Andrea Peyser says what has needed to be said for a very long time.
I've been giving it to Tiger, and deservedly so. Now, someone finally takes his bevy of sleazy Barbie Dolls to task.
I wonder what this whole situation reveals abouts the uglier consequences of modern feminism?
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Well, What Did You Expect?
Why Obama's Nobel Speech Was Flat and Uncompelling.
Speeches given by third-rate hacks receiving awards they haven't earned usually are.
Unfortunately, no comment from the person most in the know.
That'll teach them Euroweenies to hand out once-prestigious-and-meaningful awards like candy!
Update: Victor Davis Hanson adds some insight into the terrible speech, and some reasons why, only 11 months in, the world seems tired of The Won.
Speeches given by third-rate hacks receiving awards they haven't earned usually are.
Unfortunately, no comment from the person most in the know.
That'll teach them Euroweenies to hand out once-prestigious-and-meaningful awards like candy!
Update: Victor Davis Hanson adds some insight into the terrible speech, and some reasons why, only 11 months in, the world seems tired of The Won.
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
The Religion of Peace Speaks About Fort Hood...
This is a load of crap. Major Hassan isn't innocent because he misunderstood the 'context' of the Koran -- he's guilty because he shot and killed people. 'Misunderstanding the Koran' is not a mitigating factor in his defense, and the only reason this pile of shit was written was because the author apparently fears the association of Islam with an insanity plea.
Why are these people still alive?
(H/T to Conservative in the Closet).
Why are these people still alive?
(H/T to Conservative in the Closet).
Strengthening the Old Alliances...
The Age of Obama was supposed to be one of 'smart diplomacy' aimed at 'strengthening our old alliances'.
Until it wasn't. That was really just yet another rhetorical club used to clobber GWB over the head during the campaign.
The reality ever since has been a foreign policy that is frenetic, apparently driven by polls and personalities, untethered from reality, sluggish and disorganized, the landscape polluted by unearned Nobel Prizes, joke 'reset' buttons, Outing as a criminal-- and then publicly backing --Hamid Karzai, Iranian intransigence over it's nuclear program, Chinese lecturing America's President on the finer points of capitalism, North Korean laughter at the Kid with Big Ears.
But, at least there's been the photo ops. Anytime you can photograph Obama at least looking Presidential, he considers it a victory of sorts.
And speaking of unearned Nobel Prizes, it seems the President intends to be ungracious to the Norwegians when accepts the prize.
Ask Tiger Woods what happens when you piss a Scandinavian off, Mr. President.
The British, perhaps our most important allies, haven't been feeling the love for some time. Obama has treated Gordon Brown, the British Prime Minister, as if he were the 'special' cousin your family kept hidden in the attic. Anglo-American relations are at an all-time low, so much so, that Obama has pulled off the near-impossible, and has both the Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail pissed off at him. Way to go! And they said George Bush was the clueless one?
Someone is in way over his head and doesn't know it yet. Unfortunately, the enemies of the West and of all decent people know it all too well.
Until it wasn't. That was really just yet another rhetorical club used to clobber GWB over the head during the campaign.
The reality ever since has been a foreign policy that is frenetic, apparently driven by polls and personalities, untethered from reality, sluggish and disorganized, the landscape polluted by unearned Nobel Prizes, joke 'reset' buttons, Outing as a criminal-- and then publicly backing --Hamid Karzai, Iranian intransigence over it's nuclear program, Chinese lecturing America's President on the finer points of capitalism, North Korean laughter at the Kid with Big Ears.
But, at least there's been the photo ops. Anytime you can photograph Obama at least looking Presidential, he considers it a victory of sorts.
And speaking of unearned Nobel Prizes, it seems the President intends to be ungracious to the Norwegians when accepts the prize.
Ask Tiger Woods what happens when you piss a Scandinavian off, Mr. President.
The British, perhaps our most important allies, haven't been feeling the love for some time. Obama has treated Gordon Brown, the British Prime Minister, as if he were the 'special' cousin your family kept hidden in the attic. Anglo-American relations are at an all-time low, so much so, that Obama has pulled off the near-impossible, and has both the Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail pissed off at him. Way to go! And they said George Bush was the clueless one?
Someone is in way over his head and doesn't know it yet. Unfortunately, the enemies of the West and of all decent people know it all too well.
Your President: Whining Pussy...
To paraphrase Barack Hussein Obama:
"There's only one President of the United States at a time..."
That was the refrain we heard during the historic 'transition' when the historic Hopenchanger didn't want to answer a question. If the question asked had nothing to do with the Obama Daily Infomercial during that time, it was referred back to George W. Bush in a back-handed way with that retort. Usually, Obama trotted that out when he was asked a question that actually had anything to do with anything that mattered.
Ask a question about Afghanistan or Iraq back then:
"There is only one President of the United States at a time...."
Ask about TARP, Economic problems, the Real-Estate Crisis:
"There is only one President of the United States at a time..."
Ask about Sasha and Malia anticipating their first night in their new bedrooms in the White House, and the President could wax poetic. Or he could show great drive, enthusiasm and energy for something that never seemed to matter to anyone except over at (P)MSNBC.
It became a habit with Obama. When something was too difficult, it was because GWB made it that way. When something passed out of a democrat-controlled (like the so-called Stimulus Bill)Congress didn't work as advertised, it was GWB's fault. Everything in the Age of Obama has been GWB's fault...somehow. The reason why the Chosen One hasn't shit rainbows and peed Skittles for Everyone is somehow GWB's fault.
You'd think GWB was still President, in some respects!
A year into his lackluster reign, and GWB is still blamed for everything from the Cretaceous Period to the Mystery of What Happens to Socks That Get Lost in the Dryer.
It's gotten old, and stale, and it smacks of crybaby pansy-ism. Michael Goodwin says:It's about time you stood up and became a Man, Obama.
"There's only one President of the United States at a time..."
That was the refrain we heard during the historic 'transition' when the historic Hopenchanger didn't want to answer a question. If the question asked had nothing to do with the Obama Daily Infomercial during that time, it was referred back to George W. Bush in a back-handed way with that retort. Usually, Obama trotted that out when he was asked a question that actually had anything to do with anything that mattered.
Ask a question about Afghanistan or Iraq back then:
"There is only one President of the United States at a time...."
Ask about TARP, Economic problems, the Real-Estate Crisis:
"There is only one President of the United States at a time..."
Ask about Sasha and Malia anticipating their first night in their new bedrooms in the White House, and the President could wax poetic. Or he could show great drive, enthusiasm and energy for something that never seemed to matter to anyone except over at (P)MSNBC.
It became a habit with Obama. When something was too difficult, it was because GWB made it that way. When something passed out of a democrat-controlled (like the so-called Stimulus Bill)Congress didn't work as advertised, it was GWB's fault. Everything in the Age of Obama has been GWB's fault...somehow. The reason why the Chosen One hasn't shit rainbows and peed Skittles for Everyone is somehow GWB's fault.
You'd think GWB was still President, in some respects!
A year into his lackluster reign, and GWB is still blamed for everything from the Cretaceous Period to the Mystery of What Happens to Socks That Get Lost in the Dryer.
It's gotten old, and stale, and it smacks of crybaby pansy-ism. Michael Goodwin says:It's about time you stood up and became a Man, Obama.
Why Is Al Gore Still Alive?
And why does anyone bother asking him questions? Expecting intelligent answers from Al Gore is like expecting your dog to reveal the secrets of nuclear fusion. Then again, your dog probably understands more about Nature than Al Gore does...
But, I guess because he got an Oscar, is front-and-center in the scam that is Global Warming, and is the stout (very stout -- is it me or is Al getting fatter?) defender of Polar Bears, people feel compelled to ask him things he either couldn't possibly know the answer to (being an idiot), or will lie through his teeth about (because it's a life-long habit he's made a good living at).
Al Gore stonewalling on questions about Climategate.
