Media's False Equivilences

During the HRC debate and its subsequent passage many threats and intimidation tactics have been used against Democratic members of Congress. They were right to call them out and admonish their behavior. It is striking to me that the Republican leadership is cheering them on.

Yesterday we learned that a deranged individual posted a threatening video to Republican Congressman Eric Cantor and has since been arrested. Good. Violent threats to anyone are not to be tolerated. However, this morning on MSNBC's Monin' Joe all Mika Brzezinski wanted to talk about was this example of how the left is just as bad as the right on this subject. She nor anyone at the table ever said that this person also threatened many other people including Barack Obama. How can Ms Brzezinski claim that he is from the "far left"? Because he threatened a republican? This makes no sense.

I would bet dollars to donuts that by the evening news hour this guy is "far left" and that the right can now make the claim that both sides do it.

Thanks Mika. Great reporting there.

bc

UPDATE: The Rude Pundit has to be quoted here:

"'Cause, see, whenever anyone tries to make some kind of moral equivalence between the actions of leftist protesters in the 1960s and 1970s and those of the teabaggers (or, indeed, the militia movement), they are forgetting context. And context, as we know, will take your sad little rhetorical point and spank its ass until it begs context to stop."

I just love the last sentence.

Quote of the Day

"the GOP just had a premature political ejaculation. Obama, meanwhile, has just got his groove on."

- Andrew Sullivan from the Atlantic's Daily Dish

For Alex

Rest in Peace

A Typical IT Call For Me

I love people like the guy in this video. They keep me in a job.

Call The Waaamulance

Now that the health care summit is over I am willing to bet that the spin out of Fox News is how the President was so mean to the Republicans. For a party who acts so tough and Billy Bad Ass all the time they sure spend a lot of time on the TeeVee crying about people being condescending to them.

I swear they are like a bunch of 5 year olds.

bc

UPDATE: That did not take long...

Happy Valentines Day

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If you find yourself down just listen to this song. It always puts a smile on my face whenever I hear it. This clip is from the excellent movie "Stop Making Sense" by Jonathan Demme.

Now, Here Is What Political Satire Looks Like

Sandberg hits it out of the park.

bc

I Hear There Is A Football Game Sunday

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I predict that one team will win.

bc

I'm so Excited!

Happy Lost Day!

The sixth and final season of Lost starts tonight. If you have not been watching this show you don't know what you have been missing. It is really the only reason I watch ABC except for Modern Family another terrific show.

We have been promised that this season all questions will be answered. That remains to be seen. If it ends up that it was all in Hurley's head I'm going to to be pissed.

bc

The Death Of The Kindle?

Apple ( Steve Jobs) introduces the iPad Tablet. It looks like it would be more enjoyable to read from it than Amazon's Kindle.

We Are All Truly Fucked Now!

"Government cannot restrict corporations from spending money to influence political campaigns, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday in an opinion that immediately reverberated across the political landscape and drew strong criticism from the White House.

The decision upends the political battlefield in time for November's high-stakes congressional elections. It also is likely to affect state contests. Twenty-two states prohibit corporate spending in state candidate elections, and two more, New York and Alabama, impose limits on such spending."

-USA Today

The court ruled some time ago that corporations are "super citizens" . That means they have more rights than we as individuals have in this country. You think we have crooked politicians now, just wait a couple of more election cycles.

bc

UPDATE: There may be something that can be done about this:

I know I was going to leave politics alone for a while. But every time I do they keep pulling me back in.

bc

It's Been A While

The holidays are behind me now. I haven't had much to blog about, at least anything anyone would want to read.

I know one thing, I am sick of politics. I'm taking a break from that stuff.

So:

Which makes me nostalgic for this video.

bc
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When All You Can Do Is Laugh

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Thanks Thad

The Grand Obstructionist Party strikes again:

GOP senators block effort to freeze credit card interest rates.

Good to know you're looking out for us, Thad (Cochran...my Senator).

bc

This Here Is Real...

SNL's Scared Straight -



bc

Nuttin' But The Truth

Read John Cole's analysis today.

He's right. Even though the GOP has been epic fail time and time again, the news media can't wait to put a republican on air to spout his or her bullshit. Then they won't call them on their bullshit.

