Ichhh

Not a way to go...

Sir Edward the Tenacious

John Edwards doesn't give up easily. He publicly states that he "got his butt kicked" in Nevada, but still presses on. At some point it has to seem nutz to continue, but...Super Tuesday isn't that far away, I suppose. Unless a miracle happens, I can't see him going past that though, and the Obama/Clinton choice (if it's still a viable one) will be interesting to watch. More interesting still will be who he endorses.

Hillary's Funeral

No, not that Hillary. Sir Edmund Hillary. Quite a man.

Ellen vs. God

Wow. Ellen DeGeneres dethrones Oprah? I don't exactly pay attention to the Ovary Hour of talk shows, but I thought Oprah was Empress Supreme...

The Young Lady isn't Impressed

Heh.

McCain wins South Carolina

And.......a bit of good news. Actually, a lot of good news. McCain gets vindication, somewhat, 8 years later. I disagree with him on a number of things, but I have always respected him [though his pandering to the Christianists earlier didn't sit well with me].

When he hit rock bottom in June/July, he may have finally remembered who he was. I am only too happy to be wrong about his future and hope that he goes on to win the GOP crown--despite the will of many in the GOP. And if it's him vs. Hillarah...guess where my vote will go.

Clinton Wins Nevada

Dark days. I felt I had overdone it when I posted this one, but no longer. Hillarah is a nasty, lying, slimy bitch--period. Look here for a first-hand account of the way her campaign is run. Was it her doing it? Of course not. It never is. That's the trick. Capone never killed anyone, it was always someone else. And, of course, she can never be wrong that way. I'm sure she feels awful for the handicapped man that was wheeled over to her corner against her will, but hey--it wasn't her and, besides, she'll make sure the gimp gets a tax break or something later.

That's the math. Ends justify the means. We will kill the darkie to save the darkies, coerce the gotard to save the gotards, fan the flames of minority-on-minority tension to bridge it later, disenfranchise black women to save all women. It's a hard ball world, ya know--gotta know how to play it.

Mark my words. Hillarah, if she goes on to be President (and I actually think McCain would beat her in a general election) will do NOTHING substantive on the Iraq war--we will be there till at least the end of her first term. Her health care reform will be a disaster, and we will be stuck not in the 90s, but the 60s. If anyone reading this has thought that I have been completely full of crap in everything I've ever thought, at least listen to me and believe me now--she is a disaster that walks like a woman. Do NOT support this bumbling mess of divisiveness, incompetency, cruelty, and ignobility. Please.

And if you still don't believe me, give me 1, yes 1, substantive issue she has delivered us in her "35 years of experience" that differentiates her better than her competition. 1. Again, 1. I await any and all replies.

Romney wins Nevada--and the Soap Opera Contiues

Or so it seems--likely, obviously so. So Huckabee wins Iowa, McCain wins New Hampshire, Romney wins Wyoming and Nevada, and South Carolina looks to go to either McCain or Huckabee. At this rate, the GOP front-runner might be hard to discern *after* super Tuesday.

I can't see McCain losing Arizona or California. Huckabee will be, obviously, hard to beat in Arkansas and will be formidable in Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama (though Rich Lowry doesn't think he has a chance, ultimately). In New York and New England...seems like a fight to the death between Romney (Gov of Massachusetts), Giuliani (Mayor of NY and hero of 9/11), and McCain (winner of NH primary and appealing to Independents). MN and ND...who knows? And, of course, Giuliani has a great shot in FL prior to super Tuesday and that could upset the whole thing. But if McCain wins FL and SC, then goes on to win CA...seems like there will be a pseudo-clear winner at that point. A candidate that can win in the North East, the South, and the West...? Hard not to get behind him.

But I have no idea. It's just exciting to see that there is real competition in a democracy vs a coronation of the candidate who has "earned his turn." The only thing that would make this more interesting is if a woman or a minority were running along side of them.

Clive Again

I've posted one of Clive Davis' links recently, and in it I mention that he normally talks about things other than music--and he does--but he has such a depth of understanding of what is out there music-wise that I am often left embarrassed. I'm a weekend warrior guitarist in a jazzish band and play publicly, so I should know a few things in the music scene. But I just don't seem to be able to keep up with Clive when it comes to finding the tastefully obscure. His latest youtube.com find, though not exactly my cup of tea, is here:

Getting a bit creepier--kinda

Human embryos have now almost been created from human cells. We all knew the day was coming, but it's now rapidly approaching, apparently (the results have some scientists skeptical, from the article). Still, if a monkey embryo can be created (as your devoted blogger pointed to), it's gonna happen soon.

The Vatican is opposed, of course, calling it the "worst type of exploitation of the human being". Using little boys for a shwantz-hammock is cool, but making stem cells in the interest of curing disease....how awful!

I'm mostly supportive, of course, but it is kinda creepy to me--I'll be honest. I find it anything but exploitive, but it is potentially dangerous (as any great advance in science is: see nuclear technology). But stopping science has seemed to always prove poisonous and futile. The Church still doesn't seem to have learned this, but these are the same people that only recently pardoned Galileo. One thing the church and I have absolutely in common: it doesn't matter what we think; it's going to happen anyway. Seems like we should just pay attention to it and hope it yields some fantastic things--as it seems to be able to.

Werd

The Clinton machine suffers a defeat in trying to stop people from voting. Think of the irony in that--seriously. Filing a lawsuit trying to stop people from being able to more easily vote because they might vote for the "wrong" person... Can you seriously say you are a Democrat interested in enfranchising Americans and do that? I don't see how but, fortunately, the measure failed.

Bush the Keynesian

Whatever, Dude. Paint me pessimist, but I have a veeeeeeeeery strong suspicion that this will get phuXX0red 8 ways from Tuesday before it's over. Between W, Pelosi, and Reid...this can only end in tears.

It's fascinating, however, to see how the GOP *still* gets a pass on who they have been for years now: Keynesians. Yes, Keynsians--even after Keynesian economics were no longer viable in the late 1970s when high inflation and high unemployment were both realities.

It's Keynes with a twist: the state should subsidize the minority at the top of the economy vs. the general population. It is done by tax policy and by subsidy in varying forms--from property tax breaks to infrastructure improvements, to discounts in their tax bill--but the intent is to make life easier for people and organizations with most of the economic wealth. The bet is that they will use the money to expand their businesses and investments, thereby helping the economy as a whole. And deficits be damned.

Problem is, in following with the oldest of capitalist laws, these people will look after their own self interests--not that of the economy, the country, or even their own company. Look no further than the CEO of Countrywide mortgages leaving with $115 million after he ran the company into the ground and lost 11,000 employees. That's over $10,000 per lost employee. And look here for another small sampling of CEOs winning the lottery every year in compensation--whether they make money or not.

Do I blame those CEOs for taking the deals? Of course not. If people are stupid enough to give you that kind of money, take it. But I do blame lawmakers who think that continuing to subsidize idiocy and incompetence is a good idea.

