Month: July 2010

Stupid Republican Tricks, Tommy T2 Comments

Today on Tommy T’s Obsession with the Freeperati – Bad Week at Black Rock edition

p>Good morning, gentle people! Well, take comfort in the knowledge that however crappy your week was, it was better than the week the Freeperati had. Suits on, everybody – it’s gonna get nasty. Just to start the week out right – Sue – weeeee!!!‏ p>Conservative website among 3 sued over R-J copyrights (Free Republic sued AGAIN) Las Vegas Sun ^ | Tuesday, July 20, 2010 | 9:12 a.m. | By Steve Green Posted onTuesday, July 20, 2010 1:52:30 PM byLazamataz A conservative news-sharing website with plenty of experience in dealing with copyright issues has been sued for copyright infringement after … Continue reading Today on Tommy T’s Obsession with the Freeperati – Bad Week at Black Rock edition

Athenae, Immoral Values3 Comments

These Kids Today with their Playgirl Centerfolds and Filthy Whore Babies

America’s nosy neighbor lady peers through the blinds again and is shocked, SHOCKED, that we no longer ship unwed mothers off to homes for whores anymore: One can laugh at and with them, if only because the American “celebrity” that surrounds them like smothering arms at times is so patently absurd and even pitiful, as proud unwed mothers and unwed fathers display their children before the world. But in the final laugh, it isn’t very funny at all. Unwed mother spokeswoman Bristol and Playgirl centerfold Levi are the most disastrous examples the U.S. could provide for young people today — … Continue reading These Kids Today with their Playgirl Centerfolds and Filthy Whore Babies

Doc, Immoral Values13 Comments

Generation ‘Dryl

I read this about four times, hoping that in some way, by clicking on some link, this would take me to The Onion’s home page and that this whole thing would be a prank. Apparently not. Not only are parents drugging their kids with Benadryl, cough syrup and other over-the-counter meds when the kids don’t need them, but they are doing in because the kids have “become too much to handle.”So many parents have taken to medicating their kids in this way that doctors could put together a large enough sample to conduct research on the phenomenon. According to a … Continue reading Generation ‘Dryl

Adrastos7 Comments

Friday Catblogging: The Chartres Street Shop Cat

Peter Adrastos Athas

I am a shitty photographer. I can’t hold a camera still to save my life but I can point and shoot with the iPhone. This shot was taken before the knitting shop opened so there’s a grate on the window impeding the view of this guest kitty. When the the grate is off the window, the shop cats are nowhere to be seen. Talk about ingrates… Continue reading Friday Catblogging: The Chartres Street Shop Cat

Adrastos, Diary, Music1 Comment

Hole In The River

Peter Adrastos Athas

Life is hard in New Orleans right now between the recession, oil spill and hurricane season. It’s harder still for my good friend, Mark. Mark’s mother is terribly sick so he’s been spending a lot of time at the hospital.Mark wrote a post about a recent hospital tour of duty with his mom that ripped my heart out. I don’t cry easily or often but I wept after reading this. It’s particularly poignant when your last surviving parent is at death’s door. The world is a lonelier place after the people that brought you into it aren’t around any more. … Continue reading Hole In The River

Adrastos, Epic Blogger Win1 Comment

Mac McClelland of Mother Jones To Speak At Rising Tide 5

Peter Adrastos Athas

It’s shameless plug time again. This morning on behalf of Rising Tide, Oyster made this announcement: Mac McClelland, human rights journalist forMother Jones, has agreed to be keynote speaker for Rising Tide 5. We’re thrilled to have McClelland at our conference, as she has written many of themost compelling storiesabout the oil gusher’s effect on coastal communities. Mac will be the first woman keynoter in Rising Tide history and we’re delighted to have her. The Conference will be held August 28, 2010 at the Howlin’ Wolf in New Orleans.For more information, click here. Continue reading Mac McClelland of Mother Jones To Speak At Rising Tide 5

Adrastos, Political Crack4 Comments

They’re Coming For You

Peter Adrastos Athas

I just got the chance to watch Rachel Maddow’s amazing piece about the use of racially fueled scare tactics by wingnuts. She draws a line from George Wallace to Lester Maddox to Jesse Helms to Fox News. It’s absolutely brilliant so I thought I’d share it with anyone who hasn’t seen it already: p align=”center” class=”asset asset-video” style=”display: block; margin: 0pt auto;”>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32545640 Visit msnbc.com forbreaking news, world news, andnews about the economy br /> Continue reading They’re Coming For You

