Democrats Say What, Again, Octu-Ratings-Distractions, and Damn the Bong Boys

The stimulus will pass the house with *gasp* no Republican votes. In addition, Judd Gregg the Republican Senator whom Obama appointed to Commerce Secretary(after Richardosn was forced to drop out due to legal troubles) has decided to withdraw from considederation for that position, due to “ideological and philosophical differences with Obama".

I actually think that this whole Bi-partisan, dog and pony show wasn’t necessarily a bad idea. It helped further the perception that Obama is trying to move past the meaningless political posturing and bickering that is the “culture” of D.C.

The truth is however, that most of these Republicans are not principled or decent conservatives, let alone decent human monkeys. No these mutant fuckers only care about them and theirs and revel in causing as much a fuss as possible.

Year after year, the Republicans have used the simplest school yard trick imaginable, the “faggot says what defense”.

Democrats can make the most logical, truthful and passionate argument they want(though they rarely do) on healthcare, the economy or whatever. It doesn’t matter.

Like Clockwork the Republicans respond with a slightly more sophisticated way of saying, “faggot says what”.

They marginalize, mock and make the Democrats look like ineffectual, pompous sissies. And like clockwork, the Democrats say, “what”, and look like ineffectual, pompous sissies.

I pray now, that since the “honeymoon is over”, that when Republicans use this tried and true “Faggot says what” attack, Democrats actually begin to grow a pair and show the Republicans the foot that will promptly be up their ass. Oh and then ACTUALLY break off a foot in that ass.

We’ll see.

In other news, The Octumom has been the single greatest media ratings ploy/distraction I have seen in a while. Obviously, the woman is Batshit, and her fertility “doctor” deserves to have his license stripped while he has rotten vegetagles thrown at his head, firmly locked in the stockades.

Obviously this is great fodder for Limaughites and those that seek to demonize poverty assistance as going to batshit and lazy mothers of 14 kids. And she’s not black so bonus, yo can argue this without seeming inherently racist.

Point is, this woman’s story is sick and sad, those kids are most certainly going to be fucked up for life, and the only reason we are talking about this is the Soft Media Industrial Complex lives for this kind of shit, and payed her a hefty check to do an “interview”.

All you Katie Couric, Oprah, Larry Kings and your staffers, I hope you take the time to reflect on how sad and pathetic your jobs are.

And finally, The Michael Phelps Bongtraversy keeps getting dumber. The local police has decided to clamp down, and get to the bottom of what happened at that Party, where *gasp* college kids were smoking weed.

The cops so far have arrested 8 people for a total of less that one ounce of marijuana, a ticket where I live(for one person). Aside from the fact that of course these resources could be better used to, I don’t know, investigate rapes or burglaries, these idiot asshole cops are just plain fucking stupid.

1. The photo in question has no smoke in the chamber. It is a photo of someone holding a water pipe. Even if there were smoke in the chamber and it was clear he was smoking, there is no way to prove he was smoking something illegal(or he knew he was smoking something illegal).
2. It is not illegal to be high. It is only illegal to possess or distribute drugs, it is not illegal to be under the influence of them(although it is illegal to do certain things while under the influence, like drive). That means unless you catch someone with drugs on them, unless they are publicaly intoxicated, you have nothing on them.
3. What kind of donut-sucking, pork-monkey would be dumb enough to make such high profile arrests, attract all this media attention, without checking with the DA to see if ANY OF THIS WILL BE VALID AND USABLE IN COURT. EVEN IF YOU ARE ABLE TO CONVICT ONE OR TWO OF THE EIGHT FUCKING PEOPLE ARRESTED OF SIMPLE POSSESSION, THE REST OF THESE KIDS ARE GOING TO SUE YOUR DEPARTMENT WITH A REAL SOLID CASE. YOU PUT YOURSELVES IN JEPORADY OF A LAWSUIT SO YOU CAN BUST SOME KIDS SMOKING WEED? HOW AMAZINGLY FUCKING STUPID ARE YOU?

Damn you Bong Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Show Must Go On

The “Stimulus” Package is now in its final form. All in all, people like you and me are going to get, “on average 13 dollars more a week”. $400 bucks a year. Not starting till June.

I don’t make very much and yesterday I had nearly $200 taken out by State and Federal.

Woo. Hoo.

Thomas Edsall has an interesting piece on the Huffington Post about a group of Americans will however get a nice big old slice of the pie, the upper-middle class.

“The "compromise" legislation includes $70 billion, or just under 10 percent of the whole package, to be used expressly to take care of these affluent people.

