Friday, May 23, 2008
It is Glorious and Honorable to be Surveilled
Naomi Klein looks at Shenzhen while the authorities look back, and then some, while China takes a gander at Guantanamo. Hmmm...
Naomi Klein looks at Shenzhen while the authorities look back, and then some, while China takes a gander at Guantanamo. Hmmm...
Senator Johnny McTantrum
I realize the political literacy in this country is even lower than general literacy; still, I'd like to think people understand this this sort of pissy-pants behavior from John McCain is completely unacceptable for a chief executive...as if eight years of it from Shrub hasn't convinced us already.
Primitive, indeed.
I realize the political literacy in this country is even lower than general literacy; still, I'd like to think people understand this this sort of pissy-pants behavior from John McCain is completely unacceptable for a chief executive...as if eight years of it from Shrub hasn't convinced us already.
Primitive, indeed.
Slashing His Own Credibility Right Down to the Bone
You can go all around town--hell, all around the country--and you just won't find anyone making less sense (though the GOP is his equal in that regard).
You can go all around town--hell, all around the country--and you just won't find anyone making less sense (though the GOP is his equal in that regard).
IOKIYAR, An Ongoing Series
See, it's not small-scale fraud with FEMA issued debit cards or--gasp--looting for food, or yeah, beer (probably safer to drink than water in the aftermath of the flood, by the way)--nah, it's just another $8 billion dollarslooted lost in the fog of war, so that's alright. Never mind all the casualties...because war is hell, ain't it...
It's like what Obermann said the other day (paraphrasing): the reason we have a war in Iraq...is to have a war in Iraq. That speaks volumes about our country, and not in a good way.
See, it's not small-scale fraud with FEMA issued debit cards or--gasp--looting for food, or yeah, beer (probably safer to drink than water in the aftermath of the flood, by the way)--nah, it's just another $8 billion dollars
It's like what Obermann said the other day (paraphrasing): the reason we have a war in Iraq...is to have a war in Iraq. That speaks volumes about our country, and not in a good way.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Rejected
While I suppose it's nice to see that there are limits to the sorts of batshit insanity John McCain tolerates, it's still pretty damn late in the game to pull Hagee off the "Straight Talk" Express and throw him under it.
Shouldn't dismissing the deaths of 1800 American citizens--and the abject disregard for another 448,000 or so more--be quite enough?
While I suppose it's nice to see that there are limits to the sorts of batshit insanity John McCain tolerates, it's still pretty damn late in the game to pull Hagee off the "Straight Talk" Express and throw him under it.
Shouldn't dismissing the deaths of 1800 American citizens--and the abject disregard for another 448,000 or so more--be quite enough?
Your Media Freak Show
Tristero:
...something close to the entire worldview of the mainstream political/cultural press is alarmingly askew. While posing as objective, they make specious, empty-headed judgments about presidential candidates, then without telling us, "throw their support" behind one rather than another. And, when genuine judgment is absolutely necessary to ascertain the substance behind a source's assertions, the press is often AWOL.
It goes beyond the press having a conservative bias, although that is part of it. It is, in fact, a massive incapacity/refusal to do the actual job of reporting actual news. Sure, journalism has had few golden eras. But what we've seen in the past 20 plus years, and especially in the past 10, is breathtakingly awful journalism.
There are exceptions, of course, and we know who they are: Krugman, Hersh, the McClatchy reporters, and others. But, as Somerby constantly reminds us, these voices barely matter until it is too late. The press has the power to bamboozle its constituency, the American people. And they have, over and over again. It is extremely dangerous for a country half as powerful as the United States to have a media as dysfunctional as this one. It is downright terrifying to think of the damage they have done over the past eight years by elevating Bush to the status of a serious candidate and denigrating Gore, then Kerry.
Tristero:
...something close to the entire worldview of the mainstream political/cultural press is alarmingly askew. While posing as objective, they make specious, empty-headed judgments about presidential candidates, then without telling us, "throw their support" behind one rather than another. And, when genuine judgment is absolutely necessary to ascertain the substance behind a source's assertions, the press is often AWOL.
It goes beyond the press having a conservative bias, although that is part of it. It is, in fact, a massive incapacity/refusal to do the actual job of reporting actual news. Sure, journalism has had few golden eras. But what we've seen in the past 20 plus years, and especially in the past 10, is breathtakingly awful journalism.
