Hot Damn, 'Cilla...

I was burning off some Elvis bootlegs the other day, including his final performance, which took place in Indianapolis, and "I Can't Stop Loving You" was hard to get out of my head.

I know that the late Elvis is rather sad, what with the drugs and fried banana sandwiches and all, but it's something I can't turn away from, either.

Weird.

Oh well...enjoy The King from 1970.

Could Not Let Christmas Pass Without the Adam Sandler Classic

I'm Back

Well, glad I didn't shut the door on my little joint here...;-)

I've been reading up on this Madoff character and, as I get more information on how his web seems to have spread, I'm starting to get a more complex opinion of it.

Obviously, I don't condone financial monkeyshines of any kind. If this story is remotely true, Bernie seems to deserve the public scorn and legally-inflicted punishment headed his way.

That said, an article in Saturday's Times lays out how people became involved in this investment scheme. It was not presented as a publicly-available financial product to invest in, but rather a membership in some kind of exclusive club. Friends meeting each other at their synagogues, country clubs and charity events would offer the opportunity to invest as kind of a membership in a clique.

These folks seem to have thought they had one up on regular Joes the Plumber, if you will. They were the smart cats who knew the right people and were not going to invest their dollars in the products that the rest of us might be stuck with...no, they were special and wouldn't offer it to the rest of us.

This is not something that I think merits them getting lied to and screwed out of their fortunes, and I certainly place the recipients and volunteers connected to charity work in a whole different ballpark, but there's a little part of me that has trouble drumming up a great deal of sympathy for people who thought they were more special than the rest of us and reaping benefits of financial relationships not available to everyone.

I'll need to learn more about this, but this is what was going through my mind when reading about this fascinating scheme this shyster was able to pull off.

Maybe It's More Like Hibernation

I'm not sure what it is...nothing bad is going on, but I just haven't had the urge to put things up here lately. I'm not exactly ready to kill this off...I kind of like having the outlet now and then to throw things out there in a semi-anonymous way, but this was always just a hobby, primarily for my own recreation and I don't feel like forcing myself to keep it up.

So that said, who knows...I assume I'll throw something up here now and then when I'm particularly irritated or jubilant, but the frequency of posting has gone down for now.

Talk to you soon...

Hiatus

Heading back to Chi-town for a few days, so won't be posting...I think you can do it from the iPhone, but I have not found it to be all that pleasant to post or read, so probably won't bother.

Maybe I'll pop in on Rod and see how he's doing, or offer to watch the kids for a while so that Barry and Shelly can go see a movie or something.

Yeah, right.

All of a Sudden...

The post below on the goings-on with Chicago politics became much less relevant.

I'm lovin' this story on Governor Blago...

"Bank of America Would Also be Prohibited From Riding the Gravy Train of Pinstripe Patronage"

Here's yet another problem with the government 'bailouts' of the Banks...and it don't bode well for the future.

Bank of America was one of the TARP recipients.

Over the last few weeks, they decided to turn off a line of credit for a Chicago manufacturing plant which was then forced to close its doors.

Its workers, scared they would not get their due vacation and severance pay, have staged a sit-in, which has gotten the attention of lots of attention seekers, like Rep. Louis Gutierrez, who are now stepping in and trying to dictate just how BOA should do business.

I'm not smart or informed enough to know exactly how much BOA is directly responsible for the decision to close the company's doors or how much control it has over money paid out to the employees here, but it seems to me that if this tactic works in the Windy City for employees, we could be in for a very bumpy ride going forward, with lots more ad hoc government intervention in how banks do business.

Buckle up.

Go, Maroons!

A Nod to the Hometown

No, I won't do my version of Go Higher with Dyer...I'm talking about Frank Zappa's hometown, silly.

Here's Uncle Frank doing What's New in Baltimore? from the Mothers of Prevention album. While there were vocals he did live, this is just the instrumental and I rather like it that way...

Cool Photo Pool

Came across The Consumerist's nifty little Flickr Pool...it's kinda neat to browse through.

Douchebagsayswhat?

I'm not the biggest fan of reading The New Yorker...I tried it for a while, and have to concede that they usually have very interesting articles, but given their output, I just couldn't make the time for it in a week and I have to admit it can come off as somewhat snooty for my tastes at times.

But I did enjoy their election seasons podcasts and will occasionally go over to Hendrik Hertzberg's blog.

Bill O'Reilly decided to start going after my boy this week about something he wrote about Newt Gingrich, who I think is the man of Bill's fantasies.

I could care less about his little rants on the show, but this week, they pulled the old 'catch him on camera while walking out of his apartment' routine which is just so low-class. Faux News continues to earn its reputation as the WWF of the news media.

I weep for the future.

That Barney Frank...He's a Funny Guy

I was up early this morning doing some work and C-SPAN was running yesterday's House Financial Services Committee hearings with the boys from the Big Three. One of the members, Rep. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, kicked off an exchange that made me chuckle.

She was prefacing her question with a statement about how attached we are to our vehicles and how her family had nicknames for their cars (mine did, too, I guess...we had the White Elephant and the Brown Bomber). One of her family's cars growing up, belonging to her father was "the chick magnet."

Remembering about Chairman Frank's orientation, she offered a joking apology to which he replied, "It's not something I would ever want to drive."

Random Political Funny

I've met more than my share of people on the 'conservative' side who also had shockingly silly beliefs about the world, but here's a little anti-Obama video that is mildly amusing...

It Just Reeks of Class When You Use the Race of a Worker in Your Hotel Review

So, I think I'll get back into this blogging thing again after a quasi-hiatus to take care of some things in the real world.

Next month, I'll be going to Chicago for a friend's wedding. I haven't taken a real, extended vacation in a little while so didn't feel bad about staying at The Allerton...although with the deal I got, it's not pricey at all.

