Thursday, January 31, 2008
skippy's thursday nite music club
the sad untold story
behind the foreclosure madness. abandoned pets.
the house was ravaged — its floors ripped, walls busted and lights smashed by owners who trashed their home before a bank foreclosed on it. hidden in the wreckage was an abandoned member of the family: a starving pit bull.the dog found by workers was too far gone to save — another example of how pets are becoming the newest victims of the nation's mortgage crisis as homeowners leave animals behind when they can no longer afford their property.
pets "are getting dumped all over," said traci jennings, president of the humane society of stanislaus county in northern california. "farmers are finding dogs dumped on their grazing grounds, while house cats are showing up in wild cat colonies." - ap
the circumstances that follow foreclosure can be remorseless for pet owners. "they have a hard enough time even qualifying for a rental because their credit is shot, and 98% of landlords don't take dogs," nordine said. "so if you've been foreclosed and you have a pit bull, good luck."
it doesn't help that some landlords who do accept pets are doubling or tripling their pet deposits, according to moore of the orange county animal rescue coalition. - latte times
Labels: animals, foreclosure
msnbcrooks & liars
john amato of c&l will be on msnbc for post-debate analysis on msnbc tonite after the debate.
Labels: blogtopia, debates, democrats, multi-millionaire media
he's doing the write thing
nikki finke reports that some serious negotiations are happening in the wga strike...the main man for the other side is forgoing the superbowl to talk:
i've been told that the wga-mogul negotiations get a kick-start on friday when peter chernin returns from london and rejoins the talks in person. he's also cancelled his super bowl tickets for sunday in order to stay in town.
yes, it sounds like a ridiculously petty motivation, but trust us, in show biz, giving up skybox seats (and trust us, peter chernin don't sit in no nose-bleed section) for the superbowl means serious business.Labels: entertainment, hollywood, labor, television, writers strike
you're either drunk on the bus or drunk off the bus
digby still doesn't have any comments section on her site these days, so we were not able to answer her question why does the press hate romney so much directly.
romney is a mormons. mormons disdain alcohol. therefor, there is no alcohol on romney's press bus.
we are not being snarky. we are amused at the ridiculousness of the idea that major american policy is manipulated predicated by the fact of who serves free booze and who doesn't. but think as jeff greenfield admitted about mccain's 2000 campaign press bus:
romney, mr. stiff mormon (and probably al gore, talking about stiff party-poopers) does not.
romney is a stiff personality and a typical republican phony, but i can't figure out what it is about him that brings out such visceral loathing. he just seems like an average plastic pol to me, no worse than most.
but the press hates him and they are not going to give him an inch. tucker told romney's spokesman last night that he couldn't figure out why romney would fight mccain on this timeline business. after all, even though mccain is obviously lying about this, he is seen as a strong leader and straight talker and romney is seen as a flip-flopper. doesn't it hurt romney to be seen flip-flopping like this? the spokesman, who is quite good, was sort of gobsmacked but carried on bravely despite the fact that the eye-batting, guileless tucker had just planted a disingenuous mudpie right in his face.
digby, it's really no mystery why the hate romney and love mccain.but the press hates him and they are not going to give him an inch. tucker told romney's spokesman last night that he couldn't figure out why romney would fight mccain on this timeline business. after all, even though mccain is obviously lying about this, he is seen as a strong leader and straight talker and romney is seen as a flip-flopper. doesn't it hurt romney to be seen flip-flopping like this? the spokesman, who is quite good, was sort of gobsmacked but carried on bravely despite the fact that the eye-batting, guileless tucker had just planted a disingenuous mudpie right in his face.
romney is a mormons. mormons disdain alcohol. therefor, there is no alcohol on romney's press bus.
we are not being snarky. we are amused at the ridiculousness of the idea that major american policy is manipulated predicated by the fact of who serves free booze and who doesn't. but think as jeff greenfield admitted about mccain's 2000 campaign press bus:
jeff greenfield, cnn: look, it is very hard not to treat someone well who treats you well. and after days when you go on a press bus and you're, you know, and the secret service pins you against the wall if you walk three feet toward a water cooler and other candidates give you, you know, eight minutes or 10 minutes, the idea that you're sitting with a candidate who will answer any question you ask can't help but be treated favorably.
mccain knows this. awol knew it.romney, mr. stiff mormon (and probably al gore, talking about stiff party-poopers) does not.
Labels: mccain, multi-millionaire media, prez campaign, romney
say hello
to zippidy doo dah.
Labels: say hello
blogging around
christine bowman doesn't think hillary clinton is a "damsel in distress" over at buzzflash;
melissa (of shakesville) has some questions for barack "to the future" obama over at no quarter;
pam, she of the house blend, examines how the log cabin repubbbs rushed to defend mccain's anti-gay robocalls;
michael beresin tracks down a grass-roots organization in missouri and finds a lot of astro-turf over at show me progress;
and the group news blog has the definitive reason not be afraid of a mccain candidacy!
jane points out the obvious to msnbc, that gotv has begun to supplant cable tv advertising for getting support, over at firedoglake;
greg sargent claims that mitt "don't call me baseball glove" romney hasn't bought any tv time in any tsunami tuesday state over at tpm election central;
(thanks to makethemaccountable for a few of these links!)
melissa (of shakesville) has some questions for barack "to the future" obama over at no quarter;
pam, she of the house blend, examines how the log cabin repubbbs rushed to defend mccain's anti-gay robocalls;
michael beresin tracks down a grass-roots organization in missouri and finds a lot of astro-turf over at show me progress;
and the group news blog has the definitive reason not be afraid of a mccain candidacy!
jane points out the obvious to msnbc, that gotv has begun to supplant cable tv advertising for getting support, over at firedoglake;
greg sargent claims that mitt "don't call me baseball glove" romney hasn't bought any tv time in any tsunami tuesday state over at tpm election central;
(thanks to makethemaccountable for a few of these links!)
Labels: blogtopia
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
skippy's wednesday nite music club
ysbella brave - one for my baby
this girl is a big, big hit on youtube...now, before you scoff in derision, take a listen. granted, the accompaniment is a cheesy karaoke track, the lighting (from her desklamp) is atrocious, and the camera work is non-existant (one static shot)...but the funny thing is, this girl can sing!
here's a nytimes review of ysabella (mary anne is her real name):
ladies and gentleman, i give you ysabellabrave. she’s been around awhile — meaning, in youtube time, like a bunch of months — and she’s in the top 50 for most subscribed and most viewed.
in her all about me vid, she says she’s into hip-hop and gospel, but her sound is pure torch and jazz.
i love her. she has glassy eyes, with some elegantly tearful surface tension. and she’s got exquisite cosmetics-counter makeup, and super-processed hair, and a big gorgeous-clowny musical-theater face that brings out the casting director in all of us. (roxie hart? sally bowles?)
she'd be a great sally bowles. we wanted to bring you her rendition of the cole porter classic night & day, but for some reason she had the embedding disabled by request.**in her all about me vid, she says she’s into hip-hop and gospel, but her sound is pure torch and jazz.
i love her. she has glassy eyes, with some elegantly tearful surface tension. and she’s got exquisite cosmetics-counter makeup, and super-processed hair, and a big gorgeous-clowny musical-theater face that brings out the casting director in all of us. (roxie hart? sally bowles?)
we love her smokey, sultry, themanthatgotaway torch-song voice (and, we admit, she's kinda easy on the eyes). she says she's got an album coming out soon, and we'll be the first in line (or online) to buy it.
