Month: May 2008

Political Crack3 Comments

Politics of Resentment

They want us to hate each other. It’s all they’ve got: Movement conservatism started off as a racket. Movement conservatism has always been about exacerbating and then profiting from existing cultural, social, and economic resentments. There was never any fall from an original ideological Eden. The corruption was there from the start. Packer is quite right to emphasize how the political and popular success of movement conservatism owes everything to its legitimization of a politics of resentment that arose in the 1960s. The women and the blacks and the Mexicans took the jobs away, and the hippies lost us Vietnam … Continue reading Politics of Resentment

Pony, Bitches!5 Comments

Dood, It Is So On!

What’s this? Apony challenge from Larry Sabato? “[Bush] is poisoning the well for Republican congressional candidates and for John McCain,” said Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. “I think McCain’s chances depend in part on whether Bush and his White House team can manage to get Bush up around 40 (percent) again,” referring to the president’s approval rating. Bring it on, Sabato! Continue reading Dood, It Is So On!

So Called Liberal Media9 Comments

Arbitrary

A good point: This is the kind of moment that the corporate media has been waiting for in order to bury either hers or Obama’s campaign. And they now have something that will be the “defining moment” of the final phase for the campaign. Oh sure, she has been built up time and time again (think New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania and whatever else I forgot), only to be gleefully torn apart as she faltered (or was even perceived to falter) by people like Chris Matthews and his talking meatstick counterparts. It doesn’t matter if she said something that was on … Continue reading Arbitrary

Uncategorized6 Comments

Memorial Day

Joe Galloway on how we honor veterans: Let’s all pay lip service to Support Our Troops. But if we want to be honest, we should edit those yellow-ribbon bumper stickers to say Support Our Troops — As Long As It Doesn’t Cost Anything. Let’s acknowledge that this new generation of soldiers and Marines is amazingly motivated and talented. They’re expected to be good killers, good diplomats and ambassadors of American goodwill who operate under impossibly complex rules of engagement in impossibly dangerous and deadly environments. But if they come home wounded, their brains rattled by the huge IEDs of the … Continue reading Memorial Day

Political Crack11 Comments

So Say We Fucking All

This blog needs a category foryou just blew my tiny little mind: We are so risk averse in this country, so afraid to settle on something that might not be the right thing, we hedge our every fucking step. Drive giant tank SUVs so we can walk away from unforeseen disasters, watch picture-in-picture televisions so we don’t miss what’s on the other channels. We do not like the unknown, we guard against every possible contingency. We assume any choice might be the wrong one, so we don’t choose anything, really. We do not trust the world around us. We do … Continue reading So Say We Fucking All

Of Interest8 Comments

Happy Birthday

I got intoDylan late, maybe six, seven years ago. Before that he was my Dad’s music, along with Neil and Bruce (Mom likes Billy and Barbra). We were driving to a wedding in rural Kansas and I’d brought a CD along, it was long enough to keep me awake on the road. When I started searching out everything of his I could get my hands on after that, my parents were amused. I told them, “if my generation is gonna be forced to repeat all the least fun parts of the 1960s and 1970s, including thefashion, it’s only fair we … Continue reading Happy Birthday

Holden's Obsession with the Gaggle1 Comment

Today On Holden’s Obsession With The Gaggle

Careful You Don’t Get None Of ThatBush Stank On You, Johnnie Q I wanted to ask about McCain — three fundraisers next week. First of all, why are they closed? And second, do you all expect that sort of pace, I mean, three in a week, that kind of thing, to continue? MS. PERINO: I think we’ll see — I think we’ll see, in terms of a pace. [snip] The reason that they’re closed is that the McCain campaign has a practice of having their fundraisers as closed press; and these are in private residences, which is where we have … Continue reading Today On Holden’s Obsession With The Gaggle

Your President Speaks1 Comment

Your President Speaks!

Today, at theWhite House. Trade Defined Carlos Gutierrez is the Secretary of Commerce. Trade means commerce. Products With Jobs Today I’m going to spend some time so our fellow citizens understand the importance of trade by connecting trade with products with jobs. The Global War On Articles Continues Good jobs policy is a good trade policy. Not “The AmbassadorDe South Korea”? I want to thank Federico Humbert, the Ambassador de Panama. I want to thank Lee Tae-sik, Ambassador from South Korea. What It Is First of all, the — you know, it’s rough economic times. If There Is Uncertain Times … Continue reading Your President Speaks!

