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April 04 Ding Dong, the Witch is Dead:You know, I should be dancing (I *am* a dancing machine). I mean, besides waking up and telling myself that I need to be more positive, the Hammer is finally starting to fall for the last time.
That's right, Tom Delay is "retiring."
And that should be enough.
But it isn't.
Its a start. He's a big part of the foundation that needs to come down. We just need to trim down a few hundred more (notice that I am NOT advocating the replacement of a Republican dominated congress with a Democratic one. In fact, I would like to see stronger third parties in our little experiment. Only way to keep these jackholes honest is competition - for votes if not dollars).
I won't forget this day. For twenty or thirty minutes, I was high as kite.
But that's done.
Time to get to get back to work.
PS: anybody else bored with the Sopranos? Anybody PUMPED UP about the latest "reveal" on 24??!!!
PSS: I can't recall where I got this photo (Crooks&Liars, Sirotablog, dailykos, someplace else). Sorry, guys.
I don't know what the deal is. I think he's signing "I'm sorry" or "I'm sorry I'm a jackhole" or "I hope my wife is going to church and praying for me everyday like Don Corleone's wife did - in the book, not the movie."
March 21 Fox News: I ApologizeI can't believe how stupid I've been for all these years.
All this time I thought yous guys were just the official mouth of the GOP.
Turns out, you've been mocking the Wingnuts all along. Its all satire all day.
And you've got to admit they have been exceedigly dedicated to the cause. Taking all kinds of grief for one MASSIVE and long running in- joke. What, you don't believe me?
Check out this shot from Fox News and tell me these guys aren't trying to be funny (scoped on C&L)
March 13 TIVO, Lost Happy Endings, and Sugar Coated FascismI finally decided to get a Tivo. Yes, I felt like I was bullied into it. They are changing their strategy. Moving from hardware & service pricing to a one-size fits all pricing. No more buying hardware. Now, you just "lease" it all.
Well, I think that's crap. Sort of. The pricing they have come up with is ridiculous. I just "bought" an 80 hr recorder with lifetime service for a penny less than it will cost to rent the same box for two years.
Now, I will say that renting the box makes sense if you want to upgrade your box. But, I'm just not that into the hardware. Yeah, I will probably wish I had the series 3 when it comes out, but you know what, I'm done. I'm paid for. As long as the company stays in bidness, I'm cool.
I watch way too much TV as it is.
Speaking of TV, here's some thoughts on three shows I caught this past weekend...
BSG Season Finale:
I love this show. I think it is the best show on TV, period. I like "24," but this is the shiznit. Can't believe the SciFi channel hasn't dropped it.
Now, that being said, I have to say that this episode was a let down, emotionally. It seems to me it was all setup for next season. And, generally speaking, I'm good with that. However, next season is SEVEN MONTHS away!
For example, when they shot Adama, I was bummed at having to wait 3 months to see how they saved him, but I felt like I had "earned" that rest. I was shocked. It was harsh! I needed a break.
But, here, ...I mean, OK, a lot did happen. Baltar is elected President, Cloud 9 is gone, Starbuck is married, Chief is a union guy and married. Stuff happened. However, we didn't see any of it. We felt none of it. It just washed across our eyes.
THERE WAS NO EMOTIONAL CONNECTION.
No connection = no drain. No drain = no cost. No cost means I've got to wait 7 months for the damn payoff!
Don't be confused: I will be there. Nothing could hold me back. I just would have liked a happy ending if I've got to wait so long before heading back to the Bunny Ranch.
Sopranos: Season Opener
This is kinda along the same lines as BSG. Here, I've been waiting almost two years, I'm expecting to get a little somethingsomething. Instead, all I get is another dead redshirt and a hint that the Feds have EVERYBODY wired.
Well, that and Tony is the luckiest mobster in the world.
Besides getting gutshot, I mean.
Carmela *doesn't* know/suspect what happened to Chrissy's fiance?
She's all made up with Tony? AJ is still a prick. And what's the deal with teasing us with Meadow's hot bod but giving her NO dialogue (Hey, it just seems cheap to me). EVERYTHING about this episode seems cheap.
Even when Tony got shot, I knew what was coming.
Seriously, after a two year wait I demand better.