In fact, these lucky men and women make so much money that they fall into the ever-expanding grasp of the alternative minimum tax (AMT). The AMT was originally designed in 1969 to prevent the nation's millionaires and billionaires from using tax loopholes to pay zero income tax. That year, 155 very wealthy taxpayers paid no federal tax whatsoever. This year, if the law remains as it is currently crafted, the AMT would, through bracket creep, apply to as many as 25 million taxpayers, including those making in the $85,000 to $250,000 range, depending on how many deductions they claim (the more deductions, the more likely the AMT comes into play).”

On the political front, Edsall outlines that this is a notorious swing vote, once Republican but now “essential” to democratic victory. Their play to the center to get moderates is how they have won every last major election. Play to the middle, “Woo moderates”.

Fucking amateurs. I don’t do “wooing” anywhere but the bedroom.

This of course is why the Modern democratic party of course is so capital T-Timid Appeasers. Lest That very small percentage of wealthy assholes get mad and go to the other guys.

When, dear god, will Democrats stop this ass-backwards strategy. It started with Clinton, the center wins and so forth. Nearly half of all Americans don’t vote. What percentage of those do you think would vote democrat if they were halfway interested(and were able to, with either much easier online or mail votes, and a national holiday, like maybe the 4^th of July).

Obama to be fair has been better in this regard. But still, when it comes to Change, it’s still not going proportionally to those who really need it. If anything, he’s still propping up our hopelessly retarded economic system.

You can argue all day that giving money to those who don’t “need” it in the traditional sense is a really ineffective way of creating stimulus. You are right. But you still won’t win.

The fucked truth is that the “upper-middle class” are the backbone of our consumer economy. Their spending employs the rest of us, from auto manufactures to McDonalds workers. Who do you think pays for the few schools, roads, and government beinifits that most of us actually see. Let me give you a hint, they don’t fly in corporate jets.

It’s the regular, Realtors and Doctors and Lawyers and Business Executives. The ones who play by the rules, and like it that way.

These are the ones that make just enough to keep them “living the American Dream”, but they now find themselves losing their homes, their jobs and their minds. In pockets of Suburbia all across America, every day, every single lost job, portfolio hit or Elvish news conference by Tim Geithner causes a Fear to grow. The Fear that this fragile life we carved out for ourselves, is hanging on by a thread. That the wind could just blow one day and knock it all down.

And if that were to happen, these people would lose their damn minds. I’m serious, they are so plugged into this system that, absent it, they would be crazed monkeys, paranoid(perhaps rightfully so) that they will now be the targets of those who have even less.

This is all kind of a rant on my part but the point is this, the upper-middle-class, are the glue that holds this whole fucking pyramid together. They are the curtain that those who run the show hide behind. And without them, there is no show.

And, for now, the show must go on.

Perhaps the most disturbing(yet sadly unsurprising) nationally underreported story, there is a scandal unfolding in Pennsylvania that takes “Prison-industrial complex to a new plateau”.

“For years, the juvenile court system in Wilkes-Barre operated like a conveyor belt: Youngsters were brought before judges without a lawyer, given hearings that lasted only a minute or two, and then sent off to juvenile prison for months for minor offenses.

The explanation, prosecutors say, was corruption on the bench.

In one of the most shocking cases of courtroom graft on record, two Pennsylvania judges have been charged with taking millions of dollars in kickbacks to send teenagers to two privately run youth detention centers.”

They got millions to send poor, “at-risk” kids straight to a Soviet work camp. Only to have them there graduate from con-high school to surely come back and re-enroll in adult con-college. Hookin the while they are young.

I really don’t advocate violence, but I got one word, Flogging.

Aliens?

And finally,

Pamela Anderson is living with her electrician boyfriend in a trailer.

I’s sure it’s a fabulous double wide. Props to Pam Anderson, can’t take the trailer park out that girl.

Bailouts, Beer Pong and the Bong Police

Well. I managed not to post yesterday, proving that I have a tremendous propensity for not meeting the goals I set. Oh well. I'm just gonna keep trying

It seems the House and Senate are coming to some kind of agreement on the stimulus package. Do I think this will work, no. Do I have a better idea, sure. Will any of those better ideas ever get implemented, not unless what's left of our economy implodes. Thems the bricks'.

During his press-conference/town-hall/infomercial, Obama was approached by an older woman who was homeless desperate and living out of her car. Obama, didn't flinch or hestitate and came over and gave the woman a kiss on the cheek. Better yet his staff got this woman a house. You can shit all over how this is just meaningless PR but that Woman has a home now, so fuck your shit.