Al's claim to have read the memos is belied by the repeated contention that these things are 10 years old. If he had read them, he'd know that isn't true. Or, being Al Gore and having no economic interest in the truth, I wonder if that really matters? That's the new mantra, I guess. Expect to hear this at least once a day...until they become 11 years old. Actually, many of them aren't 10 years old (having 2009 date stamps), and Al was caught lying once more.
But then again, this is the guy who invented the Internet and tried to sue his way into the White House,so what do you expect?
Al Gore, in a perfect world, would be in a prison cell right now instead of living the high-life in mansions, private jets and ostensibly-solar-powered houseboats, because he's a con man. His greatest crime has been to take advantage of million of people even dumber than he, and get rich while doing it...all the while damning the greedy capitalists who got rich on actual, legal commerce -- and who spend a significant portion of their profits actually complying with environmental law, instead of trading made-up, worthless 'carbon credits' and being an insufferable asshole about it -- but he can freely and hypocritically harangue them as evil polluters who are destroying the planet.
I Pity Tipper.
But, I guess because he got an Oscar, is front-and-center in the scam that is Global Warming, and is the stout (very stout -- is it me or is Al getting fatter?) defender of Polar Bears, people feel compelled to ask him things he either couldn't possibly know the answer to (being an idiot), or will lie through his teeth about (because it's a life-long habit he's made a good living at).
Al Gore stonewalling on questions about Climategate.
Al's claim to have read the memos is belied by the repeated contention that these things are 10 years old. If he had read them, he'd know that isn't true. Or, being Al Gore and having no economic interest in the truth, I wonder if that really matters? That's the new mantra, I guess. Expect to hear this at least once a day...until they become 11 years old. Actually, many of them aren't 10 years old (having 2009 date stamps), and Al was caught lying once more.
But then again, this is the guy who invented the Internet and tried to sue his way into the White House,so what do you expect?
Al Gore, in a perfect world, would be in a prison cell right now instead of living the high-life in mansions, private jets and ostensibly-solar-powered houseboats, because he's a con man. His greatest crime has been to take advantage of million of people even dumber than he, and get rich while doing it...all the while damning the greedy capitalists who got rich on actual, legal commerce -- and who spend a significant portion of their profits actually complying with environmental law, instead of trading made-up, worthless 'carbon credits' and being an insufferable asshole about it -- but he can freely and hypocritically harangue them as evil polluters who are destroying the planet.
I Pity Tipper.
And You Thought It Was Just a Really Gay Book....
Frodo Lives!
(Hey, I'm a big Tolkien fan, and couldn't resist). Besides, we need to talk about more than Tiger Woods today.
(Hey, I'm a big Tolkien fan, and couldn't resist). Besides, we need to talk about more than Tiger Woods today.
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Saving MSgt. Grisham...
JammieWearingFool posts this about an American soldier being bullied by the schoolboard in Huntsville, Alabama.
It seems that Master Sergeant C.J. Grisham (apparently a very popular military blogger, although, honestly, I never heard of him) got into hot water by simply asking a question at a PTA Meeting about some proposed school uniforms for local schoolchildren (his own included).
The question was: "How much will they (the uniforms) cost?"
At which point, it's alleged that the school administrators went completely apeshit, had him tossed from the meeting and then made some trouble with Grisham's commanders, telling them they believed that he has PTSD and may constitute a danger to the school. (I wonder if the Huntsville School System would be so hot to label MSGt Grisham a lunatic if he were a Muslim? Would they make pointed remarks about AIDS if he were gay? I rather doubt it, the pussies wouldn't have the nerve!).
I have suffered horribly from PTSD in my lifetime, and it's not a joke. Real PTSD sufferers deal with ignorance, fear, discrimination and misinformation every day which affects their interactions with society, their relationships, their employment and ultimately, other aspects of their health. We're not crazy, and when you use PTSD as a pejorative, to imply dangerous intent, to slander a man who simply asked you a relevant question that you didn't want to answer, then you have committed an act of the basest prejudice and slander against those of us who actually do have PTSD.
My guess is that the School Board is set to make a killing on the uniforms, money that will then be wasted giving these assholes an undeserved raise, or perhaps sponsoring another series of those courses that teach first graders to use condoms, demonstrate homosexual acts, or show them how to perform fellatio on a tapir. That seems to be what Public Schools do with all the stolen or otherwise extorted taxpayer money that comes their way.
The quickest way to get to the bottom of this is to follow the money. Always.
Shame on the Huntsville, Ala. School Board. If any of those pantywaist, skirt-wearin' scumbags were within range, I'd punch them all in the mouth, both for maligning a parent who simply wanted information he should have been entitled to, and then insulting and maligning a lot of people who happen to have a mental condition they never wanted nor asked for.
So now an American Soldier needs help to defend himself against his own local government. A defense fund/help center for MSGT Grisham can be found here. The man's career may be adversely affected because some petty tyrants in the Huntsville. Ala. School System probably have something to hide.
I'm also going to give the Hunstville, Ala. School Board a piece of my (diseased) mind regarding their callous attitude towards the mentally ill. Add them to the long list of people in this country who have no sense of shame and an inflated sense of importance.
Update: According to the above post, the uniforms cost $400 each. No wonder they didn't want to talk about it! You have to figure there's a spring and winter uniform, and a smart parent buys at least two in case they get torn, dirty, and so forth. $1600 for school uniforms....
Here's the website for the Huntsville City School system. Let them know how you feel.
Extra: Master Sergeant Grisham will be reunited with his children at Fort Hood tomorrow. Please, please, please give whatever you can to the link above so that a good and honorable man may defend his rights, and his reputation.
It seems that Master Sergeant C.J. Grisham (apparently a very popular military blogger, although, honestly, I never heard of him) got into hot water by simply asking a question at a PTA Meeting about some proposed school uniforms for local schoolchildren (his own included).
The question was: "How much will they (the uniforms) cost?"
At which point, it's alleged that the school administrators went completely apeshit, had him tossed from the meeting and then made some trouble with Grisham's commanders, telling them they believed that he has PTSD and may constitute a danger to the school. (I wonder if the Huntsville School System would be so hot to label MSGt Grisham a lunatic if he were a Muslim? Would they make pointed remarks about AIDS if he were gay? I rather doubt it, the pussies wouldn't have the nerve!).
I have suffered horribly from PTSD in my lifetime, and it's not a joke. Real PTSD sufferers deal with ignorance, fear, discrimination and misinformation every day which affects their interactions with society, their relationships, their employment and ultimately, other aspects of their health. We're not crazy, and when you use PTSD as a pejorative, to imply dangerous intent, to slander a man who simply asked you a relevant question that you didn't want to answer, then you have committed an act of the basest prejudice and slander against those of us who actually do have PTSD.
My guess is that the School Board is set to make a killing on the uniforms, money that will then be wasted giving these assholes an undeserved raise, or perhaps sponsoring another series of those courses that teach first graders to use condoms, demonstrate homosexual acts, or show them how to perform fellatio on a tapir. That seems to be what Public Schools do with all the stolen or otherwise extorted taxpayer money that comes their way.
The quickest way to get to the bottom of this is to follow the money. Always.
Shame on the Huntsville, Ala. School Board. If any of those pantywaist, skirt-wearin' scumbags were within range, I'd punch them all in the mouth, both for maligning a parent who simply wanted information he should have been entitled to, and then insulting and maligning a lot of people who happen to have a mental condition they never wanted nor asked for.
So now an American Soldier needs help to defend himself against his own local government. A defense fund/help center for MSGT Grisham can be found here. The man's career may be adversely affected because some petty tyrants in the Huntsville. Ala. School System probably have something to hide.
I'm also going to give the Hunstville, Ala. School Board a piece of my (diseased) mind regarding their callous attitude towards the mentally ill. Add them to the long list of people in this country who have no sense of shame and an inflated sense of importance.
Update: According to the above post, the uniforms cost $400 each. No wonder they didn't want to talk about it! You have to figure there's a spring and winter uniform, and a smart parent buys at least two in case they get torn, dirty, and so forth. $1600 for school uniforms....
Here's the website for the Huntsville City School system. Let them know how you feel.
