Shards, Threads, and Nails

Where has the arrogant one been?

2009-03-20T22:02:00.002-04:00

Just checking in folks. I have been lost in the addicting netherworld of online Scrabble, otherwise known as Lexulous. Found on that nefarious online social network Facebook, I find myself dreaming seven, eight, and nine letter words. One consolation: my good friend Darren M. has joined me for several late night matches.

On other fronts: I write this from Borders, where I am chaperoning my daughter and her friend at the DVD release party of Twilight. I don't get it, but I'm not supposed to. She's eleven.

More later. My satirical engine has been idling lately, but look for further outbursts this spring.

Phone Home

2009-03-08T16:19:00.012-04:00

All Things Considered, March 6, 2009 · President Barack Obama's gift of a set of DVDs to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown appalled the British media, furious about the lack of traditional protocol afforded to Brown while he was in Washington.

Iain Martin, a columnist and blogger for the Daily Telegraph, wrote that he found Obama to be rudeness personified toward Britain.

Martin tells NPR's Robert Siegel that Britons are used to a full news conference when their prime minister is in town.

____________________________________________________________________

Not commonly known is that this DVD is a special collectors' set that, for reasons that will become clear, President Obama thought it wise not to keep. Dubbed by Dubya in mid-2008, "The Decider's Cut Platinum 25" was originally meant as an olive branch/training manual intended for field use in the Iraq theater (pun intended).

Here are a few selected excerpts from the scintillating commentary of our former leader:

Citizen Kane:

That poor old, misunderstood guy spending the end of his term in a big lonely house, sheesh do I feel sorry for him. My dying words'll probably be "yellowcake."

The Godfather:

Gotta offer you can't refuse, that's exactly what the nice boys from Halliburton told me when they had "the talk" with me my first day in office.

Raging Bull:

That's what I use to call the editorials of the Washington Post and New York Times when Rovie used to read 'em to me.

Singin' in the Rain:

We used to let the boys down it Gitmo watch this one. Fired 'em up to do a waterboarding right.

The Wizard of Oz:

"If I only had a brain," that's good, that's good.

Star Wars:

First time I saw that one I was drunk as hell, drunk as hell. Did help me later on with foreign policy, though. Good thing I'VE got the Death Star. In training the Iraqi security forces, we basically just show them this video to the soundtrack of "The Ace of Spades."

2001: A Space Odyssey

Space Odyssey, my ass. More like 2001: my ratings went through the stratosphere. But like that damn Humpty fella, they took a great fall.

The Grapes of Wrath:

That's Barry's problem now, ha ha ha!

ET:

I swear that little alien looks just like Condi after a long night on Air Force One.

SF Marathon

2009-03-07T22:24:00.003-05:00

Sir Arrogant Numskull officially and publicly states that he will be running the San Francisco Marathon on July 26, 2009. Why the announcement?

I've never run one before, and I'm hoping that putting it "out there" will help keep me on track.

I will be in SF for the whole week of the race, July 21 to 28, so I am hoping to hook up with any left coasters during that time. The tickets are bought.

I plan to record some of the trials and tribulations of my training should they prove to be of any general interest.

Hey, yo, read "Bookmarks and Folded Corners"

2009-03-07T21:22:00.001-05:00

Click on the link in the blogs list in the left sidebar. It's funny!

Just Between Friends

2009-03-07T20:00:00.004-05:00

NPR.org, March 7, 2009 · President Barack Obama is holding out hope that U.S. forces in Afghanistan can peel away elements of the Taliban and possibly move them toward reconciliation.

There may be such opportunities, but the situation in Afghanistan is more complicated than the challenges the American military faced in Iraq, Obama said in an interview with The New York Times posted Saturday on the newspaper's Web site.

U.S. troops were able to persuade Sunni Muslim insurgents in Iraq to cooperate in some instances because they had been alienated by the tactics of al-Qaida terrorists.

____________________________________________________________________

Here is the text of a letter from the White House to a top Taliban leader. Due to the sensitive nature of this communique, Sir Arrogant expects this site to be taken down in a matter of a few hours by Homeland Security. Copy and paste at your own risk.

Dear Mullah Omar,

Wazzup, bro! Before we get too deep into this diplomacy thing, I just want to compliment you on that killer beard. I would have one, too, but US Presidents haven't been allowed to have full beards since Garfield. I personally think Nixon would have been a lot more mellow with at least a soul patch and muttonchops, but hey, it was tough being a Republican in the early 70s. You know what else I love? Those spotless white dishdashas you rock. One question: how do you get those nasty qorma stains out? I love pureed spinach as much as the next guy, but Michelle makes me do my own laundry. We had this "girls gone wild" thing here called feminism, but I bet you guys won't be having that problem!

Look, Omar, you and I have a lot in common. My middle name's "Hussein," for Christ's sake. Oops, I totally didn't mean that. Allah Akbar. I used to pal around with a terrorist. I mean freedom fighter. Dang, this is tough; what I mean is that lots of people here don't like me because they think I'm a Muslim, which I'm not, but lots of people in my family I've never met or even spoken with are, so I'm down with that.

I heard a rumor, Omar. May be nothing to it, but you might want to look into it. I heard that bin Laden was skulking around Waziristan, sprinkling his smooth talk, giving his whole martyr rap, but the whole time talking smack about guess who? Someone heard him say, "Omar mama so ugly, his Daddy make her put on a burka when she come HOME!" Ohh, slayed! And get this, "Omar mama so hairy she look like she got Saddam Hussein in a headlock." He did NOT say that!

Yes, we've got a lot in common. We both love watches. I have a Blackberry; you've got an iPhone. Thousands of miles and culturally two millenia apart, but same 3G network! We're both deeply devout (actually Michelle makes me go to church; I bet you've got the same excuse!). We both love the White Sox. Okay, I made that up, but I can hook you up if you're ever in Chitown. What do you guys do for fun in Afghanistan, race your goats, bet on the winner, eat the loser, and blame the Americans? Ha ha ha, no wait that was so insensitive.

Omar, have you ever heard of the noted Reggaeton star Don Omar? He had a massive hit with "Aunque Te Fuiste" in which he talks about leaving his faith to channel his energy into music. Don't read too much into it, but I'm sending you a limited edition of "Guitar Hero" with the complete discography. I also included some of that out-of-tune shit you brothers seem to dig. And some Beatles. All you need is love, my man.

I know you're going to keep running defenseless seven-year-olds laden with explosives at my troops. And you know that anywhere you go there could be a Predator drone ready to bust a cap in yo ass courtesy of Uncle Sam. But through all of these tough times, I just want you to know that you've got a shoulder to cry on, an ear to bend.

Yours,

Barack

A Rap Off

2009-03-03T15:48:00.012-05:00

NPR.org, March 2, 2009 · In the four-plus weeks since he was elected chairman of the Republican National Committee, Michael Steele has attempted a blunter and hipper — some may say a hip-hop — vernacular to breathe vigor into the demoralized GOP.

The party's first African-American chairman told The Washington Times of his plan to lay out an "off the hook" public relations blitz targeting young Latinos and African-Americans in "hip-hop settings."

He appeared on radio to denounce President Obama's budget as containing a lot of "bling bling" and used a podcast to pronounce himself ready to hold a "rap off" with late night comedian Stephen Colbert.

__________________________________________________________________

You down with GOP? (yeah, you know me!)

Yo, yo, yo, YO......

Stephen Colbert, was' goin on up in herr,

gonna tax and spend

witcha gubment friends

make you wear depends

this aint even the end

yo Stephen Colbert, witchu slick back hair,

gonna tear up the place

with yo 'bamanation

betta give me some space

before I tear yo face, son!

Going nose to snout with my phat homey Rush

well he can go and kiss my George W. Tush

Got mo beezies than department of state,

we're the party of love, love that loves to hate!

Y'all got Barack but he used to smoke crack

I got blood red values to take our country back

See while Rush was popping pills

and causin all kind of ills

I was straight trippin on the stimulus bill

We the grand ole party of big honest Abe,

death row, Gitmo, and a place called Abu Ghraib

Don't cross me boy, I don't even look back

Up against the wall then I pull out my gat

Leave you beggin for mercy in my elephant hat

You down with GOP? (Yeah, you know me!)

Making a Case for Campaign Finance Reform

2009-03-02T20:06:00.013-05:00

Special interests, pork, and, lobbyists: each side of the political aisle throws these accusations around about the motivations of the other. What is increasingly clear is that Congress as a whole has virtually no credibility as a body that actually represents the American people, let alone the constituents of individual states and districts. Here is an overview of the money raised and spent by two leading members of Congress, one Republican, one Democrat. These two come from heavily populated, high-profile districts, but the amount of money they spent on an office that represents one small slice of the country is nothing less than staggering.

What accounts for these inflated totals? For one, TV is clearly the most effective form of communicating political messages, and ads are expensive. The cheapening of political discourse that has resulted is not the subject of this post (too bad). Another reason has to be the fact that corporations and PACs want to influence policy through their donations.

One of the most frightening aspects of campaigns is the overwhelming advantage of incumbents. The giant leg up afforded by media exposure is simply too hard for most challengers to overcome, hence the recent trend for the self-made rich to seek office on their own dime. Some representatives even use public funds to run their reelection campaigns.

Without further ado, here are the numbers. I will follow that with a bit of research about some of the lesser-known companies mentioned.

My source is a site that should be in everyone's bookmarks list: opensecrets.org
I have put a link to their blog on my blog list.

Republican Representative John Boehner
Total amount of last campaign cycle (2007-2008): $5,342,022

Top industries that contributed to Boehner's campaign:

Insurance	$222,525
Securities & Investment	$180,600
Pharmaceuticals/Health Products	$163,950
Lawyers/Law Firms	$162,400
Commercial Banks	$150,450

Top 5 individual contributors:

Communicare Inc	$27,600
American Electric Power	$25,050
National City Corp	$22,000
American Financial Group	$21,200
FirstEnergy Corp	$17,500

Here's a breakdown of contributions. I'm not sure what "other" means:

Individual Contributions	$1,638,383	(32%)
PAC Contributions	$2,280,558	(44%)
Candidate self-financing	$0	(0%)
Other	$1,225,540	(24%)

Democratic Representative Nancy Pelosi
Total amount of last campaign cycle (2007-2008): $2,727,177

Amgen Inc	$42,050
Akin, Gump et al	$41,050
E&J Gallo Winery	$18,400
Patton Boggs LLP	$17,400
Torchmark Corp	$17,000

Lawyers/Law Firms	$220,600
Securities & Investment	$159,200
Health Professionals	$156,450
Real Estate	$129,182
Insurance	$119,500

Individual Contributions	$1,339,781	(47%)
PAC Contributions	$1,511,730	(53%)
Candidate self-financing	$0	(0%)
Other	$5,434	(0%)

For Boehner:
Communicare: mental health, substance abuse

For Pelosi:
Amgen: biotech, pharmaceutical
Torchmark: insurance

An Email

2009-03-01T11:06:00.008-05:00

New York Times Magazine, March 1, 2009
"Newt. Again." by Matt Bai

Newtgrams — e-mail messages from Gingrich with lists of policy ideas, questions or advice on how to handle the caucus.

A lot of these e-mail messages are deeply wonkish, written in single-sentence paragraphs without punctuation or capital letters. It’s almost as if you can see Gingrich twittering away at a Starbucks while doing calculations on a wrinkled napkin. On Thanksgiving Day, for instance, in an e-mail message one recipient shared with me, Gingrich fired off a riff on an idea by Louie Gohmert, a Republican congressman from Texas, who had suggested that, instead of a stimulus bill, the party propose a payroll-tax holiday.

_____________________________________________________________________
Here is the unedited text of an email I received from a certain ex-Congressman in November:

pete let me run some ideas by you by the way good job on that liberal blog i can see the cato institutes internet undercover counterinsurgency fund is being put to good use well here i sit at starbucks pondering how such a great entrepreneurial idea could have come out of the liberal pacific northwest let me tell you though the last thing i need is another triple latte my fat fingers are having a heckuva time tapping this out on my blackberry hey if barack can do it so can i right im having a hard time figuring out what to order instead as charles de gaulle once wrote in his charming 1962 opus les mots du general 'how can you govern a country which has 246 varieties of cheese?'

pete ayn rand once said that 'thanksgiving is a typically american holiday...the lavish meal is a symbol of the fact that abundant consumption is the result and reward of production.' i couldnt agree more which is why i sit here just kind of playing around with some numbers on a starbucks napkin sure ill catch up with my lovely new wife (third times the charm huh) later and catch some pigskin but my mind is racing a mile a minute so heres what im thinking

louis just shot me an email with a great question what if instead of a liberal special interest tax and spend socialized nationalized government dependency obamanation stimulus bill we just had a payroll tax holiday not to bore you with the numbers but joe down at cbo estimates that FICA and personal income tax combined are about $160 billion a month so what if we made casual friday into tax free friday that would put the amount of the bailout into the hands of business owners right away which would of course trickle down to those charming joe six packers who make up our base as my idol teddy roosevelt once wrote 'patriotism means to stand by the country it does not mean to stand by the president'

as my mentor ronald reagan once wrote 'politics is not a bad profession if you succeed there are many rewards if you disgrace yourself you can always write a book' and pete you know ive written a heckuva lot of books

Half Formed Thoughts

2009-02-28T14:16:00.001-05:00

half a poem half
eaten half birthday half is what
is given in divorce.
the glass is half

empty. half lives
diminishing to eternity
disappearing ultimately
to lead.

halfway home half
way there the measure
of bifurcation of symmetry,
fences. friend

ship is half a stick
of gum a loaf of bread
the last bite of.

ha
lf
halfling, half-pint, half-price, half-baked, half-heartedly, half-assed, half-naked,
and the most important of all:
half and half.

