Politics - Priorities

Via Confined Space

What Really Matters...

Sometimes you can tell what a society truly values by the penalties it places on certain crimes. Take today's paper, for example:

Stiff Overhaul of Mine Safety Rules Passes Congress
The maximum civil penalty for violations of mine-safety regulations will rise to $220,000, from $60,000.

And then there was this:

Congress Increases Indecency Fines Tenfold
The bill would increase the maximum fines the Federal Communications Commission may levy for indecent content from the current $32,500 to $325,000 per incident.

Link includes picture of "Nipple-gate," and therefore may be NSFW... if you work for the FCC, anyway.

Personal - Batcave Home Theater Room

The Batcave... the freakin BATCAVE HOME THEATER!!!

Really. The drool is ruining my keyboard.

Politics - You can not make this stuff up, part 2

Via USATODAY.com

A last-minute deal Tuesday with Vice President Cheney averted a possible confrontation between the Senate Judiciary Committee and U.S. telephone companies about the National Security Agency's database of customer calling records.

The deal was announced by Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., the committee chairman, and Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. They said Cheney, who plays a key role supervising NSA counterterrorism efforts, promised that the Bush administration would consider legislation proposed by Specter that would place a domestic surveillance program under scrutiny of a special federal court.

In return, Specter agreed to postpone indefinitely asking executives from the nation's telecommunication companies to testify about another program in which the NSA collects records of domestic calls.

Cheney, Specte and Hatch... three assholes of the highest order.

Current events - It's not the Iraq war the deficit or global warming... THIS is important!

Top Twelve Reasons Homosexual Marriage Should Not Be Legal:

1. Homosexuality is not natural, much like eyeglasses, polyester, and birth control.

2. Heterosexual marriages are valid because they produce children. Infertile couples and old people can't legally get married because the world needs more children.

3. Obviously gay parents will raise gay children, since straight parents only raise straight children.

4. Straight marriage will be less meaningful, since Britney Spears' 55-hour just-for-fun marriage was meaningful.

5. Heterosexual marriage has been around a long time and hasn't changed at all; women are property, blacks can't marry whites, and divorce is illegal.

6. Gay marriage should be decided by people not the courts, because the majority-elected legislatures, not courts, have historically protected the rights of the minorities.

7. Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country. That's why we have only one religion in America.

8. Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.

9. Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract.

10. Children can never succeed without a male and a female role model at home. That's why single parents are forbidden to raise children.

11. Gay marriage will change the foundation of society. Heterosexual marriage has been around for a long time, and we could never adapt to new social norms because we haven't adapted to cars or longer life spans.

12. Civil unions, providing most of the same benefits as marriage with a different name are better, because a 'separate but equal' institution is always constitutional. Separate schools for Africn-Americans worked just as well as separate marriages for gays and lesbians will.

Not mine, but it is damn funny and says it all.

Movies - Silent Bob disses the Droid

Apparently Mr. Kevin Smith is not a fan of This Droids Life.

Turns out that they screened Clerks II in KC this week and I was noticeably absent from the guest list.

Bad form, Mr. Smith, bad form.

Humor - Quote of the week

"God wrote the Bible in English for a reason: So it could be taught in our public schools." - Stephen Colbert

Personal - The weekend off on the right foot

May whatever diety you believe in bless Arthur C. Guinness and that guy who invented the pretzel stick.

Current events - When did this become acceptable?

Is signing, "Thanx," at the end of professional e-mails acceptable now?

I ask because I have seen it twice today.

Humor - Beer

She told me we couldn't afford beer anymore and I'd have to quit.

Then I caught her spending $65.00 on make-up.
And I asked how come I had to give up stuff and not her.
She said she needed the make-up to look pretty for me.
I told her that was what the beer was for.

I don't think she's coming back.

Humor - Marvel's Secret Wars re-enactment

Funny stuff.

Currnet events - I Can't Believe It's Not A Jihad!

Via Talk To Action

Imagine: you are a foot soldier in a paramilitary group whose purpose is to remake America as a Christian theocracy, and establish its worldly vision of the dominion of Christ over all aspects of life. You are issued high-tech military weaponry, and instructed to engage the infidel on the streets of New York City. You are on a mission - both a religious mission and a military mission -- to convert or kill Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, gays, and anyone who advocates the separation of church and state - especially moderate, mainstream Christians. Your mission is 'to conduct physical and spiritual warfare'; all who resist must be taken out with extreme prejudice. You have never felt so powerful, so driven by a purpose: you are 13 years old. You are playing a real-time strategy video game whose creators are linked to the empire of mega-church pastor Rick Warren, best selling author of The Purpose Driven Life.

