winter never fails in maine...

A substantive morning snowfall gives way to a sunny cold.

headline of the day...

Texas Death Row Inmate, Pulls Out Eye, Eats It

And that's just the appetizer.

minor irritations...

"Why are the media... " is correct, whereas "Why is the media... " is not. That should end. I realize media was originally intended to be the plural of medium, but inasmuch as media conjures the image of a singular, and oft times monstrous, entity, the phrase "Why are the media... " just sounds off. And if, for example, the possessive apostrophe can be only recently modified to include "s's" (s-apostrophe-s) -- I mean it didn't used to, right? -- and not be left at "s'" (s-apostrophe), then why not accept "Why is the media... " as also correct?

Having said that, I would now argue the inverse. The word temper is wayyy misused. To say "He has a temper," to indicate he gets angry, is 180 degrees from correct. "He needs to temper his anger," i.e., he needs to control his anger, ought be how the word is to be used. Get it right, people!

One more: To say, "I'm nauseous!" means I make others sick (yah, yah, Naahm, beat u 2 it!). The correct phrase to use when one is made gastronomically ill, either literally or metaphorically, is "I'm nauseated!"

And now that I've gotten that off my chest, I'm feeling muuuch betterrr nowww!

oh boy oh boy oh boy...

Conyers says to "stay tuned" on the possibility of a war crimes tribunal.

----------
Update: Moving right along here... The bill is marked as H.R. 104

nancy pelosi grows a pair...

On the heels of Harry Reid saying "I don't work for Barack Obama," the Speaker now speaketh:

"Put me down as clearly as you possibly can as one who wants to have those tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans repealed," she said.

Like, Rah! Madame Speaker wants to let Dems be Dems again? Where were you when it counted, [lady]!?

Amazing! -- the Dem leaders are sounding so bright-eyed and anti-Bushie-tailed these days -- *cough* -- now that the Reptiles are leaving town.

Yah! Could be a coincidence...

On the other hand, could this be the unseen hand of Obama actually playing the Repos. Is it possible? The president-elect in the role of bi-partisan good cop while Nancy the bad cop says nobody goes home on vacation (after, what, a month's work?? -- where do I sign up?) until the stimulus bill is passed. What's next? -- Repo Senators actually being made to stand up and filibuster until they drop like flies on the Senate floor? I'd buy that for a dollar!

Why, that just might put a bummer on those smug little McConnellites who thought Obama was selling out his own as an opening stimulus gambit.

Uhm, do I seem a little too cheerful to you? Could be wishful thinking.

yer friendly neighborhood potus-man...

One imagines this one (about That One) is already a collector's item.

calling russ feingold...

Harry Reid's gotta go!

it's official...

Bush really was the Decider -- not Cheney:

"There was never any question about who was in charge. It was George Bush. And that's the way we operated.

"This whole notion that somehow I exceeded my authority here, was usurping his authority, is simply not true. It's an urban legend, never happened."

And you can take that to the CitiBank... or to the nearest quantum singularity, for whatever it's worth.

Good t'know, y'know?

oh, you betcha... !

It's easy to hate a press that pegs you spot-on as a corrupt oaf, eh?

(Or was that loaf... ?)

----------
Update: Oh! It's all about class...

"I've been interested also to see how Caroline Kennedy will be handled," Palin stated, "and if she'll be handled with kid gloves or if she'll be under such a microscope also. ... We will perhaps be able to prove that there is a class issue here also that was such a factor in the scrutiny of my candidacy."

... meaning Caroline has class, and Sarah... doesn't?

joe the bummer becomes war correspondent...

Why won't he die?

Oh wait! He's going to the middle east.

----------
Update: You can tell my Mom's getting a little crispy when she refers to Joe the Plumber as "Tony the Pilot."

Hand over the spliff, Ma!

----------
Update II: Looks like the Bummer's already thought about the venue:

Being a Christian I'm pretty well protected by God I believe.

Has he left yet?

but i'll settle for $1.5M...

Divorcing hubby to cheating spouse: Gi'me my kidney back!

I say call his bluff.

jeb bush opts out...

