Jed Bartlet: Can I tell you what's messed up about James Bond?

Charlie Young: Nothing.

Jed Bartlet: Shaken, not stirred, will get you cold water with a dash of gin and dry vermouth. The reason you stir it with a special spoon is so not to chip the ice. James is ordering a weak martini and being snooty about it.

I just have better things to do than worry about the Summer Olympics seven years from now, I guess.

Whatever happened with that healthcare thing?

Oh fuck it, dance to this shit.

Good point, kind of.

Well, what do you know?

Just hover the mouse over the 0:01 mark and once it gets to 0:07, click. Repeat.

Jesus Christ is this a fucking town hall?

Treason!

I find myself increasingly amenable to Frank Rich's writing. And his keen use of hyperlinks.

"In April the Department of Homeland Security issued a report, originally commissioned by the Bush administration, on the rising threat of violent right-wing extremism. It was ridiculed by conservatives, including the Republican chairman, Michael Steele, who called it “the height of insult.” Since then, a neo-Nazi who subscribed to the anti-Obama “birther” movement has murdered a guard at the Holocaust museum in Washington, and an anti-abortion zealot has gunned down a doctor in a church in Wichita, Kan."

Sucks being prescient.
There are some people in this country who are so fiercely independent and libertarian as to border on anarchism (though a less cooperative form than that conventionally espoused); it is our right to carry guns, they would profess, that is the guarantor of our freedoms. Revolution-era quotes are dropped, Thomas' Paine and Jefferson are referenced as evidence that without the free and open possession of guns, our liberties would surely vanish like Lyndon Larouche's presidential prospects.

I will take the time to point out the obvious, an act so necessary in our time.

The American Revolution was fought against a monarchy, a system of government that places a single person at the top of the power structure. The power the monarch possesses is absolute, is not subject to popular participation, other than in the case of armed rebellion.

Here in the United States, in the year two thousand and nine, we have a system of government which allows any citizen aged 18 years to participate in the political process through elections at the federal, state, county, local (yes, local!) level and so on.

Anyway I am getting too tired to write about this. The point I was going to get to (quite eloquently, I might add) is that the use of guns through violence or intimidation in a political debate is tyranny in itself because it removes the evenly distributed power structure that democracies create, that each person has a vote, and an unlimited right to express their opinion, religion, etc. If you indeed believe that people have a right to carry loaded assault rifles into crowds at political rallies, I wonder where you would claim this right to cease. Can I bring a rifle with a scope to the top of my house and point it at people walking down the street? I'm on my own property, and democracies were created to protect property weren't they? And if my government won't protect my property my gun will, right? No, because I'd be threatening people's lives, that most basic of liberties.

I don't think that firearms have no place in a democratic society. Democratic countries have a pretty decent history of reverting to worse. You have your right to hunt, to shoot for sport, to keep a gun in your home as protection from the government or hoodlums, or on your person if you really wish. I do, however, believe that bringing guns to peaceful political events amounts to intimidation no better than this, and, legal or not, constitutional or otherwise, I think it's abhorrent, and anti-democratic, and I think it only serves to mute the kind of calm, reasonable political discourse that this country so desperately needs right now.

[nyt]

1. Well Well Well - John Lennon
2. Some Candy Talking -The Jesus & Mary Chain
3. Chapel Hill - Sonic Youth
4. Meet Me In The Bathroom - The Strokes
5. Banshee Beat - Animal Collective
6. You Never Know - Wilco
7. I Want To Tell You - The Beatles
8. The Angel's Share - Ted Leo & The Pharmacists
9. Vanessa From Queens - Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks
10. Armistice Day - Paul Simon
11. Chinese Apple - Loose Fur
12. Shake Your Rump - Beastie Boys

Here is a woman getting her Rosa Parks poster stolen and ripped, and then getting booed by a roomful of Missourians. Cheers, America.

Thought: Maybe a less-than-good reference for an international summit? Though Steve Martin is definitely Stephen Harper. And the rest are kind of obvious.

duh

Forgive me. It's such a great thing that they're free. But, has anyone ever seen political prisoners with so much luggage?

That's all welcome back Laura and Euna North Korea sucks.

just lovely
[nyt (story)]

slops

"THE comforting thing about each “national conversation on race” is that the “teachable moment” passes before any serious conversation can get going."

[frank rich, nyt]

And so my computer and camera both broke. Note to self: don't bring technology on tour. Here's a favorite of mine from when my camera did work:


Any way back to the same bullshit of leaving links to news stories with minimal comment:

When Bodies Go Unnoticed [nyt]

Also: ''How about, in honor of the American soldier, you quit makin' things up?''- Sarah Palin on the media.