Anyway, in typical Dan fashion, I checked out Tripadvisor after paying for the package. It was there that I found this awesome review. I don't care if the poster is right or wrong, someone who finds it necessary to point out to me the race of a worker he found to be unhelpful is just so Archie Bunker.

Funniest Thing Heard So Far Today

I'm taking the day off to attend to some neglected household tasks and have Morning Joe on...which is where I heard this chuckle-inducing quip.

"My Dad was home watching the Knicks last night; Your Dad was a clue on Jeopardy!"

--Willie Geist to Mika Brzezinski (referring to her father, Zbigniew)

Lest I Forget Before the Week Slips By...

We can't get past T'giving without listening to Alice's Restaurant.

Lazily Linking up Videos

Hoping to not give in and do any real work today, but it's never a bad day for REM's Finest Worksong. This is from the Glastonbury Festival in 2003.

Enjoy this on the Lord's Day!

This Made Me Giggle

If you don't get this, it's because you're lucky enough to not have the Cash4Gold commercials playing in your area...God love ya!

It's Like Deja Vu All Over Again

Sorry for the slow posting...should pick up in the next week or so...life has a way of getting in the way.

But this FNC headline this morning made me think back to the Clinton years...

Funniest Phrase I've Heard All Day

I have Larry Kudlow's CNBC show on now and some panelist just referred to "fiscal nymphomania" going on with regards to the bailout feeding frenzy.

Apt.

Barack Obama Watched The Godfather Closer Than I Did

In an interview last winter, Barack told Entertainment Tonight that The Godfather movies were among his favorite.

Shame on me for letting these few days go by before I realized the real wisdom of getting Hillary locked down in the State Department under his thumb and unable to openly lay the groundwork for a primary challenge in 2012.

Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.

Someone Should Have a Talk With the Headline Writers at the Minneapolis Star-Tribune

How Is a British Accent Supposed to Help You Quit Smoking?

Seriously, Chantix has to cut it out with this annoying Limey narrating.

The March of the Clintonistas Continues

It's not as surprising as it sounds...if President-elect Obama is going to pick people who already know their way around Washington, he's going to be very likely to get people with some kind of connection to a previous Democratic administration.

The Politico and others are calling it a done deal that Monicagate defense attorney Greg Craig is slated to be Barry's White House counsel.

He's notable not only for helping Bubba wrap a legal towel over his torso, but also his notable defection to Team Obama, which included a detailed rebuttal of Hillary's claims of foreign relations cred during the Dem primary.

The Drudge Report is Not a News Site?

At least that's what you have to believe if you listen to Nielsen Online.

They have a posting up on the wire about the increased traffic to news sites during the election season, but Drudge, who certainly gets more traffic than some of the listed sites there, didn't make the top 30.

You can argue either that Drudge produces little original content or that ideology might play into his editorial decisions, but when Google and Yahoo! News, as well as HuffPo made the list, both of those arguments go out the window.

WTF?

Here's Kim Gandy...Bet She's Pissed About Something!

NOW is upset that of the zero cabinet level positions announced so far, none of them are women.

Some McCartney Before Heading Out

I guess it'd be too cheesy to post Cold November Rain on a day like today, so here's something more optimistic...Paul McCartney doing I'll Follow the Sun in Paris, 10-22-2007.

Enjoy!

For the Love of God, Barack, Don't Make Richardson the Secretary of State

Much as my testicles shrivel when I hear Hillary scolding the person who's most recently pissed her off, and for all the times my toes are sure to curl when I hear John Kerry pontificate on world affairs, I would take one right after the other rather than suffering through a month of having Bill Richardson represent us abroad as Secretary of State.

Now, even Richardson would be better than the over hyped, abysmal failure named Condie Rice, but there are so many more ways that Barry can repay the New Mexico governor for his act of betrayal on Good Friday, 2008 than making us suffer through his brainless observations on the world stage.

Let Them Eat Fruitwood-smoked Quail with Quince Gastrique Quinoa Risotto

The Hotline has the menu from last night's G20 summit dinner.

Hats Off to the Cleveland Plain Dealer

I've goofed on the PD's website here, off and on, for some time now, but I have to give them credit for finally coming around and doing a bit of a homepage redesign.

The site is much more friendly to the variety of people looking for different information, it resembles other news sites more, seems to be updated frequently and they've integrated some video which is even embeddable.

Nice job.

The Dream Tream

I'll grant that nightmares also qualify as dreams, so the post's title will be accurate for more than just the Obammies (we need to come up with a good collective noun for his supporters).

Anyway, I came across a picture from Barack's hotel room on election night.
Robert Gibbs, David Plouffe, Barry, David Axelrod.

The Socialist Bickering Continues

I know, I know...the friggin' election is over. And, I should have caught this a little earlier, but I checked out Hendrik Hertzberg's neato blog over at The New Yorker and he's right on the same page with me when it comes to calling the Wasilla Hillbillly out on her socialist oil profit sharing.

Yeah, This is Odd

I agree with Ta-Nehisi Coates....this endeavor can't end well.

Step 1: We Admitted We Were Powerless Over the Democrats ; That Our Party Had Become Unmanagable

The Politico polls a bunch of hooked-in people to get their opinions on the GOP's road to recovery.

The Terrorist Speaks!

One of Barry's "associates" will be interviewed on ABC tomomrrow morning...

Letter to the Editor

Frequent reader, gadfly, and attempter at keeping Dan honest, 'Chode' sent me this letter today and gave me permission to re-post it. He submitted it to the editor of the Catholic Spirit, the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.

At the risk of stepping in on a well-written letter I should probably just leave as it is for the reader, I'll only offer that I largely agree with him and he has a slightly different flavor of my argument to some right winger friends the other day here in Cleveland. They were bent out of shape about news reports that Barry might use executive orders to reverse some of Shrub's decisions on stem cells (among others).

