greetings from the bay state...

Mission Control, this is Tranquility Base. The Eagle has landed.

a break from packing not fudge...

Francis Coppola makes a fine wine, if you didn't know by now, and Chet Baker is the best after-hour soothe.

This place is a mess, but I've done this kinda thing before; too many times, I fear. I'll have to have the space cleared before I can finish throwing books, CDs, etc., into more boxes.

So I play a little Yahoo chess and browse clever shit like this:

The real reason Bush must be impeached, though, is that if he is not impeached, this usurper will simply ignore any bills passed by Congress, will act despite any resolutions passed by Congress, and will break any law that he thinks gets in his way. Furthermore, future presidents, Democrat and Republican, will use Bush as a precedent to ignore Congress and break laws themselves.

What, you think I'd, like, just STOP!!?

okay, i lied...

This is my last post before heading north.

David Broder, a.k.a., "The Dean" of Washington pundits, is old and should retire. Unfortunately necrotized brain-pathways with the expected accompanyment of synaptical misfirings apparently don't inhibit pundit *cough* "elites" in this town from dispensing the usual drivel:

Now, however, you can see the independence party forming -- on both sides of the aisle. They are mobilizing to resist not only Bush but also the extremist elements in American society -- the vituperative, foul-mouthed bloggers on the left. . . . A "decent respect" begins at home, with an acknowledgment of public opinion.

Okay, at first glance one might ask, "what's wrong with that?" Please know Broder fancies the leader of such a group to be the loathesome Lieberlips. And don't we all know he's about as resistent to Dubya as any 14th Street tranny crack-whore would be. Motion to add a "k" on the end of "The Dean"?

Meanwhile, I could really take offense to being called "foul-mouthed" but then I thought, "Fuck it! And fuck David Broder!"

I mean is it foul-mouthed to say Broder continues to show his ass in public, and shouldn't it be deemed more foul his doing it than my saying it?

Good to be putting down some miles from that crowd at least.

oh brothers... !

This will be my last post before I depart the Occupied Capital of America; rolling up the coast and going home, looking forward to catching some games at Fenway with the boys of summer.

For 15-plus years I made a go and made many stops. I will miss my friends here, more friends than I realized I had. I will miss the electrical charge of briefly working Capitol Hill and coming into contact with genuine power, or driving up the parkway to Camden Yards and to Fells Point after. There were laughs to be had with the alumni softball team including the post-game galavants to the Bottom Line or Dupont Circle or Adams Morgan. I will never ever forget my very good production and the always inspired people with whom I worked at Channel 10 where it seems I spent half my life. And even the lovely former Mrs...

Adieu, S. Je t'aime. We had some laughs, eh?...

Letting it and them all go, not easy. For once you get outside and away from the pontifications and assorted blatherings between establishments along Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington D.C. is indeed an elegant and charming city, and I have had some excellent times.

Meanwhile, the brothers have been encouraging and helpful. Here's a sampling...

From Brother Elder:

Your evacuation from your DC digs made me think of the helicopter falling off the roof of the American Embassy in Saigon in ’75 (remember that footage?). Yeah, it’s huge change after 16 years for you. But, you know, that kind of change brings huge energy to a person. And you gonna need sum energy, dood.

From which Brother Younger has his riff and with illustrations:

Operation Frequent Wind

Washington D.C., “The Occupied Capital,” fell to Right Wing radicals two years after g. returned to New England …


See also: Operation Frequent Wind

Before daybreak on January 27, the [truck rental] dealership was hit by rockets and heavy artillery. Continuing rocket fire and debris on the runways caused Homer D. Smith, the U.S. Transportation Secretary, to advise the Bush Administration of the editor of the blog “Barking Up Trees” after 16 years of combat was now unfit for politics and that the emergency evacuation of the Washington area would need to be completed by rented truck towing old red car. Reports came in from the outskirts of the city that the Republican were moving. At 10:48 a.m., Martin relayed to Condi his desire to activate the "Operation FREQUENT WIND" evacuation plan; Rice gave the order three minutes later. The American radio station began regular play of "White Christmas," the signal for liberal personnel to move immediately to the evacuation points.

Under this plan, CH-53 and CH-46 helicopters were used to evacuate blue state voters and friendly Republicans to ships, including the Seventh Fleet, in the Chesapeake Bay . The main evacuation point was the DAO compound at Tyson’s Corner; buses moved through the city picking up passengers to help load the truck and get all g.’s personal belongings out of the city quickly, with the first buses arriving at Tyson’s II shortly after noon. The first CH-53 landed at the DAO compound in the afternoon and by the evening, 395 liberals and more than 4000 Blue state christians had been evacuated. By 11:00 p.m. the U.S. Marines who were providing security were withdrawing and arranging the demolition of the DAO office, Liberal equipment, files, and cash.

