Oh, THAT Explains It

I have commented here in the past about the conflicting smears against Obama. I also recently commented about it at this blog and frequent reader "Ameridan" responded as follows.

Obama is a rich elitist who was too poor to buy a mansion in his earlier days until he became involved with a future convicted felon and a rascist preacher. Both of whom greased the skids for his slid into Chicago's cesspool of dirty politics.

It's safe to say that no one here has ever accused Obama of being a Christian... BUT, because he was a Muslim in his early years, he will always be considered a Muslim, no matter how absurd that sounds to you or me. Those are Muslim rules, not ours.

He is a substanceless celebrity. Satan would be the anti-christ and I don't recall anyone ever calling him that here.

Ameridan I'm tempted to just let this stand, because I'm dead certain that throwing facts back at you will not even slow you down. However:

Too poor to afford the house: Obama and his wife were worth $3 million at the time, he paid market value and the rates were normal for people of his credit standing - look 'em up. Or check this out. Factcheck.org also points out how little Rezko benefitted from the laws passed while Obama was running that department. Factcheck sums it up this way, in fact: "Can support for a low-income housing project be a "favor" to the developer if the developer didn't ask for it? You decide."

No one ever accused him of being a Christian: I'm kind of inferring on this one. Obama was accused of buying everything he heard at the christian church he attended for 20 years, therefore you guys didn't believe he really followed the Rev. Wright or you don't believe he's Muslim. And since every single media outlet that checked it out has determined that the school he attended as a child was not a madrassa, the whole "once a Muslim" thing doesn't apply. It's true he grew up in Indonesia. 

Though if he is a Muslim and he managed to attend christian services for twenty years and keep his real faith a secret while in the public eye, I'd say that man has what it takes to be President. And can I take this opportunity once again to remind you that Muslim doesn't equal Terrorist? Much in the same way that Republican doesn't equal racist.

It's true that I haven't seen anyone dare to equate Obama to the Antichrist on WHERE ARE MY KEYS. Tell you where I have seen it though: here and here and here (obliquely and couched in humor) and here and here. 

Incidentally, researching that last one yielded a pretty interesting quote from INDIA DAILY: To tell you very honestly, since John F. Kennedy and Robert Kennedy, America has not seen presidential candidates as clean as Obama or McCain. After Clintons and Bushs, they are more like Christ himself.  I like this, and I think it's largely true. If we could could stop making up stuff about each other's candidates and focus on the issues, I think the country would be a lot better for it.

Biden? Ugh.

This is why I don't usually make predictions.

Not only was I wrong about the person, I was wrong about the day. For some reason the announcement was made in the dead of night (3am EDT), thus insuring that anyone who signed up for those crazy text messages and forgot to set their phones to vibrate would be annoyed by the news. AND the editors WERE out of the office by then.

And there's Biden. Generic handsome old white guy. I was pleased to see him eliminated so early in the primaries on aesthetic grounds. He doesn't LOOK like change. And it feels like he's been running for president for what, 30 years now? Still, the guy has good foreign policy credentials, and plenty of experience. And he has criticized Obama in the past, which I find heartening. It'll be nice to have a President who doesn't surround himself with people who agree with him. You know, for a change. And Biden has gotten in enough trouble for things he has said that he's almost McCain, so he's got that straight-talk thing going for him.

It just seems that he's a safer, blander choice than Hillary, but maybe that's the point. People who are scared of an African American AND a woman president won't stay away. It's all about electability after all. And this administration, like most (though not the current one) will not be run out of the Vice President's office. So I guess we could have done worse.

Attention RNC: Your Next America-Hating Terrorist

Susan Eisenhower. Descendant of Dwight D. Eisenhower, up until now relatively unknown. Soon she will will be linked to the white powder letter sent to McCain, her real estate holdings scrutinized, excoriated by Sean Hannity as angry and insane. Why?

I have decided I can no longer be a registered Republican... My decision came at the end of last week when it was demonstrated to the nation that McCain and this Bush White House have learned little in the last five years. They mishandled what became a crisis in the Caucusus, and this has undermined U.S. national security. At the same time, the McCain camp appears to be comfortable with running an unworthy Karl Rove–style political campaign. Will the McCain operation, and its sponsors, do anything to win?

She's registered independent, and is endorsing known Muslim terrorist/elitist/antichrist/seducer of our women Barack Obama. In a completely unrelated coincidence, a series of shady but unsubstatiated allegations will be leveled against her shortly.

A few minutes later: This is the best I could find so far, and it's pretty weak sauce. I'm not even going to quote, but there is a link if you enjoy crazy rantings.

The Glacial Race to the VP Announcement

Here's an interesting bit of political theatre:

Aug. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said he has decided who his vice presidential running mate will be. He refused to reveal his choice.

What does this add to the national political discourse? Nothing, of course. However, it does encourage more people to sign up for the text message service that Obama will announce the decision on. I thought I read somewhere that the announcement is coming Saturday afternoon, which to me means Friday afternoon, while the press political editors are still at their desks. 

Might as well speculate while I'm at it... who? WHO? Given the statistical dead heat in the polls with McCain, and given this:

Yet perhaps the biggest factor keeping the presidential race close has been Obama’s inability to close the deal with some of Hillary Clinton’s supporters. According to the poll, 52 percent of them say they will vote for Obama, but 21 percent are backing McCain, with an additional 27 percent who are undecided or want to vote for someone else.

...plus this:

Obama, Reid Help Clinton Raise $2 Million and Shrink Her Debt 

... it seems inevitable that we got Clintons in the White House again! Not only will this solidify the Democratic base, increasing that poll lead to 70%, but they'll also pick up probably another 10% of Republicans... the FAR RIGHT ten percent!

Now you may ask, who is McCain picking? But after tomorrow afternoon, you might as well stop after "Who is McCain?"

One Of Us, One Of Us, Gibble Gabble One of Us

John McCain explains his remark that he would define "rich" as "making 5 million or more."

“I define rich in other ways besides income,” he said. “Some people are wealthy and rich in their lives and their children and their ability to educate them. Others are poor if they’re billionaires.”

Just like the rest of us. I too, when hanging with my 5-million-plus-making-friends, define their wealth by their ability to properly educate their children. If they can build and staff an appropriate school, I adjudge them wealthy. If they merely send their kids to a pre-existing prep school, I consider them poor.

Like John McCain, I have "at least four" houses (Newseek estimates seven) and one of my biggest problems, if I had kids, would be choosing the house to put them in when they're going to school. I'm thinking of buying a couple of kids, so this is on my mind. The only thing that's stopping me is this: how do you child-proof a Lear jet? Do you allow them in the cockpit or just confine them to a section near the tail, perhaps with their own rest room?

I'll say this though - I want a guy in the White House who shares the concerns of a common guy like me. I - oh damn, I just spilled Absinthe on my $500 shoes - demand that some elitist like Obama be prevented from running the country and just giving it to the hoi-polloi who are worth less than 5 million. Why should THAT minority have a say?

I'm No Economist

However, if common sense has anything to do with oil prices then there is something wrong with this argument, courtesy Madeline's Dad:

If you say you are going to drill, and then don't, prices go back up. The lower prices we are seeing now are reflective of what the Market hears and sees. If we don't do what we said we are going to do, things revert back to how they were.

He and I have been going back and forth about this for a while. He believes that the price of oil is chiefly controlled by futures speculators, and therefore the prices were high until Bush rescinded the executive order against offshore drilling, at which point they started falling precipitously.

I believe the price of oil rose until people started using less gas and more public transportation.

Less demand, lower prices.

Here's what's troubling about MD's argument. No speculator thinks that increased supply is going to kick in immediately. An offshore drilling rig takes at least ten years to produce, and they haven't even started building them. Yet we're supposed to believe that speculators, who are looking at prices six months from now, are willing to sell their interest at a loss today.  It's true some speculators may see the value in selling off, but MOST of them? Seems suspicious to me. 