Interesting! The smarter of two Bushes (which says very little) decides not to run for the Senate in '10 after all. Clearly ol' Jeb's keeping his powder dry for a '12 run at the Big Enchilada, or, depending on how well Obama's doing in the polls, '16. If Jeb ran for and easily won the Senate seat in '10, he'd be obliged to fulfill at least one term, a la Hillary/New York, etc. That being the case, '16 would then be his earliest option for the oval office.

Meanwhile, the mountain of excrement left behind by his brother, which a President Obama will be tasked with having to shovel thru, is highly likely to attrit the Democrat's current popularity, and which Jeb must be counting on from an impatient American public. For any chance the GOP can recapture the White House then, a desire to revert back to the same ol' same ol' is what Jeb needs.

And given the minority's evident plan to slam the brakes on all things Obama, that's not a bad bet.

freak city...

No (uninadvisable) comment comes to mind.

h/t to Boing Boing...

up the police... !

The anarchist in me loves this:

Originating from Wootton High School, the parent said, students duplicate the license plates by printing plate numbers on glossy photo paper, using fonts from certain websites that "mimic" those on Maryland license plates. They tape the duplicate plate over the existing plate on the back of their car and purposefully speed through a speed camera, the parent said. The victim then receives a citation in the mail days later.

Meanwhile on the more legal front, a precedent (and I'd find the link if I had the time):  a defendant challenged in court the photo taken of his car in the act of failing to stop at a red light. Defendant demanded the right to challenge the photo device itself by interrogating the representative of the manufacturer. Rep did not show. Case was dismissed.

yah, what he said...

Olberman to Cheney:

"Listen, you fatuous, condescending lunatic," Olbermann erupted. "Your task was not to deal with the aftermath of 9/11 -- it was to prevent 9/11."

"And if you utterly whiffed," concluded Olbermann, "on the most important test of all the presidencies in your lifetime, Mr. Cheney, you do not get credit for getting a C on the pop quizzes that followed."

... because it bears repeating and cannot be said often enough.

in a word: yoicks... !!

Okay, what in the hell is this?

sad & disturbing...

This story overwhelms, particularly when considering what the man has lost.

happy new year, world... !

My resolution: more books... must eat more books.

the beast wakes from her snooze...

in space no one can hear you scream...

This explains a lot (well, not really):

"He became vice president well before George Bush picked him," Wilkerson said of Cheney. "And he began to manipulate things from that point on, knowing that he was going to be able to convince this guy to pick him, knowing that he was then going to be able to wade into the vacuums that existed around George Bush — personality vacuum, character vacuum, details vacuum, experience vacuum."

Woof! And the space between his ears? Is that a vacuum too or does the wind whistle thru?

love me some kinison...

Christmas night, the Bro was kind enough to drive me back from Portland as I was feeling poorly. When we got to my place, we figured some stand-up on Comedy Central would be the ticket. But Jeff Dunham, who is decidedly not funny, was all there was.

Sooo before I finally crash 2nite, I thought I'd post this for Bro, wishing him & his lady a Happy New Year, 'cause I jest know it'll make him laugh.

世界的末端...

This supersedes the previous post.

The beauty of it all is that it's apolitical -- unless, of course, it was God who threw the rock.

the 2nd american civil war: circa 2010...

And this time to the foreign nationals go the spoils:

He based the forecast on classified data supplied to him by FAPSI analysts, he says. He predicts that economic, financial and demographic trends will provoke a political and social crisis in the U.S. When the going gets tough, he says, wealthier states will withhold funds from the federal government and effectively secede from the union. Social unrest up to and including a civil war will follow. The U.S. will then split along ethnic lines, and foreign powers will move in.

And then whitey becomes the illegal.

I love that the east coast (although KY? TN? SC? Not!) joins the EU. Enlightenment is not yet dead. However, that Texas gets gobbled up by the "Messicans" is hysterical to me, not to mention poetic justice. Let it be Mexico City then that brings Dubya to trial for his War Crimes (or is that just "gallows" humor?).

