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| From 2Millionth Web Log |
Tigger in Paris.
Friday, December 12, 2008
The GOP Vision...
Because the Great Depression wasn't such a bad thing...right?
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| From 2Millionth Web Log |
Because the Great Depression wasn't such a bad thing...right?
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Potty Mouth
Like everyone else, I noticed Vitty's peculiar choice of expression.
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| From 2Millionth Web Log |
Like everyone else, I noticed Vitty's peculiar choice of expression.
Snow Day
OK, having done some significant winter time above the snow line, my reaction to today's wintry blanket was more chills than thrills. Nonetheless, this isn't normal weather down here...so despite having barely gotten over a case of flu, I thought I'd record some local sights before coming back to my humble little casa...which, by the way, is suffering from what is fortunately only a small roof leak (delayed effect from Hurricane Gustav--gee, thanks)...later, I'll go into the attic to take a closer look; right now I just want more hot coffee. Anyway...
Yer Gret Stet Capitol Building--I was on the sidewalk by the recently opened State Museum, which isn't bad and appropriately sized for Baton Rouge--not too big, not too small.
This is the Old State Capitol, described by Mark Twain as the ugliest building on the Lower Mississippi. I dunno about that--I kind of like the Gothic castle thing. Beats the hell out of City Hall, an "excellent" example of a style that I believe is called brutalism.
The Old Governor's Mansion--this, by the way, is literally throwing distance from my little house. The Mansion was built by Huey Long, replacing an older structure on the same sight. Huey didn't exactly follow proper procedure in razing/rebuilding, and this resulted in one of the impeachment charges against him.
It also bears some resemblance to the White House. They say Huey did this deliberately--so he'd know where the bathrooms and the light switches were when he moved to Pennsylvania Avenue.
The Mansion was the official residence from roughly 1930 to 1963, and is now a museum.
Speaking of Huey--
Long never made it to the White House. Instead, his final resting place is on the State Capitol Grounds. Another story, one that I've never confirmed or debunked, is that at certain times of the year, the setting sun results in the statue/grave's shadow making what looks like an obscene gesture. If I find out, I'll let you know.
Finally--a shot of the levee. OK, so it's not much of the white stuff...but again, it being there at all is a little unusual.
Geez, my heat bill is going to be outrageous next month. Ugh.
Back later with more normal posts.
OK, having done some significant winter time above the snow line, my reaction to today's wintry blanket was more chills than thrills. Nonetheless, this isn't normal weather down here...so despite having barely gotten over a case of flu, I thought I'd record some local sights before coming back to my humble little casa...which, by the way, is suffering from what is fortunately only a small roof leak (delayed effect from Hurricane Gustav--gee, thanks)...later, I'll go into the attic to take a closer look; right now I just want more hot coffee. Anyway...
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| From 2Millionth Web Log |
Yer Gret Stet Capitol Building--I was on the sidewalk by the recently opened State Museum, which isn't bad and appropriately sized for Baton Rouge--not too big, not too small.
 |
| From 2Millionth Web Log |
This is the Old State Capitol, described by Mark Twain as the ugliest building on the Lower Mississippi. I dunno about that--I kind of like the Gothic castle thing. Beats the hell out of City Hall, an "excellent" example of a style that I believe is called brutalism.
 |
| From 2Millionth Web Log |
The Old Governor's Mansion--this, by the way, is literally throwing distance from my little house. The Mansion was built by Huey Long, replacing an older structure on the same sight. Huey didn't exactly follow proper procedure in razing/rebuilding, and this resulted in one of the impeachment charges against him.
It also bears some resemblance to the White House. They say Huey did this deliberately--so he'd know where the bathrooms and the light switches were when he moved to Pennsylvania Avenue.
The Mansion was the official residence from roughly 1930 to 1963, and is now a museum.
Speaking of Huey--
 |
| From 2Millionth Web Log |
Long never made it to the White House. Instead, his final resting place is on the State Capitol Grounds. Another story, one that I've never confirmed or debunked, is that at certain times of the year, the setting sun results in the statue/grave's shadow making what looks like an obscene gesture. If I find out, I'll let you know.
 |
| From 2Millionth Web Log |
Finally--a shot of the levee. OK, so it's not much of the white stuff...but again, it being there at all is a little unusual.
Geez, my heat bill is going to be outrageous next month. Ugh.
Back later with more normal posts.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Storm Cloud on the Horizon...
Awful:
Man badly beaten in Shreveport for wearing Obama t-shirt
Kaylon Johnson is the victim in question -- and anyone who's ever been in the Shreveport for Obama office knows him very well as our go-to IT guy and one of the office coordinators.
...
Kaylon was badly beaten and has sustained several head injuries. He will have surgery on Friday to repair a broken eye socket, broken nose, and torn tear duct.
More here.
Via.
Awful:
Man badly beaten in Shreveport for wearing Obama t-shirt
Kaylon Johnson is the victim in question -- and anyone who's ever been in the Shreveport for Obama office knows him very well as our go-to IT guy and one of the office coordinators.
