I Almost Bought It

Lynne Cheney was on The Daily Show the other night and I was really starting to think that she was a charming lady and perhaps she and her husband are regular people who are not absolute neocon ideologues who will do anything to advance their cause. I felt that way right up until the very end of this interview. Please watch the til the end and then watch her speedy exit.



She obviously could not wait to get the fuck out of there. I don't know why. Jon went very easy on her. He could have really laid into her if he wanted to. He did not treat her as a spokesperson for her husband as much as he could have even though the content of her new book obviously is intended to humanize her husband. She should have been very grateful that he didn't call her on her bullshit when she started spewing GOP talkng points near the end of the interview.

A Deer In The Headlights

Dana Perino may be the worst press secretary ever. Here she is yesterday in a press briefing discussing the Armenian genocide issue and FISA:



She takes a quote from the president's message on April 24th but later when she she is asked whether or not Bush characterizes the slaughter as genocide she claims that she hasn't read all the presidential messages. Hello? You just read an excerpt from the message. It's not that long:

Today marks the anniversary of a horrible tragedy, the mass killings and forced exile of countless Armenians in the final days of the Ottoman Empire. Many Armenians refer to these appalling events as the "great calamity," reflecting a deep sorrow that continues to haunt them and their neighbors, the Turkish people. The suffering that befell the Armenian people in 1915 is a tragedy for all humanity, which the world should not forget. I join the Armenian-American community and Armenians around the world in mourning the horrendous loss of life.

I also salute our wise and bold friends from Armenia and Turkey who are coming together in a spirit of reconciliation to consider these events and their significance. I applaud them for rising above bitterness, and taking action to create a better future. I wish them success, building on their recent and significant achievements, as they work together in a spirit of hope and understanding.

As we remember those who perished and suffered, we salute the nation of Armenia, and Armenians everywhere. The United States is grateful for the contributions of Armenian Americans to our national life. Generations of Armenians have employed wisdom, courage, and centuries-old traditions to overcome great suffering and enrich their adopted American homeland.

The United States is proud to be a friend of Armenia, a young state with an ancient heritage. We are deepening our partnership to help achieve a secure, prosperous, and dignified future for the citizens of Armenia. The United States is committed to achieving a just and lasting settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. We will also continue to help Armenia as it strives to strengthen its democracy and market economy.

On behalf of the American people, I send solemn wishes to the Armenian people on this day of remembrance. Our nations stand together, determined to create a future of peace, prosperity, and freedom for the citizens of our countries, for our regions, and for the world.

GEORGE W. BUSH

Not exactly holding Turkey's feet to the fire.

Later when discussing FISA I could not believe that the president wants retroactive and continuing protection for "companies that are believed to have helped the nation after September 11." This is obviously in regards to ATT allowing the feds to monitor all calls both domestic and international as well as others who complied with NSLs that have recently been found to be over stretching their bounds. What a crock of shit.

Is This Really The Best They Can Do?

Barack has been criticized for not running a conventional campaign because that is his intent and part of his message. Why doesn't he smear Hillary? He just points out his strengths which shine light on her weakness. Is America ready for a black president? Why not ask whether or not America is ready for another stupid white guy? The GOP can't seem to come up with anything that sticks so they decided to attack his wardrobe. Here's Stephen Colbert's take on the situation:



"I'm wondering what the real message is behind him taking off that pin." Are you fucking kidding me? He just told you. What else could it possibly mean? This got a lot of play on lots of other networks other than FOX too. All on shows where they seem to be handing the nomination to Hillary.

I get queezy every time a right-wing pundit attacks Barack and coronates Hillary. Not only do I not think she can win but also that she just represents the same old shit. The fundraiser at which she invited all of K Street and sat them down with committeemen and women to voice their cause and her defense of lobbyists kind of makes me sick.

You know why Hillary will never remove troops from the Middle East? Cuz she takes money from AIPAC. A lot of money. So does everybody else except Barack and Roberts who both swore not to accept money from PACs. That says a lot about the character of these 2 men. However, Roberts has elected to accept matching federal funds for his campaign which means he will have very little money to spend on the general election. That's why the only real, intelligent choice is Barack Obama. I shouldn't have to mention his appeal to those who want change and his ability to unite people. My mom is a total out there right winger and she is considering voting for him.

Let's drop all this "Inevitability of Hillary" crap and get to work making a real argument for a candidate that can and will win.

The Larry Doth Protest Too Much

Anybody else think his preemptive denial might have been a foreshadowing of things to come?

Every Body Needs A Little Insulin

Remember the old days when fried stuff was good for you? Good times.