Moral of the Story: Ask and you shall recieve. You can't get what you want unless you actually get up the balls to ask. Do it. What's the harm in trying?

As our economy continues to suck however, more and more Americans are trying to cut costs by shopping at Big-Box stores like Walmart. These are Stores that keep their prices low by buying from the cheapest possible suppliers(cute little asian children) and not giving their workers living wages or sufficient healthcare. However tremendously evil these stores may be, the truth is, if you poor you shop where you can afford to.

I'd like to say that I don't step foot in Walmart because of Principle. But I'm poor, and like the millions of other Americans, I grit my teeth and go there to buy things that are A. only availble at Walmart in "heartland" bumble-fuck where I live and B. Actually affordable. It's simple economics, poor people in rural and urban Areas want to shop at Walmart, not because they like walmart, but because that is the only place that they can afford.

My former City and lover Chicago has for years fought to keep out Walmart from the city limits. Their are Walmarts in some of the surrounding suburbs, but so far they've stayed off city Limits. We'll see how long this lasts.

Numb-Nuts of the week goes to Sen. George W. Della Jr.,  who attempted to outlaw Beiruit(or Beer pong).  I'm sure some frat boy's did some next level community organizing on facebook, and presumably he incurred a biblical style shitstorm.  

"The Baltimore Democrat, said such games encourage excessive drinking, which leads to raucous behavior in city neighborhood. A bill he introduced late last month would have outlawed any games that award drinks as prizes in city taverns.

On Monday, a copy of Della's bill, SB 233, was circulated in e-mails and posted on Web sites of local beer pong leagues, setting off an online firestorm. Fans of drinking games sent a flurry of angry e-mails to the senator, who withdrew the legislation today on the eve of its first hearing in a committee."

And of course, Hoooray, we have a new Drug Czar. Czar of course is the approriate title for Asshole in Charge of a Failed, Morally inexcusable Draconian War. The guy cut his teeth by arguing for "less-than-lethal" devices like tazers, which while not as effective as bullets, still have been used pretty effectively on Pregnant women and the elderly.

One choice quote though, "Back in 2003, Kerlikowske was asked about his views on a local ballot initiative to make marijuana possession the lowest law enforcement priority.

In response, he stated that "arresting people for possessing marijuana for personal use... is not a priority now."

Daily Duke for 2/9/09

NOTE

This is the first in what will hopefully be a daily set of updates on the state of the nation, world and or my sanity.  I have a problem in that I set unrealistic goals, but I think a modest post a day isn't too much to fucking ask myself.  We'll see.

These Daily Dukes will be a collection of links to different stories and posts across the Webs, mixed in with my pithy commentary and jokes.  Lots of terrible jokes.

The links will run the gamut from stories about foreign policy and economic drudgery to Bratz dolls and psychic warfare with Aliens. Anything is fair game, and each day will have a theme for the stories.

Also please note their are new links, both to some mainstream news sources that you already should be reading(if you still just check CNN.com for news, stop.  They rarely put forth a story of any merit and even if they do, it's either better written or cross-posted some place else).  Their are also links to the latest post at a few Weirdo blogs like cryptogon and Pizza Seo that are definitely worth checking out.

Altogether, it's Duke 2.0 in the 09.  Their will be much more to come hopefully in the next few months.  Please check back often and tell your friends.  If you have any.

If the Economy Tanks, at least I don't have anymore about Carbon Emission Night-terrors

President Obama is spending today trying to sell the nation on his just-enough-to-argue-it's-under-a-trillion-dollar package to the American people by going to Elkhart Indiana for a big Infomercial.  Elkhart Indiana, is among other things, a shit-hole with an unemployment rate of 15%(it's probalby really closer to 25% but numbers lie).  Oh and the KKK started there.  No joke.

IF, like most people, you are kind of confused by this idea that we need to massively spend our way out of a deficit to stop our country from going more broke then congratulations financial elite, Mission Accomplished.  

This deficit spending concept is called Keynesian economics, and it is known to cause ulcers in conservatives. 

What it comes down to is this, our economy is based on entirely based on consumption, in other words the corner stone of our economy is people buying shit.

Now that about a 1/5 of the country is unemployed or under-employed, people have stopped buying shit at an alarming rate(Although Walmart did post a growth of over 1% last quarter, that aint good enough).  States are broke enough to where  California, which has the fifth largest economy in the World is forcing workers to take certain Fridays off, because the State literally can't pay them.

