Lady Ga Ga on "Healthcare Reform"

Cause I'm bluffin' with my muffin/ I'm not lying I'm just stunnin' with my love-glue-gunning/ Just like a chick in the casino/ Take your bank/ before I pay you out/ I promise this, promise this

I'm just saying is all...

Remember, it is indispensably more important we pass healthcare legislation now, even if it's broke. We'll fix everything later. Promise.

This is great news for John McCain!

The Senate cleared the first obstacle early this morning for Health Care Reform, breaking a Republican filibuster with a 60-40 vote.

Passage of reform before the President's State of the Union address is now all but certain.

Deep Thought

The Senate really does suck.

Houston Makes National News

The ol' urban hellhole has a new Mayor-elect, current City Controller Annise Parker. Congratulations from The Daily Ire...now I want more rail. Make it happen!

ALBUM REVIEW: Editors "In This Light and On This Evening"

I first discovered Editors on the Myspaces of all places back in aught 5. Back in the dark ages when you could only post one song on your profile, a friend of mine who I'd never met in real life had a song posted labeled "Editors - Munich." I was intrigued, as Munich seemed like a cool name for a song, so I pressed play, and was a fan ever since.

In their third album, the band have gone in the opposite direction of their last, "And End Has A Start," and ditched the layered guitars in favor of synthesizers. As those familiar with my tastes in music will know, this development pleases me. They have embraced the instrument with an earnestness and lack of pretension that one rarely finds these days, and the result is that it both enhances and feels completely at home in every song, and never seems added in later for some sort of vintage flair.

Rather than try to summarize I'll just say a bit about each of the nine songs on the album:

In This Light and On This Evening: From the moment the first song begins the sound throws off those familiar with Editors. We would expect to hear a screeching guitar or thunderous drums, but instead the first sound is a throbbing, driving arpeggiator, followed soon by lead singer Tom Smith almost whispering "I swear to God/ I heard the earth inhale/ moments before/ it spat its rain down on me." At this moment it's clear the band is doing something different this go around, but even though the opening track is intriguing and drew me in, I wasn't sure whether this change would result in a success or an embarrassing failure. Luckily I soon discovered it's the former.

Bricks and Mortar: This song begins with a perky beat that soon is elevated by the sound of a celestial synth patch, which establishes that the dark tone set in the first song wont be carried over into the entire album. For some reason this track reminds me of the The Cure song "Push," perhaps because they are both oddly uplifting without resorting to lame, life-affirming lyrics. The phrase "This home is more than/ bricks and mortar" brings a smile to my face and requires no explanation.

Papillon: This is the first single off the album, and aside from the synthesizers, is more or less a normal Editors single in the vein of "Munich," "Blood," and "An End Has A Start" with charmingly hostile lyrics and a strong hook. Good song but nothing revelatory.

You Don't Know Love: This is a mellow and haunting song that requires a few listens to figure out. I love the opening lyric "You ran with the dead today/ with the moles from the C.I.A./ they say more than you ever say" and the synth patch underlying the verse is the type that is not used nearly enough today. It conveys a haunting mood a guitar or a piano just can't. At the chorus the guitar jumps in with the synthesizer, bass, and drums to create a sound that I can't really say I've heard on an album produced since the 1980s. I can't really describe it, but songs just don't sound like that anymore.

The Big Exit: This is a another calm, measured song. It's probably my least favorite on the album, but that's not too damning an assessment. It is well crafted and I enjoy the percussion especially, but musically, the songwriting isn't up to the level set by the rest of the album.

The Boxer: This song is masterful example of how to use a synthesizer. It begins with a slow drum beat accompanied by a sequencer, then a distorted bass line, and then the most emotive, simple synth part that invokes perfectly the canonical film noir "The Set-Up" about, what else, an aging boxer going in for one last fight. The band goes on to blur the lines between synth and guitar, tricking the listener by eventually producing that beautiful synth part with an electric guitar. The swell at the end, as Smith sings over and over "Dazed in the final count," is flawless.

Like Treasure: The band picks up the pace a little with this song, which has more of a playful mood. The layering of the synths in this song is so dense I can't discern everything that's going on, but it sounds lovely, and lyrically this song is the gem of the album:

You are what you eat

You'll become digested

Well love, it isn't felt

Love is tested

You will keep forever

I'll bury you like treasure

A love song possibly about murdering your loved one, possibly burying or storing the body in a freezer, and then eating it, is always a winner in my book.

Eat Raw Meat = Blood Drool: Musically this is the most playful song on the album and one of the few instances where use of the synth gets cute, but it's not necessarily a problem as the band doesn't overdo it. This is catchy and will probably be the second single from the album, but it's not one I want to listen to over and over, but it may grow on me.

Walk The Fleet Road: Haunting, subdued, and brilliantly restrained close for a brilliantly restrained album. Here the band employs a choir, but to completely different effect than on their last album's theatrical opening song "Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors." "Hold your tongue/ swallow your venom/ you're too young/ hold your tongue." The End.

Anywho, I enjoyed this album more than any that's come out this year. I will admit that it is heavily tailored to my own niche tastes, but hopefully it can inspire you to stop worrying and love the synthesizer.

At Last

A new pilgrimage destination.

Exhibit #254 on Why the Senate Should Be Abolished

Senator Ben Nelson, the puffy haired Democrat from Nebraska, as introduced a bill to help pay for the upcoming Afghanistan surge with war bonds. FUNDING PROBLEM SOLVED!

Now if only bars would start accepting these booze bonds I've had with me for a while...