Current events - Radley Balko on Congress & Raids

Via National Review Online

On Tuesday, Rep. James Sensenbrenner held hearings titled, “Reckless Justice: Did the Saturday Night Raid of Congress Trample the Constitution?” At those hearings, Sensenbrenner announced his intention to introduce legislation protecting Congress from future, similar police searches.

Funny. Congress—especially GOP leaders like Hastert and Sensenbrenner—don’t seem nearly as concerned when much more violent, confrontational raids happen to their own constituents.

Funny. Congress—especially GOP leaders like Hastert and Sensenbrenner—don’t seem nearly as concerned when much more violent, confrontational raids happen to their own constituents.

Politics - Congress shows it's true colors

Music - The 80's on YouTube

Great list of music videos from the 80's.

Yes, children, MTV did play music videos... once long ago.

Current events - They control the horizontal...

Via Independent Online Edition

Federal authorities are actively investigating dozens of American television stations for broadcasting items produced by the Bush administration and major corporations, and passing them off as normal news. Some of the fake news segments talked up success in the war in Iraq, or promoted the companies' products.

Your tax dollars going to state-sponsored propaganda. Sleep well.

Current events - He was a right hoopy frood.

It's Towel Day. Do you know where yours is?

Tech - WMD computer mod

Via bit-tech.net

A super cool computer mod, designed to look like a spy movie nuke. So excellent.

For those who may have missed Part I, the aim of this project was to build a completely custom-built computer case, out of stainless steel, that would look like the sort of atomic bomb that one sees in spy movies or on TV shows like 24. I tried not to base the design on any real or fictional bomb, but simply out of my imagination.

Current events - This is not the America my grandfather fought for.

The Motion Picture Association of America has censored a poster advertising a film about the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
-------------
For two crucial hours, an Idaho telecommunications firm tied up Democratic and union phone lines, bringing their get-out-the-vote plans to a halt. The effort helped John E. Sununu (R) win his Senate seat by 51 to 47 percent, a 19,151-vote margin.
-------------
A prominent Republican on Capitol Hill has prepared legislation that would rewrite Internet privacy rules by requiring that logs of Americans' online activities be stored, CNET News.com has learned.
-------------
A senior federal law enforcement official tells ABC News the government is tracking the phone numbers we (Brian Ross and Richard Esposito) call in an effort to root out confidential sources.

Current events - NSA, can you hear me now?

via Cato@Liberty Blog

Great insight from Robert A. Levy.

"When communications from and to a US person in the US are monitored, that’s domestic surveillance, no matter whether the party on the other end is inside or outside of the US. Since Bush believes that warrantless domestic surveillance is permissible regardless of FISA’s contrary provisions, we shouldn’t be surprised if the NSA has much more data (including content) than USA Today has uncovered."

Humor - Ask A Ninja tackles Net Neutrality

We should all be thankful for the wisdom of the ninja.

NINJA!

Current events - Time to switch to Qwest!

via USATODAY.com

"Among the big telecommunications companies, only Qwest has refused to help the NSA, the sources said. According to multiple sources, Qwest declined to participate because it was uneasy about the legal implications of handing over customer information to the government without warrants.

Qwest's refusal to participate has left the NSA with a hole in its database. Based in Denver, Qwest provides local phone service to 14 million customers in 14 states in the West and Northwest. But AT&T and Verizon also provide some services — primarily long-distance and wireless — to people who live in Qwest's region. Therefore, they can provide the NSA with at least some access in that area."

All part of the PNAC plan, I'm sure.

Music - Some great MP3 blogs/sites

rbally

I AM FUEL, YOU ARE FRIENDS

Internet Archive: Live Music Archive

Humor - Heard on a telecall after some bad news...

"Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?"

I laughed. Hard.

Humor - The bunny and the snake

Once upon a time, in a nice little forest, there lived an orphaned bunny and an orphaned snake. By a surprising coincidence, both were blind from birth.

One day, the bunny was hopping through the forest, and the snake was slithering through the forest, when the bunny tripped over the snake and fell down. This, of course, knocked the snake about quite a bit.

"Oh, my," said the bunny, "I'm terribly sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you.

I've been blind since birth, so, I can't see where I'm going. In fact, since I'm also an orphan, I don't even know what I am."