They get AT MOST two more episodes. Then, they can kiss my azz. The Unit: Premier
Wow.
Seriously.
Wow. This is like a whole freakin' squad of Jack Bauers.
Premise: these are the guys that go around the world doing the things that need to be done (let's leave our politics out of this, please. This is entertainment. So, while I enjoy this show & "24," I think warrantless wire-tapping is illegal and wrong. But this isn't the post for that).
And what David Mamet captures is the "professionalism" and esprit de corps that I imagine these men exhibit.
For example, there is the scene where the "team" gets the call. Actually, its only two members of the team. They are visiting a former member so the new guy can get his "membership card" (a specially made .22 caliber semi with a silencer).
Anyway, they are all sitting around, sipping coffee, while the wife has done NOTHING but give them (the two guys still in the unit) shiznit. From the instant they walked in, she hammers them (all be it politely) to leave her husband alone and don't try to bring him back in (he's in a wheelchair).
In fact, the longer they are there, the more insistent she becomes.
Then, they get the call. BAM!
I don't know how to describe the scene. The guy in the wheelchair is giving instructions to his wife (see the guys don't have their equipment - this will get bloody - and he has the ultimate stash in hardware). Get this bag and these guns.
Here is the change. She knows where everything is, she know WHAT everything is, and she grabs it all and hands it to the boys without saying a word, missing a beat, or dropping a round.
Hey, she is not an automaton! Twenty seconds ago, her husband was retired and she was busting everyone balls. But now, its their job, its national security, its *their* security. This is serious work that they do and she understands her role in it.
In fact, what is so cool about this series is that it shows the wives and their fierce love of their husbands *AND* the other members of the team. They are family. They know the risks and they share them with each other. Screw with one of them and screw with them all. Talk to much about what their husbands do and the claws come out. Don't frak with these women.
OK, back to the scene: so, all at once, the husband is telling his wife what to get, asking the guys what they need, calling the Sheriff to get them a ride and getting a Cessna ready for them to use ("A pilot would be great, but leaving the keys in the ignition would work to").
Also, the lead guy is getting a briefing from his C.O. and answering questions from the husband and giving instructions to his partner (the new guy).
And, while that is going on, the new guy is also getting briefed on his cell and loading weapons.
All of this happens over the course of just a couple of minutes.
It was some of the most amazing dialogue I've ever seen. Literally, there are seven people talking or listening (you can't hear the three that are on the phone but the actors make it seem like you can) all on screen. Sometimes there are three people talking at once (that you can hear). But it wasn't chaos.
It most certainly wasn't that.
Thank god for being able to pause live TV. I was wore out.
Don't get me wrong, I did not catch everything that was said. But I also didn't feel like I needed to. The point was the professionalism from EVERYONE. Cool, calm, collected, and focused on the job.
OH MAN, and don't get me started on the scene in the hanger (a National Guard unit had assembled, originally, to deal with the "threat"): "who here can show me a ranger badge? (three guys stand up) "You are the spotter for the sniper. You two, with your shotguns, you will come with me"....and then the General in charge of the Guard unit shows up to tell him he ain't in charge. "Yes, sir (to the general). Now, those of you that came here to do a job can come with me" (you can tell the General heard and approves)...
And then the FBI shows up to tell him he ain't in charge. That Posse Comitatus *hasn't* been suspended and they will arrest him if he doesn't stand down. "Understood. Now, you, you, and you (pointing at the three FBI agents) panic. The rest of you come with me."
DAMN,DAMN,DAMN this shows kicks my Y chromosome into overdrive! Was it wrong that all I wanted to do after the show was over was to fire up the XboX plug in "Blackhawk Down" or "Halo"????
However, this Brokeback love is tempered by the knowledge that nothing is perfect. At the very end of the show, we find out that one of the wives (we three of them in this first episode. The new guy's wife is clearly not ready for the commitment. The other two have done *nothing* but shown theirs) is screwing the C.O.
The same C.O. that has been sending her husband out on more missions than anyone else.
Now, the only thing that pisses me off more than the laughable security at C.T.U. is infidelity. Add to that the idea that the C.O. *appears* to be trying to kill his own man just to screw his wife invalidates everything we've just seen for the last hour.
And it really, really pisses me off!
