Someone’s Not going to be happy about this

I look forward to any updates.

RudyJudyBernieJudith

Our media does truly suck!

Someone please shove a needle through Giuliani’s nose because he really needs a moral compass.

Awesome

Froomkin in his final column for the Washington Post:

How did the media cover it all? Not well. Reading pretty much everything that was written about Bush on a daily basis, as I did, one could certainly see the major themes emerging. But by and large, mainstream-media journalism missed the real Bush story for way too long. The handful of people who did exceptional investigative reporting during this era really deserve our gratitude: People such as Ron Suskind, Seymour Hersh, Jane Mayer, Murray Waas, Michael Massing, Mark Danner, Barton Gellman and Jo Becker, James Risen and Eric Lichtblau (better late than never), Dana Priest, Walter Pincus, Charlie Savage and Philippe Sands; there was also some fine investigative blogging over at Talking Points Memo and by Marcy Wheeler. Notably not on this list: The likes of Bob Woodward and Tim Russert. Hopefully, the next time the nation faces a grave national security crisis, we will listen to the people who were right, not the people who were wrong, and heed those who reported the truth, not those who served as stenographers to liars.

Better Late Than Never

If anyone is interested in my other life, I have a new website here. Some of the videos take a little time to load, so your patience is appreciated.

Just Answer the Fucking Question

I was at a dinner party last night, and the question of Michael Bloomberg’s tenure as mayor came up, as well as his plan to run for a 3rd term. Personally, I think that Bloomberg has set in motion policies that have degraded the quality of life in this city. His obsession with mayoral control of the school system has completely shut out parental involvement, and attempted to re-make the public school system using a corporate model as a template. His approach to development has given unchecked license to developers, who ravage neighborhoods and build without any consideration of infrastructure or residential displacement. And his focus on Manhattan has enraged and alienated many residents of the other 4 boroughs. And apparently, he’s increasingly testy about being questioned as to whether he deserves a third term, even to the point of telling the reporter who asked the question that he was “a disgrace”.

I only hope that the members of the local media here keep asking him that question, because not only would I like to know his true motivation for seeking a third term, but the emergence of his inner Giuliani might give William Thompson a fighting chance to unseat this asshat.

Update: Pissed in NYC reminds me of the trampling of civil rights perpetuated by Bloomberg during the Republican National Convention in 2004. Yeah, with Mayor Mike, it’s all about the fucking money.

We’re Not Worthy!

So I’m having a fine day planting lots of poisonous plants in the garden and photoshopping some unwanted elements out of a video clip, when Tengrain decides to send me a link to a steaming pile of skull-fuckery that eclipses even the most semi-rational argument that Michelle Malkin could conjure, because DavidFuckingBroder at least has the capability to sound reasoned. So let’s begin, shall we?

That was a rare and splendid moment when the president of the United States and the former vice president offered their sharply contrasting views on maintaining national security in back-to-back televised addresses last week.

Yes, fucking splendid! Because just when you thought the proctologist had finished with the cavity search, he takes a sip of his dry martini and shoves his finger even deeper into your ass, because he insists the cancer is there, even if all the tests have indicated otherwise. Because he knows, okay? How dare you question authority, even if he no longer has a license to practice.

I found myself thinking about how much more satisfying and enlightening this impromptu exchange was than the presidential or vice presidential debates in which the same two men participated when they were running for office. The strict time limits imposed in those encounters, and the consequent reliance on sound-bite answers, prevented the kind of sustained argument that we saw from both.

Splendid, satisfying and impromptu! It’s a Camel cigarette ad wrapped up in a soft-core swingers party, except that Broder neglected to mention that one of the participants has been leaving availability flyers on every signpost for the last 12 days, and pimping out his daughter as a bonus. This may be the first ever book tour that took place before even the first ghost writer was waterboarded and forced to scrawl on sackcloth with his own blood.

I thought Cheney’s strongest point was his assertion that Obama had “no plan” for handling the 240 occupants of the Guantanamo Bay prison when he announced, soon after taking office, that the facility would be closed within a year.

That announcement, fulfilling an explicit campaign pledge, symbolized a sharp break from the previous Republican administration and won Obama praise from European allies and many of his core supporters here at home.