Aung San Suu Bling?

Call me old school, but this is just not the same. I like my Nobel Laureates a little more down to earth. I like my political activism to be a little gritty.

Obligatory Post of the Day

People who disagree with me are stupid and uninformed.

Only 18 Shopping Days Left Until Christmas

Rock on, you capitalist pigs!

An Actual Urban Hellhole

The situation in Ciudad Juarez is not good. In the 90s it was known for the mysterious murders of women who worked at the maquiladoras, and now it is known for truly epic levels of violence by drug cartels fueled by American firearms and demand for drugs.

In a rational world this is something it might make sense for the United States to intervene in and help to remedy, since it's happening a few miles away, but no. Our very serious foreign policy establishment has spoken and it is our job to attend to the problems of Afghanistan and Pakistan, not Mexico.

Uganda. Gays. Blacks. Evangelicals.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The concept of "big" government is disgusting when it comes to healthcare, corporate regulation, taxes, etc. But it looks like some are perfectly okay with government in their bedrooms. The message: Stay out of our boardrooms, but come regulate what goes on in our bedrooms. We like this idea so much it's now in Uganda. Because Africa needs Jesus. And the gay cure. And if they're lucky, they may even get democracy too!

Teabagging: A History

This is the funniest thing I've read all week.

Just when you think it's died out, a gem like this comes along to rekindle that old spark.

The Twilight Saga: New Moon

As performed by LOLcats.

30,000

The Daily Show on President Obama's Afghanistan speech:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
30,000
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

My own reaction to the speech was similar. Much of it was very Dubya-ish, but throughout the campaign Obama said that he would devote significantly more resources to the Afghanistan war, so any liberals out there who expected him to pull out were engaging in some wishful thinking.

There are no good options, and upon some reflection I think Obama is probably taking the least bad course. It's worthwhile to devote resources to try to improve the situation in Afghanistan, but it will never be ideal and what Obama acknowledges, which Bush never did in Iraq, is that our large-scale involvement will have to come to an end. Critics argue that by setting the flexible 2011 withdrawal date the Taliban will just be able to wait us out. Things don't work that way and here's a good explanation why.

Yesterday General McChrystal quoted Winston Churchill and said that in Afghanistan we are at "the end of the beginning." I see the utility in saying that to prepare the military for a difficult road ahead, but this strategy is really the beginning of the end, as it should be.

Feel the Boyle-mentum!

I fear Susan Boyle may have forever tainted the song "Wild Horses." Shame, because I really dig that tune, especially the mid-nineties cover by The Sundays. Oh well. Such disappointments are the fabric of life.

EDIT: The worst part of it all...the Susan Boyle version is kinda sorta achingly beautiful.

Presidential Address On Afghanistan Drinking Game

We all know by now what the President's new plan is for the War in Afghanistan, so we need something to keep the speech tonight interesting.

Drink when you hear these words and phrases:

troops

benchmark

finish the job

safe-haven

Taliban

al-qeada

hope

Pakistan

change

bless

God

America

deficit

daffodil

9/11

That should get you started.

War Bonds

Moderate senators haven't really taken to the "war tax" idea that was floated last week, but now some say we should have "war bonds" instead, like in World War II.

I suppose that would be preferable to the status quo, but this depends on people actually buying the bonds. Also, is this really any different than the bonds the Chinese buy all the time?

Why is actually raising the revenue through a modest tax increase on the wealthy such a crazy idea?

Politico Is Awful

Since President Obama is going to announce tonight on the teevee that he will send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, Politico decided it was very important to interview Dick Cheney and get his super serial analysis about how much of a faggot Obama is. What Cheney had to say was stupid enough, the but the village "journalists" at Politico don't seem to understand the concept of a follow-up question.

CLEARLY, the administration that started and mismanaged the war for eight years is not to blame for its present state.

The fact that Dick Cheney has seemingly learned nothing from his own failures is upsetting, but I shouldn't be surprised since no one who interviews him ever asks him about them.

Ooops

Looks like the alleged cop killer in Washington state was at one point granted clemency by a one Governor Mike Huckabee of Arkansas. Of course, when conservatives do things like this it's because they are great Americans who believe in the healing power of Jesus Christ. When liberals do this sort of thing it's because they are dirty fucking hippies who love criminals and secretly loath the victims. Makes sense to me!

Oile?...er...Texans!

My local sports franchise needs some help.

Antichrist Review

I don't make it to the movies much these days for a variety of reasons, but when I found out Lars von Trier, the Danish bête noir of the film industry, had made a new film, and that this film was called Antichrist, I knew what had to be done. The film is alternately the most entrancing work I've seen by von Trier and at times downright disgusting, but I would call it a success and a much needed dose of Gothic and intra-familial horror in a genre now dominated by dull torture porn.

The film stars Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg as a nameless married couple only known as "He" and "She," whose child dies by jumping out of a window while husband and wife are making love in one of the most over-stylized sequences I've ever seen in film. The design of the sequence, dominated by slow-motion and digitized color-editing, is no doubt von Trier playing with his audience, who have come to associate him with the stripped down, Dogme95 aesthetic. The sequence is beautifully edited, with the Italian chamber music soundtrack almost invoking a feeling of ballet, but it does eventually begin to try one's patience. After this opening prologue, the cinematography is more subdued, yet still much more stylized than other von Trier films.

After the death of her son, She is hospitalized when she collapses at her son's funeral, crippled by grief. Feeling his wife is being over-medicated and not allowed to experience her emotions properly, He, a therapist with unconventional methods, decides he is better suited to treat his wife. The two hike to a secluded cabin in the woods named Eden in the hopes of overcoming her maternal guilt.