It's quite ok," replied the snake. "Actually, my story is as yours. I too have been blind since birth, and also never knew my mother. Tell you what, maybe I could slither all over you, and work out what you are so at least you'll have that going for you."

"Oh, that would be wonderful" replied the bunny. So the snake slithered all over the bunny, and said, "Well, you're covered with soft fur, you have really l ong ears, your nose twitches, and you have a soft cottony tail. I'd say that you must be a bunny rabbit."

"Oh, thank you, thank you," cried the bunny, in obvious excitement.

The bunny suggested to the snake, "Maybe I could feel you all over with my paw, and help you the same way that you've helped me." So the bunny felt the snake all over, and remarked, "Well, you're smooth and slippery and you have a forked tongue, no backbone and no balls... I'd say you must be a team leader, supervisor or possibly someone in senior management."

Games - Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion has rating changed to Mature

Via bit-tech.net

"The rating for the magnificent Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion has been changed from 'Teen' to 'Mature' by the Electronic Software Ratings Board, after the classification board was notified of a user-created mod that made female characters topless, as well as excessive blood and gore scenes that had previously been overlooked by the ratings committee."

(Emphasis mine.)

Should someone tell them there are nekkid pics of cartoon characters on the net and they should make the entirety of the Disney catalog NC-17? Sheesh.

Personal - On doctors and the season

There are few things I hate more than doctors. Only congress, spiders, and coconut edge them out.

I do everything in my power to avoid all of those things. Unfortunatly, this allergy season has forced me to call and make an appointment. Frack, I am not looking forward to it.

Music - Bands/Singers I can do without

Nickelback.
Creed.
Celine Dion.
Anyone who has ever appeared on American Idol.

Current events - Dubya, Dead-eye Dick and Kenny Boy

Arianna Huffington reminds us of the deep, long standing connections between the current administration and the Enron crooks.

"What made Enron so significant was what it revealed about the corruption of our political system -- about the unseemly link between big money donations and the influence those donations buy. And Bush and Cheney are standing smack dab in the middle of this neglected aspect of the story."

She's got a great recap of things the MSM seems to have forgotten.

Humor - Deep thoughts, by Q2D2... umm... 2

Don't like what your senator or congress-person is doing?

Buy your own.

Politics - Remember... Democracies are peaceful countries

Politics - Relax! The "Decider" has a plan

Via CNN.com

Bush to halt deposits to Strategic Petroleum Reserve
"President Bush is expected to deliver a four-point plan Tuesday to fight high gasoline prices."

You know, because all his other "plans" have worked out so well.

Isn't this guy watching over oil prices like Darryl Strawberry watching over drug use in baseball?

Current events - Caption this!

"Sorry, just got a little reality in my eye."

Comics - Crap! White space! Quick put an ad on it!

Via the Wall Street Journal

"Superheroes like Superman and Spider-Man can save mankind from natural disasters, space aliens and evil mutants. But there's one thing they are powerless to stop: Advertisers shilling products within the pages of the comic books they call home."

Great... the corporate whores are on the march. I mean, you could always count on Hostess to drop an ad or two in the middle of the book, but you knew it was an ad. This intergrates it so fully in the art and makes their corporate products part of the story... that hits a new low.

Why am I surprised?

Personal - Godwin'd in my own home

My wife Godwin'd me last night. Worse, it was at the BEGINNING of the discussion.

She obviously has no respect for how these things are supposed to be played out.

Blogs - PAgent meets da Hooters

Do yourself a favor and clicky the link to PAgent's Progress on the right.

He's a damn funny, thoughtful guy and he tells a story like a master.

(Read the "Hoo, me?" entry!)

4 out of 5 beeps.

Humor - Deep thoughts, by Q2D2

If a radical muslim blows himself up in the woods, and there's no infidels around... does he still get into paradise?

Religion - When the meatballs hit the fan

I'm so proud to be from Kansas. Really.

Via the Kansas City Star

"Creature’s picture irks Board of Ed member

WICHITA — State Board of Education member Connie Morris took exception Wednesday to a picture of a made-up creature that satirizes the state’s new science standards hanging on a Wichita middle school teacher’s door.

Fellow board member Sue Gamble of Shawnee told The Wichita Eagle that Morris asked for the picture to be removed.

The creature, called the Flying Spaghetti Monster, is the creation of Bobby Henderson of Corvallis, Ore. It looks like a clump of spaghetti with two eyes sticking out of the top and two meatballs flanking the eyes.

Henderson created the entity and an accompanying mythology on the origin of mankind to make fun of Kansas’ recent debate over the teaching of criticisms of evolution, including intelligent design.