So in this stimulus their are billions of dollars that will end up going to state governments, and municpalities who are desperately broke now and facing shut-downs and the like.  Also, unemployment benefits and food stamps will get much needed increased funding under this package.  

But of course, the majority of this bill is going to "Tax-Cuts", and to "Distressed" banks, so I got 10 bucks that your Average American gets nothing more than a tax break and maybe another check that will get cashed at the liqour store.

I would hate to be in Obama's shoes right now.  He has inherited a shit sandwich that is over 30 years in the making.  The truth is aside from the fact that our economy is so intertwined that spillover effects now are so great that unpaid mortgages in Idaho can tank the entire economy of Iceland, this "crisis" is a direct product of over 30 years of both parties Greed and Incompetence.

In other words shiiiiit.  Good luck trying to plug the leak that Icerbeg has caused in our hull.   I won't hold my breath for the check.

In other news,

Florida sucks.  Like really sucks.  Fark has for a long time had a Florida Category.  Daily comic tragedy. 

And... 

This is just too fucking funny.  Fears over Global Warming and Climate Change are now so pronounced in certain Earth Cookies that they are literally being clinically diagnosed.  Wait for it.  Wait for it.   HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA.

I want to meet the guy with the Medical Marijuana card, burning trees to help with his Climatephobia.

and finally 

Girls Jumping On Trampolines!!!

Dancing With the Pols: Bailemos(Hillary Gets Down in PR).

I think that after this election cycle ABC should start a new show called,"Dancing with the Pols". It will be a place were losing politicians and B list advisers will have a chance to strut their stuff and finally win something. Well so here it is program Director of ABC Broadcasting; my Monday Memorial Day Moment of Zen, Hillary dancing her problems away in Puerto Rico.

It seems she learned from PA and Ohio in that people apparently like their leaders to chugalug down the sauce. It TOTALLY shows you are not elitist. And judging by the damn near 40oz in her hand, Size does matter. That Bottle says, "If you don't give a damn, I don't give a f@$%".

But the Dancing, come on. Hillary, the poet fat joe said it best,"We don't dance, we just pull up our pants(suit) and lean back; lean back". You should have heeded that advice.





Why are you closing your eyes? That is dangerous while dancing. Maybe you internally cringed at the sheer ridiculousity of these shenanigans as I did. Or maybe you were just feeling the song.


Whatever it is, please don't do it again. It's as bad as Karl Rove's rap career.

Wright Isn't Wrong

The campaign that won’t die has the controversy that wont die, “The Sermons of Reverend Wright”. Unless you have been living under a rock, you have heard at least one of the sound bytes from Barack Obama’s former Pastor of the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. The clip of Rev. Wright in a traditional African Dress at the pulpit delivering a “controversial” sermon after 9/11 has been played ad nasuem.

Jeremiah Wright, who had maintained a very low profile for the past month had a coming out this week. First was the generally calm Bill Moyers interview. The PBS interview proved nothing in the way of controversy, they prefer substantive discourse to shouting(which is why they currently need your donations). Then came the NAACP speech, and the Smackdown Q and A at the National Press Club. Wow.

MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE SMACKDOWN

These two performances(and they were performances) caused enough “damage” that Barack Obama was had a Press Conference on his Pastor yesterday. There could have been an emergency, “Iraq”, or “Global Food Crisis” Press Conference, but alas, the media knows that the most important thing to talk about is Jeremiah Wright (he totally kills 30,000 people a day like starvation right?).

Obama was forced to do what he had to do, divorce himself completely from Wright. I’m sure on a personal level he was upset that his former Pastor had chosen to make such a public spectacle when he did. On Wright’s part, it was stupid because it allowed the media to frame him, and forced Obama to publicly divorce his entire campaign from Wright.

Whatever his motivation Wright could have picked a better time to come out so hard. It is the media’s job to butcher reality into 10 second snippets.

Therfore Let’s just, and I know this will be difficult for some of you, slide to the universe where Wright is Right. That’s a little place I call complex reality (home).

Rev Wright: “The US Government is responsible for AIDS”.

Well it’s not like the US government has done anything bad to black people. Oh yeah that’s right, Slavery! And Jim Crow! And a Prison Industrial Complex built on the excessive Incarceration of Minorities for Minor Drug Offenses!

Is the “US Government” responsible for Aids. Well, what do you mean by “US Government”? My mailman is a part of the US Government. I don’t think he gave black people Aids.