The rest, they say…is history.

Yep, them's me brothers.

h/t to Wikipedia

peyton gets his...

Pats fans sigh heavily and go on with their lives; a luxury that.

the ex- always said i was intellectually lazy...

... especially so when Wolcott flings this kind of doodoo around:

Siegel's I couldn't finish because when Siegel gets into his magniloquent mode, he gives every sentence the reverberating weight of Critical Judgment rendering an irreversible verdict and fluffs his wigged curls as if auditioning for Moliere.

Frasier Crane I'm not -- okay? -- contrary to popular schenectady.

Actually I was fine up until he said "Moliere." I'd Google or Wikipedia the feller but I'm feeeling laaaazy.

headline of the day...

Hillary Runs For the White House as "New Thatcher'...

Which begs the question: Wasn't Maggie Thatcher, a.k.a. "Attila the Hen," a hellish shrew who enjoyed stepping on the little people?

Oh wait... !

my interview with dubya...

BARK: Thank you, Mr. President, for taking the time to see us.
POTUS: Sure, sure...
BARK: Do you want the straight fastball or the curve?
POTUS: Oh yeah? Tell ya' what -- mix 'em up. I'm ready for ya'.
BARK: Okay -- Mr. President: Assuming one can reasonably interpret last November's elections as a "No Confidence" vote for your administration; and coupling that with your declaration, for escalating troop levels in Iraq, of failure being "not an option," this is my question: If there is no confidence in your handling of the war in Iraq, and a consensus builds to where any sort of -- quote/unquote -- "victory" would require you and Mr. Cheney to resign from office, would you do so?
POTUS: What??! What the hell kinda question is that?
BARK: Uhm, that'd be the straight fastball, sir; if a little high and hard.
POTUS: Well, it's outta the strike zone and I reject it.
BARK: Then you think you can still succeed in your war policy in Iraq?
POTUS: Damn straight!
BARK: Which goes to the issue of "No Confidence." Can you provide one example where your administration has succeeded at anything in the past?
POTUS: Whaaa... ? Le'me guess: the curveball?
BARK: Right.
POTUS: You're startin' to piss me off.
BARK: Just pitching you questions, sir.
POTUS [sighing heavily]: One example... ?
BARK: Yessir.
POTUS: Uhmmm...
BARK: I mean besides successfully suppressing the vote-counts in Ohio and Florida in '04...
POTUS: That's it, we're done here.
[handlers wrestle with cameraman] Bet you think you're a smart guy, huh?
BARK: Whatever. I just wanted to wipe that smirk off your face.
POTUS: You wanna pray your taxes are in order. [to security] Get 'em outta here. And get that tape.

just suppose we juxtapose, revisited...

I'm (and Chris Kelly's) just sayin'...

But it is kinda weird, isn't it? That the same week this twisted tub o' lard in Missouri gets caught abducting a new kid for his menagerie, Bush says he needs more teenage corpses to stuff in the national crawlspace?

The President and the Pizza Dispatcher. One is a psychopathic moron whose motives are known only to himself, and the other is Michael Devlin.

What, you were expecting another comparison to Hitler?

what'd i tell ya' 'bout schottenheimer... ?

1) Goes for a 4th & 11 when he could've tried a 48-yd FG;

2) Throws the red flag to challenge an obvious call, costing him a timeout, which Kaeding could've used for another 10-yd pass, say, instead of going for a 54-ydr...

And the G.M. agrees with me: Marty looks to be toast soon.

my kind of dem...

Said it before and I'll say it again: I was a Republican in Maine during the 70s, a Democrat in Massachusetts during the 80s, and an Independant in Virginia since 1991.

I could go back to being a Dem, provided they cultivate this kinda attitude:

According to Novak, "Kagen told a group of activists that after he found himself in the restroom with Rove, he blocked the White House deputy chief of staff's departure by holding the door closed."

"You're in the White House and you think you're safe," Kagen allegedly said. "My name's Dr. Multimillionaire and I kicked your ass."

My only regret is not being there with a baseball bat for back-up.

Wait! Was this the same day when Jim Webb almost punched out Dubya?

Oh, man! I coulda sold tickets.

surfin' usa...

Just clicked past Glenn Beck bouncing with Tony Snow. They weren't in the 69 position but, although the sound was down, it couldn't've been anything but a mutual sucking.

vinatieri 15 - ravens 6...