Also, I recall the price of oil started dropping not on the day that Bush signed the order, but the day after when he made a speech about signing the order. Speculators weren't paying attention to the actual lawmaking but once he made the speech, THEN they knew he was serious?

And why would there be movement now, when congress isn't in session, and the prospect of drilling is anything but settled? Popular sentiment, MD would say, but if I had a piece of that market, I wouldn't trade yet.

Then again, I don't really know that much about economics. So convince me. 

A Word About the Suit

This is how I looked at the New Media Expo today. My strategy was twofold:

a. Distinguish myself from the typical podcaster in the t-shirt with the orange Cheetos stains: and

b. The women go crazy for a sharp-dressed man, if you follow me.

In fact I barely rated a notice. ESPECIALLY from the women. Just now, as I was wandering around Bally's waiting for the show, a guy asked if I worked here because he was looking for the bathroom.

Let's call this a failed social experiment.

Jonathan Coulton!

Just stumbled upon geek musical genius Coulton. The thing about internet fame is even though its limited, it has the same effect on you. I'm blown away.

Why the New Media Expo is in August

Slow news days.

Then Again...

Google sponsoring a slot machine wouldn't make sense... But PAYPAL would be a natural. Plus conceivably they could set it up that your winnings could be emailed to you.

Once they overcame the massive security problems of course.

I Don't Know What To Make of This

Its a slot machine at Bill's on the strip. Can GOOGLE! Be far behind?

They DO Think He's The AntiChrist!

And they've got the headline to prove it.

Badly typed on my iPod

Begin forwarded message:

From: Jonathan Garthwaite <THeditor@TownHallmail.com>
Date: August 15, 2008 8:13:41 AM PDT
To: " Daniel Krause" <danielkr@darkmeat.name>
Subject: Headed for Obamageddon?
Reply-To: Jonathan Garthwaite <THeditor@townhallmail.com>

Like I Said, Zune

I mean come ON.

Brian Ibbot

DARK MEAT is modeled after COVERVILLE, the best podcast ever. Here is Mr Ibbott, the guy behind that show, selling me tickets to the Coverville concert tomorrow night.

LEO LAPORTE

What is he talking about? Who knows.

I've only been on the New Media Expo floor for a half hour and I'm already exhausted. Dominant themes: video, leverage. Weirdest sub-theme: Zunes. Nice timing there Ballmer!

I love Goo

..a little goes a long way though.

Spent the evening in the gracious company of Karen F and her offspring Madeline. Madeline is just a little over 1 year old. I'm awkward around babies because they don't get my references, but neither do most adults. I'm just grateful the kid would play peekaboo with me.

A note about the previous three days - I was lucky enough to be hosted by Skot and Eileen. In addition to a bed and snappy conversation, they gave me coffee and cereal each morning and that is the reason I'm alive today.

Next: Vegas!

Welcome to Mountain View

..a city which apparently died 6 years ago. And yet the people here soldier on. O indominable human spirit!

Be Sure To Wear Some Flowers

Perhaps I didn't mention that I would be in San Francisco this week. Here I am outside a Starbucks in Embarcadero.

The Missing Link

Since last week I've been scratching my head over a blog post by my good friend and adversary Warner Todd Huston. Warner has been insisting that Barack Obama is a hypocrite because he hasn't denounced the ugly tactics in the 9th District Congressional race between Steve Cohen and Nikki Tinker. The point Huston made is that Obama has claimed they're playing the race card against him, yet doesn't speak up when Tinker runs an explicitly anti-semetic campaign against Cohen.

I was perplexed by this, because as I pointed out, Jewish is not a race but a religion. Therefore McCain is as obligated to condemn this ugliness as is Obama, and as far as I'm concerned neither candidate is obligated. There's too many districts out there.

But Huston insisted the difference is Obama was obligated because he's a Democrat. I countered that if it was an ugly enough campagin for Obama to condemn, it was ugly enough for us all to. Huston moved on.

But I just learned the magical secret to this whole thing - Tinker is an African American! A particularly nutty one too. As reported by the AP today (which Huston insists isn't covering the race because of that liberal bias) Tinker lost 19% to 79%, and the latest ad, which claimed that Cohen was somehow linked to the KKK, both cemented Cohen's win and drew the condemnation of Barack Obama. Darn Jews! I knew they were infiltrating the KKK!

The 9th District, by the way, is predominantly African American.

Anyway, back to Warner. Somehow the Tinker-is-black element of his argument escaped my notice. He obliquely mentions it ("a member of (Obama's) own race" is how he puts it, but that means Tinker is half-white? Hawaiian?) but then goes on to argue that it's racism to attack Jews, when I believe what he really means is "those black people should keep each other in line." Given Obama's bloodline, again, by extension he's obligated to speak out about racism from all sides. Of course, that's only if you believe bloodline matters. I'm part Polish, but I don't feel responsible for Lech Walensa. I'm part Native American, but I'm not asking for an apology for the Trail of Tears. And I sure as hell aren't apologizing for Little Big Horn.

I've seen a picture of Warner (if there really is such a person) and he looks a little French to me. So I'm willing to give him a pass; the French, they say, are a funny race.

How Would A Bush Town Hall Meeting Have Handled This?

Photographer insists on Pledge of Allegiance before Obama rally

Hat tip to Wonkette for this - crazy dude gets into Obama Town Hall meeting, demands Obama lead the pledge of allegiance. Obama agrees and does so. Crazy dude is then NOT whisked away to airport for extraordinary rendition and then locked away without charges for the next ten years.

See, this is one more reason why I like Barry O - he tolerates dissent, considers it, and changes course if the dissent makes sense. Flexibility is useful when you're running the free world. Compromise is the whole point of Democracy. And he does all this here without losing control of the room, which any standup will tell you is death. Huzza, O!

It's NOT a Pattern! It's Not A Pattern At All!

JEFFERSON CITY -- Missouri state Rep. Scott Muschany, R-Frontenac, was indicted today in connection with a reported sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl on May 17, the day after this year’s Legislative session ended... In 2006, Muschany was a co-sponsor of legislation that toughened sex offender laws. 

Look, at least this one was a girl. 

Straight-Talk Outta Hell

John McCain got a lot of milage (haw haw) last week out of ridiculing the idea that routine auto maintenance might somehow help Americans save money on gasoline. He passed out tire gauges at a speech as a kind of punchline. Clearly the last thing Americans should do to cut their dependence on foreign oil is USE LESS OIL.

This week, however, McCain said this: “Obama said a couple of days ago says we all should inflate our tires. I don’t disagree with that... (but) I don’t think that that (inflating tires) is a way to become energy independent." Which is fine, because Obama didn't say that either. He laid out a bunch of items on an energy plan. To pick out one and say it won't do the job is pretty lazy arguing.

But in April, McCain said this: "...And I'm sorry to tell you that the price of oil -- as far as I can tell -- is not gonna go down anytime soon until we eliminate our dependency on it.
We can do that as a nation -- we can turn out the lights five minutes earlier, we don't have to drive the extra block." So between April and now, he decided that we need to PROLONG our "dependency" on oil to bring down the price. Plus, like Jimmy Carter, he apparently feels the best way to solve the crisis (I don't think it's a crisis myself) is to wear sweaters, walk to the store, burn candles, stuff like that. I'm assuming that's still his position because he hasn't contradicted it this afternoon.

I'm guessing that most people want the country to go in a different direction than it is now, and I'm also guessing that the man who will steer it that way didn't vote along with the current President 95% 88.3% of the time.

(Latest figure courtesy of Ana Marie Cox at Swampland)

Republicans Are Uri Geller

(click chart to enlarge)

The price of a gallon of Gasoline has fallen in the past three weeks about 15 cents nationally. What's causing this? My theory is the same one oil companies use to explain why it rises in the summer - supply and demand. More people want to drive, therefore they raise the prices. Or a refinery is down for maintenance, therefore the price goes up. However, this last month the price of gas got high enough that people started driving less, looking into public transportation, riding bikes (well, I've been riding one anyway) and carpooling. As a result demand for the product went down and the oil companies dropped prices again.