What Bush is saying now (and many in Congress, let's be fair), is "Our business leaders, Congress, and yours truly have been so incompetent and screwed things up so badly, we are going to go even further into debt by doing the same things, but in an accelerated fashion."

No thanks. Instead of propping up the failures, why not take away their first-class club membership instead? Quit writing them checks, let shareholders vote on public executive salaries, quit spending money like a sorority girl with a new credit card, and let these "Captains of Industry" pay taxes like the rest of us. What we don't need is to--literally--reward failure.

Andrew Finds Another

Pretty Cool Civil War Clip. The American Civil War in four minutes:



Hat Tip: Andrew Sullivan

RIP Bobby Fischer

Or at least rest. Dead at 64. No cause of death was given. Rarely have we seen such genius and derangement in a single person.

Vive le capitalisme

Amazon being fined by the French Government for making books cheaper for their citizens. Sarkozy should have a field day with this one.

Kentucky's Creation Museum

Wow. I'm supposed to go to a wedding in Cincinnati this summer and this museum is rather close. I smell field trip. Be sure to check out the photo tour as well.

Smell as a Weapon

Slashdot reports that, apparently, the DoD is considering making weapons systems based upon smell. Seems a trifle far-fetched and difficult to use, tactically, but who knows? Personally, I would nominate my brother's dog--she has flatulence that would make a train take a dirt road.

White Working Class

EJ Dionne states the obvious and admonishes the Ds not to "ignore" the white working class. I get his point about how "race" became an issue for a few days after Hillarah's campaign made it one, but seriously...does he honestly think the candidates are ignoring them? Plus, He indicates that he's seen John Edwards at least a few times. I think Edwards has said "fight for the middle class" well over a thousand times in the last several months and it's not exactly working out for him.

The working class of the country most certainly do need to be courted, but the GOP proved that coming at them with a basket full of goodies isn't necessary. American flags, football, and gushy talk about being "real" Americans will suffice--though I sincerely hope that is rapidly becoming a thing of the past.

Hitch is not Impressed

But, again, I'm not really sure just what he is saying. Quote:

"Here again, the problem is that Sen. Obama wants us to transcend something at the same time he implicitly asks us to give that same something as a reason to vote for him. I must say that the lyricism with which he does this has double and triple the charm of Mrs. Clinton's heavily-scripted trudge through the landscape, but the irony is still the same.

What are we trying to "get over" here? We are trying to get over the hideous legacy of slavery and segregation. But Mr. Obama is not a part of this legacy. His father was a citizen of Kenya, an independent African country, and his mother was a "white" American. He is as distant from the real "plantation" as I am. How -- unless one thinks obsessively about color while affecting not to do so -- does this make him "black"?"

First, when did Obama ever once even intimate that we should vote for him because of, or because we can look beyond, the hue of his skin? Honestly, I would really like to see it. Obama is interesting and unique specifically because he is making race a non-issue (or at least tried to until Hillarah made it one).

Second--though quite obviously regrettably--pigmentation can, and does, matter. Prejudices and social norms don't disappear with a stroke of a pen, or a few books, or a DNA sequencing over the course of a few decades when faced with combating thousands of years of human society. And that skin color is part of who the man is--like it or not, Hitchens. It is not part of who he is innately, of course, but part of his life experiences in how society treated him every goddamm day of his life. To not be happy (or at least interested) that he is, quite realistically, on the verge of becoming the very symbol of America's mainstream is a trifle bit unfair of a request.

A Former Collegue's Take on Obama

A "visionary minimalist." The article is in quite the college-essay style, but worth a read. In the end, he seems to be saying that Obama is quintessentially American: a pragmatic idealist. The lone philosophical school attributed to the US is the pragmatic school and--comparative to other schools--it is rather boring, truthfully. But, when it comes to government, I would rather have ideas inspired by John Dewey than Friedrich Nietzsche.

In the end, I think what makes Obama attractive to so many (or at least to me), is that he can clearly see much better times ahead but remains grounded. He doesn't resort to the romantic, and sometimes even childish, mysticism of Reagan. His specific policy papers are quite boring and pedantic sometimes. But he doesn't limit government success as a series of plans the way Hillarah does, and he doesn't define political success as victory over one's enemies the way Edwards and Giuliani do.

He sees Iraq, quite rightly, as a diversion away from the terror threat. He doesn't view it as an ignoble endeavor, just an unintelligent and un-pragmatic one. And with Al Quaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood stretching from Morocco to the Philippines--and every country in between--it does make one wonder just how much safer we would be even if everything went smoothly in Iraq. And even that assumes there is an Iraq, or Iraqis, left to "win" against. McCain seems to reduce Iraq as a test of America's will to fight and still thinks Vietnam is a war we not only should have won but, apparently, one that we should have fought. When Obama says he is not against all wars, just dumb wars, he is already past McCain in maturity.

As for Obama vs. Romney or Huckabee...too easy of an argument. In short, what candidate is really better than Obama, I suppose, would be the question. To my eyes, I don't see one.

Blech

Please watch it in full and ask yourself if we want another president who can never do anything wrong.

The. Greatest. Modern. Blues. Piece. Ever.

There, I said it. This will be outdated in a few years, perhaps, but that assumes (1) I'm still alive and (2) anyone cares to revisit the subject a few years from now.

Anyone who plays guitar knows how hard it is to play like this (below). The octaves at around the 4 min mark are close to impossible to play, but no one knows that until they try to replicate it. Soul, blues, modernity, blues, blues, and touch of a genius, may I present none other than Stevie Ray Vaughan, the one so many of us come back to:

How Did Andrew Miss This One?

Andrew Sullivan is, basically, my unpaid internet-reader and I steal from him constantly. Therefore, as a qualified fan, I know that he battles and chides Hugh Hewitt constantly--and Hewitt is easy to battle. So how on earth could Andrew miss this gem?

People would actually pay tall money to go on a cruise with Sir Douche and the Nozzles? I wouldn't go on a cruise featuring Bill Maher, Andrew Sullivan, Clive Davis, and The Woman With the Perfect Ass--and I like them. I mean, just look at these guys!



Now that's a party! If one goes on a cruise with these debutantes...time to think about ending one's life--seriously. At a minimum, just sit in your house, watch Fox News, and talk about the hippies next door as if someone cares. But leave your money for your children--they still have a chance.

Secretary Rice to Visit Yellow Apes

I simply don't know how I missed this one as a loyal reader, but plugging the Onion yet again:


Condoleezza Rice To Voyage East

Good Gorgonzola is this good!

Does Mitt Hate Homos Enough?

Relax, it's a parody:


Mitt Romney Defends Himself Against Allegations Of Tolerance

Slimy, Nasty, Lying Bitch

Of course, I'm talking about Hillarah, whose campaign tactics seem to be "kill the darkie to save the darkies." Look here, here, here, and here.

Oh, but might I tremble in the glorious shadow cast upon me from thine soaring intellect, Ms. Hillary? Let me but sup from the bounteous feast of thine wisdom, M'Lady. Sure MLK was a good darkie, but it took an enlightened white man to make it all really happen! Chortle chortle....silly Negro.