Once they arrive, the film slowly builds toward its extreme yet ultimately unsatisfying conclusion. He has visions of still-born dear and talking foxes so well crafted that they will linger with you long after you leave the theater. It is during these moments that Antichrist is at its best, as von Trier has the nerve to to take time to use sound and image to build mood, all the while making his audience tear their hair out in anticipation of the horrific climax they know is coming. She continues to be tortured by grief until one day she wakes up feelin' fine, and we know it's all downhill from there. What follows are closeup shots of genital mutilation the Saw films only imply, and while von Trier's desire to shock his "seen-it-all" audience is admirable, it feels oddly superfluous to the film as a whole. These scenes have added to the film's notoriety, but not to the film itself.

The first hour and a half of the film, leading up to the explosion of violence, is masterful. More than anything else it recalls Stanley Kubrick's The Shining with it's slow, brooding terror and its demonstration that the person you share your bed with every night can be a source of dread. However, if von Trier had shown some restraint in the film's final twenty minutes, he would have delivered film that signified the best of the horror genre, but as is Antichrist showcases the best and the worst. Still, that's more than you can expect from the latest Eli Roth camp dreck.

Happy Thanksgiving, Y'all!

Polanksi Makes Bail

Oh dear.

Wars Cost Money Too

Lots of money, in fact. And despite what hawks and neocons would have you believe, they cannot be paid for with magic money the war fairies leave under our pillows at night. Therefore, it's encouraging that a growing group of Democrats in the House are insisting we find a way to pay for the upcoming escalation of the war in Afghanistan.

At the moment, the most developed proposal would be a surtax on the incomes of the wealthiest-ish Americans, with veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and their families being exempted. This idea obviously needs some work, but it's an important first step in what I hope will be a fundamental altering of the way we discuss foreign policy in this country.

Necons like to say Obama doesn't know how to be a "War President," but I can think of no better way for him to provide leadership than to call upon all Americans to sacrifice in some way. Since I doubt we're going to reinstate a military draft anytime soon (which I'm for but that's a topic for another post some day), than we can ask the country to give up a chunk of change every two weeks specifically to buy armor and ammunition. It will be a welcome change from the "support the troops by going shopping" mentality that has prevailed over the last nine years.

This proposal would also force several politicians, and the public at large, to put their money where their mouth is. All those deficit hawks who want to expand the war in Afghanistan, and bomb Iran and build missile shields Poland will probably balk at such a proposal and vote against it. That wont surprise me, but at least it will expose them as the hypocrites they are.

As for the American people at large, if they don't want to part with some money to support the war, then maybe they will try to put more pressure on our political leaders to change course. If they still are unwilling to pay more taxes and they favor continued escalation, then they're pretty piss-poor excuses for citizens.

Humpty Dumpty Had a Great Fall...

So, it's possible Michael Crichton wasn't far from the mark when he wrote 2004's State of Fear. Reports of hackers exposing a ton of information from climate scientist computers reveals that the "science" behind climate change might not be so science..eee.

It's not surprising I'm a little bit giddy hearing this news, but its not because I don't believe the climate of the earth does not shift, it's because all those who worship at the alter of GLOBAL WARMING have a little esplainin' to do after shoving their green ideology down our throats for the last few years.

This also lends credence to my belief that Al Gore and the rest simply used global warming as a scheme to rip people off by investing in things like "carbon credits" and what not, as opposed to truly being interested in saving the earth. (Like when Sean Penn went down to New Orleans to video the tragedy, but didn't go to really help out).

As I've said in private many times, I'm not opposed to "going green," but I refuse to participate in something I perceive as smoke and mirrors. And, what do you know, my suspicions are starting to look less like suspicions. If you want people to go green teach them how it can save them money, don't proselytize.

Anyway, it will be interesting to see what happens to Cap & Trade in the face of this revelation. I didn't support it before because it's just a gigantic business killing taxing mechanism, but now it may lose whatever moral weight it had because its based on possibly phony science.

Just to be fair, here's another article that seems to be more apologetic to climate change.

20-17

My local sports franchise didn't do so well.

Fútbol Americano

My local sports franchise is doing uncharacteristically well this season. My understanding is that they have an important match against another sports franchise tonight. Go team!

Christian Side Hug

Sometimes I just don't know.

Mayor White vs. Governor Goodhair

The current ruler of my urban hellhole, Bill White, has changed his mind and decided to run for governor of Texas instead of senator from Texas in a special election to replace Kay Bailey Hutchinson, current senator from Texas who is most likely resigning to challenge current governor of Texas, Rick Perry, in a primary. Got that?

This is a smart move on White's part, as I believe Rick Perry will probably be nominated again for governor, but in the process he has had to be a secessionist whack-job tenther. Also, the guy has been governor since 2001. I think we'd all like a, yes, change. Therefore, I think White will actually have a shot as a Democrat in a heavily Republican state due to the dislike of Perry and the fact that White is pretty moderate and his tenure as mayor is widely seen as a success.

As for the senate, a Democrat doesn't have a chance in hell of winning in Texas in the current political climate. It will be too easy for Republicans to tie anyone running to the national party, don't need more Democrats in congress, blah, blah blah...

Just In Time For Christmas

I've seen a few movies about teabagging in my life, but this one seems different:

The true story of the tea party protesters and their black friend Nate the librul media doesn't want you to see.