On Populism

2009-02-28T12:44:00.008-05:00

As the economic news continues to depress us (pun intended), there is no mistaking the rise of populism once again in our nation's political discourse. The emotion most often attached to populism is anger: supposedly every day people are fed up with corporate fat cats/government bureaucrats/insert your favorite target here. And we're not gonna take it!

Could this "anger" be consolidated into political power by one of the two major parties? Or could a new, alternative, populist party form? Some House Democrats have already formed a Populist Caucus which they say is open to members of both parties. As the party of labor as opposed to management, individuals as opposed to corporations, the Democrats would seem to be more naturally aligned with an ideology that speaks to and for the frustrations of the masses. Yet, one of the first recommendations of this caucus was that the stimulus package have a "buy American" provision. Economic isolationism and protectionism would seem in some ways to be conservative impulses.

The ravaging effects of globalism on certain local economies are very real. Here in North Carolina, many smaller localities have been long dependent on relatively high-wage, low-skill manufacturing jobs, particularly in textiles. Those jobs have fled in the thousands to all the places in the world that have cheaper labor and less stringent environmental protections. Rural North Carolinians have traded a job for cheap clothes at Wal-Mart. The sentiment I keep coming across is anger that the corporate honchos have "shipped our jobs overseas," as if some nefarious plot exists to put people out of work. Most people don't make the link between the global economy and their own purchasing habits. Stop buying cheap imports at the Dollar Store, and put that money into local economies. In watching the various anti-Wal-Mart documentaries that show the devastating effects on small town businesses, I often have to remind myself that people choose to take their business from one place to another. Rather than scream about job losses, perhaps we can start making decisions locally that, for example, give tax incentives to businesses that want to set up shop in a depressed town center rather than a big box store in the exurbs.

As the U.S. auto makers prostrated themselves before Congress to seek out billions in bailout funds, we heard the mighty drumbeat of populist anger once again. Scorn was heaped on CEOs who made the PR blunder of flying in corporate jets to attend hearings. Members of Congress seemed to channel their constituents venom with increasingly sarcastic and bitter questions. The auto bosses were sent back to do homework before they finally got their money. That'll teach them! Fascinatingly, at the same time, the auto unions were receiving the same excoriating criticism. Certain salient details of union-negotiated contracts struck a nerve: did you know that some workers are paid not to work!?! Contempt was hurled at managers and workers in equal portions. Occasionally someone would suggest that we needed to bail the companies out in order to prevent a further collapse of the overall economy, but for the most part, people seemed to genuinely want the Big Three to fail, to utterly cease to exist.

Mr. President jumped on the populist bandwagon when he suggested a cap on CEO salaries at $500,000 for any firm receiving federal bailout dollars. Who, besides the CEOs themselves, wouldn't agree to that? Personally, I have little sympathy for those at the top who are having to sweat out this crisis, but I cannot agree with the government mandating the salaries of workers in a private company. If anything, we should turn our attention to restructuring the tax code to eliminate the Bush breaks for the super-rich. Let's get the money after it flows out of the tap, not before. Surely some of the weaker, more foolish firms will fail during this period, hopefully prompting some reforms in executive pay within companies themselves.

Finally, CNBC's Rick Santelli spoke for many when he suggested that the government “put up a website to have people vote … to see if we really want to subsidize the losers’ mortgages?” Here we find populist anger directed at a lower socioeconomic set of people. Not the rich, but the upwardly mobile, the purchasers of that American dream castle par excellence, the McMansion. Greedy, greedy, greedy, goes the populist version of the story. They had to have it all, and have it now. They should have known better, and now we have to pay. Now, as someone who was a long-time renter and who bought a very small home at a fixed-rate mortgage, I could easily jump on that bandwagon. Yet, I was ironically fortunate to have a relatively low income that qualified me for an FHA loan. Others who made more were sold the same message from their banks, investment houses, and the popular business press: get as much house as you can, because no asset will grow in value faster. As a society we collectively ignored the impending housing bubble. Not only that, but foreclosure relief funds will help the thousands of people who didn't overbuy. Many have simply lost their jobs and can't pay their mortgages or afford to sell their homes at a cut rate. Millions of unemployed people is bad enough; do we want to add homeless and unemployed to our roster of ills as well?

Citizen participation in government is a fine thing, and anger at the powers-that-be is understandable and even noble at times. But what I'm sensing now is the beginnings of mob mentality, the sense that something has to be done right now, someone must be held accountable, someone must pay. The causes for our various problems are multi-faceted, complex, and have deep roots. To turn with bulging neck veins and start screaming at the nearest authority figure is not going to help anyone.

On Obstructionism and Bipartisanship

2009-02-25T21:08:00.006-05:00

Obama Pledges: 'We Will Rebuild, We Will Recover'

by Liz Halloran

NPR.org, February 25, 2009 ·

The president also renewed his call for bipartisanship, a condition that stubbornly refuses to take root in the nation's capital.

"I know that we haven't agreed on every issue thus far, and there are surely times in the future when we will part ways," he said, to some laughter from the packed chamber. "But I also know that every American who is sitting here tonight loves this country and wants it to succeed."

"That must be the starting point for every debate we have in coming months, and where we return after those debates are done."

Though Obama's bipartisan message and his strenuous outreach have resulted in little agreement between the parties, the administration was no doubt buoyed by recent polls that show that about three-quarters of Americans say that the president has been trying to work with Republicans.

And more than 60 percent said that they believed Republicans opposed Obama's stimulus plan for political rather than policy reasons.

_________________________________________________________________

The Republicans seem to have crafted a strategy of peeling things back to the base. This tactic appears to be counting on a failure of the economic stimulus package. If the economy keeps getting worse, they can say they were true to their ideology and perhaps pick up voters looking for a change. There's that "c" word again. Didn't we just move away from eight years of Republican rule? Yes, but voters care most about what is happening to their wallets lately. Notice, too, that Bobby Jindal and others are taking care to dump on Bush in an effort to distance themselves from that administration's failings. "Look, our Republican party got fired with cause these last two election cycles. We became the party that defended spending, corruption that we never should've tolerated, and we stopped offering relevant solutions to the problems that Americans care about," said Jindal on Meet the Press the other day.

The poll data above would indicate that the Republicans are shooting themselves in the foot: people want something done, they want it done now, and for the most part they have put their trust in Obama. Many on the left are in full gloating mode at the current state, and are choosing to heap scorn on the GOP for its seemingly petulant obstructionism. Rachel Maddow sounds almost crazed with vengeful jubilation. At the extreme are NPR community commenters such as "Mike Hawk," whose nickname is something like "Republicans are Traitors." Many others, mostly political moderates, just want the partisan bickering to stop. I, for example, have suggested more than once to let Obama go to the center--away from positions I advocate--just so that he can get legislation passed. The idea here is that "change" represents an overhaul of the adversarial political system. Obama was going to be the great uniter: black and white, liberal and conservative were all going to sing Kum-ba-ya with Barney the purple dinosaur.

That's not going to happen, and I'm now fine with that. Here's why:

I certainly did not spend the last eight years saying that we Democrats should reach out and work with President Bush. If anything, tactics such as the Senate filibuster were the only thing saving us from disaster before Congress changed hands in '06. If anything, we on the left have relied on tactics such as sit-ins, marches, boycotts, and rallies to get things done, often outside of the law. Extreme versions of this include Earth First! and Greenpeace actions on behalf of the environment. When the cause is different, we scream extremist. But why is an abortion opponent's direct action at a clinic different from Julia Butterfly Hill's camping out in a tree? Where we stand on the issues shouldn't change the legitimacy of the tactics.

So just when it would seem prudent for the Republicans to make nice and pass all of Obama's projects, they are digging their heels in the sand. Good for them. Paring back to what's important will hopefully allow them to shed some of the scarier aspects of evangelical Christian influence. They would do well to focus on fiscal, rather than social conservatism. We need political dialogue, but we also need dialectic. Strong, reasoned debate on matters of spending in the hundreds of billions of dollars is absolutely necessary. With the stakes as high as they are, why would we want a narrow set of views to set policy for all of us? Above all, why would we want to humiliate the Republicans into absolute submission? Those who announce the party's death would do well to remember how recently Karl Rove predicted a permanent Republican majority. The GOP will be back, make no mistake. If the economy doesn't improve soon, Sir Arrogant predicts a nasty fight for Congress in 2010.

Job Creation in a Tough Economy

2009-02-23T21:22:00.008-05:00

All Things Considered, February 23, 2009 · In a controversial program aimed at enhancing border security, Texas sheriffs have erected a series of surveillance cameras along the Rio Grande and connected them to the Internet.

Thousands of people are now virtual Border Patrol agents — and they're on the lookout for drug smugglers and illegal immigrants.

Robert Fahrenkamp, a truck driver in South Texas, is one of them.

After a long haul behind the wheel of a Peterbilt tractor-trailer, he comes home, sets his 6-foot-6-inch, 250-pound frame in front of his computer, pops a Red Bull, turns on some Black Sabbath or Steppenwolf, logs in to www.blueservo.net — and starts protecting his country.

"This gives me a little edge feeling," Fahrenkamp says, "like I'm doing something for law enforcement as well as for our own country."

____________________________________________________________________

Make 100s a day working from home: call 1-888-SNITCHZ today. Now hiring:

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***Couch Taters. Want to get paid to watch videos all day AND help your Big Brother Uncle Sam keep the world safe for freedom loving Joe the Plumber, truck driving six packs? Log on to blueservo, zip up the camo jumpsuit, and flex those mouse-pointing hand muscles. Carpal tunnel is a serious hazard, but hey, freedom ain't free, buddy. We've all got to sacrifice something.

***Video game testers. We know, you've all heard of this urban legend. Who wouldn't want to get paid to play games all day? But now your fantasy has come true: our new application for X Box 360 lets you fly the Predator drones right into target destinations yourself. Brings a whole new meaning to point and shoot. It's like playing "Battleship," but you get to blow up real stuff! And kill real people! It's so cool to keep the flame of freedom burning.

***Virtual interrogators. The FBI is looking for a few good Patriots with big hearts and even bigger voices. All you need is an internet hookup and a microphone, the cheaper the better. We feed your audio directly to illegal scum-of-the-Earth, so-bad-we-know-they're-guilty-without-a-trial combatants in Guantanamo and other undisclosed tropical work camps. Let 'em have it for all they've done to ruin our peaceful world. Scream, laugh, or worse yet, blast 'em with Steppenwolf anytime, day or night. So fun you won't believe you're getting paid.

***Facesneetch. Join this exciting new social network in which the bad guys have nowhere to run or hide. From your mobile phone, iPod touch, or laptop, let the world know what the baduns are doing: hourly or even minute-by-minute. Example: "Bubba is...wondering how his neighbor can afford a new car when he just got laid off" Or, "Jimbo is...fixin to raise hell if those boys take one more step out of the ghetto."

This is the Peak Oil Guy

2009-02-22T22:06:00.002-05:00

I thought I would post a video from an important contemporary thinker. I could say much here, but I hope at least a few of you give this twenty-minute video a chance. At least watch the first five minutes.

I am quite passionate about the psychological, environmental, and aesthetic damage that has been wrought by the soulless contemporary American sprawling suburb. Even as we have urgent conversations about resource use, I daily watch as bulldozers level more pastoral land. Next come the five-lane roads with names such as "Sams-Lowes Boulevard."

Take THAT, Oscar!

2009-02-21T22:10:00.004-05:00

Weekend Edition Saturday, February 21, 2009 · As Hollywood crowns its favorite movies and actors at the Oscars on Sunday, another group is trying to create a rival movie industry. Fed up with sex and violence in mainstream entertainment, conservative Christians are turning out their own films. And they've made surprising inroads.

Fireproof, starring former teen idol Kirk Cameron, was all the talk of some 2,000 Christian movie fans gathering at the San Antonio (Texas) Independent Christian Film Festival in January. This crowd was markedly un-Hollywood, the men wearing jeans and Polo shirts, the women in high necklines and low hems. The lights had hardly dimmed for opening ceremonies when Doug Phillips, the festival's organizer, told audience members they were drawing the Maginot line in the culture wars.

"We're here to send a message to the world that we no longer want our children immersed in toxic media which is in opposition to the Lord Jesus Christ," he announced to the cheering crowd. "Christian filmmaking is coming of age. Christian filmmaking is coming of age!