Athenae, Economy, Stupid Blue Dog Tricks2 Comments

Kent Conrad’s Proposed Solutions

Without offsets: We enacted these tax cuts, there was no job creation, debt exploded, and only the wealthiest of the wealthy profited. So tell me, Mr. Fiscal Conservative Kent Conrad, why should we not let the tax cuts for the rich expire? Allow me to speak for Kent here: It’s actually pretty simple. What’s going to happen is we’ll just cut the Department of Education, probably eliminate Social Security or raise the retirement age to 79 or so (since I once knew somebody who lived to be 97 and was perfectly healthy), and we’ll make a 1600 SAT score mandatory … Continue reading Kent Conrad’s Proposed Solutions

Michael F7 Comments

Lite Breit

FromAlbum3 Also, what Driftglass saidhere andhere. Breitbart would be just another wingnut with a website if the non Faux News media — and the administration/political establishment — didn’t take him seriously…and it’s not as if he’s ever done a goddamned thing to earn that distinction. Continue reading Lite Breit

Athenae, Stupid Republican Tricks11 Comments

Breitbart’s Minions Plumb the Depths

For the love of the Killer Robot Christ. First Breitbart and his team of flying monkeys get a blameless woman fired over a doctored video about nothing. Now, now that the White House has apologized and Vilsack has apologized and pretty much everybody involved in this bullshit BUT Breitbart has apologized, one would think perhaps Big Government’s legions of commenters would, you know, gently suggest to their host that he should take a long vacation and think about what he’s done. One would think that.One would be wrong: And THAT, Ladies & Gentlemen, is what you call “governing” on the … Continue reading Breitbart’s Minions Plumb the Depths

Athenae, So Called Liberal Media2 Comments

Print Journalism

There’s no money there: The New York Times Company reported on Thursday that its second-quarter profit declined 18 percent compared with results in the period a year earlier, when it recorded a tax benefit. On an operating basis, profit more than doubled. Net income was $32 million, or 21 cents a share, compared with $39 million, or 27 cents a share, in the period a year earlier, when the company received the $37.7 million tax benefit. Operating profit rose to $60.8 million from $23.5 million, while earnings per share from continuing operations, which exclude severance costs and other one-time items, … Continue reading Print Journalism

Adrastos, Film3 Comments

Ripping Yarn Of The Day

Peter Adrastos Athas

I almost called this the story of the day but then y’all would have thought that it was important when it’s not. Besides, Ripping Yarns was a great little British teevee series cooked up by Python’s Michael Palin before he originated the genre of travel shows for people who hate travel shows… Now where the hell was I? Oh yeah, this tale was spun by the legendarily quirkyBill Murray who explained why he did the voice of Garfield and I’m talking about the cat, not the assassinated President: Murray reveals that he picked up Garfield’s script and noted that it … Continue reading Ripping Yarn Of The Day

Athenae, Books4 Comments

How Did This Anniversary Get By Us?

To Kill A Mockingbird: To Kill A Mockingbird was my lifeline. It changed my life when I read it. Itcompletely changed the way I thought about my community. It changed my life every time I re-read it. The reason I remember exactly how old I was when I got that book, and exactly when I got that book, is becausethe act of my mother giving me that book was the only honest conversation I ever had about racism. It was theonly time I was ever allowed to acknowledge that the things I saw happening around me every day were wrong, … Continue reading How Did This Anniversary Get By Us?

VirgoTex1 Comment

Even though Athenae has killed journalism, newspapers still wonderful

viaDaily Art Fixx, the paper sculpture ofNick Geogiou: Georgiou’s work is inspired by “the death of the printed word/world, economic collapse, political and environmental uncertainty. Georgiou states: “Books and newspapers are becoming artifacts of the 21st century. Whatever we used to read off paper, we’re now reading off digital screens. Our way of interacting with text is changing. My work is not only about the decline of the printed word in today’s society but its rebirth as art.” Continue reading Even though Athenae has killed journalism, newspapers still wonderful