Extra: Master Sergeant Grisham will be reunited with his children at Fort Hood tomorrow. Please, please, please give whatever you can to the link above so that a good and honorable man may defend his rights, and his reputation.
Tiger's Bad is OUR Fault...
From the American Thinker, we have this.
There's a little bit of the 'society is to blame' mantra inherent in this view. If I'm reading this correctly (probably not), the author wants me to believe that I needed some sort of an icon, and by God, business and the media gave me one! If there's any suckers here, it's me... and poor Tiger. I drove him to it,and then I savaged him for shattering the illusion I willed into being. Barack Obama could learn a lesson in all this!"
Disagree: I certainly didn't want a god, and I certainly didn't want one that played golf (and btw, you're not an athlete unless your sport includes defense or extended periods of intense, physical exertion!), and I certainly didn't want one that was portrayed as a ground-breaker based on his racial heritage. Nor did I demand that the media craft one in that mold for me. I was perfectly happy not knowing who the fuck Tiger Woods was, and got tired of being told that I should care long ago.
Tiger Woods is who he has always been, probably. His mistake is to believe that in an age of cell-phone cameras, YouTube, the Internet, and a 24-hour 'news' cycle that he could construct a bubble that would never be popped, and a myth that would never be busted. To believe otherwise is an exercise in personal arrogance (on Tiger's part), and probably cynicism that the greater part of the public is possessed of a bulletproof stupidity on the part of his 'handlers'. Any transgression is always explained away (the typical "I-fucked-up-but-I'm-going-to-rehab" formula), or dissipated over time, given silence, stonewalling and the public having very sort attention spans ("the bunker mentality"), even if there were criminal charges in this sort of arrangement. It's so fucking fake and contrived that it amazes that people get rich doing this shit, so maybe that second school of thought is right. There may be more impenetrably-stupid people about than I thought.
And it's not just Tiger and his people who think this way; just look at our politicians, other athletes, actors, writers, artists, businessmen, making a list of all the people who fall into this category might keep you occupied for decades. The very drama being played out right now is indicative of a corruption of society that is obvious and yet still manages to avoid scrutiny. There's a hole in our lives that somehow someone sold us could only be filled by building people up -- and then destroying them -- and somehow it's always our fault when they turn out to be weak characters. And it always has political implications. That formula is so old that I can recall reading about it in Cicero or Pericles.
Personally, I don't care what happens to Tiger Woods. The only reason I'm interested in this is a function of a personal fascination with human nature; here's a man who literally, has everything. And it isn't enough. I play the same mental game that many of you do, wherein we try to imagine ourselves in Tiger's place, pre-scandal, and then try to rationalize whether we would have done what he apparently has...and then pat ourselves on the back in the surety of the "no I wouldn't have" answer we arrive at (with no evidence to support it) which leads us to believe that we're somehow different from others --- or even superior to them. That's simply human nature. The difference is that there are people with the ability to play this game in the public square...and get rich doing it while pretending they're somehow the hall monitors of American Decency.
And, yeah, it is funny as hell watching someone who got wealthy and famous for doing something insignificant (playing golf), who married extremely well, and has the world by the short and curlies, squirm when we find out he likes to spank his bitches...in church parking lots.
Iconoclasm, for it's own sake, doesn't enter into the equation for me. I'm just amazed that someone could be that greedy, stupid and banal, and still not expect to get caught. What's even more stupefying is that once nailed, the man who's made his living in the public eye, lapping up the rewards and adulation of public acclaim, thinks he's earned the privilege of suddenly keeping something secret. Doesn't Tiger have a media consultant who can explain how these things work to him? Live by the sword, die by the sword, I always say.
The other issue I have is the Press which conspires to keep Tiger's human weaknesses -- there are reports that some paparazzi actually have pictures of Tiger doing the dirty in a church parking lot, and they sat on them --a secret at the same time it's making a bazillion dollars off him. Only to turn upon him like a pack of ravening wolves on a wounded deer... so that they can make another bazillion dollars off him. And if Tiger should ever 'recover' from this situation, he and his real whore -- the Press -- will resume their cozy relationship....and make another bazillion dollars. This destroys the whole "The Wicked Never Prosper" motif that was a staple of my Catholic-school education (and is perhaps one of the few things I took from it that I still seriously believe to be true).
Tiger shouldn't be crying. The Press shouldn't be tut-tutting. They're both villains in this situation, and neither deserves respect or sympathy, because they're the two sides of the same coin. The assertion that the Tiger Woods (Serial) Affair has political implications is way too trite, and the theme has been trotted out so many times before that it's becoming threadbare. Spare me. If and When (I'm betting on When) Barack Obama fails, his downfall will certainly include the elements involved in Tiger's downfall, but the only similarity will be that both were media creations in the first place, and very flawed individuals even before then.
There's a little bit of the 'society is to blame' mantra inherent in this view. If I'm reading this correctly (probably not), the author wants me to believe that I needed some sort of an icon, and by God, business and the media gave me one! If there's any suckers here, it's me... and poor Tiger. I drove him to it,and then I savaged him for shattering the illusion I willed into being. Barack Obama could learn a lesson in all this!"
Disagree: I certainly didn't want a god, and I certainly didn't want one that played golf (and btw, you're not an athlete unless your sport includes defense or extended periods of intense, physical exertion!), and I certainly didn't want one that was portrayed as a ground-breaker based on his racial heritage. Nor did I demand that the media craft one in that mold for me. I was perfectly happy not knowing who the fuck Tiger Woods was, and got tired of being told that I should care long ago.
Tiger Woods is who he has always been, probably. His mistake is to believe that in an age of cell-phone cameras, YouTube, the Internet, and a 24-hour 'news' cycle that he could construct a bubble that would never be popped, and a myth that would never be busted. To believe otherwise is an exercise in personal arrogance (on Tiger's part), and probably cynicism that the greater part of the public is possessed of a bulletproof stupidity on the part of his 'handlers'. Any transgression is always explained away (the typical "I-fucked-up-but-I'm-going-to-rehab" formula), or dissipated over time, given silence, stonewalling and the public having very sort attention spans ("the bunker mentality"), even if there were criminal charges in this sort of arrangement. It's so fucking fake and contrived that it amazes that people get rich doing this shit, so maybe that second school of thought is right. There may be more impenetrably-stupid people about than I thought.
And it's not just Tiger and his people who think this way; just look at our politicians, other athletes, actors, writers, artists, businessmen, making a list of all the people who fall into this category might keep you occupied for decades. The very drama being played out right now is indicative of a corruption of society that is obvious and yet still manages to avoid scrutiny. There's a hole in our lives that somehow someone sold us could only be filled by building people up -- and then destroying them -- and somehow it's always our fault when they turn out to be weak characters. And it always has political implications. That formula is so old that I can recall reading about it in Cicero or Pericles.
Personally, I don't care what happens to Tiger Woods. The only reason I'm interested in this is a function of a personal fascination with human nature; here's a man who literally, has everything. And it isn't enough. I play the same mental game that many of you do, wherein we try to imagine ourselves in Tiger's place, pre-scandal, and then try to rationalize whether we would have done what he apparently has...and then pat ourselves on the back in the surety of the "no I wouldn't have" answer we arrive at (with no evidence to support it) which leads us to believe that we're somehow different from others --- or even superior to them. That's simply human nature. The difference is that there are people with the ability to play this game in the public square...and get rich doing it while pretending they're somehow the hall monitors of American Decency.
And, yeah, it is funny as hell watching someone who got wealthy and famous for doing something insignificant (playing golf), who married extremely well, and has the world by the short and curlies, squirm when we find out he likes to spank his bitches...in church parking lots.
Iconoclasm, for it's own sake, doesn't enter into the equation for me. I'm just amazed that someone could be that greedy, stupid and banal, and still not expect to get caught. What's even more stupefying is that once nailed, the man who's made his living in the public eye, lapping up the rewards and adulation of public acclaim, thinks he's earned the privilege of suddenly keeping something secret. Doesn't Tiger have a media consultant who can explain how these things work to him? Live by the sword, die by the sword, I always say.