OMGosh, that was the best movie ever! Kirk Cameron is so, so, WARM! Like, really warm! So warm it's a good thing he's fireproof. My sister and I loved the uplifting message and Kirk's polo and jeans and stuff. We really liked "High School Musical IV: The Crazy Crusade Caper." Troy and Gabriella find the Lord, take a year off before Bible School, and hit the road with their zany but devout buddies to the middle east! To have fun, soak up the sun, visit the birthplace of Christ, and do a little rug shopping. But lookout: on the way, they run into some nasty infidels who believe in the wrong God. About that: I won't give it all away, but you haven't lived until you've seen a choreographed modern dance fight in the sands of Saudi Arabia. Making the world safe for Christiocracy, that's what Dad says. Troy and Gabriella have one of their usual fights, and he starts to fall for the dark-eyed and beautiful Fatima (talk about high necklines and low hems!). Troy begins to understand that love cuts across cultures, and then he remembers that it doesn't! And that his Daddy would take him out behind the three-car garage in Phoenix and make him sing Sweet Jesus from the business end of a cane switch. In the end, the kids do a smash ensemble number at a new gated mega-church in Dubai. We also loved "Dawn's Light," a correction of the wicked Stephanie Meyer's "Twilight." Instead of Edward, meet Chris, a hero so impossibly handsome and good he could only be the son of God. Hunted in the night by traitorous thugs, he and Bella cling together, vowing to wait until marriage before they exchange that first kiss. "Your skin is pale white and ice cold. You're impossibly fast and strong." "Yeah, about that, Bella, I've been 'sleeping' for 2000 years, and my Dad is pretty strong. He was like a wrestler and stuff."

Warning: In Bad Taste

2009-02-20T21:09:00.004-05:00

NPR.org, February 18, 2009 · A jury in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has ordered cigarette-maker Philip Morris to pay $8 million in damages to the widow of a smoker who died of lung cancer in a case that could set the standard for 8,000 similar Florida lawsuits.

So I have a pet. No, not a dog, not a cute little kitty, but a chimp. I know, I know, it's not your everyday pet. But a girl gets lonely. Some people think it's weird that I sleep with Travis, but I tell you what: he's a lot less hairy than my ex-husband, he never snores, and he doesn't bug me for sex. He's just a really great cuddler. He's also great at crossword puzzles, likes long walks at sunset on the beach, and cooks a fantabulous orecchiette with fresh tomatoes and pecorino. He doesn't judge me, he laughs at my jokes, and he remembers my birthday. There's only one problem: one day Travis found my Newport Lites and lit one up before I could stop him. One puff and he was hooked. I didn't know what to do. After a few hours, he got really, really grumpy and started tearing up my new living room suite. It was clear that he needed a fix, so I bought him a carton. We tried everything: meditation, videos, Nicorette, the patch. We tried aversion therapy, a life coach, cold turkey isolation. Once I thought we had it licked, but it seems that Travis had been secretly picking butts out of ashtrays, storing them in his fur, and sucking them down while I was at work. He tried to deny it, but I totally smelled it on his fur. Well, got to go. I invited a friend over who says she's going to cure Travis of this disgusting habit once and for all. I hope it works.

Porky the Demoncrat Goes to Canada

2009-02-19T22:29:00.003-05:00

NPR.org, February 19, 2009 · President Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper agreed Thursday to promote the development of clean energy technologies, at the conclusion of Obama's first foreign trip since becoming president.

Mike Hawk (GOPsAreTraitors) wrote:
The Rep-Libs are totally left behind. Inexistent. Thet can't keep up with all this as some of us predicted accurately. Rep-Libs' are only good at 2 things: whining and shouting 'Pork!" or "Socialism!"

Peter Wilbur (sir_arrogant_numskull) wrote:

ya darn tootin were cryin socialism, mike hawk, oughta rename you mike dove, buddy, with all your rootin tootin high falutin liberal love fests. figures OBAMINATION hooplas up to canada, thats where all them jane fonda loving liberal draft dodgers went in vietnam, thats why those crybabies wont support our troops now. freedom aint free. we need tar sand oil, DRILL BABY DRILL! Clean and green my tokus, global warming hoax is all that is. only green we need to see is a stack of bills, tax reliefs the best stimulus i ever heard of. put honest to GOD hard working AMERICANS back to work, put money in joe six packs pockets, not in liberal pet project PORK!

On Spirituality

2009-02-17T21:41:00.009-05:00

A friend from NPR writes:

"What do we, as human beings, generally mean by spirituality?

"I'm interested in it because it can have importance and significance to the deeply religious and the distinctly secular. I tried to construct a religion continuum and had come to the conclusion there was an inversely proportional element to it; so that the more "intellectual" an individual, the less "spiritual" and vice-versa. Taking it to a logical extension - An atheist might be considered highly intellectual and lacking in spirituality while an occultist might be highly spiritual and lacking in intellectuality. But I don't doubt you could have reverse exceptions to this idea.

"I placed the monotheisms (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) in the middle of the spectrum. The implication being there is a balance between intellectual and spiritual.

"But I ask again: What are we talking about when we refer to the spiritual?"

Sir A.N. attempts to take on this thorny, age-old question.

Let's start with a deliberately intellectual approach to the question. If we analyze (could any process be more brain-based?) the word, we find the that at its root, spirituality is related to the Latin spirare, "to breathe." The word "inspire" means, then, literally "to breathe in." Returning to the question of my friend, how does breathing in relate to the literal meaning of religion: "to bind together again"? I will set this aside for now to turn to my own narrative.

Part I

I was raised in a non- but not anti-religious house. We weren't against church; it just never came up. In the Washington of the 70s, the only overtly religious people I knew were Jews and Catholics. Legend has it that I announced to my mother at the age of five that "there is no God," but I don't remember this. I do remember as a teenager that as I gained a radical political consciousness, so did I acquire a disdain, even a hatred of organized religion. This was the Reagan era, and backlash was everywhere. The religious right had been born in the TV studios, and Jerry Falwell was in the news regularly.

Yes, the above equation did hold true for me: I considered all religion to be occultist, and educated, rational people had no use for it. I cobbled together a set of beliefs that was part 60s radical, humanist activism; part carefree Bohemian; and part DIY 80s punk. Certain truisms held sway with me as strongly as the Ten Commandments rule the religious: corporations are bad, the government lies, the rich and powerful control the world for their profit, Art is good, commerce is bad.

Where did spirituality fit into the mix? Living in San Francisco, I couldn't help but be exposed to certain counter-cultural elements that borrowed from various religious traditions: Hare Krishna temples that offered sacred vegetarian feasts, yoga studios, Tai Chi practitioners, meditation, prayer circles. Of course, the exotic and especially Eastern were favored over the prosaic and domestic. I didn't know too many Baptists or see their rituals practiced. Other aspects of the belief system I came to internalize harbored spiritual elements, especially environmentalism. Here, the Earth itself was worshipped, evidenced by the referrals to "Mother Earth" or "Gaia," often as a conspicuous antidote to what was seen as the male dominance of conventional religion.

Similarly, certain activities in which I partook with others were often shrouded in mystical, spiritual-like reverence. Epic bike rides up Mt. Tamalpais. Midnight bonfires at Ocean Beach. Days spent in Golden Gate Park. Above all, for me, creating, rehearsing, and performing live music was the closest thing in my life that combined the breathing in implied by "inspiration" and the binding together with others of a similar faith suggested by the word "religion." Indeed, the word "music" itself comes directly from the word "muse."

All through this period of my life I unhesitatingly called myself an atheist. Anything less would have seemed absurd. I could make no sense of God in my life, and in my youthful bravura, I did not entertain doubt easily. I was proud, certain, even arrogant that I was right and that all those church-going sheep were deluded, brainwashed, unimaginative fools.

Upon moving to North Carolina, I was stunned to find that many people's first question upon meeting me would be "where do you go to church?" Not do you go, but where... What was going on? I would meet someone whom I would read as non-religious: an alternative, slacker-looking type with tattoos, piercings, weird hair. Soon into a conversation, the inevitable "at my church" comment would come up, leaving me baffled. I thought churchies were buttoned-up squares, lily-white Bible-thumping racists or (perversely more acceptable) gospel-singing black people. Hmm, I wondered, who has the stereotypes now? And, simultaneously, where on Earth have I landed? Where are the sane secularists? Since then I have come to see that there are plenty of agnostics, atheists, and alternative religious types in the South, but also how important church is to most folks' sense of family, stability, and community. I wasn't sure about the inspiration part, but the binding together of a community was evident in ways that could certainly make an outsider jealous. Except for the little problem of belief. Of course, one of the first people I met in Winston-Salem was a Wake Forest professor, a regal sounding gentleman with a refined local accent, who calmly told an assembled group of graduate students that he was an atheist, but he faithfully attended church because he "enjoyed the ritual."

As I have grown, the less certain I am of anything I believed as a younger man. Is there a God? I have no idea. Does it matter? Possibly. I feel too personally insignificant in the scope of the universe to think that it--or I--matters much. The pull of the continuum described by my friend's question repels me from hard-line atheism as much from organized religion. I feel the hush of something greater than me when I hike, cook, look at my wife and children, see the "a-ha!" face of one of my students.

Part II later: but in the meantime, it would be interesting to hear from others on this topic, either here or via email.

Trickle Down

2009-02-16T21:34:00.003-05:00

With deep regrets to NPR junkies, the following is the best I could muster in these extraordinary times...

Peter Wilbur (sir_arrogant_numskull) wrote:

Ah, you foolish, foolish liberals. Do you not understand how stimulus works? It is always the wealthiest elements of society that call for the most refined, exquisite goods and services, which finally results in more work trickling down to the unwashed masses. Please consider the sheer numbers of people marshaled and resources commandeered for just one championship golf course. From fine turf to the men needed to manicure it daily, from millions of gallons of water on the links to gallons of premium wines in the clubhouse, these facilities keep countless plebes off the streets and out of the workhouses. When one factors in related industries such as club and ball makers to those outfits that make white shoes and plaid sweater vests, golf is a veritable bastion of the American economy. What, should we trust the great wealth of a nation to average Joe six-packs? What would they do, spend it on cheap beer or stuff it in a mattress?

Peter Wilbur (sir_arrogant_numskull) wrote:

It's a fine line we are treading here, folks. On the one hand, my previous post was complete parody. Yet, even I the humble teacher won't deny my hyper-elite pleasures: gourmet olives, cheese, vine-ripened, locally-grown, heirloom tomatoes, good chocolate, sleek electronics, a well made shirt. If not for the insatiable demands of elites, would we have Beethoven, Maya temples, the Taj Mahal, Versailles? On the other hand, it would seem that our corporate honchos have gone a bit too far. Ironic in all of this is that we have never really had free markets. In many ways, government has been in complete collusion with big business; to wit, corporate welfare, agribusiness subsidies, and the revolving door between government and business lobbyists. Given this backdrop, regulating or mandating salaries doesn't seem far-fetched or out of line.

A Special Message for Tax Season

2009-02-15T20:03:00.012-05:00

All Things Considered, February 15, 2009 · The Tour of California is Lance Armstrong's first road race in the U.S. since he came out of retirement last year. It's a comeback appearance for American Floyd Landis, too — his first since a highly publicized doping suspension ended. The presence of these two men alone is enough to stir things up in a sport already bubbling with controversy.
__________________________________________________________________

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Hi, I'm Alex Rodriquez, on behalf of H & R Cellblock Tax Preparers, and I'm here to help you hit this one out of the park. So wink, wink, nudge, nudge, take a little peek with me to see where the catcher is setting up, and let's PLAY BALL! Now, would you drive to work on three cylinders? Read a book with one eye? Shoplift those great-looking Gucci shades--you know those HUGE two-toned ones with the logos in the frames--with one arm? Of course you wouldn't, any more than I would take my at bats without being more juiced up than a tree in a trailer park at Christmastime.

Here are some testimonials from some of our everyday clients:

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--TG in DC

Hey you, yeah, YOU, A-hole. Lissen, I used to run a whole friggin state, you know what I'm saying? Think I wanna pay the FEDS another dime? Hell, no! Let's just say they know how to get "creative" when it comes to deductions. Ever heard of $10,000 for executive hair care? They believed it from me!
--Rod in Chicago

Taxes, like the nation's broken health care system, are extremely complicated, and I am one of the few men on the planet who understands the latter. But to help me out of a pinch with those nasty limo expenses and consulting fees, I thought I'd bring in the big boys; I sure didn't want to end up on the wrong end of a Wounded Knee.
--TD in SD

What's a little gift exchanged among friends? Believe you me, I've got A LOT of friends, and keeping up with everything has taken some mighty skillful handling by my trusted associates H & R. They really know their offshore accounts and Swiss banks, and when it comes to money, they really know how to get the stains out. They're also pretty handy at switching accounts to your spouse: just ask my wife!
--Bernie in NYC

On Friends

2009-02-14T21:17:00.002-05:00

It's been one week since I created a Facebook account; I never realized the potential to reconnect with long-lost friends, classmates, and acquaintances. For me the journey has been strange.

As a child born in 1967 to a deadbeat father, I grew up with a hole in my heart that I was (am) always ready to fill up with friendship. Not the casual, hang-out every once in a while, let's do lunch kind of friend, but ones for whom you would lay down your life. Not long into adolescence, I discovered the counter-culture, which at first meant "look at me" gestures such as punk hair-dos, piercings, make up, and outrageous clothes. An identification with certain musical forms was important as well, detailed knowledge of which served as a sort of currency to trade and a way to weed out the poseurs. Growing in Washington, DC and environs in the 1980s meant a vibrant and unique contemporary music scene; this lent credibility and authenticity to my feelings of "belonging" to something, almost a family.

Counter-cultural attitudes, self-doubt, anger, and apathy quickly led to a lifestyle not quite built for future success: skipping school, sneaking out, doing drugs, running away from home. After dropping out of school at seventeen, I kicked around various menial jobs that kept me connected to "the scene" in some way. Finally I moved to San Francisco at nineteen with a girlfriend and spent almost seven years playing in bands, working low-level jobs such as bike messenger, and living in crowded apartments and group houses with similar ne'er-do-wells.