However, they've got me hooked. As soon as my TIVO arrives, this show is the first that gets plugged in.
If you want to see where this show came from (my opinion, I've done NO research), try renting "Spartan."
David Mamet getting his Army gun on. Besides the usual top notch writing, you can see where his fascination (?) with Special Ops started. And, maybe, where the show will go.
....
SIDE NOTE:
Am I concerned that shows like "The Unit," "24," and even BSG (to a lessor degree) just make fascism an easier pill to swallow, even beg for?
The short answer is yes.
The long answer, I suspect, has something to do with the conflict between 20,000 years of evolution and parking my sizable azz in this comfy chair for 9 hours a day. March 09 Black. White. Synthetic.Black. White. RANT:
I was turned off by this show before it ever aired.
Somewhere I read that the chalk people they selected for this "experiment" were just frickin' idiots.
After reading a couple of reviews and chatting up the Glamazon, looks like I made the right choice.
Idiots.
The WM is spoiling for a fight and the WF asks if she should speak "jive."
Great. Thanks. Hey, did you pick people who are overly nasal, too?
The WM drops the N-word like he's been given a two-pass.
They should have just stopped right there. Point made. Shows over. Move on, nothing to see, here. Next week we get someone from the Klan to show us old reel-to-reels they made of hangin's (back in the days when Strom Thruman was a Democrat - but I digress).
To me, this show feels more like WifeSwap than "Black Like Me." (Again, this from the guy that hasn't even seen the show). Of course, maybe if this show wasn't on TV or FX, I would've gotten a better vibe.
Maybe if the producers hadn't wasted this opportunity on a couple of cartoon characters, I wouldn't feel so dirty.
I mean, what would you give for the chance to literally escape your skin/yourselves/your identity? What would you do with that? Go up on amateur night at the Apollo and see what you could get away with? Or would you head down to Mikki's Soul Food, pick a spot in the middle and just sit and listen. Would you go to the country club where you *know* how you will be treated? Or would you go to the Fifth Ward and walk around for awhile?
Speaking of Trading Identities:
So, I found this test online to tell you which SciFi ship/crew/franchise you belong to. Yes, by answering a few short questions you can find out if you should be working the "X-Files" or warping through the galaxy with the Federation.
And, its real easy to figure out which question applies to what show/franchise. It was pretty hard to answer "honestly" (HA!) to questions like "would you hang out with scavengers in order to survive".
Regardless, I couldn't be happier with the results (FanBoy getting all Brokeback) and therefore think the test is spot-the-F-bomb-on!
How can you beat Galatica (truth, justice, and the pursuit of hot synthetic lifeforms) AND a four way tie with Moya (truth, justice, and inter-species sex), Nebuchadnezzar (Truth, Justice, freedom of the human race AND the ability to fly), Serenity (My_Truth, My_Justice, cowboys AND spaceships), AND FREAKIN' Cowboy Bebop (Bounty_Hunter Truth&Justice).
Man, if that ain't the very definition of cool, well, then you can get the hell out of my quadrant!
(Of course, I do have to come to terms with the three way tie between DS-9, the Millennium Falcon, and SG-1?????????)
The link to the quiz is at the end of this blog.
Dude! Someone put Andromeda questions in the mix. Talk about detailed!
HEY, GLAM! Take this test and tell me how you do.
Galactica (Battlestar: Galactica) 100% Moya (Farscape) 88% Nebuchadnezzar (The Matrix) 88% Serenity (Firefly) 88% Bebop (Cowboy Bebop) 88% Deep Space Nine (Star Trek) 75% Millennium Falcon (Star Wars) 75% SG-1 (Stargate) 75% Enterprise D (Star Trek) 69% FBI's X-Files Division (The X-Files) 63% Babylon 5 (Babylon 5) 63% Andromeda Ascendant (Andromeda) 38% January 31 The State of the Union Address:[For the physical address, click here]
I would really like to go on a long rant about how the savage and brutalizing hypocrisy is literally destroying our country. But I am just sick and tired of feeling sick and tired. And I don't think a long, vicious railing against the IDIOTS will do me any good.
So, I am going to try and laugh, today, and I am going to volunteer with either the Democrats and/or Howard Dean's former organization.