But the US Public Health Service did intentionally infect African American men with Syphilis under the scientific premise of, “let’s see what the fuck happens” and "Fuck em' they're black. Over a 40 year period between 1932 and 1972, 399 black men in Tuskegee Alabama were given Syphilis without medicine(by 1947 Penicillin was the standard medical treatment). By the end of the “experiment” only 74 were still alive, 40 wives were infected and 17 children developed congenital syphilis.

With this happening as recent as 1972, is it not at least understandable why older African-Americans are skeptical that AIDS and HIV ravaged the African American community un-proportionally worse than any other racial group because of the behavior of their community alone?

To this day we still give more funding to provenly ineffective methods like faith based abstinence. Pray to whoever the fuck you want that you don't get AIDS, but prayers don’t prevent HIV, Condoms do.

All these facts together shed some light on why not Just Wright, but a large percentage of African Americans (and a couple Whiteys) share this view.

Rev Wright: “The US government is engaging in Terrorism, and this terrorism caused 9/11”.

Well, we did fund a little rag-tag group of Rebels fighting the Soviets back in the 1980’s. That movie with Julia Roberts, Charlie Wilson’s war I think covered it. Oh yeah, we trained and funded rebels in Afghanistan and equipped them with all the necessary tools for guerilla warfare. Then when they won we just completely abandoned them. Who was that one guy our CIA trained, oh yeah, Osama Bin Laden.

One man’s freedom fighter is another man’s terrorist. Whether they are right wing Para-military groups in Nicaragua, or Tribal warriors in the South Pacific our CIA aids violence for political purposes. That is supporting terrorism. And as Ralph Wiggum so eloquently pointed out in “The Simpsons Movie”, that brings blowback.

Rev. Wright: “God Bless America, No No No, God DAMN AMERICA”.

This is by far the most “offensive” statement that Rev. Wright made. Of course no one listened to the broader text of the sermon, but lets examine those comments.

Damn comes from the word Condemn, as in God damns or God condemns things. The Christian God follows some fairly simple rules, the 10 commandments, and Jesus’ golden one, “love thy neighbor”. The entireity of the media has fueled this outrage, “God does and will always Bless America, he certainly would not Damn it”.

How is it then that in the wealthiest nation in the world, over 40 million don’t have healthcare? How is then that in the fattest nation in the world, millions go hungry? How is it in the Freeest nation in the world, we have higher Incarceration rates than almost anywhere? How in the most righteous nation in the world, can we allow for institutionalized torture(it goes much deeper than water boarding) in the war on terror?

The truth is we can’t be. I love the people in this country. But our country has some deep flaws. And I do not for one think that if you applied a biblical god’s standards to this country, that god would not “bless us”. That God would Condemn Us, that God would Damn us.

Pope, Nazi and Confederate?

Ok, this was brought to my attention today.

Notice anything wrong with this picture. Besides the missing thumb.

Wow, ok this is going to take some research. Could it be that the Nazi's and Confederates are working together. And Indiana Jones is busy fighting Aliens and Soviets? Shit.

Well it looks like it could be the Mississippi State Flag. But really, of the 50 flags, their picture was taken in front the only one with the Confederate Flag still in it.
(You can see how crappy your state flag is here)

In Mississippi, there was a 2000 state referendum on whether to take the Confederate Flag off of their State Flag. It was voted down by a 2 to 1 margin.

Top 5 Evil Hillary Laughs

I know, I know, all I do is talk shit on Hillary. But after seeing her laugh in response to a question about the Columbia Trade Deal today, I gotta do it.

NUMBER 5

NUMBER 4

NUMBER 3

NUMBER 2

NUMBER 1

Rise of the Machines

Ooookay. First it was the terrifying robo dog that could chase me down thru any terrain.

All that thing needs is a gun on its back or even more terrifying something like this.


And now we have met the face of our overlords.

Notice how fucking creepy it is when it comes to the camera. Oh and take a good look at that angry face. That's what its gonna look like right when it becomes self aware.

I would like to take this oppritunity to welcome our Cybernetic Rulers and say on the record may the rule with a mighty processor.

You're Wrong

NOFX has a great acoustic song called "You're Wrong." Among the things they sing "You're Wrong" for are thinking pride is about nationality, thinking there will be a judgment day and agreeing with Ann Coulter because she's a (well, I can't say that here).

So, in the spirit of NOFX, I present a list of "You're Wrongs."

You're wrong if you think we're fighting Al-Qaeda in Iraq.

First it was weapons of mass destruction. Then it was Saddam's links to Sept. 11 and Osama bin Laden. Sprinkled in between those were "fighting for freedom" and "spreading democracy." Every single rationale we've been told for this war has been, at best, intellectually defunct and at worst outright lies.