I know, that's crazy talk. the real truth is Republicans willed the price to go down by talking about it.

“I think the market is responding to the fact that we are here talking,” said Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.) at a joint press conference with other GOP lawmakers. “I think the market realizes this kind of pressure from Congress may, in fact, lead to a change in policy.”

The market has reacted to thinner stuff than this, but come on! Congress isn't even in session and there's little indication that there will be any action on this before the fall. And the futures speculators usually think six months ahead, not 20 years. Why start underbidding yourself now? And what role is S&D supposed to be playing in this scenario, Shadegg?

And if you guys are sure that just bringing the subject up is enough to affect the price, why the hell didn't you start talking in January of 2007, when gas was at a 14 month low? What are you, in the pockets of Exxon? Ha ha, just kidding. I mean, obviously you are. What I'm kidding about is having to ask the question in the first place.

One Less Thing To Worry About

According to Damn Interesting, a human being exposed to the vaccum of space without protection will not instantly swell up and explode. I know, you saw OUTLANDER and TOTAL RECALL and that's always the way it goes down, but in fact, it'd be more like this:

For about ten full seconds– a long time to be loitering in space without protection– an average human would be rather uncomfortable, but they would still have their wits about them. Depending on the nature of the decompression, this may give a victim sufficient time to take measures to save their own life. But this period of "useful consciousness" would wane as the effects of brain asphyxiation begin to set in. In the absence of air pressure the gas exchange of the lungs works in reverse, dumping oxygen out of the blood and accelerating the oxygen-starved state known as hypoxia. After about ten seconds a victim will experience loss of vision and impaired judgement, and the cooling effect of evaporation will lower the temperature in the victim's mouth and nose to near-freezing. Unconsciousness and convulsions would follow several seconds later, and a blue discoloration of the skin called cyanosis would become evident.

So you gotta admit, that's good news. Kubrick got it right again. The article goes on to point out that after you lose conciousness and turn blue, you'd still be good for about a minute and a half before they had to get you into the airlock and administer oxygen, and then you'd probably suffer no permanent damage. Of course, past that your blood would boil and that's a hard condition to treat. But hell, you at least have time to wave frantically to the folks inside, maybe tap your keys on the window and mouth the words "let me back in" which is more than we've been told to expect. Small favors!

(hat tip to Mental Floss)

But Terrorists ARE Like the Joker, a Little

Finally got into an IMAX theatre this weekend to catch THE DARK KNIGHT. Ledger does walk away with the movie handily, which means I guess he has already taken it to his grave. But the whole enterprise is seriously thought-provoking, which is why I don't mind that it's as talky and cheerless as it is. By the way, between the talking, stuff blows up. Frequently.

SPOILERS AHEAD! If you haven't seen the movie, stop reading this and instead, read this. Lithwick makes the same point using a TV show. More elequently too, I suppose.

Okay, you've seen it. Good. Little long, wasn't it? How 'bout that Harvey Dent! Am I right? Whew!

A week or so ago, the WSJ published an editorial attempting to draw a parallel between Batman and G.W. Bush. I laughed my head off when I read it then, but now that I've seen the movie I can see what he's talking about. Like the Batman, Bush isn't afraid to use a few extra-legal techniques in the service of a larger good. In fact, among others things he tortures suspects to get information and taps the cell phones of the entire population of Gotham. And these things do indeed wind up saving the city from a terrorist, albeit a terrorist who wears clown makeup.

So the parallel is drawn, very obviously. I can see a conservative watching this movie, finding comfort in it and concluding that the filmmakers are rooting for the current administration, calling them heroes. And it's true, right up to the ending.

Where Batman and Bush part ways is here - Bush will do everything to avoid the consequences of his transgressions. Where Batman accepts the resignation of his technology guru and exiles himself, even taking the rap for murders he did not commit, Bush continually blames others for his policies and lobbies to change laws that we've respected for centuries.

Since we're using movies to define the moral high ground, let's make it clear - Batman isn't a hero because he tortures and spies. He's a hero because he knows how truly wrong these things are and he's willing to accept the consequences. A movie character who behaves like Bush and doesn't include that second part is Darth Vader.

******************************************

Update 8/07/08 - Patrick Leahy, who is IN the THE DARK KNIGHT, laughs off the Bush comparison but says this: "I do grant the parallels between Superman’s nemesis Lex Luthor and the Vice President." 

Leap Of Lack Of Faith

Conspiracy theories are troublesome, because their very implausibility feeds their believability. Of course it seems unlikely... they're COUNTING on you to think that! So I'm relaying this one with a whole shaker of salt for ya. Don't spill any or it's bad luck.

So a guy named Bruce Ivins died Tuesday night, an apparent suicide. He was at the center of an Justice Department investigation into the mysterious Anthrax attacks that happened just after 9/11. You remember, a few congressmen and the Florida offices of the National Enquirer received envelopes containing weapons-grade Anthrax? Ivins was an Anthrax researcher, according to Glenn Greenwald, "where he was one of the most elite government anthrax scientists on the research team at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Disease (USAMRIID). "

My left-wing blogosphere pals are running amok with the implications of this - Ivins obviously took a bullet for Dick Cheney to avoid implicating him in the attacks! I don't take the whole thing that far, because we don't know Ivins was the culprit to begin with, and even is he was there's nothing, nowhere, that indicates he needed any help to put Anthrax in an envelope and mail it to people. Along with a note that implied he was a Muslim terrorist.

The scenario I subscribe to is that Ivins acted alone, and the administration hopped on the attacks and rushed to blame them on Saddam Hussein, like they did with the World Trade Center attacks. Still, the only thing that slows down the Cheney-ordered-anthrax-terror scenario is the idea that Cheney has respect for human life and the law. So you can see how one would make the leap. Plus, unlike the WTC conspiracy theory, only two people had to be involved in this for it to work. And one was an employee of the other.

Read the Greenwald piece, because he's pretty evenhanded about it and doesn't draw weird conclusions, unlike the commenters. Just don't get all goofy on me. We have to stay frosty, people.

Attack!

Look at this comment!

It sure looks as if the camp of the BO is playing a lot of defense; not good so early on.

The guy didn't give a name (he's ashamed! Or, he simply forgot) but this infuriates me. A man surrounded by mosquitoes is going to be on defense too, and the attacks on Obama have a distinctly small, annoying quality to them. My own criticism of Obama, and the left in general, and even myself, is that we're not going as negative on McCain. The great thing about him is that all we have to do is throw his quotes around. We can prove any negative about McCain - we either use something he said yesterday, or if it's not unpopular enough we can just use something he said in 2000 or 2004.

Because the straight-talk express goes in whatever direction the votes are, don't ya know. McCain was both against the war, then for it; he was against the way the war was being fought, then for it, then he was against it and for it again.

When the Obama/McCain debates happen, I hope Obama has the good sense to demand access to Google during them. McCain can have it to; he's not good with the internets. Maybe he can demand access to a stack of newspapers instead. Anyway, when McCain says "I've always been for the Bush tax cuts" it would be handy to have access to the video of him saying otherwise.

Plus, do we want to go to the trouble of electing a guy who'll die of old age while in office? And what's with the trophy wife? Even Bush Sr. had the sense to be married to a women as unsexy as he was. It was far less unseemly.

And why do we want to put the position of Commander In Chief into the hands of a man who had the bad sense to be captured and imprisoned by the enemy? How is that better than no experience?

And isn't it a little presumptuous of him to keep calling us "his friends?" How does he assume that we're all his friends? Doesn't he have to EARN that first?

I saw footage of him at a prayer meeting and he clearly wasn't into it - I'm pretty sure the man is an Atheist. And someone I know said he would happily perform an abortion if he only had the time. And let me remind you, he destroyed the chances of Mike Huckabee, the guy the far right would have preferred, to be president. He is trying to sink the Republican party.