**addendum: after some correspondence w/mary anne on her comments page, she has decided to enable embedding, so here she is...
ysabella brave - night and day
in the words of the immortal jimmy durante...hot cha cha cha!
Labels: skippy's music club
namaste, senator edwards
for giving those of us considered "invisible"...a voice.
i don't know when our party began to turn away from the cause of working people, from the fathers who were working three jobs literally just to pay the rent, mothers sending their kids to bed wrapped up in their clothes and in coats because they couldn't afford to pay for heat.
we know that our brothers and sisters have been bullied into believing that they can't organize and can't put a union in the workplace. well, in this campaign, we didn't turn our heads. we looked them square in the eye and we said, "we see you, we hear you, and we are with you. and we will never forget you." and i have a feeling that if the leaders of our great democratic party continue to hear the voices of working people, a proud progressive will occupy the white house.
...do not turn away from these great struggles before us. do not give up on the causes that we have fought for. do not walk away from what’s possible, because it’s time for all of us, all of us together, to make the two americas one.thank you. god bless you, and let’s go to work. thank you all very much.
-john edwards
Labels: democrats, john edwards, prez campaign
otherwise how can we blogwhore?
seriously, digby, bring back your comment section!
you can eat anything you want because smaller government won't interfer at alice's restaurant (if you pay using the gold standard only)
arlo guthrie endorses ron paul (we kid you not). usatoady:
(thanks and a tip of the kangaroo tail to makethemaccountable for the link!)
"i love this guy," guthrie says in a statement released by the paul campaign. "dr. paul is the only candidate i know of who would have signed the constitution of the united states had he been there. i'm with him, because he seems to be the only candidate who actually believes it has as much relevance today as it did a couple of hundred years ago. i look forward to the day when we can work out the differences we have with the same revolutionary vision and enthusiasm that is our american legacy."
funny, we thought they were both dead.(thanks and a tip of the kangaroo tail to makethemaccountable for the link!)
Labels: music, pop culture, prez campaign, ron paul
blogging around
watergate summer thinks that hillary's "victory" speech in florida could be illegal;
trex finds that michelle malkin thinks george soros is funding john mccain;
buzzflash is holding a goodbye rudy caption contest;
here's a blogtopus toon about the difference between hillary supporters and obama supporters;
upper left has a good reason not to vote for edwards;
the moderate man points out how the usa's subprime fiasco is now entering into global markets;
the bradblog tells us that rush limbaugh's e-voting screen malfunctioned in florida, and brad also sez w/friends like markos moulitsas, who needs enemies?
and the old fashioned patriot's birthday is coming up!
trex finds that michelle malkin thinks george soros is funding john mccain;
buzzflash is holding a goodbye rudy caption contest;
here's a blogtopus toon about the difference between hillary supporters and obama supporters;
upper left has a good reason not to vote for edwards;
the moderate man points out how the usa's subprime fiasco is now entering into global markets;
the bradblog tells us that rush limbaugh's e-voting screen malfunctioned in florida, and brad also sez w/friends like markos moulitsas, who needs enemies?
and the old fashioned patriot's birthday is coming up!
Labels: blogtopia
john gone
john edwards, following rudy giuliani's lead, has decided to drop out of the presidential campaign. washpost:
and to be very honest, if the presidential race shapes up to be john mccain versus hillary clinton, we'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between the two, except that one has balls and the other's an old man.
the former north carolina senator is scheduled to speak in new orleans this afternoon, an appearance originally billed as an anti-poverty speech but now expected to serve as the platform for ending a white house run that has been five years in the making.
edwards, 54, the party's vice presidential nominee in 2004, has failed to win any of the democratic primaries or caucuses so far, narrowly capturing second place in iowa and finishing a distant third in his native south carolina. however he has accumulated dozens of delegates in the process, and his backing could prove important to the remaining candidates.
this saddens us at skippy international greatly. tho we never could bring ourselves to officially endorse the senator, we felt he was the one who spoke for the people most authentically.edwards, 54, the party's vice presidential nominee in 2004, has failed to win any of the democratic primaries or caucuses so far, narrowly capturing second place in iowa and finishing a distant third in his native south carolina. however he has accumulated dozens of delegates in the process, and his backing could prove important to the remaining candidates.
and to be very honest, if the presidential race shapes up to be john mccain versus hillary clinton, we'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between the two, except that one has balls and the other's an old man.
Labels: edwards, prez campaign
america's quitter
political radar:
addendum: now what's faux news going to do? eric boehlert at media matters examines the downfall.
rudy giuliani will board a plane to california on wednesday morning, as planned. but, sources tell abc news, once there, instead of participating in the gop debate, he will drop out of the presidential race and endorse sen. john mccain, r-ariz.
as mrs. skippy says, well, that's 5 more votes for mccain...addendum: now what's faux news going to do? eric boehlert at media matters examines the downfall.
Labels: faux news, gop, prez campaign, rudy
television's stupidest person
sherri shepherd is television's stupidest person.
and that, my friends, is no mean feat.
(cross-posted from blanton's and ashton's, where everything depends on the meaning of "is".)
and that, my friends, is no mean feat.
(cross-posted from blanton's and ashton's, where everything depends on the meaning of "is".)
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
skippy's monday nite music club
from their debut album just released today
vampire weekend - a-punk
don't let the name fool you...these boys are purveyors of infectious pop, and the video is quirky and funny. plus we bet the little 12 year old girls will go nuts for them, they will probably do well.
vampire weekend - a-punk
don't let the name fool you...these boys are purveyors of infectious pop, and the video is quirky and funny. plus we bet the little 12 year old girls will go nuts for them, they will probably do well.
Labels: skippy's music club
blogging around
firedoglake has an open thread;
mydd has an open thread;
crooks&liars has an open thread;
booman has an open thread;
balloon juice has an open thread;
the burnt orange report has an open thread;
the left coaster has an open thread;
the right's field has an open thread;
and open left has an open thread!
consider this an open thread.
mydd has an open thread;
crooks&liars has an open thread;
booman has an open thread;
balloon juice has an open thread;
the burnt orange report has an open thread;
the left coaster has an open thread;
the right's field has an open thread;
and open left has an open thread!
consider this an open thread.
Labels: blogtopia
sagen hallo, parole bonjour, opinione ciao
to e blogs zone.