Going through a list of most of my friends from this period reveals a striking pattern: so many of us grew up without fathers. At one point two of my best friends were guys whose fathers had killed themselves. Many of the rest were in my position: their fathers were out there somewhere, but made little effort to connect with or support their children. A few friends had intact nuclear families, but that was the surprising oddity: "you grew up with a mom and a dad, and you still talk to them?" It was a Norman Rockwell scene none of us knew about. All of this was against a backdrop of rising social conservatism across the country.

I always had a girlfriend, of course, but almost more important was that one special male friend I always had. This was usually a relationship based around music, a bandmate, a person I shared intimate and burning emotional and artistic passions with. Sadly, however, these friendships were often brief and usually ended with estrangement or worse. Some friends drifted away, others succumbed to drugs, some just moved on. My immediate focus on the present and my morbid fear of rejection led to me drop people quickly if things became inconvenient or uncomfortable.

After unexpectedly having a child at twenty-six, I moved to North Carolina, went to school, and started a "normal" life. Amazingly, after all the shows, parties, bands, roommates, co-workers, and blood friendships, I couldn't name a single person from my first twenty-five years with whom I had kept in touch. Not one. It was if my former life existed in a strange haze of old color photographs, journal entries, bad cassette tapes of band practices, and my own hardly-reliable, THC-addled memory.

Until, that is, I created an account on Facebook. I am now getting bombarded with pictures, stories, and connections I hadn't pondered in years, or ever. I have accepted friend requests from people I can't remember, but whom I "should" know: right age, right hometown, right mutual friends.

I will end this ramble with two upshots for me: the first is the direction my life has taken toward parenting and teaching. My wife doesn't know her father either, so "grandpa" is not a common word in our house, but, if my children choose to become parents, it is one their kids will know. I am certain that this is the drive that leads me to teach young children as well. The second moral is the most obvious: stay in touch, stay in touch.

Candle in your Heart

2009-02-13T18:36:00.002-05:00

With apologies to dshelle and others: y'all may have read this on nipper dot org:

I am like really really sad that those donkeys and elephants can't get along. I mean, donkeys bray really loud and stuff, always whining and complaining, and elephants have really long memories like maybe they are mad at the donkeys for winning the election and for trying to print monopoly money, and they can spray you in the face with water, but why can't we all just get along? They should lock themselves in a room together, burn an aromatherapy candle and do the standing stick pose for a few long breaths. Yogananda says that “there is a magnet in your heart that will attract true friends. That magnet is unselfishness, thinking of others first... when you learn to live for others, they will live for you." I think that's totally true. I think Obama should like send wall posts to McConnell and Boehner and John McCain, that old guy looks so sad all the time. We should all light candles in our hearts and say a prayer of peace for our leaders.

Nice Juddds, Greggg!!!

2009-02-12T21:13:00.003-05:00

NPR.org, February 12, 2009 · Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire on Thursday withdrew his name from consideration as commerce secretary, citing "irresolvable conflicts" with President Obama. The move came as a setback for the administration as it worked to shore up confidence in the U.S. economy.

"It has become apparent during this process that this will not work for me as I have found that on issues such as the stimulus package and the Census there are irresolvable conflicts for me."

God Bless REPUBLICAN Senator Judd Gregg, now that's a conservative name if i never saw one, sounds like a good ole boy, Country Music Channel ten-gallon, Texas belt buckle Tobey Keith, steak eatin, steer ropin Walmart shopping F-150 asskicker. And hes a Senator. New Hampshire, Live Free or Die, Buddy, that's what they say up there, right on there license plates. Im making them Honorary Southerners in Honor of honest Patriot Gregg. Least he pays his taxes. Haha, bait and switch liberals!

Im so sick of this stimulus bill there shovin down our throats, we need to CUT taxes, not tax and spend. Spendocrats, thats all they no how to do, take my hard earned money and give spend it on arts funding and condoms. Pork pork and more pork. Gonna start a dang barbecue up in here. Good old Dubya knew how to work it, tax cuts for middle class Joe the Plumber CEO oilmen, thats the blood of our nation. Get your laws offa private enterprise, let the widesrcreens trickle down to regular joe sixpacks.

Whats next, OBAMANATIONS gonna count every man woman and child illegal SCHIP welfare sucking immigrant send money home to Mexico tax dodging ALIEN in the census. Pad up every liberal Sodom and Gomorrah inner ghetto city slum they living like animals down there. Oughta count only REAL AMERICA heatland heart of dixie heartbeat of America god bless the support our troops states rights AMERICA. Science fiction, god playin freak show single mother octoplets, takin all are money, padding Nazi Pelosis liberal gay as a goose district. Exchange students, foreign bloodsuckers. Stay outta my country and off my census, leave good jobs in AMERICA. Freedom aint free.

Succumbing to Succulent Succubus of Fluff

2009-02-11T20:19:00.005-05:00

Talk of the Nation, February 11, 2009 · Can you sum up your love life in exactly six words? Hundreds of famous and not-so-famous authors rose to the challenge for Smith magazine's Six-Word Memoirs on Love and Heartbreak.

Peter Wilbur (sir_arrogant_numskull) wrote:

Aesthetically, athletically awestricken; aphrodisiacal, aortal apotheosis.

V-day helps sell diamonds through sex.

Kids had babies; blink, we're old.

Lovely little libertine, lifting, lilting, lasting.

Jeff Howard (zyxt) wrote:

Half-priced candy. Now I’m divorced.

I invested everything with Madoff....Hello?

Elizabeth Hudson (Rizzo) wrote:

Winter trees on twilight; dog dreams.

Blue Valentines best red roses anytime.

Margaret Carey (Peggy) wrote:

Fossils before breakfast won my heart.

Dogs in the bed? No Problem!

Makes me laugh when I'm mad.

Transparency? Say No to Torture and Illegal Detention

2009-02-10T21:06:00.006-05:00

So far the Obama administration has not changed the policy of the Bush and Co. thugs who used "rendition" flights to move alleged terrorist detainees around the world to secret CIA camps. If you think Guantanamo is bad, can you think of any good reason to move a captive to Afghanistan, Morocco, or Egypt? A private company, Jeppesen DataPlan, a Boeing subsidiary, has been the subject of criticism--and an ACLU lawsuit.

Many observers of the case have been looking to the new administration to stop hiding behind the excuse of "state secrets" in handling this case.

Contact the Department of Justice Here:

AskDOJ@usdoj.gov

Here is a link to a better summary from NPR

Here is an excellent video from the ACLU outlining its case:

A Stimulating Conversation

2009-02-10T19:58:00.002-05:00

Peter Wilbur (sir_arrogant_numskull) wrote:

what are we wastin our time on this piece of junk for, its nothing but PORK from top to bottom, the liberals opened their drawer of liberal socialist pet projects and had at it, Nancy Pelosi shame on you. $500 million for pork skin cell research, 2 billion for barbecuers without borders, 4 billion and change for low income Piggly Wiggly food stamps, 10 billion and change for Inner City Pigskin Outreach, I mean whats next, y'all gonna bail out Porky Pig? best way to have stimulating conversation is cut taxes, abolish federal government, auto union socialist scum, let honest to goodness American Patriot Joe the Plumber keep his honest wages, trickle down.

Timothy Barnes (pardonmycrimes) wrote:

"pork skin cell research"

i believe fans of the good dr atkins refer to them as pork rinds.

Rocket Man (Mr_Clean) wrote:

Well, in a manner of speaking Peter, I suppose it is all pork, no tofu products.

I Heart Public Radio

2009-02-09T20:45:00.006-05:00

Welcome to the “I Love Public Radio Spring Pledge Drive 2009.” ‘Tis the winter of our discontent, but it’s never too early, like the daffodils struggling through the Kentucky ice, to buck these tough times and seek the greater warmth of a new day, a new time; in short, a new budget. Are you one of the vicious, blood-sucking vampires from “Twilight” who listen and listen to public radio but never give back? You probably do this listening from someone else’s radio, don’t you? Maybe you pirate your wifi and download “Weekend Edition” podcasts to your refurbished, knockoff mp3 player. You might even be one of those Cabinet appointees who doesn’t pay your share of the millions in tax dollars in takes to keep this place afloat.

This station is supported by YOU, the listener. Please pledge today. Volunteers are standing by to take your call, or you can pledge online. We take cash, checks, credit, debit, gold, silver, collectables, domestic or imported firearms (semi-automatic and above, please; no schwag), internal organs, thoroughbred pets, cold-pressed extra-virgin hashish, toxic mortgages, and gently used appliances. And rims; you can’t ever have enough of those in these troubled times.

Well, here’s Josh, that prosaic guy who does those annoying filler pieces that air at 1:30 p.m. when nobody is listening about the deadski local arts calendar; what have you got for us, Josh? Well, Suze, all my friends have been asking about the new WSEA PETA Sea Kitten "I Heart NPR" hoodies. These exclusive, hand-machine-knit-in-Cambodia, 100% polystyrene beauties feature a patented front hand pocket, convenient front zipper, drawstring hood, more corporate logos than you can stick on the quarter panel of a stock car and a one-of-a-kind Sea Kitten logo, brought to us by PETA, People Eating Tasty Animals. This priceless heirloom your family will cherish for generations to come is available at the jawdropping pledgepoint of only 250 dollars a year.

That’s only 68 cents a day—68 cents! Is that so much to hear Diane Rehm warbling about the war in Iraq? Too much to hear Scott Simon Sez and Yawn Williams run a kinder, gentler, thousand-points-of-light talkshowy, roundtable, vlog-style, feel-good powwow? How about Tom and Ray the car guys insane laughter? Can you really say that 68 cents a day is too much to pay for news, culture, analysis, and yet another ad for the Herman Miller Aeron in all new colors, including True Black? Don’t forget NPR.org, our new, hip, twitter-style social networking/troll incubator, where you can pose as your senile, Nixonite uncle and say all those things you always REALLY wanted to say. All with a cute nickname and avatar. Now, back to “All Things Considered,” Where ME-Shell Norris brings us another hard-hitting story on Michelle Obama’s wardrobe.

Liberal School

2009-02-08T21:28:00.004-05:00

Twas a busy day in the land of trolls. Here are some of the highlights in a little conversation on the stimulus package. Evidently, my liberal education has let me down. Here's where all the trouble began:

Peter Wilbur (sir_arrogant_numskull) wrote: Our government was designed as a representative democracy. The people, through its agent, Congress, has the power to pass whatever law it sees fit. Therefore, disagreeing with the stimulus plan because it is unconstitutional is illogical. Only the courts can make that decision.

Bernard Kornowicz (Tronman) wrote: Peter Wilbur said: "Our government was designed as a representative democracy." No, it was designed as a Constitutional Republic. What kind of crap did they teach you in Liberal School?

Peter Wilbur (sir_arrogant_numskull) wrote: Bernard: you are an insulting troll, and I probably shouldn't respond to you, but here goes: methinks you split hairs with your definitions. I just finished reading a detailed treatment of the entire Constitution, so I feel pretty well versed in what kind of government we have. It IS a representative democracy, my friend.

What did they teach you in neocon school, Bernard, insult people to make a point?

Galen Van Kooten (oi812) wrote: To Peter Wilbur-I think this says it all I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands: one Nation under God, indivisible, With Liberty and Justice for all.

Paula Paus (TxCajun) wrote: Peter Wilbur: Representative Democracy: . . . sorry but I think Bernard has it correct: our government was designed as a constitutional republic and I too wonder (concerned) what ‘liberal’ education is actually teaching.

Peter Wilbur (sir_arrogant_numskull) wrote: Changed my mind: our government is a corporate oligarchy.

So what was liberal school like? I would love to collect your thoughts and memories. I will publish these in a little essay later this week. Starters: do you remember those Gay Scout campouts, where we all huddled around a fire of burning American flags, reciting the words of Che Guevera and Chairman Mao?

The Aisle in the Isle

2009-02-08T15:32:00.003-05:00

NPR.org, February 6, 2009 · Senate Democrats say they have enough votes to pass a $780 billion compromise plan on an economic stimulus package President Obama has promised voters.

Sen. John McCain, the Arizona Republican, said the package was more spending than stimulus. He and at least two other Republicans floated their own stimulus proposals with price tags that were a little more than half of the $800 billion favored by the White House.

Sir Arrogant Numskull has obtained an exclusive interview with the Senator:

My friends, we all know that Washington is a Really Bad Place full of Really Bad Bureaucrats, most of them Democrats, and that the Beltway is sort of like a moat surrounding the kingdom. My friends, I am prepared to reach across the isle and FIGHT FOR YOU. This is a sad day for America. Sarah and I would have taken this country in a bold new direction. Tax cuts for all those hard-working, real American, Joe-the-plumber, medium-business owners. A reduced federal government. And the development of the energy sources of tomorrow: clean TVA coal, good old Alaska crude, and nucular power. Policies totally different than that of George Bush and Barack Obama. That, and all the wars I would foster and fund, will get our economy rolling and our people working. Let's not forget that a devastating world war got us out of the last mess, my friends.

On Darwin, Disciples, and Detractors

2009-02-07T22:51:00.005-05:00

Apologies in advance: true NPR.org junkies may find this redundant.

Today NPR ran a piece honoring the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin (he doesn't look a day over 190, if you ask me). The thrust of the story was a comparison of the attitudes toward evolution in England and in the U.S. I will let the following comments speak for themselves.

A rival in satire kicked things off:

Fuzzy Chickens (fuzzychickens) wrote:

The earth is 4000 years old! I have proof. I found a cave drawing of Sarah Palin's great great great great great great great......grandmother riding a T-rex while hunting animals to make fancy fur clothing to add to her wardrobe.