Canada gets the breadbasket (smart move, Ottawa!). Of course, China getting California is a sad development. I figured Japan as putting in a claim beyond just Hawaii.

Ahem, note the Ruskies reabsorbing Alaska. Allll that oil! I can see ol' Putie Poot's head floating over Wassila, moaning, "Sarrrrrahhh! Sarrrrrahhh!"

My sense is 2010 as being a hair early, although the scenario does have a more palpable certainty about it, thanks to a certain hair-brained boy president.

Put Sarah in charge, of course (You betcha!), and I'd be bumpin' zero-hour up to January '09.

says the lib blogger...

Sometimes it pays to be far down the food chain.

it's getting easier being green...

Leo DiCaprio's new ride: the all-electric sports car...

Yes, bartender, I'll have one of those.

i feel yer pain...

Shhhhh... !!

A South Philadelphia man enraged because a father and son were talking during a Christmas showing of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button took care of the situation when he pulled a .380-caliber gun and shot the father, police said.

This oughta give ol' Naahm, a.k.a., CCG2 a chubbie.

montezuma's revenge: north of the border...

It would be more than mere cliche to say some of my best friends are Republicans. Hell! I was a Republican once myself. At the time, however, I was also a teenager. Read from that what you will.

But -- dear God! -- the party has totally devolved into a cabal of vile little assholes:

Included on the disc was a musical parody of "Puff the Magic Dragon" entitled "Barack the Magic Negro," sung by Shanklin imitating black civil rights advocate Rev. Al Sharpton, first played by Rush Limbaugh on his syndicated radio show in March 2007.

Tennessee, eh? Think that coal sludge getting into the drinking water has fermented a little more quickly than they anticipated?

But then, what's Alaska's excuse?

engaged...

Tom Brady & Gisele to tie the knot...

another one bites the dust...

Eartha Kitt: 1927-2008

My first exposure to her was as Catwoman in the Batman TV series. Later was drawn to her performance in St. Louis Blues.

Awesome CD Miss Kitt To You (C'est Si Bon) -- favorite cut: Avril au Portugal.

yah, so what... !?

There was a time when something like this would've made me insane.

freaky deaky...

Look-alike city:

Current "in the news" gay-bashing Evangelitan Rick Warren...

Washington Caps owner Ted Leonsis...


Whack-a-doo character actor Victor Buono...

----------
Update:

Luciano Pavarotti?

No? Did I go too far?

a maine winter's evening...

Dateline:  Maine Street -- The temperature at last check was 12 degrees (indeed feeling like minus something). The walk home was bracing, no lie, and I am made to once again look forward to spring.

another one bites the dust...

Majel Barrett Roddenberry: 1932-2008

Her romance with Roddenberry earned her the title "The First Lady of Star Trek." A fixture in the "Star Trek" franchise, her roles included Nurse Christine Chapel in the original "Star Trek," Lwaxana Troi in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and the voice of the USS Enterprise computer in almost every spin-off of the 1966 cult series. She recently reprised the voice role in the upcoming "Star Trek" film directed by J.J. Abrams.

it's ok if the jews are gay (mantra o'the day)...

Well here's an interesting turn for the worm:

[S]ome interesting quotes from Warren from 2006, talking about how he'd visited Syria and found it to be a place of moderation and religious tolerance -- including tolerance towards Jews, who in reality are barred from government jobs and who are singled out for special identification and discrimination in other ways.

Wow! Quite the mess he's stepped in, our Prez-elect. Just having thrown the LGBT types under the bus with his selection of Rick Warren to invoke a prayer at his Inaugural party, turns out these pro-Syrian comments will most assuredly piss off the much more powerful Jewish lobby. So if he pulls the plug on Warren now, could that not be interpreted as a second smack of the gay?

It was only last night that I was thinking the pick to be fairly stupid because one could tell Obama would never pick an anti-semite or a Klan symp to prove his "broad-mindedness," although that reeeeally would've been, uhm, broad-minded had he done so.

Turns out my thoughts could've been a tad hasty. And Dubya hisself couldn't've done a more heckuva job.

bill o'reilly, call yer ofc...

Al Franken projected winner in Minnesota.