THAT is her "experience" and outlook on things (and do be careful not to dislocate your shoulder patting yourself on the back for, uhhhhhh....nothing apparent, Senator). Not a day, not a moment, not a second, did Obama compare himself with either JFK or MLK. Never. In fact, I dare any Hillarah supporter out there to bring the evidence. Saying "words matter" compares him to JFK or MLK? Are you kidding?! Words do matter. And I like how Obama says them without resorting to patronage and delivering me the Message Of The Day in veeeeeeery slooooooooow woooooooords the way Hillarah does as if I'm a semi-retarded chimp in need of a master.

So allow me to be the anti-MLK and say, Go phuk yourself, Hillarah! Actually, in her style, "Suuuuuuuuuuck. Myyyyyyyyyyyyyy. Diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiick!" You too, Billy. How clear is that? And read it as fast as you want.

Blame Michigan

If this guy goes on to be Pres. Now, Romney is definitely not going away. He would have to get trounced on Super Tuesday and I can't see that happening. The Super-MoMo cyborg wins a state on "hrrrrrm, haaaaa. hrmmm hrmm ha haaa. And let us not forget about hrmmmm haaaa, cliche, cliche haaaaa." In case you were wondering why Michigan sux--look no further. "Mitt wins in the Mitten state! Get it?!" [cough] douchebags! [cough]

Three Words

Koo Kaphuckin Koo! Tom Cruise on his scientology beliefs here.

[Hat Tip: Andrew Sullivan - yes, I know I need to read more blogs]

Hitch's Second to Last Article

I called Christopher Hitchens' article from last week "kinda lame" and felt it necessary to explain why.

First, "kinda lame" isn't exactly a phrase thought to be carved out by the finely-milled edge of a critic's surgical toolery, but this is a blog. More on topic, Hitchens seems to be talking about "our" obsession with Obama's skin color and the undue solipsism we practice on ourselves for seeing beyond it. He goes on to talk about Obama's crackpot church with a "decidedly ethnic character." Whatever.

If you want to ask about Obama's church, fine--ask away--it's not out of bounds. But I think Hitchens misses the larger point: Obama, himself, has made race a non-issue. He, more or less, told Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton to phuXX0r off--or, at least to the effect of, "I don't need you to validate me." That is why his politics are different. When Hitchens asks the rhetorical question of why we didn't support Angela Davis or Jesse Jackson and then answers it with his own rhetorical question/answer of: "Was it the politics?", the immediate answer of "Why yes!" comes to mind. Obama is proving that he is bigger than his pigmentation.

And Hitchens sees that himself, but gives a very qualified, and dismissive, nod of agreement to it. In the end, I'm not sure what he is saying, quite frankly. Is he saying Obama is still playing the race card...kind-of? Maybe that "we" are obsessing about his race? Or maybe we're giving him a pass on his religion because he's black...? I don't know. But Hitchens is normally a much better writer and, perhaps, he is having trouble swallowing his terrifically wrong assessment of three months ago:

"Sen. Obama cannot possibly believe, and doesn't even act as if he believes, that he can be elected president of the United States next year."

Really....? And you said that why, dear Christopher? Why exactly did you say that? And why are you now, how does one put it..., wrong as W at a Toastmasters convention?

Hitch on Hillarah

His last article was kinda lame, but this one is pretty good. The part I like best (though hard to single out--I liked it all) is thus:

One also hears a great deal about how this awful joint tenure of the executive mansion was a good thing in that it conferred "experience" on the despised and much-deceived wife. Well, the main "experience" involved the comprehensive fouling-up of the nation's health-care arrangements, so as to make them considerably worse than they had been before and to create an opening for the worst-of-all-worlds option of the so-called HMO, combining as it did the maximum of capitalist gouging with the maximum of socialistic bureaucracy. This abysmal outcome, forgiven for no reason that I can perceive, was the individual responsibility of the woman who now seems to think it entitles her to the presidency.

GOP in Michigan

A dead heat. Many have said that if Romney doesn't win here, he's done. I'm not so sure. If he finishes a close second, it will be the third time he has finished in second and picked up some delegates. Plus, he's loaded with cash. I'm not sure he will just go away. Maybe after super Tuesday if McCain or Huckabee look like clear winners, but I'm not predicting anything anymore.

One thing I do maintain, however; if McCain comes out on top--guaranteed D in the White House. Mo Udall put it best: "Arizona is the one state where mothers tell their sons, 'you cannot grow up to be president'."

Letterman's Take on Politics

Crooks and Liars posts video of Dave Letterman on today's politics. Pretty good stuff.

[Update: Loaded it up to youtube and embedding it below]

How to Write over 2000 Words and Say Nothing

Andrew Sullivan links to this article, by Ronald Brownstein, talking about "beer track" and "wine track" voters, and Andrew seems to think it useful. I'm not sure why. I was waiting for Brownstein to talk about how Hillarah wins with Haitian lesbians in the furniture business by 59%, but Obama wins with left-handed Tongan welders by 57%. In the end, Brownstein says nothing.

It's because the approach Brownstein takes is *exactly* what is wrong with American politics and even American political science. The most awful class I had to take in college was a mandatory 301 class that taught the magic of polls. Not only did the professor have to wear a necktie to keep the foreskin from going up over his head, he and the curriculum treated people as if we are static elements that can be near-perfectly counted if you did so in just such a way. It is exactly the wrong approach.

To guide one's politics by polls is to take a "tail-wagging-the-dog" approach wherein politicians are always reacting to the presumed past in a narrowly focused way. "Voters are concerned about the economy/environment/terrorism threat/etc., ergo, we should talk about X." No....you, the politician, need to talk about the economy and get the voters to talk about it. You need to talk about the environment and get voters to think about it. You need to talk about torture and civil liberties and get voters to respond to it. If they don't want to come along with your ideas, fine, that's the way it works. But this continued focus-group/polling approach is what creates small-minded, wonky, pedantic drivel instead of substantive legislation.

Obama doesn't win votes based on his 1,036,723-point plans. He wins on ideas and, yes, outstanding oratory skills. And just what is wrong with that? Why should we be afraid of ideas? What is wrong with inspired oratory? Of course it doesn't translate into action, but it sure as hell can inspire action and no president--no matter the skill or industry--can do anything alone. The absolute quickest way Obama can hand the nomination to Hillarah is to try to out-wonk her. Instead, all he has to do is say, to the effect, "All of my plans and ideas are up on my website, freely available, and if you don't want to download them off the net, we will be happy to mail them to you." Then continue to talk about his ideas, and inspire, and lead. Yes, lead.

I am certainly not saying that Obama doesn't need to avoid dirtying himself in details. When asked about his views and plans regarding the economy, answer--and do it directly. But don't pull a Hillarah and put forth a wonky plan as a panacea. And I'm not saying polls have no use--they can be very useful tools at times. But Bill Clinton's largest accomplishments--welfare reform, free-trade, and a budget surplus--happened despite opposition to the ideas in the country and/or his party. On those issues, for better or worse, he led. And that's what we need; not salami-slicing the population and calculating one's statements to win over the majority of those "groups."

