Wingnuts having to watch that pile of shit is the best revenge.
Update: Link fixt.
Saturday, December 28, 2013
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
A Christmas Contest
Mike Allen, PoliticHo:
WE’RE GRATEFUL TO PLAYBOOKERS for being such a loyal, encouraging audience. Seven years ago, there were three of you. Now, there are 100,000 of you. Thank you for the grace for our errors, of omission or commission; for teaching us something fascinating, every single day; and for your passion for the very topics that we’ve devoted our life to illuminating. We’re always anxious to serve you better, and are grateful for your suggestions about content, tone, format – anything. We answer every personal email: mallen@politico.com.
The first Roger Ailes reader to get a personal return e-mail from mallen@politico.com will win a valuable prize, worth at least $10 USD. All other readers will receive nothing more than the joy of knowing that Mike Allen has wasted his life. The winning entrant must provide a physical address to which the prize can be sent, or may designate a charity for receipt of the prize. E-mail replies from Mike Allen predating this announcement and automated replies are ineligible. Mike Allen and his immediate family, registered and unregistered lobbyists, and employees of Politico, the Chamber of Commerce, Morning Joe and the Hair Club for Men are ineligible. The winning Allen response will be published on this website, along with the recipient's e-mail if needed for context. Your e-mail address and any personal information will not be disclosed, but this website cannot indemnify you in the event of retaliation by Mike Allen.
Saturday, December 21, 2013
Happy Holidays
"Let's have a great Christmas. Let's have a great year. Let's have the best year of our whole lives. We can, you know... this could be the best one ever."
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Man-Child vs. Girly-Boy
I'd have to pick girly-boy by a TKO. You don't want to get anywhere near Little Richie's pajamas after he's encrusted them with his Sarah-starbursts.
Grand Old Police Blotter: Tennessee Pride Edition
No longer is Glenn Reynolds the most vile Republican in all of Tennessee:
According to Roll Call, Loksarn was “one of the Senate GOP’s top strategists and aides.”
WASHINGTON — A federal judge ordered a program of “high-intensity” home supervision Monday for Ryan Loskarn, who was fired last week as Sen. Lamar Alexander’s chief of staff after being arrested on federal charges of possession and distribution of child pornography.
...
Officials believe that between November 2010 and March 2011, Loskarn made several purchases from a website offering child pornography DVDs. Loskarn was also accused of offering child pornography files for download from his home computer.
Court documents say that when law enforcement officials arrived to search his house, one official watched as Loskarn seemed to place an object outside a window. Officials later found a portable hard drive in that location, and a prosecutor said Monday that the drive contains at least 200 videos of child pornography.
The possession charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, while the distribution charge carries a minimum of five years and a maximum of 20.
Loskarn has been held in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since his arrest.
Alexander, a Republican running for a third term in 2014, removed Loskarn from his Senate office payroll as soon as he learned of the investigation. Loskarn also worked for Alexander when the senator chaired the Senate Republican Conference, a post he stepped down from in 2011.
Loskarn had a track record as a highly regarded congressional aide for more than a decade. — more than once making Roll Call newspaper’s “Fabulous 50 Movers and Shakers” list. He also once worked for Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.It is too much to hope that Reynolds would represent Loskarn as counsel in his criminal trial.
According to Roll Call, Loksarn was “one of the Senate GOP’s top strategists and aides.”
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Fail, Fail Again
In support of the soon-to-be-pulped The Up Side of Down, the current promotional blurb from the publisher, on amazon.com:
And by the time Feb. 11, 2014 gets here, it will be Newsbusters/The Daily Caller.
Megan McArdle is a special correspondent for Newsweek/ The Daily Beast. A graduate of the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago, she has been a finance and economics correspondent for The Economist and a business columnist and blogger for The Atlantic. She lives with her husband, Peter, in Washington, D.C.Special doesn't even begin to cover it.
And by the time Feb. 11, 2014 gets here, it will be Newsbusters/The Daily Caller.
Sunday, December 15, 2013
The Universal Prayer
As an unethusiastic and increasingly frequent user of health care services, let me say that everyone should have access to the same health care I have received. Except for the people I like, who should only have access to the beneficial health care that I have received.
Friday, December 06, 2013
Know Your Conservative Heroes
The non-intern-paying New Republic has more on wingnuts who supported apartheid and attacked Nelson Mandela:
Reagan called the ANC “notorious terrorists,” and, as late as 1988, called apartheid "a tribal policy more than ... a racial policy."Of course, these attacks are only in the past because Mandela retired from public life -- and some of the wingnuts are no longer alive.
It wasn’t just Reagan. Moral Majority leader Jerry Fallwell called [Desmond] Tutu a “phony” who didn’t speak for South Africans blacks. He even urged Americans to support the Pretoria government. North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms filibustered the sanctions bill. Strom Thurmond and Phil Gramm likewise opposed it. And future vice-president Dick Cheney called Mandela a terrorist, saying in 2000 that he didn’t regret his position. Pat Buchanan called Mandela a “train-bomber.” The Heritage Foundation said America should stop calling for Mandela’s release from prison. Pat Robertson, Grover Norquist, future Tea Party leaders, and current Republican Senators—all were on the books supporting the Apartheid government. When 35 House Republicans broke with the Reagan administration, the National Review called them “uppity,” and Human Events called them a “lynch mob.”
Here's a bonus wingnut hack attacking Mandela more recently.
Breaking News: Must Roger Credit!
Vice.com breaks a story about unpaid interns at liberal publications, and at The New Republic.
Roger Ailes broke the story months ago.
Whoever writes Silly Sully's shitty blog for him pretends Sully didn't know about the practice, despite the fact Sully worked for TNR.
Roger Ailes broke the story months ago.
Whoever writes Silly Sully's shitty blog for him pretends Sully didn't know about the practice, despite the fact Sully worked for TNR.
Life and Death
Gawker has a good rundown on what the Right's greatest heroes said about Nelson Mandela in real time. One example:
Ron Paul: James Kirchick gave a good rundown of Ron Paul's hardline racist newsletters in a 2008 New Republic article, including this tidbit regarding what the newsletters had to say about Nelson Mandela: "South Africa's transition to multiracial democracy was portrayed as a 'destruction of civilization' that was 'the most tragic [to] ever occur on that continent, at least below the Sahara'; and, in March 1994, a month before Nelson Mandela was elected president, one item warned of an impending 'South African Holocaust.'"Of course, no one will mourn Ron Paul's death and no one will ever cite a contribution Ron Paul has made to anything anywhere.
Thursday, December 05, 2013
Alms For The Poor-Mouths
In the middle of National Review's latest latest beg-a-thon -- tied to Michael Mann's suit against NR and Mark Stain -- the fine print:
In a previous beg-a-thon, almost one year ago, NR claimed they'd raise over $100,000 in a week. And didn't mention that the insurance company was paying. Either the wingnuts grew some brains on Day 8, or NR got its 200K long, long ago.
C'mon, suckers, give 'til it hurts. NR can't defend itself unless Golberg's pantry is filled with Ring-Dings and Rich Lowry's booster seat is upholstered with 24 karat gold.
Sure, we have insurance, and the insurer is paying the bills. But the insurer doesn’t pay the full fare, and I have to tell you, it is quite a fare. Quite. And now as we enter an intense phase of this case, where the legal hours will rise like the sea levels in Professor Mann’s dreams, that fare will become ... stratospheric.
I’m expecting this will cost a couple hundred grand. And maybe more. Again, this is out of pocket.It's lovely to imagine the rubes swallowing this shite. If NR's insurance company is paying to defend NR, NR shouldn't be incurring anything, unless they're demanding something special they didn't buy insurance for.
In a previous beg-a-thon, almost one year ago, NR claimed they'd raise over $100,000 in a week. And didn't mention that the insurance company was paying. Either the wingnuts grew some brains on Day 8, or NR got its 200K long, long ago.