Dog gone it! People like me.

another one bites the dust...

Deep Throat: 1913-2008

Mark Felt, Bob Woodward's great mysterious unnamed source, 2nd most central character in All The President's Men, integral in bringing down the most corrupt presidency in American History, that is until 2001.

----------
Update: a little late, but, well, the dust is bit: Linda Lovelace: 1949-2002

a provisional thank you to manny...

Never thought I'd say it...

Scott Boras is agent to both Mark Teixiera and Manny Ramirez. If the Yankees signed Teixiera, where does Manny go? The Yankees would be less likely to sign him, given they already would have two $20M ballplayers, inc. A-Rod; the Red Sox don't want him; the Dodgers can't afford him; and the Angels manager Mike Scioscia would kill him before they got out of spring training. So Boras wants Teixiera to sign with the Sox so Manny can go to the Yankees.

Unless the Washington Nats sign Teixiera.

But who in their right mind would choose the Nats over the Sox? Chaatoes? Baker? HAMstah?

Does a body really need the extra $20M after getting $180M?

Sox get Teixiera then; Manny gets booed at Fenway 9-10X-a-year.

feedback to the feedback to the irreverence...

Old poker-buddy and fellow former UMie/DC softballer H-Mac takes exception via email to my contempt for all things Bush:

You can't really mean what you said on your blog about the 3rd shoe being the charm. No matter how much you might hate a US President you can't be in favor of any President being attacked . . . This is like a fight outside the family. You and your brother I assume fought plenty when you were kids and at times felt like you "hated" each other but god forbid if some outsider tried to pick a fight with you or him I assume the other one would have come in full steam swinging to protect the other one. We can fight amongst ourselves plenty but when outsiders attack one of us with such blatant disrespect it demeans all of us.

... to which I responded:

you and i differ on who the outsider is... or isn't... the incident happened in iraq... the shoe-thrower is an iraqi... ipso facto: bush was the outsider...

and, to borrow a time-tested metaphor that works aptly as a pun: put yourself in the other guy's shoes:

imagine if uniformed "outsiders" from an invading force came crashing through your house door, blew you away and did unspeakable acts to your wife and kids... or let others do so, when you were only a while ago safe & secure in your persons...

or maybe you weren't blown away, but were made to watch said unspeakable acts, then taken away to a prison where less-unspeakable acts were done to you, including being sodomized, bitten by dogs, tortured with electrical devices, smeared with feces, etc...

now wouldn't you want to throw a shoe at the bastard who ordered that done... ?

not that i'm into conjuring such images, big guy, but that sh*t went down, and most of it was done to bystanders and other assorted innocents, not just actual "insurgents"...

america can't be "america" anymore, old boot, not until bush is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law... or gets hit in the mush with a freakin' shoe...

the demeaning of the office, and our country, wasn't done by the shoe thrower but the occupant himself...

when told of this, the president is quoted to have said: "so what?"...

Thinking of buying a fir for that special someone?

When undercover investigators made their way onto Chinese fur farms recently, they found that many animals are still alive and struggling desperately when workers flip them onto their backs or hang them up by their legs or tails to skin them. When workers on these farms begin to cut the skin and fur from an animal's leg, the free limbs kick and writhe. Workers stomp on the necks and heads of animals who struggle too hard to allow a clean cut.

When the fur is finally peeled off over the animals' heads, their naked, bloody bodies are thrown onto a pile of those who have gone before them. Some are still alive, breathing in ragged gasps and blinking slowly. Some of the animals' hearts are still beating five to 10 minutes after they are skinned. One investigator recorded a skinned raccoon dog on the heap of carcasses who had enough strength to lift his bloodied head and stare into the camera.

Stay warm now! And Happy Holidays!

baby needs a new pair of shoes...

A shame this dude wasn't three-legged, the third being the charm and all.

----------
Update: From HuffPo:

Bodyguards quickly wrestled Zaidi to the floor and hauled him, kicking and screaming, from the room. Two other Iraqi journalists were briefly detained after one of them called Zaidi's actions "courageous."

