Swagga, Flava, Yo-Yo

Well, this only took a day......

Would you support a Progressive challenger against Arlen Specter? | Crooks and Liars:

"On the very day Arlen Specter became a Democrat, he lamented that not enough right-wing Bush judges got confirmed, he opposed workers' right to organize, and he compared himself to Joe Lieberman. The DSCC and Pennsylvania Democratic Party will be supporting Specter in the primary.

If there is a potential progressive challenger to Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania, they are probably scratching their head right now asking, 'Would I have any chance at all if I ran, or is the fix in?'

What can progressives to do create an environment where this person feels they can run? Legally, we can't put money in a pot for a fictional candidate. But we can pledge now that if a real progressive steps up, we'll get their back. So, here's a little experiment. I just created a Facebook fan page (like a Facebook group) called 'I support a real progressive against Arlen Specter.'"

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Riiiiiight. Good luck with that.

Jim Inhofe: Specter Switch Will Bring Republican Revolution In 2010 (VIDEO):

"Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) said Wednesday that Sen. Arlen Specter's defection from the Republican Party is 'the first visible evidence' that the GOP will crush the Democrats in the upcoming 2010 midterm elections.

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Cunt. Sorry. Call 'em like I see 'em.

Virginia Foxx: Story of Matthew Shepard's Murder A "Hoax" (VIDEO):

"'I also would like to point out that there was a bill -- the hate crimes bill that's called the Matthew Shepard bill is named after a very unfortunate incident that happened where a young man was killed, but we know that that young man was killed in the commitment of a robbery. It wasn't because he was gay. This -- the bill was named for him, hate crimes bill was named for him, but it's really a hoax that that continues to be used as an excuse for passing these bills,' said Foxx.

A Foxx spokesman didn't immediately return a call. The Matthew Shepard 'hoax' notion is a popular meme on right-wing blogs.

The Matthew Shepard Foundation is dedicated to reducing hate crimes.

The New York Times reported in 1998: 'According to the local police and prosecutors, the two men lured Mr. Shepard out of a bar by saying they were gay. Then, the Laramie police say, the pair kidnapped Mr. Shepard, pistol-whipped him with a .357 Magnum, and left him tied to a ranch fence for 18 hours until a passing bicyclist spotted Mr. Shepard, who was unconscious.'"

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CNN. The first name in tortured fucking 'news'.

Black people cringe everywhere as Kyra goes 'wigga'.

Don't these people ever get embarrassed?

CNN Story On Obama's "Swagga" The Most Embarrassing Ever? (VIDEO):

"We all expect a bit of fluff from cable news considering they have 24 hours a day to fill and there are only so many events to be 'rocked' by, but when we hit a point at which CNN is spending Obama's 100th day in office 'assessing his swagga' something is amiss.

T.J. Holmes sat down with four men who were never identified by name or title (as if we weren't supposed to care about who they were, just that they were black) to talk about Obama's 'swagga.' They were sweet and did the best they could with such a ridiculous topic, but anchor Kyra Phillips was way over the top. She asked for the theme song to 'Shaft' to be played, she talked about Obama's 'flava' and she insisted on getting a fist bump at the end. Here's are her choicest moments..."

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Not that it is on my regular viewing schedule anymore, but I did enjoy catching the show occasionally. This cinches that I'll never watch again.

'Thangs just ain't the same for gangstas'

Sarah Palin to Appear on American Chopper - TV News, Sarah Palin : People.com

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Nail on head.

Obama Skeptical Of Today's College Grads

Last Friday President Obama called for the United States to have "the highest percentage of college graduates" of anywhere in the world. But in more recent remarks, Obama seems to harbor some skepticism of what today's college grads can do.

In an interview with the New York Times' David Leonhardt published Wednesday, the president said that his grandmother, whose education ended after high school, could write a better letter than some of today's college graduates.

"[S]he was able to become a vice president at a bank partly because her high-school education was rigorous enough that she could communicate and analyze information in a way that, frankly, a bunch of college kids in many parts of the country can't," the president said. "She could write a better letter than many of my -- I won't say 'many,' but a number of my former students at the University of Chicago Law School."

The problem, Obama seemed to be saying, is a slippage of standards: "[W]hat it means to have graduated from high school, what it means to have graduated from a two-year college or a four-year college is not always as clear as it was several years ago."

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Facebook Vampires

What Kos says about Specter.