Okay, that should get the ball rolling.

Is Paris Burning?

More YouTube linkage! I have been commenting elsewhere about the McCain oppo ad seen below.

All the attention is going to the truly odd decision to include clips of Paris Hilton and Brittney Spears near the beginning. It's a little sequence that goes starlet*fade*starlet*fade*Obama. The obvious message, the one that my right-wing pals are buying, is that like these other two figures, Obama is famous and good-looking but without substance. I had responded that the juxtaposition was a sneaky attempt to make us afraid that Obama would take our white women. We're all wrong.

Mea culpa - I hadn't actually seen the ad.

I had read about it but we don't have flash installed at work, so I didn't get to actually WATCH it until just now. The blondes are nothing more than magician's assistants, meant to distract us from the real message of the ad.

Watch it again, and pretend you don't speak English. Without the narration, which has little to do with the visuals anyway, you're left with this - a mob of millions of people chanting Obama's name, ominous music, and say, wasn't he speaking in GERMANY last week?

That's right, the point of the ad is that Obama is Hitler. Not the cerebral point but the important, deep-in-your-amygdala point. Kudos to the clever ad people who figured out how to keep you from noticing. I'd say it was the people who got Bush elected, but I can't imagine McCain would work with those guys after the 2000 primaries. He sure did learn from 'em though!

Earthquake!

5.4? Big deal. I won't roll outta bed for anything less than a 6.5.

If' it's anything below this, I just don't care.

Liberal Media Hates Obama More, Study Says

This issue probably fascinates more than it ought to. Really, how can you prove that the entire Main Stream Media has a bias one way or the other? Individual examples abound, but on the whole, it seems impossible that all the commercial news enterprises would lean one way or ther other. There's no profit in alienating the other half of your audience. Except at Fox, which has proven that there is money in skewing right as long as you lie about it.

However, this study (hat tip LA Times) suggests that the media hates McCain less than it hates Obama.

During the evening news, the majority of statements from reporters and anchors on all three networks are neutral, the center found. And when network news people ventured opinions in recent weeks, 28% of the statements were positive for Obama and 72% negative.Network reporting also tilted against McCain, but far less dramatically, with 43% of the statements positive and 57% negative, according to the Washington-based media center.

What does it prove? Nothing. Honest, nothing at all. Except that whatever bias you think there is, most likely you're mistaken. It happens that there were more juicy negative stories floating around during the study, and the media like trouble. Had McCain been accused of being brainwashed by Christians AND being a secret Muslim, I'm sure numbers would have been closer. By the way, speaking of brainwashing, prisoner of war? Why isn't anyone a little worried about this happening? Because John McCain is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I've ever known in my life, that's why.

Reevaluating Steely Dan's Copycats

I'm going to back down from my snarky tribute band comments last week to give props to PretzelLogic, the Steely Dan tribute band at the park tonight. They rock! And it's not the easiest material to rock with.

I suppose I'm more impressed with these guys because if you hear a Beatles song done well, it's easy to ignore. The sound of Beatles is like breathing, it's so familiar. Steely Dan, to quote Steely Dan, is the mechanized hum of another world. It LOOKS more difficult.

Badly typed on my iPod

** Nota Bene: Early in the show, these four teenage boys on skateboards stopped near me (I was situated near the edge of the crowd) and one of them said, "who's playin'?" I told them it was a Steely Dan cover band. They laughed and skated away. With them, they took the last trace of my perceived hipness.

Man Bites Dog - Hot Dog!

I have been looking for my golden counter-argument to this liberal-media-bias talking point about the disparate coverage given to Barack Obama's campaign. After all, if dozens of reporters show up for Obama's appearance in Baghdad and only one greets McCain in New Hampshire, there can only be one explanation, right? What could drive the far left nutroot journalists out to see McSame, anyway?

1. "Look Smitty! It says here McCain will be touring New Hampshire! And after Obama made that big deal about McCain not being in New Hampshire for over 900 days! That's news! Send all our guys out there now!"

2. "New Hampshire! We've got a bureau out there anyhow, covering the recent rash of bears coming out of the woods and knocking over trash cans. Let's send a few to this McCain thing."

3. "This is the story of the century - old white guy runs for President Of The United States! We gotta cover this like Dutch Boy paint!"

Point is, I guess, you can't blame everything on political bias. Look here, where MD complains that the coverage of John Edwards sex scandal isn't getting the attention of Larry Craig's sex scandal. Why is that, I wonder? I suppose that maybe there's less irony because Edwards didn't chair several committees seeking to limit heterosexual activity. I suppose because Edwards looks so much like a Ken Doll, the only surprise is how long it's taken to get a decent sex scandal outta him. Larry Craig, on the other hand... let's face it, it's news that a guy who looks like that would be involved in ANY kind of sex.

And by the way, wasn't it the liberal media who ran with the Clinton sex scandal stories for five solid years? Maybe it was only three solid years. In fact, this Edwards thing is such a non-issue that even Warner Todd Huston hasn't brought it up yet, and he's the king of liberal media bias accusations. He thinks the Weather Channel has an agenda. He avoids ESPN and gets all his sports from Fox.

Counting down to WTH's posting.

Right Meets Left In the Neutral Zone For Steaks

So Madeline's Dad is in town this week (actually he's in region, but I persuaded him to drive into town) for dinner. Actually, he persuaded me to come out and meet him, because he's a more sociable guy than I am. In any event, he drove from Orange County and I drove from the San Fernando Valley and we met at Sunset Plaza, one of the least gay parts of West Hollywood.

We wound up eating at BLT Steakhouse, a pricey but exquisite steak place that doesn't, of course, serve BLT's: the initials stand for Bistro Laurent Tourondel. If you want bacon, you better order it raw, wrapped around a duck liver. I went widely off my diet for this meal. I think even my goatee gained weight.

MD (not his real name) is quite a guy. Pretty tall, and not a foaming-at-the-mouth conservative in real life. Then again we had the good sense to keep off politics, sticking to show biz, appreciative murmurs about the attractivness of the waitresses, and college drinkin' stories. After a while one of his old college buddies, also visiting from out of town, showed up and we all had good times.

It went so well, maybe I'll try to have coffee with Warner Todd Huston next.

Tribute Bands: A Tribute

Last night I attended another free concert in the park - this time it was TICKET TO RIDE, an excellent Beatles tribute band. I wasn't close enough to see how they handled the string parts but I'm guessing that they either used some sequenced playback or they had an unseen faux fifth Beatle (maybe "George Martin" in the backstage area) handling the trickier parts. And of course, maybe there was a "Murray the K" around the front, shilling for them. No "Yoko" in sight, which is good for band stability I guess.

Enjoyable but it got me thinking of tribute bands in general. I'm totally down with the concept of a Beatles tribute band. For one thing about half the songs they performed were never performed live by the Beatles themselves - too complicated, and you wouldn't have heard them over the hysterical screaming anyway. So Ticket To Ride perform the valuable service of allowing the communal live enjoyment of this material. Next week, however - a Steely Dan tribute band called REELIN' IN THE YEARS.

I'm going to see them, but I have serious reservations about this. The obvious one is, of course, the need for a Steely Dan tribute band when Steely Dan is out there, healthy as a horse and available for bookings. Maybe not for a free concert in the park, but if you offer them enough money they'll happily play the Greek Theatre a few miles down the freeway. The other reservation is about the quality of the imitation. It's not so difficult to duplicate the Beatles's smooth Liverpudlian harmonies, but Donald Fagan's chalky whine is largely considered inimitable. Probably because, really, do you WANT to make your throat do that? So there's that, then there's the fact that Le Dan sound the way they do because they used the best studio musicians and did 1000 takes for every song. They are the Stanley Kubricks of music. That's why they take 25 years to make a record.