Lest We Forget

Now that the Democrats control two of the three branches of the federal government they're getting all the media scrutiny while the Republicans stand on the sidelines and pick apart all the flaws in the White House and Congress's policies without offering any serious alternatives. There's nothing wrong with that.

But it's good every now and then to remember that Republicans are big fat hypocrites and they suck.

The American People Are Idiots

I know a good way to ensure we experience a double dip recession...BALANCE THE BUDGET!!!! According to CNN this is what the American people believe the priority of the government should be. Atrios is right, apparently we are a nation of little Herbert Hoovers scurrying about.

Seriously though, we have a relatively recent historical example to show us why this is not a good idea. By the mid 1930s the New Deal had become quite effective and substantially lowered unemployment, and then in 1937 FDR decided it was time to balance the budget. Then, surprise, the economy began to shrink again and the nation was given the gift of another recession.

Don't get me wrong. Perennial deficits are not in the long term interests of the country, but there is a time and a place. Maybe if we hadn't followed GWB's brilliant policy of cutting revenue and dramatically increasing spending during relatively good times we would be in much better financial shape now, but then I remember it's Barack Obama's job to pay for all of Bush's mistakes. Part of me hopes a horde of Republicans get elected next year and the country gets what it wants, but then I remember that they will be too stupid to see the relationship between lame attempts to balance the budget and their lack of a job and unemployment check.

UPDATE: For a fun read, Matt Yglesias goes through what balancing the budget this year would entail.

Insight: Why Conservatives Like Palin

If you really want to know why we conservatives [heart] Palin so much, here's a good article on the subject by Victor Davis Hanson. In the end, it has a lot to do with not having a silver spoon sticking out of your backside and willing to use a little elbow grease.

An excerpt:

"We know now that you can do nothing and still finish as the head of Harvard Law Review, or win a Nobel Prize, but if you miss an antlered moose, or run out of gas in the tundra, or fall overboard on a salmon boat, there is no Norwegian committee or Harvard Law Dean to bail you out.

Such is not an argument for anti-intellectualism or a dismissal of in-depth scholarship and research, but rather a reminder that Palin has led a full life than can be enhanced by more formal investigation. A chatty, rarified Obama misses dearly a concrete past, where he had to succeed or fail on his own merits, in a competitive unkind environment, where the muscular world often conspires against the intellectual."

In short, hard work and personal responsibility [which are strictly conservative values, apparently, thus to say, they are traits not making up the liberal cloth. I suppose that may be a true statement].

Regarding the book tour. I could really care less, which I think is the sentiment for all at the Daily Ire, yet we can't help but throw in our two cents.

Everyone has a right to air their dirty laundry if they want, especially after being shut up for a year, and I'm sure it may come off as whining. I can't say one way or the other as I didn't watch the Oprah or hear any other interviews, but Palin could be telling liberals exactly what they want to hear and they'd still get all uppity so I find it hard to imagine any liberal giving her a fair shake. Which is incredibly awesome imo.

From what I have heard/read, the "whining" everyone is going on about - how the McCain camp handled her, the media etc. - makes up a small fraction of the book's 432 pages. But, that's what people want to talk about, c'est la vie.

Here's another thing I agree with Obama on, I doubt I'll read Palin's book. Frankly I've read a few autobiographies/biographies and most are not well written, especially those about current political figures. Maybe if I'm bored.

Anyway, I always enjoy Hanson's work. Check out his wiki page, it's fairly impressive.

ACORN Facts

FACT! ACORN greenlit The Cleveland Show.

If you have a twitter account you can find out more here.

Lists Are Stupid

When I was a wee baron, I used to love lists that attempted to rank music and films, like the "AFI's (the American Film Institute, not Mark's beloved band) top 100 Films" or "Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Albums of All Time." Now I hate these things with a passion, along with award shows. Here's why.

Obligatory Palin Post

I've been avoiding most political blogs and political shows on the teevee this week because they're all talking about the same thing, Sarah Palin's book.

I will confess I watched the Oprah interview. I tried to watch with an open mind but nothing she said made me like her or agree with her or feel sorry for her. Aside from the fact that we don't agree on any of the pressing issues of the day, she strikes me as remarkably unaware of her own shortcomings, but whatev. She can do her thing and sell eleventy-million books and be on the cover of every magazine. I feel about her much in the same why I feel about Paris Hilton, except I'd probably rather have Paris Hilton be President of the United States.

Alas! Maybe I'm just not meant to get Sarah Palin. She seems to be popular solely based on the belief that she is a victim and that every misfortune that has befallen her is everybody's fault but her own. How is she a strong voice for conservative values of hard work and personal responsibility when all she does is whine, whine, whine...and quit her job halfway through her first term?

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
The Word - Grand Old Pity Party
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor U.S. Speedskating

Going Mainstream

A certain word is a finalist for the Oxford American Dictionary's "Word of the Year."

He probably had nothing to do with this...

Thank GOD that we have elected a president who has finally moved our nation past judging people by the color of their skin and has surrounded himself by people who support his efforts.

Oh, wait hold on...we need to shore up votes on heathcare, go get 'em Jesse

“We even have blacks voting against the healthcare bill. You can’t vote against healthcare and call yourself a black man.”

Thanks Jesse.

Pardon Me Whilst I Call You Out.

This is something I actually agree with Obama on: if our government's debt continues to grow like it is now, we are headed for a possible double-dip recession. But, look who he's talking to - Fox News. So forgive me if I think he's just trying to quell the masses with his talk about tax incentives to hire, telling people what they want to hear, and whatnot. Unfortunately, it's all double speak when he's still pushing to spend trillions on healthcare and Cap & Tax and he's more like GW than anyone would care to admit when he's unwilling to veto stupid spending bills.