Amen!

i use'ta be catholic but i gave it up for lent...

So what's the big deal? Had I known mother Mary was such a babe, I'd still be going to confession.

----------
Update: That the simple-minded see the Virgin's image in buttered toast, on fence-posts, or on MRI scans fergawdsakes! -- and proceed to fall to their knees, I am left to the position where I cannot be bothered when they get so blamed exercised over such displays. Begone, simple-minded!
----------
Update: Dare to resist: More on The Virgin Maria.

well, alrighty then...

Dig UMass upsetting defending nat'l champs Cans-Ass!

anything to get laid...

One stunningly amazing bird! (Click YouTube window a second time if the embed is disabled, which should take you to the vid at YouTube directly.)

A chainsaw??

another one bites the dust...

Bettie Page: 1923-2008

The pin-up girl is dead.

Long live the pin-up girl!

yahoo chess update...

Wow! I just had one of my better games in a while. I'd been in a slump of late, losing to mediocrities, also-rans, other assorted losers & thugs, and, by doing so, joining their ranks. Usually, my rating is in the high-1300s with extended dalliances in the low-1400s. Once or twice I've gotten over 1500, but my water usually seeks its level 'round the 1390s to 1420s and assumes the shape of its container. And with this last win, I am once again within hailing distance of said shape:

Rating: 1316
Games Completed: 4539
Games Abandoned: 327
Wins: 2768
Losses: 1605
Draws: 166
Streak: 1

The guy I beat came to the table with a rating of 1512 and left at 1487. I started at 1291 (sucking the pipe, as I've said) and, as you can see above, stand at 1316, less of a leap for beating a 1500s type than I would've thought, but what're ya' gonna do?

Like I say, I rather liked the game I played. Here it is:

;Title: Yahoo! Chess Game
;White: its.poonam90
;Black: gpammons
;Date: Thu Dec 11 08:46:55 GMT 2008

1. e2-e4 c7-c5
2. f1-c4 e7-e6
3. g1-f3 a7-a6
4. o-o b7-b5
5. c4-e2 c8-b7
6. d2-d3 h7-h6
7. a2-a3 d7-d5
8. e4xd5 b7xd5
9. b1-c3 b8-c6
10. c3xd5 d8xd5
11. c2-c4 d5-d8
12. c1-f4 c6-d4
13. f3xd4 d8xd4
14. f4-e3 d4xb2
15. e2-g4 a8-d8
16. f1-e1 b5xc4
17. d1-a4+ b2-b5
18. a4xb5+ a6xb5
19. d3xc4 b5-b4
20. a3xb4 c5xb4
21. e1-b1 g8-f6
22. g4-f3 f8-e7
23. c4-c5 f6-d5
24. f3xd5 d8xd5
25. b1xb4 o-o
26. b4-b5 f8-c8
27. a1-c1 f7-f5
28. g2-g3 g8-f7
29. b5-b7 f7-f6
30. c5-c6 e7-d6
31. b7-d7 d6-a3
32. c1-c2 d5xd7
33. c6xd7 c8-d8
34. c2-d2 a3-b4
35. d2-d1 f6-e7
36. g1-f1 d8xd7
37. d1xd7+ e7xd7
38. e3-d4 g7-g5
39. d4-g7 h6-h5
40. g7-f6 g5-g4
41. f1-e2 b4-c5
42. f6-g5 d7-d6
43. e2-d3 c5xf2
44. d3-e2 f2-d4
45. g5-f4+ d6-d5
46. e2-d3 e6-e5
47. f4-d2 e5-e4+
48. d3-e2 d5-c4
49. d2-f4 d4-g1
50. e2-f1 g1-d4
51. f1-g2 c4-d3
52. h2-h3 d3-e2
53. h3xg4 h5xg4
54. f4-g5 e2-e1
55. g5-f4 e4-e3
56. f4-d6 e3-e2
57. d6-b4+ e1-d1
58. g2-h1 e2-e1+
59. b4xe1 d1xe1
60. h1-g2 e1-e2
61. g2-h2 e2-f3
62. White resigns.

And we move on.

kopbusters...

i LOVE this story!