Labels: say hello
live from florida
what's the buzz, flash?
long, long time readers of this humble space may remember that back in the jurassic period of blogs, when instapundasaurus rex ruled blogtopia, and yes, we coined that phrase, our blogroll was much thinner than it is now.
but one of the very first blogs we proudly put on it was the inestimatable buzzflash, the king of the early lefty blogs.
as the years rolled on, however, we were forced by our own policy of not linking to any blog that didn't reciprocate, to remove buzzflash from our roll.
but we are literally hopping with joy to announce that, after mutually-beneficial negotiations w/mark karlin, the editor & publisher of buzzflash, both blogs will now list each other on their respective blogrolls.
we're quite happy to put buzzflash back on our roll, and we're extremely excited to be on their list of blogs.
and we would humbly ask our dear readers to visit buzzflash on a regular basis.
but one of the very first blogs we proudly put on it was the inestimatable buzzflash, the king of the early lefty blogs.
as the years rolled on, however, we were forced by our own policy of not linking to any blog that didn't reciprocate, to remove buzzflash from our roll.
but we are literally hopping with joy to announce that, after mutually-beneficial negotiations w/mark karlin, the editor & publisher of buzzflash, both blogs will now list each other on their respective blogrolls.
we're quite happy to put buzzflash back on our roll, and we're extremely excited to be on their list of blogs.
and we would humbly ask our dear readers to visit buzzflash on a regular basis.
Labels: blogtopia
say hello
to left in aboite.
Labels: say hello
the write guard
skippy walked the wga picket line yesterday at twentieth century fox (that name is so last millennium!) to observe the screen actors guild/writers guild unity rally. and we will show you a few pix of the event later in this post.
while on the line, skippy talked to many of his actor and writer friends, and, as with other venues in hollywood these days, the mood was upbeat and optimistic. more than once skippy has heard that the strike will be over within a couple of weeks.
now, of course, those are just rumors, and if you want to know how far relying on rumors can get you, just ask jason leopold.
still, there are some positive signs. for instance, our go-to girl for all things hollywood, nikki finke (back after an illness), is also reporting positive rumblings:
the question remains, as nikki pointed out, will the offer be good enough for the writers, and, by extension, next june for the actors?
meanwhile as promised, here some pix from yesterday's sag-wga rally in front of 20th century fox:
across busy pico blvd., the picketers walk in front of fox
tents set up for check-in, free swag (skippy got a tee shirt!) and
snacks and drinks
sag president alan rosenberg fires up the troops
the troops getting fired up
a bald larry miller cracks up the crowd
skippy's strike buddy anne marie johnson, star of
tv's in the heat of the night
the speakers smile for the camera...that's susan grant of the
sag board between anne marie and larry ...we don't know who
the two guys on the left end are, so sue us
we thought it ironic at the time, but now a bunch of picketers
in front of a poster for "the moment of truth" doesn't really
make the impact we thought it would. c'est la guerre!
this one's left over from a picket line last month in front of nbc...we just found it on our digital camera! we missed it until now! these con-danged new fangled machines! with their usb ports and bytes and bits! who can keep up with this technology anyway? you know the weather's all goofy now because of all the stuff the astronauts left on the moon! you kids get off my lawn!
addendum: via the culture ghost, here's yahoo's tally of new episodes left for your favorite series...the official result as of today? zero. and even if a contract is agreed upon tomorrow, it will still take a couple weeks for the membership to ratify it, and, with production schedules, the soonest you could hope to see a new episode of anything is april, by which time the season will be winding down.
(exception: for some reason, very probably strike-related, abc has chosen to wait until january 31st (two nites from now) to begin the new season of lost.)
while on the line, skippy talked to many of his actor and writer friends, and, as with other venues in hollywood these days, the mood was upbeat and optimistic. more than once skippy has heard that the strike will be over within a couple of weeks.
now, of course, those are just rumors, and if you want to know how far relying on rumors can get you, just ask jason leopold.
still, there are some positive signs. for instance, our go-to girl for all things hollywood, nikki finke (back after an illness), is also reporting positive rumblings:
i'm told the informal writer-mogul meetings are going "in a positive direction" enough so that it's beginning to look possible for the academy awards to proceed normally. friday's was an especially productive session, i've learned. "i feel optimistic. in my opinion, today was productive and collaborative and respectful. i thought it was a very good day," an insider told me…
i can tell you that since tuesday [peter chernin, chairman and ceo. of fox] has been telling insiders that the moguls have decided to let the wga leadership (yes, even the guy they all hate -- dave young, who was in today's session) "declare a face-saving victory" in order to get a deal done. yesterday chernin…was reassuring people, "don't worry. it's done." my info is that it's far from done yet, but things are looking up to the point that one of my sources thinks this could get settled in time to hold a real oscars. sure, we've all been here before and seen talks break down after a few optimistic days. but now, according to my insiders, the moguls finally want a deal as much as the writers. will the deal be good enough?
this is great news, even if it's not actual news, but gossip.i can tell you that since tuesday [peter chernin, chairman and ceo. of fox] has been telling insiders that the moguls have decided to let the wga leadership (yes, even the guy they all hate -- dave young, who was in today's session) "declare a face-saving victory" in order to get a deal done. yesterday chernin…was reassuring people, "don't worry. it's done." my info is that it's far from done yet, but things are looking up to the point that one of my sources thinks this could get settled in time to hold a real oscars. sure, we've all been here before and seen talks break down after a few optimistic days. but now, according to my insiders, the moguls finally want a deal as much as the writers. will the deal be good enough?
the question remains, as nikki pointed out, will the offer be good enough for the writers, and, by extension, next june for the actors?
meanwhile as promised, here some pix from yesterday's sag-wga rally in front of 20th century fox:
across busy pico blvd., the picketers walk in front of fox
tents set up for check-in, free swag (skippy got a tee shirt!) and
snacks and drinks
sag president alan rosenberg fires up the troops
the troops getting fired up
a bald larry miller cracks up the crowd
skippy's strike buddy anne marie johnson, star of
tv's in the heat of the night
the speakers smile for the camera...that's susan grant of the
sag board between anne marie and larry ...we don't know who
the two guys on the left end are, so sue us
we thought it ironic at the time, but now a bunch of picketers
in front of a poster for "the moment of truth" doesn't really
make the impact we thought it would. c'est la guerre!
this one's left over from a picket line last month in front of nbc...we just found it on our digital camera! we missed it until now! these con-danged new fangled machines! with their usb ports and bytes and bits! who can keep up with this technology anyway? you know the weather's all goofy now because of all the stuff the astronauts left on the moon! you kids get off my lawn!
addendum: via the culture ghost, here's yahoo's tally of new episodes left for your favorite series...the official result as of today? zero. and even if a contract is agreed upon tomorrow, it will still take a couple weeks for the membership to ratify it, and, with production schedules, the soonest you could hope to see a new episode of anything is april, by which time the season will be winding down.
(exception: for some reason, very probably strike-related, abc has chosen to wait until january 31st (two nites from now) to begin the new season of lost.)
Labels: entertainment, hollywood, labor, movies, pop culture, television, writers strike
it's time to vote
for our bud, resident bush, and their new site 2much cat.com in the ellen show's contest for your favorite unsung websites.