C'mon, suckers, give 'til it hurts. NR can't defend itself unless Golberg's pantry is filled with Ring-Dings and Rich Lowry's booster seat is upholstered with 24 karat gold.
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Saturday, November 23, 2013
A Humble Request
Dear Readers,
I have had ongoing medical problems for some time, and have reached a point medically where doctors are recommending a treatment I hope to avoid. I have no reason to believe my doctors are wrong in their opinions, but am looking for an alternative solution. This requires that I locate a specialist who would be willing to pursue that solution (if such a thing exists). I have tried, and am currently trying, to find such a person myself, including through my current doctors and HMO, via internet/library research and speaking with family and friends, so far without luck. (For my sins, I have read my Evidence of Coverage cover-to-cover.) I will keep trying. If anyone has any suggestions about how to navigate such waters, I would be most grateful if you could contact me via e-mail (at rogerailes - at - hotmail.com) with any advice. Please be assured I will in no way seek to impose on you further than recieving your suggestions with unqualified gratitude.
So as not to confuse, this is not a request for medical advice but for an answer to the question "how does one find someone who may not exist to discuss a medical solution which may not exist?"
To everyone, I apologize for the vague, secretive and annoying nature of this post. I'm not dying (any more than everyone else is), or anything close to it, nor do my complaints deserve special consideration. Believe me, if I knew what else to do, this post would be a gag about Mickey Kaus or some other asshole.
Thank you.
"Roger"
I have had ongoing medical problems for some time, and have reached a point medically where doctors are recommending a treatment I hope to avoid. I have no reason to believe my doctors are wrong in their opinions, but am looking for an alternative solution. This requires that I locate a specialist who would be willing to pursue that solution (if such a thing exists). I have tried, and am currently trying, to find such a person myself, including through my current doctors and HMO, via internet/library research and speaking with family and friends, so far without luck. (For my sins, I have read my Evidence of Coverage cover-to-cover.) I will keep trying. If anyone has any suggestions about how to navigate such waters, I would be most grateful if you could contact me via e-mail (at rogerailes - at - hotmail.com) with any advice. Please be assured I will in no way seek to impose on you further than recieving your suggestions with unqualified gratitude.
So as not to confuse, this is not a request for medical advice but for an answer to the question "how does one find someone who may not exist to discuss a medical solution which may not exist?"
To everyone, I apologize for the vague, secretive and annoying nature of this post. I'm not dying (any more than everyone else is), or anything close to it, nor do my complaints deserve special consideration. Believe me, if I knew what else to do, this post would be a gag about Mickey Kaus or some other asshole.
Thank you.
"Roger"
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Dog Fellates Man
Breaking: Mike Allen is a slap-headed whore.
Which is why he fits right in on "Morning Joe."
I made the mistake of turning on that clusterfuck this morning. In between the plenteous plugs for Banjo Boy's latest book, a human centipede comprised of Mike Brzezinski, Harold Ford Jnr., Donny Deutsch Jnr., Mark Halperin Jnr. and Nicole Wallace pretended that Brzezinski's high-school-aged daughter had raised a $100K for some charity, zero dollars of which derived by means other than Mika's shakedown of dolts looking for facetime on Morning Joe. (Ford Jnr. and Deutsch Jnr. acknowledged their shakedowns on the program.) Brzezinski's attempt to create the next Luke Russert/Peter Doocy was even more revolting that Brzezinski's standard insipidity.
Which is why he fits right in on "Morning Joe."
I made the mistake of turning on that clusterfuck this morning. In between the plenteous plugs for Banjo Boy's latest book, a human centipede comprised of Mike Brzezinski, Harold Ford Jnr., Donny Deutsch Jnr., Mark Halperin Jnr. and Nicole Wallace pretended that Brzezinski's high-school-aged daughter had raised a $100K for some charity, zero dollars of which derived by means other than Mika's shakedown of dolts looking for facetime on Morning Joe. (Ford Jnr. and Deutsch Jnr. acknowledged their shakedowns on the program.) Brzezinski's attempt to create the next Luke Russert/Peter Doocy was even more revolting that Brzezinski's standard insipidity.
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Grand Old Police Blotter: Fort Myers Vice Edition
The latest Republicriminal to be arrested was caught enjoying a refreshing combination of tea and coke:
U.S. Rep. Trey Radel, the tea party freshman Republican from Fort Myers, was arrested Oct. 29 for cocaine possession in Washington D.C, Politico reported.
Radel, who faces a maximum of 180 days in jail and a fine of up to $1,000, was charged Tuesday in D.C. Superior Court with misdemeanor cocaine possession and is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday.
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police Department said the agency has no record of Radel's arrest; the U.S. Attorney’s office for the District of Columbia declined comment. Radel couldn't be reached. [Try Rob Ford's place -- R.A.]
If Radel had been arrested in his home state for cocaine possession, he would have faced far more-serious consequences than in Washington. The crime is a felony in Florida, where Radel would have lost his voting and other civil rights had he been convicted in state court.
Another contrast between DC and Florida: If the congressman had been a state worker, he would face termination under Gov. Rick Scott, who wants to drug test state employees.If the anti-choice "libertarian" falls, the FL G.O.P. has another Tea Party favorite ready to take his place in the War on Women on Drugs, time off for good behavior permitting:
A Florida judge on Tuesday set bail for George Zimmerman at $9,000 and ordered a number of conditions for his freedom -- including that he not possess weapons -- while he awaits trial on charges he pointed a shotgun at his girlfriend.
He was released from the John E. Polk Correctional Facility on Tuesday afternoon. He didn't speak with the media.
Zimmerman was arrested Monday at his girlfriend's Apopka home, four months after he was acquitted of murdering teenager Trayvon Martin.
A prosecutor revealed a new allegation against Zimmerman while trying to argue for a higher bail -- that Zimmerman tried to choke his girlfriend a week and a half before Monday's alleged shotgun incident, and that Zimmerman had talked about suicide.Sing us out, Elvis!
R
Sead more here: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2013/11/report-tea-party-rep-trey-radel-busted-for-personal-cocaine-possession.html#storylink=cpy
Thursday, November 14, 2013
The Teabaggers' Salman Rushdie
Dylan Davies received a hand-delivered death threat, but unwisely forgot to smash the courier's face in with his rifle.
Consequently, the man of action is unavailable to substantiate his all-true tales of derring-do untl further notice.
Consequently, the man of action is unavailable to substantiate his all-true tales of derring-do untl further notice.
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Logan Buries The Lede The Truth
CBS' 60 Minutes tells a truth about its lies:
Exactly so.
And who exactly would raise questions about Davies' account on 60 Minutes BEFORE HE APPEARED ON THE FUCKING PROGRAM AND GAVE THAT FUCKING ACCOUNT? People who had never seen that account because they didn't have access to the interview foorage, or the bullshit book CBS was publishing? If you're going to broadcast bullshit, saying that no one called you on your bullshit before you broadcast it is neither a defense nor an apology. It's an admission of gross incompetence.
“We end our broadcast tonight with a correction,” Logan said this Sunday. She used Jones’s real name, Dylan Davies. when an incident report surfaced. It told a different story about what he did the night of the attack.” Davies, she said, “insisted the story he told us was not only accurate, it was the same story he told the F.B.I. when they interviewed him.” When “60 Minutes” learned on Thursday that, in fact, the F.B.I. report “was different from what he told us, we realized we had been misled, and it was a mistake to include him in our report. For that we are very sorry. The most important thing to every person at ‘60 Minutes’ is the truth. And the truth is, we made a mistake.”
This is, in many ways, an odd statement and an understatement. To say that the incident report “surfaced” and told “a different story” isn’t quite adequate: Karen DeYoung, of the Washington Post, obtained it, and it was apparently already among the papers turned over to Congress. The discrepancies extended to Davies’s location that night: he was not in the compound at all but, rather, in his “beach side villa.” (“We could not get anywhere near,” the report read.)"After the broadcast, she said, 'questions arose about whether his account was true....'"