The other issue I have is the Press which conspires to keep Tiger's human weaknesses -- there are reports that some paparazzi actually have pictures of Tiger doing the dirty in a church parking lot, and they sat on them --a secret at the same time it's making a bazillion dollars off him. Only to turn upon him like a pack of ravening wolves on a wounded deer... so that they can make another bazillion dollars off him. And if Tiger should ever 'recover' from this situation, he and his real whore -- the Press -- will resume their cozy relationship....and make another bazillion dollars. This destroys the whole "The Wicked Never Prosper" motif that was a staple of my Catholic-school education (and is perhaps one of the few things I took from it that I still seriously believe to be true).
Tiger shouldn't be crying. The Press shouldn't be tut-tutting. They're both villains in this situation, and neither deserves respect or sympathy, because they're the two sides of the same coin. The assertion that the Tiger Woods (Serial) Affair has political implications is way too trite, and the theme has been trotted out so many times before that it's becoming threadbare. Spare me. If and When (I'm betting on When) Barack Obama fails, his downfall will certainly include the elements involved in Tiger's downfall, but the only similarity will be that both were media creations in the first place, and very flawed individuals even before then.
Oh, Tiger, You're SCREWED...
ESPN TV is reporting that a blond woman was taken from Tiger Woods' home this morning, and taken to a local hospital "on advanced life-support". I don't know what the hell that means, as I would assume that any sort of life support would be 'advanced', but I'm not a medical professional. Anyway, no sooner do Hannah Storm and the forty-three other 'reporters' covering this story get you all worked up about the potentially-salacious details of Elin's apparent suicide attempt (well, let's be fair; they do present what little they truly know in a way that activates the dramatic impulse in your brain)...and they tell you that so-close-to-death-she-needed-'advanced'-life-support-mystery-blond...has been released from the hospital.
Anti-climax.
Then it gets kinda...weird (like this isn't already?). Creepy weird.
The cameras caught the woman being taken out of the ambulance (they always manage to somehow get to the E.R. before the ambulance, don't they? Next time i need a hospital, I'm calling my local TV station to transport me there), and it looked like his wife. To me, anyway, and from a distance. ESPN says that it cannot confirm that Elin Nordegren was on that gurney, since she has an identical twin sister (Good Lord! There's two of them walking around? Bless their parents!) who also happens to be visiting. There's a report of a third blond on the scene, this one unidentified, but it's safe to say she probably isn't one of Tiger's paramours. In any case, who knew Tiger kept a herd of Nordic blonds on his property?
And then Fox Sports posts this, as an adjunct to the whole mysterious-blond-in-deadly-peril theme:
"This comes on the heels of yesterday's report that a witness told a Florida trooper that Woods had been drinking alcohol earlier in the day before he crashed his SUV, according to a police report. The same witness, who wasn't identified in the report, also said Woods had been prescribed two drugs, Ambien and Vicodin."
Ooops. Got another semi-apologetic-yet-ever-so-snotty diatribe for your website, Tiger? You might need it.
"Impairment of the driver is also suspected due to the careless driving that resulted in the traffic crash," trooper Joshua Evans wrote in the report dated Nov. 30 that was released by the State Attorney General's office."
Ya think, Officer?
The report also notes that the State's Attorney General refused to investigate the reports of substance abuse being a factor in the accident, or even being investigated because of "a lack of evidence..."
I wonder how the AG explains that one; the Trooper on the scene reports one thing, the AG reports another, both in writing. Perhaps now we might speculate as to why Tiger didn't talk to anyone for several days, maybe?
UPDATE: ESPN's on-screen crawl indicates that the witness who used the words "drinking", "Vicodin" amd "Ambien", might have been Tiger's own wife. My word, but who knew the world of golf could be so sordid?
* The woman on the gurney turns out to have been Tiger's Mother-in-law. And the number of Other Women involved is now approaching double digits. No wonder the guy clammed up!
* Also, internet rumor states that Ambien is believed to be a super-duper sexual enhancer. I have absolutely no idea if this is true, and I do not advocate that you go try to obtain some for this purpose. Not that this is really important, but it might explain why Tiger's dalliances seem to be legion. Additionally, Ambien has a known side-effect of sleepwalking, or sleep-driving, which is quite common, which might explain the accident. I've yet to find anything on the combination of Ambien, Vicodin and an 8-iron to the side of the head, but I'm certain that ain't such a great thing.
Anti-climax.
Then it gets kinda...weird (like this isn't already?). Creepy weird.
The cameras caught the woman being taken out of the ambulance (they always manage to somehow get to the E.R. before the ambulance, don't they? Next time i need a hospital, I'm calling my local TV station to transport me there), and it looked like his wife. To me, anyway, and from a distance. ESPN says that it cannot confirm that Elin Nordegren was on that gurney, since she has an identical twin sister (Good Lord! There's two of them walking around? Bless their parents!) who also happens to be visiting. There's a report of a third blond on the scene, this one unidentified, but it's safe to say she probably isn't one of Tiger's paramours. In any case, who knew Tiger kept a herd of Nordic blonds on his property?
And then Fox Sports posts this, as an adjunct to the whole mysterious-blond-in-deadly-peril theme:
"This comes on the heels of yesterday's report that a witness told a Florida trooper that Woods had been drinking alcohol earlier in the day before he crashed his SUV, according to a police report. The same witness, who wasn't identified in the report, also said Woods had been prescribed two drugs, Ambien and Vicodin."
Ooops. Got another semi-apologetic-yet-ever-so-snotty diatribe for your website, Tiger? You might need it.
"Impairment of the driver is also suspected due to the careless driving that resulted in the traffic crash," trooper Joshua Evans wrote in the report dated Nov. 30 that was released by the State Attorney General's office."
Ya think, Officer?
The report also notes that the State's Attorney General refused to investigate the reports of substance abuse being a factor in the accident, or even being investigated because of "a lack of evidence..."
I wonder how the AG explains that one; the Trooper on the scene reports one thing, the AG reports another, both in writing. Perhaps now we might speculate as to why Tiger didn't talk to anyone for several days, maybe?
UPDATE: ESPN's on-screen crawl indicates that the witness who used the words "drinking", "Vicodin" amd "Ambien", might have been Tiger's own wife. My word, but who knew the world of golf could be so sordid?
* The woman on the gurney turns out to have been Tiger's Mother-in-law. And the number of Other Women involved is now approaching double digits. No wonder the guy clammed up!
* Also, internet rumor states that Ambien is believed to be a super-duper sexual enhancer. I have absolutely no idea if this is true, and I do not advocate that you go try to obtain some for this purpose. Not that this is really important, but it might explain why Tiger's dalliances seem to be legion. Additionally, Ambien has a known side-effect of sleepwalking, or sleep-driving, which is quite common, which might explain the accident. I've yet to find anything on the combination of Ambien, Vicodin and an 8-iron to the side of the head, but I'm certain that ain't such a great thing.
Monday, December 07, 2009
The Day of Infamy, Redux...
In honor of our historically-challenged President's belief that Emperor Hirohito signed the Japanese surrender in front of General Washington on the deck of the Titanic in Montego Bay, we come again to the 68th anniversary of the Attack on Pearl Harbor. A day that other socialist-cult-of-personality-figurehead (F.D.R.) referred to as "A Day which will live...in infamy...". Obama thinks "A Day which will live in infamy" refers to the day that Canada became the 57th state (that Harvard Education is somethin', aint it?) so of course he can be forgiven for not seeing the parallels between 1941 and 2009.
In 1941, the United States was confronted by an alien culture convinced of it's innate superiority, and determined to find it's 'rightful place' in the world, even though doing so meant the abolition of freedom, security and life for millions. Their religious belief told them that they were a chosen race, the virtuous children of the gods, infallible, superior to the dishonorable 'barbarian races' of the West, with their love of technology, money and their decadent pursuit of comfort.