But by placing an easy gesture ahead of a thought-out strategy, Obama left himself vulnerable to the backlash we have seen — and allowed critics such as Cheney to question his seriousness in handling sensitive security questions.

Because you can’t be serious about addressing serious policy matters as long as you’re mired in legal issues, such as whether the previous administration violated international law. Anyway, it helps if you’re part man, part machine, willing to shoot anyone in the face first, and submit to questions later, as long as it’s a closed session with no official transcript. You also reserve the right to tell the committee chair to go fuck himself.

Cheney, too, is scornful of the simplistic formulas that politicians tend to favor — one reason he was never a big hit on the campaign circuit. But he is as serious about governing as Obama is, and as confident in his own judgments.

Broder’s on a roll here. Nothing reflects confidence in one’s own judgment more than having Google Earth images of your residence obscured, and scrambling now to avoid prosecution for having a couple of guys waterboarded 266 times in the space of 2 months. It wasn’t enough to get whatever information you could acquire through torture. You had to hear it over and over to be sure. Cheney claims that the information saved thousands of American lives, but there is no hard data to back up his assertion. But facts demonstrate that nearly 3000 lives were lost on September 11, while he was so “serious about governing”. For all his reference to 9/11, that is conveniently overlooked.

But maybe that’s okay with DavidFuckingBoder, as long as some remnant of the Bush administration is still there for him to take comfort in.

That Didn’t Take Very Long

Dude should just stick to twittering.

NBC’s “Meet the Press” suffered its lowest ratings since David Gregory became moderator last week, dipping below the 3 million viewer mark for the first time since August 19, 2007*.

Let’s review, shall we…..

The Meth Within their Methodology

Who’d have guessed that Dick Cheney’s world tour isn’t the only thing fueling those Red State fires.

Federal authorities in Atlanta on Wednesday announced the biggest seizure of Mexican crystal methamphetamine ever recorded east of the Mississippi River.

Federal drug enforcement agents seized about 351 pounds of meth from two houses in Duluth, in suburban Atlanta, in an operation that began Sunday and extended into Monday morning. They arrested four Mexican nationals, three of whom are in the U.S. illegally.

As you might expect, the shrillness will be televised. If Dobbs and Malkin can’t get traction from this one, they’ll totally lose the remaining 21% of the party faithful.

Of course on the downside, this probably means that Erick Erickson’s bestest awesomest bash evah! is now cancelled.

August 1, 2009, we will meet in Atlanta. By popular demand, we’ll have a full day of events and some special guests to hang out with.

We need you to do something though. We need you to commit to come and we’re going to ask you to commit with a $15.00 non-refundable registration fee. Why? Well, we will get a tremendous deal at one heck of a nice hotel in Atlanta if 80 of you agree to come and stay in the hotel.

And let’s be honest. We all know a lot of people will like the idea of coming, but if there is no financial commitment, might not come. We don’t want to be left holding the bag on this event. So, we’re asking you to prove you are coming by locking in with $15.00.

[...]

In exchange for the $15.00 and assuming we can get 80 people to get rooms at the hotel, here’s what we’re offering:

* 1 day to get to know each other and hear from some politicos. We’ll also have two very awesome groups make some presentations on activism, which is exactly what we need.
* $109.00 room rate at the Grand Hyatt Buckhead in Atlanta. It’s one of the nicest hotels in the city and that is an amazing rate. It is very near MARTA, the public transportation system, on a straight line from Atlanta’s airport.
* Breakfast will be included for free on Saturday and Sunday, as will a lunch on Saturday, and snacks throughout the day.
* Friday night and Saturday night cocktails.
* Everybody will get a RedState welcome package.
* Assuming we get 80 confirmed attendees quickly who need hotel rooms, we’ll get an even lower room rate for early bookers, and then a higher rate for late registrants.

Here, again, is the key. We need 80 people to stay at the Hyatt. My understanding from talking to a lot of you is that we’re going to have more than that. But we need the upfront commitment to lock things in.

Sorry, but the fail train has already left the station.

Condiment Nation

God, I hate These. Fucking .People.