While I don't pretend to be a scientist, I appreciate and respect the viewpoint some hold on stem cells, but I'm disturbed about their terribly narrow definition of what constitutes a "respect for life." It seems to me that there are so many more egregious affronts to life and to pretend that abortion and stem cells constitutes the most important parts of it is either dangerously ignorant or cynical.

Sorry for editorializing so much...this stands well-enough on its own.

After briefly catching up on today's news, both online and in the local print, one thing jumped out at me as particularly disturbing. The article titles said it all: "Bishops Fire Shots At", "Bishops Warn", and the "Bishops Plan to Forcefully Confront" Obama over abortion. It became clear that the formal representers of our faith, who are meeting in Washington DC this week, are preparing to douse the embers of real progress on issues of social justice in favor of continuing to fight the old fight and of playing the old games.

Not only are the bishops pursing a faulty strategy of confrontation rather than partnership with the President-Elect, they fail to understand the sentiment and attitudes of lay parishioners from around the country--particularly young Catholics. Many of us see much more pressing issues such as poverty, injustice, war, and disease as much more urgent issues for the clergy--and the Church-- to be focused on. These are issues on which the Church can provide a valuable leadership role, and where there is broad consensus for action. The Church should be focused on the very real needs of people, rather than the political squabbles of yesterday.

Sincerely,

(Chode)

George W....A Real Hands-On Guy

Sorry, Ladies...He's Take (Well, Actually Dead)

It's been a little while since I've posted some homegrown videos/slideshows of the bootlegs, so tonight is as good a time as any.

This is from New Years Eve, 1969 at the Boston Tea Party. It's the Good Old Grateful Dead doing Big Boy Pete.

They only did it a few times (including at my dear Loyola's Rambler Room) and this is one of the times with Pigpen...enjoy!

G.O.P Dog Days?

I generally don't have a hell of a lot of use for William Kristol.

During the campaign, he spawned silly rumors like the imminent arrival of Mike Murphy in Team McCain that never happened.

He's a regular panelist on Fox News Sunday and has the awful habit of finding himself more charming than just about anyone else on the panel or off does.

But this morning in the Times, he comes through with a mildly clever observation about Barry's dog talk...and how it might not bode well for conservatives.

Up until now, many of the swing voters who decided to go black did so on the hope of competence rather than because of some seismic ideological change in the country. But in talking about the dog, he added the deadly element of empathy for dog lovers and parents throughout the country.

If Barack can bring not only competence to the table, but also a healthy dose of "I feel your pain," it could be a long few years for the Republicans in the wilderness.

Job Search

Yeah, maybe what I do currently just isn't socially meaningful enough...maybe I should go work for Barry and Joe...

The Odd Couple has a transition website up. Will need to explore this later on, but they do have some kind of job application forum.

Transparency is good.

Beatles Break Time

Just burning off some tunes for the week and came across a marvelous 17-disc compilation, The Ultimate Get Back Collection. I've no idea how someone got their paws on this studio material, but it's mindbending if you're into listening to The Beatles, horsing around, doing cut after cut of certain songs in ways that never made the album.

Anyway, I'm too lazy to make a slide show for you right now, so here's I've Got a Feeling from The Rooftop Performance.

Enjoy!

Crap! I May Have Screwed the Pooch!

There are a number of arguments against Obama...

Socialism? I don't care. We're socialist enough, Hillary.

A black guy in the White House? Stifle yourself, Archie. No one cares about that anymore.

A White Sox fan? Well, maybe I can see why I should have had a troubled conscience over this.

But there's one consequence I didn't fully consider when casting my vote.

Dang.

Let Sarah Be...For Your Own Good

I didn't expect that I'd ever be defending Sarah Palin...from (using my John McCain airquotes) "Republicans," no less, but it's the position I find myself in this morning.

Some staffers, who apparently share the integrity gene with the mountain goat, have decided to throw the Governor under the bus, accusing her of a full range of nonsense caused by her being a stupid hillbilly, basically.

I don't dispute the claims they made about her nor would I excuse them for a Vice President were they true, which I suspect most are.

But if this woman was so incompetent to not know that Africa is a continent, not a single country, it was practically criminal of them to not be screaming bloody murder during the campaign to get someone so unfit for office off the ticket.

I understand the motivation to protect the bossman and can even appreciate some degree of deceptiveness in said pursuit, but this scheme is just so ill-thought-out because at the end of the day, if you believe their claims about Palin, the loss was all McCain's fault...just like he said in his speech.

Jesse Jackson in "The Question is Moot"

This may very well be my favorite SNL bit of all time...I finally found it.

Bill O'Reilly is an Idiot

Getting ready for work here and have Bill's show on from last night.

He had Howard Wolfson in for an interview and popped off about how Howard Dean must be locked in a basement and that he's been completely unheard of since the election, being that he's kind of a nut.

Yeah, Bill, he's been under wraps except for a speech he gave at the National Press Club yesterday that was shown live on CSPAN.

Idiot.

Highlights and Low Lifes From Tuesday's Elections

I guess I paid attention to the same bigger issues/races that most other people were on Tuesday night, but here's my little take from the roller coaster we just got off of...


The Big Enchilada- Like anyone else, whether for or against his candidacy, I extend congratulations and a skeptical eye towards Barack Obama. I could have done without the shots of race-baiting bigot, Jesse Jackson and self-centered attention whore, Oprah Winfrey, weeping for the cameras in Grant Park, but it is what it is and they are who they are. I was talking with a friend out west last night and, while we come from different parts of the spectrum, we both had a similar experience in the voting booth. I stared at my paper ballot before turning it into the machine, not quite believing what I was doing, but on Jerry's good name, it never even crossed my mind that I was voting for a black guy. Obviously, I know Barack is black, but the big "whoh!" moment of it all didn't really occur to me until Tuesday night when a panting Keith Olbermann made the call. This was a big moment for the country, one which I didn't really give a lot of thought to when deciding who to vote for, and that's probably both a good and generational thing.