Exactly so.
So eager was CBS to spread Davies' conservative bullshit that it performed no investigation into whether that account was true. CBS and Logan never raised any questions before broadcasting Davies' fairy tale.
And who exactly would raise questions about Davies' account on 60 Minutes BEFORE HE APPEARED ON THE FUCKING PROGRAM AND GAVE THAT FUCKING ACCOUNT? People who had never seen that account because they didn't have access to the interview foorage, or the bullshit book CBS was publishing? If you're going to broadcast bullshit, saying that no one called you on your bullshit before you broadcast it is neither a defense nor an apology. It's an admission of gross incompetence.
60 Minutes preferred to turn a doughy-looking mope into an action hero just to keep the Benghazi lies alive. Until they clean house, 60 Minutes is no more credible that NewsBusters or Breitbart News.
Monday, November 11, 2013
When Is A Jury Trial Not A Jury Trial?
Dan Abrams' right-wing media website Mediaite (aka NewsBusters for Profound Dummies), declares that a jury acquitted Sam Donaldson of a DUI charge via verdict:
Verdict Reached in ABC Reporter Sam Donaldson’s DUI Trial
A jury on Friday acquitted veteran ABC anchorSam Donaldson of DUI charges filed against him late last year.
The Delaware trial reportedly lasted five hours and, following his acquittal, the veteran reporter strode over to the officer who’d arrested him and told her: “You did your duty as you saw fit. I bear no animus toward you whatsoever.Not really.
GEORGETOWN — A Sussex County judge dismissed charges against former ABC political correspondent Sam Donaldson, who last year was arrested in Lewes and charged with driving drunk.
Judge Rosemary Beauregard said the arresting officer’s report was incomplete and a failed sobriety test was improperly administered.
Donaldson appeared Nov. 8 in a nearly empty Sussex County courtroom. The state would call only one witness – arresting officer Katie Couchman of Lewes Police Department. Couchman testified she stopped Donaldson about 8 p.m., Dec. 1, 2012, because he was driving on the shoulder of the road, to the right of the westbound lane.You'd think that Dan Abrams would employ people who could rewrite articles accurately, if not actually understand and/or distinguish between complex legal concepts like "judge" and "jury."
Confidential to A Head Case
These people, assuming they exist:
(Apparently "contributing editor at The Atlantic" doesn't come with health benefits.)
Like Bridget Jones’s “smug marrieds,” the “smug insureds” — friends who were covered through their own or spouses’ employers or who were grandfathered into their plans — asked why I didn’t “just” switch all of our long-term doctors, suck it up and pay an extra $200 a month for a restrictive network on the exchange, or marry the guy I’m dating. How romantic: “I didn’t marry you just to save money, honey. I married you for your provider network.”Were just rubbing your nose in this:
At their core, they pose one of the most complicated, painful, and pervasive dilemmas many single women are forced to grapple with nowadays: Is it better to be alone, or to settle?
My advice is this: Settle! That’s right. Don’t worry about passion or intense connection. Don’t nix a guy based on his annoying habit of yelling “Bravo!” in movie theaters. Overlook his halitosis or abysmal sense of aesthetics. Because if you want to have the infrastructure in place to have a family, settling is the way to go. Based on my observations, in fact, settling will probably make you happier in the long run, since many of those who marry with great expectations become more disillusioned with each passing year. (It’s hard to maintain that level of zing when the conversation morphs into discussions about who’s changing the diapers or balancing the checkbook.)See. They're only concerned about your happiness.
(Apparently "contributing editor at The Atlantic" doesn't come with health benefits.)
Friday, November 08, 2013
Logan's Rum
Another Teabag fairy tale exploded:
Let's go behind of the scenes with the crack investigative news team at 60 Minutes, which is not at all similar to the late Mike Levey's "Amazing Discoveries" (since Mike's financial conflict of interest was blatantly obvious, rather than concealed)":
You can't put anything past Logan, if someone else does her job for her after the fact. What we now know is that the CBS News division is infested with right-wing hacks.
Will Logan be axed? I Rather doubt it.
But if she is, Breitbart News is hiring.
The correspondent for the disputed “60 Minutes'’ segment about the attack on the United States Special Mission in Benghazi, Libya, last year apologized on the air Friday morning, saying it was a “mistake'’ to put on a security officer whose credibility has since been undermined by his diverging accounts of his actions that night.
The reporter, Lara Logan, said on “CBS This Morning'’ that the news division was misled by the officer, adding, “We will apologize to our viewers, and we will correct the record on our broadcast on Sunday night.”
The apology followed disclosure by The New York Times on Thursday evening that the security contractor, Dylan Davies, had provided the F.B.I. an account that contradicted a version of events he provided in a recently published book and in the interview with “60 Minutes,” which was broadcast on Oct. 27.
Mr. Davies told the F.B.I. that he was not on the scene until the morning after the attack.For those unfamiliar with Davies, this sums him up pretty well: "Davies['] motivation to lie presumably has something to do with the fact that he is coming out with a book about alleged warnings that he gave the U.S. government about security flaws before the attack."
Let's go behind of the scenes with the crack investigative news team at 60 Minutes, which is not at all similar to the late Mike Levey's "Amazing Discoveries" (since Mike's financial conflict of interest was blatantly obvious, rather than concealed)":
“He denied that [incident] report [to his employer],” Ms. Logan said, “and he said that he told the F.B.I. the same story that he had told us. But what we now know is that he told the F.B.I a different story to what he told us. And, you know, that was the moment for us when we realized that we no longer had confidence in our source. And that we were wrong to put him on air.”That magic moment!
You can't put anything past Logan, if someone else does her job for her after the fact. What we now know is that the CBS News division is infested with right-wing hacks.
Will Logan be axed? I Rather doubt it.
But if she is, Breitbart News is hiring.
Like Father, Like Scum
The Paul family has an interesting relationship with the hired help.
1. Ron Paul hires racists to ghostwrite the racist "Ron Paul Newsletter," then claims ignorance of the newsletter's content and asserts he's not responsible for the work of his ghostwriters. Of course, Paul keeps the money from the sale of his racist newsletters.
2. Rand Paul hires the racist "Southern Avenger" to ghostwrite his book, The Tea Party Goes to Washington and work on his Senate staff, then allows the racist ghostwriter to resign when his past is revealed. Of course, Paul keeps the money from his book sales.
3. Rand Paul has his Senate staff ghostwrite his second book, speeches and Moonie Times column using plagiarized material. When he's caught, Paul plays the victim but refuses to fire the responsible staffers, presumably because they would reveal the extent of Paul's personal involvement in the theft of intellectual property. Of course, Paul keeps the money from his book sales, speeches and column.
I'm sensing a trend.
1. Ron Paul hires racists to ghostwrite the racist "Ron Paul Newsletter," then claims ignorance of the newsletter's content and asserts he's not responsible for the work of his ghostwriters. Of course, Paul keeps the money from the sale of his racist newsletters.
2. Rand Paul hires the racist "Southern Avenger" to ghostwrite his book, The Tea Party Goes to Washington and work on his Senate staff, then allows the racist ghostwriter to resign when his past is revealed. Of course, Paul keeps the money from his book sales.
3. Rand Paul has his Senate staff ghostwrite his second book, speeches and Moonie Times column using plagiarized material. When he's caught, Paul plays the victim but refuses to fire the responsible staffers, presumably because they would reveal the extent of Paul's personal involvement in the theft of intellectual property. Of course, Paul keeps the money from his book sales, speeches and column.
I'm sensing a trend.
Trotter Ends His Run
Being remembered for this must be something of a mixed legacy:
Dishes from the final week of menus included poached white asparagus with charred broccolini, manchego cheese and red pepper essence and root beer leaf ice cream with vanilla cremeaux and birch syrup-infused meringue.