And if this is any indication of what's to come with Obamacare, then awesome: $98 Billion dollars misappropriated of our tax dollars in 2009, $55 Billion of that misspent on Medicare and Medicaid. The good part - they're going to "fix" the problem with this new bill! I'll believe it when I see it.

Vague Musings On The State Of Film

As the first decade of the 21st century winds down, I find myself feeling that this really has been a lackluster decade for motion pictures. Perhaps superior to the dreaded 80s (how can a decade produce such brilliant music and such terrible films), but overall not up to par. Ultimately I think this decade will be seen as a transition decade, much like how the 60s were a transition between the studio system of the 40s and 50s and the "give-the-new-film-school-graduate-everything-he-wants" mentality of the 70s. I see this decade as providing a link between the self-aware, irony-laden cinema of the 90s and an emerging realist style that just seems to take the world and it's problems more seriously. I welcome that development, as irony gets really old, really quickly. However, it's hard for me to have much confidence in such a generalization since one needs some perspective to evaluate an entire decade of film. Time will tell which ones remain with us and which don't.

Nonetheless, I find reason to be hopeful because this year there it seems like some of the more interesting filmmakers of the last decade are getting back to work. This weekend I will view Lars Von Trier's new offering, Antichrist, and I will get back to you all with my reaction.

Another film I'm looking forward to is Enter The Void (Soudain Le Vide) by Gaspar Noé, of Irreversible fame. I have more mixed feelings about Noé's films. I enjoy his extreme use of sound and light but am not a fan of his nauseating camera work. Still, I will have to see his new one because it has the greatest teaser trailer I've ever seen:

It's a little irritating because this actually steals my idea for a teaser trailer (which I stole from a much older film). Oh well.

End Of An Era

The gay print media, like all print media, is not safe from the awesome destructive power of the series of tubes we know has the internet.

R.I.P. Houston Voice. I'll miss browsing through your pages while waiting for my to-go order at Mai's.

A New New Deal

Paul Krugman hits the nail on the head in his column today about the need for a jobs bill, and what such a bill should contain. The good news is that it looks like a jobs bill is forthcoming, but we'll have to wait and see whether it will be targeted enough to have a real effect.

Krugman mentions something similar to a New Deal-era Works Progress Administration as an option, and I've thought the government should have done this last February, but they didn't believe unemployment would climb to 10.2 percent. To me, the WPA is Keynesianism at it's simplest, most effective, and most popular. By popular, I mean popular with the American people, not necessarily with economists. My older relatives still talk about how great Franklin Roosevelt was for the country and how he lifted the nation's spirits at a time when unemployment was at 25 percent(!!!) When they talk about this, they usually refer to two things he did specifically: first, repealing prohibition, and second, creating the WPA.

At its height, the WPA employed millions of people to work on infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges, and dams. Not only did this reduce unemployment, it also brought all parts of the country into the 20th century. Because of the WPA, my great-grandfather and great-grandmother in Texas had electricity for the first time. For some of my great-uncles in New York, it was the first time they were able to bring home a paycheck in months or years. I know many conservatives today would poo-poo this and say they were just on the government dole, but getting paid for doing work and being able to feed their family something other than chicken they got for free from a sympathetic friend down the street gave them pride they hadn't felt in a long time.

I know it's a different world than it was in in the 1930's and, like Krugman, I understand that such a program will be open to a lot of criticism from the right, but we should be looking to the past to see what works. Growing GDP shouldn't be the only priority. Instead of just writing unemployment checks, why not ask people to do something while they're getting government money?

Nothing New Under The Sun

Ok, let's see if you can follow me here.

This is The Postal Service from 2003:

Ok, now this is Owl City from 2009 (keep in mind none of the parties involved in The Postal Service are involved now):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aI4JLa0hbUw

(embedding is disabled on every version of this video for some reason, so you'll have to go to the yootoobs yourself to view it)

I mean, there's ripping off, and then there's...I mean, goddamn.

The Passion of Saint Carrie of Orange County, continued...

If you like a little surrealism with your CNN, you should have been watching Larry King Live last night with special guest Carrie Prejean.

I don't think Carrie Prejean is a smart person.

WWJD

Now that the Washington D.C. city council is set to vote to allow gay marriage in the district, the Catholic Church is threatening to pull all of it's social services from the district.

Although the measure before the city council explicitly states that no churches or religious organizations would have to marry the gays if they didn't want to, apparently that language is not strong enough. They are worried they might have to extend employee benefits to same-sex partners of Catholic charity workers.

I can understand why they may not want to do such a thing, but their reaction shows you where their priorities lie. I'm not a biblical scholar, but I seem to recall that Jesus talked a lot about the poor...feeding, clothing, etc. It's kind of a big deal. I don't recall the part where he talks about employee benefits not being extended to domestic partners. Maybe it's somewhere towards the back.

Perpetual War

This is the most encouraging news I've seen about our plans for the war in Afghanistan in some time. Obama has rejected all the options put forward by his generals and insisted that they be revised to contain an exit strategy.

This is important not because we should leave soon, but because if the Afghan government is under the impression we will be there indefinitely, it has no incentive to try to clean up its act. We already know that Karzai is corrupt and he doesn't seem to care about doing anything about it, but he might be more apt to if he thought he might be left to the mercy of the Taliban at some point.