There are exceptions, of course, and we know who they are: Krugman, Hersh, the McClatchy reporters, and others. But, as Somerby constantly reminds us, these voices barely matter until it is too late. The press has the power to bamboozle its constituency, the American people. And they have, over and over again. It is extremely dangerous for a country half as powerful as the United States to have a media as dysfunctional as this one. It is downright terrifying to think of the damage they have done over the past eight years by elevating Bush to the status of a serious candidate and denigrating Gore, then Kerry.
Is There Such a Thing as Executive Privilege for Weenies?
A subpoena of Karl's very own...with his name right on the front page.
Yes, there IS executive privilege for weenies. It's called the Fifth Amendment, or Taking the Fifth. Of course, it makes you look like you've got something to hide.
Ironic, isn't it, that, before long, we can expect pretty much everyone in this administration to look for shelter behind the very same rights they've tried to yank away from us.
A subpoena of Karl's very own...with his name right on the front page.
Yes, there IS executive privilege for weenies. It's called the Fifth Amendment, or Taking the Fifth. Of course, it makes you look like you've got something to hide.
Ironic, isn't it, that, before long, we can expect pretty much everyone in this administration to look for shelter behind the very same rights they've tried to yank away from us.
I Guess That's Why They Call it Premium
Say hello to $4 dollar a gallon gasoline...for now. The price could climb even higher.
Say hello to $4 dollar a gallon gasoline...for now. The price could climb even higher.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Strange Bedfellows Indeed
First it was Richard Mellon Scaife, now, as Jeff St. Clair notes in his concluding paragraph, Hillary is cozying up with the Turd Blossom himself.
Her campaign now resembles a political neutron bomb that wipes out all living contenders and leaves only the super-structure of her own aspiration standing. Apparently, the idea is to crush the interloper Obama, either in Denver, through some deus ex machina of spineless super-delegates stampeding her way, or to have McCain do her work for her so that she can challenge the septuagenarian in 2012. If so, her motto will be the familiar taunt of the schoolhouse tattletale: "I told you so."
If Obama survives the primaries and falls to McCain in November, Hillary will attempt to remake the Democratic Party in her own image. It will replay of the origin of the conservative DLC, designed by her husband and Lieberman to keep the party from falling into the hands of Jesse Jackson and the Rainbow Coalition. This time the C will stand for Clinton.
The Clintons have always been graceless and petulant in defeat. They seek to destroy any defectors from their camp (c.f., Bill "Judas" Richardson). Now that NARAL has jilted Clinton for Obama, Hillary is probably contemplating coming out in favor parental notification for teenage abortions and joining the next senate filibuster against stem cell research.
Meanwhile, Obama is daily being drained of any vestigial progressive instinct. In order to prove he’s not an appeaser of Hezbollah, Obama is pledging to beef up funding of the Lebanese army and paramilitaries, a disastrous scheme that will only exacerbate a fractious situation. If this keeps up, there will soon be demands that Obama annul his marriage to the seditious Michelle, the last affirmative reason to vote for him in my view.
With the walls closing in around her, Hillary unveiled a final argument: Karl Rove, the man John Conyers wants to put in leg-irons in the crypt of the Capitol, says she’s the better candidate against McCain. Rove also swore there were weapons of mass destruction. Clinton fell for that one, too.
Well, yeah, but a couple of things--first, if Clinton's willing to rub elbows with Scaife and Rove after all they did to trash her, hopefully that means she'll bury the hatchet with Obama, preferably sooner rather than later. We'll see.
Second: in spite of this, it appears that the public is simply fed up with the mix and match of arrogance and stupidity that is the Republican "brand," that is George W. Bush...as inseparable as "Jimmy Carter" is to the Democratic Party of the 1970s. And no, I don't like having to make the comparison--after all, all things considered, Carter's a reasonably decent man, his admiration for the Shah of Iran (and a few other things) notwithstanding...but THAT'S precisely the strategy the Democratic Party needs to apply. GOP=George W. Bush. Rinse, repeat.
Bush, whether he or anyone else likes it or not, is toxic waste. As is anyone associated with him.
Like Karl Rove.
First it was Richard Mellon Scaife, now, as Jeff St. Clair notes in his concluding paragraph, Hillary is cozying up with the Turd Blossom himself.
Her campaign now resembles a political neutron bomb that wipes out all living contenders and leaves only the super-structure of her own aspiration standing. Apparently, the idea is to crush the interloper Obama, either in Denver, through some deus ex machina of spineless super-delegates stampeding her way, or to have McCain do her work for her so that she can challenge the septuagenarian in 2012. If so, her motto will be the familiar taunt of the schoolhouse tattletale: "I told you so."