Better than being remembered for this, I guess:
In August, almost a year to the day after the restaurant closed, [Charles] Trotter kicked out high school students who had been invited to showcase their artwork from an after-school program in the former restaurant. One student said Trotter "went ballistic" when their instructor declined the chef’s request that they sweep floors and clean toilets.
Monday, November 04, 2013
The Hayes Code
Charlotte Hayes, last seen being struck by a sedan in Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita, wishes to deliver a spanking to Rush Limbaugh, Chris Christie, Bill Bennett and Ted Cruz:
In addition to loud-bodied fatties and public-space vulgarians, Hayes lays into stamped tramps, including one presumably easily-identifable slapper who showed up for Heritage Foundation cocktails sporting Chi Omega ink.
Obesity, the product of a lack of discipline, sloppy dressing, loud and intimate cellphone chats broadcast to a captive audience and foul language nonchalantly uttered in the ATM line are all forms of this “self-expression” [i.e., "White Trash"ism].
What really cheeses Char off is that it's white people who are letting it all hang out. She only attacks pale peckerwoods, aka, "White Trash," and not their darker cousins. She believes either that non-whites are beyond reproach, beyond salvation, or not an appropriate subject for discussion in polite society. What gives the game away is that she truly believes there was a time when whites weren't trash.
Students of Arnold Toynbee, the English historian, will recognize what is going on here. In a chapter of his “A Study of History” entitled “Schism in the Soul,” Toynbee argued that it is a sign that a society is disintegrating when it takes its cues for manners and customs from the underclass. He describes such societies as being “truant” to their own values.
Toynbee is the guide to what we see all around us today.And students of veterinary science will recognize horseshit when they read it.
Last year, “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo,” which features a cornucopia of social ills, was TLC’s highest-rated show, attracting more cable viewers than the Republican National Convention, which had the misfortune to share the time slot with the charmers from Georgia. The show’s matriarch, June Shannon, has four daughters by four men, one of whose names she can’t recall.TLC's ratings were 47 percent higher, if I'm not mistaken.
In addition to loud-bodied fatties and public-space vulgarians, Hayes lays into stamped tramps, including one presumably easily-identifable slapper who showed up for Heritage Foundation cocktails sporting Chi Omega ink.
My young friend wore a “bespoke” tattoo, which means it was designed in consultation with an “artist.” In my mind, it bespoke volumes.
800 words in the N.Y. Post just to shame one hep-C deserving slut. Now that's uberclassy!
Has A Man Ever Delivered A Baby?
Top three (polite) responses, survey says:
Yes. I was delivered by a man, or so I'm told.
Has a baby ever been conceived without a man?
Has a woman ever contracted testicular cancer?
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Corrections and Amplifications
From the Wall Street Journal, 10/29/13:
An earlier version of this post stated that Mr. Furley's wife had a taxpayer-funded abortion. Mr. Furley was unmarried. Further, the Wall Street Journal has not been able to confirm independently the claim that Larry Dallas obtained roofies through Medicare Part D. We regret being caught.
Saturday, October 26, 2013
Governor P90XXXL
Chris C. meets Shaun T.:
Among [Governor] Christie’s efforts, Kulkarni certifies, is a healthy diet and regular exercise, doing aerobic and resistance-training exercise four days a week for an hour at a time.
After the February lap band surgery, Christie “has been losing weight steadily,” according to Kulkarni.
Christie/Ryan '16, the Insanity ticket. Lose the weight, keep the hate.
Correction: I am reliably informed that it is Shaun T., not Shawn T. It still rhymes with auntie. I regret the error.
Update: There does appear to be a dispute about Mr. T.'s height. Per Google:
Correction: I am reliably informed that it is Shaun T., not Shawn T. It still rhymes with auntie. I regret the error.
Update: There does appear to be a dispute about Mr. T.'s height. Per Google:
Shaun T
Shaun Thompson, better known as Shaun T, is an American fitness trainer and choreographer best known for his Insanity and Hip-Hop Abs home fitness programs for adults and children. He measures 6 feet 1 inch tall and weighs 175 pounds.
Wikipedia
Born: May 2, 1978 (age 35),
Deptford Township, NJ
Height: 5' 11" (1.80 m)
Education: Rowan University
Friday, October 25, 2013
Roger's Plug and Play
When you do your Christmas shopping for dear ol' Rog, be sure not to get me Critical Mass by James Wolcott (491 pages. Doubleday). It will already be in my hot little hands and undergoing its third reading by Black Friday.
I've also asked the local libraries to order copies, so I can read them and keep my personal copy of the tome in anal-retentive pristine condition.
Be sure to ask your local bookseller for "Wolcott's Critical Mass," lest she try to palm off the latest Sara Paretsky novel or a bicycle ride around San Francisco instead of the real goods.
Be sure to ask your local bookseller for "Wolcott's Critical Mass," lest she try to palm off the latest Sara Paretsky novel or a bicycle ride around San Francisco instead of the real goods.
Saturday, October 19, 2013
Taft Punk
Every blogger and her sister has had fun at the expense of Peggy Nooners and her exclusive interview with Bob Taft's Wikipedia page. I cannot improve on that ridicule, but I have discovered several transcription errors in Noonan's recapitulation of their Socratic exchange.
Herewith, the record straight:
Senator?
Oh, Christ. Not this loon.
Herewith, the record straight:
Senator?
Oh, Christ. Not this loon.
Go away, I'm dead. I have no powers of thought or speech.
Why did they call you "Mr. Republican"?
I was a powerful Republican Senator. You may have read about that on my Wikipedia page.
What is the purpose of a party?
To amass and wield political power. A political party is not a fucking car.
He feels more sympathy toward the tea party than the establishment.
That's not a question. What kind of interview is this?
The establishment?
That's not even a complete sentence. What the fuck is wrong with you?
Of course I side with the establishment. My father was the fucking President. I was in politics my whole adult life. I supported big business over labor, and government activism in support of big business. I wasn't some Bible-humping halfwit like Sarah Palin or Rand Paul. I wouldn't let a bunch of amateurs and cranks tell me how to run the G.O.P. And I wouldn't stoop to piss on Andrew Breitbart.
I was a powerful Republican Senator. You may have read about that on my Wikipedia page.
What is the purpose of a party?
To amass and wield political power. A political party is not a fucking car.
He feels more sympathy toward the tea party than the establishment.
That's not a question. What kind of interview is this?
The establishment?
That's not even a complete sentence. What the fuck is wrong with you?
Of course I side with the establishment. My father was the fucking President. I was in politics my whole adult life. I supported big business over labor, and government activism in support of big business. I wasn't some Bible-humping halfwit like Sarah Palin or Rand Paul. I wouldn't let a bunch of amateurs and cranks tell me how to run the G.O.P. And I wouldn't stoop to piss on Andrew Breitbart.
What should the establishment do?
You're not listening, Nooners. You're going to write some idiotic article where you claim to speak for me and characterize me as a Tea Partier, aren't you? You need to be institutionalized.
How will a big merge happen?
I thought you had a kid years ago. I'm not a gynecologist, for Christ's sake.
How will a big merge happen?
I thought you had a kid years ago. I'm not a gynecologist, for Christ's sake.
See you in Hell.
Sunday, October 13, 2013
You'll Never Write Anything Better Than Lanark
Happy 10th anniversary to The 100 Greatest Novels of All Time.
Don't even think about writing one of the 100 greatest novels of all time; they've already been written.
Don't even think about writing one of the 100 greatest novels of all time; they've already been written.
The RepubliKlan Party WIll Rise Again
Ted Cruz and Sharia Palin have joined Krazy Kounsellor Klayman and Confederate flag waving wingnuts outside the White House outside the White House to show "Respect for Our Vets."
I would do so, but geography prevents me from pissing on a Confederate's grave at present.
Update: Who knew that a couple hundred racists and three carnival freaks = a Million Veterans? I blame the New Math.