I certainly cannot remember when the minority party or the party that lost the last presidential election gets so much press coverage. But when most media outlets are owned by very powerful corporations that are controlled by conservatives and/or republicans, you can see how they get treated with kid gloves.

bc

I'm Sure That This Is All Obama's Fault

At least seven people are dead and between 12 and 15 wounded in shootings at Fort Hood in Texas on Thursday, senior Pentagon official told CNN.

I'd also be willing to bet that someone will try to make political hay out of it.

Also, teabag anyone?

Oh, yeah: Wolverines!

bc

If You Pulled This Stunt In the U.S.

...you would get your ass shot!

I Hate Banks

Here's a song by Mojo Nixon that is on his "Frenzy" album that came out in 1986 but relevent today:

The White House Is Right

Fox "News" is not a news organization. They are a propaganda wing of the GOP:

Damn, It's Been A While

Been out of it lately. Lots of personal stuff happening but basically not having anything to say.

Still don't. But in the mean time:

A PSA I Can Get Behind

Funny:

Protect Insurance Companies PSA from Will Ferrell

Here Is Something To Think About

Steve Benen adds this:
"During their reign, Republicans took an annual surplus of a quarter of a trillion dollars and, in just eight years, turned it into a $1.2 trillion deficit. The GOP added $5 trillion to the national debt, and inexplicably put two tax cuts, two wars, Medicare Part D, and No Child Left Behind on the national charge card, left for some future generation to worry about.

If fiscal responsibility is the new chief concern of voters, they literally couldn't find a less qualified, less credible bunch than the congressional Republican caucus.

But wait, our conservative friends remind us, that was the recent past. What about the ongoing deficit problems on the Dems' watch? The answer isn't complicated. As Michael Ettlinger and Michael Linden recently explained: "The policies of the Bush administration, which included tax cuts during a time of war and a floundering economy, are clearly the primary source of the current deficits."

And what of those recent reports about deficit projections rising from $7 trillion to $9 trillion? The bottom line, Kevin Drum recently noted, is simple: "[P]roperly accounted for, the deficit actually goes down when you compare Obama's budget proposals to current policy, not up."

If Americans want to prioritize deficit reduction, fine. But they should at least recognize who has credibility on the issue, and who doesn't."

Driftglass raises his hand to ask the President the right question

"When do we publicly stop pretending that the modern Right does not despise this country -- our country -- and can never be appeased and will never be satisfied until everything that we care about and everything this nation should be proud of is buried in an unmarked, mass grave beneath a single, White, Christian Conservative WalMart that stretches from sea to shining sea, and whose Electronics section shows nothing but acre after acre of teevees, all turned to FoxNews -- now just called The News -- featuring an endless loop of President Palin and Vice President Beck ranting and baiting about the next group of sinister, imaginary enemies at which they have decided to point their army of slack-jawed, single-digit-IQ "patriots".

That is the hard truth about what is breaking this nation's back, and your job above all else is to look the American people in the eye and tell us the hard truths that we don't want to hear, and that our media categorically will not discuss for fear of losing market share.

Your job is to lead.

To. Lead. Us.

And if you are not up for that hard job, then what in the world are you doing in our White House?"


bc

Edit Post

The "Success" Of The George W. Bush Administration

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We progressives look at the last administration and see nothing but failure. We are not looking at it with the right pair of glasses. Oh, no. It was anything but a failure.

You see, the republican party believes that government cannot be trusted. It cannot do anything right. But they were unsuccessful in getting large numbers of Americans to believe what they were saying. Then along came W.

W was successful in letting our guard down long enough for Al Qaeda to launch an attack on our country. W started a war with a country that had nothing to do with that attack.

Though he did not personally send hurricane Katrina to New Orleans, his administration's incompetence in it's aftermath certainly galvanized a lot of people's thinking about the limits of government competence.

His greatest success was by far the economy. His love for tax cuts for the wealthiest .1% of the nation and for deregulation created a tsunami of debt for almost every American with corporations "too big to fail" needing gigantic federal bailouts to keep us all out of a depression.

Now that they are out of power the republicans can sit on the sidelines, shout insults and throw rocks at the current administration who is trying to right the wrongs that were done.