If Obama survives the primaries and falls to McCain in November, Hillary will attempt to remake the Democratic Party in her own image. It will replay of the origin of the conservative DLC, designed by her husband and Lieberman to keep the party from falling into the hands of Jesse Jackson and the Rainbow Coalition. This time the C will stand for Clinton.
The Clintons have always been graceless and petulant in defeat. They seek to destroy any defectors from their camp (c.f., Bill "Judas" Richardson). Now that NARAL has jilted Clinton for Obama, Hillary is probably contemplating coming out in favor parental notification for teenage abortions and joining the next senate filibuster against stem cell research.
Meanwhile, Obama is daily being drained of any vestigial progressive instinct. In order to prove he’s not an appeaser of Hezbollah, Obama is pledging to beef up funding of the Lebanese army and paramilitaries, a disastrous scheme that will only exacerbate a fractious situation. If this keeps up, there will soon be demands that Obama annul his marriage to the seditious Michelle, the last affirmative reason to vote for him in my view.
With the walls closing in around her, Hillary unveiled a final argument: Karl Rove, the man John Conyers wants to put in leg-irons in the crypt of the Capitol, says she’s the better candidate against McCain. Rove also swore there were weapons of mass destruction. Clinton fell for that one, too.
Well, yeah, but a couple of things--first, if Clinton's willing to rub elbows with Scaife and Rove after all they did to trash her, hopefully that means she'll bury the hatchet with Obama, preferably sooner rather than later. We'll see.
Second: in spite of this, it appears that the public is simply fed up with the mix and match of arrogance and stupidity that is the Republican "brand," that is George W. Bush...as inseparable as "Jimmy Carter" is to the Democratic Party of the 1970s. And no, I don't like having to make the comparison--after all, all things considered, Carter's a reasonably decent man, his admiration for the Shah of Iran (and a few other things) notwithstanding...but THAT'S precisely the strategy the Democratic Party needs to apply. GOP=George W. Bush. Rinse, repeat.
Bush, whether he or anyone else likes it or not, is toxic waste. As is anyone associated with him.
Like Karl Rove.
Oh Please Oh Please Oh Please
Bill Kristol demonstrates the sort of Bill Kristol judgement that's made him, well, Bill Kristol (I guess everyone knows Bill was then Vice President Quayle's chief of staff, which certainly speaks volumes):
In an editorial yesterday, the New York Sun concluded from the Commentary speech that Lieberman "would be a fabulous running mate for Mr. McCain." On Fox And Friends this morning, Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol concurred with the Sun...
Ah, yes. Because nothing says "victory" like tapping perhaps THE most despised Democratic politician the last five years or so to be your running mate. Yeah, that's a winning strategery.
And maybe they could get Shrub to campaign for and with them.
Like I said: Oh please oh please oh please...
Bill Kristol demonstrates the sort of Bill Kristol judgement that's made him, well, Bill Kristol (I guess everyone knows Bill was then Vice President Quayle's chief of staff, which certainly speaks volumes):
In an editorial yesterday, the New York Sun concluded from the Commentary speech that Lieberman "would be a fabulous running mate for Mr. McCain." On Fox And Friends this morning, Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol concurred with the Sun...
Ah, yes. Because nothing says "victory" like tapping perhaps THE most despised Democratic politician the last five years or so to be your running mate. Yeah, that's a winning strategery.
And maybe they could get Shrub to campaign for and with them.
Like I said: Oh please oh please oh please...
Gillespie: How Dare You Upset Emperor Pissy-Pants!
Well, we don't know if Shrub's going to really careen of the deep end and attack Iran, but it's pretty clear he and his trusty assistant Reichsmarshall Gillespie have declared war on MSNBC. Mighty brave of them. Shoot, they might even be in line to present themselves some medals for valor...
Well, we don't know if Shrub's going to really careen of the deep end and attack Iran, but it's pretty clear he and his trusty assistant Reichsmarshall Gillespie have declared war on MSNBC. Mighty brave of them. Shoot, they might even be in line to present themselves some medals for valor...
After Watching the Election Returns Last Night...
...you'd think Appalachia was far and away THE most critical electoral demographic in 2008. Gee, who'd have thunk it?
As I said in an email to my sister earlier, maybe they just don't want to upset a group of people who are armed to the teeth. Well, tooth.
Funny though, I doubt the Matthewses, Norons, and Russerts of this world would get caught dead interacting with those whom they evidently think are the proverbial salt-o-the-earth in any way beyond the equivalent of a hominid version of Lion Country Safari.