I would do so, but geography prevents me from pissing on a Confederate's grave at present.
Update: Who knew that a couple hundred racists and three carnival freaks = a Million Veterans? I blame the New Math.
Saturday, October 12, 2013
Hot Cross Buns
Best cross ever, from today's New York Times crossword:
Update (10/19) : Answers:
A
INTHEREAR
A
L
Update (10/25): This was the highlight of my month -- Will Shortz on buttseks in The Grey Lady. I guess it's just me.
2 Down: Like a control freak (4 letters)
15 Across: Trailing (9 letters)
Update (10/19) : Answers:
A
INTHEREAR
A
L
Update (10/25): This was the highlight of my month -- Will Shortz on buttseks in The Grey Lady. I guess it's just me.
Of Being Sick and Tired
Spent the last week away from the computer on doctors' advice. But I'm back on my feet, for the time being at least.
If I disappear again, send Ted Cruz's search party.
If I disappear again, send Ted Cruz's search party.
Sunday, October 06, 2013
Ask Questions Later
This is a question that I haven't seen a good answer to: Why was the woman who allegedly tried to illegally pass a security checkpoint near the White House shot and killed?
I'm not saying the shooting was wrong; I'm saying I haven't seen the justification for it. She injured people and endangered people when she fled the scene, no question. It would seem that shooting at the driver of a speeding vehicle, one which has an infant inside, also risks endangering people. The question should be: were the lives of police officers who shot her or anyone else's life immediately in danger, such that the shooting was the best (if not only) way to prevent further loss of life or injury to innocent bystanders.
If the following account is correct, it appears the threat had been eliminated before the woman was shot:
I can see where it might be reasonable to assume that the woman had violent intentions even after she left her disabled vehicle. But was there a reasonable concern that she had the ability to commit violence once she outside her car?
I'm not saying the shooting was wrong; I'm saying I haven't seen the justification for it. She injured people and endangered people when she fled the scene, no question. It would seem that shooting at the driver of a speeding vehicle, one which has an infant inside, also risks endangering people. The question should be: were the lives of police officers who shot her or anyone else's life immediately in danger, such that the shooting was the best (if not only) way to prevent further loss of life or injury to innocent bystanders.
If the following account is correct, it appears the threat had been eliminated before the woman was shot:
Several minutes later, officers appeared to have the woman cornered in front of the western side of the Capitol facing the National Mall. But as officers, with their weapons drawn, approached Ms. Carey’s car, she rammed it into reverse.
Officers tried to dodge out of the way, but the Infiniti struck a police car and raced up Constitution Avenue, where it crashed into a barrier.
What occurred next was not clear. Ms. Carey managed to get out of the car, and was shot by several officers. According to a law enforcement official, she was not armed, and it was not known whether she presented an immediate danger.Was not known to whom, at what time? By the official when he was asked by the reporter, or by the officers who shot her right before they shot her?
I can see where it might be reasonable to assume that the woman had violent intentions even after she left her disabled vehicle. But was there a reasonable concern that she had the ability to commit violence once she outside her car?
Tuesday, October 01, 2013
Dropped By A Deuce
The star of "The Hot Chick" didn't leave the Democratic Party, the Democratic Party left the star of "The Hot Chick." Rob Schnider, the actor known for making "makin' copies" the catch phrase of the 1990s is no longer a Democrat, because Adam Sandler prefers working on the East Coast big government has ruined his movie career:
Rob fails to mention where his failed sitcom, his work on "Betty White's Off their Rockers" and his cartoon voiceover work were venued. I'm guessing Alabama.
“The last time I made a movie in California was seven years ago,” he said. “And that’s because we’re not being competitive. I own a vitamin company with my friend and we moved out of state because of overregulation. It isn’t helping businesses.”The Democratic Party's also the reason Rob's castmates Phil Hartman and Chris Farley haven't made a movie in seven years, amirite? At least Victoria Jackson's still got a film career.
Rob fails to mention where his failed sitcom, his work on "Betty White's Off their Rockers" and his cartoon voiceover work were venued. I'm guessing Alabama.
But Schneider isn't a social conservative yet. Like Sarah Palin, he still loves the dick jokes:
I went to my doctor and told him "my penis is burning." He said, "That means somebody is talking about it."Bill O'Reilly on line one, Robmeister. Strike while the iron is hot!
Monday, September 30, 2013
Sunday, September 29, 2013
A Housekeeping Note of Staggering Genius
Those seeking to enter into correspondence with Roger Ailes the blog may reach this blog via e-mail at rogerailes @ hotmail.com or rogerailes @ outlook.com.
The fastmail.fm account for this blog is no longer active.
That is all.
The fastmail.fm account for this blog is no longer active.
That is all.
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Allan West, Crucified on the Cross of Political Correctness
Allen West is the latest victim of the P.C. Police and identity politics:
Two sources familiar with what happened told BuzzFeed that West had gotten into an argument with a female employee and called her a "Jewish American princess" while telling her to "shut up." Reached by phone, West told BuzzFeed he was leaving his job voluntarily, though one source familiar with the situation told BuzzFeed he had been fired..."No I didn’t get fired," West said. "I’m leaving to pursue political aspirations. That’s it. There’ll be a statement that comes out and it’s effective in October." Asked specifically whether he referred to the employee as a "Jewish American princess," West said simply, "There was an exchange, that’s all."I'm not understanding why this didn't go over well at Depends Media.
Surely other vocal opponents of political correctness will denounce the enemies of free speech who have silenced a great man. I fully expect Glenn Reynolds to resign out of principle in response to Aubrey Chernick's attack on a black man, and for FOX News to double the brother's salary now that's he's out of his other job due to ethnic sensitivity run amok. This can only be made right by Depends' immediate reinstatement of West, and the termination of the woman who -- like so many others -- has slandered Col. West.
And, if not, Al's just wrapped up his victory in that Florida Senate race.
Why Can't Billy Count?
Billy Jacobsen, the third worst blogging law professor in the U.S., displays his mad McArdle skillz in defense of his dinosaur pals.
He's unhappy with the Gallup headine "Tea Party Support Dwindles to Near Record Low," so he reimagines the hed as "Opposition to Tea Party drops to near record low." Gallup is trying to trick you sheeple, by the use of graphs which illustrate its point.
Gallup plots Tea Party support at its highest in 2010, at 32 percent, and at its lowest in 2011, at 21. Current support is 22 percent, a number immediately adjacent to the record low of 21.
Gallup plots Tea Party opposition at its highest in 2012, at 29 percent, and at its lowest in 2011, at 21. Current opposition is at 27, two percentage points from its high and six percentage points from its record low. Closer to higher than lower, and five more percentage points above its record low than TP support is. In no conceivable interpretation of the English language is Tea Party opposition near a record low. It's near its record high.
Billy's beef is that Tea Party support was actually lower in 2012 (21 percent) and then rose before falling again. Says he: "Tea Party support is significantly lower than three years ago, but about where it was two years ago. So the drop took place two years ago, not recently as the Gallup headline (picked up in the mainstream media) would have you believe."
But Tea Party support climbed to 26 percent in early 2012, and has dropped since then to 22. Thus, as Gallup correctly asserts, Tea Party support has dwindled from the last measurements, and it is now at a near-record low. The hed says nothing temporal, except the implied statement that Tea Party support was even lower in the past (when it was at the record low). There's nothing inaccurate, or misleading, about the Gallup hed.
Even PolitiFact wouldn't try to get away with Billy's bullshit.
Billy Jake also posits that if you eat dinner with four other people representing the American electorate, one diner would be a Tea Party supporter. He'll be the one playing with his food.
He's unhappy with the Gallup headine "Tea Party Support Dwindles to Near Record Low," so he reimagines the hed as "Opposition to Tea Party drops to near record low." Gallup is trying to trick you sheeple, by the use of graphs which illustrate its point.