...
Kaylon was badly beaten and has sustained several head injuries. He will have surgery on Friday to repair a broken eye socket, broken nose, and torn tear duct.
More here.
Via.
I Suppose it Depends on What Your Definition of "No" Is
When he says "no," does he really mean "uh...maybe." ?
When he says "no," does he really mean "uh...maybe." ?
George W. Blagojevich
+
=
It's gotta hurt when people say you're "like George W. Bush but not as bright."
+
=
It's gotta hurt when people say you're "like George W. Bush but not as bright."
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Just a Slight Modification...
To one of our national symbols. Because hey, it's not like one of our nation's founders ever warned us about exchanging safety for liberty or anything like that...
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| From 2Millionth Web Log |
To one of our national symbols. Because hey, it's not like one of our nation's founders ever warned us about exchanging safety for liberty or anything like that...
The Ultimate Phoning it In
I'm not sure what's more annoying--the fact that Joe the Plumber is still trying to grandstand for whoever will report on what this zero of a human has to say--or that the media still insists on running stories about him.
What's the old saying? That's not writing, that's typing...
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| From 2Millionth Web Log |
I'm not sure what's more annoying--the fact that Joe the Plumber is still trying to grandstand for whoever will report on what this zero of a human has to say--or that the media still insists on running stories about him.
What's the old saying? That's not writing, that's typing...
More 'Legacy Thing' Stuff
Team Bush's talking points: more lipstick for the pig, more Shinola for the shit.
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| From 2Millionth Web Log |
Team Bush's talking points: more lipstick for the pig, more Shinola for the shit.
Monday, December 08, 2008
I Guess Blind, Pig-Ignorant Can Sometimes Find an Acorn, Too
Bill Kristol, of all people, and Steve Benen's take:
That is, oddly enough, largely true. Republican rhetoric notwithstanding, Republican policy makers tend to increase spending and the size of the government. They do this, of course, to win elections.
Um, yes. And they obviously hold the public in contempt, to a large measure.
Bill Kristol, of all people, and Steve Benen's take:
It turns out, in the real world of Republican governance, that there aren't a whole lot of small-government Republicans.
Five Republicans have won the presidency since 1932: Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and the two George Bushes. Only Reagan was even close to being a small-government conservative. And he campaigned in 1980 more as a tax-cutter and national-defense-builder-upper, and less as a small-government enthusiast in the mold of the man he had supported -- and who had lost -- in 1964, Barry Goldwater. And Reagan's record as governor and president wasn't a particularly government-slashing one.
Even the G.O.P.'s 1994 Contract With America made only vague promises to eliminate the budget deficit, and proposed no specific cuts in government programs. It focused far more on crime, taxes, welfare reform and government reform. Indeed, the "Republican Revolution" of 1995 imploded primarily because of the Republican Congress's one major small-government-type initiative -- the attempt to "cut" (i.e., restrain the growth of) Medicare. George W. Bush seemed to learn the lesson. Prior to his re-election, he proposed and signed into law popular (and, it turned out, successful) legislation, opposed by small-government conservatives, adding a prescription drug benefit to Medicare.
So talk of small government may be music to conservative ears, but it's not to the public as a whole.
That is, oddly enough, largely true. Republican rhetoric notwithstanding, Republican policy makers tend to increase spending and the size of the government. They do this, of course, to win elections.
Um, yes. And they obviously hold the public in contempt, to a large measure.
Call it "The Bush Touch"
Nothing quite like demanding a $10 million dollar bonus for presiding over $11 billion dollars of losses.
And people complain about baseball players' salaries.
Some free market.
Nothing quite like demanding a $10 million dollar bonus for presiding over $11 billion dollars of losses.
And people complain about baseball players' salaries.
Some free market.
Cityscape
To follow up on some thoughts below, particularly regarding the anti-urban outlook of the conservative/wingnut persuasion, take a look at the picture above, which is part of this moving though depressing slide show.
At a glance, you might think the vacant lots are more of the Lower 9th Ward, but in fact you're looking at a part of Detroit. No 2005 flood, but a long, slow decline.
If it were another country--and especially if it was an 'enemy' country like Russia...or Cuba--a picture like this would serve as an indictment/accusation of their national weakness. But, since it's our own nation, we blame the victims.
Enjoy the view of the land of the free.
To follow up on some thoughts below, particularly regarding the anti-urban outlook of the conservative/wingnut persuasion, take a look at the picture above, which is part of this moving though depressing slide show.
At a glance, you might think the vacant lots are more of the Lower 9th Ward, but in fact you're looking at a part of Detroit. No 2005 flood, but a long, slow decline.
If it were another country--and especially if it was an 'enemy' country like Russia...or Cuba--a picture like this would serve as an indictment/accusation of their national weakness. But, since it's our own nation, we blame the victims.
Enjoy the view of the land of the free.
Prix Fixe
And the delicious entree on the Team Bush menu is...shit sandwich.