This proves Darwin was a fraud! Now we can get back to teaching sound science in our schools.

Which didn't sit well with my friend Curtis. I used to feel the same way about satire on a "serious" forum until I was uploaded to the mother ship and upfitted with a new, sleeker OS.

Curtis Warren (M81) wrote:

@ Fuzzychickens

Why soil this story with such silly sarcasm? It's very unbecoming of an adult. I'd say consider growing up a bit.

With all propers to Curtis, my neighbor "red ball" got on my laptop when I wasn't looking. Dang, that guy makes me look ignorant sometimes.

Peter Wilbur (sir_arrogant_numskull) wrote:

first u tell us we come from monkeys, next u tell us all about global warming hoax. al gore live in a 100,000 sq ft mansion, more lights than las vegas, dont tell me about no science. how cn a eye "evolve"? not possible, only GOD could have made that for our convenience, he knew in his infinite wisdom we need to watch SUPER BOWL, Fox News, Lifetime Network, 24, Family Guy, Law and Order. Ill tell you one thing, no dang monkeys gonna watch Jack Bauer, American Patriot.

Good thing is, states rights still rule. Were not gonna let some science tell us what to do. Land of the free, home of the brave, just remember we are a nation of Christian Principles. Nothing contradicts the good book, not Darwin, not Al Gore, not Barack HUSSEIN Obama. We not gonna fall behind other countries in science, technology. We just keep on teaching the TRUTH, will set us free.

Some try to reconcile science and religion:

John Morris (The72John) wrote:

By definition, scientific theory is falsifiable...that is, it allows for itself to be disproven. Intelligent Design is NOT FALSIFIABLE. There is no way to prove or disprove the existence of a divine entity, therefore Intelligent Design is not science.

That is not to say that those who embrace both science and faith can not believe in God and Evolution at the same time. You will find that there are more than a few rational, scientific sorts who are also spiritual, or even religious. It is simply a measure that explains why ID is not science, and therefore should not be taught as such.

Finally I had to write something Very Earnest, Serious, and High-minded. Those hyper-liberal elites sure can get on a soapbox and yell, can't they?

Peter Wilbur (sir_arrogant_numskull) wrote:

This is starting to read like a Richard Dawkins discussion board.

My question is how science teachers in the 34 states mentioned in the piece square their knowledge of science with what they have to teach. The denial of evolution is a problem not confined to a corner of science. If we allow reason and fact-based empiricism to be overwhelmed by dogma, fear, and emotion in one case, it opens the door for it to happen in others. Ultimately, this is an attack on science--indeed reason and the search for truth--as a whole. Much the same is true of our civil liberties: deny a single one of our freedoms and they are all suspect. Deny liberty to a single person and all of us are in danger.

On Education

2009-02-07T09:38:00.004-05:00

Here is an excerpt from John Gatto's The Underground History of American Education. A scathing critique of what he calls "forced education," this book will make you think twice about the purpose of school. Education? Yes, but not for the noble ends we usually spout; rather, argues Gatto, the entire system is designed to beat original and especially critical thinking out of children. Warning: Gatto's writing style is wildly rambling, and he is one pissed-off dude, but if you taught middle school in NYC, you might be, too. Here is a link and an excerpt.

The Underground History of American Education

Excerpt:

Our problem in understanding forced schooling stems from an inconvenient fact: that the wrong it does from a human perspective is right from a systems perspective. You can see this in the case of six-year-old Bianca, who came to my attention because an assistant principal screamed at her in front of an assembly, "BIANCA, YOU ANIMAL, SHUT UP!" Like the wail of a banshee, this sang the school doom of Bianca. Even though her body continued to shuffle around, the voodoo had poisoned her.

Do I make too much of this simple act of putting a little girl in her place? It must happen thousands of times every day in schools all over. I’ve seen it many times, and if I were painfully honest I’d admit to doing it many times. Schools are supposed to teach kids their place. That’s why we have age-graded classes. In any case, it wasn’t your own little Janey or mine.

Most of us tacitly accept the pragmatic terms of public school which allow every kind of psychic violence to be inflicted on Bianca in order to fulfill the prime directive of the system: putting children in their place. It’s called "social efficiency." But I get this precognition, this flash-forward to a moment far in the future when your little girl Jane, having left her comfortable home, wakes up to a world where Bianca is her enraged meter maid, or the passport clerk Jane counts on for her emergency ticket out of the country, or the strange lady who lives next door.

--John Taylor Gatto

What's Your Take on the Stimulus Plan?

2009-02-06T22:11:00.004-05:00

I know that as a Kool-aid drinking liberal socialist demon-crat Obama supporter, I am SUPPOSED to be for this bill. Creating jobs, paying for education, saving baby marmosets: it's all good, right? I understand the winger position: cut taxes, no free lunch, it's about jobs, not pork, blah and etc. Then again, some of my friends on the very left (you know who you are; so does the FBI!) see this plan as business as usual, an extension of the TARP corporate Christmas handout. So what do you YOU think? Leave comments here, or e-mail me, Sir Arrogant Numskull, the Croquetballer, Mr. Madisonwilburs himself at:

arrogantz@gmail.com

New Weed Varieties

2009-02-06T17:37:00.004-05:00

Butterfly Skunk Beefy chunks of compact buds on sturdy, Thai-stick style stems for maximum portability. Floats like a butterfly, stinks like roadkill, and stings like a bumblebee on ludes. Glass pipes only.

100 Freebird Takes you to new heights--on top of the world, yet a few inches under the surface of the water. Notes of Kentucky bluegrass and bourbon compliment a julepy kick in this southern fan favorite. Keep a jar poolside.

Frosted Flakz A fine crystalline powder shrouds each precious bud of this record-smashing winner. Takes you to the finish line every time. Fast out of the gate and strong at the turn, this varietal is bred especially for the bong, but caveat emptor: strap on the goggles and nose clips; you're going on a ride with the dolphins.

Northern Lights Individual Medley A smorgasbord of flavors--and sensations. Starts with a day-glo blast of citrus, mellows into a rich, oak-aged riot of autumnal bliss, and finishes with a twist of midnight licorice. Leaves you by turns jumping up and down, holding up pizza joints, and balling up into the fetal position. Great at parties; bake some up or roll into a few blunts today.

Da Chloronic Pure Hydroponic, fertilizer-fed euphoria. The world's first fiber-free is a light weave of irridescent threads and glassy needles. So ethereal an eighth fills up a pillowcase. Cleanest, most sterile variety preferred by allergy sufferers.

Slo Motion Replay You'll be playing the photo finish of this lovely nightcap again and again. And again, right before you fall into a sleep so deep they'll need a miner's light to drag you out. Sort of like the late night lounge at the Olympic Village.

Copied from Elsewhere for Your Perusal...

2009-02-06T07:08:00.000-05:00

Pat Garafalo at The Wonk Room wrote:

For Nelson, who has a personal net worth about $10 million, this is also a case of kicking Main Street while its down, as the proposed cuts are in areas like health care, education, and aid to the states. Adding insult to injury, Collins and Nelson are nitpicking important stimulus funding that would benefit working Americans and their children, after they voted for giving $700 billion to Wall St. with no oversight.

As Marc Ambinder noted, "the big, perhaps ultimate battle will be over education funding for states." Just a few weeks ago, education was a "favorite channel" for stimulus. Nelson and Collins, though, have cut about $15 billion in state incentive grants for education and another $14 billion in Dept. of Education funding. These are important forms of stimulus that need to be included.

They also propose eliminating $24 billion in state stabilization money. This is funding that would go to bolster Medicaid, and prevent layoffs for teachers, firefighters, and police officers; essentially all the people on Main Street who are directly affected by the economic crisis and bearing the brunt of debilitating state budget cuts. From these actions, it’s pretty easy to see where Nelson and Collins’ priorities lie.

Global Warming Hoax

2009-02-05T21:12:00.006-05:00

Morning Edition, February 5, 2009 · The largest known snake that ever lived grew as long as a school bus, was 3 feet thick, weighed over a ton and ate crocodiles — presumably whole and al dente.

Not to worry: Titanoboa cerrejonensis lived 60 million years ago and is extinct. But for some 20 million years after the dinosaurs disappeared, this 42-foot serpent ruled the land.

Here's how God planned it all out, y'all: natural cycles have forever spun on our good Earth like the gentle cycle on my lifetime-warrantied, AMERICAN-MADE washing machine. Yes, HE does throw in a little bleach to get out the odd stain every now and again; goodness knows Noah sure felt the spin cycle tilt and flood all over the basement floor! But God's infinitely merciful sump pump took all the filth down the drain and into the sewer of his boundless love. So for 6000 years on our good and verdant land temperatures rise and fall, rise and fall, like the wicked devil darth beelzebub sauron satan wicked one voldemort. Some times bring woolly mammals, creatures of God's frozen wonderland, warm times bring creature ever great, swamps in abundance, warm evil humors wicked plagues in abundance locusts shall descend crocodile hunter boa tropical dengue tsetse all things from bowels of wicked damnation. His plan. Giantest of all vile lizards he shall calleth dino- saur. They shall devoureth and plague the land, consume immeasurable fern-like vegetables carboniferous lifeforms stored for years, processed down released in abominable clouds of methane greenhouse gas.

A Letter from the President

2009-02-04T23:37:00.003-05:00

Dear ___________,
Today, Senator Daschle, before his untimely departure from my Cabinet, shared a few words of wisdom with me...about his healthcare plan.

Under the previous administration, due to Dick Cheney's incompetence with a shotgun, the deer population increased dramatically, but tragically, many of these deer have no insurance to get them by if disaster strikes. What if little Bambi's mother is stricken with cancer? How does an old buck pay for the rising cost of prescription medications? I've talked to deer all across this country, and they've shared. Their stories. With me. Ending up as venison at someone's barbecue is second only to every deer's worst nightmare: coming face to face with the grille of a Chevy Suburban. I invite you to join your neighbors in a series of seminars and workshops to solve this urgent health care crisis. Above all, give money to my campaign. I've already been elected, you say.

It's never too late to buy the next election, I say.

Thanks,

Barack

Innovation Seen As Key To Curbing Climate Change

2009-02-04T14:08:00.002-05:00

Let's drill, baby, drill for all the oil left in the ground right now and blast every coal-containing mountain to rubble immediately. Think of all the stimulating jobs this will create! We can use all the oil to make a giant plastic cup and a huge plastic straw. We can suck all of the carbon out of the air, put a lid on it, and bury it at Yucca Mountain. The coal can be used as Christmas presents for all those Really Bad Men on Wall Street on whom we are currently blaming all our economic problems. The rubble can be used to build a series of pyramids in honor of our culture's greatness: one for Obama, one for Bush, and one for Al Gore, since he invented the pyramid. Just saying.

Steele Hopes To Lead RNC In New Direction

2009-02-04T09:00:00.006-05:00

From NPR news: "Bottom line, the Republicans say they want to walk more softly...[and] listen more carefully to regular Americans..."
I am SO happy that Michael Steele is leading our party. I mean check out his fashion sense: that's what I call a 50-gallon hat! In patriotic colors, in the shape of the party's icon, no less. No wonder he's smiling: it takes a confident, take charge kind of guy to sport a chapeau like that. I love the elephantine appendage. Is he extending a trunk to Democrats or holding out a snout for campaign contributions? We'll never know, but elephants never forget!

I'm totally psyched that the Repubs are going to walk more softly and listen to us regular-Joe-sixpack-real-American-plumbers. This should be pretty easy to do. Using the good ole Patriot Act, they can just listen to our phone conversations! They might catch some Really Bad Men while they're at it. God Bless Tom Ridge and John Ashcroft. Walk softly and carry a big stick, I always say.

What's On The Job Frontier? Experts Weigh In

2009-02-03T18:11:00.003-05:00

"I would advise an enterprising young person who's interested in finance to find a garage and few talented friends — and go create the financial services equivalent of Apple, Amazon.com or Google for a post-meltdown world," job expert Pink says.

Jan Jaweed (ReligionOfPeace) wrote:

"Mid-wife, Barber, Dentist, and Undertaker are all stable jobs; these experts are paid too much..."

Peter Wilbur (sir_arrogant_numskull) wrote:

Jan Jaweed: I disagree. I and a few talented friends have gone into a garage and we have come up with some new products. Let's start with my new virtual online birthing tool, Obstetropica.com. With a well placed webcam and a kleig light, you too can join the thousands of couples who do home birth right. Cut out the middle men by relying on our panel of experts brought to you by Web MD. Upload your live video birth and receive IM, email, and live video advice while you bring your precious progeny into the world. Our next exciting innovation is a unique collaboration with Aveda hair care products and Stihl chainsaws: HairHelmetPerfect 2009. This groundbreaking tool automatically scans the internet for the latest in trendsetting hair fashions. Upon placement on the user's head, twenty-four patented nano-robotic arms go to work sculpting recreations of the styles of the rich, famous, and beautiful. Finally (and I do mean finally), try our new CoffinBuddyPlus, a tool developed in conjunction with Google labs that allows users to sketch out their own final resting places. Add distinctive touches such as custom interiors: velvet, leather, linoleum. Upload designs directly to overseas outsourcers for huge savings.