And so, Japan embarked on a program of national aggrandizement and enrichment that led to conflict with the United States, and took the lives of untold millions in China, South East Asia, Korea, Manchuria, India, Burma, the Pacific Atolls and Archipelagos, Australia, and eventually, Japan itself. It's first intended act was a strike against the United States Navy that was the only instrument in the Pacific capable of putting up any resistance to the Japanese steamroller.
Twenty-nine ships were damaged or sunk at their moorings. Over 200 aircraft were destroyed. 2,400 Americans lost their lives. A nation was plunged into war.
On September 11, 2001, the United States was once again confronted by an alien culture convinced of it's innate superiority, and determined to find it's 'rightful place' in the world, even though doing so meant the abolition of freedom, security and life for millions.Their religious belief told them that they were a chosen race, the virtuous children of the gods, infallible, superior to the dishonorable 'barbarian races' of the West, with their love of technology, money and their decadent pursuit of comfort.
And so, the Muslims have embarked on a program of cultural aggrandizement and enrichment that led to conflict with the United States, and which takes the form of a nuclear Iran, unchecked Muslim immigration into a Europe, the culture of which is slowly being denuded by the steady advance of Sharia. It extends to the elaborate 'lawfare' and welfare scams of Canada, where those who enter come merely to take from others -- but not to join peacefully with them -- settle comfortably, protected by speech codes and government regulations. It's come to America where a man can behead his wife or kill his daughter because his religion says his honor demands it, or maybe have the Army pay his way through medical school so that he can then slaughter his fellow soldiers. Shouting "Allahu Akbar!" while he does it, but we're not supposed to point to the common, Islamic thread that runs through it all. We'd be racists if we did.
Nineteen Islamic lunatics slammed hijacked airliners into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and a third plane was prevented from hitting it's still-unknown target by the bravery and sacrifice of the passengers themselves. A nation was plunged into two wars.
The Japanese showed a great deal of tenacity in war, willingly going to death in suicide attacks, sacrificing blood and bodies for time. They felt they could make the war so terribly bloody that we decadent Westerners would finally just get sick of it and sue for peace on terms favorable to them. They did not surrender easily (or much), and it eventually took a combination of events which together were so monumental -- the atomic bombs, coupled with the loss of Manchuria to the Soviets -- that surrender only became an option when their leadership finally lost the heart and will to continue the fight. And even then, when the rumors of surrender began, there was a palace coup against the Emperor (the very incarnation of God himself!) that finally only failed because of one of those uniquely Japanese cultural conundrums: The generals were willing to overthrow their Emperor for the sake of going down fighting like true Samurai, but when the time came to actually do it, no one would commit the sin of waking the Son of God up in order to arrest him.
The Islamofascists in Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq also show a great deal of tenacity in war, willingly going to death in suicide attacks, sacrificing blood and bodies for time. They think they could make the war so terribly bloody that we decadent Westerners will finally just get sick of it and sue for peace on terms favorable to them. They surrender easily, however, because like all bullies, they can only threaten and wave their fists from a position of strength. Beneath it all, they're really goat-herding pansies. It will eventually take a massive and bloody defeat that is so overwhelming and so utterly lays bare the shortcomings of their culture and system that surrender becomes the only viable alternative to utter destruction. And even then, some will continue the fight, too stupid to know any better, and others will continue the fight amongst themselves, blaming and killing each other for being insufficiently pious enough to defeat the inferior Westerner. It's been that way with them since Xerxes sat on the beach overlooking the Battle of Salamis; Islam merely made the Royal Persian aversion to facing obvious truths a universal institution.
President Obama should pay attention that sort of history, the kind that repeats itself, and not the made-up shit he learned at Harvard. Sometimes, in order to defeat a committed enemy, you have to do some really nasty things. Thirty-thousand men with an expiration date, and letting the craziest and most reckless of your enemies develop nuclear weapons simply doesn't cut it.
In 1941, the United States was confronted by an alien culture convinced of it's innate superiority, and determined to find it's 'rightful place' in the world, even though doing so meant the abolition of freedom, security and life for millions. Their religious belief told them that they were a chosen race, the virtuous children of the gods, infallible, superior to the dishonorable 'barbarian races' of the West, with their love of technology, money and their decadent pursuit of comfort.
And so, Japan embarked on a program of national aggrandizement and enrichment that led to conflict with the United States, and took the lives of untold millions in China, South East Asia, Korea, Manchuria, India, Burma, the Pacific Atolls and Archipelagos, Australia, and eventually, Japan itself. It's first intended act was a strike against the United States Navy that was the only instrument in the Pacific capable of putting up any resistance to the Japanese steamroller.
Twenty-nine ships were damaged or sunk at their moorings. Over 200 aircraft were destroyed. 2,400 Americans lost their lives. A nation was plunged into war.
On September 11, 2001, the United States was once again confronted by an alien culture convinced of it's innate superiority, and determined to find it's 'rightful place' in the world, even though doing so meant the abolition of freedom, security and life for millions.Their religious belief told them that they were a chosen race, the virtuous children of the gods, infallible, superior to the dishonorable 'barbarian races' of the West, with their love of technology, money and their decadent pursuit of comfort.
And so, the Muslims have embarked on a program of cultural aggrandizement and enrichment that led to conflict with the United States, and which takes the form of a nuclear Iran, unchecked Muslim immigration into a Europe, the culture of which is slowly being denuded by the steady advance of Sharia. It extends to the elaborate 'lawfare' and welfare scams of Canada, where those who enter come merely to take from others -- but not to join peacefully with them -- settle comfortably, protected by speech codes and government regulations. It's come to America where a man can behead his wife or kill his daughter because his religion says his honor demands it, or maybe have the Army pay his way through medical school so that he can then slaughter his fellow soldiers. Shouting "Allahu Akbar!" while he does it, but we're not supposed to point to the common, Islamic thread that runs through it all. We'd be racists if we did.
Nineteen Islamic lunatics slammed hijacked airliners into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and a third plane was prevented from hitting it's still-unknown target by the bravery and sacrifice of the passengers themselves. A nation was plunged into two wars.
The Japanese showed a great deal of tenacity in war, willingly going to death in suicide attacks, sacrificing blood and bodies for time. They felt they could make the war so terribly bloody that we decadent Westerners would finally just get sick of it and sue for peace on terms favorable to them. They did not surrender easily (or much), and it eventually took a combination of events which together were so monumental -- the atomic bombs, coupled with the loss of Manchuria to the Soviets -- that surrender only became an option when their leadership finally lost the heart and will to continue the fight. And even then, when the rumors of surrender began, there was a palace coup against the Emperor (the very incarnation of God himself!) that finally only failed because of one of those uniquely Japanese cultural conundrums: The generals were willing to overthrow their Emperor for the sake of going down fighting like true Samurai, but when the time came to actually do it, no one would commit the sin of waking the Son of God up in order to arrest him.
The Islamofascists in Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq also show a great deal of tenacity in war, willingly going to death in suicide attacks, sacrificing blood and bodies for time. They think they could make the war so terribly bloody that we decadent Westerners will finally just get sick of it and sue for peace on terms favorable to them. They surrender easily, however, because like all bullies, they can only threaten and wave their fists from a position of strength. Beneath it all, they're really goat-herding pansies. It will eventually take a massive and bloody defeat that is so overwhelming and so utterly lays bare the shortcomings of their culture and system that surrender becomes the only viable alternative to utter destruction. And even then, some will continue the fight, too stupid to know any better, and others will continue the fight amongst themselves, blaming and killing each other for being insufficiently pious enough to defeat the inferior Westerner. It's been that way with them since Xerxes sat on the beach overlooking the Battle of Salamis; Islam merely made the Royal Persian aversion to facing obvious truths a universal institution.
President Obama should pay attention that sort of history, the kind that repeats itself, and not the made-up shit he learned at Harvard. Sometimes, in order to defeat a committed enemy, you have to do some really nasty things. Thirty-thousand men with an expiration date, and letting the craziest and most reckless of your enemies develop nuclear weapons simply doesn't cut it.
They Should Throw the Pigs at The Muslims, Instead...