A few months ago this girl took me to a ZZ Top tribute band at a local club and we got to go backstage to meet them as they were gluing on their beards and practicing their "circle pointing finger" move. And I was thinking with the money they spend on spirit gum, they could be buying better amps. With the time they're spending learning to keep the hair out of their strings, they could be writing new material. And again, ZZ Top is still available. Not only that, they look almost exactly like they did in the eighties. Though under all that hair, they probably look like Aaron Spelling or something.

If the R.I.A.A is suing 90-year-old ladies, 6-year-old girls and in one notable case, a networked printer for file sharing on the grounds that it takes money out of the pockets of the artists, why don't they go after tribute bands? These guys are keeping Steely Dan and ZZ Top from getting gigs, aren't they? Maybe Instead Zeppelin and Grey Sabbath are the real reason why the music industry is failing. Go get 'em boys.

Famous Shawties

I'm 5'8", which is said to be average for my generation, but all my life I've been sensitive about my height. For that reason, I'm pleased to see this on Mental Floss: A list of famous people shorter than I. Aw, what the hell, I won't make you click it.

10 Famous Short People
1. James Madison, 5′4″ (Shortest President ever. He only weighed about 100 pounds.)
2. Charlotte Bronte – 4′9″
3. Charlie Manson – 5′2″ (Who knew such a little guy could be so terrifying?)
4. Danny DeVito – 5′0″
5. John Keats – 5′ and ¾ an inch
6. Edith Piaf – 4′8″
7. St. Francis of Assisi – 5′1″
8. Pablo Picasso – 5′4″
9. Alexander Pope – 4′6″ (Pope had tuberculosis which stunted his growth.)
10. Martin Scorsese – 5′3″ or 5′4″ (Sources vary.)

I wonder where George Stephanopolous and Michael J. Fox would be on this list? I don't care, the point is I tower over 'em. If only I could say the same about my younger brother, or practically everyone I went to high school with. I matriculated in the land of the giants.

My Plan to Drop the Price of Gas

For the US to bring down the price of oil significantly enough to benefit me as well as Exxon we'd have to do the following:

1. Open up ANWR for drilling. Not just ANWR, but all the coastlines, all the national parks, all the places that the oil companies have been spoiling for over the years. This will increase supply to meet demand.

2. Probably double refining capacity. Every summer when the price of gas goes up, a press release is issued saying that the refineries are processing as much as they can, but the demand is greater. And one of them is always being repaired during the peak summer months. We want to keep that price stable, we need redundancy in the refinery system. Besides, they system we have now can't handle even the small amount of American oil we put through it.

3. Forbid the oil companies, who are investing their money in new drilling and refineries, from marketing American product outside the US. This isn't actually that big a deal because the demand is there. However, it will likely mean a lessening of imports as they shift that product to other markets. If we produce more oil and import less, the net effect could be the same amount of oil. So for the scheme to work, we have to import the same amount and increase domestic supply. So look for increased regulation of the oil industry. And sorry, we have to give up the dream of "less dependence on foreign oil."

4. Okay, here's the tough one: convince the oil companies that it is in their best interests to charge less. This will be a hard one because they have just spent all that R&D money, plus as businessmen they will be turning down profits, leaving money on the table. After all, if we're used to paying X for gas, why sell it to us for X/2? Unless the Government steps in to the oil business in a big way (much like they do with the savings and loan business) we can assume the prices will be about where they are now.

As you can see, this plan depends a lot on the good graces of the oil industry. In fact you can say that it boils down to whether you think Bobby or J.R. is in charge. My money is on J.R. but hey, who knows? Maybe these guys feel bad about charging what they do now. As a goodwill gesture, they could drop the price of a gallon a couple of bucks for a while.

Of course, if you believe that the price of oil is purely dictated by supply and demand, we could test that by bleeding the strategic oil reserve a little. Just to prove it.

Maybe I Won't Move To Orange County

This billboard, with the Twin Towers burning on the left, has gone up in Orange County, Florida. Oddly, the incident referenced happened while Republicans were running every branch of government. Kind of counter-intuitive, I'd say.

What is the Republican Song anyway? Queen of Denial.

Psychological Hypothetical

I've heard this said: that merely ANNOUNCING that we will allow domestic drilling will bring down the price of oil. And yet (hat tip to commenter Nicole at CROOKS AND LIARS) today when President Bush rescinded the executive order put in place by the flaming liberal OTHER President Bush to prevent offshore drilling, the price of a barrel of oil climbed slightly. So what does this mean?

A. Announcements like this have no effect.
B. People assume that anything Bush does to help will make things worse.
C. Speculators aren't driving the price of oil as much as oil companies are.
D. It's Clinton's fault.

You tell me. I'm flexible.

Snow And Cartoons

First a note to people watching for these things - farewell to Tony Snow, a classy guy and thorough professional, better than both his predecessor and his successor. My good wishes go out to his loved ones.

I also have a few good wishes to the publishers of THE NEW YORKER, which is reaping a mailing-list-full of controversey due their satirical cover of a Muslim Barack Obama giving his camo-clad militant wife the terrorist fist jab in the oval office. Come on people, lighten up a little! I have to admit this is the first time I've disappointed by one of Obama's responses - the correct riposte would have been "Michelle and I laughed our heads off when we saw this." Ah well, maybe we ARE a nation of whiners after all.

Funny people everywhere are dying a little.

HoJo Just Now

7/14 note - the sound file failed to upload, which is probably for the best given that I was probably attempting to break a dozen laws and singlehandedly bring down Howard Jones' post eighties career by allowing you to hear him without making you give him money. He sounded just fine, by the way. A little sunny and un-ironic for my taste but the dude knows his way around a keyboard-based hook. And after all, things could only get better.

Liveblogging Howard Jones

I'm at Warner Park, where the Valley Cultural Center is presenting Howard Jones. As usual I'm too far away to SEE Howard Jones, but he sounds great. Sample to follow.

Writer's Block

I don't know what to tell you guys... I tried to write something yesterday (it was another one of those stop-picking-on-Obama things) and I just couldn't complete a thought. Maybe it's the heat. Maybe I want Obama to purify himself in the fire of crazy Republican attacks. (Republican and Jesse Jackson, that lovable pixie.) In any event, nothing about O.

I just went through two pages of WONKETTE and still no ideas. I give up. I'm going have some butternut squash ravioli and a diet coke. Talk to you later.

I'm Your Shill

I didn't realize it until just now, but I'll sell myself out for a handful of seeds. Or you know, almost anything. For example, last month a publisher contacted me out of the blue and offered to send me a book if I'd blog about it - and look, I did! It's actually a pretty cool book and it looks great on my black kidney-shaped bachelor pad coffee table, but the point is I wouldn't have given it a second thought in a bookstore. Not that I go into those places any more. NOBODY does.

Meanwhile, a week ago I attempted to attend a record release party at an exclusive club in Hollywood and didn't make it in. I wrote to Chelsea E, the sexy chanteuse who threw a party at a place so exclusive that it wouldn't even let her own guests in, and she was suitably mortified. She mailed me the gift bag they were giving out (that I would have received had I been allowed inside) and it contained candy, a scented candle, a CD, a green condom, and a T-shirt, which I wore to the park yesterday for the 4th of July concert.

So attention, purveyors of merchandise! If you got it and it's free, I want it! And I'll talk about it! I only own two t-shirts which are devoid of advertising. Your message here! I'm always looking for low-carb tasty snacks! I'll happily test software or gadgets for you and report the results. And the results will ALWAYS BE FAVORABLE. 

And ladies, do you wish you had a little more of a reputation? I can help you out with that.

Look, I might as well do this. I'm running out of crackpot political opinions fast. And once Obama is president, what am I gonna complain about? Endorse my efforts to endorse you! 

PS: You know what? I think while I'm waiting for my laundry to dry I'll head off to The Stand (5780 Canoga Ave in Woodland Hills, a block north of Burbank) to pick up my a free hot dog and fountain drink. They were passing out coupons at the park yesterday.