And I'll side with Joe Scarborough and others who think it's time we taunt the liberal European countries with this one. While they often like to look down their pointy noses at the crass, racist America with our imperfect present and more imperfect past, I have to ask where their President/PM of African descent is if they're so damned enlightened.

But now it's time for the guy to get to work and, as I've said, I'm skeptical of him. While I'll concede the possibility that, in his heart, the guy is every bit the bleeding heart/pinko that some claim, I also think that he's a pragmatist above that. The guy is smart and wants to retain power. He would not have gotten where he is without those qualities. And he must know that he won't be able to get the legacy and time in office he wants if he governs like a left-wing loon, so I think his alleged/reported tapping of Chicagoan Rahm Emanuel as his Chief of Staff is telling. Barry's heading to town to get shit done. His biggest challenge could actually be fighting back the beady-eyed, angry liberals who've been waiting to stick it to the GOP for the last eight years.

California Prop 8- Shame on the voters of California for choosing to put a ban on gay marriage in their Constitution. Before anyone gets smart with me, I realize that they probably have the right to do so (current ACLU challenges notwithstanding), but it's just in such bad taste. I won't waste my free space here recycling the full laundry list of arguments for gay marriage, but for the life of me, I can't see why it's worth their share of $74M to build the case for why two people can't just spend their lives together. For years, the rap against gays was that they're just a bunch of pleasure-seeking hedonists so then when it turns out that they want to settle down just like anyone else, the argument shifts. I'm neither a theologian nor an expert on what God believes, but my guess is that he's got bigger trout to fry.

Connecticut 4th District- As has been well-noted, New England now has no GOP representation in the House of Representatives since Chris Shays lost his seat. While smarty pants guys like Chuck Todd and Michael Barone might be able to correct me on this, this is probably the starkest regional imbalance in federal representation for either of the two major parties. The GOP is becoming the party of stodgy old white men and it's just not good for its future. Anyone who's interested in this might pick up Grand New Party. I guess the first big shin-dig will be today, when a bunch of 'thinkers' get together at the home of rabble rouser Brent Bozell to plot a comeback strategy.

Minnesota Senate- The Senate race in the Land of 10K Lakes is still going on. I've blogged here before of my visceral dislike for Norm Coleman so I'm really rooting for them to make up for the few-hundred votes short Alan Franken is before the recount.

North Carolina Senate- While the race had more history than took place in the last week of the campaign, Liddy Dole's "Godless" ad spoke volumes about the GOP's tactics. The Democrat party is not above deceptive, tasteless ads, but this one just hit a lot of people in the gut and I'm actually happy she lost, if for no other reason than as punishment for pulling such a ridiculous stunt.

Selah.

Campaign Addicts Confront the Morning After

The Wall Street Journal hits the spot...even though I have a few more hits coming from the Senate race up in Minnesota, which is headed for a recount with a less-than 1% difference as of this morning.

Cabinet Speculation

HuffPo has a little rundown of the conventional wisdom leaders for the various visible cabinet positions in the Obama Administration.

This Car's Owner Must Be Happy Now

This interestingly-adorned vehicle was parked out in front of the house this afternoon...and I'm sure you're impressed how I managed to get my neighbor's trash bag in the bottom corner of the pic.

Barry Better Be Ready

Well, I cast the vote the way I intended. While I know that some friends who used to think I was a bit of a goof probably think I'm more of a goof now. It is what it is.

Be that as it may, I don't think I came into this thinking that the guy will multiply the fishes, turn water to wine, etc. He seemed to be the lesser of two evils.

But now I'm starting to think about all these 'fired up and ready to go' people who are going to be gathering in Grant Park tonight and I'm a bit worried. It seems implausible that Barack will be able to deliver anything close to the 'change' some of these newbies are expecting.

Assuming tonight goes the way the talkies are hinting, he's going to be getting quite a few more gray hairs...

Some Election Day Music

Conventional wisdom seems to be that Indiana will be the first good indicator of how it's going tonight and if the Mac has a chance...

If Barry cleans his clock in the Hoosier state, it's hard to envision a scenario where McCain pulls it off.

Here's some wonderful Louis Armstrong, doing Back Home Again in Indiana in 1959.

In Cuyahoga County, Voting's OK, Smoking's Not

Did my civic duty...

Archie Bunker on the Democrat Party

It's About 4AM...CNN is Already Running Live Election Coverage

Just doing my voting cheat sheet now...I've not paid much attention to downballot stuff, so sorting thru that now. I think I'll be cool and save it on Google Docs, so I can look at my little spreadsheet in the booth. The Plain Dealer actually had a pretty nice voter guide to use and go through the whole ballot, with links to their endorsements on the various office-seekers and referendums. I didn't go with them all the time, and could have had some usability suggestions, but it was still pretty useful.

My only beef with it was that it wanted you to check who you want so you could email your results back to be printed out. While I get the overt use of it, you start the process with entering your address so they're doing a de facto poll. I just copied the information out and pasted it into my own sheet.

I really hate all these damned referendums they have us voting for.

Isn't that what officeholders are for?

Archie Bunker had an interesting way of figuring out who to vote for.

"Tory, Feldman, O'Reilly, Nelson... That's an Italian, a Jew, an Irishman, and a regular American there... what I call a balanced ticket."

Here's to Al Franken's Campaign

No one can fill the shoes of the man who was my Senator for the time I lived up in the frozen tundra, but it's really a shame that Norm's boney ass has been sitting in Paul's chair for the last few years...I hope he's swiftly removed tomorrow night.