Are you even serious right now.

Tour updates soon/actual writing.

Jesus. Who put the acid in my Airborne?

Anyway fuck all this batshit politics.

"All of a sudden, it was just all happening."

Donald Rumsfeld on the DoD forgetting about the Geneva Conventions.
[tpm muckraker]



This is the single best comment on Sarah Palin ever. Look nowhere else.

"And unlike Nixon, Ms. Palin’s credentials to serve as vice president — much less president — are a weak point. Nixon had been a vice president, senator and member of Congress, while Ms. Palin is in her first term as governor of Alaska. By stepping down before finishing her term, she cannot claim to be even a one-term governor. Without a positive record of accomplishment as governor, Ms. Palin may find she has little to run on as she seeks to achieve a critical political goal: expanding her appeal beyond the conservative voters who crowd her rallies and write checks on her behalf."

[nyt]

She is making no sense. This doesn't make any sense. She is talking so fast and breathing so rapidly I don't believe a word she's saying.

That said, the country is better off without this woman holding elected office.

Our funny, elite, erudite, black Kenyan-born president has a name that is different, and so he is careful to pronounce other people's names correctly.

Thank you, Politico for this piece-of-shit non-story, so typical of your output.

Obit, complete with hyperlinks.

Battle w/ Police - Tehran, Iran - June 20th 2009

"Letterman certainly has the right to ‘joke’ about whatever he wants to, and thankfully we have the right to express our reaction," [Sarah] Palin said. "This is all thanks to our U.S. Military women and men putting their lives on the line for us to secure America’s Right to Free Speech - in this case, may that right be used to promote equality and respect."



HEENNGGH?

...mmmaybe not quite?

[nyt]

So much for that.

[tpm]

". . . claims of "vindication" based on a couple of data points—none obviously related to economic conditions or newly-returned Iraq vets, as the DHS report stressed—sound uncannily similar to obtuse claims that global warming is refuted because we had a big snowstorm last week. Still more dubious are efforts to saddle the right as a whole with the crimes of a few madmen who seem to have lost it years ago."

Ah, Economist, you voice of reason.

But the recent and increasingly radical backlash from the far-right against the President has been widespread and well-publicized, and may help incite some of these to people to commit their crimes; they become better convinced that they are justified, or not alone.

And some people are simply very crazy.

Gosh.

1. Chinese Apple
   
2. Telling the Truth and Going Away
   
3. Where Was My Brain?

current spins.

Good.

Now tweeting wars.

Fucking shut the fuck up!

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0509/Bidens_jab.html?showall

you start a speech with a joke, but not about your boss, the president, of the United States!

Stop saying dumb shit!

"We just wanted it to not sound like a little folk ditty, you know? So we just wanted it to have some kind of sonic weight under all that, and just something kinda weird and fucked up."

-Jay Bennett

Ducks.

"The kind of humility that Roberts favors reflects a view that the Court should almost always defer to the existing power relationships in society."

"At this low moment in the historical reputation of George W. Bush, his nominee for Chief Justice stands in signal contrast to what appears today to be a failed and fading tenure as President. Roberts’s service on the Court, which is, of course, likely to continue for decades, offers an enduring and faithful reflection of the Bush Presidency."

Well said, Toobin
[new yorker]

shotty

Quite full after hausing some hamburgers, our President (Obama) and President-Vice (Biden) shot the shit with the heads of state of Pakistan and Afghanistan; two 'Stans. The Pres. of Pakistan is totally not Musharraf, but is instead is one of the five richest people in his country. Anyway the military probably doesn't listen to him and will set off a nuke any time if they feel grumpy. So basically this guy wants nothing but stability and control but he's got a signficant radical Islamist element to deal with and a military that is more of a national institution than his own office. Of course the drones and other attacks blowing up mad heads on his soil pisses off said groups and threatens his already unstable government (remember when his wife was assassinated before she could (probably) be elected prime minister?). Anyway Karzai is in the same position because he's basically almost been iced like 9 times since he's been in office, and can't really control the opium trade or convince people to, let's say, not support the Taliban. So everybody is dying, heroin's being made, no one trusts anyone, and some missiles might get shot in the most volatile-region-straight-up ever.

So here is Joe Biden looking like he's sucking on an atomic fireball while our (yours and mine) President tells the teleprompter to get out of the way of the cameras.


And the Hamburger Story will probably get more play.

That was quick.

Click on the image to see how tired and spaced out our President looks. Apparently Robert Gibbs is very funny to everybody but him and can you blame him. Also need Rahm Emanuel do the hands-on-hip thing so often?


Also it turns out this will automatically show the latest Economist cover. Neat.

Just another reason why I am charmed by the Economist.