I love fried chicken but rarely eat it on account of I'd like to live past 40 but I get cravings. I make a damn fine fried chicken myself but getting all the stuff ready to cook for just one person is a pain in the ass. It's kind of a big production line and a big mess. Since I read that KFC doesn't use trans-fats any more, I bee-bopped down there to get some vittles*.

I got a three piece dark with mashed and a biscuit. They had just put the chicken down so I had to wait for a while. While I waited I noticed that they have a new size soda. A half gallon. It comes in what looks like a small chicken bucket but with Pepsi written all over it. That's when I noticed the "Nutritional Facts" poster over behind a promotional "standy" for their "Bowl Meals".

On the poster they only list a medium soda which is 14 ounces and has 180 calories. I couldn't even find mention of any other size. Doing some quick math I figured that 64 ounces in a half gallon comes out to be 5.5 times that size and has a whopping 990 calories. Holy shit! Now that's some serious sugar rush. You can almost taste the diabetes.

Since the ad was right there, I decided to look up the Chicken and Biscuit Bowl. It has 870 calories. The calculations I made for my 3 piece meal came out to 1120 calories and enough fat to go over my RDA in one meal.

When my meal finally came I sat and ate it with a Diet Pepsi and read the Onion at my table. I tried to forget what kinds of poison I was shovelling into my face, all the while promising to do a few more crunches at the gym and pedal my bike with a little more gusto.

*That's hillbilly talk for dinner.

Osama Bin Leakin'

According to an article in the Washington Post today, the most recent Osama Bin Laden tape was leaked to the press prematurely by someone within the White House. The SITE intelligence group had acquired a copy of the video and released it to the Bush administration on the condition that they not release it prior to Al Qaeda's release expected weeks later. The founder of the company says the disclosure tipped Al Qaeda to a security breach and destroyed a surveillance operation the company has used to collect messages, videos and warnings of bombings from the terrorist group's communications network.

The fact that the leak occurred so rapidly after the acquisition by White House officials leads me to wonder who and why the decision was made. I have a theory that the rapidly approaching 9/11 anniversary, General Petraeus' speech before congress and images of Osama were all used to try and drum up support for the war effort. Last time I checked, the war is just as unpopular as it was a few weeks ago. I hope that the administration feels it was worth ruining a valuable resource for the real war on terror in order to take the heat off themselves for a few minutes.

Republican Racism

When he talks about the risks outweighing the rewards I think, "What is the downside of going and appearing to not be a racist?" The answer is that a large block of republican primary voters ARE racists. That doesn't mean the candidates who didn't show up are racist but they are very aware that many of their constituents are. Makes me feel kind of sick to my stomach.

Childrens Do Learn

Sometimes he just makes it too easy.

Overkillary

I like my Sunday morning politics shows. Hillary was on ALL of them. She said the same things on ALL of them. I can't stand her brand of rambling refusal to answer questions directly and ham fisted manipulation of debates to stick only to her talking points. It's irritating and when she laughs off questions it comes off as condescending. She cannot win a general election folks. Let's get it together and get behind an Obama/Biden ticket. Doesn't it bother anyone that all the conservative pundits are treating her as if she already won the nomination? They want to run against her. It's their only hope.

Boston Police

Yesterday an MIT student was arrested for wearing what local police believed was a bomb strapped to her chest. It turned out that the student (an electronics engineering student) had made the shirt as a kind of nerdy joke for the friend she was picking up at the airport. Once I saw the device I asked myself, "How could anyone mistake this for a bomb?" This paired with the Aqua Teen Hunger Force fiasco last year leads me to believe that any time the Boston Police encounter a scrap of an old Atari 2600 the bomb squad will be called out. Good work Boston's finest.

Library Shenanigans

My computer crapped out on me recently so from time to time I have been getting on the interwebs down at the local library. I had no idea that the library was home to the craziest people in Chicago. I have seen and heard some crazy shit in the last week. Here are a few examples:

• Man watching porn on the internet. Apparently the library chooses not to ban such activity due to fears of other types of censorship. Creepy.
• Woman's phone starts ringing. Instead of fumbling for it and turning it off, she freaks out. "Fucking shit! Why these mothafuckas gots to be calling me now? They know I be at the library!", she shouts and then TAKES the call. A long argument with a person I assume is her daughter follows.
• Man approaches me and asks if I can help him with his email. I tried to be a good neighbor and help him but when trying to set up a Gmail account for him he gets all bent out of shape because he doesn't want to give me any information or ask him any questions. He asks librarian for help and he later gets irate and is escorted from the building.
• Porn watcher guy takes bottle of lotion from bag and goes to the bathroom. Extra creepy.
• Mother of four children (at least that's how many she had with her) slaps 3 of them in single 20 minute visit to the library.
• Same crazy woman tries to enter library on 2 consecutive days but is escorted out. Woman pees on the floor of the lobby on second day.