So, the success of George W. Bush is the fact that the republican party can say to the American people, "You can't trust the government, it can't do anything right" and the American people believe them.

bc

Is There No End To The Stupid?

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GOP party head in Florida says it's "socialism" to have the president talk to school kids about working hard.

Good God, Gurty! My brain hurts.

bc

Catch-22

My favorite book is Catch-22.

Here is the quote that describes the essence of the entire book:

"There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's own safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to he was sane and had to. Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle."
"That's some catch, that catch-22," he observed.
"It's the best there is," Doc Daneeka agreed.

bc

Mental Health Break

The theme song of the Republican Party (The Party of No!)

Healthcare, Smealthcare

I read Matt Taibbi's article in Rolling Stone about the Healthcare debacle now working it's way through Congress. Very depressing indeed. You can read part of it online. Search the internets to see if any one has posted the whole thing if you want to read it all. And you should. If for no other reason than to re-inforce your belief that Congress is there for no other purpose than to fuck us all over.

Meanwhile Driftglass posted a link to movie critic Roger Ebert with his thoughts about universal healthcare. It's worth a read.

Early Winter Here In Northwest Mississippi

I see signs.

The sap is rising in the trees already.

My oak tree is shedding tiny acorns - lots of them.

I could be wrong.

bc

Good!

Robert Novak dead at 78.

I hope you're rotting in hell right now.

I dance on your grave.

bc

We Lost Another Music Man

Jim Dickinson died yesterday. Memphis music has lost a very good friend.

He lived just up the road from me in Coldwater, Mississippi. I am sorry I never met him.

My condolences to his wife Mary and his sons Cody and Luther.

bc

Wow...

Read P.M. Carpenter's post today.

I might have to comment on this later.

Sad News...

Les Paul dead at 94.

I saw a documentary about him on PBS last year. There is nothing in the recording business he hasn't touched or influenced.

Rest in Peace Les!

bc

Does The Ends Justify The Means?

I have been thinking about this brew-ha-ha over the healthcare debate and why all of this anger is coming to a head over it. If you really thing about it, it all began with Rush Limbaugh saying he hopes the President fails.

Then the stimulus bill had no votes from the republicans in the House. The GOP really thought they had traction opposing it.

Then the "tea parties" started and all of the folks who did not vote for Obama got whipped up into a tizzy by Limbaugh and other wingers on the radio along with sponsership from Fox News.

When the healthcare debate first started Senator DeMint (R-NC) stated that if they can get the President's proposal to fail it would be his Waterloo. That has turned out to be the clarian call for the Right. Everything they say, everything they do is to this end. The birther stuff, the tea-bagging, the deather stuff is about making the President fail. I haven't seen anything like this since the Clinton administration.

I look at the people raising hell at these meetings and think " I am willing to bet not one of these folks voted for Obama". I don't know why the media doesn't ask this question to the people who oppose healthcare reform when they have them on air. The truth is they hate the President, didn't vote for him and they want him to fail.

But does this help the Right's cause? And what is their cause anyway? I cannot think of one thing besides tax cuts for the rich the Republicans have ever proposed in the last two Republican administrations. They don't seem to know how to govern for the people of the United States. They know how to make their base happy but 30% at the most is the support they get. They have alienated the Latino vote and most of the black vote.

Republicans cannot tell you what they are for but they sure as hell can tell you what they are against. Right now it is President Obama.

bc

I Don't Wanna

Feeling kinda blah so I haven't posted lately. It's the dog days of August here in Mississippi but I have to say the weather hasn't been as oppressive as usual this time of the year. So I really can't blame it on the weather.

Maybe it's the 'birthers, the tea baggers and the deathers that have me down. Watching everyone at their town hall meetings melt down into a bunch of old men in their front yards shouting "Get off my lawn!"

Most of the people I see ranting against the government look like they get a government check every month. I am willing to bet they have a Medicare card in their wallet too.

I am also willing to bet that they are all the same type of folks who say things like, " Everything was alright 'til the niggers moved in."

Just sayin'

bc

The President Is One Sly Dog

Senator Harry Reid announces that the passage of health care reform will not meet the President's dead line. And what do the Villagers want to talk about? The President's comments on the arrest of his friend, Henry Louis Gates.

Everyone knows the story by now so I won't waste your time telling it again. It's how all of this came to be that has me intrigued.