Don't get me wrong. The Dems in congress are gutless. Most of them. If there were a means to get a third party quickly into both houses, well, maybe I would do that. However, I don't see that as a solution. Its easier to take over the existing infrastructure and bend it to the needs of those that actually bestow power to this government: We the People.
Now, a quick word to any "real" conservatives out there: take your party back!
What happened to fiscal conservatism, small government, and staying away from "nation-building?"
And try to answer without using "9/11" as your excuse.
Yes, things changed on that day. For a brief moment, most of the world was on *our* side. What power we had, then! What couldn't we have accomplished with a little hard work and diplomacy. What opportunity to change the world.
And we pizzed it away for what?
Besides the high price of oil and domestic spying, all we did was move the terrorists training center from Afghanistan to Iraq. Oh, and returned Afghanistan to the "War Lords" who have dutifully re-positioned their country to the top seat in Poppy production.
---- I have noticed that I have indeed, despite my best efforts, ranted. So I will wrap it up:
We had OBL in Tora Bora.
What happened, how did he escape?
Why doesn't GWBush think about him much, anymore? (google it and you will find the sound bite)
Why isn't Iraqi oil paying for the restoration of Iraqi?
And now that Exxon has posted 10 Billion dollars in net profits AND the Enroll trial is finally beginning, can we please, pretty-please, find out about Dick Chaney's energy meetings?
Thanks and flip off a Republican for Christ, today! Your katra will thank you. January 26 One More Chance:Look, I’m not stupid. I realize that you don’t owe me anything. If anything, I owe you something (the act of making this blog open to the public implies I’m going to deliver…something).
That having been said, this is addressed to all a y’all that are watching American Idol. Once again, the numbers for that show are blowing up. Great. I hate this show. I hate the premise. I hate the style of singing they promote (OK, “hate” is a little strong). All in all, if it weren’t for my DVR I would be about ready to commit hari-kari (as you will all eventually find out, this show is really bad for your karma and you will probably comeback as a rabidly hungry dung beetle!).
But, look, I won’t blog my hate for this show. I won’t! I Promise.
>OK, dude, what do you want?
Well, maybe one or two of you rented/bought the Firefly series on DVD? Maybe you liked the series or saw the movie? If so, then do this fan-boy a solid and click here. The producers are trying to find out if there is enough interest to green light a second season.
So, do this for me. It’s a mitzvah and it’ll help wash your soul clean when you’ve got to meet Buddha at the pearly gates.
OK, I’ll think fond of you for it, anyway!
----
You know, I know I wrote something about Memphis BBQ (well, something about writing something about Memphis BBQ). Truth is, I just don't feel the passion to write it. Bottom line: I went to two places and tried three different plates of the stuff (Corky's and Blue City Cafe). Not impressed. I don't know if they save the good stuff for townies and people from FoodTV, but what we were served was just not special.
Can you condemn an entire city's ribs because of two failures? Well, I stayed in Memphis for two reasons: Ribs & seeing the King's house.
Now that I've been to Graceland, I'm done with Memphis. See ya! January 05 QuickieI have lots to blog about but no time to do it.
Sorry.
But, this (see image, below) I couldn't resist...I found it on the DailyKos. Evidently, the Kos had previously posted that Bush *is* the New Nixon, but Tom Tomorrow had a slightly different opine...(um, the image you've already checked out).
Don't know that I totally agree with Tom Tomorrow on this, but I like because it gives me this happy, warm feeling inside.
Hey, wanna buy T-Shirts and march on Washington: http://www.cafepress.com/tomsworld/1071436
<edit>
I had to add this. Its essentially Kos' blog.
Why? Its Hunter S Thompson, why else?
</edit>
About my own blogging...hopefully, in the near future, I will post blogs on Stupid Rednecks, Baby Factories (with a franchise in Prison), Driving Over the Swamps of Louisiana and the Hype that is Memphis BBQ...
Later December 02 Getting Too Dayum Old:Even though I'm starting to get a little paranoid about the amount of storage Google has acquired, I've recently started using their customized homepage. After a couple of days, I think I have finally tweaked it to perfection.
How do I know?
Well, within just a few minutes I had read all the crap I could handle. I'm ready to settle to Antarctica.