Gallup plots Tea Party support at its highest in 2010, at 32 percent, and at its lowest in 2011, at 21. Current support is 22 percent, a number immediately adjacent to the record low of 21.
Gallup plots Tea Party opposition at its highest in 2012, at 29 percent, and at its lowest in 2011, at 21. Current opposition is at 27, two percentage points from its high and six percentage points from its record low. Closer to higher than lower, and five more percentage points above its record low than TP support is. In no conceivable interpretation of the English language is Tea Party opposition near a record low. It's near its record high.
Billy's beef is that Tea Party support was actually lower in 2012 (21 percent) and then rose before falling again. Says he: "Tea Party support is significantly lower than three years ago, but about where it was two years ago. So the drop took place two years ago, not recently as the Gallup headline (picked up in the mainstream media) would have you believe."
But Tea Party support climbed to 26 percent in early 2012, and has dropped since then to 22. Thus, as Gallup correctly asserts, Tea Party support has dwindled from the last measurements, and it is now at a near-record low. The hed says nothing temporal, except the implied statement that Tea Party support was even lower in the past (when it was at the record low). There's nothing inaccurate, or misleading, about the Gallup hed.
Even PolitiFact wouldn't try to get away with Billy's bullshit.
Billy Jake also posits that if you eat dinner with four other people representing the American electorate, one diner would be a Tea Party supporter. He'll be the one playing with his food.
It's Always Sunny in Galt's Gulch
Libertarian Fonzie is at it again, leading the advance team for our newest Objectivist Messiah. This time, it's Rafael Cruz as "The Beaver":
Six years ago, it was Ron Paul who would lead us to the Promised Land if we clapped until we were clapped out:
And if not Randy, surely Rafael:
Nick Gillespie is head crossing guard at the Great Man School of Libertarian History. One of these days, he keeps insisting, a visionary man -- it's always a man -- on the public payroll will inspire the yokels to cast of their chains and renounce the minimum wage. It's practically here. Why can't you see it?
P.S. Being a libertarian and a writer for The Daily Beast means never having to check facts. In his Cruz piece, Libertarian Fonzie demonstrates the same devotion to factual accuracy that led him and Matt Welch to falsely accuse "Janet Reno's FBI" of gunning down people at Waco:
(Cruz link via Roy E.)
Six years ago, it was Ron Paul who would lead us to the Promised Land if we clapped until we were clapped out:
When a fierce Republican foe of the wars on drugs and terrorism is able, without really trying, to pull in a record haul of campaign cash on a day dedicated to an attempted regicide, it's clear that a new and potentially transformative force is growing in American politics.Well, Ron didn't make it to the mountain top, but Randy surely will:
In such a compromised moral and political universe, characters such as Rand Paul and Justin Amash are not just rare but necessary. We need more of them. Their willingness to articulate governing principles and then legislate accordingly is the reason they are leading an ideological insurgency in the Republican Party and stoking what outlets from The Atlantic to NPR to the Post are recognizing as a “libertarian moment.”(A libertarian moment is when the Invisible Hand forgets your grandchildren's names.)
And if not Randy, surely Rafael:
There’s every reason to believe that the future belongs to the wacko birds and their general, transpartisan message that government is too big and too powerful. The trend throughout the 21st century, reports Gallup, is increasing skepticism toward Washington, D.C. The trend is particularly pronounced among all-important independent voters, who make up a plurality of the electorate. In 2003, 45 percent of them thought the government was too powerful. Now it’s 65 percent. They will vote for candidates—and a party—pushing limiting government.There's got to be a pony in here somewhere! as Libertarian Moses once said.
Nick Gillespie is head crossing guard at the Great Man School of Libertarian History. One of these days, he keeps insisting, a visionary man -- it's always a man -- on the public payroll will inspire the yokels to cast of their chains and renounce the minimum wage. It's practically here. Why can't you see it?
P.S. Being a libertarian and a writer for The Daily Beast means never having to check facts. In his Cruz piece, Libertarian Fonzie demonstrates the same devotion to factual accuracy that led him and Matt Welch to falsely accuse "Janet Reno's FBI" of gunning down people at Waco:
It was like an old Chip and Dale routine from Looney Tunes, where the two excruciating chipmunks couldn’t stop complimenting each other.That's all, folks.
(Cruz link via Roy E.)
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
...It's Blowing Those You Know
The New Republic has shocking news:
The list of interns who toiled in the executive mansion during the summer of 2013 included the offspring of Ron Klain, the former Joe Biden former chief of staff; Steve Rattner, the financier and onetime car czar; Don Baer, the communications powerhouse and former Clinton administration speechwriter; and Margaret Hamburg, the Food and Drug Administration commissioner. There’s also a young man named Summers,whose father will not be chairing the Federal Reserve—though it’s safe to say his family had a certain familiarity with the White House and other corridors of power before he landed that internship.
The proud parents of the class of 2013 also included Raghuveer Nayak, a Chicago democratic donor and fundraiser for former Illinois pols Jesse Jackson Jr. and Rod Blagojevich (he also donated $19,800 to Obama between 2004 and 2009). There was also a scion of the Lerner family, the real estate titans who own the Washington Nationals, and children of at least two different VIPs among influential Washington law firms: Winston & Strawn’sTimothy Broas and Holland & Knight’s Rich Gold.
I was an unashamed beneficiary of nepotism in my youth. The only hitch was that jobs I got through nepotism were uniformly shitty -- landscaper's assistant, hospital kitchen worker, substitute teacher, etc. So my main beef with nepotism is that my relatives are all miserable failures.
But at least I got paid. Not only do these prestigious interships only go to the well-connected, the portions are so small mummy and daddy are footing the bill:
A recently launched operation called the Fair Pay Campaign aims to bring attention to the White House’s failure to pay its interns. Mikey Franklin, the campaign’s founder, said the White House is just the first target in his crusade against the rise of the unpaid internship. “It’s an obvious place to start,” he said, because the White House should be a model for the rest of the country. “It’s a particularly egregious case.”
I guess Mikey won't like this either,
The New Republic will hire both Politics intern [sic] and Books and Arts interns. To apply, submit a resume and cover letter to ebreger@tnr.com with the subject “Fall Web Internship.” The cover letter should explain why the applicant is interested in working at The New Republic and specify if the application is for the Politics or the Books and Arts internship. The internships are full-time, unpaid, and based in the D.C. office.I'm guessing the salt of the earth didn't get a callback for those slots either.
The Butthurt of Dylan Byers, The Man Who Would Be Kurtz
Dylan "PoliticHo" Byers is crestfallen that his crush, Ted "Filibuster Bluth" Cruz, gets no respect from the media outlets Byers hates:
More fundamentally, Byers plays the EMESSEM canard from the bottom of the deck, failing to mention that such right-wing publications as the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post have also bashed Cruz's stunt, that the FOX News Channel has frequently fellated Cruz (and sometimes criticized him), or that supposedly liberal e-rags like The Daily Beast slandered Davis. Like every other dishonest wingnut, Byers pretends that the top-rated U.S. cable news channel, the newspaper with the largest national circulation, the newspaper with the seventh-largest national circulation and PoliticHo itself (publisher of this President Cruz fluffer, among others) aren't -- unlike GQ, Vogue and TPM -- part of the EMESSEM.
Byers is so dishonest that he purports to quote Peggy Nooners as conceding Davis' greatness. Is Byers a lying sack? Judge for yourself.
Update (two minutes later): I see Charles Pierce has already sliced and diced Byers like Ron Popeil's uncle on speed.
Yes, the difference between filibustering and grandstanding plays a part. Equally important is the fact that Cruz's theatrics are frustrating members of his own party. But, part of the disparity in coverage is due to the fact that the mainstream media, generally speaking, don't admire Cruz the way they admired [Wendy] Davis — or rather, they admire him only insofar as he makes for tragicomic theater, whereas they admired her on the merits.