On Terror

2009-02-03T17:37:00.002-05:00

Before we fall into more of the same-old, same-old, Bushesque us vs. them, black vs. white, good vs. evil dichotomies, why don't we ask ourselves what we have done to perpetrate terrorism? Have we not run roughshod over an entire region, favoring some (those with white skin and those who give us oil) while oppressing, ignoring, and embattling all the rest? Make no mistake: I am not excusing or condoning terror. I only want us to try to understand what kind of economic and political hopelessness would compel a young man or woman in the prime of life to become a suicide bomber. We in the West had better do some soul searching about our role as international bully and resource glutton, or yes, attacks against us will continue.

Hunters Up Their Game With Camouflaged Trucks

2009-02-02T19:46:00.008-05:00

From All Things Considered, 2.2.09
Gary Linam likes to hunt in style. When he and his hunting buddy Mike Self venture into the Dogwood Flats outside of Huntsville, Ala., they drive a four-wheel drive Jeep decked out with a DVD player, Sirius XM radio, backup cameras and a GPS system. Linam dresses head to toe in camouflage.

"We probably don't kill a lot more animals with the camo vehicles, but we sure do feel a lot better while we're doing it," Linam says. "We feel the part a whole lot more. It's like you women are with your shoes. You have to have the right shoe for the right environment, so you can feel good about what you're doing. It's the same thing about us hunters."

Regional variations

Unified State of Alaska:

Polaris Dragon SP 800 Limited Edition Todd Palin snowmobile, "Jadis the Snow Queen of Narnia" camo scheme, mp3 hookups, peripheral Wolfhunter (TM) infrared cam with "sweeping nightvision." Footwear: Ugg X-tremes.

SoCal:

Suzuki LTR 450 Desert ATV with DMC Afterburner full exhaust, "Operation Iraqi Freedom Vets" camo scheme, Sony "Canyon Raptor" dust- and wind-proof optical capture system, Lowes Chevrolet Monte Carlo #48 Jimmy Johnson Special Edition Rayban silicon-resistant eyecare. Footwear, Doc Martens

Pacific Northwest:

Kawasaki KX 125 Dirt Bike with AMS Swamp Fox Plus Aggressive Mud-Snow Tire, "Drenched Indica blob" camo scheme, Nikon submersible camera systems, Camelbak 100 oz. coffee-capable backback bladder, broadband 3G. Footwear: Norcross 16" swamp boots.

This just in:

Jeff Howard (zyxt) wrote:

Why, this is nothing. Where I’m from, the local boys have got this camouflage thing down so pat that when they get done hunting, they have to use metal detectors to find their trucks. And talking about the duck’s point of view… Old Ben figured that out a long time ago. He painted a pond scene on the roof of his Blazer, and the ducks just fly right into it. Why, just the money he’s saved on shells alone, got all his(?)kids their first 22’s.

Poll Results in; Redesign Pending

2009-02-01T21:50:00.002-05:00

Some of you may have noticed a slight redesign when I changed my background from black to gray; this had more to do with the fact that I can only get comments to post in black than any design consideration. Black-on-black is a great look at a Chelsea gallery opening, but not so good on a blog. Anyway, I would love your feedback about what you would like to see.

Can Stimulus Funding Help Promote Wellness?

2009-02-01T21:24:00.002-05:00

All Things Considered, February 1, 2009 · The economic stimulus bill wending its way through Congress includes up to $5.8 billion for disease prevention and wellness initiatives.

But often people don't get the evidence-based treatments that are proven to help manage these conditions.

A large clinical trial, for example, that included about 3,000 people who had blood sugar levels in the pre-diabetes range makes this point well. When these people began exercising about two and half hours a week — and shed an average of nine pounds by adopting lower fat and lower sugar diets — they cut their risk of developing diabetes by more than 50 percent.

These interventions can cost lots of money. The people in the study had access to nutritional counselors and exercise instructors.

____________________________________________________________________

Sir Arrogant's Take:

It takes an expert to tell people to exercise and eat well? It would appear that this information is readily available and obvious. Does it really take a trained nutritionist to tell someone to cut out the Big Mac and 64-ounce soda? I think not. Does it take a professional athletic trainer to get someone moving, by my math, 22 minutes a day? I assume we are talking some low impact, mild aerobics here; not exactly the Boston Marathon. Don't get me wrong: I'm all for education, motivation, and wellness. But to pull a possibly conservative card from out of my sleeve, where is the individual personal responsibility here? If I know I have a potentially life-threatening condition, is it the burden of the state to tell me how to eat and exercise?

My suspicion is that the folks most in need of programs like this are usually low income. The real solution could be something even more dramatic than a few salads and Jazzercize classes: nationalizing health care, or at least some solution that insures every American. People with insurance are much likelier to schedule regular physician visits. Is that not the time and place to get the five minutes of counseling necessary? The rest should be on the patient: perhaps with all the money saved in emergency room and urgent care center visits, near-diabetics could afford a few more salsa classes or a gym membership.

A Forward from Mom, Proving that Liberalism IS Genetic

2009-02-01T09:55:00.001-05:00

The nominee for Deputy Secretary of Defense, the chief operating officer of the Pentagon, is a lobbyist for Raytheon. William Lynn, is due $1.5 million in payouts for his work lobbying for the defense industry.

This revolving door has to stop. We need to break the military-industrial complex and stop having defense contractors and their lobbyists working on the inside of the Pentagon.

Please take two steps:

Write the Armed Services Committee and tell them to reject the nomination. The message - no defense contractor lobbyists inside the Pentagon.
Write President Obama and urge him to withdraw the nomination and replace it with an independent voice who will look critically on the bloated military budget.

Our task is bigger than ending the Iraq and Afghanistan wars - it is to challenge the military-industrial complex that has resulted in a military budget as big as the whole world combined. The nomination of William Lynn is an opportunity to say no to lobbyists inside the Pentagon.

Sincerely,

Kevin B. Zeese

Executive Director

Tell a friend about this campaign

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Old Radicals Never Die...

2009-02-01T00:04:00.002-05:00

In response to Tom Daschle's tax "problems":

Hubert Graham (popeye) wrote:

Storm the Bastille ! Off with their heads ! Let them eat cake ! Ladies and gentleman welcome to the personnel tour of Washington DC. Those brains in the jars over there are the best we have, and we are holding them in reserve for when we need them. The suit cases you see in the offices are full of money and well guarded. The elected officials normally here are out raising money for their next election so you will not see any legislative activity on a normal day...which is normal. As you know, most of these folks are well entrenched here, and depend on each other to be so.
It is not unusual for some occasional outrages to occur but we have the right people in place to quell any long term problems. So you see, these guys aren't going anywhere soon. We are currently working on stacking the offices with new personnel so please excuse any hub-bub or commotion from the protesters outside,.. we will soon gas them and get things settled down. Thank you for your interest and coming on today's tour, and please don't forget to vote.

So Many Babies...So Little Time

2009-01-31T22:16:00.003-05:00

Elizabeth Hudson (Rizzo) wrote:
This is what I wanted to post about the "Octoplets" (what a great word:)
"I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London, that a young healthy child well nursed is at a year old a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled; and I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricassee or a ragout."-- Swift

In these "uncertain times," having nonotuplets or decituplets will provide a "rainy day" pantry fund for when, say, one cannot buy top pork tenderloin or even SPAM. Who's to know, when the kids are named "A - M"? Oh, "G" is missing, oh, well. Of course, she should eat the boys, first. The girls would be last ditch dessert (when the twinkies are gone).

U.S. In Long-Running Trade Dispute With E.U.

2009-01-31T20:14:00.003-05:00

All Things Considered, January 31, 2009 · One of the Bush administration's last acts was to levy punitive tariffs on a wide range of luxury foods from Europe — including fancy mineral water, exquisite chocolates and Roquefort cheese — in retaliation for an E.U. ban on hormone-treated American beef.

Sir, this gets personal now. Rolling back or ignoring environmental regulations? No problem. Denying or minimizing global climate change? Big deal. Starting disastrous wars on bogus pretexts, rounding up detainees without due process, and instituting medieval practices of interrogation? Yawn.

But, Mr. Bush, get your hands off my roquefort, you lacto-fascist, Freedom-fry munching, isolationist, hyper-protectionist, beef-jacking, pseudo-ranching rustic. Lay your hydrogenated oil stained digits off of my Donat Magnesium sparkling mineral water. Remove your tariffs on my beloved Michel Cluizel marzipan-covered Belgian chocolate.

Remember, when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is our right, it is our duty, to throw off such Government. Therefore, hyper-liberal elites everywhere serve notice to this new man, this Obama: free the cheese!

On the Last Topic

2009-01-31T09:32:00.005-05:00

Someone on NPR took the bait of my last post and blasted me by saying how "our founders would really be disappointed in your narrow-mindedness." Ouch, I've offended Thomas Jefferson.

I love that people are taking cheap shots at the woman who has fourteen kids. That's bold and controversial stuff, folks. I am reminded of the PETA story that generated all those hundreds of outraged comments. It's good to know our democracy is safe: how many people don't know the name of their Congressional representative but can recite every detail of the Lacey Peterson affair?

For what its worth, we are in no danger of overpopulation in this country due to fertility drugs. If anything, we could be approaching the problem many European nations already face: birth rates are too low to even replace the existing population. Of course, never fear: millions upon millions of immigrants are ready to come take their place.

Octuplets Make 14 For Mom, Stirring Debate

2009-01-30T23:40:00.002-05:00

I find the assertion that this woman acted irresponsibly, irresponsible. In this era of shrinking job markets, plummeting sales, and diminished opportunities for all, how can we criticize a family that put bread and meat on the table of 46 doctors and nurses? How many diapers, bottles, and formula cans will be sold to this woman, employing how many dozens of Real American Workers? As they grow into the fine mostly middle children they will be, how many teachers, coaches, and mental health professionals will they keep off of skid row and out of our homeless shelters? How much revenue will be generated by the video games, paintball guns, four wheelers, and pickup trucks these Fine Young Americans will require as they age into adolescence? Typical liberals, trying to interfere with the private business of God-fearing Americans. Get government out of our lives and out of our economy. We can stimulate this thing the old fashion way: good old American ingenuity.

Dear Sir Arrogant

2009-01-30T22:38:00.006-05:00

Dear Numskull:
It's hasta la vista, baby: I, like so many others, have been laid off my job up here in the Windy City, so cruelly in the trough of winter. Unlike those good men and women at Caterpillar, I've been done wrong, Sir Arrogant. I'm good at what I do, and I guess you could say I'm a pretty big shot. In fact, some of those downstate rubes don't like me very much. So they cooked up a plan using phony tape recordings and some fancy audio mixing programs and they made it sound like I said some pretty nasty French words. Now, I did talk about having a garage sale after that Obama fellow left Chicago on his way east, but I never, ever, used the F word, scouts honor! What I'm wondering is this: should I let bygones be bygones or should I fight this injustice all the way to the Supreme Court? I mean, Supercuts called, and they want me to do a new centerfold in one of those hair books that look like they're straight out of the 80s. They said they'd set me up with some furry man-Uggs, parachute pants, and a Members Only jacket. Brush on the makeup, crank up the INXS, and blow on the fans: Big Daddy Rod is coming down the runway! Thanks, Sir A.N. Writing to you has already made me feel better. I know exactly what to do now.

R. in Chicago

Dear R. Don't worry. If nothing else works out, you can always try politics. You won't be the first to parley great hair into a high government post. Think Ronald Reagan, Mitt Romney, and of course the unforgettable Sarah Palin. If you do get prison time, you might want to go with something a little more butch, probably a crew cut to be safe.

The Arrogant One

Iran Offers Cool Response To Obama's Overtures

2009-01-30T19:10:00.002-05:00

"The United States and Iran already have begun a public dialogue about how to overcome the hostility that has marked their relations for 30 years."

Peter Wilbur (sir_arrogant_numskull) wrote:

There is absolutely no circumstance under which we should engage in dialogue with this despicable rogue "state." What could we possibly gain from opening up negotiations? Tell me, have any problems ever been solved by talking about them? Think about this analogy to children: how were we taught to deal with problems in kindergarten? Talk them out? No way: smash 'em in the mouth; that's what my teachers and parents always taught me. Don't ever listen, especially to people from other countries. Don't they know we're always right? They just don't understand freedom and the American Way. I say move those troops out of Iraq and into Iran's oil fields. Let's show these islamofascists who's boss. Remember what Jesus would do: he wouldn't turn the other cheek and run like some yellow dog Democrat. He'd fight like a real man.

Michelle Obama's Inaugural Fashion Draws Criticism

2009-01-29T21:10:00.002-05:00

flora gill (fjorajoon) wrote:

I think she needs to get some credit for almost always wearing AMERICAN designers.

Peter Wilbur (sir_arrogant_numskull) wrote:

@ Flora Gill

Nyet! Russian designers best, M.Obama luxurious fashionista dressed in furs, sable, mink, new diamond carved sheared beaver best image for commandant wife. Great comrade Valentin Yudashkin haute couture worthy of great American Socialist Revolution.

Obananation?

2009-01-29T20:45:00.004-05:00

Our esteemed friend in aeronautics forwards the following:

111th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. J. RES. 5

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the twenty-second article of amendment, thereby removing the limitation on the number of terms an individual may serve as President.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 6, 2009

What say you all to those proposal?

The arrogant one offers this: how about single terms of six years each? This would cut the number of Presidential campaigns in half, get rid of the advantage of incumbency, while retaining the advantages of a long term. What say you?