That's all for now but I'll let you know how things progress. I'll probably be there for a while this weekend.

Shocking Revelation

The police totally overreacted to this kid's actions. Having said that, watching this self important spoiled asshole get zapped is satisfying on a a very base level that I am not proud of but can't resist expressing.

Turning My Brain Off

I was thinking about posting about OJ or Barack or Hillary or Craig or Greenspan but I finally just thought, "Fuck it. I'll just put up this stupid little video of the funniest commercial I've seen in years." So here it is:



Enjoy the rest of your day.

This Seems Fishy To Me

Considering all this went down at the same time that his book was being released, something about it seems to be a publicity stunt. Something about that smug look on his face makes me think that something is up.

Bush Is Not Afraid

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said during the announcement of Bush's new AG nominee that the concerns of whether or not the senate would confirm him bore no weight on his decision. "The president has shown that he is not afraid of any fight," she said. This is such an enormous crock of shit that Bush spent the entire weekend assuring Republicans that he is "conservative enough" in private meetings and calls. Let the hearings begin.

This Is Why I Am For Obama

This man's ability to bring clarity to a given issue that is sensible, non-polarizing and uncomplicated. When he states that the removal of troops will reduce the anymosity towards the US throughout the middle east, he pushes a button in me that noone else does. I have been listening to Bush and the "they hate freedom" argument for years and I just can't take it anymore.

Idiots like Bush and Lieberman who want to keep us in the mid-east to "protect our interests" are setting us up for a war with Iran. Why? Oil and Israel. I know it's unpopular to say but the creation Israel was the single most disastrous and short sighted project the world ever took on. The fact that we backed the creation of a religious state and continue to show unwavering support for it is absolutely un-American.

I guess that second part was a bit of an off topic rant but sometimes a thought gets in there and I have to get it out there.

In Case You Missed It

I thought this was pretty funny especially when you consider that Petraeus turned out to be such a tool. Also, I can't believe that Crocker is in charge of anything. That guy is such a little mousy bitch that there is no way he can be effective. He complained on The News Hour last night that he has had problems creating a sense of urgency. I wonder why? Maybe because he is giant fucking pussy? Could be.

And This Guy Is Running The War

I was stunned by this comment. I interpret his stating "I don't know." as meaning "I can't say what I think without upsetting my chain of command." There is no way that a reasonably intelligent and considerate man could be involved in a war without asking himself this question as it has been the focus of heavy debate for the past 5 years. This man intends to keep us at war for as long as he is asked to without regard for whether or not it is in the best interest for our country. He is being a good soldier but not a good leader. That essentially means that his assessment of the effects of policy in Iraq are meaningless since he has no intent to try and direct policy.

Exactly What I Was Thinking

Note: I took down the embed from the Washington Post cuz it was making my blog all "clicky". You can dind it on their website if you want.

Senator Obama makes me proud with his remarks. His inference that having these hearings on and around 9/11 was intended to drum up more support for the war is dead on. Why don't more people see through this charade.

I am enjoying these debates more than I should but I just love watching Republicans try to make claims of progress look legitimate when it is total bullshit.

Helluva Weekend

I had quite full dance card this weekend with a few surprises. Had a nice time putting up signage for the Boulevard Lakefront Tour on Saturday morning followed by an Obama BBQ in the afternoon. Met some friends at German American Fest in Lincoln Square in the eraly evening and then headed for home after a quick stop at the grocery store. Then the shit hit the fan.

As I was nearing my building between 5 and 7 guys charged out of the alley and started hitting me. I dropped my groceries and did my best to cover up I was kicked repeatedly for what seemed like an eternity but was actually just about a minute. A few people on the street yelled for police and my assailants ran down the El entrance for a quick escape. I imagine they chose the site of the attack because it offered such a convenient escape route.

The police arrived a few minutes later and I gave a description of the one guy I got a good look at. I fully expect that noone will ever be caught and nothing will ever come of this except the bruises on my legs and my swollen jaw. I have a few cuts on my head from hitting the sidewalk.

I spent most of the day on Sunday at Hines VA hospital waiting to have my injuries checked out. My arm hurt so bad that I feared it was broken. Turns out it is not but it still hurts like a sum-bitch.