Paging Dr. Paul

Remember the embassy Ron Paul mentioned--the one bigger than the Vatican? Well, apparently, it's a firetrap. It's already $200 million dollars over budget, almost 6 months behind schedule, and, of course, never should have been built in the first place.

Can we do nothing right anymore? Can anyone even begin to imagine building the Panama Canal or Hoover Dam today? What happened to us?

[Hat Tip: Huffington Post]

Snoop Dog and Bill O'Reily

Not a lot of love lost, apparently. (Not work safe if not wearing headphones).

Snoop Dogg says F*ck Bill Oreilly

Grapelli

I miss him.

Sadly, I never got to see him perform live. But the man who did everything from playing with Django Reinhart to teaching Mark O'Connor is still on youtube, so check him out--and get a couple of his albums if you want to play music.

And a Peek into Common French Intelligence

Not the same format, but wow!

Voter Turnout

Maybe it's good that most don't vote [sigh]. But if Americans are worried about their jobs being outsourced...seems like EDUCATION might be called for.



And, not to be out-done, the UK has a few dim bulbs as well:

The TSA is *Still* a Farse

Bruce Schneier posts an article about a 5 year old boy being searched as a potential terrorist because his name matches someone on the no-fly list. The name? Michael Gardner. Whitepages.com has over 300 Michael Gardners in their records and has 42 Michael Gardners just in the state of Washington (where the little jihadist lives). Plus, HE'S 5 YEARS OLD! Schneier said it best:

"...[T]o the TSA, following procedure is more important than common sense."

I Miss Joe

For the life of me, I don't know why he didn't do better. In 2000--sure, different times. But now? Particularly when Hillarah is the only one doing well that can really be called an establishment candidate, it seems like perfect timing for him. Maybe his long time in the Senate made him look like one of the Washington regulars...I don't know. But how does this guy (below) lose for the Ds? I can't see him losing to anyone the GOP has up there, personally. And I think he had the best outlook on the Iraqi war, the Middle East problems, and Terrorism--by far.

Huckster and Colbert

Say what you want about Huckabee, but he has a sense of humor (and doesn't laugh like an inbred shit-shoveler with asthma). We could have worse candidates for damn sure.

I'm in the Big Leagues Now

Andrew Sullivan published a letter of mine! I am now being read around the world!!!! (And yes, I know no one really cares ;-).

Meghan McCain

Whoever went on that date with her has cajones. I would be terrified to be within 20 feet of John McCain's daughter. Her blog is here and, somehow, I don't see her running for office later.

Richardson Calls it Quits

I'm not sure why he even went on to NH, truthfully, though it was only another 5 days away so--what the hell, I guess. I was a little harsh on him here, though I don't think I was too far off. My suspicion (and hope) is that he is a little better of a politician than he is a campaigner, but him as VP...? I don't see it. Who does he energize or excite? I don't see him delivering Western states either. Maybe New Mexico, but who cares about that? I would trade NM for Tijuana tomorrow.

People in AZ, CO, NV, and UT couldn't give two shits about the governor of NM--and why should they? People in NM don't give a damn about our governors either. The Mountain states are largely conservative and don't have much of an electoral count, and the Left Coast (with 72 electoral votes between the three states) is as removed from Western States as it is from the Midwest, politically.

I don't know if he wants the job or not, but Biden would be a much better choice. As a Westerner myself, Biden seems more Western than Richardson in temperament and delivery. You have to swagger as a Westerner--Richardson bobbles and sways. And you have to get to the point when asked a question--preferably quickly--not talk about energy independence and refuge for unicorns in the Gumdrop Forest when asked a question about Iraq.

This Hyper-Sensative Country of Ours

So disappointing. Andrew Cuomo makes an innocent remark and people think he might be giving a semi-racist back-handed slap at Obama. Relax people. There are more important things going on. Like, say, the gum wrapper I saw on the sidewalk this morning, or the dimples on my butt. This is part of the reason we could use Obama in the White House.

Kerry endorses Obama

Ready? 1, 2, 3, yawn. Nice touch of class though in not supporting your former running mate. Should have just stayed out of it, Senator. At a minimum, wait until super Tuesday is over to see if Edwards is still a distant third.

Revulsion of Cliches

Most all of us are already sick of it, I should imagine. Shortly, we may have no choice but to either go numb to it or turn away from it. Of course, I speak of "Change." Obama started it with the "Change We Can Believe In" slogan and--with his popularity--now has every other candidate talking about it as if it were their campaign slogan from the beginning. Even Romney, the pre-packaged, GOP machine candidate-with-handlebars-in-a-handsome-carrying-case is calling himself an agent of change. Blech.

I'm not so sure any of us want change so much as better. Candidates are rapidly making the term of "change" meaningless anyhow by talking about it as if it's synonymous with "cool" or "the best." It reminds me of an executive in my former company that had us read a ridiculous self-help book that made the mind-bending suggestion that one needs to "think outside the box" [GASP] and offered a system in how to do so. Naturally, the same executive didn't see the obvious irony of following a system that keeps one from following a system. Similarly, Romney, Clinton, and Edwards don't see how following the leader shows their lack of leadership (note how McCain has largely stayed away from this, btw).

Interestingly, however, with candidates in both parties trying to wave the Change banner, it reveals what may well be Ws greatest legacy--a complete dismantling of the two party's power structures and a re-writing of their platforms. For his administration has been so awful, odious, and destructive--and the Ds have been so pusillanimous, disarrayed, and impotent in their opposition--that millions of Americans are saying give me anything better than this. Anything. I'm hopeful we will get it.

A Better Summary of the Elections

Not shocking that George Will could do it better than me. I've been reading him since I was a teenager and, 20-something years later, still enjoy it. My favorite part:

"Led Zeppelin's recent reunion concert in London exemplified a tiresome phenomenon -- geezer rock groups catering to baby boomer nostalgia. Speaking of the boomers' inexhaustible fascination with themselves, Bill Clinton has transformed his wife's campaign into his narcissism tour. As The New York Times dryly described a New Hampshire appearance the day after her Iowa rejection: "He talked about his administration, his foundation work and some about his wife."

Election 2008 - NH

Suppose I could lend opinion 2 billion and 14 on the subject, but it will hardly stand out. I don't really know what to say about it overall except the one obvious point: no one knows where this is going. We can follow the polls, make our predictions, go with our gut feelings, etc., but this is far too big for any one pundit or group to really define or understand. Even the most able pollsters have to be almost completely baffled right now--which suits me fine. The less relevant the polls, the better, IMHO.

What cannot be denied, however, is that there is definitely a change in the zeitgeist here in the US. Political parties are being redrawn right now. A generation is losing power while the younger generations are still trying to define themselves, politically. The candidates winning over America are the anti-candidates: a young, ethnically mixed man raised by a single mother, an affable Baptist preacher that started out polling below the margin of error, and an old, maverick war hero that is sometimes more unpopular in his own party than in the opposition's.