I would have much rather ran a progressive (who would have won) than have Specter as a Dem from PA.

WH may have cut a 'no primary opponent' deal but that doesn't mean jack shit if someone wants to run. The netroots will fund him/her so screw all of the national Dem orgs.

It is not like Specter is going to be a 60th vote or anything.

The only good thing about this is watching Republican heads explode.

Daily Kos: State of the Nation:

"In some ways, Specter's switch doesn't give us anything much. As his statement says, he's not switching back on EFCA, he won't be a reliable Democratic vote, and he'll probably duke it out with Lieberman to be the most obnoxious anti-Democratic voice from within the caucus.

On the other hand, he was going to lose his primary and we'd easily pick up the seat against Toomey, giving us a real Democrat in that seat. Doesn't seem like a great deal.

This move is about political survival, and nothing more. Specter's overriding concern is staying in the Senate, and he'll bend whatever conviction is necessary to make that happen. And since it was clear he wasn't going to survive a primary challenge, well, he did what he needed to do. I wouldn't be surprised, if the Dems pick up a good primary challenger to Specter, for the incumbent to suddenly re-find religion on EFCA. It's not as if Specter believes in anything beyond his title and choice parking spot near the Capitol."

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Blood is on your hands Beck/Hannity/et al.

Joshua Cartwright, Cop-Killing Gunman, "Severely Disturbed" Over Obama's Election:

"The couple started brawling in their Florida apartment. Elizabeth managed to escape and get herself to a hospital and call the police, but Joshua didn't stop raging until after he had killed two sheriff's deputies at a gun range, and police officers shot him dead.

According to the police report, Elizabeth Cartwright said her husband 'believed that the US Government was conspiring against him. She said he had been severely disturbed that Barack Obama had been elected President.'"

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Damn, damn, damn. Didn't know about this. Damn!

Winery creates buzz with dream job offer:

"(04-28) 19:57 PDT -- The dream job offer is this: Get paid $10,000 a month for six months to drink wine, learn and talk about wine, eat good food, live rent free in Healdsburg and play the occasional game of poker with a laid-back staff."

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I left you behind for a reason.

The vampires of Facebook / Could it actually be dangerous to connect with everyone you ever knew?:

"From an energy perspective, Facebook is a goddamn cord-makin' wonderland, a sort of psychic Grand Central, the place where psychic energy goes to jack itself back into the mainframe. It's tens of millions of people peeking and poking and peering into the lives of those they know, those they want to know, those they like or love or hate or begrudge or secretly want to peel the pants from and lick like a popsicle in summer.

It's a notion that struck me as I realized that nearly everyone who's ever played a reasonably significant role in my life, both past and present, has since found and reconnected with me, initially via email through the digital reach of this very column over the years, but now far more actively and vividly through my Facebook profile (or, to a lesser extent, my Twitter feed). It's sort of stunning, really.

Old girlfriends, lost loves, long-forgotten friends, high school sweethearts, band mates, roommates, old nemeses, lots of former cheerleaders turned born-again Christian megamoms, and everything in between. All those old connections, those lives and chapters and periods of my life I thought I'd left behind so cleanly, so decisively, way back when? Here they all are again, like a living scrapbook, constantly renewing and updating itself. What a thing."

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Now THIS is how one goes about a bender.

Laid-off Russian stuns doctors with drinking bout:

"MOSCOW (AFP) – Russians are no strangers to vodka, but a binge by one laid-off factory worker who consumed an estimated eight bottles in a session had even seasoned doctors gasping in astonishment."

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Bacon Flu

Guess who wrote this in 97....

'As I said in China this spring, there is no place for abuse in what must be considered the family of man. There is no place for torture and arbitrary detention. There is no place for forced confessions. There is no place for intolerance of dissent.' 'While we walked through the Rotunda. I explained to President Jiang how the roots of American rule of law go back more than 700 years, to the signing of the Magna Carta. The foundation of American values, therefore, is not a passing priority or a temporary trend."

He was against torture before he was for it.

Gingrich Condemned Torture In '97: Violates The "Foundation Of American Values"

"FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: OCTOBER 30, 1997

SPEAKER'S STATEMENT ON VISIT OF PRESIDENT JIANG
Washington, D.C. -- House Speaker Newt Gingrich released the following statement today following his meeting with Chinese President Jiang Zemin.