Labels: blogtopia, pop culture
blogging around
agitprop tells us that elizabeth cheney, dick's other daughter, hearts mitt;
the drum major institute responds to the sotu;
stirling newberry at the agonist does the same;
pam, she of the house-blend, hates the new buzzword "post-racial;"
kevin examines cronyism in iraq over at the american street;
texas liberal gives us the history of california's presidential primary;
and the vanity press has a musical message for rudy 9iu11ani.
the drum major institute responds to the sotu;
stirling newberry at the agonist does the same;
pam, she of the house-blend, hates the new buzzword "post-racial;"
kevin examines cronyism in iraq over at the american street;
texas liberal gives us the history of california's presidential primary;
and the vanity press has a musical message for rudy 9iu11ani.
Labels: blogtopia
really off-broadway
any black in a storm
logan murphy, over at c&l, captures yet another prime example of tweety matthews contortion act, where he twists his body in such an extreme fashion that he can actually stick his foot in his mouth:
who will rid us of this meddlesome pundit?
(tip of the kangaroo tail to make them accountable for the link!)
matthews:”…and i have to think given the ethnic, you know, excitement - let’s call it american excitement about barack obama. if he doesn’t make it to the nomination a lot of people on the republican side might say, well why don’t we try do something to offset that and take advantage of the hope of having an african american at a high level of government.”
you read that right. even putting aside the absurd idea that condaleeza rice could generate the kind of interest that barack obama has been creating (hell, even putting aside the idea that she could generate the kind of interest ron paul has been creating), the concept that she could ride the wave of "ethnic excitement" simply because she's the same race as obama is beyond bigoted. it's simplistic and stupid, and it assumes that the voters of america are as stupid as the idea itself.who will rid us of this meddlesome pundit?
(tip of the kangaroo tail to make them accountable for the link!)
Labels: condaleeza, matthews, multi-millionaire media, obama, punditry, racism
Monday, January 28, 2008
skippy's monday nite music club
berliner philharmonic, conducted by abbado - rossini's william tell overture
(the second half, the good part)
Labels: skippy's music club
blogging around
liza thinks billary makes ms. clinton look weak over at the culture kitchen;
my two sense has a couple of great cartoons of the day;
the archpundit points out that black voters tend, as a group, to "break late" for candidates;
jvoices tells us about the campaign to plant trees of reconcilliation in palestine;
the democratic veteran examines huckabee's dog-whistle racism;
turning maine blue finds a gop policy that has increased birth control prices for college students by some 300%;
sharon cobb muses that rudy 9iu11ani will be out of the race after tomorrow;
is that legal? worries that malkin's alternate reality conventional wisdom is seeping upwards into legitimate scholarly analysis;
capitol annex discovers one texas supreme court justice taking a road trip instead of attending to the backlog of cases before the court;
greatscat! details the dropping criteria for getting into today's army;
uppity wisconsin, in preparation for tonite's sotu, looks at last year's sotu;
the right's field sez that mccain's a liar;
and man eegee needs a hug!
my two sense has a couple of great cartoons of the day;
the archpundit points out that black voters tend, as a group, to "break late" for candidates;
jvoices tells us about the campaign to plant trees of reconcilliation in palestine;
the democratic veteran examines huckabee's dog-whistle racism;
turning maine blue finds a gop policy that has increased birth control prices for college students by some 300%;
sharon cobb muses that rudy 9iu11ani will be out of the race after tomorrow;
is that legal? worries that malkin's alternate reality conventional wisdom is seeping upwards into legitimate scholarly analysis;
capitol annex discovers one texas supreme court justice taking a road trip instead of attending to the backlog of cases before the court;
greatscat! details the dropping criteria for getting into today's army;
uppity wisconsin, in preparation for tonite's sotu, looks at last year's sotu;
the right's field sez that mccain's a liar;
and man eegee needs a hug!
Labels: blogtopia
three kennedys, no waiting!
sen. ted, along w/son patrick (and niece caroline saturday) endorses obama:
both the clintons and their allies had pressed mr. kennedy for weeks to remain neutral in the democratic race, but mr. kennedy had become increasingly disenchanted with the tone of the clinton campaign, aides said. he and former president bill clinton had a heated telephone exchange earlier this month over what mr. kennedy considered misleading statements by mr. clinton about mr. obama, as well as his injection of race into the campaign.
mr. kennedy called mr. clinton sunday to tell him of his decision.
the endorsement, which followed a public appeal on mr. obama’s behalf by caroline kennedy, the daughter of president john f. kennedy, was a blow to the clinton campaign and pits leading members of the nation’s most prominent democratic families against one another.
mr. kennedy, a major figure in party politics for more than 40 years, intends to campaign aggressively for mr. obama, beginning with an appearance and rally with him in washington on monday. he will be introduced by ms. kennedy.
interesting, and more than a little condescending, that kennedy called bill and not hillary to give the news.mr. kennedy called mr. clinton sunday to tell him of his decision.
the endorsement, which followed a public appeal on mr. obama’s behalf by caroline kennedy, the daughter of president john f. kennedy, was a blow to the clinton campaign and pits leading members of the nation’s most prominent democratic families against one another.
mr. kennedy, a major figure in party politics for more than 40 years, intends to campaign aggressively for mr. obama, beginning with an appearance and rally with him in washington on monday. he will be introduced by ms. kennedy.
Labels: clinton, democrats, hillary, obama, prez campaign
housing bubbles...in my wine...
via seeing the forest, things are still looking bad for the housing markets. asspress:
sales of new homes plunged by a record amount in 2007 while prices posted the weakest showing in 16 years, demonstrating the troubles builders are facing with a huge backlog of unsold homes.
the commerce department reported monday that sales of new homes dropped by 26.4 percent last year to 774,000. that marked the worst sales year on record, surpassing the old mark of a 23.1 percent plunge in 1980.
the government reported that the median price of a new home barely budged last year, edging up a slight 0.2 percent to $246,900, the poorest showing since prices fell by 2.4 percent during the 1991 housing downturn.
the new report reinforced the view that housing is currently undergoing its worst downturn in more than two decades, with the slump threatening to surpass in some ways the severe housing recession of the early 1980s.
the housing weakness has dragged down overall growth and sent shockwaves through the rest of the economy including the financial sector, which is dealing with billions of dollars in losses in subprime mortgages. some analysts are worried that the fallout could become so severe it will drag the entire country into a recession.
for example: tho, as of this writing, the dow is up today, it hasn't been doing so well this last couple of months:the commerce department reported monday that sales of new homes dropped by 26.4 percent last year to 774,000. that marked the worst sales year on record, surpassing the old mark of a 23.1 percent plunge in 1980.
the government reported that the median price of a new home barely budged last year, edging up a slight 0.2 percent to $246,900, the poorest showing since prices fell by 2.4 percent during the 1991 housing downturn.
the new report reinforced the view that housing is currently undergoing its worst downturn in more than two decades, with the slump threatening to surpass in some ways the severe housing recession of the early 1980s.
the housing weakness has dragged down overall growth and sent shockwaves through the rest of the economy including the financial sector, which is dealing with billions of dollars in losses in subprime mortgages. some analysts are worried that the fallout could become so severe it will drag the entire country into a recession.
fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy ride!