In November, the board voted 6-4 to allow criticisms of evolution to be taught in Kansas schools.

Morris, who voted for the new science standards, saw the picture during the tour of Stucky Middle School. She did not return phone calls for this report.

Gamble, who voted against the new standards and was also on the tour, said that Morris asked principal Kenneth Jantz to have the picture taken down."

Education - FlashcardExchange

I have a severe case of ADD and flashcards are about the only way I can concentrate on studying. The FlashcardExchange site looks like it has some great libraries and you can create your own too.

EDIT: I should add that in order to download or print the flashcards you must upgrade from their free account. I didn't realize that until after I registered. Nuts.

Tech - miniMinty MP3 -- build your own MP3 player

Add to my to do list...

The miniMinty MP3
# Uses SD cards for swappable storage
# 750 mAh LI-Pol battery for 12+ hours of juice
# Mounts as a Mass Storage Device - No drivers, No custom apps!
# Automatically charges over USB
# Easily update the firmware over USB
# Looks hotter than your grandmother's Buick Regal

Personal - Happy birthday, Hef!

Thanks on behalf of every teen boy in America.



Here's to another 80 years, you lucky bastard!

Personal - The greatest shoe of all time

The Converse All Star "Chuck Taylor" canvas basketball shoe. My wife hates them, but I love them. Hands down (should have said "Feet down") they are the most comfortable shoe I've ever wore.

A great resource for all things "Chucks" at ChucksConnection.com

Politics - Say goodnight, Tommy.

“He has served our nation with integrity and honor,” said Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, who succeeded DeLay in his leadership post earlier this year.

Sure. Assuming by "integrity" you mean dishonesty, and by "honor" you mean contempt.

Via ABC News

Media - Blizzard, why hath thou forsaken us!?!?

"Uwe Boll Secures Rights to 'StarCraft' Movie Trilogy
The man who inspired gamers to hate film-makers secures one of Blizzard's finest."

Via AOL

Frack.

Web - You Got Questions, Ninja Got Answers

Ask A Ninja!

Movies - I have GOT to see this one!

Current events - Once every 100 years...

On Wednesday morning at two minutes and three seconds after one, the time and date will be 01:02:03 04/05/06.

Movies - Silent Bob is talking

Kevin Smith is posting a series of stories on his blog, My Boring Ass Life, about his real life friend and on screen hetro life mate, Jay's struggle to get clean and away from heroin.

It's a great read.

Humor - Whatever happened to professional courtesy?

A guy is walking down the street in Washington DC, when a masked robber jumps out, pulls a gun and says, "Gimme all the money you have!"

The guy says, "I'm a United States Congressman! You can't do this to me!"

The robber says, "Yeah, you're right... just give me MY money back."

SciFi - Greatest T-shirt. EVER.

I am not a cylon but my imaginary girlfriend is.

See also: STARBUCK IS HOT (the new one)

Personal - Yeah, I kinda saw that coming...

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

Pure Geek 43 % Nerd, 69% Geek, 43% Dork

	You scored higher than 22% on nerdiness
	You scored higher than 92% on geekosity
	You scored higher than 79% on dork points

Link: The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test written by donathos on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

Science - I'm not "afraid" of spiders...

I do have an "intense, violent, deep seeded hatred" of spiders, though, and this does little to change that.

Injections of stress hormone may reduce fear of spiders "Arachnophobes around the world can rejoice - the answer to their darkest fears could be a simple injection away after scientists found that a dose of the body's natural stress hormone, cortisol, can help phobics deal better with fear of spiders."

Personal - And my vacation spot this summer is...

Chodova Plana in the Czech Republic!
"We believe in the healing properties of beer and we offer the full range of treatments. We are a fully-fledged beer spa."

Personal - In brightest day, in blackest night...

Your results:
You are Green Lantern

Hot-headed. You have strong
will power and a good imagination.

Green Lantern

---

70%
Spider-Man

---

70%
Hulk

---

60%
Batman

---

55%
Catwoman

---

50%
The Flash

---

50%
Superman

---

45%
Robin

---

40%
Supergirl

---

30%
Wonder Woman

---

25%
Iron Man

---

25%


Click here to take the Superhero Personality Test

Politics - DeLay license to carry concealed handgun revoked

The Raw Story | DeLay license to carry concealed handgun revoked "Under Texas law, indicted felons are not allowed to carry concealed handguns."

snicker-giggle-snicker

Politics - Welcome to Kansas!