Welhp... ! So much for me & the Bakerman scrounging for tickets in the parking lot outside the former PSI-Net Stadium. Don't even ask me what it's called today, I no longer care. The game will be either in Indy or San Diego and not Bal'mer.

Gotta believe Colts fans will root for the Patriots tomorrow if only to have the AFC Champ game play anywhere but Foxboro and stink of something called hoosiers. Fine with me, especially so that Peyton Manning is maybe the only quarterback in the game who Bill Belichick hasn't fucked up -- aside from the future President Brady, that is.

Adam Vinny? Like, oh my gahd! His karma ran over my dogma.

lady --spared-- has her baby...

Her name is Micaela.

Congratulations & Best Wishes to the family!

the not so silent majority...

Digby's on his feed:

It's clear to me that there is something pathologically wrong with the right wing in America in their inability let go of the 60's. (And I'm talking to you Joe Klein.) It isn't us --- it isn't the liberals. We are not obsessed with the past or trying to relive our glory days. The liberal baby boomers are looking to the future, just as we always did, while these boomer wingnuts are mired in the their pathetic, loser youths and punishing the rest of the country because they were anachronisms in their own time.

On the flipside, I'm convinced today's opposition to the Bush/McCain/Lieberman war will be far more sustained than was the counter-culture movement of the 60s, and the burgeoning progressive movement will project years, if not decades, further into the future, precisely because we are not the counter-culture but the culture itself. We are the doctors and the lawyers, the financial analysts and the journalists, unlike, say, the resistance of the 60s, which was comprised primarily of students, dropouts, and a disparate group of artists that evolved from the beat movement of the 50s, and added a more visual projection; all of whom were deemed hippies, peaceniks, and anti-war activists -- essentially, the counterculture. Admittedly, many of them would later become doctors, lawyers, financiers and journalists, but many of them became Republicans too.

Don't look now (Okay, go ahead and look!), but have you seen the surge-defectors(TM) in the Repo party the last couple of days?

But back to the 60s: It had to be the visual aspect of the movement that shocked the so-called silent majority most. Gone were the neat little buzz-cut dweebs with the white socks, gone was the peace & prosperity, or the perception thereof -- the metaphoric car in every garage; hello to the long & mangy haired, dope-smoking, peace-flipping, in-your-face kids. This happened in less than a decade and the spectacle was a shock to the collective's conciousness. And while fear and loathing is an instinctive initial reaction to discernible change, imagine the viscera at a considerably accelerated pace. Factor in the Kennedy & King assassinations with the Civil Rights upheaval... well, bets were coming off the table.

Of course, the silent majority eventually would be brought around to the Hippie's way of thinking, at least as it pertained to the war, but it would take more than a decade, or even two.

Some Americans would be surprised but there have been demonstrations in the U.S. protesting the occupation of Iraq, some have even risen to the level of the Vietnam era. The difference in perception is due to corporate media being more saavy in promoting their own interests, i.e., whatever the president says goes, while suppressing the appearance of dispute, and particularly so any unrest among the masses. Mass Communication can be summarized by the Greek Logos, Ethos and Pathos, loosely meaning the messenger, the message, and the audience's receipt of the message. Without one -- never mind two -- communication does not occur, and it didn't as the media effectively interrupted, intercepted and interdicted the message for several years following 9/11.

And so the American people were the last to climb aboard the anti-war movement, because they were the ones kept mostly in the dark. The corporate media consistently would not broadcast major protests or any kind of event that could adversely affect their bottom line; if people are out on the streets protesting, you see, they're not stimulating the economy by shopping or being good little worker bees. An exception helping to prove the rule came conveniently at the 2004 Republican convention in New York City, a singular opportunity for some very determined Americans, a half-a-million strong at least, who felt unprecedentedly oppressed by a government run-amuck, and aided by an overzealous while under-vigilant corporate media, to march and bellow in front of Madison Square Garden and show the rest of the world we weren't all assholes.

It is the Internet that makes all the difference. People communicate instantly and more directly, and, most importantly, peacefully, with others at a much greater speed and capacity, and, unfiltered at that, than they ever could before. It is where the individual can be seen, heard and read by many, and many more by the individual. It is the Internet that facilitated awareness by the people, where no other venue was available to them, so that they could make an informed change in Congressional control. Arguably the Internet is more precise, if a trifle slower than is rioting, in getting one's point across. People are more receptive when absorbing information at their own pace. Conversely, were the American people left to the tender mercies of today's corporate media, they would likely be less aware of this president's congenital mendacity, and probably would not have hired the first female Speaker of the House to act as a thorn in his side.