John Dean, in this article Blue Gal linked to, hits the nail on the head:
...eight years of President George W. Bush's anti-intellectual stance, staggering inarticulateness, and clear pattern of incompetence may well encourage Americans to vote for a chief executive/commander-in-chief with brainpower commensurate with the demands of the job.
In other words, Appalachia's HAD their president. Time to move on.
...you'd think Appalachia was far and away THE most critical electoral demographic in 2008. Gee, who'd have thunk it?
As I said in an email to my sister earlier, maybe they just don't want to upset a group of people who are armed to the teeth. Well, tooth.
Funny though, I doubt the Matthewses, Norons, and Russerts of this world would get caught dead interacting with those whom they evidently think are the proverbial salt-o-the-earth in any way beyond the equivalent of a hominid version of Lion Country Safari.
John Dean, in this article Blue Gal linked to, hits the nail on the head:
...eight years of President George W. Bush's anti-intellectual stance, staggering inarticulateness, and clear pattern of incompetence may well encourage Americans to vote for a chief executive/commander-in-chief with brainpower commensurate with the demands of the job.
In other words, Appalachia's HAD their president. Time to move on.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Freedom on the March
"Baghdad's Sopranos?"
BAGHDAD -- As Arabic pop songs blared from a cafe and children squealed on rickety rides, men armed with pistols and Kalashnikovs wandered through a crowded Baghdad park one recent evening, checking visitors for weapons and keeping an eye out for suicide bombers.
Eight months ago, some of them may have been planting bombs themselves, or firing rounds at passing American convoys. But on this night, they grabbed hands and stomped their feet in a traditional line dance as a U.S. foot patrol stopped to watch.
Residents credit cooperation between the American soldiers and the dancing gunmen, members of a U.S.-funded Sunni neighborhood guard force, for a turnaround in security in Adhamiya, a Sunni Arab enclave in Shiite-dominated east Baghdad that until recently was on the front line of the Iraqi capital's sectarian war.
But doing business with the gunmen, whom the U.S. military has dubbed Sons of Iraq, is like striking a deal with Tony Soprano, according to the soldiers who walk the battle-blighted streets, where sewage collects in malodorous pools.
"Most of them kind of operate like dons in their areas," said 2nd Lt. Forrest Pierce, a platoon leader with the 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment. They shake down local businessmen for protection money, seize rivals for links to the insurgency and are always angling for more men, more territory and more power.
For U.S. soldiers on the beat, it means navigating a complex world of shifting allegiances, half-truths and betrayals.
That's the Bush Administration's definition of "success."
"Baghdad's Sopranos?"
BAGHDAD -- As Arabic pop songs blared from a cafe and children squealed on rickety rides, men armed with pistols and Kalashnikovs wandered through a crowded Baghdad park one recent evening, checking visitors for weapons and keeping an eye out for suicide bombers.
Eight months ago, some of them may have been planting bombs themselves, or firing rounds at passing American convoys. But on this night, they grabbed hands and stomped their feet in a traditional line dance as a U.S. foot patrol stopped to watch.
Residents credit cooperation between the American soldiers and the dancing gunmen, members of a U.S.-funded Sunni neighborhood guard force, for a turnaround in security in Adhamiya, a Sunni Arab enclave in Shiite-dominated east Baghdad that until recently was on the front line of the Iraqi capital's sectarian war.
But doing business with the gunmen, whom the U.S. military has dubbed Sons of Iraq, is like striking a deal with Tony Soprano, according to the soldiers who walk the battle-blighted streets, where sewage collects in malodorous pools.
"Most of them kind of operate like dons in their areas," said 2nd Lt. Forrest Pierce, a platoon leader with the 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment. They shake down local businessmen for protection money, seize rivals for links to the insurgency and are always angling for more men, more territory and more power.
For U.S. soldiers on the beat, it means navigating a complex world of shifting allegiances, half-truths and betrayals.
That's the Bush Administration's definition of "success."
Real Man of Genius, That Shrub
The chimperor thinks his 'create a swarm' strategery is a good idea.
And that's not the first time he's expressed pride in it.
Worst. Ever. And totally delusional.
The chimperor thinks his 'create a swarm' strategery is a good idea.
And that's not the first time he's expressed pride in it.
Worst. Ever. And totally delusional.
Something About a Pot Meeting a Kettle, I Think
Rove and Ingraham were evidently serious about their allegation that MSNBC is "blurring" the line between "commentary and journalism."