Adrastos, BP Oil Spill4 Comments

Rare Good News

Peter Adrastos Athas

In the wake of Shirley Sherrod’s craven Vilsacking, I searched the interwebs for good news this morning and astonishinglly enough found some.The Guardian is reporting that “sources close to BP” are saying that Wayward Hayward will be out as CEO by October 1. Actually, they quote theTimes of Murdoch but I refuse to pay Rupert a shilling to read his site. Call me crazy but I’m not into subsidizing multi-billionaire media tycoons… Continue reading Rare Good News

Athenae, Stupid Republican Tricks10 Comments

What Jack Stuef Said

You can only get played so many times before peoplestop blaming Andrew Breitbart and start blaming you: Seriously? Fuck off. Fuck off. And try to remember for a second that you are called the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and not the National Association for Demonizing Random Black People Andrew Breitbart Baselessly Tells You to Demonize. Jesus Christ. Later on, realizing what they had done to this poor, exemplary woman, the NAACP backtracked and releasedanother statement, blaming their initial reaction oncontext. Yeah, no. You don’t get away with doing that. There was no reason in Breitbart’soriginal context … Continue reading What Jack Stuef Said

Adrastos, Current Affairs, So Called Liberal Media7 Comments

The Great Deceiver

Peter Adrastos Athas

I’m baffled. Why does the MSM keep buyingAndrew Breitbart’s crapola? Film editing isn’t some new fangled thing, it’s been around since the days of DW Griffith. Breitbart dominated yesterday’s political news cycle with a totally spurious story that got Shirley Sherrod fired by a panicky administration. I hope that Tom Vilsack finds his nutsack and rehires her pronto. Clarence Thomas described his confirmation hearing as a “high tech lynching.” He was wrong but the phrase is a powerful one that seems to apply in this instance. The 24 hour news cycle really sucks sometimes, y’all. Nobody should ever believe a … Continue reading The Great Deceiver

Political Crack, So Called Liberal Media, Stupid Republican Tricks, VirgoTex11 Comments

The view from underneath the bus

viaSalon, but Jealous also spun the same story onMaddow, and she didn’t challenge it, which I found disappointing. Said NAACP President Ben Jealous in the newstatement: With regard to the initial media coverage of the resignation of USDA Official Shirley Sherrod, we have come to the conclusion we were snookered by Fox News and Tea Party Activist Andrew Breitbart into believing she had harmed white farmers because of racial bias. Having reviewed the full tape, spoken to Ms. Sherrod, and most importantly heard the testimony of the white farmers mentioned in this story, we now believe the organization that edited … Continue reading The view from underneath the bus

Adrastos, Political Crack, Stupid Republican Tricks3 Comments

Traylor Trash?

Peter Adrastos Athas

The Monroe News Star is reporting that Bitter Vitter’s Gooper foe, Chet Traylor may have some zipper issues of his own. But, hey, at least he doesn’t pay: State Rep. Noble Ellington, D-Winnsboro, said that Traylor was “significantly involved” in the cause of his divorce from Peggy McDowell, who later married Chet Traylor and became Peggy McDowell Traylor. <SNIP> Traylor is also currently involved in a romantic relationship with Denise Lively, the estranged wife of his stepson, Ryan Ellington, the son of Noble Ellington. Continue reading Traylor Trash?

Athenae, Food and Drink9 Comments

Pasickie

Making people happy: When the Popsicle Princesses arrive at theTime Out Chicago offices for an interview, they immediately hoist a picnic basket and distribute their wares—the Gloria Gaynor (whole blueberries, lemon zest and juiced berries), the Madonna (strawberry and basil syrup), the Kathleen Hanna (mango with a hit of cayenne)—to passersby in the foyer. “Would you like a pop?” they ask me. A hand-labeled, multicolored fruit pop made by two women wearing matching red gingham shirts and cutoffs? Only David Brooks is a big enough killjoy to refuse. The Popsicle Princesses are Liz Wolferman and Emma Nolley, a renegade pair … Continue reading Pasickie

Adrastos, Afghanistan, War in Afghanistan1 Comment

Only Talking Sense

Peter Adrastos Athas

Holy crap, someone in Washington is talking sense about Afghanistan albeit off the record and to the British press: The White House is revising itsAfghanistan strategy to embrace the idea of negotiating with senior members of theTaliban through third parties – a policy to which it had previously been lukewarm. Negotiating with the Taliban has long been advocated by Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, and the British and Pakistani governments, but resisted by Washington. The Guardian has learned that while the American government is still officially resistant to the idea of talks with Taliban leaders, behind the scenes a shift … Continue reading Only Talking Sense