Illinois Senate Votes To Oust Blagojevich

2009-01-29T19:44:00.002-05:00

Illinois Senate: how dare you. I and the thousands of cosmetologists and hair care specialists for whom I speak repeat, How DARE you. The man graced with the most glorious mane this side of Aslan silenced, an innocent victim of nefarious technological trickery. "Rigged," the pleading, nearly weeping, effusive, hirsute one simply whimpered. Yes, rigged. Who among you jaded cosmopolitanites can take the reports of the biased, corrupt, cynical, profit-mongering media at face value? Have you any faith in jackbooted government agents in this era of youtube, Photoshop, Garageband, and the Patriot Act? Please, those tapes are as phony as Milli Vanilli's weave. The follicly-endowed Governor is a symbol of all that is good and good in hair in our nation: strong roots, a good wave, volume, and above all, highlights that make ESPN proud. So please, Senators, think again. Think again.

Update:

Elizabeth Hudson (Rizzo) wrote:

Actually, Peter, I believe you meant "Cosmologist." I do hate correcting you. Blago is such kindred spirit to, yes, Jimmy Stewart, Ghandi, MLK jr, Ol' Yeller ("come back, ole yeller" and plus stop foaming), but also to Carl Sagan. Who wrote, auspiciously:
"Who are we? We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are far more galaxies than people."

That's where our guy comes in. He is a galaxy, not a humdrum star, ruled by Nancy Pelosi and all them hangers. Tonight, I will see Venus and think, that is you, too, Rod. And the night sky is your hair.

Can't Get Enough of PETA

2009-01-29T18:06:00.005-05:00

This just in, hot off the blogs:

NBC pulled the plug on a PETA pro-veggie commercial planned for the Super Bowl because it "depicts a level of sexuality exceeding our standards," according to NBC Universal's advertising standards executive, Victoria Morgan. The ad, which carries the tagline, "Studies Show Vegetarians Have Bet ter Sex," shows lingerie-clad stunners getting "intimate" with vegetables.

Inspired critics of culture have responded using the highest medium known to Man: poetry.

Peter Wilbur (sir_arrogant_numskull) wrote:

A PETA gal was in a bind,
for no vegan boy could she find.
So she leered at a carrot
Without trying to scare it,
and blurted out, "your place or mine?"

1/28/2009 8:27 PM EST

Elizabeth Hudson (Rizzo) wrote:
PETA is far from irrelevant
of course it is not quite benevolent
yes it curses
the worses
and stirs up the verses
and bless them gives voice to the elephant.

Martin Irving (Irv_) wrote:

PETA has run some unusual campaigns
Who knows what material remains?
Recommending beer over milk
And things of similar ilk
No wonder some find them such pains

Martin Irving (Irv_) wrote:

There was a young woman from PETA
She thought she was sweet, I was sweeter
I caressed her hips
While kissing her lips
She tasted so good I could eat her.

Martin Irving (Irv_) wrote:

PETA likes to use extreme sexuality
To make their point a formality
Their campaign ads are so hot
People are not sure what's what
But are unperturbed by the evident banality

Margaret Carey (Peggy) wrote:

There once was a girl who loved broccoli,
It made her feel sexy and cocky,
She took it to bed,
and ate broccoli head,
exposing herself to my mockery.

Stimulating Conversation

2009-01-28T21:51:00.002-05:00

I for one am against job creation. I mean, let's face it, who really wants to work? I know I don't. It's boring, it's degrading, it's tiring, and it sucks. Let's take the money and do something really stimulating: let's go shopping! I mean, there's so much cool stuff out there right now: iPod Nanos, 3G phones--just today I heard a cool piece on NPR about snowmobiles; did you know that just the outfits for that can run to a thousand bucks? See, all that spending will enrich Sam Walton and that Bernie Madoff guy and once they're rolling again, money will come raining down like manna from heaven to all us regular Joe six pack plumbers.

Oh yeah, Bush tried that a couple of years ago with his stimulus check tax cuts, back when we didn't have a recession.

House Approves Economic Stimulus Package

2009-01-28T19:25:00.002-05:00

"House Republican Leader John Boehner has warned that Democratic spending policies would bury the next generation of Americans under 'a mountain of debt.' "

John Boehner wasn't worried about adding to the national debt under the Bush administration because it was fighting a just war against our Enemies in the name of Freedom and Justice for All. Who didn't feel a shimmer of pride watching that statue of Saddam fall to the ground, pulled down by those brave Iraqi Patriots? Who didn't watch with bloodthirty glee as he was hanged to death on youtube? Now that was democracy in action if I've ever seen it. What you liberals don't get is freedom's not free. It costs a lot of money to smoke yellow cake buying terrorists out of their caves. We've spread freedom around the globe for decades, and it costs a pretty penny. Just ask the people of Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Chile, East Timor, and Vietnam and they'll all tell you how grateful they are that America, Greatest Country on Earth has beneficently come to their aid.

The Right Man

2009-01-28T18:05:00.003-05:00

Robert Bluey, an influential conservative blogger, said he sees Cornyn, a former Texas Supreme Court judge and state attorney general, as "more of the bulldog who can get the base fired up."

Bill Wilson (bill75252) wrote: But don't discount this man. He is quiet and well-spoken, not to mention attractive. A Cornyn/Palin ticket would appeal to those who vote on looks only, which is about 50% of the population unfortunately.

Peter Wilbur (sir_arrogant_numskull) wrote: Cornyn attractive? Yes, even downright HOT. Cufflinks, white hair, white skin, I think he might be a member of the American Nomad clan from "Twilight." As the blogger from the article says, Cornyn is a "bulldog" who gets the base "fired up." G-r-r-r, doggy: you go, boy! And with Sarah "You Betcha" Palin pulling all the hetero boys, this things a LOCK in 2012.

Stimulus Package Includes Millions For The Arts

2009-01-27T22:02:00.002-05:00

"There is absolutely no way this will stimulate the economy," argues Brian Riedl, a senior federal budget analyst for the Heritage Foundation. He believes funding for the NEA — like several other items in the stimulus package — will not grow the economy.

Thank you, and God Bless the Heritage Foundation for finally bringing some relief from the relentless and punishing assault of left-wing propaganda on NPR. Wake up and smell the coffee and stop drinking that Koolaid, you whining liberals! Since when did art ever put food on the table? I know I'd be a lot better off without music in my life: I mean, who needs no stinking Mozart, Beatles or Tupac around? I'm trying to get some work done around here! And what about that modern art: my five-year-old could have painted that, not that she would. She's too busy getting her homework done so she can get a real job when she grows up. I for one am proud to be a citizen of a nation doesn't go in for all that artsy, self-expression stuff. Why should we value creativity over hard work? Why should we try and collectively make sense of who we are as a culture and a nation? It's not like creativity has ever brought us any useful inventions or good ideas. No sir, life is all about putting your shoulder to the wheel and working hard, from cradle to grave, work, work, work.

Global Warming Is Irreversible, Study Says

2009-01-27T21:43:00.001-05:00

Dang, I was just about to drop the Escalade stuffed with my weed eater, snow blower, lawn mower, power edger, four-wheeler, gas generator, electic trimmer and chain saw down to the old metal recycling center. But, since it doesn't really matter any more, I think I'll hitch my boat up, take it down to the lake, fire up the grill, and party.

On Justice

2009-01-27T21:11:00.003-05:00

Daniel Navarro (Daniel79) wrote:
Note to NPR management: can you hire journalists who will give unbiased perspective on senator Cornyn? Is there a possibility he's got conservative values that clash with Obama socialism where everything is free and we all take our shoes off and jump around in flower filled meadows? Writer Liz Halloran's article is so slanted left, it could have easily be submitted to CNBC network. He "asserted" that closing Guantanamo Bay will make America less safe? ...what planet are you on? Do you really think these detainees are honest law abiding citizens? There is a reason no other country in the world will accept them. They were involved in murdering innocent people to further their beliefs.

Peter Wilbur (sir_arrogant_numskull) wrote:
That's right, Daniel Navarro, those terrorists murdured innocent people, which is why we should lock them up indefinitely in cages; that's why we should deny them the basic civil rights called for in our Constitution and by international law; that's why we should subject them to the harrowing, barbaric, and torturous process of water boarding; because they are guilty, guilty, guilty. Above all, don't give them the free and fair trials any other defendant would receive.

On Legal Immigration

2009-01-27T20:33:00.001-05:00

How dare these immigrants move here just to take all our jobs and give away our hard earned health care dollars and hard earned tax dollars to their not deserving children? It's not as if our nation was built, populated and cultured by immigrants. Take my descendants: they have been, and always will be, true-blue, full-blooded, honest-to-goodness, original Irish-English-German Americans. So keep those legal immigrants where they belong: home. This country was built without them, and can stay the Greatest Country on Earth without them. And while we're at it, let's make American the official language. I'm sick of all this English stuff.

Family Man PT II

2009-01-26T18:56:00.002-05:00

Al Gonzales--greatest attorney general on face of known universe. whats wrong with u people, well algos gonna clear it all up when his book comes out, thats gonna be a best seller thats for sure. gonna make more money than npr. like he said, he "take comfort in knowing I did the very best I could", and thats alot better than your gonna get with eric whitewater blackwater clintonista demoncrat. how many lives saved innocent God Fearing Americans, terrorists gotta have it smoked out of 'em, waterboreding is not a crime. Karl Rove John Ashcroft, Al gonzales, George W. Bush. know that doing Jack Bauers works gonna save us from Jihadi Islamofascist terroristas.

Some get it, some don't

2009-01-25T22:30:00.004-05:00

Chris Alexander (54321) wrote:
Mr. Wilbur, take your ignorant comments elsewhere. NPR is not the place for right wing morons such as yourself. At least your nickname is accurate.

Big Leroy (TRUTH_TELLER) wrote:
HAHA PeterWilbur-sir arrogant numskull- U A FOOL! hahaa! and that better be satire, in which case...FUNNY! thanks :))

In which case, what, Leroy? With biceps like those, I won't argue with you! To Chris, you could have fooled me! I run across right-wing morons every day on NPR.
--Sir A.N.

A Seriously Cool Story about Locavorism

2009-01-25T19:01:00.004-05:00

Click here to listen to a piece from "The Splendid Table" about a group of people who ate locavore for a year.

This is a picture of host Lynne Rossetto Kasper. I thought for the longest time that her name was "Lynne Rosette O'Casper." Could've been the Irish in me. If you don't know the show, you ain't bourgeois enough. Upside: she has a great wine guy who finds cheap, good bottles from all over the world. Downside: she sometimes eats on air. Do I have to explain why that's bad? A radio food show faces even more obstacles than one on TV: at least the visual medium lets you see the presentation and preparation. On radio, you have to trust what you are being told. Of course, great radio always uses its limitation to advantage. This isn't great radio, but if you are a food lover, you probably know about this show or should check it out.

Shame on Alice Waters

2009-01-25T10:41:00.002-05:00

Timothy Barnes (pardonmycrimes)

wrote:

BTW you forgot in your list of knock-on beneficiaries to mention the Venezuelan vaquero who generates the manure for the organic feeding of the plants and the foodwriter praising said tomatoes who gives work to the pulpmill worker who produces the paper for the Sunday supplement.

Jamey Hecht (wwwjameyhechtcom) wrote:

Huh? Can you think of a single relevant "new technology" developed for food transportation since those heady days of "a generation ago"? The machines that "bring in delicacies"are the same trucks and planes we've been using since we (ok, Ford / Firestone /Standard Oil) destroyed the freight rail system in America four generations ago. Maybe I missed something, and the "3,000 mile Caesar salad" (as James H. Kunstler aptly calls it) is in fact beamed onto my plate from a satellite that uploads the kiwis from New Zealand and downloads them to my lunchbox?

Peter Wilbur (sir_arrogant_numskull) wrote:

@ Timothy Barnes

Thanks; my oversight is barely forgivable. I am going to paste your thoughts into my blog, with full credit to you, of course. It takes a global village to produce a cold-pressed, extra-virgin meal worthy of a gourmand of taste and refinement, just as it takes the same said village to verily express in words worthy of the Bard himself the intricate web of toil and cooperation required to assemble the elements of even the simplest repast fit only for the peasants' board.

Admiral Applauds Guantanamo Closure Order

2009-01-24T22:56:00.003-05:00

All Things Considered, January 24, 2009 · Retired Rear Adm. John Hutson, a former judge advocate general, has been a vocal critic of prisoner abuse. He discusses President Obama's decision to suspend military commissions at Guantanamo Bay and ultimately to close the facility.

Sir Arrogant's Take:

A retired JAG says that trials in the US would work under our current judicial system for existing detainees. What's left to do? The general points out that "the 245 people left in Guantanamo are a drop in the bucket" compared to the thousands who may hate us even more if we continue to hold these prisoners. Is there a chance that some very bad people will walk free if we hold trials for all detainees? Certainly. Is keeping them detained worth the price of making a mockery of the Constitution and alienating people across the globe? Absolutely not.

Snark, Wit, and Censorship

2009-01-24T22:01:00.003-05:00

Well, it happened. After about a week of posting the same acronym laced rants on NPR, I finally got censored. I feel like such a bad boy when I see those red letters on my profile. I can't say I didn't deserve it, although when I look at the discussion guidelines, I can't see which rule I actually broke. The post was about the proposed law that would lift the statute of limitations on lawsuits about gender-based pay discrimination. I posed as someone who was, ah, against it, let's just say. My only regret was not posting the comment here.

My Fave NPR Post of the Day So Far....

