Dear Mr. President

Congratulations on winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Perhaps now would be a good time to try and fucking earn it!

PS - And I mean that in the most optimistic and hopeful way possible, sir. Please don't let this prize be one for empty rhetoric with no follow through. As much as I hate to resort to Rik Emmett quotes: "Fight the good fight every moment."

PPS - Sorry about the cheezy 80s pop-metal, but occasionally those ridiculous Mickey Mouse platitudes actually are correct (a broken clock gives the right time twice a day, and all that).

More Fodder for Nutjobbery

Qaddafi's not doing Obama any favors with this (from the NY Times):

Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, the Libyan leader, took the lectern at the United Nations on Wednesday morning for his first address at the General Assembly, and delivered a long and rambling diatribe — far exceeding the 15-minute limit on speeches — against the United Nations Security Council and a host of other perceived enemies, while urging the world to welcome President Obama, referring to him as “our son.”

That's a dickhead maneuver to give matches to the birthers like that. And then:

“We are content and happy if Obama can stay forever as the president of America,” he [Qaddafi] said, saying he feared America would return to its old ways after the end of his [Obama's] term.

Great. So how long before we can expect the secret-monarchist accusations to start flying.

Free Speech, But Only To Those That Can Afford It

This doesn't sound encouraging:

...Citizens United is arguing that the McCain-Feingold law is unconstitutional.

But the court has already ruled otherwise. In 2003, In McConnell v. FEC, the court ruled on a challenge to the McCain-Feingold Act brought by Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), among others. The justices voted 5-4 to uphold the law. Normally, that would answer the question and put an end to the broader constitutional argument.

Since 2003, however, the composition of the court has changed. Justice O’Connor, who provided the critical fifth vote in favor of the law, has been replaced by Justice Samuel Alito, who’s made clear his skepticism of campaign finance restrictions. (Three of his colleagues — Justices Anthony Kennedy, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas — have previously signed minority opinions advocating striking down campaign finance restrictions.) Chief Justice Roberts has also expressed concern about the campaign finance laws.

As a result, instead of deciding the case, the court announced in June that it would convene a special session to consider specifically whether it should reverse McConnell and another ruling from 1990, Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce, which upheld a state’s right to limit direct corporate spending in elections. And the cases all build upon a long history of case law defining corporations and their role.

Just keep giving it away, people.

PS - According to this, The court's basic stance with respect to this issue is resting on some pretty thin, 100+ year old ice. But that hardly matters as long as you have a solid majority of uptighty righties on the bench. We'll see what happens. In the mean time here's some further reading on the topic:

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2009/09/05/corporate_free_speech_since_when/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/04/AR2009090402276.html
http://www.ultimatecivics.com/?p=19

Moronic Racist is Moronic (and Racist)

For example:

http://www.lasvegassun.com/videos/2008/oct/22/983/

Quack Quack Quack

I keep thinking that people are going to see through the absurd rumors floating around about Obama, but then I guess it's all to easy to overestimate the intelligence of my fellow Americans:

Why Sarah Palin is an Asshole....

(Well, at least one reason why)

This is from From NBC/NJ's Matthew E. Berger on MSNBC's First Read:

“I’ve been warned that Flyers fans, they get so enthused, that they boo everybody at the drop of the puck,” she said at a Philadelphia fundraiser Saturday afternoon. “But what I thought I’d do is I’d put Piper in a Flyers jersey, bring her out with me. How dare they boo Piper!”

She uses her daughter Piper as a political shield, and then tries to pin the crowd's disapproval on Piper. Asshole maneuver!

Change Is Coming

Haven't these people ever read any Sinclair Lewis? I know, ask a stupid question about stupid people...

McFraud

Ahh, The Good Old Days...

...of feudal society. The GOP is trying to move us back to that happier time:

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/09/11/gop-seeks-to-contest-voters-from-foreclosed-homes/

After all, it doesn't really make sense to allow those who don't actually own a piece of this country to have any say in it's goverment. Oh, perhaps for now we can give 3/5 of a vote to those who merely rent their little piece of America.