Check out what the U.S. Military is doing in the world of medicine.
This sort of thing would never be funded in a government-controled "Healthcare" system.
Yeah,. yeah, yeah, I know the Pentagon is part of the government -- so spare me the "you're making no sense" e-mails.
My point is that , under a potential Obamacare regime, if medical research/technology is deemed beneficial to the State, it would be funded (because saving the lives of soldiers who may return to battle, or providing a President who doesn't care about the troops the opportunity to loudly exclaim "I care about the Troops!", even when he truly doesn't, or sending out fewer chain-letters of condolences, is seen as beneficial to the powers that be. It's good P.R.).
If the technology were made more widely available -- say, a cheaper, just-as-effective version were to be made for use by paramedics and other first-responders -- well, that might just throw the healtchcare budget out of whack, as many more accident, domestic violence, stabbing, slashing, beating, burn, and gunshot victims might actually survive. Those survivors would then eat up government-rationed resources.
And that would leave less money for late-term abortions, free dental for illegal immigrants, and killing senior citizens.
Discuss.
This sort of thing would never be funded in a government-controled "Healthcare" system.
Yeah,. yeah, yeah, I know the Pentagon is part of the government -- so spare me the "you're making no sense" e-mails.
My point is that , under a potential Obamacare regime, if medical research/technology is deemed beneficial to the State, it would be funded (because saving the lives of soldiers who may return to battle, or providing a President who doesn't care about the troops the opportunity to loudly exclaim "I care about the Troops!", even when he truly doesn't, or sending out fewer chain-letters of condolences, is seen as beneficial to the powers that be. It's good P.R.).
If the technology were made more widely available -- say, a cheaper, just-as-effective version were to be made for use by paramedics and other first-responders -- well, that might just throw the healtchcare budget out of whack, as many more accident, domestic violence, stabbing, slashing, beating, burn, and gunshot victims might actually survive. Those survivors would then eat up government-rationed resources.
And that would leave less money for late-term abortions, free dental for illegal immigrants, and killing senior citizens.
Discuss.
Tiger the Tiger...
This says more than I really wanted to know.
I mean, as if hating Tiger Woods for being rich beyond all his true relevance wasn't enough, now you have to hear he's hung like a bear and has the stamina of a wolverine.
There are probably hundreds of bimbos lining up right now to expose ever more of Tiger's dirty laundry. I have no sympathy whatsoever. We've all fucked up at one time or another, and I can remember very few people being sympathetic to me when I did it, so I figure I'm just passing on a great American tradition of pointing and jumping up and down, while adding nothing constructive or redemptive to the conversation.
I'm laughing by balls off at him, though. And that's before we get to the S&M allegations.
I find Tiger's so-called taste in mistresses somewhat strange, but comprehensible. They all seem to have the same qualities about them; they're convenient, they make themselves so, they all seem to believe they're just a heartbeat away from becoming the next Mrs. Woods (which makes them stupid), they're absolute dingbats with obvious self-esteem problems, complete with flashing lights and blaring sirens..
Tiger made the mistake most super-wealthy men with power issues and wandering penises make; they screw whatever comes to hand...as it were. And much of what comes to hand is actually thrown at them by virtue of their power or fame, by women who usually are dumb as a post (easy to take advantage of), suffering from some form of mental defect (they're needy and desperate), or who know exactly what they're doing and will milk it for personal gain the second you show a sign of weakness (the most dangerous ones of all). The Powerful Male decides that whatever their actual motivation, they are simply a place he can park his dick when he wants to, and that they can later be discarded, sent packing or paid off whenever he's done with them. What does he care? They are simply subjects to him; they are something that he desires and can easily have. Lesser beings who's proper place is to worship and serve him. He has no real respect or feelings for them. The hair pulling and domination thing this latest woman talks about is a classic example; it's all about having and exercising power over another.
In this regard, at least, there is little difference between Tiger Woods, and say, Henry VIII, except that none of the 'Other Women' have been killed for becoming suddenly inconvenient.
Last night, I was watching Geraldo on Fox News, and there was an interesting segment about the reaction of black women to the Tiger Woods scandal, particularly, insofar as all of Tiger's mistresses appear to be white women. Black women seem to be feeling left out. "How come Tiger has no black bimbos?" they want to know.
Actually, I think they do know...and it still makes them jealous. But ladies, really, just what are you jealous of? You should be jealous of someone this shallow, that knowingly engages in an affair with a married man, and then gets herself a lawyer afterwards? You should be jealous of a woman who pours her heart out to the New York Post in a manner that describes her as little more than a handy sperm receptacle and convenient object of abuse? You're jealous of a bunch of women who are so down on themselves that they have to steal another woman's husband and bask in the glow of his fame in order to feel good about themselves -- and then get unceremoniously dumped, or exposed to public ridicule for it?
Successful black men go for the Forbidden Fruit of White Women to symbolize their rise in what's perceived as a racist society, just as Successful White Men hunt down Asian women to symbolize their conquest of the exotic, or Muslims and Japanese crave blonds. Every race/ethnic group has it's own Mandingo-like theme going on. I think we can be honest about that. Besides, these women are not people to Tiger; they are simply trophies, like a moose head on the wall, or a notch in the belt, and that's when they aren't just a tool to get his freak on....and then leave.
Besides, Black Ladies, that Forbidden Fruit thing works in reverse, too. I know plenty of good white men who would fall for a good black woman in a heartbeat, so why fixate on why Tiger doesn't seem to want you as merely one of his concubines?
Right now, even with all his money, all his stamina, and his apparently-humongous tallywhacker, I wouldn't want to be Tiger Woods at all. He's been exposed; his deepest, most personal secrets are being aired in the public domain. His wife has grounds for both divorce and extortion. There's people laughing at him for his plight, and his choice of women. The Press (such as it is) is at his door 24/7. He's probably mad as hell at himself (not for cheating, because I think his ego really is that inflated, but for getting caught). I'd be frightened shitless that the worst is yet to come, if I were him.
And he's probably right about that. There could be a baby mama out there, somewhere...
Start praying, Tiger, and let this be a lesson to you about keeping your pants on.
I mean, as if hating Tiger Woods for being rich beyond all his true relevance wasn't enough, now you have to hear he's hung like a bear and has the stamina of a wolverine.
There are probably hundreds of bimbos lining up right now to expose ever more of Tiger's dirty laundry. I have no sympathy whatsoever. We've all fucked up at one time or another, and I can remember very few people being sympathetic to me when I did it, so I figure I'm just passing on a great American tradition of pointing and jumping up and down, while adding nothing constructive or redemptive to the conversation.
I'm laughing by balls off at him, though. And that's before we get to the S&M allegations.
I find Tiger's so-called taste in mistresses somewhat strange, but comprehensible. They all seem to have the same qualities about them; they're convenient, they make themselves so, they all seem to believe they're just a heartbeat away from becoming the next Mrs. Woods (which makes them stupid), they're absolute dingbats with obvious self-esteem problems, complete with flashing lights and blaring sirens..
Tiger made the mistake most super-wealthy men with power issues and wandering penises make; they screw whatever comes to hand...as it were. And much of what comes to hand is actually thrown at them by virtue of their power or fame, by women who usually are dumb as a post (easy to take advantage of), suffering from some form of mental defect (they're needy and desperate), or who know exactly what they're doing and will milk it for personal gain the second you show a sign of weakness (the most dangerous ones of all). The Powerful Male decides that whatever their actual motivation, they are simply a place he can park his dick when he wants to, and that they can later be discarded, sent packing or paid off whenever he's done with them. What does he care? They are simply subjects to him; they are something that he desires and can easily have. Lesser beings who's proper place is to worship and serve him. He has no real respect or feelings for them. The hair pulling and domination thing this latest woman talks about is a classic example; it's all about having and exercising power over another.
In this regard, at least, there is little difference between Tiger Woods, and say, Henry VIII, except that none of the 'Other Women' have been killed for becoming suddenly inconvenient.