This was really striking:

"By the time a decision gets to the president, there are no good options. If there was a good option, somebody at a lower level would have made the decision and taken credit for it. By the time a decision gets to the president or secretary of defence, more often than not, you're having to choose the least bad option."

-Robert Gates

What is the strange cover on our President's water? Worry about H1N1 much?

And when did he get that mustache?

[la casa blanca]

Oh, how I enjoy the Economist.

Add to list of bad ideas, executed.

[nyt]

aaand I post another youtube video making fun of libertarians. And how.

"Or: the day I stopped reading the New York Times"

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Watch the entire thing.

Reading to kids is badass.

Mad youtubes lately.

Better throw out your copy of Death of a Ladies' Man.

[nyt]

Jerry sizzlllaa

Somewhere in America, Carrot Top is lifting weights.

and this from Democracy in America.

Colin Powell money badass.

"Wtf: Boo."


wtf?

[jezebel]

thanks wonkette:


"Robert Gibbs also yells at her, for asking stupid questions. This teleprompter stuff, and the fact that every level of reporter is talking about it… really, just how does that happen? There is no more controversy in the use of a teleprompter than there is in the use of a microphone. “Did you hear that Obama uses a microphone, because his supposedly ‘great speaking voice’ isn’t LOUD enough, like an IDIOT?” That’s going to be a New York Times front-pager in a few months at this rate, just you watch. Even believing the chain e-mail Muslim conspiracy rumors is more valid than finding controversy in a teleprompter. Really!"

the link

every other politico headline contains a fighting metaphor.

GOP gloves off for budget brawl

Obama slams Cheney on '60 Minutes'

Health care's 5 points of fight

Please stop covering the election, Politico.

[gawker]

Graph is playing a show with this band on Wednesday in Worcester at Ralph's Chadwick Square Diner.

A kid was just now crying about a leaking balloon. I told him it was going to pop eventually anyway. He said, "Shut up, mister!" Smart kid.

[thebestuseoftwitterever]

money (actual) diamond heist

"I refuse to answer on the grounds that it might incriminate me."

[reuters]

What a big fucking dumb ass and what a shitty speech.

[daily beast]

270,000,000 $ bummer

[NASA]

too bad, the damn thing was going to monitor CO2 levels in the atmosphere. Republican conspiracy, is what I'd say, had you asked me. You didn't.

current spin: Masterswarm Andrew Bird

Uh oh.

Contrast

Judd Gregg: Story! and a really bad call.
I appreciate never having been in a plane crash.

Please take a look at Graph.

Woo! They played us on the Radio!

"Samuel Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language"
1-Cold Irons Bound-Bob Dylan
2-Preachin' Blues (Up Jumped The Devil)-Robert Johnson
3-Crooked Head-Fucked Up
4-Did You See The Words-Animal Collective
5-I'm Not-Panda Bear
6-Blood Bank-Bon Iver
7-Dreamin' Of You-Bob Dylan
8-True Love Ways-Buddy Holly
9-Souverian-Andrew Bird

Live-Blogging the Slops:

9:32 The Grammys suck.
9:36 Fuck the Grammys except for this

[end]

!

Someone named Amidon has an op-ed in today's Times. That's all.

Boy, there's a lot of shitty news today. To wit:

More than one half of one million jobs in the United States stopped existing in a 31 day period which ended 6 days ago.

Psychiatric patients are still living like it's the 1950 in some places.

Abdul Qadeer Khan, that evil man who sold nuclear technology to dangerous countries is no longer under house arrest and can pretty much chill wherever in Pakistan.

The Chinese probably caused an earthquake.

If Judd Gregg has tax problems: slops!

[nyt]

This should be actual $.

Current spin: Fitz & Dizzyspells - Andrew Bird

Lame and story too.

Today is good.

What the fuck?

[[nyt]]

Rick Sanchez aptly sticks it to Joe the Human Dildo.

In staring longingly (and closer-up-than-needed) at Barack Obama's Official White House Portrait, I noticed his eyes. Barack Obama has brown eyes. I have brown eyes. Dick Nixon was the last brown-eyed president. Everybody after him has had some sort of supernatural blue thing going on. Carter especially. Seriously, that's fucked up.

Also, who knew Nixon had a Rockwell of himself? That's fucked up.

So, so good.

Change Actual.

Why couldn't a rocket have landed on that building, then?
Joe the Plumber: goes and reports on a war and tells us we should ban the media from reporting on wars. huwe;ifhywae78999999999999999


how about we ban UNLICENSED PLUMBERS from reporting on wars?

Rod Blagojevich and Roland Burris are both big douche bags, and the Economist will print the word "fuck."

Get it before it gets a court summons