Labels: economy, housing bubble, recession
una ópera española del jabón: como la cabina de votación da vuelta
blogging star
susie madrak of suburban guerilla will be interviewed (by phone) on C-SPAN tonite "around 10:30," she tells us.
apparently they are looking for blogger reactions. to what, she didn't specify. but we're sure she'll have a reaction worth listening to.
apparently they are looking for blogger reactions. to what, she didn't specify. but we're sure she'll have a reaction worth listening to.
Labels: blogtopia, multi-millionaire media
Sunday, January 27, 2008
skippy's sunday nite music club
in honor of the screen actors guild awards tonite, and for the striking writers...
ethel merman - there's no business like show business
along w/donald o'connor, dan dailey, mitzi gaynor and johnny ray doing some acting at the end.
ethel merman - there's no business like show business
along w/donald o'connor, dan dailey, mitzi gaynor and johnny ray doing some acting at the end.
Labels: skippy's music club
shell oil
admits to end of global oil shell game
world demand for oil and gas will outstrip supply within seven years, according to royal dutch shell.
the oil multinational is predicting that conventional supplies will not keep pace with soaring population growth and the rapid pace of economic development.
jeroen van der veer, shell's chief executive, said in an e-mail to the company's staff this week that output of conventional oil and gas was close to peaking. he wrote: "shell estimates that after 2015 supplies of easy-to-access oil and gas will no longer keep up with demand." royaldutchshellplc.com via gristmill
the write deal at the write time
the writers guild has signed another interim deal, this time w/rko pictures, which would have been especially momentous if this was the 1940's. variety:
and one accidental beneficiary from all this brou-ha-ha may be tnt and tbs-tv, whose broadcast of the sag awards tonite could bring the stations very high ratings, in light of the lack of glamour, stars and overly-long acceptance speeches found on the golden globes and peoples choice awards. usatoady:
we miss the golden globes
it's the 13th such deal announced in the past month and comes a day after the guild signed similar agreements with lionsgate and marvel. the interim deals let the companies hire writers under the terms and conditions offered by the wga before formal negotiations collapsed last month.
for the wga, the deals are a way to gain leverage in persuading the congloms to resume formal talks by asserting that the terms are reasonable enough for the indies to accept…
in a joint announcement, rko and the wga said the company's current production schedule, to be announced next week, includes several original screen projects, as well as the financing, production and distribution of a number of new versions of classic films from rko's 1,300-film library.
rko's ceo, ted hartley, said in a statement: "the negotiation with the guild was smooth and business-like; they kept their agreement and we kept ours. it all moved ahead at a steady pace and resulted in good feelings on both sides. this now releases the pent-up energies of the talented executives, producers, and writers at rko. we all are eager to get back to creating great films and innovative programming today."
wga west president patric verrone and wga east president michael winship said in a statement: "in the past, rko gave the world such classics as 'king kong,' 'citizen kane' and 'it's a wonderful life.' now it looks to the future, signing an interim agreement that recognizes fair and respectful compensation for writers on the internet and in new media. we applaud their forward thinking and are pleased to join with them in this agreement."
meanwhile, talks are continuing between the amptp and the wga.for the wga, the deals are a way to gain leverage in persuading the congloms to resume formal talks by asserting that the terms are reasonable enough for the indies to accept…
in a joint announcement, rko and the wga said the company's current production schedule, to be announced next week, includes several original screen projects, as well as the financing, production and distribution of a number of new versions of classic films from rko's 1,300-film library.
rko's ceo, ted hartley, said in a statement: "the negotiation with the guild was smooth and business-like; they kept their agreement and we kept ours. it all moved ahead at a steady pace and resulted in good feelings on both sides. this now releases the pent-up energies of the talented executives, producers, and writers at rko. we all are eager to get back to creating great films and innovative programming today."
wga west president patric verrone and wga east president michael winship said in a statement: "in the past, rko gave the world such classics as 'king kong,' 'citizen kane' and 'it's a wonderful life.' now it looks to the future, signing an interim agreement that recognizes fair and respectful compensation for writers on the internet and in new media. we applaud their forward thinking and are pleased to join with them in this agreement."
and one accidental beneficiary from all this brou-ha-ha may be tnt and tbs-tv, whose broadcast of the sag awards tonite could bring the stations very high ratings, in light of the lack of glamour, stars and overly-long acceptance speeches found on the golden globes and peoples choice awards. usatoady:
the show, to be simulcast on tnt and tbs at 8 p.m. et/pt, has a list of attendees that must have oscar organizers salivating: tom cruise, russell crowe, george clooney, angelina jolie and cate blanchett, to name just a few. as a result, the show will no doubt improve its ratings, which last year reached almost 6 million, its biggest audience since it left network television in 1997.
it's all possible because sag has one of the few awards ceremonies, and the most high-profile, to be granted a waiver by the wga; writers could work on the show, and the guild won't picket.
actors have been staunch supporters of the wga standoff with hollywood studio and network executives, and that could mean some politically charged acceptance speeches.
we just want to see angelina jolie in an evening dress.it's all possible because sag has one of the few awards ceremonies, and the most high-profile, to be granted a waiver by the wga; writers could work on the show, and the guild won't picket.
actors have been staunch supporters of the wga standoff with hollywood studio and network executives, and that could mean some politically charged acceptance speeches.
we miss the golden globes
Labels: entertainment, hollywood, labor, movies, pop culture, television, writers strike
we begin in new york city
environmental stories sunday
since you may not have heard environmental topics bandied around during the debates, here are a few stories for you......
galveston's lead-poisoning rates 10 times the national average. nearly one in five children in galveston has enough lead in their blood to cause learning disabilities and behavioral problems -- an alarming statistic that officials have known for years but have done little to improve. (houston chronicle)
the ocean's biological deserts are expanding. researchers are reporting that the ocean's biological deserts have been expanding, and they are growing much faster than global warming models predict. (science)
scientists say its time to act now to ward off a pollination crisis. at the 28th annual ecological farming conference in monterey thursday, scientists discussed the possible causes of the steep loss of honeybee colonies nationwide in 2007. (santa cruz sentinel)
drink up, pay up. It may be a harsh reality, but three droughts in 10 years ought to convince cities that the era of cheap drinking water is past. (raleigh news & observer)
oh, and remember katrina?