...like a whore lecturing on the virtue of chastity.
Update: Others may hold a different view, and that's fine; however, I personally don't think Olbermann is doing anything but good, solid, straight-up journalism as opposed to playing stenographer for an administration that holds the public in an almost unfathomable degree of contempt.
The rest of MSNBC's "news" panel can hardly be accused of "liberal" bias, what with Chris Matthews, Noron, Brian "I like Rush" Williams, and Brokaw.
If that's Rove's grand librul conspiracy, it's pretty thin gruel.
Rove and Ingraham were evidently serious about their allegation that MSNBC is "blurring" the line between "commentary and journalism."
...like a whore lecturing on the virtue of chastity.
Update: Others may hold a different view, and that's fine; however, I personally don't think Olbermann is doing anything but good, solid, straight-up journalism as opposed to playing stenographer for an administration that holds the public in an almost unfathomable degree of contempt.
The rest of MSNBC's "news" panel can hardly be accused of "liberal" bias, what with Chris Matthews, Noron, Brian "I like Rush" Williams, and Brokaw.
If that's Rove's grand librul conspiracy, it's pretty thin gruel.
On Threats and Appropriate Force
Sigh. I mean, it's simply impossible to argue logic with those who loudly reject it out of hand and mulishly insist on taking what, in all seriousness, is a position of pure and ugly fear mongering.
But for those who DO believe in logical analysis, Rising Hegemon breaks down the comparison nicely.
This sort of stuff reminds me of the wingnut howler monkeys who insisted that the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was the first step towards launching an invasion of...Iran, conveniently ignoring--and expecting the American public to be ignorant of--the fact that Iran and the Soviet Union already shared a border. Furthermore, the Iran/Soviet border was well suited to tank warfare, while the Iran/Afghanistan border is mountainous and uniquely UNSUITED for the same.
Anyway...I digress. The point Obama was presumably trying to make is that, yeah, it's a dangerous world, but you act like an adult and make preparations commensurate with the threats you face.
In contrast, John McCain believes in hysteria, hyperbole, and trying to scare the shit out of a public that, let's face it, isn't exactly expert in Middle Eastern politics, history...or geography.
An election between the educated and the ignorant...and we all know how that worked out the last two times.
Now I'm depressed.
Sigh. I mean, it's simply impossible to argue logic with those who loudly reject it out of hand and mulishly insist on taking what, in all seriousness, is a position of pure and ugly fear mongering.
But for those who DO believe in logical analysis, Rising Hegemon breaks down the comparison nicely.
This sort of stuff reminds me of the wingnut howler monkeys who insisted that the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was the first step towards launching an invasion of...Iran, conveniently ignoring--and expecting the American public to be ignorant of--the fact that Iran and the Soviet Union already shared a border. Furthermore, the Iran/Soviet border was well suited to tank warfare, while the Iran/Afghanistan border is mountainous and uniquely UNSUITED for the same.
Anyway...I digress. The point Obama was presumably trying to make is that, yeah, it's a dangerous world, but you act like an adult and make preparations commensurate with the threats you face.
In contrast, John McCain believes in hysteria, hyperbole, and trying to scare the shit out of a public that, let's face it, isn't exactly expert in Middle Eastern politics, history...or geography.
An election between the educated and the ignorant...and we all know how that worked out the last two times.
Now I'm depressed.
Monday, May 19, 2008
The Passion of Johnny Mac
The religious nuts gave their hero Shrub a halo; Johnny Mac only merits a cross and a crown of thorns.
The religious nuts gave their hero Shrub a halo; Johnny Mac only merits a cross and a crown of thorns.
Inspired by True Events...
Well, nothing like inviting needless casualties via a astonishing level of cultural insensitivity, but on a more serious note, I think this underscores the inherent contradictions in wingnuttia's attitudes towards the Middle East/Central Asia, Arabs, Islam, etc.
This indecision over whether to "uplift and Christianize" or "exterminate the brutes" plays itself out on scales both large and small, and as often as not simultaneously...which explains quite a bit, if you think about it.
Well, nothing like inviting needless casualties via a astonishing level of cultural insensitivity, but on a more serious note, I think this underscores the inherent contradictions in wingnuttia's attitudes towards the Middle East/Central Asia, Arabs, Islam, etc.
This indecision over whether to "uplift and Christianize" or "exterminate the brutes" plays itself out on scales both large and small, and as often as not simultaneously...which explains quite a bit, if you think about it.
But the Good News is...That's Only a Little Over 3 Cents...Per Ounce
A gallon of gasoline now costs $4.00 in Chicago and parts of New York.