Here's Paul Wellstone's last floor speech before he checked out...hard to watch this without getting choked up. Love his policies or hate them, the man believed every word that came out of his mouth and apologized for none of it. We should only be so lucky to have a few more like him...

Screw you and the horse you got your teeth from, Norm.

Cold Feet

I'm really stuck now...as decided as I thought I was, now I am starting to get cold feet about voting for Barry.

I know it's just one vote and part of me feels like I'm being too melodramatic about it, but I'm very far from thrilled with casting a vote for Barack. The things that drew me to his candidacy...the perception that he's a thoughtful guy and a smart organizer remain. I don't think he's prone to rash decisions. He seems like a measured guy.

What pulls me back from jumping right in the deep end, though, is the fear that he's some kind of serious-ass bleeding heart that will explode spending and won't be able to offset the costs of any domestic plans by getting out of Iraq a whole hell of a lot sooner than McCain.

McCain's no angel and I really question his judgement...from fearing that he'll jump the gun and go after the next towel head that pisses him off to the knowledge that he picked someone like Palin to join him on the ticket. She's clearly a natural campaigner and the textbook case of an overachiever, but in McCain's own words, the real job of the Veep is to be able to take over and as much of a verbal loose cannon as Biden is, I think that these two individuals are best-suited for very different kinds of activities at 3 in the morning.

I trust Joe more than someone who can't name a newspaper she reads. Sue me.

I'll probably end up going with Barack, but I really need to sleep on this one. Luckily, I can see the polling place from the front door, so can wait till the lines are short.

Funniest Thing I've Read in Personal Correspondence Today

from liberal, friend, co-worker and occasional reader, DB...


What's funny is when I see comments online from people who actually live in socialist countries who think that Americans are morons for calling Barack a socialist. Maybe people just use "socialist" the same way that I use "dumbass" to describe Palin.

I Hate Illinois Nazis

An interesting Obama endorsement.

RIP, Studs Terkel

I was really bummed to hear that old Studs Terkel died yesterday.

He wrote one of my all-time favorite books, and one you should pick up, Working. It's just a collection of interviews with people about their jobs...everyone from the mailman to the CEO to the prostitute. It's such an eye opener, if you're ever tempted to think that the frustrations and challenges you have on your job are unique to you.

He also did a really cool interview with Jerry Garcia I remember hearing on Minneapolis' KFAI back in the day when Area 51 was still on the air, but I do not have a copy of it.

Nifty Google Earth Election Presentation

Some smarty pants got all US election results, by county, back to 1980, into Google Earth.

This is pretty cool to play with.

To me, Google Earth is like a whole hunka potential. To date, I've just kind of played around with it, and found using it like a Flight Simulator is fun, but have not done much useful with it yet...same for its iPhone app which was released this week. But I think it will only be a short amount of time before my Birks are knocked off by it.

Mark Ambinder's blog at The Atlantic is where I saw this mention first.

With These Words, Paul Krugman Won My Admiration

As some know, one of my biggest pet peeves is the refusal of most people to acknowledge that "data" is the plural of "datum." (Hey, we all have our little quirks.)

So it's technically incorrect to refer to "this data."

Since the sin has been committed often enough, it's loosely-acceptable to practice incorrect English, but thank God the New York Times is kickin' it old school.

From his editorial on the economy today...

So these data are basically telling us what happened before
confidence collapsed after the fall of Lehman Brothers in mid-September, not to mention before the Dow plunged below 10,000.

"What Are You, A Bunch of Jesus Freaks?"

I just wanted a good, cheap way to pull out one of Ted Turner's golden oldies as a subject line.

But seriously, here's the ad of the week, brought to you by your friends at the NRSC...remember cute little Liddy Dole? Our little gal is all growed up and plays hardball in North Carolina. She's behind in the polls, so had to go all Jesus-in-the-temple-with-the-moneychangers on her opponent.

Personally, I find it a little bit annoying when anyone, pro-, anti- or ambivalent when it comes to the Lord decides to talk about their own religious beliefs in support of their candidacy. Keep it between you and your God; I'm happy for you.

But making implications about someone else's religious beliefs really puts you on the Musings Shit List.

It's Bizarro Election Season!

Remember the Seinfeld episode where everything turned backwards, ala Bizarro Superman on them? Elaine got the really responsible friends who read ("Books, Jerry...Books!") and the whole bit?

That's what's happening now.

This year, all of a sudden, Obammies are the ones effectively equating political donations with protected speech and playing fast and loose with scrutinizing their donors while the GOP had a Come to Jesus Moment and all of a sudden find this and voter registration shenanigans to be highly offensible.

Who woulda thought...

Comrade Palin

I continue to be amazed at how otherwise-smart friends of mine will insist that, unlike McCain and Palin, Barry is a "socialist," implying that their ticket is not.

I won't carry on about how they're all for some form of a progre$$ive tax, but why no one pushes back hard on Sarah about her demonstrated record of socialism in Alaska is completely beyond me.

Sure, there's the rap about how the press is very pro-Obama, and I have to admit that the coverage does appear to lean his way, too, but if the press completely had it out for the McCain ticket as is claimed, why aren't they pouncing on how she redistributed the wealth from the oil companies in her state like this?

Why I'm Voting for Barack Hussein Obama

I've never voted Democratic in a real, major election in my life. The first time I was eligible to vote was the 1992 Republican Primary and I cast it for Patrick J. Buchanan. My high school class elected me Most Conservative...whatever the hell that means. I briefly volunteered for the McCain campaign in 2000 in Minnesota...at a time when his campaign was already over after the dirty Bush tricks in South Carolina that year. John Kerry annoys the hell out of me and I voted to re-elect Shrub in 2004. I'm no activist, but my voting has been roughly predictable during my adult life.