storm survivors face hard choices in new orleans. after katrina, as much as eight feet of water poured through the gentilly neighborhood of new orleans. what used to be a lush, residential neighborhood is now a mix of construction sites, vacant lots and empty buildings. (weekend edition)
katrina housing aid going to port. mississippi's plan to divert $600 million in hurricane housing relief to a port expansion project won federal approval friday, despite vigorous opposition from those who said the needs of thousands of people displaced by hurricane katrina had not been met. (los angeles times)
galveston's lead-poisoning rates 10 times the national average. nearly one in five children in galveston has enough lead in their blood to cause learning disabilities and behavioral problems -- an alarming statistic that officials have known for years but have done little to improve. (houston chronicle)
the ocean's biological deserts are expanding. researchers are reporting that the ocean's biological deserts have been expanding, and they are growing much faster than global warming models predict. (science)
scientists say its time to act now to ward off a pollination crisis. at the 28th annual ecological farming conference in monterey thursday, scientists discussed the possible causes of the steep loss of honeybee colonies nationwide in 2007. (santa cruz sentinel)
drink up, pay up. It may be a harsh reality, but three droughts in 10 years ought to convince cities that the era of cheap drinking water is past. (raleigh news & observer)
oh, and remember katrina?
storm survivors face hard choices in new orleans. after katrina, as much as eight feet of water poured through the gentilly neighborhood of new orleans. what used to be a lush, residential neighborhood is now a mix of construction sites, vacant lots and empty buildings. (weekend edition)
katrina housing aid going to port. mississippi's plan to divert $600 million in hurricane housing relief to a port expansion project won federal approval friday, despite vigorous opposition from those who said the needs of thousands of people displaced by hurricane katrina had not been met. (los angeles times)
Labels: environment
totally irrelevant question of the day...
what should the mockingbird's medley theme song be?
i'm looking for suggestions. "deteriorata" seems like an appropriate choice, but there may be better ones. let's find out...
i'm looking for suggestions. "deteriorata" seems like an appropriate choice, but there may be better ones. let's find out...
Labels: questions
Draft Carnacki logo winner
We have a logo for the Draft Carnacki for President instead of Bloomberg drive. Tip of the hat to Irishkorean.
Details here.
Details here.
Labels: Michael Bloomberg
Saturday, January 26, 2008
skippy's satuday nite music club
tina arena - don't cry for me argentina
tina is an australian pop singer, very big down under, here she does a wonderful job on the a.l. webber standard.
Labels: skippy's music club
skippy's saturday nite music club - bonus trax!
in honor of the culture ghost posting over at mockingbird's medley...
national lampoon (when it was good) - deteriorata
bonus fun fact: the back up singer is (then unknown) melissa manchester!
national lampoon (when it was good) - deteriorata
bonus fun fact: the back up singer is (then unknown) melissa manchester!
Labels: skippy's music club
we think there'd probably be a 87-way tie
ask not what obama can do for you
caroline kennedy endorses barack "to the future" obama in the nytimes:
we are tempted to write "perhaps even the nomination," but we don't count the clintons out just yet.
my reasons are patriotic, political and personal, and the three are intertwined. all my life, people have told me that my father changed their lives, that they got involved in public service or politics because he asked them to. and the generation he inspired has passed that spirit on to its children. i meet young people who were born long after john f. kennedy was president, yet who ask me how to live out his ideals.
sometimes it takes a while to recognize that someone has a special ability to get us to believe in ourselves, to tie that belief to our highest ideals and imagine that together we can do great things. in those rare moments, when such a person comes along, we need to put aside our plans and reach for what we know is possible.
we have that kind of opportunity with senator obama. it isn’t that the other candidates are not experienced or knowledgeable. but this year, that may not be enough. we need a change in the leadership of this country — just as we did in 1960.
coming on the heels of obama's decisive victory in so.carolina -- coupled, in our opinion, with bill "someone get me an intern" clinton's recent boorish behavior, this endorsement should propel sen. obama into some serious victories come super tuesday.sometimes it takes a while to recognize that someone has a special ability to get us to believe in ourselves, to tie that belief to our highest ideals and imagine that together we can do great things. in those rare moments, when such a person comes along, we need to put aside our plans and reach for what we know is possible.
we have that kind of opportunity with senator obama. it isn’t that the other candidates are not experienced or knowledgeable. but this year, that may not be enough. we need a change in the leadership of this country — just as we did in 1960.
we are tempted to write "perhaps even the nomination," but we don't count the clintons out just yet.
Labels: clinton, democrats, hillary, obama, prez campaign, primaries
more proof that skippy luvs you
we don't make you register and come up w/yet another password to participate at this blog...
Labels: blogtopia
somebody get that man an intern and give him something to do!
joe gandelman rips into bill clinton
Labels: clinton, moderate voice, prez campaign
now that's funny
wanna hear something hilarious? c&l has a list of the 100 top stand up comics, and sarah silverman is 25, but george burns is 63...
we tried like hell to come up with a swiffer joke here
obama is wiping the floor w/clinton in so.carolina.
Labels: clinton, hillary, obama, prez campaign, primaries
your penpals need more email
pelosi, in her neverending quest to look like a republican tool, has passed tax cuts for rich people and gone awol for american families losing their homes.
somehow, we are reduced to asking the millionaires' club to stop awol from raiding the treasury again.
my note:
somehow, we are reduced to asking the millionaires' club to stop awol from raiding the treasury again.
my note:
Please vote against against Bush's so-called economic stimulus plan which only comforts the comfortable and manages to afflict the afflicted. If public money is going to act like an insurance fund for banks then I want the banks to start paying taxpayers insurance premiums in the hundreds of billions. If they expect the taxpaying public to share in their risks we need to share in the profit as well.
Labels: action alert, bipartisanship, economy, senate, taxes
blogging around
joe gandelman at the moderate voice asks if hillary clinton is changing the rules on florida and michigan;
it's vidiotspeak's 2nd blogiversary;
attaturk wonders about the proposed tax rebate for each american compared to the cost of the war per iraqi capita;
politicky bitch examines the many ways big oil is killing off marine mammals;
swopa tells us about a liberal advocacy group that plans on spending big $$$ to remind everyone what a miserable failure awol is (as if we needed reminding);
the hyerstandard reminds us that only two month ago sen. clinton was leading sen. obama in so.carolina polls;
betsy at trex digs thru the trash and finds news stories everyone else tossed away;
athena finds the corporate media is starting to swallow up the student press;
and maru the crankpot proudly remembers national blogroll amnesty & blogroll bloodbath rememberance anniversary day.
it's vidiotspeak's 2nd blogiversary;
attaturk wonders about the proposed tax rebate for each american compared to the cost of the war per iraqi capita;
politicky bitch examines the many ways big oil is killing off marine mammals;
swopa tells us about a liberal advocacy group that plans on spending big $$$ to remind everyone what a miserable failure awol is (as if we needed reminding);
the hyerstandard reminds us that only two month ago sen. clinton was leading sen. obama in so.carolina polls;
betsy at trex digs thru the trash and finds news stories everyone else tossed away;
athena finds the corporate media is starting to swallow up the student press;
and maru the crankpot proudly remembers national blogroll amnesty & blogroll bloodbath rememberance anniversary day.
Labels: blogtopia
tap, tap, tap
my senators get emails:
yours should,too.
* fixed spelling error, thanks, tomdurk
come to think of it, how does one spell shredded constitution?
[editors' addendum: linkmeister sent a fax to sen. inouye]
Please do not let George Bush and other law breakers get off with trampling our Constitutional rights. No immunity for telecoms that helped the Bush junta break the law.
yours should,too.