Absent the Internet then (or a gun), the only means of expressing outrage and to effect positive change is to demonstrate and/or to conduct civil disobedience of authority. Demonstrators, history teaches us, can be brought easily to anger, however, and the consequences of which may lead to disturbances, greater civil unrest, and bloody riots. One might want to consider this a good reason to keep access to the Internet neutral and available to all the people, as a safety valve. Meanwhile, AT&T, Verizon, or any other soulless corporate entity, or government bureaucrat for that matter, must never be allowed to act as its gatekeeper.

And while we're on that subject, control over the "public's" television, cable, and radio airwaves ought be revisited.

Power to the People!

yahoo chess update...

1550 Wins
858 Losses
97 Draws
1 game losing streak...

Wish I posted this four games ago when I was on a 10-game win streak, which was snapped before another two-game push and then Zap!

My goal is to get to a .667 win percentage, i.e., two wins for every loss. It wins pennants in baseball, or it did before there were divisional series. Heck! It'd've run away with the pennant.

Anyhoo...

does it really matter... ?

Roughly 13 seconds into Dubya's speech tonight... er, last night... I had to surf post haste to a cable station -- any cable station not covering the same Dubyan drivel/different day. It's like it was for that old lady in Flushing who went into epileptic seizures whenever Mary Hart came on the tube, when I see Dubya and hear that fingernail-to-chalkboard gargle of his, I commence to fibrulating and sputtering words -- words that somehow always begin with the letter "F."

Fffool... ! Fffiend... ! Ffffraud... !

Ffffflatulence... !!

Ffffff...

Well, you get the picture.

So I landed on A&E and caught the basic cable premiere of The Sopranos instead, Season One, its first two episodes. And it only occurred at the moment: I had never seen the pilot. So, like, bonus!

I mean, what's another twenty or so thousand of our brave but apparently inexpensive youth as they are made to render unto Ceasar what is decidedly not Ceasar's? It could be another 200 thousand and the end result would still be the same: America's abject humiliation. And for what? To enable this desperate excuse of a president his running out the clock on his administration and its responsibility?

The only surge that'll get you is in Dubya's pants.

Update - Looks like 4.3 other million Americans had the same idea:

The network said Thursday that the viewership tally makes the 9 p.m. debut of "Sopranos" the most-watched off-network series premiere ever on cable.

Question now is: How much of it was Dubya and how much of it was Gandolfini?

so mail it in already...

San Diego has the early 5-1/2-pt spread against the Patriots for next Sunday evening:

Chief among their concerns will be stopping running back LaDainian Tomlinson, who is coming off the greatest individual season in NFL history after scoring a record 31 touchdowns and throwing two more for good measure.

Team the greatest L.T. since Lawrence Taylor with one of the hotter up & coming quarterbacks named Philip Rivers, along with arguably the best tight-end since Kellen Winslow Sr., i.e., Antonio Gates, and you can see the mismatch on paper. Gates, meanwhile, pays the usual lip-service "respect" for New England, although it comes easily enough; but, he adds, the Chargers fear no one.

If a vaunted "Big O" wasn't enough, the Chargers have equivalent talent on the defensive side, led by the steriod-enhanced All-Pro linebacker Shawne Merriman, who's feared today more so, maybe, than is the aging Ray Lewis.

So why should the Pats even bother?

Mmm, well, maybe because they've been 'round this block before?

You remember, right? Super Bowl XXXVI? The Greatest Show On Turf? I mean, Marshall Faulk may be no L.T., but he'll do -- or did. Kurt Warner just came off an MVP season, or Faulk did, or they both did. No tight-ends to speak of, but those wideouts: Torry Holt, Isaac Bruce, and an underrated Ricky Proehl? Not too shabby.

The question then is, what kind of mind-fuck -- Bill Belichick's raison d'etre -- does the Pats coach intend for Rivers? Oh, the youngster's talented enough; but he's relatively inexperienced, appearing in his first playoff game. Consequently, one can count on Billy B. to present him, as he did Warner back when (and myriad QBs in between), with multiple looks to multiple schemes, the likes of which no signal-caller has seen since the chaotic improv of the sandlot. For bonus amusement, history has shown QBs, who've found themselves bewildered inside Belichick's hall of mirrors, usually play in a semi-stupor for weeks/months/years (Bledsoe, Warner, et al.) after -- that is unless the experience occurred during a playoff game, after which said QB would have the off-season to ponder it and/or his furry navel.

And then there's the opposing head coach; back in '02, it was the insufferable Mike Martz, who fancied himself a genius... until he ran into the genuine article.

