Month: January 2010

Athenae, Immoral Values9 Comments

Hearing About It

You knew it was coming: I’ve read a number of opinion pieces and comments slamming the relief efforts underway for the victims of the earthquake in Haiti and I have to respectfully disagree with their viewpoints. The basis of their argument is that there are enough needs here in America…why should we help some foreign country? Why should we divert funds, rations, and supplies to a small nation in the midst of their tragedy when we have daily tragedy happening right here at home? Well, and I would almost be okay with this argument if the people making it weren’t … Continue reading Hearing About It

Athenae, Diary30 Comments

Weekend Question Thread: Unpopular Opinions

Tell me something you love that everyone else hates, or something you hate that everyone else loves. My local problem is that I’m bored by architecture. We’re nuts for architecture here in Chicago. There are tours and symposiums and books and books and books and everybody knows things about it. People spend hours talking about it. I do not give a damn, which is heresy. I see a building, think it’s neat maybe, but I’ve never really felt the need to add architecture to the list of things I’m a nerd about. I’m not hostile to the profession, but it’s … Continue reading Weekend Question Thread: Unpopular Opinions

Adrastos, Malakatude, Nature is Scary, Religion5 Comments

Malaka Of The Week: Pat Robertson

Peter Adrastos Athas

There was a lot of egregious malakatude this week but in the end I had to pick the evil, senile and faux avuncular Pat Robertson. I hesitated to do so because my colleagues have done such a good job hitting the Bad Reverend upside the headhere, here andhere. Jude’s comments on the first post, in particular, are *impossible* to top. But even if predictable coming from this well seasoned douchebag, claiming that Haiti was hit by a record setting earthquake was because of a pact with the devil hits 100 on the malakatude scale. Why would a deal with Satan … Continue reading Malaka Of The Week: Pat Robertson

Doc, LOL4 Comments

Quitting Time Booster Shot

Welcome to the Booster, where we often wonder what tigers dream of… – Weird moment of Zen: Law and Order was running a rerun called “Rebels” from 1995. In the show, there’s a problem with a witness because he is claiming to be a journalist for an online biker bulletin board. He uses the press shield law to prevent him from testifying about a murder at a biker bar. The funniest moment of this is when the DA is questioning the head of the Columbia School of Journalism about how his school doesn’t have any classes in writing for an … Continue reading Quitting Time Booster Shot

Doc, Economy, So Called Liberal Media13 Comments

The deserving of coverage

A friend emailed with a gripe the other day and it’s one that I’ve often had myself. Having spent much of my life in medium-sized college towns throughout the Midwest, an inferiority complex can build after a fashion when it comes to dealing with the way the “important areas” of the country view us. He’s working in Arizona. It’s not the Midwest, but it’s definitely not close enough to the Sunset Strip to make anyone important out West give a shit.The state is at the point where it is broke. We’re not talking “Oh, gee, we’ve got a cash flow … Continue reading The deserving of coverage

Adrastos, Hurricane Katrina & Federal Flood1 Comment

Michael Homan’s Katrina Diary

Peter Adrastos Athas

My friend Michael Homan is a NOLA blogger and Xavier University professor who rode out the storm at his house in Mid-City. Unfortunately for Michael, his neighborhood flooded, which led to a series of harrowing adventures as well as long periods of boredom until he left his flooded house. It’s a damn good thing that he’s such a strong swimmer. He recently posted the diary in its raw form at his blog. Continue reading Michael Homan’s Katrina Diary

Athenae, So Called Liberal Media3 Comments

Irresponsible to Speculate

GAH: President George W. Bush was widely criticized forfailing to focus before 9/11 on what U.S. intelligence knew of al-Qaeda’s threat to America. But was PresidentBarack Obama similarly remiss in the months before the attemptedChristmas Day attack on a Detroit-bound airliner? So far, the White House hasn’t provided enough information to make the judgment. If by “widely criticized” you mean “criticized by some hippies on blogs and by people who were later demonized as grief whores,” then okay. And hey, guess what? If the White House hasn’t provided enough information to make the judgment, DON’T MAKE THE JUDGMENT. Sweet lavender … Continue reading Irresponsible to Speculate

Michael F4 Comments

Should I Tell Him About the Anvil?