The Latest Political Outrage

The latest campaign season outrage has to do with Gen. Wesley Clarke's comment on Face the Nation this last weekend:

"Well, I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be President."

How dare he say such a thing!

Well, he's right of course. Not every POW is qualified to run the country. Not every Veteran is qualified to run the country. In the last election the same people who are expressing outrage over this comment voted for a non-veteran over someone who fought in Viet Nam... who VOLUNTEERED. So obviously they agree.

McCain does have all kinds of qualifications to be president, and Clarke is just pointing out that service isn't one of them. Obama is also qualified, and I just happen to prefer him because he's less about the fear and more about the hope. 

It'll be fun to see how many people we all wreck in the next four months on the way to the White House, instead of simply listening to the candidates and judging them by their own merits. Fun in a slowing-down-for-a-bad-traffic-accident kind of way.

Build Your Own Aphorism

South Carolina Teen Decapitated by Roller Coaster as He Attempts to Retrieve Lost Hat.

The Aphorism Of The Yard Sale

You're driving down the street in the suburbs, and you spot a yard sale. Prominently featured, a painting of dogs playing poker. As a person, you may attempt to judge the person who is selling. Don't! Here's why. 

You may think them idiots for buying the damn painting in the first place. But then again, they are offering it at giveaway prices now, so they are smart enough to get rid of it.

Aphorism as follows: 

YOU CAN'T JUDGE A PERSON BY THEIR GARAGE SALE.

The Club Night Post Script

Writing from home now... I don't know what the lesson to be learned from this experience is... except perhaps this. To get into that kind of club, you have to really want it. I didn't. I don't really like that kind of music, I'm too old to hang out with those people, and I don't like fun . I'd have been a tourist.

I was only there because I had won a guest list spot on an internet radio show, and I had only called the show because my friend hosts it. It's a recipe for meh. So it's for the best really, and I'm home at a decent time. I'll go to bed and forget any of this happened.

Wish I'd gotten better pictures though. Apologies for that.

I give up

Look at all those people! and they're ON the list.

Well, its more cool to me to not make it into a club. I woulda just blogged all night anyway.

Hurdle #2

I'm told I'm not on the guest list. Not that it matters... They're only letting girls in right now anyway. This Club Opera is a tough nut to crack!

Doormen

Made dark and mysterious by bad lighting.

Where the action is

Not a big turnout so far.

Tough club

So I'm waiting in line... A second ago they just let Chelsea E. in. She's the talent!

Hurdle #1

So I just asked the doorman when they're letting people in..."10:15" he said with a sly smile. Get there early, th invites said! Good grief.

Hollywood is scary at night. I'm in my car until I can find a block with less hookers.

Club Opera, Hollywood

It's really really RED.

I'm a Creep, I'm a Weirdo... What The Hell Am I Doing Here... I Don't Belong Here

Tonight, in a few minutes, I'm leaving to go to a record release party in Hollywood. It's clearly not my area of expertise, but what the hell... it beats TV. I'll try to send pics and liveblog the event, or at least my failure to get into the event. Watch this space!

The Rock Of Conservatism

Republicans - they are the stable ones. Agree or disagree with 'em, at least you know where they stand. They're conservatives, and once they take a position they dig their heels and stick with it! Positions like this:

Karl Rove tells O'Reilly that it's wrong to out a CIA agent. “[T]hey’ve got a very callous view about our nation’s security and interests,” Rove charged.

John McCain doesn't think terrorists should be allowed habeas corpus rights, because the Nazis weren't. "There was no habeas at Nuremburg and there should be no habeas for Osama bin Laden". He is at odds with the guy who said this in 2005: "Now, I know that some of these guys are terrible, terrible killers and the worst kind of scum of humanity. But, one, they deserve to have some adjudication of their cases. And there’s a fear that if you release them that they’ll go back and fight again against us. … [I]f it means releasing some of them, you’ll have to release them. Look, even Adolf Eichmann got a trial. " Of course, that guy was living in a pre-9/11... no wait, it was a post-9/11 world, but now it's a post 9/11 world that's three years MORE post-9/11, and that matters. Somehow.

Republicans don't understand why their criticisms of Barack Obama don't stick. After all, not only is he a Muslim, he's also been brainwashed to believe everything his Christian Pastor told him. He's both too black AND too white. He changed his mind on what kind of campaign contributions he will accept, and it's awful if a candidate does that. He's a secret terrorist, and like all terrorists he's hiding in plain sight by running for President. He proves his hatred of America by not wearing a flag lapel button, as repeated pointed out by people who must also hate America.

Me, I think the reason these accusations don't stick is because they keep getting knocked off by opposing accusations.

Me, hard at work

Testing temote blogging!

Cry Havoc! Let Slip The Ugly Dogs!

As promised, the Worlds Ugliest Dog contest was held this last weekend in Sonoma. I give you the winner - Gus!

True to form, Gus is a Chinese Crested breed, hairless except for a bizarre doggy mohawk, skinny as hell and unable to hold his tongue in his hideous head. The winners of the contest have uniformly been like this, and I'm beginning to think the judges are playing favorites.

The press release contains what may be the best pageant quote of any contest ever.

Said (Gus' owner) Jeanenne, “I’m just in shock. We came so far and are so happy that we can put the winnings towards Gus’ radiation treatment. We’re just thrilled.”

There he is now / prepare for the worst / the ugliest dog in the un-i-verse.

Al Gore's Place - The Old Switcheroo!

Just a little addendum to this Al Gore's energy usage post from yesterday. In the comments someone posted a link to a spreadsheet entitled 100,000 Chernobyl-type Nuclear Reactors Required to Sustain Gore Lifestyle! At first I thought it was Onion-style satire; then looking again I realized the premise wasn't that Al Gore himself was using that much energy; it's how much energy we'd need if we all lived like Al Gore.

It's a little insight into the right-wing mind. You know how Bill Bennett was the arbiter of morality until it was discovered that he has a huge gambling addiction? And you know how those couple of senators were on committees to make things harder for gay folk even though it turns out they themselves were secretly gay? Well dig - obviously, Republicans resent Al Gore because he owns too much property! 

Obviously we're not going to make every man, woman and child in the world as rich as Al Gore, so the only way they'll be satisfied is if we seize his land and turn it over to, I don't know, the workers. After all, the workers control the means of production! And all this "tax breaks for the rich" nonsense - they know it isn't sustainable! They're making sure the middle class bears the burden, because once the revolution comes we'll ALL be middle class!  And don't tell me they're against Soviet-style surveillance techniques! 

I'm just kidding. The kind of people who are in favor of stuff like this would also want some kind of Berlin-style wall along our border.

ANWR Factoid

I would have normally reserved this for a snide comment in a right wing blog, but none of the ones I read have brought up Bush's speech this morning. In it, Bush entreats Congress to relax restrictions of offshore drilling, because oil prices are too darn high.

You will recall a few days ago I blogged about ANWR, and I just saw another factoid about it. If we approve drilling off the coast of Alaska (which can't possibly hurt the environment because they're really, really careful with this stuff nowadays) the price of oil will drop 75 cents. That is, per barrel of crude oil. Today a barrel of light sweet crude runs $132.50. So you can look forward to a corresponding drop at the pump. In about five years, once they put all the equipment in.

The source of this statistic is a Department of Energy study commissioned by Rep Ted Stevens, of Alaska. I bet if we also drill off the coast of Florida and California, we can conservatively put enough extra supply in the pipeline to drop the price of a barrel by $5.00. So presumably that's, what, almost 4 cents a gallon? That oughtta help! Five years from now, of course.

And of course, thats assuming that OPEC doesn't compensate by raising the price of their oil. And that the Governers of California and Florida (both Republican) don't fight the plan tooth and nail because, you know, they get a lot of income out of those unspoiled beaches.