* fixed spelling error, thanks, tomdurk
come to think of it, how does one spell shredded constitution?
[editors' addendum: linkmeister sent a fax to sen. inouye]
Labels: action alert, fisa, senate
Friday, January 25, 2008
skippy's friday nite music club
eli of left i on the news suggests this gem...
randy newman - a few words in defense of our country
randy newman - a few words in defense of our country
Labels: skippy's music club
"oops"
dave johnson at seeing the forest doesn't want a president who has a record of pushing the wrong button.
Labels: obama
if one guy is wrong does that make the other guy write?
readers of this space may remember when we announced that the contract negotiation between the directors guild and the producers had resulted in a tentative agreement. we also mentioned that several of the striking writers thought it might be a good template for resolving their labor dispute. among those writers was the very famous and well-respected john wells, who wrote & produced, among other things, er and the west wing.
however, another famous and well-respected producer/writer, tom fontana (oz, homicide), isn't jumping for joy just yet. united hollywood:
if/when the internet becomes the primary infrastructure for delivering content (anyone watch netflix on demand?), the revenue stream from residuals would dry up for the middle class writers (and actors). and not only will incomes dry up, but then it would become even harder to qualify for pension and health benefits.
(you may remember that we have discussed how residuals from dvd's also fund the benefits of iatse and other below the line workers in hollywood, also.)
keep your fingers crossed that a fair deal may still be struck in the current negotiations.
however, another famous and well-respected producer/writer, tom fontana (oz, homicide), isn't jumping for joy just yet. united hollywood:
but there are a couple items which still trouble me and a number of my writer friends.
1. the original content jurisdiction seems like smoke and mirrors -- how many tv series (made for internet) in the next three years will have a budget of $500,000? the highest budget i've heard for a current production is $350,000.
besides, when has a budget ever come before a script is written? that means while directors will be hired under a dga contract after the script is done and the budget is set, we writers will have no union contract to protect us. wouldn't it be better to require all amptp members to use a wga contract no matter what the budget is?
2. streaming rate confuses me, but i'm no economist (i barely passed high school math). the $1200 seems too little, especially because, despite the bright sunset provision on the horizon, we all know that after our patience over dvds and cable, we will have to live with the concept of a flat rate for the next twenty years.
this won't hurt guys like john or me, because as showrunners, we are also owners. but i wonder how the staff writers and, worse, freelancers will cope. and i find the 17 day / 24 day window to be exploitive, sending us to the well when it has already run dry.
i want the strike to end soon, i'm desperate to get back to work on my new series, but i want a fair deal.
people say the continuation of the strike will destroy our industry. well, if thats true, why are the studios so willing to bring on the apocalypse? maybe in three years we'll have more data about internet revenue, but why can't we be true partners in the uncertainty?
i realize i will be blogged to death but, hey, i can take the hits -- i have wga pension and health care.
tom is lucky. not all writers can maintain the health care offered by the union, as a minimum amount of wga wages per year must be earned to qualify. in fact, the majority of union members don't:1. the original content jurisdiction seems like smoke and mirrors -- how many tv series (made for internet) in the next three years will have a budget of $500,000? the highest budget i've heard for a current production is $350,000.
besides, when has a budget ever come before a script is written? that means while directors will be hired under a dga contract after the script is done and the budget is set, we writers will have no union contract to protect us. wouldn't it be better to require all amptp members to use a wga contract no matter what the budget is?
2. streaming rate confuses me, but i'm no economist (i barely passed high school math). the $1200 seems too little, especially because, despite the bright sunset provision on the horizon, we all know that after our patience over dvds and cable, we will have to live with the concept of a flat rate for the next twenty years.
this won't hurt guys like john or me, because as showrunners, we are also owners. but i wonder how the staff writers and, worse, freelancers will cope. and i find the 17 day / 24 day window to be exploitive, sending us to the well when it has already run dry.
i want the strike to end soon, i'm desperate to get back to work on my new series, but i want a fair deal.
people say the continuation of the strike will destroy our industry. well, if thats true, why are the studios so willing to bring on the apocalypse? maybe in three years we'll have more data about internet revenue, but why can't we be true partners in the uncertainty?
i realize i will be blogged to death but, hey, i can take the hits -- i have wga pension and health care.
as members of wga we'd gathered with a thousand other wga members to listen to speakers including rep. jerry nadler from manhattan and brooklyn, rep. anthony weiner, who represents brooklyn and queens, and democratic presidential candidate john edwards offer support to the writers who were striking against the film studios and tv networks, now mostly owned by international conglomerates.
make no mistake: this was not a strike by millionaire writers looking for second hamptons homes.
this was about a union of 10,500 workers, 2,500 in new york, 50% of whom are unemployed at any given time, middle-class working stiffs averaging $75,000 a year who sit in solitary rooms before intimidating blank screens or in "writers rooms" at major networks toiling for the entertainment of a bored nation and asking only for a fair slice of the hollywood pie.
"it's a feast-or-famine business," says sherry goldman, a spokeswoman for wga east.
"some years a writer earns just $5,000 from residuals. a writer needs to earn $30,000 to qualify for health insurance, which half our members don't qualify for every year. so much for millionaire writers on strike."
this is one primary reason why the writers (and the actors after them) must win residuals for the internet in the current negotiations.make no mistake: this was not a strike by millionaire writers looking for second hamptons homes.
this was about a union of 10,500 workers, 2,500 in new york, 50% of whom are unemployed at any given time, middle-class working stiffs averaging $75,000 a year who sit in solitary rooms before intimidating blank screens or in "writers rooms" at major networks toiling for the entertainment of a bored nation and asking only for a fair slice of the hollywood pie.
"it's a feast-or-famine business," says sherry goldman, a spokeswoman for wga east.
"some years a writer earns just $5,000 from residuals. a writer needs to earn $30,000 to qualify for health insurance, which half our members don't qualify for every year. so much for millionaire writers on strike."
if/when the internet becomes the primary infrastructure for delivering content (anyone watch netflix on demand?), the revenue stream from residuals would dry up for the middle class writers (and actors). and not only will incomes dry up, but then it would become even harder to qualify for pension and health benefits.
(you may remember that we have discussed how residuals from dvd's also fund the benefits of iatse and other below the line workers in hollywood, also.)
keep your fingers crossed that a fair deal may still be struck in the current negotiations.
Labels: entertainment, healthcare, hollywood, internets, labor, movies, technology, television, writers strike
name that toon
remember, national blogroll amnesty & blogroll bloodbath remembrance anniversary day is coming feb. 3!
as our friend jon swift reminds us all, national blogroll amnesty & blogroll bloodbath remembrance anniversary day is coming (at the very end of) next week!
so be kind to a blog with less traffic than yours!
and, in that spirit, we are happy to rectify a gaffe on our part by adding tommyjournal to our blogroll!
tommyjournal has had this humble site on its roll since its inception, and we really should have had them on ours before this.
check out tommyjournal, and all the fine blogs on our roll! do it now! start at the bottom and work up!
addendum: we're also adding wetmachine to our roll!
so be kind to a blog with less traffic than yours!
and, in that spirit, we are happy to rectify a gaffe on our part by adding tommyjournal to our blogroll!
tommyjournal has had this humble site on its roll since its inception, and we really should have had them on ours before this.
check out tommyjournal, and all the fine blogs on our roll! do it now! start at the bottom and work up!
addendum: we're also adding wetmachine to our roll!