Beyond that, having an open-ended occupation of Afghanistan is not in the national security and financial interests of the United States. The "safe haven" argument is a non-starter and doesn't hold up to even the slightest scrutiny. Pretty much any country in the world could serve as a location to hatch terrorist plots, including our own. Major Hasan did not need a safe-haven to plot his rampage at Ft. Hood. He just needed a gun. Continuing to occupy Afghanistan will not ensure that no terrorist attacks happen in the United States, and neither will leaving Afghanistan. That problem is going to be with us as long as we are seen as the premier superpower and thus the shiniest target.

However, there are geopolitical issues to consider other than terrorism which make the situation infinitely more complicated, namely Pakistan and its nuclear weapons. The threat of those weapons falling into the wrong hands is very real since last Spring the Taliban got very close to the capital of Islamabad.

I would speculate that these broader issues and implications are the main reasons why Obama will still give Gen. McChrystal most of what he wants. Dovish as I might seem, I'm not necessarily against that, but we should face the fact that we are going to have to leave at some point, or else nine years will turn into eighteen years.

Just a little off the sides please.

Here's an interesting article regarding labioplasty, the procedure to remove excess skin from the labia. I'm inclined to side with the doctors and say there is no real physical harm in the procedure. I'm guessing the clientele is probably the botox alienesque vixens getting the surgery, so what's a little more nipping and tucking anyway?

Taylor Swift is Hawt.

Congratulations to Taylor Swift for conquering the Country Music Awards and basically winning every award of the night. At 19 years old, she is the youngest person ever to win Entertainer of the Year at the CMA's. I know everyone at The Daily Ire is proud of you...I wonder if Kanye was watching.

Morning Announcements

South Park took on Glenn Beck in last night's episode.

He's just "asking questions."

¡Adiós!

Lou Dobbs is leaving CNN so he can devote more of his time to hating Mexicans.

The "t-word"

Nidal Malik Hasan is a terrorist. There, I said it.

When Timothy McVeigh blew up the building in Oklahoma, he was a terrorist. When the 9/11 highjackers flew the planes into the world trade towers, they were terrorists. However, in our current political climate, we aren’t allowed to call someone out for what they actually are.

Apparently, its is not enough to call someone a terrorist when they: scream "Allahu Akbar!" before murdering 13 and wounding 29 people while our nation is engaged in two wars in the Middle East, give presentations justifying suicide bombers and point out “we [Muslims] love death more than you [Non-Muslims] love life,” have ties to imams who endorse and encourage al Qaeda activities and jihad on Americans and consider you a hero for murdering Americans.

Why? Because Mr. Hasan also happens to be a Palestinian and a Muslim. Had this been someone who looked more like Timothy McVeigh or was a different faith, there would be no hesitation in calling him out as a domestic terrorist.

I understand avoiding unwarranted blow back, crowd control, etcetera, but when our government walks around on eggshells to such an n’th degree and tolerates extreme cultural relativism this is what happens. There’s being polite then there’s being suicidal, and we are choking ourselves with PC rubbish.

I don’t think there is anything wrong with approaching matters with caution and forethought, but there is a point where Political Correctness and accompanying spin becomes ridiculous.

First the word “terror” and all “offensive” Bush policy language is removed from anything to describe our foreign policy, activities that once were called “terrorism” are reclassified as something else, people make claims that the U.S.’s actions are akin to those same terrorist activities it is supposedly trying to suppress, the cowboy swagger is replaced by eloquent culturalism. And now people who are clearly terrorists aren’t to be called “terrorists.”

These are the policy decisions by the Obama administration that were supposed to curtail events like Fort Hood and assuage the Middle East. And now they’re trying to cover their collective backsides on the Fort Hood attack by utilizing the tool that was instrumental in causing the whole mess – extreme political correctness

But, we all know what happened at Fort Hood. We know what Mr. Hasan is. We are not as stupid as our government likes to think we are. We know when they’re giving us double talk.

They call it “post traumatic stress disorder” (though Mr. Hasan never went to war). They say he was a lone nut (though he has ties to imams and was proselytizing on base). They hesitate to say it was religiously motivated (though he screamed "Allahu Akbar!"). They say the real issue is the military needing to do a better job addressing workplace stress like civilians workplaces (though the two are mutually exclusive).

There is one very important reason for all this: the occurrence of a terrorist attack under an Obama administration looks extremely bad given the policy shift it put in place.

Panopticon

The Google sees all.

Where's Jesse?

So a black guy punches a white woman in the face because of an argument over what the black guy called "white privilege" and yet there is nothing calling the black guy out as being a racist in any article I can find on the internet.

I don't know if the guy is in fact a racist, and that's not really the point. The point is had it been a white guy punching a black woman in the face, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton would have been on this quicker than you could say "hate crime." The assailant would have been lambasted as a hate mongering racist and the talking heads would have been all to happy to comment on how redneck racist teabaggers are ruining the country and sabotaging any hope of of becoming a post racial community. But no, here, it's simply "an unfortunate event." Kinda like when that white kid was beaten up on the school bus.

And, why isn't the great One coming to the defense of the black guy and commenting off the cuff about how stupid the white woman must have been for arguing about this, a la the Henry Gates incident?

The Simpsons: Behind the Laughter

Being a Simpsons fan of the highest order, I can't wait to read John Ortved's new book "The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History."