I see Hillarah's win in NH as an aberration--I really do. I don't dismiss the chance that she could win the D nomination, but it will be the last gasp of a generation if she does. Both parties are being rebuilt now, as we speak. The Ds have been trying to repair themselves for decades now, so I suspect they will get there quicker than the GOP, but I don't know that and neither does anyone right now.

And actually, another thing that I don't think can be denied: this is, by far, the most exciting election in my adult life (now 37). I suspect that it may well be the most interesting election since at least 1968. It seems that, for the first time in decades, the majority of voters are choosing a candidate they can really be for vs. a candidate that is the lessor of two evils. And for a political junkie like me, it will be something to remember for a looooooooong time.

Leave it to Clive

Clive Davis always finds the best clips if you're into music beyond what is on the radio. (He mostly writes about things other than music, however--you should check him out). Charlie Parker with Coleman Hawkins, Buddy Rich, Ray Brown, and Hank Jones? There has to be a couple hundred or so albums between those guys.

I found this while I was perusing as well. Dizzy Gillespie with Louis Armstrong on the Jackie Gleason Show. I was born way too late, alas.

Obama and Keyes

From the 2004 Senatorial debate in Illinois (below). Perhaps I was a little hard on Gov. Richardson. For he is nowhere near Keyes. If any of you have never had the impulse to kick a man in the face, perhaps it will come to you for a brief moment today:




[Hat Tip: Andrew Sullivan]

It's Gotta Hurt

Hillarah is having a hard time keeping her supporters in NH from leaving the building.

Richardson, sadly, is a Douche

But it's not all his fault--more on that later. Go to about the 1:00 mark of the youtube clip and then wait for the doozy: he's going to work out an agreement with the Soviet Union. Of course they haven't existed for about 20 years, but we know what he meant. When I read about Richardson early last year, I liked him for the most part. But the more he talked, the more he sounded like a douche nozzle.

In debate after debate, the question would be something like "What should we do about Darfur, Governor?" And the answer would be some sort of glancing blow about a no fly zone and diplomacy and then, chasing the yellow light, he would go through a laundry list of items like energy independence, higher teacher salaries, better education, free blow jobs for Iraqi war veterans, and unicorns and rainbows and butterflies flitting about the evergreen lea. He could never be taken seriously.

I will standby what I've said for many years. New Mexico is the most awful state in the union. Pick a state and I would rather live there. Pick a ring of Hell and I will consider it. New Mexico sucks the life out of a person and, apparently, their intellect as well. I should have known better.

Whoa there, Huckster!

I have given Huckabee the benefit of the doubt and I still like the fact that he's beating the Plastic One, but this is a bridge too far. Save it for the pulpit, Governor.

[Hat tip: Andrew Sullivan]

I HAVE A NEW READER!

No idea how he found me, but I actually got a reader from someone I don't know or owe money to. And...he actually gave me a nice comment on the meager post. Here is his site. Here is the post. And here is an awesome pic he has on his blog (a pretty good blog too--extra bonus).

ObamaRama

Video of the NH Democratic Party Dinner can be found here. Best part is you can fast forward through the first half (just drag the bar to a different spot to get to where you want). Most notable parts are Hillarah getting semi (or mostly) booed twice. It wasn't all that audible in the video, but according to first hand accounts, it was quite noticeable.

Rather notable as well, Obama leads in NH by 10 points over Hillarah in the latest Rassmussen poll. They had Hillarah up by 3 just two weeks ago. This thing is over. Once Obama wins NH, he will walk through SC and super Tuesday on February 5th, I should think, will just be a coronation.

Ending the 60's dorm room fights Redux

Rush is aghast that anyone could or would support McCain or Huckabee since they aren't "real" Conservatives. It reminded me of an article George Will wrote some time back and, with all the GOP fixation on Reagan, seems all to apropos right now. From the article:

"Suppose someone seeking the presidential nomination had, as a governor, signed the largest tax increase in his state's history and the nation's most permissive abortion law. And by signing a law institutionalizing no-fault divorce, he had unwittingly but substantially advanced an idea central to the campaign for same-sex marriages -- the minimalist understanding of marriage as merely a contract between consenting adults to be entered into or dissolved as it suits their happiness.

Question: Is it not likely that such a presidential aspirant would be derided by some of today's fastidious conservatives? A sobering thought, that, because the attributes just described were those of Ronald Reagan."

Rush, Ronny Reagan is not coming back, sorry. Go take a pill (actually, don't), and face the reality that is now: you will only continue to be less and less relevant.

The Pettiness of Edwards

Sorry, but this can be called nothing but. Not only did he not congratulate Obama last night, he didn't even mention him! Now his campaign manager is calling Obama a corporate sellout?

First, this seems to be dumb, dumb, and more dumb. If Obama goes on to win the nomination and, particularly the Presidency, he could write himself out of the national scene for years--if not forever. Perhaps he sincerely believes it's worth the cost. Who knows?

But what Edwards doesn't seem to understand is, to my view, the following:

1) His populist message about fighting for the working man comes across as patronizing and bullying to a lot of us. Uncle Saint John will fight the big bad guy for us dirty people too weak to fight. I don't doubt his sincerity, but damn. We don't need to fight union busters anymore, do we? And...I can take care of myself pretty well--thanks though.

2) Most of the people in this country work for major corporations. I just left the last company I worked for (a Fortune 100 Company) because I was dissatisfied with it, not because of inherent evil. They gave me a good salary, good benefits, good working environment, etc. I realize that there are many not so fortunate, but a more reasonable approach and softer touch (such as Obama saying American corporations can't hide in the Caribbean for tax purposes) seems a better way to go. Edwards sounds like he wants to storm the Bastille and I'm not so sure that is what is necessary.

3) Class warfare is the stuff of decades past. General Motors isn't sending henchman to bust up picket lines any longer. Bill Gates doesn't make his billions by raping the earth and employing 12 year olds. Obama's approach is so much saner. Transparency in government, fair tax laws, and an expanded safety net in the way of health care. That tackles lobbyists, tax relief, and public welfare without a call to arms. If a corporation is a good citizen and obeys the laws, what's wrong with them making money? I'm *glad* Google makes a lot of money. I'm glad New Belgium Brewers make a lot of money. And I'm sure as hell glad that the company that writes my paycheck makes a lot of money. Just convince me you're not a corporate whore like so many in politics--that's all I need.

4) Edwards' rubric sounds like the New Deal and The Great Society reheated. Neither are looked upon with much fondness any longer--particularly the latter.

I do believe that Edwards is a good man with some good ideas, and this loss in Iowa has to be like a blow to the gut. He's been campaigning there, effectively, for years now and built a very solid organization. But I hope he takes a deep breath and rethinks his tactics and delivery a bit. The Ds (and the country) could use him. But they won't want him if he's viewed as a divisive, arrogant prick.

Ending "the dorm fights of the '60s"

Joe Klein is happy to see his generation's politics begin to die off and give rise to something new--and better.