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Simplest governing strategy evah is to do the exact opposite of what any Republican wants.

GOP Stripped Flu Pandemic Preparedness From Stimulus:

"Remember way back in the day, President Obama delivered his Not Really The State Of The Union address, and the GOP trotted out Future Of The Republican Party Supra-Genius Bobbly Jindal to provide a rebuttal? Well, we all had some laughs, didn't we? Mainly because Jindal was all: 'They want to spend stimulus money on volcano monitoring? Why everyone knows that the Hill Witch keeps tabs on our volcanoes by floating chicken bones in her own intestinal ichor!' And then Alaska's Mount Redoubt erupted, suggesting there might be something to this 'let's monitor volcanoes with government-funded science' idea.

Well, as it turns out, volcano monitoring wasn't the only worthwhile public safety program that was deemed extravagant in the stimulus package, funding for pandemic preparation was axed as well. And playing a critical role was Susan Collins -- for whom the necessity of obtaining her vote is in inverse proportion to the intelligence she shows in policy making:"

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But not this guy. He's a needle in a hay stack.

It bears repeating: We won.

Think Progress � Rep. Ryan: Democrats have a ‘right’ to use budget reconciliaton.:

"Congressional Democrats and the Obama administration have floated using 'budget reconciliation' to pass health care reform -- where only 51 votes would be required for approval of a bill -- to bypass the increasing number of Republican filibuster threats. In response, Senate Republicans have said they would 'grind the Senate to a virtual halt'; Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) explained that reconciliation would be 'the nuclear war.' Today, GOP up-and-comer Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), however, said it is Democrats' 'right' to use budget reconciliation:

“It's their right. They did win the election,” said Ryan, R-Wis. “That’s what I tell all my constituents who are worried about this. They won the election. They did run on these ideas. They did run on nationalizing health care. So, you're right about that. They have the votes with reconciliation. They nailed down the process so that they can make sure they have the votes and that they can get this thing through really fast. It is their right. It is what they can do.”

Notably, much of President Bush's agenda was passed in Republican-controlled Congresses using budget reconciliation. At the Wonk Room, Igor Volsky writes that reconciliation is the key to achieving health care reform."

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Let's see... who spent time in Indonesia as a child... who was that.... hmmm....

Not saying Obama is the reason... but it sure don't hurt.

In Indonesia, Islamists Lost Political Ground - NYTimes.com:

"JAKARTA, Indonesia — From Pakistan to Gaza and Lebanon, militant Islamic movements have gained ground rapidly in recent years, fanning Western fears of a consolidation of radical Muslim governments. But here in the world’s most populous Muslim nation just the opposite is happening, with Islamic parties suffering a steep drop in popular support.

In parliamentary elections this month, voters punished Islamic parties that focused narrowly on religious issues, and even the parties’ best efforts to appeal to the country’s mainstream failed to sway the public."

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Gored.

Gore Tells Off Republican AssHat Congresswoman

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The difference between a fine and a misdemeanor or having to register as a sex offender? Depends on who is doing the arresting.

ACLU lobbying for changes in nudity laws : County News : Boulder Daily Camera

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Swine flu. Yawn.

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Ow. Quit it.

Southern Style Letter to the Editor.

"There's a lot of good folks down there...."

Good on ya, Marilyn, good on ya.

Hold them accountable | TimesDaily.com | Florence, AL:

"After years of secrecy, the Obama administration recently demonstrated its commitment to transparency by releasing memos that reveal how senior Bush administration officials authorized enhanced interrogation techniques, otherwise known as torture.

This is not enough. Let's not allow these people to represent American values. The only way to ensure that these heinous crimes are not repeated again and continue to be associated with Americans is to hold these people accountable.

In addition, we have an economic crisis that has been largely caused by fraud and deceit on Wall Street. I see both of these illegal actions as related. In both cases people have perpetrated these crimes knowing that they will never be held accountable.

If we allow all of these people to go unpunished for their crimes, we will have done nothing to provide evidence to the rest of the world that we will not tolerate these kinds of illegal behaviors. And what is worse, we have demonstrated to our children that as long as you have money and/or power, you can do anything you want.

We must demand that these criminals be held accountable to the American people through the rule of law!

Marilyn Lee

Florence"

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Pro.