Read This...

...but instead of weeping, do everything you can to make sure it doesn't come true:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/sep/10/uselections2008.barackobama

DESTROY EVERYTHING IS ON TOUR NOW and gas prices are brutal!

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Finally...

Now, can someone please pry that flintlock from his cold, dead hands?

There's Something Wrong With The Kids In My Neighborhood

I'm all for making fun of emo kids. They set themselves up for it, and it makes for an easy cheap shot and a quick laugh. But when it comes to hunting them down and beating the crap out of them, I have to take a moment and ask: Come on... really? Isn't that ultimately self-defeating, guys?

Here's a chart to reference (click to enlarge):



Note that guys who beat up emo kids are actually worse than emo kids and Ryan Seacrest combined.

New, at DestroyEverything.com

Hello sailor...

This from the BBC News website:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7175325.stm

The speedboats, believed to belong to Iran's Revolutionary Guards, came within about 200m of the US vessels, Pentagon officials said.

"I am coming at you. You will explode in a couple of minutes," the Iranians said in a radio transmission, according to US officials.

That's a very provocative transmission, to be sure, but are we certain that it wasn't just a poorly translated pickup line? I mean we are talking about sailors, after all.

Iowa Post Mortems, etc...

Swopa has a post up at Needlenose.com commenting on a recent NYT op-ed by Gail Collins. In reference to the youth appeal of Obama described by Kevin Drum in this post, Swopa writes:

"...if you lived through the 1990s and saw how Bill Clinton campaigned on hope and ending partisan divisions, only to be dragged through the mud in epic fashion, it's hard to view Obama's rise without a tinge of dread."

That's true, but maybe it's worth taking another crack at it. Maybe the accidental wisdom that falls out of the mouths of babes will make a difference this time. Maybe the whole system is so broken that the wisdom that comes from long experience in that system is actually a detriment. Maybe not fully understanding the impending challenges can sometimes allow the newbie to make bold moves that the seasoned veteran would shy away from...

...ah, screw it. This optimism is just not me. I'm going back to cynicism.

Duck and cover, everybody. We're doomed either way.

Of God, UFOs, and Witches

This can't be right:

http://tinyurl.com/25uwrl

Well, of course it's not right. But I mean, can it be accurate? I've never heard of Harris Online polls. I wonder what their survey methods are who does their statistical analysis. Then again, look who's president. Perhaps these numbers are correct and George Bush did actually win the 2000 election.

Heckuva' job, American people.

Islamic Hardliners are Crybabies and Bullies

You know, if you're so thin-skinned and hyper-sensitive that any perceived insult or slur on your religion causes you to boil over into an indignant fury that can only be assuaged by beating someone to death, then you deserve to be ridiculed, mocked and punched real hard in the sack. I mean to jail some teacher and then deport her because she allowed the children in her class to name a teddy bear Muhammad is just plain absurd. And to gang rape a woman (and her male friend, I might add) because she was believed to be having an affair is so sick and twisted I can't even begin unravel that Freudian atrocity. And to publicly murder some young lads because they're into each other, or stone a women to death because she may have been a little on the trampy side, it's medieval nonsense. I mean the only thing that should not be tolerated is that sort of intolerance.

Apparently, the prosecution in the teddy bear case wanted to pin the more serious charge of inciting religious hatred on the teacher (she got off with just "insulting the faith of Muslims"). Now I ask you, what could possibly incite more religious hatred than to aggressively persecute someone for a small breach of religious protocol? And where exactly is the line? Surely there are people named Muhammad. Should their parents be flogged for naming their children after the prophet? What if you named your beloved pet Muhammad? Would you be stoned to death for that? I've never been the sort of guy who names his penis (mainly because I think it's moronic), but henceforth my dick is now my muhammad.

I await your old-school Islamic gang rape.

SPOILER ALERT!

Draco is not as obedient a son/lackey as Lucius would prefer.

Coincidence?...

First there's this. Then there's this.

Remind you of anything?