Obama and Blogspot

Parenthetically, it's rather funny that "Obama" gets tagged for a spelling error by Blogger's software. One of a few things that will likely change over the next few months.

Obama and youtube

Twice I've linked to youtube for the acceptance speech in Iowa Obama gave and twice it has become unavailable. So I searched on Obama for videos uploaded today--nothing. Then uploaded this week--nothing. What the hell is going on? It's the number one story in the world right now...

Rudy's Spin Whores

As our president would say, "Denial ain't just a river in Pakistan."

American History

Wow. Just wow. Obama wins Iowa. Convincingly. This is so encouraging and exciting. Just this alone! But to imagine him in the White House...what a testament to America if it happens. Know hope.

[Update: original video unavailable. Trying this one below]
[Update number 2: Giving DailyMotion a try. Viva L'France, I guess]

Obama Winning Speech in Iowa
Uploaded by TECHNOLOGOS

$100 a barrel

The day is here. As in now.

Biden in Iowa

Now this would be news. The article isn't talking about Biden winning Iowa, but getting to that 15% number that could keep him alive. I would love to see it, personally. Sometimes he is a bit of a toolbelt, I'll admit. But (however many years ago it was), after getting past the "aren't I handsome" smiles and quips he likes to dish out on the Sunday morning talk shows, I learned to generally like him and appreciate his views. He seems quite moderate and grounded, with sincere convictions. Most attractively, he isn't embarrassed about being a Democrat nor is he embarrassed to call some Republicans friends and some...well...ignorant or unfit for office (see below).



Though I really have no idea, I think many on the left in the D party see him as a poser of some sort--not a "true" Democrat because he's chummy with some in the GOP and talks about foreign policy all the time. Doesn't want to fight...whatever. Like I said, I don't know. But can anyone see him losing bad to anyone on the GOP side? I can't see him losing at all. He has accomplished a lot, he's well respected, he's the only one with a plan for a middle-way in Iraq, has never been accused of being a flip-flopper or a liar (to my knowledge), and is very quick on his feet in a debate and in answering questions. I can't really see why he would be a bad choice and, in fact, a pretty damn good one.

The Onion Feels it

The unseen stories about the election are what the Onion brings to all of us--patriots that they are. Not sure if this helps Obama, but maybe it wins him a bit of the "aren't I as cute as my daughter?" vote. Thompson makes an unorthodox plea here. Hillary Clinton makes a brilliant move, and Duane Bickels speaks for the mulletards.

One More Day in Iowa III

Isn't all of it at least a bit exciting for you non-political junkies? This election has the potential of re-drawing party lines, changing national discourse, even redefining what America is in the ongoing self-identification process of this country. Can you imagine a debate between McCain and Obama for the Presidency? How much more elevated and decent would that be? Two American Gentleman--with sincere, honest differences--offering two decent paths to follow. It would be the first time in the 6 general elections I've been able to participate in where the choice would truly be "which is better?" vs. "which is the least odious?" Here's hoping.

One More Day in Iowa II

And let us not forget the GOP candidates either. Romney and Huckabee are running neck and neck in Iowa and McCain is surging in New Hampshire. Giuliani seems to be going into a tail-spin, Brownback endorsed McCain, and Thompson is expected to do the same when he gets out of the race. Michigan could be critical if McCain surges since Romney was born there...hell, they are all critical. I guess we'll have to sit back and watch.

One More Day in Iowa

The candidates and their staff have to be on pins and needles. It's a three way dead heat, though Obama appears to have a slight edge as of late. Still, where will the support of Kusinich, Biden, and Richardson go to if they can't get their 15%--which appears all but certain they won't do? And, of course, if Clinton and Edwards loose by slim margins, they can spin the loss as still being in the thick of things and keep going on to New Hampshire and South Carolina. Obama could do the same if he loses Iowa as well, of course. Whatever happens, this is the most interesting race, by far, I've seen in my adult life.

Coltrane's beloved nightmare

SRV is playing third stone from the sun. It sucks--and yet it's beautiful. It's music and noise. Coltrane needed electric music to get where he was trying to get and SRV and Hendrix had it in spades. Or maybe Coltrane needed to try to break in vs. try to break out. No matter--I can't begin to keep up with all the aforementioned. If you like:

Ah, Schadenfreude

Christian love on display again. Happy Holidays.

Huckabee's other message

Maybe this is why he's in the lead. I thought it was pretty funny but, withal, about right politically.

I miss these guys

No idea what this dude worked on, but this great--better than most shows on TV. Purportedly, late night TV (to include the Comedy Central shows) are coming back in January with or without writers, with Letterman and the Late Late Show possibly working out an agreement. We'll see, but with everything going on in the elections, we could use them.



Hat Tip: Mickey Kaus.

The Ron Paul Fascination

It's hard not to route for him reading stuff like this. As much as I disagree with him on so many things, mark my words, Ron Paul has hit a nerve that American politics will have to deal with for a long, long time. Americans are more and more becoming islands unto themselves and would love nothing more than to have government leave them the hell alone. It's cross-party, cross-lifestyle, cross-religious identity, cross-everything, and the party that can capture it will capture national politics for the next 20 years. And how does one capture it? Easy. Do what Dr. Paul does and read the Constitution--a very carefully and economically worded document that espouses the same principles. Then, have the conviction to follow it.

Ron Paul's historical assessment is actually quite right. Tyranny is old, and an easy choice. Liberty, i.e. self-reliance, individual rights, personal freedom--*that* is new in the world of political ideas. And it is the only idea that can unite prostitutes, academics, pot-heads, ranchers, rednecks, urbanites, and whatever other stripe of American is out there (read the article linked above for that to make any sense).

Go Ron Paul!

Stairway to Heaven

Never heard it quite like this, I'll bet you. An album was released about 10 years ago with covers of the famous Led Zeppelin tune and now, with the magic of youtube, we have accompanying videos to go with it, though the Beatles one is the best, I think:



The Doors version is here. The video kinda sux, but it's very musically true--a lot of fun.

And so it begins

Already wrote about it, but here it comes. China begins its aerospace industry and it may be the beginning of the end of the US and European aerospace industry. I anticipate the talk of "how could they have come so far so fast?" and "how ingenious they are" when none of it is true. We all but gave it to them.

For all those CIOs out there in the US aerospace industry that know exactly what I'm talking about, drink this in. You are fat, dumb, and happy multi-millionaires that seem to have no other quality than being both untouchable *and* incompetent at the same time--so congratulations. But you helped destroy a multi-billion dollar industry in your country through your stupidity, sloth, cowardice, and inaction. Sleep well.

Anger Issues

No graphic imagery, but still not for the squeamish. OJ and Manson were gentile compared to this cat. Can't imagine what that woman could have done to deserve that.