Political Crack4 Comments

The Stink Of Cheney

Is all overthis. DUBLIN (Reuters) – The United States is trying to bully its allies into weakening a treaty banning cluster bombs, Jody Williams, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for leading a campaign against landmines, said on Friday. Representatives of more than 100 nations are working on an agreement against the use of cluster munitions, although the United States, China and Russia are not participating. Opponents say cluster bombs are unreliable and indiscriminate. The United States said on Wednesday the treaty could jeopardize U.S. participation in joint peacekeeping and disaster relief operations by “criminalizing” military operations between countries that … Continue reading The Stink Of Cheney

Hurricane Katrina & Federal Flood17 Comments

NOLA Levee Leaking

Not good news at all: NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Despite more than $22 million in repairs, a levee that broke with catastrophic effect during Hurricane Katrina is leaking again because of the mushy ground on which New Orleans was built, raising serious questions about the reliability of the city’s flood defenses. Outside engineering experts who have studied the project told The Associated Press that the type of seepage spotted at the 17th Street Canal in the Lakeview neighborhood afflicts other New Orleans levees, too, and could cause some of them to collapse during a storm. The Army Corps of Engineers … Continue reading NOLA Levee Leaking

Holden's Obsession with the Gaggle2 Comments

Today On Holden’s Obsession With The Gaggle

TheWhite House Wants To Make Sure You Know That The Press Corps Laughed At Congressional Democrats Q Farm bill — where are we with the farm bill? MS. PERINO: You tell me — or the Democrats tell me. Q What did he veto? MS. PERINO: He vetoed — the President vetoed the bill that the Democrats sent us. And, look, I understand there’s a technical error and we’ll have to see what the Congress decides to do, but maybe it gives them one more chance to take a look and think about how much they’re asking the taxpayers to spend … Continue reading Today On Holden’s Obsession With The Gaggle

Stupid Republican Tricks6 Comments

Today on Athenae’s Obsession with the Freepi: The Gay Blades Make Demands

McCain rejected Hagee on the orders of the secret gay campaign staff: Wow. I didn’t know the VietCong cut his balls off. McCain should just say we don’t agree on all things but I respect their right to express their opinions. He lets the media make him react to non-issues. He’ll lose this campaign if he doesn’t stop jumping to media toadies’ tunes. Maybe that’s the plan. McCain—when you care enough to send the very worst. 99.9% of the negative material on Rev. Hagee is prepared by an activist homosexual website. It’s quite interesting to me to find that McCain … Continue reading Today on Athenae’s Obsession with the Freepi: The Gay Blades Make Demands

Geek Cred4 Comments

Housekeeping

If you’ll direct your attention to your right, you’ll see you can add First Draft to your feeder thingies with just a click now. I personally find it easier to manage my blogs via an incredibly long list of bookmarks, but people seem to like the feeders, so there we go. Any other new bells or whistles we seem to be in need of? Besides a bigger crack van, that is. A. Continue reading Housekeeping

Pony, Bitches!4 Comments

Minnesota Ponies

Unloved in theLand of Ten Thousand Lakes. Minnesotans are profoundly dissatisfied with the job President Bush is doing — and are even more disenchanted with the general trajectory of the nation. A new Star Tribune Minnesota Poll found that only a quarter of the state’s residents approve of the president’s job performance, the harshest assessment of his tenure. Two-thirds give his performance a thumbs-down. At the same time, only 14 percent of Minnesotans say things in the nation are generally headed in the right direction, while 77 percent say the United States has gotten seriously off on the wrong track. … Continue reading Minnesota Ponies

Political Crack1 Comment

The McCain Campaign

Like a city council race, with 99 percent less WIN. I think what chiefly offended me about the McCain Girls videos was just how grimly serious they seemed. It wasn’t even that they were godawful, it’s that they didn’t know they were supposed to be godawful and have a good time with it. Most campaign songs suck ass, and they’re kind of supposed to. Way back in the prehistoric days of the Dean campaign, there was a guy who rewrote all the lyrics of every song you could imagine to feature Dean, like we’re talking Monster Mash here, and because … Continue reading The McCain Campaign