The books has actually been somewhat controversial due to three of the shows original executive producers, Matt Groening, James L. Brooks, and Sam Simon, refusing to be interviewed, and actively trying to thwart the book's publication. However, from what I read about this book it doesn't seem like it will contain any explosive revelations for fans. Most of us know that Matt Groening is more of a cartoonist than a brilliant sitcom writer, and as such the show's unique humor that developed over the first few scenes was very much a product of a collaboration of writers.

That being said, Matt Groening has managed to create two brilliant shows that have very different styles of humor, The Simpsons and Futurama. That's a lot more than Seth MacFarlane can claim.

A Stop To Sprawl

This is good news. One good aspect of a bad real estate market is that it might put the kibosh on sprawl, and it looks like more young adults are choosing to start families in urban hellholes with mass transit options rather than soulless suburbs where every Applebee's has a parking lot bigger than my block.

However, Atrios is skeptical of the long-term implications of this change. People really do love their authentic Italian lotsa-mozzarella-pizza-balls at the local Carino's.

On Second Thought...

...maybe we shouldn't scale back military spending after all.

Stay Classy, Rev. Phelps

Members of the Westboro Baptist Church (the godhatesfags people) are taking a break from the pride parades and soldiers' funerals to protest outside Sasha and Malia Obama's school.

Would anybody really mind if a bomb accidentally "fell" on the Westboro Baptist Church? I'm thinking along the lines of another Waco but without the long, protracted stand-off.

Twenty Years Later

Usually Ross Douthat just brings the stoopid to the pages of The New York Times, but this week his column is somewhat thought-provoking. His contention seems to be that we don't recognize and celebrate the full significance of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union. This is probably true, but sadly it is understandable because although most of the existential threats to liberal democracy have been vanquished, we act as if our existence is one the line every time a Hugo Chávez or a Kim Jong-Il yawns.

Today would be greeted by more celebration if things had actually changed here after the fall of the Berlin Wall, but even though our Cold War rival collapsed, we are still always on a permanent war footing. We still spend as if we are gearing up for a showdown with another superpower. I'm not advocating that we go back to a pre-World War II setting where we have no armaments industry and scrap every tank, but there is a lot of ground in between no standing military and spending far more than any industrialized nation.

Maybe Douthat is right that we should recognize this day and take stock. It might provide some perspective when looking at the dangers in the world today.

On a Personal Note...

I passed the Texas Bar Exam. Sweetness!

Heyy, I'm Winnin' Here!

I'd like to extend my congrats to the New York Yankees for winning the world series for the 27th time.

On a side note, apparently democratic presidents are good for the Yankees, providing yet another reason for Mark to hate them.

Bullshit

An investigation by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission has cleared the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission of any wrongdoing in the raid of a gay bar in Fort Worth in which a 160 lb. patron was shoved into a wall so hard it left a dent and he ended up in a coma.

Well that's a relief. CASE CLOSED!

Baseball: Game Six

Tonight is the sixth, and possibly last, game of the 2009 World Series. With the Yankees leading the series 3 games to the Phillies' two, Andy Pettitte has a chance to secure the Yankees 27th world championship.

And, as always, there is some drama. Pettite's coming off of only 3 days rest. Though it may not seem like a huge factor given how we're used to having pitchers going out on truncated schedules in the post-season, it's a bit worrisome when you compare the fact Phillies pitcher Pedro Martinez is coming off of five.

Will it make a huge difference? We'll see.

If Pettitte pitches well, everyone will be blabbing about how it was such a great managerial decision despite the risks and how awesome Yankees are. If he pitches poorly, everyone will be blabbing about how it was such a blunderous managerial decision in face of the risks but still how awesome the Yankees are.

Though my money's on the Phillies to win tonight, I'm hoping Pettitte pitches well, but the Yankee lose anyway. That way, we all get a game 7 and elongate the season just one more night before having to wait until next spring for baseball's return.

No hard feelings Andy, there's still much love for you in H-Town.

Public Education: Obama's Apple Polishers

More videos of school children singin' praise for The One. No matter your political bent, we should all agree that public schools should not be institutions of state indoctrination.

Of course, when you compare this to what Obama said about conservatives doin' just what their told and democrats bein' free thinkers, there seems to be something a little off.

On another note, watched ABC's new show "V" last night. I enjoyed it. Doubt Obamaphiles liked it as much. The show is not subtle and there is little that hasn't been done before. And it's kinda cheesy. But, it just might become my new guilty pleasure.

A show premised on a race of lizard aliens disguised as beautiful humans with eloquent speaking skills that offer hope and peace to a troubled world along with universal healthcare for all, so as to lure them into a calm before enslaving them.

"MMMMM, MMMMM, MMMMM, Barack Hussein Obama."

Last Night: A Mixed Bag For the Gays

So Prop 1 passed in Maine last night, repealing legislatively enacted gay marriage in that state. It sucks and even though I don't live in Maine and I'm not fixin' to marry anybody, I'm still bummed this morning because it's a very personal issue and every time one of these things passes, which is to say every time so far, it feels like a punch in the gut. I think that's why emotions got so heated in California after Prop 8 passed. It's easy for people to say the gays should just calm down and accept the will of the majority, but when these initiatives pass there is a real feeling of betrayal. Your friends and neighbors profess to love and accept you, but when they are sealed the voting cubicle their true feelings come out.

That said, there was some good news for gays last night that isn't getting as much attention. Washington state approved a referendum that would would expand domestic partnership benefits to that state's gays.

Also, it was a good night for gays running for office in urban hellholes, including my own. Not that long ago being openly gay would have been a serious liability in running for office in these places, and now it doesn't even seem to be much of a factor.