Still think it's a joke, Mr. Bush?
A gallon of gasoline now costs $4.00 in Chicago and parts of New York.
Still think it's a joke, Mr. Bush?
Channeling Her Inner Brownshirt/Klansman...
I'll give Kathleen Parker small credit for being willing to come right out with "heritage" buzzword...although, as Greenwald points out, that displays an extra level of pinheadedness (Barack Obama's maternal grandfather was a World War II veteran).
Welcome to the general campaign...
I'll give Kathleen Parker small credit for being willing to come right out with "heritage" buzzword...although, as Greenwald points out, that displays an extra level of pinheadedness (Barack Obama's maternal grandfather was a World War II veteran).
Welcome to the general campaign...
Friday, May 16, 2008
Game Over?
Hans von Spakovsky is giving up on his effort to infect the FEC with his presence in order to spend more time with his money...which means Mr. Straight Talk better be able to conjure up jolly good excuse for his gaming of the campaign finance system.
Again, imagine if a Democratic candidate had as many pretzel twists as the man from Arizona...the media would be literally laughing when not postulating about a "GOP century."
Hans von Spakovsky is giving up on his effort to infect the FEC with his presence in order to spend more time with his money...which means Mr. Straight Talk better be able to conjure up jolly good excuse for his gaming of the campaign finance system.
Again, imagine if a Democratic candidate had as many pretzel twists as the man from Arizona...the media would be literally laughing when not postulating about a "GOP century."
Just What We Need...Another Pest from Texas
Maybe Tom DeLay could do something useful for a change and go back to his first career:
Scientists do not quite know what to call them, they are so new. But folks in the damp coastal belt south of Houston have their own names (some of them printable) for the little invaders now seemingly everywhere: on the move underfoot; infesting woodlands, yards and gardens; nesting in electrical boxes and causing shorts; and even raising anxiety at Hobby Airport and the Johnson Space Center.
"We call them running ants," said Diane Yeo, a homeowner in suburban Pearland, turning over a planter by her swimming pool to reveal a seething carpet of ants, yes, running, each about the size of the letter "i" on this page.
That was not the worst of it. "Looks like they’re carrying eggs," said her husband, Bob.
The ant is a previously unknown variety with a staggering propensity to reproduce and no known enemies. The species, which bites but does not sting, was first identified here in 2002 by a Pearland exterminator, Tom Rasberry, who quickly lent his name to the find: the crazy rasberry ant.
"I sprayed some pesticide just to knock them down," Mr. Rasberry recalled on Thursday. "But the next year I went from seeing a couple thousand to millions of them."
More info here, with a downoaded Google maps pic showing distribution at present.
No word on whether or not they'd lie to get us into a war and eavesdrop on our electronic communications without a warrant. But if they'd pledge not to, I'd vote for them over George W. Bush.
Maybe Tom DeLay could do something useful for a change and go back to his first career:
Scientists do not quite know what to call them, they are so new. But folks in the damp coastal belt south of Houston have their own names (some of them printable) for the little invaders now seemingly everywhere: on the move underfoot; infesting woodlands, yards and gardens; nesting in electrical boxes and causing shorts; and even raising anxiety at Hobby Airport and the Johnson Space Center.
"We call them running ants," said Diane Yeo, a homeowner in suburban Pearland, turning over a planter by her swimming pool to reveal a seething carpet of ants, yes, running, each about the size of the letter "i" on this page.
That was not the worst of it. "Looks like they’re carrying eggs," said her husband, Bob.
The ant is a previously unknown variety with a staggering propensity to reproduce and no known enemies. The species, which bites but does not sting, was first identified here in 2002 by a Pearland exterminator, Tom Rasberry, who quickly lent his name to the find: the crazy rasberry ant.
"I sprayed some pesticide just to knock them down," Mr. Rasberry recalled on Thursday. "But the next year I went from seeing a couple thousand to millions of them."
More info here, with a downoaded Google maps pic showing distribution at present.
No word on whether or not they'd lie to get us into a war and eavesdrop on our electronic communications without a warrant. But if they'd pledge not to, I'd vote for them over George W. Bush.
Fine Sense of Humor You Got There, Mr. Huckabee
If Mike was delivering his speech to the NRA in 1968:
"That was Bobby Kennedy...somebody aimed a gun at him and he dove to the floor. Nah, not really--he FELL to the floor...with a bullet in his head! Hehehe!"