Of course, the mainstream media were too scared to do their job then, but they learned their lesson, right?

Nope.

They echo the continued misconception that we are fighting Al-Qaeda in Iraq. First of all, Al-Qaeda in Iraq is not the same Al-Qaeda that is supposed to be responsible for Sept. 11. The one in Iraq is actually known as "Tanzim Qaidat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn." That one is hard to pronounce, let alone explain.

So, what is the size and scope of this group? Well, in 2006, the U.S. State Department estimated they made up less than 1 percent of the insurgency. But they are said to be growing, and, just like the folks in Guantanamo, "the worst of the worst."

In July of 2007, both the National Intelligence Estimate and the Defense Intelligence Agency reports stated the Al-Qaeda in Iraq were responsible for 15 percent of the violence. Trouble is, the independent Congressional Research Service said it was more like 2 percent and that false reporting of this group has gone up since the surge.

Oh, and there was no Al-Qaeda in Iraq before we went in and invaded (Saddam hated anyone who didn't worship him).

You're wrong if you support corn ethanol.

This is the favorite of politicians and big business alike. Rule No. 1 in politics: Everything is done out of self-interest. Be extremely skeptical of anything anyone in power ever says, especially if they use a feel-good marketing approach to convince you.

Ladies and gentlemen, quite frankly, corn ethanol sucks. It sucks resources, tax dollars and most of all, makes no sense. David Pimintel, a Cornell University professor of ecology and agricultural sciences, concluded that the production of corn ethanol uses 30 percent more energy than it creates.

The idea that we are moving to energy independence with ethanol is just wrong. BP uses corn in almost all its new green-washing campaigns. It serves as a method for oil companies to continue their stranglehold on us while the same time they get subsidized by our government to "fix the problems" they create (such as global warming).

Oh, and run-off from corn creates all new types of environmental problems. It is massively inefficient, and, furthermore, a subsidized ruse.

Corn ethanol is so big because big agribusiness is built on corn. That is why our Coca-Cola tastes terrible compared to Canada and Mexico's. They use sugar; we use high-fructose corn syrup.

Hemp is at least five times better than corn, and I'm sure there are things five times better than hemp. I just know corn's definitely not it.

You're wrong if you're trying to convince people there is or is not a God.

NOFX opens up the live version of their song "You're Wrong" with "If you believe there is a God, you're wrong." But the Bible says that if you don't believe in God you're wrong. Could it be that both are wrong?

The pious feel self-righteous for "saving people" by converting them to their deity.

The atheists feel self-righteous for "freeing people" from religious manipulation.

And they both won't shut up about it.

I think that those who condemn others for having different beliefs are ignorant at best. I believe that this kind of "holier-than-thou" thinking has directly contributed to the historical subjugation of women, the suppression of progressive intellectual thought and countless wars. That is my main problem with religion in a nutshell: Religion is used as a tool for the wicked to manipulate our very structure of thought.

Yet, when I see atheists such as Christopher Hitchens spew arguments about how stupid and misguided the religious are, it almost always comes across with the same supremacist tone that James Dobson has. Many of the new prominent atheists suffer from the same superiority complex of those they rail against.

I have met many rational atheists. I have met many rational religious people. What they all have in common is that they are looking for answers to complex questions. The kind that has more than a "yes" or "no" answer.

So, whatever you believe, believe it. Just quit trying to tell me how much better that makes you. If Christopher Hitchens looks at his life, this Earth and this universe in all its complexity and beauty and decides to himself, "Nope, nothing special" - fine. But he and Pat Robertson can keep it to themselves. They're both wrong.

This Dude is Dope

Strollin thru youtube I came across this dude.


Super Dope.

I could jam to that for hours.

I Don't Want to Beat a Dead Horse, But this 3 AM Shit, C'mon

Okay. The first 3 AM ad by Clinton was arguably effective in scaring people in Ohio and Texas. But since it has been the long running joke of the campaign.

So they release a new ad today,

same theme only this time, it's a money crisis. Except they used the exact same footage as the last ad(except for the fist clutching a dollar shot and the last girl in bed(because that girl in the original ad is a volunteer for Obama now)).

Okay, it's no secret that the Clinton Campaign is strapped for cash. But recycling what has become the joke of your campaign. What the fuck?

It just gets better though. McCain has a response ad of his own.

And whaaaa? the same fucking footage. How much in royalties to we have to pay these pajama wearing bastards? Would it really cost that much just to FUCKING FILM YOUR OWN SET OF KIDS SLEEPING AND PUT YOUR OWN SHITTY BLUE FILTER OVER IT.