But hey, I got plans for that four cents - there are stamps to buy.

======================

PS - the communists at the Wall Street Journal say it would take 20 years to go fully online and the price of a barrel of oil might drop 75 cents by 2025. Of course, since the Supreme Court says we have to give enemy combabtants rights and everything, we'll all be dead long before then. We might as well leave the wildlife alone.

And Cheney Has Shot More People While Under The Influence of Alcohol Than the Average American

Maybe I'm too easily distracted. But get a load of this!

Energy Guzzled by Al Gore’s Home in Past Year Could Power 232 U.S. Homes for a Month 
Gore’s personal electricity consumption up 10%, despite “energy-efficient” home renovations 

Look, it's our good friends at The Tennessee Center for Policy Research! They're back again. You may recall last year they put out a similar press release that I took issue with. I questioned the numbers they were publishing, but in fact those were accurate numbers. It's the analysis which was slanted and stuffed with lies like a falsehood burrito. 

This biggest lie, of course, is the comparison. An average US home may consume X amount of electricity, but the average US citizen is neither a former vice president, board member of Apple, Nobel Prize Winner nor millionaire. Gore's house is A LOT BIGGER than the average American home. 

Furthermore, the average home in TENNESSEE uses 1.5 times the national average, so they're not even comparing Gore's house to others in the same climate. And their source, this table by the EIA, appears to calculate energy consumption by PERSON, not household. So let's do the math based on average people per average home, versus people in Gore's mansion. This includes live-in domestics and aides, if he uses some rooms as offices.

Now they say he's using 10% more energy than before the renovations. 17,768 khw a month, to be precise. The press release from last year? 22,619 kwh. I'm kinda having a problem with that math. See, I'm almost certain 17 is LESS than 22. I think 12%, but like I say math and I aren't best friends. My guess is they're comparing the numbers now to the months before the renovations were complete, which would make sense because things would be shut down for rewiring.

I know, if you're conservative you already stopped reading, because you like the simple cheap shot rather than the fair comparison. "Press 1 For English, 2 For Deportation" is all you need to know. Tell you what though - Clinton was a detail guy and he balanced the budget. Bush legendarily "doesn't do nuance" and he calls anything he doesn't understand Fuzzy Math. This math is so fuzzy, you might as well stick a couple of ping pong balls in it and call it a Muppet.

I'd Like To Say The Whig Party was a Mistake

Al Gore has publicly endorsed Obama, at long last. I'm predicting zero impact from this, though it's kind of comforting. And good for completists, the kind of people who collect all of the things in a set. "Wait! I also need the Han Solo frozen in Carbonite figure!"

But really, the subset of Democrats who preferred Hillary, but were on the fence between Obama and McCain, was pretty small. Hillary's own endorsement presumably took care of them. All that Gore can add is helpful spreadsheets and a PowerPoint show which explains why Obama is the right guy for the job.

Meanwhile, David Frum suggests that McCains VP should be Rudy Giuliani. Oh please, please, please let it happen. McCain has to secure that all important "war with Iran until the end of time" vote. It's what Americans want!

Anwr, You Hang Your Hat

Hat tip to WHERE ARE MY KEYS for this timely editorial cartoon, implying that high gas prices would be alleviated if only we'd let the oil companies drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Damn those liberals and their love of nature!

Thing is, I read this on Free Republic and you gotta trust them: the problem isn't scarcity of oil, it's lack of refining capacity. We need more refineries! And this same thing turned up in a pamphlet that I read published by Union 76.

So if we had more domestic crude oil, it wouldn't help at all would it, because we couldn't refine it. And of course, it wouldn't be available for another five years. In that time we will all probably find less expensive alternatives, thus eliminating the need to screw with the environment. Leave the prices where they are - this problem will solve itself.

The Triangle Snaps Shut, At Last

Oh how I've longed for this day. Ever since primary season started and I decided that I'd rather have an optimist than a revenge-bent fearmonger for my candidate. I've been hoping that Obama could pick up enough delegates to win the nomination. And now, at long last, he has.

Dude's not president yet. And we are Democrats, so even though the current president sports historically low popularity and his presumptive successor proudly boasts of wanting to continue almost all his policies, we could still blow it in a big way. If we've learned anything this year it's that you can't take sure things for granted.

I'll be interested to see how this affects the polls. As you know, rightside bloggers have boasted for half a year that McCain was polling higher than either Democrat. Now that there is only one Democrat, that will probably change no?

Something we won't know until November is how many people were bluffing during the primaries. Ann Coulter famously said that if McCain wins the nomination, she was going to vote for Hillary. Presumably now she would have to simply not vote. Assuming that she's allowed to vote at all after the last time. We also have the legion of Hillary supporters who claim they're going to vote for McCain rather than Obama. Some probably will. Some, like Amanda Peyser of the New York Post, clearly have always hated Hillary but still claim they were going to vote for her. Sure, Amanda.

There is no question that the right was pushing for a second Clinton candidacy, and now they're angry and frustrated. They didn't get the person they wanted on either side! How does a depressed attack dog behave? Stay tuned.

Whither Hillary? My hope is she'll put her skills to good use, and by skills I mean dirty politics, skullduggery and thirst for vengence. And most importantly, I hope she'll apply them to McCain and Co, not Obama. After all, Obama has only tormented her for one year; the Republicans have grinding away since 1992. Hillary Clinton could be our party's Karl Rove; if that's overreaching then she at least could be our party's Dick Morris. (I know, but that was then. This is now.)

Ironic, isn't it? We start the race earlier and earlier, and when we come down to the finalists they only get 6 months at each other. Think of all the money we could have saved! No, I have no idea how to fix that one. All I do know is that it's rapidly becoming a country where every candidate is either on the side of the corporations, or the trial lawyers and unions, because they're payin' for all the advertisin'. Which means that no matter who loses, TV networks win. Hmmm... I'm going to give this some thought.

Throw Back the Little Ones

Just caught this item on Crooks and Liars excoriating David Brooks for saying that Barack Obama doesn't seem like the kind of guy you'd see at the Applebee's salad bar. C&L's objection? APPLEBEE'S DOESN'T HAVE A SALAD BAR, dammit!

I have to admit that Brooks may or may not be off base with his remark, but C&L is on track to have the biggest non-issue ever with the item. Come on! It doesn't prove Brooks is an idiot, it merely proves he doesn't eat at Applebees. I am a common schlub, and I don't eat at Applebee's either. Come on people, focus! Pundits say far worse things factually. Rather than worry about the existance of an obviously metaphorical salad bar, perhaps we could instead point out when pundits say that John McCain has little in common with the current president, or that Obama is a terrorist. You know, that kind of factual inaccuracy.

Everybody Hates Scott

I came across Scott McClellan on PBS's NEWSHOUR Friday night. After a solid week of reactions to his new book, he seemed like the old Scott again - dodging questions, answering in vague generalities, defensive and sweaty. The whole interview went a little like this exchange:

JEFFREY BROWN: You use terms like "shading the truth." Is that a euphemism for lying or purposely misleading?

SCOTT MCCLELLAN: Well, I think that this is the example that there are many good people that come to D.C. for the right reasons, to get things done for the American people and make a positive difference, but they get caught up in this permanent campaign culture that exists and they lose sight of some of the more important objectives of working across the aisle.

He held onto that "permanent campaign culture" talking point like a Titanic survivor holds onto a floating steamer trunk. What he was trying to avoid, apparently, was singling out George Bush. Maybe he feared it would make him look like a disgruntled former employee. Maybe he feared a sheaf of death threats left at his hotel room. Speculation of course, because he didn't say ANYTHING definite at all.

I wouldn't blame him if he were disgruntled, by the way. He insists that he didn't know he was lying to the American people as press secretary, but on some level he must have known. You can see it in the panicked whites of his eyes. He was too easy to read. Therefore he made a lousy press secretary, and they let him go. But if I were him I'd be angry that they ever put me in that position in the first place.