Despite some misgivings, which I'll try to put on the tubes below, my plan at the moment is to vote for Barack Obama. Routine events between now and next Tuesday probably won't change this, but I reserve the right to change my mind if some bombshell, literally or figuratively, happens to pop up.

Both sides of this campaign committed sins. McCain's people, both direct and surrogate, have fanned ugly flames. They've come just short of calling Obama a terrorist and implied that he's un-American. These claims are demonstrably false and over the line when it comes to claims I've seen in my lifetime. Obama, suggestions of fringe websites notwithstanding, is not wearing sandals and carrying a glow over his head. He's benefitted from John Lewis' accustions of Wallace-like campaigning and ran Spanish-language ads chocked full of lies.

These are par for the course and pretty predictable given the novel demographics of this election. While I think McCain's sins were worse, I'll call this a draw.

One of the big criticisms I hear from friends and Sean Hannity is that Obama is a Socialist who will have to raise taxes in sphincter-stretching ways to pay for all his ambitious social programs. With the liklihood of November producing a filibuster-proof Democratic majority in the Senate, I see where they're coming from with the fear of taxes, but the claims of "Socialist" are utterly ridiculous, coming from supporters of a guy who also favors a progressive tax structure.

However, we should have learned by now that the legislative promises of candidates rarely go the way they plan. No one knows what's going to happen in the coming weeks, let alone years, that could change this. Framing Clinton as being far too interventionist, Shrub ran on a "humble foreign policy" plank in 2000, but produced nothing of the sort. Situations on the ground dictated a reassessment of this position. So while Obama is a little bit too meddlesome in his orientation towards domestic social engineering for my ideal tastes, I also don't consider his current plans as a done deal, pal.

So what am I left with to judge these clowns on? It's my impression that Obama is more of a thinker than McCain. Some of the weight I'm putting in this assessment is a natural emotional reaction...when you move on in relationships, jobs or other things, you often want to overcompensate for previous deficiencies. I have no evidence that Bush posesses any more intellectual curiosity than a jellyfish, so Obama's insistence on speaking in full sentences and appreciation for the fact that the world is a complex place is...mighty refreshing to me.

I'm not arguing that McCain is a dolt, but he sometimes has a knee-jerky response to issues that's good for soundbites on the news (kudos to him) but also make me wonder what's going on upstairs and if he really thinks that everyone falls into either the good or evil camps. Surely both have members, but is there a middle ground where others reside? I'm pretty sure Obama thinks so, but I'm not so sure about the other guy. His worldview and approach to understanding that world is what attracts me to his candidacy.

Obama's been criticized as naive when it comes to how he'll deal with foreign and domestic policy. "He's too wet behind the ears," they say. While I'll guarantee mistakes during his first months in office, I don't believe he's anything but a shrewd politician. He somehow managed to bring down the mighty Clinton machine and deftly navigated the last few years without being pinned to many serious policy position flaws. This is a guy willing to make the correct sacrifices to achieve his ends. If our interests are his, which I believe they are, these are good habits for someone in charge. I don't need someone who's always got his heart on his sleeve when he's dealing with some of the bozos in the world.

I'm intentionally not addressing some of the more scurilous charges and implications from his dealing with Ayers and Wright. They merit no more than these two sentences.

It looks as if the Democrats could win the Presidency and enough of the Congress to leave no doubt who's to credit and blame for what goes on in Washington. I'm fed up enough with the Republican party to switch the course I've traveled for my entire voting life and it's not a choice I've made lightly...I'll be watching closely to see how my investment pays off.

Republican Party, you chased me and my reliable vote away. Your insistence on pandering to the lowest common denominator lately just worries and disgusts me. Appeal to my brain, not only the base animal instincts you've been going after lately. I hope that some time in the wilderness helps you learn the error of your ways, reinvent yourself and come back and deserve my vote again.

One Thing I Will Miss When the Dems Get Their Majority...

...is seeing Ted Stevens wearing his Incredible Hulk tie when he has a big battle in front of him.

Don't make him angry. You won't like him when he's angry.

OK, So Let Me Get This Right

The new chant now is, "Use your brain, vote McCain."

That's catchy.

The thought is that if you were smart, you'd look at the kind of spending McCain advocates and that which Barry is behind.

This seems to make sense.

The real rallying point is how Barry wants to stick it to a few people on the top of the food chain and "redistribute" their wealth.

Ignoring the hard fact that taxes are basically redistribution devices in and of themselves, I can see why you would be against this if you were either very rich, had a heightened sense of economic morality or both.

Barack the sissy was against the Iraq war from the beginning. Now, he was not holding elected office at the time, but there's at least a clear public record of his stance.

Rambo, on the other hand, was all for it.

To date, this war has cost us about $600B and is not exactly slowing down anytime soon.

Please don't tell me about fiscal responsibility unless you were against this war to begin with or can demostrate to me how remaining there is in some way cost-effective.

It's really trashy to pretend that you give a shit about spending, John. You remind me of someone who has an overflowing toilet that's left feet of sewage flooding the house, but instead of taking care of that problem, you insist on dusting the earmarks off the window sills to prove your cleanliness.

The Term We'll All Be Sick of One Week From Today...If Not Already

Closing Argument

Best Lead Sentence in a News Article Today

Illinois political insiders say Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., who defended Barack Obama after his father famously threatened to castrate him, is the favorite to replace the Democratic nominee in the Senate.

Really Cool Media Blog

Nielsen Wire is something I kind of stumbled across this morning when I saw some within-state comparisons of ad spending by the presidential candidates. But I browsed around and found a lot of other cool stuff.

Wonder if some of this was pulled from db4500...

LOL

The First Sarah Palin Movie

The Daily Beast, quickly becoming a go-to, all around information site for me, has clips up of the new Larry Flynt masterpiece...Who’s Nailin’ Paylin?

I'm Starting to Understand...