Wondering if my favorite public defender does as well.

Next time, could we, like, "sting" the cops with Tasers? I mean, fair's fair -- yah?

assalaamu 'alaykum, my people...

That's right, don't let 'em forget it:

In case you were wondering, yes, President-elect Barack Hussein Obama will use his full name when he is sworn in on January 20th.

Because it needs repeating and often: Stupid people (and only stupid people) think Barack Obama's a Muslim. The really stupid people have a problem with his middle name, and I say rub their noses in the concept that the world's changing despite them.

I've said it before, I've come to know and, from time to time, work with Muslim people, and have found, like everybody else I know, there are some very decent folk within the community as well as your serious jag-offs.

You know: It takes all kinds... ?

In fact, I'd've been delighted if he was Muslim and still got elected.

----------
Update: Of course, he could be one o'them Ay-rabs, like I been sayin', and the plan all along is to wipe us good Christian white folk off God's good Earth...

... but I digress.

war on christmas science...

'Jesus Was Born in June', Astronomers Claim

And that is why these Evangelitan bastards have conniptions, my children: They're challenged to think twice about all their religious bullshit, and they, instead, decide it's simpler to make war on science -- and whine about a war on Christmas.

h/t to HuffPo...

in other words: lie... !

The Bush Legacy - Talking Points

Tell them I brought "Honor & Dignity" back to the White House.

vintage polaroid swinger commercial

Oh my Gahd! I was just reading about Polaroid ending it's production of instant film in 2009. So I looked up the Polaroid Swinger, my first camera in, like, 1960-something -- ONLY $19.95!! -- and found the original commercial jingle right hyar. Wow! I'm TOTALLY having groovy flashbacks!

[P.S., That'd be a young Ali McGraw taking the pic.]

another one for the history books...

Just blew the last game of chess online, forgetting I set a timer when I mostly play without -- and Ding! But then I'm driving a cab in an hour and I really don't have any time for this nonsense anyhow.

Last night was the slowest shift I've had since starting with the company (netting me all of a coupla Jacksons) and I'm getting the sense that Obama's right, that it's gonna get worse before it gets better. All very disturbing, thank you.

I have images of breadlines in front of billboards depicting American prosperity and my being too weak from hunger and depression to not give a shit about the irony anymore. Then I snap out of it, sample some caviar and sparkling wine and I'm all better.

That last sentence is meant to be ironic too.

oprah, call yer ofc...

As much as I loathe Karl Rove, this looks like it'd be a fun read:

Also reserved for between the covers of Rove’s book is his checklist of the “great many of the political actors in this town (who) never accepted him as a legitimate president.”

“I’ve got behind-the-scenes episodes that are going to show how unreceiving they were of this man as president of the United States,” Rove said, adding: “I’m going to name names and show examples.”

Maybe he could call it "Profiles in Courage"?

What? Oh!

a claustrophobic cul de sac, that...

There goes the neighborhood:

"I am afraid with all the negative press the president has been getting, the whole neighborhood is going to be a target," said the woman, who refused to give her name.

Credits to Navy beans the Bushies don't actually move to a cul de sac. Imagine, if you will, a march of tens of thousands -- the kind you see every so often from, say, the White House to Capital Hill.

Oh! Did someone mention it was racially exclusive? Ironic in this case given it'll be the white guy who devalues the neighbors' properties.

yoo stinkah... !

I knew I liked Berkeley for a reason:

On Monday, Berkeley's city council will vote on a proposal by its Peace and Justice Commission as to whether they will recommend war crimes charges for the UC Berkeley constitutional and international law professor. If passed, the measure would also order UC Berkeley to provide alternative courses to Yoo's class at the Boalt Hall School of Law.

I'm unclear as to the jurisdiction and what the city thinks it can do to modify a state college's curriculum; maybe enforce it by zoning their parking spaces over to Oakland. Regardless, what's important is making certain the spotlight burns ever hotter on this loyal Bushie sociopath.

And may they all burn thusly.

another one bites the dust...