I watched Obama's press conference Wednesday night. Every question was on the health care legislation working it's way through congress. Except for the last one, the one about Gates. It was asked by Lynn Sweet a columnist for the Washington Bureau of the Chicago Sun-Times. She has been covering Mr. Obama since he entered politics in Chicago. When the President went to ask for the last question both Sweet and another journalist stood up and Obama called on the other journalist, but asked him to make it a quick one so he could get back to Sweet's question. He made a mistake, he was supposed to call on Sweet for the last question. And of course the last question seemed to come completely out of left field. From my perspective any way.

Maybe since Sweet has known Obama for so long she may have known that he and Gates are friends and that she knew he would make a comment on the situation. Or Obama has an idea that she would ask that question and he wanted it to make a statement about racial profiling. Or he knew, or was hoping, that his answer would send everyone into a non-stop tizzy over it.

Suddenly the fact that his health care legislation will be delayed until the fall doesn't seem to make much of a splash in the news.

Well played.

bc

The Modern GOP

They are at it again. Ginning up any conspiracy theory to try to prove that the duly elected President of the United States is not legitimate.

Driftglass has a very good post on this. His take is that the GOP will do or say anything to destroy this President no matter the cost. They don't care.

Do yourself a favor and read it.


bc

The Secret To Happiness

I have found the secret to happiness: Don't expect so much! Then you will be pleased when you get more than you expected.

I think Kipling wrote, "Blessed is he who expects the worst, for he shall not be disappointed."

bc

Even If You Win, You Lose

From all the "mainstream media" this week it does not matter that the Republicans showed themselves to be the party of intolerance during the conformation hearings for Sonia Sotomayor, they still came out on top.

Read this from CNN.com. Every good thing that happens for the Democrats comes with a warning from most of the pundits that they are in danger of doing this or causing that, etc... But a small minority of Republicans can call someone a racist, a communist, or a in cahoots with terrorists and the MSM reports it like it is gospel.

Damned Liberal Media

For the real story behind the Sotomayor hearings go here.

bc

Now that "My Name Is Earl" is off the air

Maybe Crabman can go back to doing OfficeMax commercials:




This was the best of the series.

Here is one of my favorite Mitch Ryder songs

I wish I could have found a clean copy but the introduction is worth hearing:

I Tell Ya

I don't know what's going to come first - the ulcer or the aneurysm.

bc

The Reason

The reason I call this blog MyGoldWatch is because I believe my generation is the first one to grow up believing (well, it's always been in the back of our minds anyway) that our social safety nets will not be there when we get ready to retire at 62.

So, I believed that I would find a good job with a good company, pay into the pension plan and one day retire at the age of now, 65. Yeah, there was going to be a nice ceremony where your boss gives you your gold watch to take home and put in the top dresser drawer.

Then, just as I got that job and started thinking of retirement, lo and behold the 401K was created. And company stock was offered."Just help the company be the best it could be and you will get a share. You don't need no stinking union. You can just be partners with us and reap the benefits too."

And the risk. Actually most of the risk. Pension plans are bankrupt. Shares of company stock ain't worth a pinch of monkey shit and our 401Ks are like empty Walmart bags. And the new retirement age is now 72.

But who can afford it?

bc

All Aboard The Crazy Train

It seems that the resignation of Governor Palin ( Quitter )has further endeared her in the eyes of fellow (mostly men) Republicans.

I love this from Driftglass:

"To figure out just where the Palinites might believe their political clown car is headed as it cartwheels down the interstate, belching smoke and shredding itself against the guardrail at at 110 mph, we have to begin with this simple fact: There is nothing vital or alive left inside the Conservative movement. Nothing at all. Rampaging along on the two, moldering stumps of bygone glory – tax cuts forever and Liberals are Devils -- Conservatism has become a raving, headless, dead thing."

bc

Oh, Sarah! Say It Ain't So

Well, the Thrilla from Wasilla done up and quit her job as governor of Alaska. I guess she's got bigger fish to fry.