Or
"That was Martin Luther King, Jr. Looks like he forgot to duck. Yuck, yuck yuck!"
Or maybe Mike meant to say
"That was Barack Obama, he just tripped off a chair...well that, or the chair was yanked from under him! Looka that boy dance! Yee-haw!"
"Thanks, I'll be here all week! Try the Obedience-to-the-law-is-freedom fries!"
From First Draft.
If Mike was delivering his speech to the NRA in 1968:
"That was Bobby Kennedy...somebody aimed a gun at him and he dove to the floor. Nah, not really--he FELL to the floor...with a bullet in his head! Hehehe!"
Or
"That was Martin Luther King, Jr. Looks like he forgot to duck. Yuck, yuck yuck!"
Or maybe Mike meant to say
"That was Barack Obama, he just tripped off a chair...well that, or the chair was yanked from under him! Looka that boy dance! Yee-haw!"
"Thanks, I'll be here all week! Try the Obedience-to-the-law-is-freedom fries!"
From First Draft.
Lather, Repeat
I'll grant there's a certain instinctual, insect-like tenacity to the wingnut talking points, in this case Cliff May insisting that it's "fair game" to smear Michelle Obama, who, last I saw, wasn't running for any elective office.
And it's not like it isn't part of a long-term pattern in wingnuttia, that is, reduction to the point of absurdity. Atrios wrote a small post along the same lines as to yesterday's deserved smackdown of Kevin James by Chris Matthews...and hey, credit where credit's due--Matthews showed that good, solid journalism can enlighten by exposing sheer ignorance.
Off-hand, I can think of any number of ignorant wingnut expressions that never garner the sort critical examination a responsible free press would provide in highlighting the utter absurdity: "the Move On wing of the Democrat Party," or "the Michael Moore wing;" previous iterations were "government is the problem," "states' rights," "private sector efficiency"...I could go on and on. Now it's "Reverend Wright," "Michelle Obama..." and then you've got the dog-whistle stuff like "Dred Scott" and "just a comma."
Now, any thinking person realizes that dog don't hunt...but a lazy press repeating Swift Boat mantras can do plenty of damage simply by forcing a particular candidate to waste resources with a defensive strategy that ITSELF becomes the story, to the point where "business as usual" is a campaign devoted not to critical issues, but flag pins, the Pledge, a non-understanding of "appeasement," etc.
And, at least this time around, we're seeing what happens if the mud doesn't stick: wingnuts retrieve, and fling again...and again...and again. Thankfully it doesn't seem to be working this time, although I wonder when the press will decide to gang up on Obama...
Or maybe it's just that--sadly--hate is a luxury of sorts, and these days people have so much to worry about that it's a luxury they can't afford.
Oh, and watch: IF Obama wins, the wingnut shitstorm will try to smear all the Bush administration crap onto him...and they'll do so with the sort of sickening glee generally seen only in suicide bombers...
One more thing: sorry for the late start. Had a busy morning.
I'll grant there's a certain instinctual, insect-like tenacity to the wingnut talking points, in this case Cliff May insisting that it's "fair game" to smear Michelle Obama, who, last I saw, wasn't running for any elective office.
And it's not like it isn't part of a long-term pattern in wingnuttia, that is, reduction to the point of absurdity. Atrios wrote a small post along the same lines as to yesterday's deserved smackdown of Kevin James by Chris Matthews...and hey, credit where credit's due--Matthews showed that good, solid journalism can enlighten by exposing sheer ignorance.
Off-hand, I can think of any number of ignorant wingnut expressions that never garner the sort critical examination a responsible free press would provide in highlighting the utter absurdity: "the Move On wing of the Democrat Party," or "the Michael Moore wing;" previous iterations were "government is the problem," "states' rights," "private sector efficiency"...I could go on and on. Now it's "Reverend Wright," "Michelle Obama..." and then you've got the dog-whistle stuff like "Dred Scott" and "just a comma."
Now, any thinking person realizes that dog don't hunt...but a lazy press repeating Swift Boat mantras can do plenty of damage simply by forcing a particular candidate to waste resources with a defensive strategy that ITSELF becomes the story, to the point where "business as usual" is a campaign devoted not to critical issues, but flag pins, the Pledge, a non-understanding of "appeasement," etc.
And, at least this time around, we're seeing what happens if the mud doesn't stick: wingnuts retrieve, and fling again...and again...and again. Thankfully it doesn't seem to be working this time, although I wonder when the press will decide to gang up on Obama...
Or maybe it's just that--sadly--hate is a luxury of sorts, and these days people have so much to worry about that it's a luxury they can't afford.