When Galaxies Collide

Holy shmokes! Check this out:















From the article:

"This composite image shows the jet from a black hole at the center of a galaxy striking the edge of another galaxy, the first time such an interaction has been found. In the image, data from several wavelengths have been combined. X-rays from Chandra (colored purple), optical and ultraviolet (UV) data from Hubble (red and orange), and radio emission from the Very Large Array (VLA) and MERLIN (blue) show how the jet from the main galaxy on the lower left is striking its companion galaxy to the upper right. The jet impacts the companion galaxy at its edge and is then disrupted and deflected, much like how a stream of water from a hose will splay out after hitting a wall at an angle."

One question though. If not even light can escape a black hole, how can a "jet" shoot out of it?

Sadly familiar

Maybe I really should get married to avoid stuff like this.

What a Whore

Thank Goodness the Onion is on the case.

Not Very Nice, Hitch

Christopher Hitchens is his normal pugilistic self here, and I enjoyed it immensely, but if Huckabee is an irretrievably idiotic Jesus freak, what does that make his Man, W? That president dude that likes to play cowboy and fighter pilot...remember him, Hitch?

I've wondered for years now how Hitchens can continue to hold his nose and still support that disaster of man because of a war that he grotesquely mismanaged. I understand how important the war is and how much Hitch wants to fight it, but one would think that would make him more angry--like supporting an orphanage just to find out that it's being run by child abusers.

I just don't understand how Hitchens--a guy who has utter contempt for religion and who has always been a fierce civil libertarian--can continue to support W. And I think it a bit hypocritical of him to publicly skewer Huckabee with that kind of nastiness when W has largely received a pass from him for years now. About the only major differences between Huckabee and W, from what I can see is (1) Huckabee is not morally lazy and (2) he can out-think W with half his brain tied behind his back.

The Softer Side of Hillarah

Get your Kleenex ready. When Oprah pitches for the competition, I suppose you have to think of something like this instead (though I could very comfortably live without either).

Chinese "Cyber Militia"

Or, "Reason Number 286 or so to Drop Microsoft."

This is old news to anyone in IT security (and Time first wrote about the subject years ago), but the article might be interesting to those who don't work in the field.

What is interesting to me--apart from the article--are all the Fortune 1000 companies that are all too eager to do business with, and in, China when China's government all but openly sponsors intellectual property theft. Believe me, it was just not the US government that was hit by Titan Rain and other coordinated attacks from China. In fact, the running gag amongst some of us IT security weenies is something akin to "why don't we just give them all of our intellectual property and save everyone a lot of time and money?"

Then again, I suppose I would be out of a job if they did. So...I guess we will just have to get used to blatant, state-sponsored, multi-billion dollar theft and hope it doesn't hurt us too badly. The US government is so beholden to Chinese loans that nothing substantial will be done about it for years, if within our lifetimes. I would love to be wrong about that--but I don't think I will be.

Cruella DeVille

Except this one is real life. Take a look at this broad:















She and her husband are accused of, basically, enslaving two Indonesian women and could face 40 years in prison.

From the article:

"They described how the two Indonesian women had been punished for misbehaviour such as sleeping late and stealing food from the dustbin to supplement their meagre meals.

The women said they had been beaten with brooms and umbrellas, slashed with knives, made to take freezing showers and climb stairs repeatedly.

One said she had been forced to eat several hot chillies and then her own vomit."

Hot Chicks for Ron Paul

Two of the best candidates getting some free (and cheap) publicity. The US is an interesting place--particularly around election time:



Obama Girl Nightmare - video powered by Metacafe

Putin the Sweetheart

Awwwwwwww. Putin will agree to become the Prime Minister if Medvedev becomes President. How sweet.

Coronation in Jeopardy?

Billy is unhappy. And ummmm, sorry. That's just too damn bad, Bubba--interesting as you might be.

Getting Interesting

Lieberman endorses McCain as McCain continues to raise his numbers in New Hampshire and the Portsmouth Herald gives a strong endorsement of McCain. Ron Paul breaks his own record of raising over four million dollars by raising over *six* million in 24 hours. He will likely raise more than any other candidate in the GOP and is getting close to double-digit numbers in the NH polls.

Obama is still leading in Iowa, but not much (if at all) outside the margin of error and Edwards may receive a large endorsement in Iowa. And all of this has the big asterisk next to it in that many of Iowa's caucus goers still claim to be undecided. Bumpy ride ahead for the D's--making NH hyper-critical for Hillarah and SC hyper-critical for both Obama and Edwards. And, perhaps sentimentally, I wouldn't count out Biden too terribly much just yet. If Edwards or Hillarah slip, he could have some big numbers swing his way as he is commonly called the "second choice" candidate for many in both Iowa and NH, if we are to believe the reports. I wouldn't put a lot of money down on the prospect, but who knows what can/will happen in a democracy and a race like this?

Mental Health Break

There is that certain level of "suckiness" that just can't be put into words--very intangible. One has to be good enough to resemble sincere effort, but still be irretrievably awful. These guys suck at levels hitherto unknown.

Psycho in Chief

No, this isn't about W, but Nixon. W isn't clever enough to be a psycho. To call W retarded begs forgiveness of the reader, as it should, since he is ferociously morally lazy more than anything and retarded people are often far from that. But Nixon was clever--even brilliant at times. Only now has his GOP coalition showed signs of cracking. But enough of that. Have a listen. (And, I would be remiss not to mention three words as a summary: Koo ka-phukin Koo).

Whatever Dude

Whenever Ratzinger (aka, the Pope) wants to publicly state that raping children is a bad idea--and, in fact, a crime--*and* actually does something about it, maybe then I'll start to think his moral views are worth listening to. Actually, he will then have to state that AIDS is worse than condoms and that he would actually like to see his sub-Sahara African parishioners live instead of dying at the rate of 600-1000 a day.

Gay marriage is an 'obstacle' to world peace? WTF? Well, with respect to his Holiness, what better moral leaders can one have on the teachings of the family than the Vatican? After all, they are largely old, celibate, men that gather wisdom from millenia-old stories/nightmares about turning women into salt, slaughtering neighboring villagers and enslaving their virgins, and stoning disobedient children that were written by other old (and probably also sexually frustrated, if not celibate) men chasing goats around a rock. Not sure they were pederasts, but who knows? After all, who doesn't want to rape a child? It's just the way God made us, right?

Or.......we can choose to ignore this guy who is, by all appearances, gayer than a maypole. He criticizes gay marriage as an obstacle to peace in the world?! What, as opposed to Vatican bath house adorned in supple young boys? Phuk you, Ratzinger. Phuk you and the ground you walk on (and kneel supplicantly upon--and no, not talking about prayer).

More 'MS is Lame' fun

A nice parodied voice over of an MS ad.

MS on the cutting edge

Oh goody, ads on mobile devices brought to you by Microsoft. Just what we've always wanted. From the article:

"Going forward, people will be able to see mini banner ads optimized for their browser type and screen size on their mobile devices when they visit the MSN Mobile portal..."

And--hope you are sitting down--"MSN Mobile will also now enable users to buy movie tickets over the phone with a credit card and download background images and ringtones." Wow! That technology has only been around for about 5 years or so! How do they do it?

Whatever. (cough) douchebags (cough).