Cruz is portrayed in the media as "aimless and self-destructive" (NYT ed board), elitist (GQ) and likely guided more by presidential aspirations than principles (CNN). Josh Marshall, the editor and publisher of Talking Points Memo, had no qualms about coming right out and calling Cruz, his former Princeton colleague, an "arrogant jerk" — and worse.
These portrayals may be accurate or inaccuarate — Cruz certainly has an elitist strain and he certainly has political ambitions. But that's not the point: The point is that the coverage of Cruz has been critical, and in some cases unforgiving, from the outset. At least initially, Davis wasn't viewed through a critical lens at all. Her willingness to stand for 11 hours was evidence of the American dream in action. Period.Byers apparently reserves his greatest respect for Long Dong Strom, who lapped Davis twice with his 24-hour plus actual filibuster in 'Fifty-Seven. That marathon session was Byers' American Dream, because who besides the nefarious EMESSEM gives a shit about ends or goals or motives. Or "merits."
More fundamentally, Byers plays the EMESSEM canard from the bottom of the deck, failing to mention that such right-wing publications as the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post have also bashed Cruz's stunt, that the FOX News Channel has frequently fellated Cruz (and sometimes criticized him), or that supposedly liberal e-rags like The Daily Beast slandered Davis. Like every other dishonest wingnut, Byers pretends that the top-rated U.S. cable news channel, the newspaper with the largest national circulation, the newspaper with the seventh-largest national circulation and PoliticHo itself (publisher of this President Cruz fluffer, among others) aren't -- unlike GQ, Vogue and TPM -- part of the EMESSEM.
Byers is so dishonest that he purports to quote Peggy Nooners as conceding Davis' greatness. Is Byers a lying sack? Judge for yourself.
Update (two minutes later): I see Charles Pierce has already sliced and diced Byers like Ron Popeil's uncle on speed.
Ted Cruz's Fractured Fairy Tales
Ted Cruz will be reading these bedtime stories from the floor of the United States Senate this week:
Goodnight Loon
Hop on FOX
The 500 Toques of Bartholomew CubbinsOnly a Miracle Can Save America from the Red Conspiracy
Mi Lucha
Thursday, September 19, 2013
Calling Doctor Howard, Doctor Fine, Doctor Howard
Mickey Kaus has just discovered that private hospitals -- including the one in which he was dropped on his head as an infant -- offer additional amenities for well-to-do patients. (Yes, now you can recuperate after childbirth in the equivalent of a Residence Inn, located atop an institute named for a billionaire advocate for socialized medicine who became wealthy via a U.S. government grant!)
Kaus frets that this means the best nurses will begin gravitating toward "VIP-high roller duties," unlike in all previous human history, when health care professionals clamored instead for the prestigious but poorly-paid duty of sponge bathing psychosomatic Slate bloggers earning high five figure salaries for 20 minutes of work a day.
The hairless hack's muddled point appears to be that Obamacare won't eliminate luxury medicine and is therefore a failure or, possibly, that Obamacare is not needed because luxury medicine exists. Either way: Obama sucks!
The only thing missing is Kaus's concern that ferriners are using high-end hospitals to drop anchor babies.
Kaus frets that this means the best nurses will begin gravitating toward "VIP-high roller duties," unlike in all previous human history, when health care professionals clamored instead for the prestigious but poorly-paid duty of sponge bathing psychosomatic Slate bloggers earning high five figure salaries for 20 minutes of work a day.
The hairless hack's muddled point appears to be that Obamacare won't eliminate luxury medicine and is therefore a failure or, possibly, that Obamacare is not needed because luxury medicine exists. Either way: Obama sucks!
The only thing missing is Kaus's concern that ferriners are using high-end hospitals to drop anchor babies.
Try The Po' Boy (pg. 47) and Mitt's Grits (pg. 124)
For those of you who need help spreading peanut butter and marshmallow creme on white bread, help is at hand.
Note: You will be asked to relinquish all mobile devices before you join the Romneys for family nights, summers at the lake, Christmas Eve and many other occasions.
Home is where good things happen—and for the Romney family, the heart of the home is the kitchen. Ann Romney, wife of former Massachusetts governor and presidential candidate Mitt Romney, invites readers into her home and kitchen, combining some of her favorite foods with memories of raising a family.
Part "insider look," part cookbook, The Romney Family Table starts out with a unique blend of personal memories, homegrown traditions, and the foods that have made family events special. Join the Romneys for family nights, summers at the lake, Christmas Eve, and many other occasions, detailed in an intimate and welcoming style.
Then, indulge yourself in scores of additional mouthwatering recipes. From the simple (Fluffernutter Sandwiches) to the sophisticated (Peppered Pork Chops with Peach-Vinegar Glaze); from the Honey Wheat Bread Ann made regularly for five growing sons to the Buttermilk Pancakes she and Mitt shared with their Secret Service details at the end of Mitt's presidential campaign, these recipes will become treasures for you as they have been for the Romney family.Which is to say, not at all.
Note: You will be asked to relinquish all mobile devices before you join the Romneys for family nights, summers at the lake, Christmas Eve and many other occasions.
Monday, July 15, 2013
Grand Old Police Blotter: No, That's Too Obvious Edition
Surprisingly, someone was arrested in Michele Bachmann's office who wasn't Michele Bachmann.
WASHINGTON — A top aide to Republican Rep. Michelle [sic] Bachmann of Minnesota has been arrested by the U.S. Capitol Police and charged with theft.
Senior legislative aide Javier Sanchez, 37, of Virginia, was arrested Thursday after an investigation into a series of thefts in the Rayburn House Office Building, where Bachmann’s Washington office is located.
Bachmann spokesman Dan Kotman said Monday that Sanchez’s employment was terminated the following day.
“Any further questions should be directed to Capitol Police,” Kotman said.
Sanchez was charged with second-degree theft, indicating the stolen items were worth less than $1,000, according to Capitol Police spokesman Shennell Antrobus.I blame the vaccine.
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
R.I.P. Michael Hastings
Journalist Michael Hastings, author of The Operators, died today in a car accident in Los Angeles.
Friday, June 14, 2013
Good News BoBos
From St. BoBo's epistle to the wingnuts:
In the draft, he attributed it to Ricardo Montalban.
Let me speculate that Bobo didn't work his way through the U. of C. Or learn anything when he there.
Correction: June 14, 2013
An earlier version of this column misattributed a passage from Corinthians that ends with the statement, “God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” The letter to the Corinthians is by Paul, not Jesus.
In the draft, he attributed it to Ricardo Montalban.
Let me speculate that Bobo didn't work his way through the U. of C. Or learn anything when he there.
Wednesday, May 08, 2013
Conflict of Interest Kurtz Strikes Again
Tuesday, May 07, 2013
Libertarian Old Police Blotter: Joe Gone to Prison Edition
I can't find anything to tie Joe Francis to the Republican Party, although he shares many of the G.O.P.'s views on women. So I'll make this a "Libertarian Old Police Blotter."
Anyway, here's the good news:
Anyway, here's the good news:
Joe Francis of Girls Gone Wild fame has been accused of hitting girls in the past. But this time the charges stuck.
The L.A. City Attorney's office triumphantly stated that Francis was convicted by a jury today of "three counts of false imprisonment, one count of dissuading a witness from reporting, and one count of assault causing great bodily injury":
Prosecutors say the 40-year-old enticed three women into his limo outside Hollywood's Supperclub. Two of the women thought they were simply being driven to a parked car nearby. But no, the City Attorney's office says:
Instead Francis took them to his place and got into a physical altercation with two of the women as he tried to separate them from their companion.If there's any justice, Joe will spend the next five years in prison. Congratulations to the prosecutors for their outstanding work.
Friday, May 03, 2013
As One Hack Falls, One Hundred Hacks Rise Up to Take His Place
Coverage of Howard Kurtz's sacking by The Daily Beast pays tribute to Kurtz by being just as hacktacular as Kurtz himself. A choice nugget:
The question of Kurtz’s future, in terms of both reputation and relevance, now turns to CNN.