2009-01-24T16:34:00.003-05:00

Scott A (scotash) wrote:

D. Barboza, liberal plans always have underlying motives. Not only big brother control over life styles, even diet now (libs now say heavy animal product use causes global warming) Now you want to eliminate suburbia and cluster everyone in large, crime infested cities. Not only is this dangerous for individuals, but it makes mass transit easy pickings for terrorists. I am sick of liberals being WRONG ON EVERY SINGLE ISSUE! What is going on here!

My Response:

Peter Wilbur (sir_arrogant_numskull) wrote:

I AM SICK OF LIBERALS BEING RIGHT ON EVERY SINGLE ISSUE!
What could be more beautiful than watching the sun rise in Los Angeles, the beams refracted into beautiful ochres, umbers, mustards, and dirty tangerines through the particulate-filled sky.

Alice Waters Was a Foodie Hero. Now She's the Food Police.

2009-01-24T13:03:00.003-05:00

In response to this piece:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2009/01/the_limitations_of_the_alice_w.html#commentBlock

How dare Alice Waters deprive me of vine-ripened, organic, heirloom, hand-harvested Roma tomatoes in the dead of winter? If I have the resources to procure said gastronomic delicacies--which, I assure you I do--we lie on the cusp of a new world order of political correctness, self-abnegation, and epicurian dreariness if we let this self-proclaimed guru of liberal guilt and phony eco-consciousness continue to have her say. In this era of contracting markets, my purchase and consumption are noble acts of economic largesse whose benefit radiates outward from my wallet to touch countless workers: the farmer, honest hands stained with the good brown earth; the picker, packer, truck driver; the central valley diesel salesman, the refinery worker, the oil rig captain, the salty seaman keeping watch through the tempestuous night lest his precious cargo befoul the pristine waters; finally the good Saudi Arabian chieftan, harvester of his land's oleaginous bounty, protector of his clan, nation, children, and way of life. Shame on you miss Waters. Shame on you.

A Prophecy from The Onion

2009-01-24T12:22:00.002-05:00

Click here for a chilling prophecy

Here is an excerpt:

Bush noted, has "extensive experience" fighting environmental causes, working as a lobbyist for lead-paint manufacturers and as an attorney for loggers and miners, in addition to suing the EPA to overturn clean-air standards.

Sir Arrogant, Meet Popeye

2009-01-23T21:34:00.000-05:00

Hubert Graham (popeye) wrote:
Republican Iacoca frat parties, Senator sins, send for my jet bailout financial Enron sub-prime sell off got busted mix reviews from arm chair pundit voters who clamped down on BS from Bush and KO'd the GOP failed from patriots act lost yellow cake pudding in Plame's pain. I-aw-tole-ee-ya Iraq aw b back ta haunt ya. (blame Peter for that)

Summertime

2009-01-23T06:32:00.003-05:00

Play "Which Post Is Real?"
Peter Wilbur (sir_arrogant_numskull) wrote:
Al Gore George Soros mind control global warming hoax. my stimulus money on ivery tower liberal junk science next thing they tell u is we come from monkeys. cut taxes not jobs, its the economy student. antactica biggest waste of a ski slope i ever saw. sierra club green peace earth fist now here this: PETA stands for People Eating Tasty Animals. Like penguin right off the grill rack, bet thats dripping with fat.

Bo Cephus (Obama_Bin_Biden) wrote:

Global warming is the stupidist waste of time on earth. The scientist that study this garbage need grant money so they won't be unemployed. Now, they are going to put stipulations on us for driving, breathing, and farting. I would buy the argument if there hadn't been hundreds of warming and cooling cycles before we started driving. But there were ice ages and periods of warmth. We can't play god and try to change a natural cycle. One volcano eruption is the equivalent to how many cars on the road? I love the enviroment and nature, but enough is enough.

Timothy Barnes (pardonmycrimes) wrote:

Dude, like the solar glare from them fading sunspots bouncing off that pristine ice totally demands keeping the raybans on. I'll bet Al Gore and his Association for the Betterment of Grantwriters like all flew over the continent zillions of times just before the study to warm things up with their jet fuel exhaust.

This is all just more propenguin propaganda. And i don't like talking about *climate change* cuz that's some pinko subterfuge pushed on us by that Fox News guy Frank Luntz the token liberal. Silly liberals.

I've got a list with more than 10.000 people and Nobel Prize winners and stuff, and I bet most of them really are scientists. And they say no warming. no bull.

Weather is just a theory, you know. We can prove it benefits a whole lot of meteorologists, but is it good for jobs. Everyone talks about the weather but know one does anything about it.

How arrogant to think we mere mortals have any effect of Snizzy the Ice Queen or global climate.

You know why Antarctic ice is melting -- it's summer. Duh!

Smuckers Smackdown by Peter "Jif" Pan

2009-01-22T22:41:00.002-05:00

Prove to me for one second GOD fearing Patriots of Blakely Georgia, Sweet Dixie had any thing to do with sickness FDA CDC EPA get your goverment hands off business jumpstart economy let me tell you we are dying for jobs down here. dont tell me about endangered species next thing yall be crying about lead plated toys from china we cant watch every toy in Walmart send those jobs back to America goverment regulators off my paycheck. next thing they wanna tax the air.

On the tradition that the outgoing President writes a handwritten note to his successor, Part II:

2009-01-22T22:30:00.002-05:00

Darren M (Darren) wrote:
To 44 from 43

Dear Sir/President,

I am the former leader of the worlds largest country. I have been removed from office but have access to funds that are tied to certain "contracts." Unfortunately I must demonstrate I possesses of an savings account with $1 million dollars American to access these contracts which are worth more than $30 million dollars American.

If you would provide to me the initial $1 million I will split with you the $30 million dollars 50/50. It will take around one week for me to access the funds then I will send you your $12 million dollars American.

I am presently residing in the city of Dallas in the country of Texas and hope to hear from you soon.

Yours Truly,
Former President
George W (puddinhead) Bush

More Great American Patriots

2009-01-22T19:52:00.001-05:00

"Remember, the goal of the stimulus package is to preserve jobs and help create new jobs in America," Boehner said. "And I don't know how giving NASA $400 million to study global warming is going to meet the goals."

Besides, he said, money has already been allocated to the CIA to study global warming.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
darn tootin CIA "study" global warming hoax: put a coupla good men watching sierra club earth first liberal socialist demon-crats, just like Great American Patriot J. Edgar Hoover kepta eye on mlk wether men bill ayers back in the day. and Great presdent Richard Nixon kept a eye on pinko liberal groups to. take a coupla good men, grow out ponytail beard earth first clothes settle right in and let good ole Uncle Sam CIA know all about it. While their at it keep a eye on PETA radicals, i mean "sea kittens" now whats next they gonna say vegetables feel pain.

Sea Kittens Will Never Die!

2009-01-21T22:46:00.001-05:00

Darren Wilson (DDW) wrote:
Peter and fellow NPR'ers... I feel compelled to admit complete and utter disgust for my behavior and to address the community at large as I plead for forgiveness and mercy. It was a complete oversight on my part and I simply didn't realize what I was doing at the time but today at lunch, I ate a sea kitten. It was a purebred sea bass, stripped of all its worldly fur, dressed and grilled to perfection with asparagus spears, caesar salad and two glasses of a decent chardonnay. I tried but even my special raspberry sorbet they keep on hand for me (the chef is a personal friend) a slice of cheesecake and two coffee's couldn't quite wipe out the marvelous flavor. As a matter of restitution I considered throwing the neighbors cat into the lake behind my house (while singing the theme song to "Born Free" of course) but when I picked the cat up he seemed somewhat resistant to the idea and kept licking my fingers and purring (freakin' cannibal!). At any rate, I'm hoping redemption comes soon because in less than 48 hours it's Fish Fry Friday at Curly's Grill and I really enjoy that.

Quitting Smoking Before Age 50 Cuts Risk Of Death

2009-01-21T22:40:00.001-05:00

by GOD federal government washington beltway insiders get your hands off outta my wallet off my cigarette, surgeon genrals warning. I come from NC original colony tobacco growings a way of life up here, put plenty of food on my table, thank you for smoking! its a adult world make your own choices too much goverment regulation FDA CDC EPA bunch of junk science. Same for global warming hoax.

On the tradition that the outgoing President writes a handwritten note to his successor:

2009-01-21T22:31:00.002-05:00

"Barry, lissen, theres half a ham and cheese in the basement fridge. And if Dick Cheney ever asks you to play nucular football, say no. --Dubya"

On the Possible Closing of a Notorious Prison

2009-01-21T21:37:00.002-05:00

Cultivo la rosa blanca
Guantanamera, guajira Guantanamera

Let's move on from this unbearable chapter in our history. Without a doubt, this will take its place in infamy alongside internment camps, Trail of Tears, My Lai. All examples when expediency, fear, and hate won out over law, reason, and love.

Family Man

2009-01-21T21:24:00.002-05:00

no no no never eric holder worst u.s. ATF jackbooted thug clintonista whitewater erik rich pardon, worst move in liberal socialist demon-crat EVER!!! and dont get me started on porta rican billayers khalidi terrorists. obamanation most liberal president on EARTH! liberals recycle? recycle eric holder rom e. manual thats the CHANGE yall voted for?

now alberto gonzales thats a good family man uphold letter of law in these the REAL UNITED STATES!! real red meat republicans good men in the field doin GODS work get CBS NY TIMES PBS NPR liberal prosecuters out on their heinies by ANY MEANS NECESSARY!

A Call to Action from a Friend (the Pic is not my Friend):

2009-01-20T23:34:00.002-05:00

I am encouraging everyone to call or fax Senator Cornyn's office to discourage his grand stand move of refusing Senator Clinton, who won 18 million votes, the courtesy and honor of an acclimation vote on her nomination as Secretary of State. Please share here, and maybe on your blog:

Hmmm, our friend from Texas isn't listening. 18 million people can't all be wrong.

I wonder how many people voted for him in his last election?

This sort of grandstanding is old, tired and crap.

I suggest that everyone call his office or fax him tomorrow, expressing your disapproval. His numbers are:
Main: 202-224-2934
Fax: 202-228-2856
(Senate office bldg in Washington, D.C.)

The Last PETA Poem I Swear

2009-01-20T23:20:00.002-05:00

This one's a little PG 13. I had to take the challenge of this on, for reasons that a select few will understand.

A sailor was lost at sea
So long that he was quite lonely
When a fair mermaid he espied
With PETA he cried,
“Thar blows my own true sea _____."

American Idol Does the Inauguration

2009-01-20T18:40:00.002-05:00

Simon Cowell: "That hat looks RIDICULOUS. What are you, a Christmas present nobody wants? Do you think anyone wants to HEAR those corny old American rah-rah songs? You should have done a classic. You kind of have an Aretha look. And you could use a little respect yourself."
Randy Jackson: "Dude, you tryin to sound like Aretha, best singer in the known UNIVERSE! Stick to the melody, dawg, that's a great old tune, man, don't try to take it outta your comfort zone."
Paula: "I thought you were FAN-tastic. And you looked cute as a button, girlfriend. You go!!!"

LOL!!!!!!!!! I just chatted with Ken Rudin and Ron Elving and some guy who wrote a BOOK!!!!!!!!! OMG!!!

2009-01-20T14:32:00.002-05:00

They were practically begging for questions.

Peter Wilbur: I thought Obama’s evocation of Valley Forge was apropos and lovely. What did you all think?
Ron Elving: I agree with all that…I was marveling at how good the guy can be even in an instance of killer expectations. Who has ever had to face a crowd this size in a situation like this before?

Later on I argued with one of them about "Simple Gifts."

More PETA poetry

2009-01-20T14:05:00.003-05:00

As many well informed people know, PETA has launched a campaign renaming fish "sea kittens." This prompted, to my knowledge, a record-breaking 770 comments on a single NPR story. It also inspired some poetry. Here are the latest masterworks:

Darren Wilson (DDW) wrote:

Sea kittens, Sea Kittens
I hope you survive
But you're part of the food chain
So you'll get eaten alive
Sea Kittens, Sea Kittens
I hope you do thrive
With wine and some capers
Dinner's at five.
Meow.

1/20/2009 12:39 PM EST

Margaret Carey (Peggy) wrote:
Call them a sea kitten,
call them a fish,
call them a zoognut
if that's what you wish.

For all of your worry,
and all of your thought,
You are a human,
and they certainly are not.

Projecting your fears,
your dreams and sensations
on poor hapless creatures
confuses creation.

Fish eat each other,
sister and brother,
with no thought or ill will,
like we have for another.
1/20/2009 2:20 PM EST

I Just Chatted with Neal Conan!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-01-20T11:14:00.003-05:00

11:04

Neal Conan: Question from Peter:

11:04

[Comment From Peter Wilbur]
Is there any danger in Obama alienating Republicans by being too "eloquent"?

11:04

Rod Dreher:

How could he do that? The kind of Republicans who are sour about today's events can't possibly be mollified.

11:05

Rod Dreher: (And I say that as a Republican who did not vote for Obama, but who is certainly excited about this new chapter in our nation's history).

OMG! I just chatted with Nina Totenberg!

2009-01-20T10:22:00.002-05:00

10:17

Dick Meyer:

This one comes from Peter Wilbur:


10:17	[Comment From Peter Wilbur] What is the mood of those to the left of Obama inside Congress? Is it conciliatory, cooperative, wait-and-see, or combative? On what issues could a potential challenge to Obama's leadership emerge from the left?