JESUS, two Broke ass campaigns, Antiquated, Oblivious and unitentionally depressingly funny.

The McCain Girls: Holy Shit

When I first saw the McCain Girls Video I was stunned. I didn't know what the fuck to make of it.


Maybe they just made a mall karaoke music video for fun. I thought maybe they just uploaded a video that blew up and went viral beyond their wildest dreams.

Now, after hearing her response video, I don't know what to say.


I think she is fucking serious. This is beyond words. Seriously, I got nothing.
Fuck.

The Iraq War, Where Movies Go To Die

Even Ryan Philippe couldn't save Stoploss this weekend. It's numbers look absolutely abysmal.

Sadder yet, it got blown out of the water by fucking Superhero Movie, the umpteenth superhero parody this year.

Tracy Morgan should have made Fat Bitch 2.

But this is hardly news. It seems every Iraq War film released in the past few years has fallen on deaf ears. It seems this War is a place where good movies go to die.

Are people apathetic, yes. It seems that after 9/11, we as a whole(No one, not even Anti-war folks are watching these movies), prefer escapism in the movies. And on TV. It to me is the main difference between Vietnam and Today. Then, nightly news actually showed what War looked like, people made movies about the War that people went to. Nowadays, thata don' happena so much-a.

I'm just as guilty as the next person. Sure, I could have seen Lions for Lambs, but I wanted to watch Zombies. And Milla Jojovich cuz she's naked in every one of those movies.

Still I'm not giving up hope. Someone will eventually make a powerful film on this war that people will see. Let's just hope it doesn't take untill 2034 for that to happen.

American Idol's Jason Castro is the Antichrist

This thing scares me.

It got famous by covering Jeff Buckley's Hallelughaahahga(I thinks thats hows its spelled)

I'm not sure what it is but it scares the living shit out of me.

I think its the Antichrist.

Worst Graphs Ever

My Poli-Sci teacher today showed us this graph, which he declared is the worst graph ever.


While this graph is mind-numbingly stupid, at least it's visually appealing. He then challenged the class that if anyone could find a worse graph he would give them an A.

I came home and did a google search for "worst graph ever". I found this

and this
Publish Post
I'm getting an A.

I'm Not Racist, But...

If I had a dollar for every time I heard a statement start with the words, "I'm not racist, but ..." I would be a very rich man.

No matter what massively bigoted statement follows, they seem more preoccupied with trying to convince others (and/or themselves) that they are not racist.

The question must be asked: If ignorance remains as it does, and people are more frightened of being perceived as ignorant than of being ignorant, are we making any progress?

Race relations are complex and difficult, yet it seems in the many years since the civil rights movement, image has outweighed substance. People have ceased being real with themselves and others.

Usually the "I'm not racist, but . . . " is followed by some statement like, "black people are loud" or, "Mexicans don't have insurance." These statements are laced with emotions and are derived from our stereotypes. Stereotypes, however, are not the fundamental problem.

We need stereotypes. They are necessary for our brain to process information. At any given second, your senses are being bombarded with all types of datasets, which are simultaneously being processed. To make any sort of sense of this monstrous stream of information, your brain groups things into categories. Racial stereotypes are no different; everyone has internalized racial stereotypes.

Stereotypes do contribute negatively to race relations. If you perceive another group as untrustworthy or dangerous, chances are you will not want to associate with them. Barack Obama's recent speech on race addressed the stereotype problem. He mentioned his white grandmother, "Who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe."

He went further to try to address the anger and resentment that built through time in both the white and black communities. He went on to ask America to have a real dialogue, one that looks at the root causes of problems rather than choose demagogues. Conservative talk radio of course chooses the demagogue route.

Rush Limbaugh is the perfect case study of the modern angry white male. He rails all day about the ills of our "liberal welfare state," and what he sees as ethnic favoritism toward minorities. The problem, of course, is that Limbaugh is wrong and a liar. According to his housekeeper Wilma Cline, he on enough "hillbilly heroin" to kill a small donkey at the same time he proclaimed that the drug dealers should get the death penalty.

But the reason he is wrong isn't because of his ignorant and uniformed stances, or the fact he gets higher than Amy Winehouse. Limbaugh is wrong because he contradicts his core principles constantly.

According to a column he wrote, Limbaugh believes in working toward a "color-blind society." Essentially, he wants no special treatment for anyone whatsoever. Of course, he doesn't take into account the very unequal playing field that already exists in America. Of course, he perpetuates the vilest of racial stereotypes (just listen to the song, "Barack the Magic Negro," he aired on his radio show).