Paul Benedict: 1938-2008

Coupla items with this guy: I loved the mad painter, having watched Sesame Street well past the age limit, mine that is. (Hey! I dug Maria.) But here the guy says, "I'm going to paint an '8'," then sneaks up on some bald schmoe lazing in a pool, paints an '8' on his chrome dome, and then books it when Baldo discovers he's been, uhm, scalped.

That and Benedict seriously looks like my brother-in-law. So adieu, Mr. B!

the greatest dog trick ever...

Empathy.

worstest... !

There is what I think to be a humorous anecdote, and which I like to tell, about my father, with whom I'd been frequently at odds. During my adolescence and young adulthood, we would constantly argue. And one day I was telling my mother about the most recent dust-up, the circumstances of which illustrating perfectly the absurd proportions of the relationship:

Dad: "You always argue with me."

Me: "I don't always argue with you."

Dad: "There you go again!"

Curiously, the headline of this piece -- Rove Defends Bush: He's Not Worst President Of Past 50 Years -- reminded me of that back & forth with dear old Dad. The world at large has been saying for at least over the course of his second term that Bush is the worst president in the last 50 years (and, for my money, since the dawn of time). And here we have the most aptly named "Turdblossom" -- give or take the blossom -- begging to disagree.

The point being, the mere denial of a circumstance cannot alone define whether the circumstance exists or not. And in this case, a Rovian denial notwithstanding: George Bush is the worst president in the history of the planet, including the last 50 years... and, uhm, maybe I always argue with my father.

----------
Update: Of course the neo-dicks hang their hats on Jimmy Carter's reign of ineffectualism in response to the question as to who might've been the worst president. It says here, however, that at the very least, Carter brought Israel & Egypt to the peace table... and, uhm -- Oh yeah! -- he left office with a budget deficit of a now-miniscule $50 billion. Now what the hell has Bush ever done that could be deemed as remotely worth a damn?

why won't they die... ?

Jeb Bush Ponders Florida Senate Run

Oy! -- Bush fatigue, anyone?

was he ever on the wagon... ?

Apparently Jesus' work here is done, either as a prop or as a crutch.

----------
Update: Dubya: That Jesus thing? It was all bullshit!

the biggest "change" of all...

Barack Obama isn't George F'ing Bush!

signed, One Happier Progressive!

in the year 2525 (if man is still alive)...

"Trillion" is the new "billion."

Here's betting the news will be covering "quadtrillions" within 10 years.

jesus... !

I mean, the days are cold up here already...

"There is a storm coming," Friedman continued, "and it hasn't hit yet. And I believe the decisions made, possibly in these next two months, could determine the next four years. This administration could be over before it starts -- over in the sense that it will spend the next four years digging out of a hole that has been created right now, that may be deeper and darker than anyone realizes."

this explains much...

I suppose that if the NSA showed me its file of my proclivities, utterances, browses, or other assorted misbehavings, and wanted me to bark like a poodle (or send troops to Iraq and keep them there for no good reason), I'd likely be thankful that's all they wanted.

bonus... !!!

Hmm... Gee! Do I want universal health coverage if it means the end of the Republican party?

Is this, like, a trick question?

lennon was right...

Mighty white of the Vatican to "forgive" John Lennon for telling the truth. The Beatles were more popular than Jesus. Christians and Christianists don't know who Jesus was or is, they just wish they do. And the the 60s crazies plum forgot Him (no, not Lennon!) during the era of Beatlemania -- that is, until Lennon spoke his truth, and which apparently snapped them out of that particular mania. And Lennon got a taste of what happens when you're a buzzkill on a massive scale.

the anti-midas...

Given King Midas is said to have had the power to turn all matter into gold simply by touching it, I had, for some time, dubbed Dubya the "anti-Midas" as everything he touches turns to excrement.

Looks here like the world leaders have caught wind.

the benefit of the doubt...

In case you were wondering, I'm keeping my powder dry with respect to the kid-gloves treatment of Lieberlips in lieu of burning him at the stake. It says here Holy Joe wants to keep his job in 2012, and the only way he does that is to play ball with the Dems for the next four years. There's a lot of buyer's remorse to overcome in Connecticut, eh, Mr. Shays?