Pony, Bitches!6 Comments

Meet Mr. 23%

Zogby: WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Growing anxiety about their economic prospects and deep unhappiness with President George W. Bush and the U.S. Congress plunged Americans into a dark mood this month, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Wednesday. [snip] Bush’s approval rating fell 4 percentage points to 23 percent, a record low for pollster John Zogby, and positive marks for the U.S. Congress fell 5 points to tie an all-time low at 11 percent. The number of Americans who believe the country is on the right track fell from 23 percent to an abysmal 16 percent, another record for pessimism, … Continue reading Meet Mr. 23%

Holden's Obsession with the Gaggle2 Comments

Today On Holden’s Obsession With The Gaggle

Meet YourPropagandist-In-Chief Q The policy change allowing Americans to send cell phones to family members in Cuba — are you sure that if people send these phones, that they’ll work, or are you just allowing a change and hoping that they’ll work? MS. PERINO: I’ll refer you to what — earlier today in the briefing room that Dan Fisk said that we do believe that they would work. And I think what’s important here is that the President is saying, all right, Raul, if you say that you’re going to allow people to have cell phones, let’s actually really let … Continue reading Today On Holden’s Obsession With The Gaggle

Happy Democrat Photo4 Comments

Happy Teddy Photo

From one of my favorites of his recent Bush-smackdowns, this oneabout FISA: If Congress immunizes the telecoms for past violations of the law, it will send the message Congress approves what the administration did. We would be aiding and abetting the President in his illegal actions, his contempt for the rule of law, and his attempt to hide his lawbreaking from the American people. Voting for amnesty would be a vote for silence, secrecy, and illegality. There would be no accountability, no justice, no lessons learned. The damage will not stop there. The telecommunications companies are not the only private … Continue reading Happy Teddy Photo

Political Crack4 Comments

Chimpy Sure Loves His Hand-Holding Buddy

Yepper. The House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved legislation on Tuesday allowing the Justice Department to sue OPEC members for limiting oil supplies and working together to set crude prices, but the White House threatened to veto the measure. The bill would subject OPEC oil producers, including Saudi Arabia, Iran and Venezuela, to the same antitrust laws that U.S. companies must follow. The measure passed in a 324-84 vote, a big enough margin to override a presidential veto. The legislation also creates a Justice Department task force to aggressively investigate gasoline price gouging and energy market manipulation. [snip] The Senate previously … Continue reading Chimpy Sure Loves His Hand-Holding Buddy

Holden's Obsession with the Gaggle

Today On Holden’s Obsession With The Gaggle

On To Iran! Q I want to ask you about the denial of the Jerusalem Post story — MS. PERINO: Yes. Q — when you say that the White House’s preference is to solve this through peaceful, diplomatic means. That still leaves the door open, though, to planning an attack. I’m not saying you are planning an attack, but by your specifically saying that your preference is to have a peaceful, diplomatic means, doesn’t that leave the door open to still — MS. PERINO: I don’t see how that changes — I don’t think that what I said today in … Continue reading Today On Holden’s Obsession With The Gaggle

Holden's Obsession with the Gaggle6 Comments

Today On Holden’s Obsession With The Gaggle

Snott Stanzel Trips On The Numbers Q What’s the latest on SPR? And you said earlier the President intended to sign off on it — why, if that’s not something he really believes in? MR. STANZEL: We have — I said this morning I thought that we had received the bill late last week, but actually we expect to receive it this afternoon. So there’s been no action by the President yet on that. I would note that as we have said numerous times, we don’t believe that halting the fill of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve will have much of … Continue reading Today On Holden’s Obsession With The Gaggle

Geek Cred7 Comments

Whose Tongues Were All Broken: Galactica Thread

Awakening

Jacob:

That’s when the first piece of wreckage hits. In mutiny we turn our guns upon ourselves. Everyone that comes after war makes their ginger way through what’s left behind. Like Uwano and Onoda, like the unlucky victims of the Guardians, like you and me and the children of the Exodus. Have you ever seenBabylon 5? This is what it comes down to: not war, but everything after. The echoes and the ripples and the unspent mine fields of war.

Spoilers within. Boom boom boom.

Continue reading “Whose Tongues Were All Broken: Galactica Thread”