Why people of a certain age just start to get turned off to politics.

While I still get a kick out of it, this cycle, more than any other, has just made me so much more cynical than I've ever been before.

El Rushbo chimed in on the Powell endorsement.

Rush, why don't you just stop dancing around your true desires, come on down and call the guy a ni**er? It would be a much more honest way of expressing yourself.

Oh God, I Wish I Had the Video to Post for You

I slept uncharacteristically late this morning and just got up. As I flipped on the news nets, Colin Powell was out there explaining why he's endorsing Barry.

Well, the pluckers on Fox are just beside themselves right now. This is downright funny watching their Fox and Friends Weekend show. They're now just winding up on Powell, pulling out everything negative they can about him...including speculation that he's merely bitter about not having been picked as McCain's veep.

I'm usually one to just giggle at these assholes and find their sensationalism more annoying than any apparent ideological bias, but this one was just over the top. I'm sure Arianna and some of the other left wing kooks will have video up as the day progresses.

Cool Campaign 2008 Slideshow

This is from GQ...I thought it was pretty neat.

A Sentence You Don't Want Yourself to Be Referred In

It's been a rough year for poor, soon-to-be-former Staten Island Congressman, Vito Fossella (R).

He was pulled over for DUI in VA last spring, but that's when his troubles really started. Asked by the cops where he was going, he said he was on his way to visit his sick daughter, nearby.

Problem...as far as everyone else knew, his family was up in New York.

Oops.

Vito was keeping a little snack in the cupboard.

His trial was yesterday.

Neither Mr. Fossella’s wife, Mary Pat Fossella, nor his mistress, Laura Fay, were in the courtroom.

The Likely Voter

Big news was made today over the Gallup poll showing a statistical dead heat.

I started to bicker with friend and co-worker MC about this...and now I'm hearing that I'm not alone. These "likely voter" algorithms are not universally-accepted.

Kiss My Royal Irish Ass

I had almost forgotten about this speech by the fireman at the Concert for New York, but someone made vague reference to it on the Stern show the other day, so I had to find it for you.

Should pick up on the posting shortly.

Be good...

Sorry for the Slow Posting Lately

I've just been busy and preoccupied with other things...but plan on blocking out enough time to watch or listen to the debate tonight on Lawn Guyland before falling asleep.

I will say that I'm pretty close to committing to a candidate. I won't let the deal be sealed tonight, based on debate performance, I think, but...I'm getting there.

A couple of guys named Chris have articulated it better than I can.

Rep. John "Double Down" Lewis

I'm not going to condone, apologize for or justify the innuendo games McPalin have been playing lately when it comes to 'raising questions' about Barack Obama's past and his fitness for office.

It's a typical tactic played because it works. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

But shame is being cast, at this very moment, from Cleveland down to the Peach State...home of Representative John Lewis (D).

Yesterday, the Rep., who was a big student organizer during the 60s Civil Rights movement, is now playing some pretty ugly cards, not only comparing McPalin to George Wallace, but drawing allusions to firebombings in the South, such as the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing that killed the little girls.

Everyone plays dirty and, in the aggregate, I find McPalin's campaign lest tasteful than Obama's, but Lewis didn't need to go there. As McCain cheapens the service he gave this country by using it as a campaign trick, Lewis does the same to the Civil Rights movement. He should know better.

iPhinally Got a Cellphone...iPh That's What This Is

I had a cellphone about 10 years ago and found it provided me with more annoyance ("Why did you have your ringer off?") than convenience, so ditched it and spent a good part of this decade without one.

This came at a certain cost...not so much embarrassment, but just having to explain to people (who were shocked that someone who does what I do for a living had no phone) why I was self-selecting myself into this ever-shrinking minority community.

For readers out there who I don't know in person...I'm not Amish...just so you know.

Well, the technology has produced functionality that now allows me to justify the expenditure. I won't waste your precious time telling you what you already know...that the iPhone 3G can basically do everything except rub my feet, but if you are in the store and have the opportunity to play with one, I highly recommend you do so.

I am very impressed with its ease of use and just how damned cool it is! Apple continues to sink their hooks deep into my baby fat...

Celebutard News Item of the Week

Must See TV

So Barry seems like he just wants to rub it in Rambo's face...he's purchasing some big 30 minute blocks on the nets (and maybe cable) during the week before the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November..

Told Ya So!

I don't have time today for a longer post, but one thing that has been annoying me lately (Jeez, do I sound like an Andy Rooney or what?) is how both candidates are carrying on about their prescient warnings of mortgage gloom....based on letters and speeches delivered a year or more ago.

I don't doubt the facts of what they're claiming, but it does strike me as a little bit disingenuous.

If I knew your house was starting to burn down, I wouldn't just leave you a voicemail and then come by the next day and say, "Sorry you slept through this...I tried to call you, but you must have been sleeping. I left you a voicemail."

No, if I knew your house was in that kind of danger, I'd be beating the hell out of your door to make sure you woke up and avoided disaster. To do anything otherwise, when one has kjnowledge of impending doom, would be the height of immorality

Funny Picture

Drudge Gets it Right

I'll have to post more later, but Drudge more or less nailed it...

I do have to say that I was thoroughly unimpressed with McCain, in a theatrical sense. The first debate, planned to be on international relations (although the economy did halfway hijack it), was supposed to be his pet issue. However, for all his harping, including his opening taunt about how it's "nice to see you in a town hall," the format is allegedly McCain's home turf, but he didn't come through.

He reminds one of a little kid who does the special trick all the time to the delight of his immediate family, but once guests are over and he's prodded to do it, we find the kid choking up because the act doesn't play as well with a crowd lacking preordained affection for the performer.

I really didn't see any relative mastery of the format out of McCain...he seemed pretty stiff to me. I suspect Governor MILFy would have done better performing on this stage.