What's really rich is watching her defenders spin this, but the Rude Pundit puts them in their place:

"What's most depressingly predictable is the number of defenders she has among people not on her payroll. There's insanity abounding when you read or hear anyone contort themselves in order to justify all the time and effort they've put into attempting to make us believe that Sarah Palin is anything more than that fun one-night stand they keep texting over and over to see again. All of them just keep saying stupid shit that only the desperate speak. And none of it deserves any more of a response than a silent stare, wondering if the speaker is going to hurt themselves or others.

Over on MSNBC's Morning Starbucks, Mika Brzezinski, who always looks like she's just aching for a spanking, said yesterday that if Palin were a man, we wouldn't be judging her so harshly for resigning. She's wrong on that account, but she's right that we'd treat a man differently. We'd call him a "pussy." (Bonus points: Brzezinski declared that she's not a feminist.)"

I just can't help feeling that we dodged a bullet when McCain lost the last election. But I also feel that now that she is not held down by her job in Alaska she is free to spread the crazy all over the lower 48.

bc

Jackie and Dunlap On The New Gun Law In Tennessee

Not safe for work...

The Daniel Stern Scream

I just saw Home Alone II with my grandson. I don't care how many times I see the Home Alone movies, Stern's "man scream" always makes me laugh.




The last one is the best.

It's Alive!

I received an email from Circuit City today. I thought they went out of business, but it seems they have been bought out by Systemax and they are re-launching the brand.

Mark Twain Tonight

I saw Hal Holbrook's portrail of Mark Twain when it originally aired in 1967. This segment is about man as a reasoning animal.

I Miss Will Ferrel On SNL

He did come back to host and did one of my favorite characters, Harry Caray:

A Milestone Day

Mark this day on your calenders. The US is officially out of the cities in Iraq. A big step but we will still be in country for quite a while yet.

Weekend At The Movies

As it was too hot this weekend to do anything outside,we took our grandson to see Transformers II. I have two words for it: Too Long. Make that three words: Too Damn Long. I guess you get your money's worth if you pay per explosion. The plot is rather thin but kids only want to see the robots fight anyway. Watching two dogs screwing (twice) and hearing all the bad language was a bit disconcerting as this was supposed to be a "kids" movie.

The other movie I saw (without my grandson) was The Hangover. It was good. It was funny, but not "Tropic Thunder" funny. I liked the way the film was structured. It was as much a mystery as a comedy. Ed Helms did a great job as the hen pecked dentist who has to lie to his girlfriend just to go off with the boys to Vegas. Hilarity ensued.

Dylan's Career In 3:35

Music Collection

I was thinking of the music I listened to when I was in junior high school. I spent many many hours in my room just listening to these records:



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I have listened to music my whole life. But I think my tastes in music were pretty much formed during the years of 1967 - 1970

Another One Bites The Dust

Governor Sanford of South Carolina admits to affair. That's 2 Republicans in 2 weeks to admit to being unfaithful in their marriage. Both of these guys were high on the list for a possible run for president in 2012.

Why is it that all these Republicans that spout Bible scripture and talk about "family values" are the ones doing all the extra-marital fornicating? I guess they believe the great thing about being a Christian is that you will be forgiven if you ask. Maybe their fellow Republicans will stand by them but I don't believe their wives will be so quick to forgive. It will be very frosty around the governor's mansion for quite a while.

Do NOT Fuck With Me...

Or I'll sic my dog on you.

Best News I Have Heard All Day

Perez Hilton got his ass kicked by the Black Eyed Peas' body guard after he called will.i.am a faggot.

I am not a big fan of the Black Eyed Peas but I do like will.i.am.

Perez I can't stand. He should get is butt kicked every time he opens his mouth.

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Thought Of The Day

I work out so I can drink beer.

The Trolls Are Out Today

Check out the comments on this story about President Obama taking a swipe at Fox News.

Man, there are a lot of people out there that literally HATE our President. I would be willing to bet ALL of them get ALL of their news from FOX.

Listen folks, he's the President. He won the election hands down. Now get over it and work with the rest of us so we can clean up this mess he has inherited from the last President that ,if I remember correctly, you and Fox News adored.

Springsteen!

Here is a picture of Bruce I took at the Auditorium North Hall in Memphis in 1978.
We had front row center seats. Great show.

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Finally!

I finished the upholstery job on my wife's chair. I really struggled with the sewing. It will take a lot of sewing practice to get to where I need to be if I want to get good at upholstery work.

