active line-up in the Know It All Fantasy Football League 2006 is as follows:

Boston & Maine
Tom Brady, NE
Drew Brees, NO
Cadillac Williams, TB
Reggie Bush, NO ®
Laurence Maroney, NE ®
Terrel Owens, Dal
Ben Watson, NE
Joe Horn, NO
Adam Vinatieri, Indy
Ryan Longwell, Min
New England Patriots
Baltimore Ravens

Of course, I'll be back on with a scream or three if Hines Ward runs it up against a resurgent Dolphin D tonight while dealing with the Steeler's back-up QB. I still say Roethlesberger looks like a drag-queen.

mark twain reincarnated...

Garrison Keillor:
"I think we must bite the bullet and say no more health care for card-carrying Republicans. It just doesn't make sense to invest in longevity for people who don't believe in the future. Let them try faith-based medicine, let them pray for their arteries to be reamed and their hips to be restored, and leave science to the rest of us.

"Cutting out health care to one-third of the population - the folks with Bush-Cheney bumper stickers, who still believe the man is doing a heckuva job - will save enough money to pay off the national debt, not a bad legacy for Republicans. As Scrooge said, let them die and reduce the surplus population. In return, we can offer them a reduction in the estate tax. All in favor, blow your nose."

is it football season yet... ?

In case you missed it, my brothers, Anibal Sanchez, the Marlins rookie pitcher was one of the prospects the Red Sox gave to Florida in the Beckett/Lowell trade last winter. He, uhm, just pitched a no-hitter:
"This is the best moment of my life," an exuberant Sanchez said after turning in the 127th all-time National League no-hitter, and 233rd in Major League history. "I don't know what I think now, because you never think that is going to happen for you. But that happened, and I'm happy right now."

Sunday, September 03, 2006

they don't call it labor day for nothin'...

Brother made a right fine breakfast and he keeps a tidy house. Vermont is a strange land and yet so familiar to me, having spent the lion's share of my 80s in western Massachusetts just south of the border.

And speaking of Mass., we're off to younger Brother's later today, that is after we have a stroll downtown in this continued drizzle, and thank you for that Ernesto. Brotherman the Younger recently installed a pool and has expressed an interest in putting his elders to work in the yard. Right, I drive 365 miles to roto-till. So I'm fine with a steady rain that would preclude extended yard work.

But another cup of coffee, in town then, if you please, and before we trundle off to the Bay State.

Saturday, September 02, 2006

on the road again...

DC beltway to 95 north...
past Baltimore and up to the Delaware Bridge...
Jersey Turnpike to the Garden State Parkway...
into New York to 287 east...
to 684 north...
to 84 northeast...
into Connecticut...
to Hartford and 91 north...
along the Connecticut River into Massachusetts...
past UMass...

Vermont or Bust!

estimated time: 9 hours...

start yer clocks... nnnnnnnnow!!

Friday, September 01, 2006

and the weather sucks too...

Hurricane Whozit's purportedly hitting up the coast and the rain is coming down but good today. A little annoyed am I that I left my car windows open a crack, which is all the elements needed to make for an uncomfortable ride into work this morning - grrr... !

And now the HAMster, good man he, irrespective of his politics and a passing resemblance to Newt Gingrich, sent me an update that Laurence Maroney may have a boo boo on his knee, which'll freak-up his chances of playing week-1. The HAMster also told me about Adam Vinny's ankle being fechacked (or however you spell it).

Not a great way to start a Fantasy season.

Sigh! At least we've got another week to mend.

the wknd...

Tooling to Vermont early in the morning. Gotta rather enjoy an extended weekend fresh off a vacation in California; the comparison of having New Year's so soon after Christmas. Heck, let's just have a four-day weekend every other -- at least once a month!

Seeing the Brother in VT, and then we both drive to the Brother in MA; seeing there as well the Mom and the Sister in PA, although Sister in VA won't be joining. Brother in MA just installed a pool, so it's gonna be a party.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

Fantasy Football Draft the other night... my team:

QBs
Tom Brady, NE
Drew Brees, NO
Mark Brunell, Wash

RBs
Cadillac Williams, TB
Reggie Bush, NO ®
Jamal Lewis, Bal
Laurence Maroney, NE ®

Recs
Terrel Owens, Dal
Hines Ward, Pit
Joe Horn, NO
Jeremy Shockey, NYG
Deion Branch, NE
Ben Watson, NE

Ks
Adam Vinatieri, Indy
Ryan Longwell, Min

Defenses
New England Patriots
Baltimore Ravens
Denver Broncos

Looks pretty good, except it's only an 8-team league and some of the other teams look good too. I drafted best player available, or so from my perspective, to stock my starting lineup, then loaded up on Pats players for my bench; gotta wanna root for my team as I root for my fantasy team, eh?

My number one pick was Cadillac Williams at #6. Could have had any number of the 2nd-tier runners not named Alexander, Tomlinson or Johnson. Cadillac, before he got hurt mid-way last season, was well on his way to a monster rookie year, so I liked him of that lot. Reggie Bush was my #2, and Tom Brady (who, mark my words, will be President of the U.S. one day, albeit a likely Repo) at #3.

When it came time to take a receiver, the best available made me cringe: T.O. Guess I can't root for him to cleat his johnson this season -- unless he can still catch & run that way, then by all means.