Please leave your misplaced belief in personal freedom at the border.

I missed the part where I'm supposed to be glad they are doing this. Is this the 21st century equivalent of, "papers please?"

Idiot - My first nominee for "Idiot of the Month"

Unattended Toddler Leads to Arrest at Tulsa Strip Club

"A Kansas man is arrested at a Tulsa strip club after police say his toddler son was left in a cold car and found wandering into the club.

Christopher Killion of Sabetha, Kansas, was arrested Saturday on a complaint of encouraging a minor child to be in need of supervision. He posted $500 bond and was released from jail.

Reports show the toddler told police that his father told him to stay in the car and that if he left it, monsters would eat him."

Politics - This is why they all should be fired.

Every stinking one of those pricks in Washington need to be fired.

America, United States, Times Online, The Times, Sunday Times

"$9 TRILLION

...Is roughly four times Britain’s GDP

...Equates to $1,500 for every man, woman and child in the world

...Would buy all the tea in China. In fact it would buy all the tea in the world for the next 2,000 years.

...Is enough to solve the Palestinian crisis by rehousing every Israeli and Palestinian family in a £1.5m detached house in Henley-on-Thames

...Would build 28 Eiffel Towers — constructed out of gold."

Disgusting.

Personal - Great timing

It's 32 degrees.
The wind is blowing 40 miles per hour.
It's raining sideways.

And we have a fracking fire drill.

Personal - Holiday report

I had a great St. Patty's day. Drank some pints, ate some great food and heard a killer band.

Big Fat Fun played at Loft 150 in Wichita this weekend and they put on a helluva show.

Good times.

Personal - Time for a career change?

I'm thinking seriously about doing this...
Kansas City Bartending School

Politics - Helen Thomas has a posse... part 2

I had the good fortune to speak to Ms. Thomas today on the radio. She was the guest of Steve Kraske on KCUR's Up To Date this morning. I thanked her for being a voice of reason and asking the questions that have to be asked of the current administration. She is a much needed voice of dissent and all the members of the White House Press Corps can learn from her. Let's hope they are listening.

She will present the Emily Taylor & Marilyn Stokstad Women's Leadership Lecture with a speech titled "Covering the White House from Kennedy to Bush" at 7:30 on Tuesday evening March 14th at Woodruff Auditorium in the Kansas Union at the University of Kansas.

Her new book, Watchdogs of Democracy? The Waning Washington Press Corps and How It Has Failed the Public is slated to be released June 20, 2006.

Sports - Roy who?

Big congratulations to the Kansas Jayhawks on a spectacular end to a great season!

Kansas Jayhawks Big 12 Champs

“Can you believe it?” Self said as he turned to assistant Tim Jankovich. “We’re the best in the Big 12 — the best team in Big-Freakin’-12!”

Yes, Self really said ‘freakin’ — and, no, not many would have fathomed something like this could have happened in a season that seemed destined to be a rebuilding year.

But there it was on the American Airlines Center scoreboard: Kansas 80, Texas 68.

Current events - The Iraq war in thirty seconds

Kansas City Star | 03/10/2006 | He knows how close Hussein came to nukes: "He knows how close Hussein came to nukes

For years Saddam Hussein’s nuclear dreams lay like dormant mushrooms in the soil of Mahdi Obeidi’s garden.

Obeidi, a former Iraqi nuclear scientist, had buried blueprints, documents and parts for a centrifuge system “in a safe place” shortly after the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

The Iraqis had been only a few years from producing nukes then, with a little help from a surprising source, according to him.

“In the United States, we got some critical things (such as research papers and system programs).”

Through the black market?

“Not from the black market. We asked for it and got it, through normal channels.”

All came to a halt with the Kuwait invasion, the postwar sanctions and U.N. weapons inspectors.

Were there leftover WMDs when American forces invaded in 2003?

“No, no. … I would’ve known.”

There was his stash, however, which he turned over to the CIA. In return, he and his family got sanctuary on the East Coast.

And now, according to Hollywood reports, Johnny Depp has agreed to play Obeidi, 61, in a film project based on his book, The Bomb in My Garden: The Secrets of Saddam’s Nuclear Mastermind. He spoke in Lawrence this week."

Yes, that's the whole article.

To re-cap...

1. Hussein almost had nukes.
2. He got the plans from the United States government.
3. The first war stopped him.
4. There were no WMD's at the start of this war.
5. Johnny Depp is in a new movie.

Wait... JOHNNY DEPP IS IN A NEW MOVIE?!?!