Look at the clown

John Daly signs autographs at the FedEx St. Jude Classic.

Yeah, he's a clown. But he's our clown.

Why Is This Sumbitch Always On My TeeVee?

Disgraced former House Speaker who was run off the job 10 years ago seems to be the go-to guy for GOP. There is also serious talk of him running for President in 1012!

Oh please, oh please....make it so!

Driftglass has a few words to describe this dipshit.
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Treason!

We were told time again that you do not criticise the President while he is on foreign soil...up until now I suppose:

Mark down Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) as one of the more outspoken critics of President Obama's speech yesterday in Egypt -- in fact, he told The Oklahoman the speech was "un-American" for calling the Iraq conflict a "war of choice."
Inhofe also blasted Obama for implying that torture had taken place at Guantanamo Bay: "There has never been a documented case of torture at Guantanamo."
"I just don't know whose side he's on," Inhofe added. -TPM

Jackass.

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This Made My Day....

After a not so good day, this made me laugh.

Tosh.0 Extreme Salvia Challenge - watch more funny videos

This Is Sad News

Actor David Carradine was found dead in his hotel room in Bangkok. He was 72.

I remember we all HAD to be in front of the TV in time to watch Kung Fu every week.

Rest in peace Kung Fu master.

Update:

Now it is being reported as an "accidental" hanging. You can guess how that happened. I think he would have been better served if his publicity people would have just said it was a suicide.

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Happy Birthday To Me!

Today is my birthday. I would like to just enjoy the day, have a beer and lay by the pool but there is always stuff to do.

I completed reupholstering my wife's overstuffed chair. However, I was a little short of material so the the seat cushion will have to wait. I have 2 more yards on order.

Carnival

A little traveling carnival is in town right now. I took my grandson and a couple of his friends there last night. As I stood and watched them ride all the rides I noticed that all the ride operators reminded me of this guy:


minus the mullet of course.

You Know You're Full Of Shit, Right?

Rep. Paul Broun, R-GA, was on Fox and Friends yesterday touting his proposal to have Congress officially designate 2010 "The Year of the Bible", and he had an interesting rationale for it:

Broun: Well, it's all about freedom, actually. The Bible was the basis of our laws, it was the basis of the Constitution of the United States, the Declaration of Independence -- the Bible was the founding source.

Thought of the Day

You know you are deep in the hills of Arkansas when you find yourself on Cooterneck road.

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Screw It

I'm going to Heber Springs.

Have a great Memorial Day weekend!

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I'm a Fan

of this site: http://www.textsfromlastnight.com/

Most posts are about sex or vomit...sometimes both.

I Have Had A Belly Full

Fuck Harry Reid!

Booman will fill you in.

One of the Rockin'est Concerts I've Seen

Random Thoughts

Not posting of late. Lots of stuff happening on the homefront.

Just a couple of rambling thoughts:

If it would just quit raining for a few days I can finish planting my vegetables.

Who gives a shit if the President likes spicy or Dijon mustard on his burger? I guess he should have used good old American "French's" mustard.

Since when does the loss of "only" 539,000 jobs seen as a good thing?

I want gays to get married. Misery loves company.

Fox news should change its name to the "We hate President Obama" channel.

I will be lost without Lost.

While on the subject of TeeVee, my favorite shows:

1. Lost - of course
2. Reaper - More people should watch this show. Ray Wise as the Devil. Funny.
3. Fringe - The X-Files on steriods.
4. Rescue Me - The best show on tv.
5. My Name is Earl - Rednecks and trailer park humor. What could be funnier?
6. 30 Rock - That's what could be funnier.
7. Big Bang Theory - Who would have thought geeks could crack me up?
8. Two and a Half Men - Jon Cryer is the new Jerry Lewis.

Give a holler to Monkeyfister and the Ornery Bastard. You'll be glad you did.

A Case of the Flu Here in North Mississippi

My friend and co-worker Dale has the flu. I do not know if it is of the swine. He called me Monday morning and told me he thought his sinus' were attacking him. Then he told me that his chest hurt and it was hard to breath. I said that it sounds like the flu. He went to the doctor and reported back to me that I was right.

I have quarantined his office.

Hoo Wee!