Meanwhile, I'm hearing Rahm Emanuel saying the Obama Administration plans on "going long & deep" with respect to reforming healthcare and energy, hiring Tom Daschle at HHS because he knows how to push legislation through the Senate like nobody's business, or the fact House Dems just bumped off John Dingell and replaced him with Henry Waxman on the Energy Committee, etc.; or the mere fact Emanuel and Hillary piss off the Republicans by merely looking cross-eyed at them -- all of which indicates to me that a strong wind is a'blowin' toward significant change...

... and presumably for the better.

So put me on simmer and check back in about 20 minutes.

a capital idea...

Have Big Oil bail out the Big 3.

the question is begged...

Which is more unbelievable -- Joe Lieberlips keeping his chairmanship of the Senate Homeland Security Committee or Dustin Pedroia winning the AL MVP?

Yo, Dustin! Can I borrow yer bat for a sec?

those who don't learn from history...

The book I'm reading at present...

An excerpt from which explains why the Republicans don't want you to learn about the American Revolution:

From the testimony from the Governor himself, the rebellion against him had the overwhelming support of the Virginia population. A member of his Council reported that the defection was "almost general" and laid it to "the Lewd dispositions of some Persons of desperate Fortunes" who had "the Vaine hopes of takeing the Countrey wholley out of his Majesty's handes into their owne." Another member of the Governor's Council, Richard Lee, noted that Bacon's Rebellion had started over Indian policy. But the "zealous inclination of the multitude" to support Bacon was due, he said, to "hopes of levelling."

"Levelling" meant equalizing the wealth. Levelling was to be behind countless actions of poor whites against the rich in all the English colonies in the century and a half before the Revolution.

So there it is. Barack Obama talks of "spreading the wealth," and the upper class calls it Socialism or Marxism, not factoring into the equation the fact the American Revolution came about precisely because greedy bastards back in the day, many of whom were direct ancestors of George Dubya and "his base," had fixed the system to the detriment of the many, who, in return, took exception to being ripped off by the select and often took matters in their own hands.

A shame, perhaps, that we are thus preempted by the historic vote on Nov. 4th of a more bloody and, hence, viscerally satisfying revolt -- the kind which would've been applauded by Thomas Jefferson... and, uhm, me.

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Update: Oh wait! Wasn't George III a direct ancestor to the Bushes? 232 years after the fact and the apple still doesn't fall far from the rotted tree.

thanks but...

Great! Recommendations from a war criminal and a wannabe from the Federalist Society... Mom would be so proud!

before throwing money at them, make them leave...

Sen. Levin: Big Three Auto CEO's Should Resign

A new era where the CEOs get a taste of what it's like to be ordinary...

Ah yes, but will Levin and the Dem leadership follow thru on doing the right thing? After all, the minority Repos are prepared to let the Big 3 die if for no other reason than to let the unions die too. Fair's fair means letting the Boards of Directors hang too.

another one bites the dust...

Estelle Reiner: 1914 - 2008

Estelle Reiner, who died on October 25 aged 94, uttered one of the most famous lines in modern cinema – as a customer in a New York deli in the 1989 film When Harry Met Sally she observed Meg Ryan's character faking an orgasm at a nearby table and told the waiter asking for her order: "I'll have what she's having."

Proof positive that Nora Ephron is best left writing the script as long as Rob Reiner gets to direct.

so it isn't just us... ?

Yah! 50 years from now History'll look smilingly on Dubya. Meanwhile:

Mr Sarkozy, using the familiar tu, tried to reason with him: "Yes but do you want to end up like [President] Bush?" Mr Putin was briefly lost for words, then said: "Ah -- you have scored a point there."

leahy to lieberlips: screw... !!

Oh so nice to see some spine in the Dem Senate Caucus:

"I'm one who does not feel that somebody should be rewarded with a major chairmanship after doing what he did."

And while you're at it, Dem Senators, give your leader Mr. Reid a final squeeze out the aft chute too, eh?

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Update: Bernie Sanders to Lieberlips: Screw 2!