During the May 6 edition of his Fox News program, Hannity said: “[A]s you all know, President Obama is a real man of the people. And yesterday he dropped by a popular Virginia restaurant to grab a burger with his pal [Vice President] Joe [Biden]. Now, the Gateway Pundit blog pointed out that plain old ketchup, well, it didn’t quite cut it for the president. Now take a look at him ordering his burger with a very special condiment. … Dijon mustard? I think the president watched just a little bit too much television as a kid.” Hannity then played a portion of a Grey Poupon commercial and commented, “I hope you enjoyed that fancy burger, Mr. President.” In the May 5 post Hannity referenced, the Gateway Pundit wrote of Obama and Biden: “They’re just two ordinary metrosexual guys going out for a burger … Obama and Biden, two ordinary guys, go out for a sandwich and Obama asks for Dijon mustard at Joe’s Hell Burger.” The blog added: “I hear it’s delish with arugula lettuce. Yum-Yum.”

During the May 6 edition of her radio show, Ingraham said of Obama: “I don’t even like the way the man orders a hamburger. … What kind of man orders a cheeseburger without ketchup but Dijon mustard?” She later added of Obama: “See, he was trying to do this whole thing with Biden — ‘We’re like the regular people, we’re like every other guy, you know, with our — on our lunch break, we’re going to go grab a burger, two guys, two bros.’ ” Like Hannity, Ingraham played a clip from a Grey Poupon commercial in which an actor asked, “Pardon me, would you have any Grey Poupon?” Ingraham then remarked: “That would have been more appropriate.” Ingraham’s remarks were highlighted by The Fox Nation on May 7.

Is it still out of bounds to ask O’Reilly what kind of sauce he prefers with his loofah falafel?.

Rebel Without A Cause

I must admit I was suspicious when Arlen Specter announced his switch to the Democratic party, but I didn’t expect him to fall off the teabagging wagon so soon.

In an interview with the New York Times Magazine, the newly minted Democrat said he thinks Republican Norm Coleman should win his Senate recount court battle against Al Franken in Minnesota.

“There’s still time for the Minnesota courts to do justice and declare Norm Coleman the winner,” Specter said, when asked how he felt about the lack of Jewish Republicans in the Senate.

Now it seems that his newly found colleagues in the Senate have begun to question his real motivation for the sudden change in attitude; After all, once a douche bag, always…..

The Senate dealt a blow tonight to Sen. Arlen Specter’s hold on seniority in several key committees, a week after the Pennsylvanian’s party switch placed Democrats on the precipice of a 60-seat majority.

In a unanimous voice vote, the Senate approved a resolution that added Specter to the Democratic side of the dais on the five committees on which he serves, an expected move that gives Democrats larger margins on key panels such as Judiciary and Appropriations.

But Democrats placed Specter in one of the two most junior slots on each of the five committees for the remainder of this Congress, which goes through December 2010. Democrats have suggested that they will consider revisiting Specter’s seniority claim at the committee level only after the midterm elections next year.

Now that Limpballs and the incredibly shrinking leadership of the Republican party have declared Specter an outcast, he’d be wise to remember that if you find yourself working in the cloak room of the Senate, tips are optional.

UPDATE: It seems that Specter has now tried to clarify his position, by expressing deep regret for any harm this may have caused his “career of being precise”.

Please Do NOT Shut the Fuck Up

This asshat is the best mascot the Republican party could ask for.

Joe the Plumber, aka Samuel Wurzelbacher, sat down for an lengthy interview with Christianity Today to discuss his views on the future of the Republican party. Wurzelbacher took the opportunity to speak out against gay marriage, which he says is wrong. The unlikely conservative spokesman went so far as to say he doesn’t allow openly gay people “anywhere near” his children.

The word “queer,” Wurzelbacher noted, “means strange and unusual.”

By which the very definition of the word could be used to describe the ever shrinking membership of the conservative movement.

These idiots have circled the wagons so tightly that it’s cutting off all oxygen to the brain.

Power to the People

Nikola Tesla in a multiple-exposure photo in 1899, as a Tesla coil discharged millions of volts.

Dickenson V. Alley/Burndy Library

I used to live near the site of Tesla’s Houston Street laboratory. As children, some of the older residents had heard stories of the residual effects of one of his experiments conducted there.