This is going to be fun:

Longtime GOP Sen. Arlen Specter becomes Democrat

The Tea Party of the Damned

Tomorrow's planned tax protests funded by the rich and sponsored by Fox News will be...well, I don't know.

I will let the Rude One tell it:

"Somewhere, Karl Marx is laughing his bearded ass off. Because what is this but classic exploitation of the proletariat by the bourgeoisie? It's a bunch of rich fucks, beginning with that tool Rick Santelli on CNBC and ending with the slavering profitmongers at Fox "news," making the poor idiots, who are desperate from fear of or actual job loss and heath insurance loss and home loss, do their bidding. Look at the people attending. Bedraggled Joe the Plumber and Sarah Palin wannabes, clinging to the image of those who create the illusion of the working class without the work or the class. Ignorance is such bliss, man.

This movement's gonna die a horribly gruesome death. It really is just the last hideous gasps of a kind of right wing populism that's got nothing to do with actual populism and everything to do with a desperate scrabbling to preserve the status quo for the wealthy. It's ideological endgame, motherfuckers, and the checkmate ain't gonna be pretty."

Well Done John

John Cole addresses the crazy wing of what is left of the Republican Party.

15 Minute Lunch

I have to link to a blog I read often. Virgil really cracks me up. I think you will find this old post of his quite nostalgic and hilarious.

I Love This Record

I wish I could find a copy of it. I must have listened to it a million times. Mine got stolen along with the rest of my record collection in 1975.

I Think We Should Take A Step Back

The progressives are in a snit today because Obama's DOJ is keeping the domestic wire tapping that the last administration used in place.

But with "Nuts With Megaphones" like Beck, Hannity, O'Riley and Limbaugh telling their listeners that Obama is going to take away their guns, outlaw Christianity, kill every baby he sees, then give the country to the Muslims, I don't think I would give up the wire tapping either. Domestic terrorists are being indoctrinated every day.

Rush Limbaugh, The Leader Of The Anti-Obama Crowd

Media Matters has a run down of all the rhetoric coming out of the golden microphone of el' Rushbo.

The Anti-Gun Meme Trotted Out Once Again

Crooks and Liars has a good post on the right-wing's rush to claim that the Obama administration is coming after our guns. Like that last Democrat President Clinton in the 90s. Never mind that there is absolutely no basis in fact of this.

I agree with everything in the post, but they left out one thing: You have to believe gun manufacturers and sellers have perpetuated this meme in order to sell more guns. You can argue over ideology all you want, money fuels all. They are in the business of selling guns. They create or perpetuate the lie in order to create more demand, sell more guns. When we hear the likes of Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh ranting about "librals taking away our guns", the gun lobby gets a full blown boner thinking of all the money they are going to make.

Now, I am no "anti-gun" person. I believe everyone has the right to defend themselves and to protect their propery. I got no problem with that. But if someone has an armory in their house stocked with enough fire power to start a coup-de-tat then there is a problem.

My Busy Weekend

I have been using an electrical extension cord to run my fish pond's pump for years now. I decided to run an underground circuit from the house to the pond. I dug a 1 foot deep ditch 60 feet long being careful to move the top layer off to one side of the ditch ( just cut the width with a spade and flipped it over). Then I dug out the remainder of the soil putting it on the other side of the ditch. After the wire was run, the loose soil went back in first, then the top layer was put back on top. Looks almost as good as new. Now I don't have to gather up the cord every time I want to mow.

At the same time all of this is going on, my neighbor was installing an underground wire on his property for his new dog's "invisible fence". So I had to help him off and on during the afternoon. I didn't mind, I like helping my neighbors. I makes me feel good that people find me "handy".

I did a lot of cooking this weekend. I marinated some chicken and grilled it Saturday evening. I tried my luck at making homemade marshmallows. It was a success! I can't wait for my grandchildren to try them.

Yesterday, I made a pot roast. I took a large cast iron dutch oven and browned the meat. Then I took it out and made gravy with the drippings. I placed the roast back into the pot, covered and put it into a 250 degree oven until it was just done. I cut up some potatoes and carrots and added to the pot for another 30 minutes of cooking. Yum, yum, good!

Wolcott

James Wolcott at Vanity Fair on the subject I have been thinking about since the election:

Why are the bastards that have been wrong for so long still called upon during cable news shows for their opinions?