2 %

That's the percentage of folks who will be covered by the public option being touted in Congress. At the $1,200,000,000,000.00 price tag, I'm glad those two-percenter's are getting coverage.

Good job government.

EDIT: Just to clarify, I'm not scolding the government because I believe more individuals should have fallen under the public option. I'm finding it amazing that they've managed to bungle yet again with their most pet of pet-projects.

Governmental Incompetence: More news on the stimulus

Since the stimulus was such a roaring success according to its supporters, lets look at what our government is using our money on to stimulate, shall we.

Some of my Favorites:

- $300,000 for a GPS-equipped helicopter to hunt for radioactive rabbit droppings at the Hanford nuclear reservation in Washington state.

- $30 million for a spring training baseball complex for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies. (that's our money being used to build a baseball field that should have been paid for by the owners of the teams, but instead we're doing it for them!)

- $11 million for Microsoft to build a bridge connecting its two headquarter campuses in Redmond, Wash., which are separated by a highway. (because Microsoft can't afford it themselves, duh!)

- $462,000 to purchase 22 concrete toilets for use in the Mark Twain National Forest in Missouri (that's $21 grand per toilet...made out of concrete...when you can buy an 80lb bag of concrete for $5.19...I'm sure it was special concrete.)

and the best

- $800,000 for the John Murtha Airport in Johnstown, Pa., serving about 20 passengers per day, to build a backup runway.

Aren't we all glad that the government, in spending almost $800 Billion of cash that didn't actually exist, is flushing it away on things like this.

Now they want to spend $1,200,000,000,000.00 of our money on healthcare "reform" and that's the low end estimate. They claim it won't add to the deficit, but the CBO added that that claim was very uncertain. And if you can tell your right foot from your left, you know this type of mass spending is in no way sustainable.

I will admit, I was swaying a bit towards backing reform because something just has to be done (mostly fueled by my distrust of and disgust with insurance companies). Then I thought, "how is the government any better?" Even though the insurance companies are no where near as profitable as some claim, they are still making money. Why? Because they have too in order to survive. The government can run in the red, bankrupting itself (and us along with 'em) and not even blink an eye.

If things are just so deplorable now, what's going to happen when the government takes over and we can't pay for this hunk of horse sh**?

Do away with trust exemptions for ins. co.'s and do some real reform instead of breaking the back of the American people with more taxes to cover this 2,000 page healthcare monstrosity.

There's a reason they're having to ram this through so fast. Dems are afraid this will be their only opportunity to finally get their idea of healthcare reform passed because come November they'll likely lose their majority due to their utter incompetence while in power. And they don't give a damn about the consequences of doing all this, that we get to face. Its about winning to them, not actually getting things done the right way.

If the Liberal Democrat plan is anything like other programs the governments has implemented, that 1.2 Trillion dollar number will have to be described using exponents, i.e. 1.2 x 10 to the 13th power. I don't even know what number that is! And national debt is ticking up to 12 Trillion dollars. Holy God. Where is all this money coming from to pay for this?!?!

Just awesome.

But What Does It All Mean???!!!

As I said in my previous post, the Villagers are going to try to extrapolate all sorts of dumb things from the elections today. If Republicans do well, it means Obama is d00med. If Republicans lose New Jersey and New York, they are d00med for all eternity. I think both of these analyses are wrong; however, the always intrepid and insightful Josh Green has it about right.

My Election Predictions

For what it's worth...

Today is election day, but since it's an off-off-year there are just three races that have gained national attention: the governor's races in Virginia and New Jersey, and the special election for an open congressional seat in New York's 23rd district.

Virginia Governor: I'm fairly confident in predicting that Republican Bob McDonnell will beat Democrat Creigh Deeds by a fairly comfortable margin. Deeds has run a pretty weak campaign and McDonnell has been pretty effective in tacking to the center to gain some votes in moderate northern Virginia that went to Obama last year. Not much mystery here.

New Jersey Governor: This is the race that is the hardest to predict. For most of the year Republican Chris Christie had a sizable lead over Democratic incumbent John Corzine, but Corzine is closing strong as some of the shine has come off Christie and now the race is literally tied in the Pollster.com average. What Christie has going for him are greater Republican enthusiasm and being a change agent in a bad economic year. Corzine has the structural advantages of incumbency and New Jersey's finely tuned Democratic get-out-the-vote machinery. I'll go down as predicting Corzine will eek out a win, but I wont be at all surprised if it comes out the other way. Additionally, there will be lots of punditizing about what these races mean for Obama and the Democrats, and most of it will be stupid, but this is the one race where it would be fair to extrapolate broader notions of the national mood. If the Democrats lose, they need to concentrate on ways to gin up enthusiasm before next year.

New York 23rd District: This is a crazy race. It was a three-way race that the Democrat Bill Owens was winning, but since Republican Dede Scozzafava dropped out, it's a two-way race between Owens and Conservative Party candidate and Teabagger Doug Hoffman. This is a heavily Republican district that elected a Republican even during the bloodbaths of 2006 and 2008, so it's no surprise that Hoffman is now in the lead since the conservative vote is no longer split. I think this race will say more about internal Republican dynamics than the direction of the country though. This race could be a surprise since there have been so many twists and turns, but I will go the safe route and predict a Hoffman victory.

EDIT: There is another congressional election going on today that I overlooked, and the Democrat is tethering himself to Obama and is likely to win. It hasn't gotten as much attention, probably because it doesn't fit the media's new narrative that the President is the most hated man in America.