That screaching you hear is the sound of my brain rebooting.

Current events - Guinness 1759 Society

The Guinness 1759 Society is a celebration of all things Guinness.

Comics - DC gets stamped!

USPS - 2006 Commemorative Stamps: "DC Comics Super Heroes
Ten comic book heroes will be saluted on the 'DC Comics Super Heroes' stamps next summer. Half of the pane of 20 will be portraits of the characters; the other half will show individual comic book covers devoted to their exploits. The characters include Aquaman, Batman, The Flash, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Plastic Man, Supergirl, Superman and Wonder Woman."

What? No love for the Martian Manhunter? Sheesh!

Comics - NERDGASM!!! Jim Lee Joins DC Universe MMO

"Today at the New York City Comic-con artist Jim Lee and Sony Online Entertainment accounced that Lee would be collaborating on Sony's upcoming MMO based on the DC Comics universe."

/rocking back and forth chewing on his fingernails
OMG! OMG! OMFG! Please don't screw this up Sony!

Humor - Survivor: Kansas

Not mine, but damn funny.

Due to the popularity of the Survivor shows, Kansas is planning to do its own version, entitled "Survivor, Kansas Style."

The contestants will start in Lawrence, travel to Pttsburg, Winfield, Dodge City, Colby and then to Concordia, Atchison then on to Olathe and back into Lawrence.

Each will be driving a pink Lexus with a bumper sticker that reads, "I'm gay, I hate the Chiefs, I'm a vegetarian, I voted for Al Gore, and I'm here to confiscate your guns."

The first one to make it back to Lawrence alive wins.

Current events - Mardi Gras!

You cannot buy a king cake in Kansas City. None. No where.

I tried four different bakeries yesterday and just confused the heck out of the pleebs behind the counter.

I did tell one of them that, "it's a cinnamon roll cake thing that has a little baby in it."

He just stared at me. I left before security got there.

Politics - Would you do it again?

I live in the reddest of red states, Kansas. I see more "Bush-Cheney '04" stickers on my daily commute than any three people ought to see in a lifetime. Mostly I shake my head and feel sorry for the occupants.

Until yesterday. I was stopping to get gas and pulled in behind a big black pickup truck with a "Bush-Cheney '04" sticker on the window and no less than six magnetic ribbons expressing the owners patriotism and support for our troops in Iraq. Yellow ones, camouflage ones, red-white-and-blue ones.

He was already fueling and as I started he noticed me looking at his cadre of decorations. He caught my eye, and, smiling, gave me kind of a half nod. He obviously assumed I was a god fearing, NRA member, Bush lovin' 'Publican like himself.

I looked at him and said, "Would you do it again?"

He looked a bit confused. "Do what again?" he asked.

"Vote for Bush," I said.

"Hellyeah! He's a good man!" he said, "Damn sight better than Kerry. I hate that guy. Bush is takin' care of them damn Iraqis."

"Hmmm," said I.

He finished filling his truck and while walking back around to get in his truck, stared at me like I had purple horns sprouting from my forehead.

I realized, then and there, I no longer feel sorry for them.

We are so screwed.

Politics - Just in case you haven't been keeping score...

1. Selling port security to the United Arab Emerates, known for financing 9/11 terrorists.

2. Invading Iraq on false pretenses and causing the inevitable civil war in that country.

3. Allowing Iran/Syria/North Korea to develop nukes.

4. The Hurricane Katrina debacle.

5. Record defecit reaching into the trillions of dollars.

6. Oil prices shooting through the roof.

7. CIA Agent outed by Veeps assistant.

8. NSA listening to American citizens phone calls, with
no warrant or court oversight.

9. Jackie Abramhoff and the boys stuffing their pockets with dirty money.

...but all of that combined is not as bad as getting a blowjob in the oval office.

Music - Seems prophetic, no?

"When the cowboys and Arabs draw down
On each other at noon,
In the cool dusty air of the city boardroom,
Will you stand by a passive spectator
Of the market dictators?
Will you discreetly withdraw
With your ear pressed to the boardroom door?
Will you hear when the lion within you roars?
Will you take to the hills?"
-Roger Waters, song called Home on the album Radio K.A.O.S. published 1987.

Personal - Fat Tuesday is upon us

18 years ago I gave up Catholicism for lent... I never went back.

Movies - Indulge a fanboy, please!

Variety.com - Warner's men in tights: "The superhero sequel engine is revving up bigtime."