From Oyster:
A long-delayed Army Corps of Engineers plan for protection against a Category 5 hurricane -- a storm as large as or larger than Hurricane Katrina -- will be delayed until at least June, and maybe longer, the project's manager says.
Further, the final document won't be a plan at all, but rather a menu of about two dozen alternatives for Congress to further study and debate, a recipe for additional delay.
His take:
You can't tell me that the same administration that outspent Lyndon Johnson and spent a trillion dollars in Iraq, a trillion on Medicare, and six trillion in bailouts/stimulus really believes that Cat 5 flood protection for S. Louisiana is "too expensive". Nor can you tell me that Bush gives a fig about "the dictates of science". No. The simple truth is that they don't want us to have Cat 5 (or 4) flood control. Why? I don't know, precisely. Perhaps they're evil dog vulvae. Perhaps they want to punish Louisiana for being Louisiana, or for embarrassing them during Katrina, or for having Governor Blanco, or Senator Landrieu, or for being a Democratic region with an expensive problem.
Just don't try to tell me that the Bushies made an honest effort on the Cat 5 issue. They didn't. And don't tell me these delays aren't by design. They are.
My own belief is that, aside from being essentially tribal in their mindset and outlook, wingnuts tend towards anti--urbanism. There's probably quite a lot that goes into this: racism, anti-intellectualism...anti-Democratic party, etc., and so on. I put a comment in over at YRHT mentioning this and a few other things...like the fact that while the scars of New Orleans might be the most visible, plenty of other cities have been hit hard over the last few generations...and the scars are visible enough, if you take a look.
But instead, the government has turned its back on cities.
In fact, if you look at government, particularly at the federal level, you'll note a distinct anti-urban element built in, via the Electoral College and the Senate.
Perhaps President-elect Obama, choosing to identify as a city-dweller, will at least make an attempt to focus on long-overdue urban maintenance or renewal...and perhaps New Orleans will be high on the list of projects. To be truthful, though, I'm not holding my breath: as to the former, you've got entrenched anti-urban interests, as to the latter, well, sadly, New Orleans was barely mentioned in the course of the election. That said, the city's far more resiliant than most people think, whether or not Team Bush tries to drown it by commission or omission.
I think we'll pass on the shit sandwich.
And--I congratulate Anh Cao and hope he enjoys a single term (to be truthful, I barely followed the race, beyond my normal reading of NOLA blogs)...and I hope William Jefferson has the decency to permanently retire in order to further the interests of his soon-to-be former constituents.
And the delicious entree on the Team Bush menu is...shit sandwich.
From Oyster:
A long-delayed Army Corps of Engineers plan for protection against a Category 5 hurricane -- a storm as large as or larger than Hurricane Katrina -- will be delayed until at least June, and maybe longer, the project's manager says.
Further, the final document won't be a plan at all, but rather a menu of about two dozen alternatives for Congress to further study and debate, a recipe for additional delay.
His take:
You can't tell me that the same administration that outspent Lyndon Johnson and spent a trillion dollars in Iraq, a trillion on Medicare, and six trillion in bailouts/stimulus really believes that Cat 5 flood protection for S. Louisiana is "too expensive". Nor can you tell me that Bush gives a fig about "the dictates of science". No. The simple truth is that they don't want us to have Cat 5 (or 4) flood control. Why? I don't know, precisely. Perhaps they're evil dog vulvae. Perhaps they want to punish Louisiana for being Louisiana, or for embarrassing them during Katrina, or for having Governor Blanco, or Senator Landrieu, or for being a Democratic region with an expensive problem.
Just don't try to tell me that the Bushies made an honest effort on the Cat 5 issue. They didn't. And don't tell me these delays aren't by design. They are.
My own belief is that, aside from being essentially tribal in their mindset and outlook, wingnuts tend towards anti--urbanism. There's probably quite a lot that goes into this: racism, anti-intellectualism...anti-Democratic party, etc., and so on. I put a comment in over at YRHT mentioning this and a few other things...like the fact that while the scars of New Orleans might be the most visible, plenty of other cities have been hit hard over the last few generations...and the scars are visible enough, if you take a look.
But instead, the government has turned its back on cities.
In fact, if you look at government, particularly at the federal level, you'll note a distinct anti-urban element built in, via the Electoral College and the Senate.
Perhaps President-elect Obama, choosing to identify as a city-dweller, will at least make an attempt to focus on long-overdue urban maintenance or renewal...and perhaps New Orleans will be high on the list of projects. To be truthful, though, I'm not holding my breath: as to the former, you've got entrenched anti-urban interests, as to the latter, well, sadly, New Orleans was barely mentioned in the course of the election. That said, the city's far more resiliant than most people think, whether or not Team Bush tries to drown it by commission or omission.
I think we'll pass on the shit sandwich.
And--I congratulate Anh Cao and hope he enjoys a single term (to be truthful, I barely followed the race, beyond my normal reading of NOLA blogs)...and I hope William Jefferson has the decency to permanently retire in order to further the interests of his soon-to-be former constituents.
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