Last night, I was watching Geraldo on Fox News, and there was an interesting segment about the reaction of black women to the Tiger Woods scandal, particularly, insofar as all of Tiger's mistresses appear to be white women. Black women seem to be feeling left out. "How come Tiger has no black bimbos?" they want to know.
Actually, I think they do know...and it still makes them jealous. But ladies, really, just what are you jealous of? You should be jealous of someone this shallow, that knowingly engages in an affair with a married man, and then gets herself a lawyer afterwards? You should be jealous of a woman who pours her heart out to the New York Post in a manner that describes her as little more than a handy sperm receptacle and convenient object of abuse? You're jealous of a bunch of women who are so down on themselves that they have to steal another woman's husband and bask in the glow of his fame in order to feel good about themselves -- and then get unceremoniously dumped, or exposed to public ridicule for it?
Successful black men go for the Forbidden Fruit of White Women to symbolize their rise in what's perceived as a racist society, just as Successful White Men hunt down Asian women to symbolize their conquest of the exotic, or Muslims and Japanese crave blonds. Every race/ethnic group has it's own Mandingo-like theme going on. I think we can be honest about that. Besides, these women are not people to Tiger; they are simply trophies, like a moose head on the wall, or a notch in the belt, and that's when they aren't just a tool to get his freak on....and then leave.
Besides, Black Ladies, that Forbidden Fruit thing works in reverse, too. I know plenty of good white men who would fall for a good black woman in a heartbeat, so why fixate on why Tiger doesn't seem to want you as merely one of his concubines?
Right now, even with all his money, all his stamina, and his apparently-humongous tallywhacker, I wouldn't want to be Tiger Woods at all. He's been exposed; his deepest, most personal secrets are being aired in the public domain. His wife has grounds for both divorce and extortion. There's people laughing at him for his plight, and his choice of women. The Press (such as it is) is at his door 24/7. He's probably mad as hell at himself (not for cheating, because I think his ego really is that inflated, but for getting caught). I'd be frightened shitless that the worst is yet to come, if I were him.
And he's probably right about that. There could be a baby mama out there, somewhere...
Start praying, Tiger, and let this be a lesson to you about keeping your pants on.
Changing the Rules As You Go...
The Democratic National Committee (a.k.a The Politburo) is considering changing it's primary schedule and processes in the hopes of 'improving' the method by which it nominates a Presidential candidate.
Because, you know, the old system was soooo wildly successful. If I were The Great Hopenchanger, I'd be outraged and insulted by the implication.
You can read about it, here. (Credit to CNN).
They claim that now is the time to change the system because...they don't expect a challenger to Obama for the 2012 primary season. Yeah, right.
I'll bet there's a whole mess of folks in the DNC right now who are absolutely flabbergasted that Hillary didn't win, and the reasons she didn't win need to be fixed, pronto, so that she can win next time. They want more control over the caucus system (which Obama dominated and abused), they want to settle the dispute about which states vote when (Michigan could have propelled Hillary, except that primary didn't count...and then it did, but then only partially...), and they want a winner take all system (because Obama somehow managed to still garner more delegates in several states that Hillary actually won).
Things are going to get very interesting over on the other side. I wonder when the last time a sitting Secretary of State ran against a Sitting Placeholder....err...President? Probably sometime back in the 1800's, for sure. It should be interesting to listen to Hillary use the Nuremberg Defense ("I was just following orders...I was a loyal to my Furher and Country...") when in the first debate about foreign policy she is asked to explain why she followed the Administration Line when her new diametrically-opposed-primary-focus-group-tested foreign policy philosophy first gets trotted out.
Because, you know, the old system was soooo wildly successful. If I were The Great Hopenchanger, I'd be outraged and insulted by the implication.
You can read about it, here. (Credit to CNN).
They claim that now is the time to change the system because...they don't expect a challenger to Obama for the 2012 primary season. Yeah, right.
I'll bet there's a whole mess of folks in the DNC right now who are absolutely flabbergasted that Hillary didn't win, and the reasons she didn't win need to be fixed, pronto, so that she can win next time. They want more control over the caucus system (which Obama dominated and abused), they want to settle the dispute about which states vote when (Michigan could have propelled Hillary, except that primary didn't count...and then it did, but then only partially...), and they want a winner take all system (because Obama somehow managed to still garner more delegates in several states that Hillary actually won).
Things are going to get very interesting over on the other side. I wonder when the last time a sitting Secretary of State ran against a Sitting Placeholder....err...President? Probably sometime back in the 1800's, for sure. It should be interesting to listen to Hillary use the Nuremberg Defense ("I was just following orders...I was a loyal to my Furher and Country...") when in the first debate about foreign policy she is asked to explain why she followed the Administration Line when her new diametrically-opposed-primary-focus-group-tested foreign policy philosophy first gets trotted out.
But it's Not Like the Press is Biased or Something...
The Politico runs this little thing this morning about the travails of one Mara Liasson, a correspondent for National Public Radio, and staple of Fox News. Ms. (Mrs?) Liasson has been asked by NPR to re-consider her relationship with Fox News because, according to NPR, Fox is little more than a bullhorn for the Republican Party. This is a charge which was first floated by Anita Dunn (devotee of Mao and Mother Theresa), once President Obama's Communications Director, and by that asshole Obama sends out every afternoon to speak a steady stream of crapspeak...what the hell is his name again? Oh yeah, Robert Gibbs.
Now, the good folks at NPR hint that this whole 're-evaluation' thing is merely something Mara should do as a matter of journalistic integrity, but it's clear they wish her to sever her ties with Fox entirely, and there is a veiled hint of intimidation. One gets the impression that here is an implied threat.
Which is laughable. Because if NPR thinks it has as much clout, money, power or influence than Fox News, they're smoking something funny. If given a choice between being under contract to Fox or NPR, which to you seems the better career move?
I wonder, did they have the same conversation with Juan Williams? I would wonder which liberal taboos such action would violate, but given the history of the last election, it's obvious that liberals would rather stick it to a woman (figuratively) than to a black man, as black men are higher up on the victimhood scale. (NOTE: That was sarcasm. I happen to personally like both Williams and Liasson on TV. I find them to be at least honest and earnest correspondents).
Far from criticizing Fox for spouting the Republican line, perhaps NPR ought to be looking at it's own behavior for obvious signs of fascism. It is doing exactly what it accuses (falsely) it's opponents of doing, and doesn't recognize the obvious hypocrisy.
I'd say shame on NPR, but liberals (small 'l' intentional) never display that capacity.
Now, the good folks at NPR hint that this whole 're-evaluation' thing is merely something Mara should do as a matter of journalistic integrity, but it's clear they wish her to sever her ties with Fox entirely, and there is a veiled hint of intimidation. One gets the impression that here is an implied threat.
Which is laughable. Because if NPR thinks it has as much clout, money, power or influence than Fox News, they're smoking something funny. If given a choice between being under contract to Fox or NPR, which to you seems the better career move?
I wonder, did they have the same conversation with Juan Williams? I would wonder which liberal taboos such action would violate, but given the history of the last election, it's obvious that liberals would rather stick it to a woman (figuratively) than to a black man, as black men are higher up on the victimhood scale. (NOTE: That was sarcasm. I happen to personally like both Williams and Liasson on TV. I find them to be at least honest and earnest correspondents).
Far from criticizing Fox for spouting the Republican line, perhaps NPR ought to be looking at it's own behavior for obvious signs of fascism. It is doing exactly what it accuses (falsely) it's opponents of doing, and doesn't recognize the obvious hypocrisy.
I'd say shame on NPR, but liberals (small 'l' intentional) never display that capacity.
Sunday, December 06, 2009
And Now For Something Completely Different...
Something positive! Can't have you thinking I'm all a rainy day, can I?
I have four nephews, all my only sister's sons (They are 13, 11, 8 and 4). I have always taken all the time I could to be 'there' for them. Teaching them all the things that somehow it falls upon an uncle to teach them by some unwritten law -- mostly the things that makes their mother cringe. But, I figure, screw her; someone has to teach young boys the joys of kitchen-cabinet chemistry, belching, slingshots, the really neat things you can do to an anthill with a magnifying glass and model glue, and of course, dirty jokes. It's their parent's job to make sure they learn to brush their teeth, watch their language and do their homework, and all that boring stuff, right? Someone has to show them how to be Boys before they become Men and have the weight of the world settle upon their shoulders with...ewww...responsibility.