Please, please, PLEASE make a World's Finest movie! PLEASE!?!?

Personal - Thoughts on a long weekend

Long weekends are never long enough...
=========================================================
I made the mistake of telling my two and a half year old daughter that the little fuzzies you get between your toes after wearing new socks was called "sock goop."
She has since refused to wear socks. Her mother is less than impressed.
=========================================================
There's a sign up in the bathroom at work that reads:

Please Note: Do not overfill the toilets with excess paper.

No, I don't work at a kindergarten... I work in a United States government office building.
=========================================================
ATTENTION NOVELHEAD!
Where you at?
If you read this, drop me a line.

Personal - I'm a leaf on the wind...

You scored as Serenity (Firefly). You like to live your own way and don't enjoy when anyone but a friend tries to tell you should do different. Now if only the Reavers would quit trying to skin you. Serenity (Firefly) 88% Moya (Farscape) 75% FBI's X-Files Division (The X-Files) 69% Deep Space Nine (Star Trek) 69% Galactica (Battlestar: Galactica) 69% Bebop (Cowboy Bebop) 56% Millennium Falcon (Star Wars) 56% SG-1 (Stargate) 56% Babylon 5 (Babylon 5) 50% Nebuchadnezzar (The Matrix) 50% Enterprise D (Star Trek) 6% Your Ultimate Sci-Fi Profile II: which sci-fi crew would you best fit in? (pics) created with QuizFarm.com

Religion - A Field Guide to Evangelicals

I have to admit, I'm a bit disappointed that I'm not listed specifically on the Field Guide to Evangelicals list of those going to hell.

Personal - ...and suddenly...

nothing happened.

Politics - You can not make this stuff up

Fox put in charge of guarding the henhouse

"DeLay, R-Texas, also claimed a seat on the subcommittee overseeing the Justice Department, which is currently investigating an influence-peddling scandal involving disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his dealings with lawmakers."

Scum investigating scum... this should be hilarious.

Religion - It's all about the profit... oh, I mean the prophet... yeah... prophet.

Reuters - Gaza shopkeeper stocks up on Danish flags to burn

"When entrepreneur Ahmed Abu Dayya first heard that Danish caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad were being reprinted across Europe, he knew exactly what his customers in Gaza would want: flags to burn"

Music - A Kind Of Magic by Queen

Is possibly the greatest song ever written and is definitely on the greatest soundtrack ever produced.

No, I'm not drunk.

Religion - It's funny 'cause it's true

Politics - Bush = Nixon

Helen Thomas has a posse...

And the line forms behind me.

Helen Thomas: Does the president think he should obey the law? He put his hand on the Bible twice to uphold the Constitution. Wiretapping is not legal under the circumstances without a warrant.

Scott McClellan: Well, I guess you didn't pay attention to the attorney general's hearing earlier today, because he walked through very clearly the rationale behind this program.

HT: There is no rationale --

SM: And Helen, I think you have to ask --

HT: -- (inaudible) -- the law.

SM: I think you have ask are we -- well, he's not -- are we a nation at war.

HT: That's not the question.

SM: No, that is the issue here.

HT: The question is, the point is, there are means for him to go to -- get a warrant to spy on people.

SM:: Enemy surveillance is critical to waging and winning war. It's one of the traditional tools of war.

HT: But he says he doesn't have running room --

SM: The attorney general outlined very clearly today how previous administrations have used the same authority --

HT: That doesn't make it legal.

SM: -- and cited the same -- and cited the very same authority.

HT: (Inaudible) -- they broke the law, that's too bad.

SM: And we're going to continue doing everything we can --

HT: You know what happened to Nixon when he broke the law.

SM: -- within our power to protect the American people.

This is a very different circumstance, and you know that.

HT: No, I don't.

Music - Pandora.com

Pandora lets you make a pretty kick arse personal web radio station.

Here's mine: Q2D2 Radio

Religion - It's getting stupider by the minute.

"Denmark must be blown up," protesters in Ramallah chanted.: "Palestinian militants threw a bomb at a French cultural centre in Gaza City and many Palestinians began boycotting European goods, especially those from Denmark, where the cartoons where first printed.

'Whoever defames our prophet should be executed,' said Ismail Hassan, 37, a tailor who marched through the pouring rain along with hundreds of other angry Muslims in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

'Bin Laden our beloved, Denmark must be blown up,' protesters in Ramallah chanted."

This is like arguing with a bunch of three year olds. Correction... a heavily armed and mentally unstable bunch three year olds.