Oh, and watch: IF Obama wins, the wingnut shitstorm will try to smear all the Bush administration crap onto him...and they'll do so with the sort of sickening glee generally seen only in suicide bombers...
One more thing: sorry for the late start. Had a busy morning.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
The Tears of a Clown
The Grand Sacrificer gets emotional when considering how much he's done for us...
The Grand Sacrificer gets emotional when considering how much he's done for us...
More Nixonesque "Credibility" from Straight-Talking John
Given his own documented inability to grasp the very basics of the Middle East, you'd think John McCain might want to focus on other issues.
But, then again, he's just as far up shit creek when it comes to the economy...or pretty much anything else. In fact, at this point, about all McCain can really do is stamp his feet, flail his arms to the extent he's able, fling some mud, and hope something sticks.
Either that or spend some quality time in the company of his personal tutor Joe Lieberman, who might one day manage to pound the difference between Shi'a and Sunni into his thick skull...
Given his own documented inability to grasp the very basics of the Middle East, you'd think John McCain might want to focus on other issues.
But, then again, he's just as far up shit creek when it comes to the economy...or pretty much anything else. In fact, at this point, about all McCain can really do is stamp his feet, flail his arms to the extent he's able, fling some mud, and hope something sticks.
Either that or spend some quality time in the company of his personal tutor Joe Lieberman, who might one day manage to pound the difference between Shi'a and Sunni into his thick skull...
It is Dummythustra Who Speaks
Take a good, long look at the picture (photo downloaded from The Rude Pundit)...as long as you can stand to. Yep, that's the assclown, who, a day after claiming--falsely, it turns out--that his grand sacrifice for the troops is to give up golf now tries to equate Barack Obama with Nazi appeasers. Link.
Now, I'll grant that the Bush family has what you might call a unique expertise regarding Nazi appeasement, but I digress. Again, look at the picture...think about his grand sacrifice that is actually a flat out, bald faced lie. And then consider this latest example of moronic, nonsensical gum-flapping.
There's not a person with functioning brain cells who should take ANYTHING Shrub says seriously...which is why Joe Lieberman DOES.
Oh, and while I'm thinking of it, Dick Cheney is NO Darth Vader. Big Time is a grumpy old man who shot an even older man in the face with a shotgun, demonstrating remarkable stupidity as to basic hunting safety...he then reacted to his accident by hiding and getting drunk.
Hell, they make Beavis and Butthead look like valedictorians.
At this point, ANYTHING they say should be considered in the context of it being the equivalent of a two year old playing with his own excrement. And if either one tries to DO anything beyond collect a paycheck over the next eight or so months, let's hope that someone applies the same rules that they had for Nixon in the final days.
And, you know, if the electorate actually falls for such nonsense, then maybe we really do deserve four more years of Shrub in the form of Crazy John...
Take a good, long look at the picture (photo downloaded from The Rude Pundit)...as long as you can stand to. Yep, that's the assclown, who, a day after claiming--falsely, it turns out--that his grand sacrifice for the troops is to give up golf now tries to equate Barack Obama with Nazi appeasers. Link.
Now, I'll grant that the Bush family has what you might call a unique expertise regarding Nazi appeasement, but I digress. Again, look at the picture...think about his grand sacrifice that is actually a flat out, bald faced lie. And then consider this latest example of moronic, nonsensical gum-flapping.
There's not a person with functioning brain cells who should take ANYTHING Shrub says seriously...which is why Joe Lieberman DOES.
Oh, and while I'm thinking of it, Dick Cheney is NO Darth Vader. Big Time is a grumpy old man who shot an even older man in the face with a shotgun, demonstrating remarkable stupidity as to basic hunting safety...he then reacted to his accident by hiding and getting drunk.
Hell, they make Beavis and Butthead look like valedictorians.
At this point, ANYTHING they say should be considered in the context of it being the equivalent of a two year old playing with his own excrement. And if either one tries to DO anything beyond collect a paycheck over the next eight or so months, let's hope that someone applies the same rules that they had for Nixon in the final days.
And, you know, if the electorate actually falls for such nonsense, then maybe we really do deserve four more years of Shrub in the form of Crazy John...
First as Tragedy, Then as Farce
I see John McCain's now touting a 'secret plan' to end the war in Iraq by 2013...now, where have I heard THAT before?...
Oh, right.
I see John McCain's now touting a 'secret plan' to end the war in Iraq by 2013...now, where have I heard THAT before?...
Oh, right.