Marty Schottenheimer? Puh-leaze! The poor-man's Donald Rumsfeld; barely an adequate plant manager. If anybody "blows it" for the Chargers -- He. Will be the guy.

Chargers D, says you?

Tom Brady, says I.

I rule!

Pats to take it 34-21.

Ravens over Indy.

Yo, Naahm: Tickets in Bal'mer a week from Sunday, dude!!?

Make it happen!

one man's sunday afternoon...

Michael Felger correctly diagnoses the cause of that which was my angst:

It wasn’t so much that the Patriots lost to the Jets the last time they faced them. It’s how they lost.

We’ve seen the Pats get beat before. We’ve seen them unable to overcome bad matchups (vs. Denver) and great individual performances (vs. Miami’s Jason Taylor). We’ve seen it come down to pure talent (vs. Indianapolis’ Peyton Manning). That happens.

But what transpired Nov. 12 at Gillette Stadium -- a 17-14 Jets victory -- was pretty much unprecedented in the Bill Belichick-Tom Brady era. The Patriots got caught napping. They were beaten by a less-talented team because they were out-worked, out-thought and out-coached.

I caught up with Felger's analysis after coming home from the Bakerman's (he who busted out a batch of his famed chili on spaghetti), after having enjoyed the Pats touching all their bases -- to mix a sports metaphor -- and put down the upstart Jetisons of New York. We were joined post-kickoff by the Harvster and Jay of Cape Cahd. Super Family Guy, however, normally the hailest of hearty fellows well met, didn't bother acknowledging his invites (& not just from me, u clever people), likely believing we'd assume he'd not make the scene. He would be right, of course -- but, dude, not even a courtesy call?

Anyhow, the Pats did what the Pats do, another blessing for Patriot Nation; and, yes, I'm counting. Am now looking forward to the challenge represented by a formidable Chargers team, in San Diego, and what it will pose for the most battle-tested playoff team of this young century, which boasts the best road record of the season, and which yet remains the underdog. Is L.T. really that good?

Local Locale TBD (Harvster's?). Yo, Monsier de Plume, wanna travel?

fantasy congress update...

I just started a league called "New England Expatriates" with team name "The Common Wheels," as I am sooo clever.

Am now recruiting others to join.<<-- click here!

Register and search for New England Expatriates. Drafting for 110th Reps hasn't begun yet, so now is the time.

strangled in the crib...

Scratch Rudy:

The loss of the battle plan is a remarkable breach in the high-stakes game of presidential politics and a potentially disastrous blunder for Giuliani in the early stages of his campaign.

The document was obtained by the Daily News from a source sympathetic to one of Giuliani's rivals for the White House. The source said it was left behind in one of the cities Giuliani visited as he campaigned for dozens of Republican candidates in the weeks leading up to the November 2006 elections.

Campaign slogan for anybody running against Giuliani:

"Lookin' for security? Look somewhere else!"

Next!

bcs: the last abomination in sport...

Oh, is it that time of year again? When we all piss & moan about the Rich White Boys Club? The club that prevents the paying customer a major college football playoff system, keeping in place a [toilet] bowl system where they control the flow of cha-ching, and thus render all but one January game as exhibitions?

Bastards!

You know it, I know it, the Taiwanese people know it: Michigan or USC both could spank Florida, and thus Florida has no business matching up with Ohio State for the big enchilada.

Now, Michigan and USC: that'll be entertaining enough, sure! But there's nothing to be gained from it, and nobody watches the consolation game during the Final Four in March -- because nobody gives a damn who wins 3rd place.

And do the semi-consoled players go full throttle in the secondary bowls? Maybe. C'mon, they're college kids; they don't know any better.

But you do remember Willis McGahee, don't you? One of the lucky ones he. And, granted, his knee went kablooey in the title game against OSU a couple years ago, but it cost him a full season in the NFL, and, likely, a more lucrative contract. Inevitably -- and maybe it's already happened 3 or 30 times -- there'll be some poor sap playing for Sasquatch U in the Tostitos Bite Me Bowl for no marbles, lose a limb in a pile-up over a loose ball -- maybe his -- and never make it to the Show. And he coulda been a contendah!

Rich White Boys. I say stick those pricks in uniform and send 'em to the sandbox.

Disclaimer: I say that as a white boy, although luckily I'm broke!

oh good christ... !!

Headline on Editor & Publisher:

AP Poll Finds Worries About 2007, 1 in 4 Expect Second Coming of Jesus

... which explains all but the last 5% of Dubya's approval ratings.