How You Can Tell John McCain Didn't Go to Catholic School

One thing I noticed last night, as the candidates rushed to their chairs to start scribbling their notes, was that John McCain appears to be left-handed.

I didn't care enough to research this much, but when I listened to the replay of Hardball as I woke up this morning, they were talking about it, too...apparently several of our last few Oval occupants have been cursed this way.

As Chris Matthews observed, we are now certain that McCain didn't go to Catholic school...where, back in the day, the habit would have been beaten out of him!

I wonder what ever happened to Sr. Theresa Claire? She sure didn't look like our friend on the left...

They Can't Do That to Our Brokers. Only We Can Do That to Our Brokers!

The Science section of the Times, this morning, has an interesting article on the evolutionary underpinnings of the desire to punish misbehavers.

The context, of course, is all the monkeyshines that have been going on on Wall Street and people's desire (need?) to find someone to punish for causing problems well-beyond those directly and knowingly involved.

Smart as we may be, though not as smart as we might think we are, the evolutionary psychology folks have some valuable observations about the need to punish. In the animal kingdom, as well as in tribes without formal systems of 'government,' there's a demonstrated and predictable trend for groups to punish people whose actions hurt the group as a whole.

Luckily, of course, there's also a demonstrated desire for cooperation and room for forgiveness.

The authors also cite a fair amount of game theory / experimental economics to support the rest of the article. It's a nice overview of the topic and well worth your 15 minutes if I do say so myself.

Tactics and Strategies

In the Oxford debate, Rambo accused Whitey of not understanding the difference between a strategy and a tactic...specifically when it came to The Surge in Iraq.

This morning, Peggy Noonan was on MTP and she better-articulated a point I tried to make the other day to some friends after the debate. I was annoyed with the Gov's folksy charm because I saw it more as a lack of depth rather than a way to accomplish some particular goal.

The former Reagan staffer said it better, arguing that McPalin seems to be using populism as its strategy rather than a tactic. This seems to be the point I was grasping for, but missed.

While I still have plenty of problems with the fluff provided by the other guys, 'I'm for the Joe Six-Packs of the country' can only be tolerated in limited doses and as part of a larger argument behind the merits of your candidacy.

Again, this might all be hidden, but for now, I ain't seein' it...

Wait 'til Next Year

Luckily, I have been caught up in other pursuits and diversions, so didn't have all that much emotional investment in this year's Cubs lineup...and now I'm glad it turned out that way.

I woke up in the middle of the night for a glass of orange juice and flipped on the audio of our loss to the Dodgers...it was heading into the top of the 9th and all but over, so I also did not regret staying up for a game that did not even start until after 10PM ET...that's ridiculous.

I think I posted Steve Goodman's A Dying Cubs Fan's Last Request after our playoff loss last season, too, but so what...Goodman was a national treasure and this song, a classic.

Only a few months 'til Hohokam Stadium opens up again for spring business...

Pinhead or Patriot?

Sorry For All the Mini-Posts Today

I know you come here for long-winded dissertations on the news of the day, and my inability to come through for you really bums me out, but I'm feeling a bit scatterbrained...yet still have a few goodies.

So, apology aside, things are looking up for DemocraticComedianNewYorker Al Franken, who's running for US Senate seat of FormerDemocraticComedianNewYorker Norm Coleman's in the Land of 10,000 Lakes...the latest Star Trib poll has his lead in the teens now!

They Stole My Idea!

CanICallYouJoe.Com

All funny Sarah Palin videos

Nice!

I Have to Post My Favorite Cubs T-Shirt Item Now...Before I Lose Any Chicago Bragging Rights Later Tonight

Game 3 vs the Dodgers tonight around 10PM ET.

Memories of Happier Days

We all have them...some more than others...

A Little College Humor Funny on The Gov'nor

I'm anxious to see if we will observe the same over-nerved Governor Palin tonight from the last few weeks or if there's that pit-bull of a maverick.

In the meantime...

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

How About Some Good Old Jerry Garcia To Ease Your Soul?

This morning, I had in a fantastic (and somewhat rare) soundboard recording of the Jerry Garcia Band at Keystone in Palo Alto, California on 11-12-1983.

Jerry's sound dudes, unlike those for the Dead, must have been a little bit less generous with the plugs into the board. While soundboard recordings of his band are still plentiful, there's nowhere near the proportion that exist for his shows with the boys...most are audience tapes.

Anyway, this one, Rhapsody in Red, had me bopping along on the way into the salt mines this morning. Hopefully it will have a similar effect on you!

Matt Damon Just Called Me

Oooooh, my heart is a-flutter!

That dreamy dude just called me to ask me to vote for Barack Obama.

Well, I was going to post on this anyway...his pudwhacker supporters defaced a good portion of beautiful Cleveland Heights today. On the way home, I saw stickers, illegally posted all over the place, including the bus stand at Mayfield and Coventry.

Go Cubs!

Well, I think it's time for me to start tuning in. I'm the most casual of fans, but it was nice to walk in the door this evening, tune into TBS as a change from the newsnets and get ready for the big game against the Dodgers from Wrigley!

Frequent reader R, chair of the Milwaukee bureau, is at the game, so we're expecting updates...

More on Barry

Oops!

Barry better be careful...Babymama gonna whoop his ass if he screws this one up again.

Versionista

I heard about Versionista last week on Buzz Out Loud ("CNET's podcast of indeterminate length") and have to say that they're right...it's nifty.

I'm guessing there are other tools out there like this, but I just haven't seen it yet. With a free 'guest' membership, I can pick 5 different sites or domains that I want to keep an eye on. Versionista will do this, caching the pages and marking up the differences for me to monitor as I please. You can purchase memberships to monitor more pages, but for now, this is just a neat little novelty.

Below is an example of how Barack's page has changed recently...click to enlarge.