Now of course, the criticism levelled against him from the right is that he is disloyal, and that he's making it all up now, but he was telling the truth while he was press secretary. Strikes me as an unlikely scenario (the practical definition of press secretary has never been "teller of the truth") but they're running with it anyway. As for disloyalty, it goes both ways. But McClellan, spinning his book to keep the president out of it, showed so much loyalty on Friday that you'd think the interview was on Fox News.

By the way, have they sat him down on Fox yet? That would be a pretty interesting 45 seconds. 30 if they give him to O'Reilly.

--Amendment, 6/3: Lookie there! McClellan appeared on O'Reilly last night! I'm tempted to assume that the administration concluded that putting that 'tude in mild-mannered Bob Dole's mouth just didn't work and they decided to bust out the big gun. In any event the substance was the same - "how dare you say those things, and show disloyalty!" The substance was not "you're lying!" When you can't kill the message, destroy the messenger.

Hillary's Meme

It's like I told Madeline's Dad - she may be the first, but she won't be the last.

Where Are Your Prayers, Atheist?

I knew there was something I wasn't seeing behind GWK's comments! It's not just about good wishes, it's about prayer. As you noted, G, I am an atheist; and therefore please take my remarks here to represent an extremely small segment of the American population. We're under 5% the last time I checked; Mac users have a bigger market share.

Well, obviously from this angle, my praying won't help Sen Kennedy at all. Will yours? I'm not sure. Just because I don't believe in God doesn't mean I KNOW there is no God. After all, i can't offer any physical evidence. Sure I could be wrong - my non-belief is its own way an article of faith. So I hope you can believe me when I say I don't feel superior to you because of your beliefs. More power to ya. Besides, maybe you're part of a collective good vibe, a healing energy which works in ways we don't understand yet.

Getting past the vibe scenario though, I don't think praying for a public figure would help. Einstein famously said "God doesn't play at dice;" and I'd suggest that God is also not an American Idol judge. He isn't deciding who lives or dies (or who is saved or not) by how many "votes" that guy gets. Otherwise, Regan would be alive and Carter would be dead, yes? I don't believe in him, but even if I did that would just be a crazy system.

Onto other things! I've deactivated the CAPTCHA as an exeperiement. We'll see.

Where Are Your Good Wishes, Leftie?

"Great White Knight", erstwhile commenter, wondered yesterday why it took me so long to wish Ted Kennedy a speedy recovery. I suspect there's more behind the question than simple curiousity; though the full point hasn't been revealed yet, it probably has something to do with the left having no compassion.

Well, best to just be honest then and let you make of it what you will.

Ted Kennedy, like all public figures, is a kind of abstraction to me. I don't think of him as a real flesh-and-blood person. He's a character in the vast soap opera which is political news. Intellectually I know he really exists of course. I don't imagine GWK is in a different situation either. His expression of good wishes probably had as much to do with demonstrating his compassion as it did with actual compassion. Maybe I'm wrong and GWK is emotionally invested in Ted Kennedy; in which case you have my sincere apologies sir.

Assuming I'm right though, the compulsion to publicly wish well to a public figure is something I didn't feel here. I don't feel I have to prove that I support the people that you already know I agree with. It's useless information to you. You should take it for granted. In fact, I'd regard these kinds of statements, to a degree, as grandstanding.

Of course, there is also the other side of the coin - what good does it do Ted Kennedy? Is he going to spend the coming months reading blogs to see who was nice to him? I hope not. I hope a guy in that position has better things to do. That's the kind of behavior Nixon would have engaged in, looking for the absense of comment and devising ways to get back at me.

That's it, GWK. What do you think?

I Hate You, I Hate You, I Hate You, Get Well Soon

I have to admit this - the right is a lot better about being nice when their opponents are stricken with illness. I see this point made again and again - Tony Snow gets brain cancer, the commenters at Huffpo are divided 50/50 between "I hope he gets better" and "I hope he rots in hell." Ted Kennedy gets a brain tumor and the LGF commenters are almost all "I hope he gets better. I disagree with his politics, but my prayers are with him."

I've been skimming around looking for vile Ted Kennedy comments and I've only found two - one guy buried deep in the LGF comments said "Too bad, I was betting on the liver." Insensitive but a funny line. The other was nationally syndicated columnist Michael Savage. But hey, he makes his bones offending people - he may not even MEAN it.

The positive spin for the left (and it's an awfully weak spin) is this - at least we're consistant? I mean, one thing I read today from commenter AMERIDANN on Where Are My Keys said "I have called him not only a traitor, but a murderer. I stand by those comments. (But) my prayers and my wishes go out to Senator Kennedy and his family." And this seems to be a common attitude on the right. Before this week, you didn't see an awful lot of "Senator Kennedy's policies are wrong, but I respect him as a legislator." How am I supposed to reconcile this U-Turn?

For the record, people who pilloried Tony Snow when he was well and then ridiculed him when he was sick are the worst kind of Neanderthals. Like most people, Snow is a decent guy with a difficult job who believes in what he did. It's cool to disagree with his beliefs but stupid to hate him for them. Hate, as a rule, is stupid. Try to avoid it when you can.

And for the record, good luck and best wishes to Senator Kennedy. May he get better and legislate happily for another fifty years.

A Weirdly Apropos Quote

The danger is not that a particular class is unfit to govern. Every class is unfit to govern.

- Lord Acton

Some Of My Best Friends Are Racists

The Obama-demonization strategy is pretty firmly ensconced now, and has probably gotten all the traction it's going to. We knew the RNC was going to Demonize Obama, because that's how they deal with threats - they demonize 'em. Have you ever noticed that all the people to speak out against the president are fame-whores, have uncontrollable anger issues, are criminals, or just plain insane? Gosh, there has to be something WRONG with you if you disagree with us!

To summarize, Barack Obama must not be president because people he has associated with are filled with hate toward white people. Therefore he himself must hate white people too.

Oh, where do I begin?

Okay, the Wright stuff. Whatever Wright has said, no matter what you think, it doesn't follow that Obama buys it too. In fact, he's publicly repudiated it. Yet he attended the Church for so long - how could he NOT buy it? Well, there are Catholics who eat meat on Friday and practice birth control. There are Jews who drive around on Saturday not wearing those funny hats. In fact, there are lots of them. You go to Church to connect with God - sometimes you're gonna disagree with the guy giving the sermons while you're there. Does that mean you keep shopping around until you find a Pastor you agree with 100%? You tell me. I'm an Atheist.

Next this: Obama scandalously appears on the same magazine cover as Louis Farrakhan, Elijah Muhammed, Johnnie Cochrane, Luthor Vandross et all. Obviously Obama must be just like these people (Luther Vandross?) because his supporters think he is. This is a little crazy on the face of it, but let's throw a hypothetical out here, h/t to Ed Shultz. The KKK is likely to endorse John McCain and/or Hillary Clinton over Obama. So don't you want to vote for the candidate who isn't with the KKK? I mean, duh. In fact, we'll have to eventually replace ALL the white candidates now.

Still, the crazy guilt-by-association garbage is working with some people, and it's important to figure out why. There's nothing wrong with a candidate hating a group of people, as long as they're the right people. Obama says he hates nobody, but let's ignore that for now. If he hated Muslims, he'd be doing okes with us because they're our enemies after all. (All of them? Let's ignore that for now too.) If he hated homosexuals he'd still probably be just fine with the majority of Americans, who are either hetero or self-loathing closeted homos. But he's accused of hating white folks. Which I guess would include his own white half. So why is that bad?

Because it makes him uppity.

Look, I call 'em as I see 'em. This talking point at its base is a warning to black people to keep quiet or we'll make them sit at the back of the bus again, just before we throw them under it. How dare they think there is still Racism in this country? If we elect Obama, they'll never stay in their place.

Right wing readers, please please please convince me I'm wrong. I don't want to be right about this one.

Oh How I Wish...

...I had time to write.