And there I have been, all these years, in a position of both Authority (defined as "Now, guys, don't do this without me around, okay? Your father needs the garage to remain standing, and I'm a Professional.") and awe. Yes, awe. You never forget the look of incredulous wonder that crosses a young boy's face when he's first discovered that, yes indeed, farts can be set alight by a experienced man with a barbecue lighter, nerves of steel, and the proper technique.
Okay, so I've never really grown up. I like to sometimes pretend that I have, but let's face it, Men -- we never really do. I'm just a 10-year old with a 38 waist and a mustache. Most men are. We just pretend otherwise so that girls will like us, and stuff.
But, the youngest nephew, all of 4-years old, has really knocked me for a loop. He's my shadow (in much the same way that the eldest was when he was little), and several times a week, I get that afternoon phone call:
"Uncle...will come over and play with me?" It's delivered in a small, pitiful voice that screams loneliness, or maybe he's already learned that I'm a sucker and just won't say no, but pours it on thick, just in case. It's an ego stroke, I'll admit. Besides, I figure it's my duty, and more often than not, it's fun.
Usually, I get invited over to play Geotrax or Thomas the Tank Engine (he loves trains), and the routine involves me building the tracks, and then we act out the script of the DVD's of those programs that's he's just watched (he has an absolutely amazing memory for the details). He directs me and tells me what's happened in the little scenario, and I do what he tells me, and eventually, we have re-enacted the entire episode, every word, action and detail, and then it's time to go on to whatever other activity his short little attention span demands.
But recently he's been big on games. He'll sit still for a long session of games. Board games, card games, dice games. We run the gamut from Monopoly (suitably modified for a 4-yr old attention span; we just go around the board and whoever goes to jail three times wins all the money), to the classics of Chutes and Ladders, Old Maid, Go Fish, Yahtzee and even our special version of Poker. We laugh, we joke, he cheats. Oh, how he cheats! Like a democrat! He's sharp about it, even sly, too. And there's always an explanation of why he should be allowed to cheat whenever I call him out on it (gently and always with a smile) which is curiously lucid, and you just have to allow it because, well, that was a pretty great mental formulation for a four year old to make!
And it struck me just today, during a game of Poker-Keno, that I am watching the development of a little brain. A tiny person is taking shape, just across the table from me. Up close and personal. I was dumbstruck just as soon as I realized it, and by just how subtle the process is unless you pay very close attention to it. A month ago, he couldn't be bothered to count (although he could do so, at least to 25, always skipping 16, for some reason), and now he does so with eagerness. He couldn't discern the difference between a heart and a diamond, and now he corrects me when I mistake a club for a spade. I've watched him count pips on dice and then carefully and deliberately count out the corresponding spaces on the board with a serious precision. He comments on my strategy, and then even explains his own. He laughs when he climbs ladders, and giggles when I slide down, down, down the chutes. He boasts when he wins, and then explains how he came up with the masterstroke that finally sent me into a deadly tailspin ending in humiliating defeat (wink, wink). He announces grandly, "the winner of this game is the Champion of the World!", and does the inevitable Victory Dance before exclaiming "Let's play again!".
And then I laugh. Something I all too rarely do, nowadays. It's at times like this that I'm reminded that there are still things to wonder about in this world, and to laugh at, and they don't all have to involve bodily functions, table-top explosions or the death of a Kennedy, and that perhaps, I spend too much time spewing venom at the world instead of being appreciative for the little things. So, I want to thank my little nephew, although he may never ever read this, for giving me, I think, far more joy, and certainly more to think about, than I think I can ever repay.
I have four nephews, all my only sister's sons (They are 13, 11, 8 and 4). I have always taken all the time I could to be 'there' for them. Teaching them all the things that somehow it falls upon an uncle to teach them by some unwritten law -- mostly the things that makes their mother cringe. But, I figure, screw her; someone has to teach young boys the joys of kitchen-cabinet chemistry, belching, slingshots, the really neat things you can do to an anthill with a magnifying glass and model glue, and of course, dirty jokes. It's their parent's job to make sure they learn to brush their teeth, watch their language and do their homework, and all that boring stuff, right? Someone has to show them how to be Boys before they become Men and have the weight of the world settle upon their shoulders with...ewww...responsibility.
And there I have been, all these years, in a position of both Authority (defined as "Now, guys, don't do this without me around, okay? Your father needs the garage to remain standing, and I'm a Professional.") and awe. Yes, awe. You never forget the look of incredulous wonder that crosses a young boy's face when he's first discovered that, yes indeed, farts can be set alight by a experienced man with a barbecue lighter, nerves of steel, and the proper technique.
Okay, so I've never really grown up. I like to sometimes pretend that I have, but let's face it, Men -- we never really do. I'm just a 10-year old with a 38 waist and a mustache. Most men are. We just pretend otherwise so that girls will like us, and stuff.
But, the youngest nephew, all of 4-years old, has really knocked me for a loop. He's my shadow (in much the same way that the eldest was when he was little), and several times a week, I get that afternoon phone call:
"Uncle...will come over and play with me?" It's delivered in a small, pitiful voice that screams loneliness, or maybe he's already learned that I'm a sucker and just won't say no, but pours it on thick, just in case. It's an ego stroke, I'll admit. Besides, I figure it's my duty, and more often than not, it's fun.
Usually, I get invited over to play Geotrax or Thomas the Tank Engine (he loves trains), and the routine involves me building the tracks, and then we act out the script of the DVD's of those programs that's he's just watched (he has an absolutely amazing memory for the details). He directs me and tells me what's happened in the little scenario, and I do what he tells me, and eventually, we have re-enacted the entire episode, every word, action and detail, and then it's time to go on to whatever other activity his short little attention span demands.
But recently he's been big on games. He'll sit still for a long session of games. Board games, card games, dice games. We run the gamut from Monopoly (suitably modified for a 4-yr old attention span; we just go around the board and whoever goes to jail three times wins all the money), to the classics of Chutes and Ladders, Old Maid, Go Fish, Yahtzee and even our special version of Poker. We laugh, we joke, he cheats. Oh, how he cheats! Like a democrat! He's sharp about it, even sly, too. And there's always an explanation of why he should be allowed to cheat whenever I call him out on it (gently and always with a smile) which is curiously lucid, and you just have to allow it because, well, that was a pretty great mental formulation for a four year old to make!
And it struck me just today, during a game of Poker-Keno, that I am watching the development of a little brain. A tiny person is taking shape, just across the table from me. Up close and personal. I was dumbstruck just as soon as I realized it, and by just how subtle the process is unless you pay very close attention to it. A month ago, he couldn't be bothered to count (although he could do so, at least to 25, always skipping 16, for some reason), and now he does so with eagerness. He couldn't discern the difference between a heart and a diamond, and now he corrects me when I mistake a club for a spade. I've watched him count pips on dice and then carefully and deliberately count out the corresponding spaces on the board with a serious precision. He comments on my strategy, and then even explains his own. He laughs when he climbs ladders, and giggles when I slide down, down, down the chutes. He boasts when he wins, and then explains how he came up with the masterstroke that finally sent me into a deadly tailspin ending in humiliating defeat (wink, wink). He announces grandly, "the winner of this game is the Champion of the World!", and does the inevitable Victory Dance before exclaiming "Let's play again!".
And then I laugh. Something I all too rarely do, nowadays. It's at times like this that I'm reminded that there are still things to wonder about in this world, and to laugh at, and they don't all have to involve bodily functions, table-top explosions or the death of a Kennedy, and that perhaps, I spend too much time spewing venom at the world instead of being appreciative for the little things. So, I want to thank my little nephew, although he may never ever read this, for giving me, I think, far more joy, and certainly more to think about, than I think I can ever repay.
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