But Limbaugh isn't racist; he is just working toward a post-racial America, just like Clarence Thomas and Alan Keyes.

Limbaugh and his ilk fuel this idea of white oppression, but they didn't invent it. Rush became popular because he voiced the ignorance that was just under the surface. Political correctness, no matter how well intentioned, produced a backlash because the "silent white majority" felt that its freedoms were under assault.

Race relations are complex and difficult. But progress isn't made without open and honest dialogue. We are kidding ourselves if we expect to have discussions on issues such as race without understanding they will be uncomfortable.

Ignorance is uncomfortable, but it is here to stay.

I actually agree with Limbaugh that we should move toward a post-racial society, and that speech should never be censored. In order to accomplish this, however, a balanced open and honest dialogue should begin.

The Daily Show did a segment after Obama's speech where Jon Stewart and his "black correspondent" Larry Willmore had a hilarious and uncomfortable frank race discussion. Stewart asked questions like, "Why do your car stereos have to be so loud?" and Willmore asked, "Why do you ruin music?"

The jokes that are funniest are the ones that show us truths about ourselves.

So rather than worry about being perceived as ignorant, just be ignorant. That does not mean use racial slurs or derogatory comments, it means say what you really feel without trying to qualify it. The more open and honest you are with your feelings, the easier it is to examine why it is you feel that way.

That is how we will learn and move forward as a country. Progress is a slow process, but when the ball starts rolling in the right direction, nothing can stop it.

Hillary's Rainbow Over Texas

We are yet to see whether Hillary's Bosnia lie will be played out by the MSM in the next few days. Regardless, she is running out of money and support real quick. One thing is for sure, the CBS bosnia expose has over 2 mllion views in all of its various forms, and that number is rising.

She of course brought this on herself, but one wonders, will this be her "Rainbow over Texas". If you don't know what that phrase refers to(I didn't untill 10 minutes ago), it refers to a Roy Rogers film where he plays himself as a glam-cowboy singer in texas.

According to Wikipedia, "since that time, "rainbow over Texas" has become a colloquialism for anyone who self-aggrandizes their own life in mythic and fantastical terms. For example, an individual who confabulates their previous experiences or resume out of either ignorance or self-importance is liked to a "rainbow over Texas".

Now that her credibility is coming into question, some are predicataing an avalanche of negative press, "vetting" her claims on everything from NAFTA and Ireland to the SCHIP bill. I am not putting all my faith on the MSM to all of a sudden do its job, but at this point they smell blood, and they are sharks at the end of the day.

Regardless she brought this on herself. She was the one to decide on the scorched earth, kitchen sink, me or no-one approach, exemplified by her recent "sudden" rehashing of the Wright nonsense. What goes around comes around.

Clinton Tax Returns Theories

So according to Sam Stein at the Huffington Post, Hillary intends to release her Tax returns just a few days before the PA primary.

"On a conference call with reporters, Howard Wolfson offered a "categorical yes" when asked if the New York Democrat would make public this information with enough time to spare so that voters in the Keystone State could review it."

I have 3 theories on why they would release these returns just 3 days before the (crucial to her) Pennsylvania election.

Theory 1.
In hopes of a weekend news cycle being less intense than say a monday or tuesday morning story(like the Wright controversy) they release the Returns into the mix on a Saturday or Sunday to try and lessen the blow. Any attacks that are made on the Tax returns the Clinton Camp will spin as just last minute Election mud-slinging on the part of Obama.

Theory 2.
They don't plan on actually releasing them. At least not the full ones. Just like they did with her schedules as First Lady, they will release the returns with partial sections Blacked out, especally those in relation to the 5 Million Dollar loan she gave her campaign.

Theory 3.
She plans on releasing them right before the election in a State she is all but certain to win in order to try and substantiate this idea that she has been "vetted". She will essentially use the PA win she almost certainly will gain as a way to essentially release a negative story and swuash it 2 days later in the news cycle.

It could also be a combination of two or all three of these theories.

Clinton News Network is at it again

Ok, now this is just getting ridiculous. Oh and to say choosing this picture isn't deliberate is stupid, they defintiely choose it. He looks like he has Down Syndrome in this photo. Oh and notice what the article is in reference to.

People say that all pictures of HIllary are bad ones. That's just cuz she's ugly
On the inside.


UPDATE
From www.cracked.com

Hillary Attended Superman's Funeral with Lex Luthor