FromAlbum3 Nah, why bother?–maybe it’ll knock some sense into him. Anyway, I’m sure everyone already knows theliteral substance of his remarks, andhere’s some background on Robertson’s, um, interpretation… Of course, this actually reveals far more about the Reverend himself–his projection of god is, in the whole scheme of things, rather puny, prone to nursing grudges across generations…and not without sympathy for…slave owners. Not my idea of a supreme being… Continue reading Should I Tell Him About the Anvil?

Athenae, Faith12 Comments

God for the Win

Please please please please let this happen: Pat: *beams* So you SEE, I have COME to take my rightful PLACE at your right HAND! God: ABOUT THAT…YOU CAN’T ACTUALLY COME IN. Pat: What? You mean you want me to take Saint Peter’s place, deciding who comes in and who stays out? I can do that! I have a very clear understanding on the sort of riff raff we shouldn’t let in! You can trust me not to let the sinners in, Lord! God: WELL, NO, APPARENTLY YOU DON’T. BECAUSE *YOU* ARE THE SORT OF RIFF RAFF WE DON’T LET IN. … Continue reading God for the Win

Athenae, Immoral Values9 Comments

All About the Children

For reasons which should be obvious to regular readers, this argument trips every trigger I have: Yesterday there was mostly expert testimony about the history of marriage and discrimination and demonization of gay citizens in the United States. The professors gave great evidence that the arguments of the Prop 8 defenders is spurious. One of the big points the defendants attorney keeps trying to make is that marriage is a social institution solely for the purposes of procreation. Yeah, you read that right, they are going hang their hat on the idea that the only social purpose marriage hold is … Continue reading All About the Children

Adrastos, Hurricane Katrina & Federal Flood, Music, Nature is Scary2 Comments

Dedicated To The People Of Port au Prince

Peter Adrastos Athas

I grew up in earthquake country (the Bay Area) and live in the hurricane zone so the disaster in Haiti punches my empathy buttons. Unlike those folks, I’ve been lucky. The worst thing that ever happened to me earthquake wise was a stack of books landing on my bed in my parents house when I was a surly teenager. (Getting hit in the head with a copy ofCatch-22 did nothing to improve my disposition.) I was among the lucky in New Orleans too but was exiled from my home and city for weeks. I’ve made a modest donation and I … Continue reading Dedicated To The People Of Port au Prince

Propaganda, Stupid Republican Tricks, VirgoTex8 Comments

Boy Thinking, or Rich Inner Lives

The photo’s not the best, I just thought “hostage event parking” was sort of funny. The institution where I work is home to a well-known center that trains hostage negotiators, SWAT personnel, law enforcement first responders, and their ilk. Said center is hosting a big conference right now. So big it took me a lot longer than usual to find parking amidst all the police vehicles and rent-a-cars. I thought to myself, damn I hope there aren’t any real life hostage situations or shootings anywhere because all the people who know what to do in a situation like that seem … Continue reading Boy Thinking, or Rich Inner Lives

Adrastos, Books, Political Crack, So Called Liberal Media, Stupid Republican Tricks11 Comments

Salacious Gossip

Peter Adrastos Athas

I like gossip as much if not more than most people. I also love the word salacious because of the way it sounds and what it conveys: it’s a lip smackingly good word. I can’t deny getting a kick out of some of the revelations in the Heilemann-Halperin book and I’ve read the excerpts online and may even read the book itself. I am, however, not enjoying its impact on our national political conversation. We find ourselves discussing whether a septugenarian Senator’s comments about President Obama are racist. And whether or not they’re worse than Trent Lott’s nostalgia for the … Continue reading Salacious Gossip