As I have spewed all that I care to, here are the highlights:
Click this link to see a story about how FEMA is jamming to Houston AND Katrina refugees:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/3497624.html Here's the deal, the Mayor comes up with a plan to help these people. He gets WRITTEN authorization from FEMA to proceed, and now FEMA is pulling the plug.
Look, I can dig it that FEMA has P&P to handle this situation and the Mayor's plan was outside of them. All they had to do was say NO. Hell, all the had to do was NOT say YES *on paper*. And now they are backing out.
That leaves the city, the landlords, and the refugees screwed (again).
Hey, thanks FEMA!
And here's a story about the gerrymandering of districts in Texas.
First, they (the Republican majority) decided to re-district OUTSIDE OF THE REGULAR CENSUS DATA COLLECTION TIME PERIOD TYPE THANG (2003). At the end of the day, 5 more Republicans were sent to the House.
Well, because of the Voting Rights Act, any redistricting in Texas has to be reviewed by the Justice Department. After a "careful review" they gave it a nod.
When it was challenged, this "nod" was used in court to "prove" that the redistricting did not violate the VRA. Eventually, it was approved by a three judge panel.
However, it turns out that the *professionals* at the Justice Department unanimously agreed that the redistricting WAS in violation of the VRA. That it* did* disenfranchise minorities and was especially partisan.
What?
How is this possible?
Turns out the <wait for it>...POLITICAL *appointees* overruled the professionals. So, the memo that outlines exactly how/why this gerrymandering was, well, gerrymandering, was never provided to the judges reviewing the case.
Well, you can read the article for yourself. Just another example at the complete lack of...I don't know if its scruples or just plain decency...of the right-wing.
Here's the link:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/01/AR2005120101927_pf.html What do I mean by "decency"? About two years ago, the nation Republicans came down on the local Reps on the city council. See, the mayor is a Democrat and the Nationals didn't want the locals to do ANYTHING that might "help" the mayor. In other words, voting "for" the mayor's proposal was against the interests of their party. That ain't governing. And it is typical of what we are seeing in Washington. The "whatever it takes to get our agenda through" attitude that is leading to the coming avalanche of indictments.
End justifies the means.
These days there are a lot of people throwing around comparisons to Hitler. And most of them back the President. From where I sit, they are in the perfect position to know what is or is not HITLERian. November 30 Destination: MemphisLooking for a little help.
Going to be spending two days in Memphis (recuperating from xMas) and the only thing I know to do is hit Beale street (got the whole Graceland situation handled).
Anybody got something more specific than that? Restaurants, sites, etc.
Thanks November 28 Do You Own a Computer?Well, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia wants to know what you've been up to and the Bush Administration wants the F.B.I. to give them a hand.
The Prez. has sent the Senate the Convention on Cybercrime treaty for their "approval" and its wonderful. If you thought the Patriot Act was too soft on Civil Liberties, then have I got a treaty for you!
...
OK, don't want to bore you with my high pitched screaming about "Big Brother" (wow, its funny how quiet militias can be when the person destroying the Constitution isn't a Democrat - but that's another blog). Here's the deal and some links:
> Good: the treaty tries to get everyone on the same footing when combating "Cybercrime."
> Bad: the FBI **must** conduct electronic surveillance "in real time" on behalf of another government.
> Worse: The definition of "cyber" crime is loose enough to drive a Mack truck through and smash the First Amendment to pieces.
> Piling On: Oh, and the "crime" may only exist in the foreign country. You know, where free speech isn't a given. But, as long as its a crime in Serbia and Montenegro or Croatia or Bosnia and Herzegovina (and they sign the treaty), well, heck, that's enough to have the F.B.I. to get all "real time" on your azz.
But don't take my word for it, here are the links to various information:
Article on the Treaty: http://news.com.com/Fuzzy+logic+behind+Bushs+cybercrime+treaty/2010-1071_3-5969719.html The Council of Europe: (home of the treaty - man, can we trade this for that one on that clean air thing?)
http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/en/Treaties/Html/185.htm http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/Commun/QueVoulezVous.asp?NT=185&CM=1&DF=&CL=ENG OF COURSE I HAVE A LINK SO THAT YOU CAN FIND YOUR SENATOR
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm Late
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