Religion - Really? The whole US? I wasn't asked...

U.S. backs Muslims in European cartoon dispute "The United States backed Muslims on Friday against European newspapers that printed caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad in a move that could help America's battered image in the Islamic world.

Inserting itself into a dispute that has become a lightning rod for anti-European sentiment across the Muslim world, the United States sided with Muslims outraged that the publications put press freedom over respect for religion."

Ummm... no... I still think it's a fucking cartoon and anyone offended by it to the point of homicide doesn't deserve squat, let alone to be apologized to. Any of these militant pricks going to appologize for chanting "Death to America"?

Yeah, I didn't think so.

Humor - Once you go Blackberry...

Short film via the Huffington Post

Sports - T.O. to K.C.?

NFL.com - NFL News "Also, Chiefs president Carl Peterson is saying that Kansas City needs to take a look at T.O., shortly after Kansas City's division rival Broncos brought T.O. to Denver for a visit."

No. No, no, no, no, no!

No!

Bad Carl! Bad!

Personal - Five things that are pissing me off

On no particular order...

1. Now Kerry nuts it up and starts showing some back bone? Now?!?!
2. Dolts who over-react to a cartoon. It's a cartoon! I don't get all pissed off and start making death threats when someone makes a cartoon about... well, anything. Know why? BECAUSE IT'S A FUCKING CARTOON!
3. Corporations cutting staff to increase profit... Immediately after announcing their last quarter profit.
4. That the 10 and 6 Steelers are in the Super Bowl and the 10 and 6 Chiefs are sitting at home on their fat arses. Nice work guys. Really. Enjoy Hawaii, ya jerks.
5. That I can't afford to buy comics anymore. Sure, I could pool some clams together for a couple titles a month, but to get the complete stories I'd have to shell out 50 or 60 bucks a month!

Games - World of Warcraft via Google Maps

Awesome. Just awesome.

Religion - Fatwa me? No, no, no... fatwa you!

Saudi Arabia has recalled its ambassador to Denmark, while Libya said it was closing its embassy in Copenhagen.

On Monday masked gunmen briefly stormed the local office of the EU in Gaza, demanding apologies from Denmark and Norway, where a paper reprinted the cartoons.

The Danish Red Cross said it had pulled two employees out of Gaza, following a threat from the militant al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, Reuters reported.

A statement on the internet purporting to be from an Iraqi militant group called on fighters to "hit whatever targets possible belonging to these two countries and others that follow their steps".

WTF?

Is there ANYTHING they won't call for violence over!?!?

EDIT: Here's the offending cartoon:

Music - Pink Floyd to Tour In 2006?

Yes, according to albumvote.co.uk.

Personal - What the duce is that supposed to mean?!?!

I recieved our weekly email newsletter from the chief high muckety-muck for (name deleted to keep my job) and it included all the congratulations, atta-boys and general nice work team stuff, but at the end... There was this paragraph...

"The new (again, still need the job) may be a less comfortable workplace, but you can expect it to be more dynamic and rewarding. We’re counting on you to take (bills to pay, you know) from good to great. Let the journey begin."

Less comfortable? What do you mean less comfortable? For whom? Are you taking away my chair? Will I be forced to work underwater? Will there be swinging axes only inches over my head at all times?

To coin a phrase... "I have a bad feeling about this."

Personal - Note to self

Start writing blog entry titled, "The 7 Deadly Blog Entries," detailing my favorite parts of each of the big 7 that are gonna put me in hell.

Stay tuned.

Personal - For the last time...

This had an intelligent designer:


This... not so much:

Personal - Got my ticket

Personal - HEllo? This is 911, what's your emergency?

Did you know that even if a cell phone has the SIM card removed and no calls can be made or received, you can still make and complete a call to Emergency 911?

I didn't.

My daughter found out this morning.

Politics - It can't happen here

I never, never, never thought I'd link to the Fox news site, but the brilliant Radley Balko (of the Agitator) has a fantastic predictions for 2006 column up.

Get ye to the Faux News site!

Games - The Escapist

The Escapist is a very well written gaming magazine that takes the focus off of cheat codes, killa moves and exclusive previews and instead focuses on the more mature gamer and the culture they grew up in.

This droid recommends reading it.

Politics - Bush has a posse, and they suck

Crooks and Liars has a great screen capture of an MSNBC news confrence with Bush surrounded by his "A-Team."

Politics - Abramoff pleads guilty, will cooperate.

*happy dance*

For every congress-critter who gets indicted, take a drink.