Athenae, So Called Liberal Media4 Comments

I Won’t Pretend To Know What I’m Talking About, But I Do

;asdkfha;sldkfjsa;dkldsfjkl;fdsdhk;!!!!!: Johnson’s knack for ferreting out fakes and hypocrisy has been impressive. But hyperbole sometimes overshadows his analytic approach. He’s not immune to the throes of passion he has disparaged on both the left and right. He jumped on a lame and misbegotten attempt by conservatives last year to force the Los Angeles Times to release a videotape of Palestinian Americans meeting with then-candidate Barack Obama, even though the paper had promised a confidential source not to do so. Somehow The Times — the news organization responsible for telling the world about Obama’s politically dicey association with the activists — … Continue reading I Won’t Pretend To Know What I’m Talking About, But I Do

Uncategorized3 Comments

‘They got boy whores! Ain’t that thoughtful?’

The ladies demanded they hire a man: LAS VEGAS (Jan. 7) — Think of it as the ultimate stimulus package: Nevada has finally cleared the way for America’s first legal male prostitutes. A small brothel about 150 miles northwest of Las Vegas got its final approval from authorities in rural Nye County this week to employ guys for hire, sowing the seeds for the first stud farm as soon as the owners select a few good men. “We’ve had quite a few couples who want to add a man to a threesome and ladies who say to us, ‘When the … Continue reading ‘They got boy whores! Ain’t that thoughtful?’

Athenae, So Called Liberal Media, Television12 Comments

TIME Fail

Seriously. Who needs any kind of political bias or nefarious conspiracies when employees of our national media companies are this fucking dumb to begin with? Was there anybody who didn’t see this ending in a fiery crash at the bottom of a cliff with luggage and papers and, like, crates of chickens scattered all around, and body parts and human carnage? Didn’t this just scream OMG NOOOOO from the start? And yet here’s Time magazine, merrily pretending it’s all gonna work out great. The future? Really? My theme today seems to be OLD AS FUCK, and this isn’t me not … Continue reading TIME Fail

Stupid Republican Tricks, Tommy T5 Comments

Today on Tommy T’s Obsession with the Freeperati – catch-up edition

Good morning everyone! The insanity at FR pours out faster than I can catalog it, much less examine it, so there’s some older threads that need some attention. Let’s suit up and sample the backlog, shall we? First of all, the official “We’re all doomed” thread for our late Christmas present: Health bill passes Senate vote. Freepers pass gas.‏ Democrats’ Health Bill Passes Key Senate Vote http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34498942/ns/politics-health_care_reform/ ^ | December 20th 2009 Posted onMonday, December 21, 2009 12:28:04 AM bySteelfish Democrats’ Health Bill Passes Key Senate Vote Republicans pledge to fight on despite losing early Monday WASHINGTON – Senate Democrats’ … Continue reading Today on Tommy T’s Obsession with the Freeperati – catch-up edition

Athenae, Immoral Values9 Comments

Harry Reid, Rod Blagojevich and the Chamber of Stupid

I walk away from the Internet for one weekend and it’s International Race Fail Weekend, turns out. These things are never on the calendar. Blagojevich, never change: Blagojevich, referring to the president as “this guy,” says Obama was elected based simply on hope. “What the (expletive)? Everything he’s saying’s on the teleprompter,” Blagojevich told the magazine for a story in its February issue, which hits newsstands Jan. 19. “I’m blacker than Barack Obama. I shined shoes. I grew up in a five-room apartment. My father had a little laundromat in a black community not far from where we lived,” Blagojevich … Continue reading Harry Reid, Rod Blagojevich and the Chamber of Stupid

Adrastos6 Comments

The NOLA Freeze Of 2010

Peter Adrastos Athas

I realize the hard freeze here ain’t squat compared to conditions elsewhere BUT to say that we’re unprepared for it is an understatement. My business is in an historic building with shaky wiring and a heating system that works sporadically at best when the water temperature is 40 degrees or lower, which almost never happens here. I just learned these details on Friday from the guy who came out to “fix” my unit. Nobody involved with the building who knows these details was around so it’s around 40-45 in here because anything other than an eeny weeny space heater will … Continue reading The NOLA Freeze Of 2010