On 30 July 1891, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States at the age of 35. Tesla established his 35 South Fifth Avenue laboratory in New York during this same year. Later, Tesla would establish his Houston Street laboratory in New York at 46 E. Houston Street. There, at one point while conducting mechanical resonance experiments with electro-mechanical oscillators he generated a resonance of several surrounding buildings but, due to the frequencies involved, not his own building, causing complaints to the police. As the speed grew he hit the resonant frequency of his own building and belatedly realizing the danger he was forced to apply a sledge hammer to terminate the experiment, just as the astonished police arrived.[55] He also lit vacuum tubes wirelessly at both of the New York locations, providing evidence for the potential of wireless power transmission.

On the other hand, Tesla’s innovation could have offered the possibility of free electricity and eventually internet access, but Thomas Edison decided to electrocute an elephant in order to bury those ideals, and rake in some cash.

More Gardening Shots

Just a few images from this afternoon, as things really begin to establish themselves.

From the back door….

Columbine in bloom….

Corydalis….

Lungwort….

Ferns….

And for Karen Zipdrive, Ganesh in the stone wall.

When Epic Met Fail

So according to Condi Rice, al-Qaeda poses a greater threat to the US than Nazi Germany ever did. And the authorization of torture was just a technical memo passed between colleagues. So take that you elitist college brats! Who amongst you can claim an oil tanker with your name tattooed on its ass? Anyway, if you want to know about history, ask her husband. He’s always right.

As always, more informed commentary can be found here.

Another Garden Grows in Brooklyn

It’s a shade garden this year. Lots of ferns, lungworts, barrenworts, alyssum, and some columbine. More pictures in May.

Get a Brain, Morans

Rep. Joe Barton (Shit for brains-TX) thinks he got one over on Nobel Prize winning scientist and Energy Secretary, Steven Chu. Clearly he didn’t get the memo that science is once again a legitimate field of study.

Permanent Midnight

Because 2 dim bulbs do not make a light.

Honestly, Pamela Geller interviewing Michelle Bachmann is like an asshole licking its own armpit.

Things Change

After almost a year at our current location, tomorrow marks the process of yet another move. The new place is a much better arrangement for all of us, one that will offer more spacious living quarters and adequate studio space. It’s one of many developments that have recently surfaced in my life, and in which blogging increasingly seems to be out of step with.

After the last move, I initiated this blog, my third, thinking that it would gain momentum in the wake of the coming election. It did to some degree, but there was another aspect of my life which had fallen dormant for a time, and that was also gently rekindled by being in a new location. After the election, I experienced a gradual lapse in momentum; you could say that life without Sarah Palin to kick around just didn’t seem as much fun. I thought I would eventually regain the motivation, but the promise of new digs and the accompanying opportunities have convinced me that it’s time for me to leave this part of my life behind. I’ve attempted several posts since the last one in December, and the juice just isn’t flowing anymore. Or rather, it’s being channeled elsewhere.

So this is my farewell, at least in this format. I may set up a website for my artwork and gardening endeavors in the near future, and I’ll certainly continue to read the many fine blogs in the sidebar. This site will stay up in case I want to post on new developments or future outrageous incidents which are sure to occur, with the coming of the Bush Library and all. But for now, my time needs to be directed towards various aspects of career, family, and projects which have gone untended for too long.

I want to give a nod of appreciation to Tengrain, Lisa, Pissed, distributorcap, Fran, Spartacus, Blue Gal, Watertiger, and Mike; bloggers whom I know to varying degrees, who have supported this shitty little blog in its multiple incarnations. There’s a housewarming in the near future, and I expect to see all of your asses there. If not in person, at least through Skype.

Morse

Activity Has Dropped Off In My Sector

I’m going to be honest about this. I have no motivation to blog right now. That’s not to say that I’m not interested in what’s happening, but events in my life have taken a new turn which are currently directing my attention elsewhere. So for now, that’s where my focus remains. I’ve reached a point where I need to make some decisions about matters related to career and personal growth, and blogging just isn’t a part of that. Since I took this up in 2005, a lot of my life has been given over to the process, and now it’s time to reclaim what has been temporarily put aside. This is just not a priority right now, and I’m sure that at some point I’ll return, but for now, I have a lot of catching up to do.

In Which I Unleash a Holiday Tradition

This one goes out to the Falafel King, who will forever be a POW in the War on Christmas.