SwiftKids

I love these little youtube vids. I hope we get more comedy vids like this and just simply laugh at the idiocy of it all.

The one on Edwards here:


And check out the ones for Hillarah, Obama, and Giuliani as well.

More Obama Propoganda

Andrew Sullivan states it more articulately than I can here. To underscore the article a bit, Sullivan is a conservative who regularly pseudo-worships Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher--as any conservative English immigrant to the US should, I suppose.

I really like the article, but the parts that get me most are:

"At its best, the Obama candidacy is about ending a war—not so much the war in Iraq, which now has a mo­mentum that will propel the occupation into the next decade—but the war within America that has prevailed since Vietnam and that shows dangerous signs of intensifying, a nonviolent civil war that has crippled America at the very time the world needs it most. It is a war about war—and about culture and about religion and about race. And in that war, Obama—and Obama alone—offers the possibility of a truce."

And, in speaking of Obama vs. Hillarah:

"The paradox is that Hillary makes far more sense if you believe that times are actually pretty good. If you believe that America’s current crisis is not a deep one, if you think that pragmatism alone will be enough to navigate a world on the verge of even more religious warfare, if you believe that today’s ideological polarization is not dangerous, and that what appears dark today is an illusion fostered by the lingering trauma of the Bush presidency, then the argument for Obama is not that strong. Clinton will do. And a Clinton-Giuliani race could be as invigorating as it is utterly predictable.

But if you sense, as I do, that greater danger lies ahead, and that our divisions and recent history have combined to make the American polity and constitutional order increasingly vulnerable, then the calculus of risk changes. Sometimes, when the world is changing rapidly, the greater risk is caution. Close-up in this election campaign, Obama is unlikely. From a distance, he is necessary. At a time when America’s estrangement from the world risks tipping into dangerous imbalance, when a country at war with lethal enemies is also increasingly at war with itself, when humankind’s spiritual yearnings veer between an excess of certainty and an inability to believe anything at all, and when sectarian and racial divides seem as intractable as ever, a man who is a bridge between these worlds may be indispensable.

We may in fact have finally found that bridge to the 21st century that Bill Clinton told us about. Its name is Obama."

It's not that Hillarah might be "fine" as a president, it's because--at best--she will be "fine" as president. Predictable, practical, triangulating, safe, and, in the end, potentially dangerous for us by being all the latter. Politics as a board game is not what is needed *if* you agree that we are in uniquely challenged times, as I believe we are.

I don't think Obama is anything close to a panacea and, if I read him right, neither does he. But he represents an entirely new chapter for the US in policy, party, foreign relations, race relations, and--perhaps most importantly--what the American Dream and what America really is today. 50 years ago the US was arguing about whether or not a man like Obama should be allowed to stay at a hotel, eat in a restaurant, walk down the sidewalk, or go to school with white people. Now he may become president of this same nation despite not having the support of much of Black Congressional and Civil Rights leaders. What a country. What a country, indeed.

Shweeeet

Making beer beautiful and heartfelt in time for the holidays. And, from the story, another reason to drink Fat Tire beer.

Another Look at McCain

The Economist argues the pro-McCain case. I would love to have an Obama-McCain debate for the presidency, personally. Don't know if it can happen, but a boy can dream.

Gitmo and Habeus Corpus

Let us hope W and the US Congress get their frightening legislation overturned. SCOTUS agrees to hear the case afterall.

The parts I especially liked:

"The final argument of the day was the rebuttal from former Solicitor General Waxman. The writ of habeas corpus, he contended, has always allowed prisoners to challenge their detention if they claim they are not warriors and are being wrongly held. The current system, he argued, does not allow for such an argument.

To illustrate his point, Waxman pointed to a case in which he said a detainee was finally released after four years in detention because the detainee, a German man, had "what other detainees have not had — a lawyer." And when the lawyer filed a habeas petition in the federal courts, and the government filed a reply with its evidence, the lawyer saw that the government claimed the detainee had associated with a named terrorist who had blown himself up.

"Within 24 hours, his counsel had affidavits not only from the German prosecuter, but from the supposedly deceased Mr. Bilgen, who is a resident of Dresden, never involved in terrorism, and fully getting on with his life," Waxman said."

FOUR YEARS we held an innocent man and he is only free because he is German...!?! Not exactly winning hearts and minds or demonstrating the US as a shining beacon of democracy, is it?

Then there is there is Scalia, proving himself ever the blowhard, pedantic douchebag:

"Do you have a single case in the 220 years of our country, or for that matter, in the five centuries of the English empire, in which habeas was granted to an alien in a territory that was not under the sovereign control of either the United States or England?" Scalia asked.

"The answer to that is a resounding yes," Waxman said."

Listen to the full exchange on C-SPAN, if fully interested, but Waxman had a hard time convincing Scalia. Waxman is obviously extremely capable, but I wish it was just a bit more of a barroom argument.

One should think that it is astonishingly palpable that the US controls the Guantanamo Bay Marine Base since we've been there for decades. If the Constitution and US law is inapplicable to detainees there in our custody because we don't include Guantanamo Bay within the borders of the United States, is it fully legal to take people out of their homes--to include US citizens--from anywhere in the world, take them out on a boat and slit their throats? Could we put them on a raft in international waters, but guarded by US military personnel, and forget about Habeus Corpus? As Waxman finally stated later, the British Parliament suspended the writ of Habeus Corpus on the High Seas for US Seamen in 1777. If it wasn't applicable, why did it have to be lifted?

Besides which, and what should seem most obvious most of all is, just how in the fuck does someone being denied the writ of Habeus Corpus, held against their will, in strict confinement, appeal to the court system?!?! Especially a seaman in shackles and the bottom of a boat. Just how in the hell is he supposed to pick up his cell phone and call his attorney? OF COURSE there aren't going to be numerous examples of Habeus extended! How are the prisoners supposed to appeal to the court system to get it extended? It's plain phuking bizarre. We're going to forgo 700 years of legal history because of a particular part of a particular war because of a, very arguably, lack of a particular precedent. I hope Kennedy does get in line and help overturn this. What a humiliation otherwise.

sXe Phil

Not bad. In fact pretty good this time. Sometimes he falls a little flat with the 20-something "aren't-I-cute-and-funny?" style, but I'm sure I did that in my 20s. Anyway, should you want to give him 3 minutes of your time (price is right and, no, there is no nudity).

US Pres Primary watch

Looks like Obama's lead in Iowa might be growing a bit more. Hillarah is still holding in New Hampshire and South Carolina, but if Obama takes Iowa, things could get interesting--particularly if Edwards drops out as he said he would.

Even more interesting is the rise of Huckabee. He was single digits as late as September and is now in the lead for the GOP. Don't know how well he will sell in NH (and, so far, the answer is "not well"), but an Iowa win could change his fortunes quite a bit and SC is wide open right now. Guess there is something funny in the water of Arkansas. And, perhaps most encouraging, is that the constant bickering of Giuliani and Romney may have been a waste of time. Huckabee seems to have slid in behind their sniping by like...talking about issues. That seems like a good thing.