Read the whole thing.

I've Been Ubuntu'ed

Installed Ubuntu Linux on a spare laptop harddrive. So far, so good. This OS is being used a lot by folks who are buying the new Netbook computers. I've been thinking about buying a Netbook but I think I'll wait a few more months.

It Boggles The Mind

Powerline must be a very dark place where only shit like this grows.

I Hate Windows Vista With An Unbridaled Passion!

Fuck Vista. Hate it. Hate it.

If anyone wants me to work on a computer with this piece-of-shit operating system, I charge them extra.

I guess I have to weigh in on the AIG controversy.

The more I look at the bonus issue the more I believe the problem is the word "bonus". A bonus is something extra that you get for the job you do. If you are successful at what you do and if what you do adds to the bottom line of the company then by all means you should be given a bonus. The way the AIG story unfolded we were told that people are to be given a bonus that utterly failed the company. Outrage should be the norm for such behavior. But now I read that these people were contract hires that don't work for a regular salary, but work under a contract for money paid to them at the end of their tenure. That is not a "bonus" by definition, it's compensation for work done. Calling this compensation a "bonus " is what makes everyone so angry.

Of course anger and outrage feeds the media so the media piles on feeding the anger and outrage. It's a vicous cycle.

Deep Thought

I may not be right all the time, but I'm never wrong.

Best Steak Recipe

I have never been able to get that "steakhouse steak" taste at home until I tried this recipe from Ina Garten:


Ingredients

2 (10-ounce) filet mignon
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon fleur de sel (kosher or sea salt will work - just don't use as much)
1 tablespoon coarsely cracked black peppercorns
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, optional

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Heat a large, well-seasoned cast iron skillet over high heat until very hot, 5 to 7 minutes.
Meanwhile, pat the steaks dry with a paper towel and brush them lightly with vegetable oil. Combine the fleur de sel and cracked pepper on a plate and roll the steaks in the mixture, pressing lightly to evenly coat all sides.
When the skillet is ready, add the steaks and sear them evenly on all sides for about 2 minutes per side, for a total of 10 minutes.
Top each steak with a tablespoon of butter, if using, and place the skillet in the oven. Cook the steaks until they reach 120 degrees F for rare or 125 degrees F for medium-rare on an instant-read thermometer. (To test the steaks, insert the thermometer sideways to be sure you're actually testing the middle of the steak.)
Remove the steaks to a serving platter, cover tightly with aluminum foil and allow to rest at room temperature for 10 minutes.

I have tried this with strips and ribeyes too.

Not Surrounded Yet

Glenn Beck and Chuck Norris have lost their goddamned minds.

If we need to be afraid of anything, it should be these motherfuckers.

I Stand Corrected

The spring like weather of late has given way to a cold rain and a high temperature of only 36.

So much for yard work.

At least for a week.

To All You Republicans Complaining

That President Obama is trying to do too much.

Shut The Fuck Up!

If you can't get behind our president and support him in his efforts to help fix the problems you made, get out of the way and let the rest of us do what needs to be done.

Out In The Yard

The warm weather has me outside looking at all the shit that has to be done. I've got a rotted place about half way up on the gable end of the house. I'll have to get a 20 ft. extension ladder and get up there, cut the fascia board out where the rot is and put another piece in it's place. Then prime and paint. Also the whole outside of the house could use a good cleaning.

I started some seeds for my vegetable garden. I only have one corner of my property that stays sunny most of the day. I think I can get 3 4'X12' raised beds in there. I'm not much of a gardener. I've grown a few tomatoes in my time, but I want to grow a lot more than that. It will be another learning experience for me.

I got the mower out yesterday. I was completely out of gasoline (that high dollar stuff I bought last summer when it was $4 a gallon). Had to make a trip for fuel ($1.79 a gallon - bargin!). Pouring the gas into the tank, fuel started running out of the carborator. The bolt that holds the bowl was loose. Did I do that last fall? Anyway, a quick fix and I got the old girl fired up. With the longer day I got the mowing done. First one of the season!

Dog Dreams

This is funny too.

Non Sequitur

Some days you need a laugh.

The Modern GOP

The modern GOP has been successful at nationalizing the hatred southerners have for yankees and revenuers.