Obama quickly, confidently adapts to presidency:

"As an audacious candidate, Obama meticulously built a powerhouse organization and fundraising juggernaut to engineer his victory. As a fledgling president, he similarly has mapped out a big-risk agenda that he's methodically begun to execute, keeping to the discipline that has been a hallmark of his life.

Rookie jitters? Far from it."

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These are always fun.

Daily Kos: Saturday hate mail-apalooza

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The most viable leader for the Repubs is the daughter of McCain?!?. She actually says some reasonable things. The only glimmer of hope the Repubs have. Of course, they'll crush her due to the gay lovin' and all.

Yes. Please. Go away.

Meghan McCain to Cheney: ‘You had your 8 years. Go away.’:

"Meghan McCain expressed dissatisfaction with some former Bush officials who have criticized Obama during his first 100 days. “It’s hard for me — it’s very unprecedented for someone like karl rove or dick cheney to be criticizing the president. i just — my criticism is just, you know, you had your eight years, go away,” McCain told hosts of ABC’s The View."

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Oh Texas. Thanks for giving this Alabamian a state other than Mississippi to pick on.

"Don't let Oklahoma hit your ass on the way out".

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Ow. Quit it. Ow. Quit it. Ow. Quit it.

Sydney man shot 34 times in head with nail gun

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Coachella 2009 - Booker T and DBT

I had the pleasure of attending the Saturday session of Coachella to see DBT plus Booker T and the DBTs perform.

Lots of people to thank for this pleasure: Patterson and DBT and Christine for hooking me up with tickets and some sweet VIP passes. Traci Thomas for putting me in touch with Coachella's press people. Alex Greenberg, press liaison for Coachella who graced me up with a photo pass that allowed me to get up close and sweaty with some real photographers during the sets.

My good friend Kim (Kimtucky) who, upon a last minute invite, trucked it all the way to Indio from the Bay Area.

Thanks to all for a damn good time.

Usually, I'm not the biggest fan of festivals but I must say that Coachella is a grade-A, class act production. One that I'm seriously considering attending next year, DBT or not.

The polo field grass at the Coachella fair grounds made walking around to the various stages and art exhibits a delightful experience for the knees and the feet. Like a plush carpet it was.

Great weather, though it did get a bit toasty on Saturday.

Sat near Perry Farrell in the VIP section. Dude has got a large head... literally.

Checked out Calexico a great band from Tuscon.

OK, without any further 'blah-blah' here are some pictures. Click on them for the larger, more detailed versions:

The Globe that greeted us upon arrival to the field.

Art thingy structure that wasn't listed in the booklet. Art as shade. Very practical.

La Familia Divina-Shrine

Main Stage

Umm, some two-legged bio art. Lots of these types of pieces wandering the festival. (OK, OK... the amount of eye candy at Coachella is ridiculous. When you're pulling from PHX, L.A., Vegas and San Diego you're pulling nothing but the A-team.

Wide shot of the Do Lab

Drinky-poos in the VIP

Kimtucky getting her couch on.

VIP smoking lounge... which didn't make much sense at an outdoor festival... until you realize that it had aircon.

To the right the VIP cocktail lounge... with couches and aircon. I called this place 'Nirvana'.

Cauac Twins (the largest and most powerful twin tesla coils in the world)

Serpent Mother from SF (SM got fired up at night... literally)

Sol

Hand of Man (loved this one. It rocked out and crushed stuff)

Festival layout

Joss Stone performing on the main stage. Zexy

DBT performing at the Outdoor Theatre

Crowd

Tad from The Hold Steady sitting in on People Who Died.

Booker T and DBTs at the Gobi Tent

I never could nail my camera settings for the Booker T and DBT show. Sun was setting and I was too blissed out to see DBT and Booker together that I didn't struggle long with the camera before I sat back and enjoyed this incredible performance.

All of the photogs up front were crowded around Booker so the only shots I got were microphone enhanced.

Sharp Dresser

Again, thanks to all for a much needed exercusion to the California desert.

I'll leave with with some NSFW Coachella tasering. Two thoughts on this... the cops were really good in this situation. They gave the dude every chance they could. 2. Mushrooms must cause shrinkage.

Naked Wizard Taser Brawl At Coachella (VIDEO NSFW):

"The officer grabs the gown and tosses to the Naked Wizard, but he casts it away again. Then the cops put on their rubber gloves, and things get ugly.

Herewith, the best Tasering video since 'Don't Tase me bro!'"

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