It took two people to write that.
It's all there in the PoliticHo article -- worthless anonymous quotes which insult but don't inform, "seems" and "it is unclear"s as hedges for ass-pulled speculation, Twitter reprints. It's almost as if Kurtz wrote it himself.
Dylan Byers is either laboring under the misimpression that his crap is superior to Kurtz's, or he knows his crap is just as bad and that his employer doesn't care.
It's all there in the PoliticHo article -- worthless anonymous quotes which insult but don't inform, "seems" and "it is unclear"s as hedges for ass-pulled speculation, Twitter reprints. It's almost as if Kurtz wrote it himself.
Dylan Byers is either laboring under the misimpression that his crap is superior to Kurtz's, or he knows his crap is just as bad and that his employer doesn't care.
Thursday, May 02, 2013
Howard Kurtz's Conflicts of Interest Reduced By Nine Percent
So what does a right-wing hack do after failing downward from a Washington Post Co. property and a virtual joke (NewsBeast)?
He can follow his fellow hack, Mickey Kaus, and write bitter anti-immigrant screeds at the Daily Choler.
Don't worry, folks. Howie has several other jobs he can do poorly. I mean, what are the odds that CNN will wise up?
The Washington Post reports the story by defining irony down:
But I repeat myself.
He can follow his fellow hack, Mickey Kaus, and write bitter anti-immigrant screeds at the Daily Choler.
Don't worry, folks. Howie has several other jobs he can do poorly. I mean, what are the odds that CNN will wise up?
The Washington Post reports the story by defining irony down:
People familiar with both sides — media people ironically speaking anonymously about other media people — agree that there was mutual antagonism and tension for several months.And then there's Maude:
Kurtz has expressed dissatisfaction with deep cutbacks and in his bureau site’s increased emphasis on liberal commentary, including the addition of two former Obama administration officials as columnists.Yet not a peep out of him about the hiring of Megan McArdle or "The Royalist."
But I repeat myself.
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Fright or Flight
Eric Alterman makes a persuasive case for the worthlessness of Maureen Dowd.
Maureen Dowd herself makes the same case every time she is published:
"BARBARA BUSH is a word that rhymes with fright."
Blight?
Parasite?
Anti-semite?
My vote: Shite.
Maureen Dowd herself makes the same case every time she is published:
"BARBARA BUSH is a word that rhymes with fright."
Blight?
Parasite?
Anti-semite?
My vote: Shite.
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
If You See Something, Say Something
You've probably seen reports that Tamerlan Tsarnaev was so radicalized and bloodthirsty that he disrupted a worship service by shouting because the imam was praising a religious pacifist:
Here's one account:
The mosque kicked Tsarnaev out of its congregation.
Here's one account:
About three years ago, I saw Krauthammer flip out in synagogue on Yom Kippur. The rabbi had offered some timid endorsement of peace — peace essentially on Israel’s terms — but peace anyway. Krauthammer went nuts. He actually started bellowing at the rabbi, from his wheel chair in the aisle. People tried to “shush” him. It was, after all, the holiest day of the year. But Krauthammer kept howling until the rabbi apologized. The man is as arrogant as he is thuggish. Who screams at the rabbi at services? For advocating peace?Elsewhere, the man had frequently cheered the slaughter of innocents through bombing.
The mosque kicked Tsarnaev out of its congregation.
Saturday, April 13, 2013
An Art Lover Inquires
How much do you think it would cost to commission a Jon McNaughton painting of Ben Carson battling Kermit Gosnell in the skies over Jerusalem, and call it "Undercard of The Armageddon"?
Plato and Bacon
The Man of Virtue sings of Bowdoin and the NAS:
Anyway, had Plato answered the questions he didn't ask, his preferred answers would not have been "homeschoolers" and "wingnuttery." If one wanted to stoop to conquer, one could argue that Plato was Melissa Harris-Perry back in the day.
[In his Forward to What Does Bowdoin Teach?, Bill] Bennett begins by asserting that “Plato… remarked that the two most important questions in society are ‘Who teaches the children?’ and ’What do they teach them?’” Unfortunately, Plato “remarks” no such thing, at least in any of the works known to me (I invite readers to correct me if I’m wrong). I suppose that the phrase could be a reasonable, if rather simplistic summary of Plato’s thought about education. But the actual source appears to be a Michelle Malkin column. The phrase also appears, without a specific citation, on a number of cut-and-paste quote sites. Misquotation happens all the time, of course. But it’s a bad start for a defense of traditional education–particularly one that claims that Bowdoin students aren’t learning enough about Greek philosophy.Here's something else Plato didn't say:
The children now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise.And Plato wasn't talking about Butterbean Bennett when he didn't say it, though if the quote fits, wear it.
Anyway, had Plato answered the questions he didn't ask, his preferred answers would not have been "homeschoolers" and "wingnuttery." If one wanted to stoop to conquer, one could argue that Plato was Melissa Harris-Perry back in the day.
In the same two-page Forward, at page 10, Butterbean also uses a fake Lincoln quote.
Many institutions frown on this sort of thing.
But we shouldn't be too hard on Big Bill. When you pay someone minimum wage to bloviate under your name, you're bound to get inferior work product.
(link via Dr. Berube)
(link via Dr. Berube)
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Shattered Ass
Ta-Nehisi Coates has an excellent post-mortem on the excremental Michael Kelly,
who wasn't so much a cheerleader for the invasion of Iraq but a pitbull, rabidly slavering his militaristic fantasies on anyone with spitting distance.
His apologists will claim he was only wrong in hindsight, but that's not true. As the excepts quoted by Coates illustrate, Kelly wasn't reporting facts, he was seeking to make things true by wishing them to be true (and doing so in a truly obnoxious manner).
Kelly was wretched. He was vile. He was contemptible.
And he was one of a rare breed to whom the phrase "hoist with his own petard" applies literally.
who wasn't so much a cheerleader for the invasion of Iraq but a pitbull, rabidly slavering his militaristic fantasies on anyone with spitting distance.
His apologists will claim he was only wrong in hindsight, but that's not true. As the excepts quoted by Coates illustrate, Kelly wasn't reporting facts, he was seeking to make things true by wishing them to be true (and doing so in a truly obnoxious manner).
Kelly was wretched. He was vile. He was contemptible.
And he was one of a rare breed to whom the phrase "hoist with his own petard" applies literally.
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Ayn Rand Barbie Speaks
"Of course, predictions are hard, especially about the future."No doubt McArdle will claim she's making a funny, but her whole column is chock full o' such boneheaded drivel.
At this point, it's just a matter of time. In some sense, the sexual revolution is over . . . and the forces of bourgeois repression have won.
That's right, I said it: this is a landmark victory for the forces of staid, bourgeois sexual morality. Once gays can marry, they'll be expected to marry. And to buy sensible, boring cars that are good for car seats. I believe we're witnessing the high water mark for "People should be able to do whatever they want, and it's none of my business." You thought the fifties were conformist? Wait until all those fabulous "confirmed bachelors" and maiden schoolteachers are expected to ditch their cute little one-bedrooms and join the rest of America in whining about crab grass, HOA restrictions, and the outrageous fees that schools want to charge for overnight soccer trips.Either McArdle thinks the "sexual revolution" was a gays-only phenomenon or she thinks that the availability of marriage cannot coexist with the choices not to marry and to fuck without a wedding ring. And she's apparently never considered that equality of rights is a good thing independent of any desire to exercise such rights.
What McArdle actually thinks is that marriage is all about the accumulation of wealth and saying "screw you" to losers who are unlike her.
That's why McArdle has never supported marriage equality, and still does not. (She concedes the inevitability of marriage equality, but never the immorality of inequality.) And why she's hopeful that unmarried sluts and their bastards will once again suffer public prejudice and shame. Because the more people she can say "screw you" to, the happier she is.
(via alicublog)
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