Labels: amnesty day, blogtopia, jon swift
blogging around
suburban guerrilla reminds us that there's three, not two, top tier democratic candidates;
lower manhattanite over at the group news blog points out that fred thompson, other than a handful of emails he sent out, didn't even announce he was leaving the race;
gordon finds a piece in which (retired) gen. mccaffrey admits that the us army is unraveling, over at alternate brain;
mediabloodhound tells us that r2-3-d2 is endorsing fellow robot mitt romney;
lower manhattanite over at the group news blog points out that fred thompson, other than a handful of emails he sent out, didn't even announce he was leaving the race;
gordon finds a piece in which (retired) gen. mccaffrey admits that the us army is unraveling, over at alternate brain;
mediabloodhound tells us that r2-3-d2 is endorsing fellow robot mitt romney;
Labels: blogtopia
Draft Carnacki for President!
I just read at Eschaton that billionaire Mike Bloomberg's phony draft campaign has only collected just over 3,000 signatures.
I thought, "What would be the best way to embarrass him?"
And then it struck me: collect more online signatures than him.
Here's my pitch:
Here's where you sign the petition to embarrass Bloomberg.
Here's my qualifications to serve as president:
Yet even with those credentials, I'd still make a better president than Bloomberg. I've never embraced torturers and I've never cheered George W. Bush.
But let's face it: if someone with no money and a horrific reputation can collect more signatures despite Bloomberg's drawn out, phony Unity 08 effort, that would have to be terribly embarrassing to him and his handlers.
That's a good enough reason to sign the petition as any.
UPDATE: The Bloomberg people stopped by.
All anyone needs to know about Bloomberg to disqualify him as president (and there's much more to dislike him for too) is this:
Link.
I thought, "What would be the best way to embarrass him?"
And then it struck me: collect more online signatures than him.
Here's my pitch:
At this point billionaire Mike Bloomberg, despite a massive marketing campaign and phony draft movement for president, has just 3,000 some signatures. I want to show a middleclassed horror blogger with a slighty insane reputation can draw even more signatures.
Here's where you sign the petition to embarrass Bloomberg.
Here's my qualifications to serve as president:
...
Yet even with those credentials, I'd still make a better president than Bloomberg. I've never embraced torturers and I've never cheered George W. Bush.
But let's face it: if someone with no money and a horrific reputation can collect more signatures despite Bloomberg's drawn out, phony Unity 08 effort, that would have to be terribly embarrassing to him and his handlers.
That's a good enough reason to sign the petition as any.
UPDATE: The Bloomberg people stopped by.
All anyone needs to know about Bloomberg to disqualify him as president (and there's much more to dislike him for too) is this:
What New Yorker in 2001 would've imagined that the mayor we then elected would neither act to restore what we lost at ground zero, nor press the president to make good on his "wanted dead or alive" threat or bullhorn promise that "the people who knocked down these towers" would "hear from all of us soon"? Don't we expect the mayor to be our badgering lobbyist in Washington for more than homeland security dollars? Don't we want him asking just what the "smoke 'em out" president meant by "soon"? Don't we all, in fact, think bin Laden still represents a threat, particularly to New York? And isn't Mike Bloomberg's silence a measure of his partisan softness on Bush, one of a plethora of indications that our politically deferential mayor prefers to push the mute button when our memories and our fears demand he turn up the volume?
Bloomberg also recently rebuffed press questions about his position on Iraq, insisting that "it's not a local issue and I don't have anything to say."
Thirty-three dead New Yorkers, a potential trillion dollars in resources diverted from homeland defense, a breeding ground for the subway attack he warned us about a few days ago—none of that makes Mute Mike speak out. Maybe he feels the same way about the linked question of the elusive Osama as he does about the war. Maybe, to Bloomberg, Bush's bin Laden blunder is merely another "foreign policy" matter unrelated to garbage pickup, making it one more pass he's giving a president who traded beards on us, cynically substituting Saddam for the man who killed thousands of our brothers and sisters.
Actually, as quiet as the mayor and his media allies would now like to keep it, Bloomberg has been quite willing to address these issues on and off over his mayoral years, invariably rallying to George Bush's side.
Link.
squirrely blogging friday
question of the day...
where are the hordes of people pressing on the iron fences of the white house, armed with pitchforks, baseball bats, and cattle prods?
Labels: questions
Thursday, January 24, 2008
skippy's thursday nite music club
kucinich drops out, no one cares; thompson drops out, no one notices
dennis "the menace" kucinich ends his bid for the presidency. asspress:
in an interview with cleveland's plain dealer, the six-term house member said he was quitting the race and would make a formal announcement on friday.
"i will be announcing that i'm transitioning out of the presidential campaign," kucinich said. "i'm making that announcement tomorrow about a new direction."
kucinich has received little support in his presidential bid; he got 1 percent of the vote in the new hampshire primary and was shut out in the iowa caucuses. he did have a devoted following.
ok, so maybe somebody did care, but certainly not more than 1%. and to give dennis his props, that's way more than even knew that fred thompson also dropped out. washpost:"i will be announcing that i'm transitioning out of the presidential campaign," kucinich said. "i'm making that announcement tomorrow about a new direction."
kucinich has received little support in his presidential bid; he got 1 percent of the vote in the new hampshire primary and was shut out in the iowa caucuses. he did have a devoted following.
former senator fred thompson (tenn.) bowed to the obvious moments ago, dropping out of the 2008 presidential race in a tersely-worded statement.
"today i have withdrawn my candidacy for president of the united states," read the statement. "i hope that my country and my party have benefited from our having made this effort. jeri and i will always be grateful for the encouragement and friendship of so many wonderful people."
that narrows the political field to now only 5,342 candidates."today i have withdrawn my candidacy for president of the united states," read the statement. "i hope that my country and my party have benefited from our having made this effort. jeri and i will always be grateful for the encouragement and friendship of so many wonderful people."
Labels: fred thompson, kucinich, prez campaign
we've got a hell of a punchline for when gibson dies
thinkprogress tells us that faux news personality john gibson is not only unrepentant about making a distasteful joke about heath ledger's death, he's actually bragging about it:
being comedians ourselves, we agree that there is "no point in passing up a good joke." but what's gibson's excuse?
on his radio show yesterday, fox news host john gibson responded to thinkprogress’ criticism of his comments mocking the death of heath ledger, saying that it was just “a little brokeback mountain joke” and there is “no point in passing up a good joke.”
being comedians ourselves, we agree that there is "no point in passing up a good joke." but what's gibson's excuse?
Labels: faux news, multi-millionaire media, passings
blogging around
politicky bitch weighs in on insurance;
cut to the chase wonders how mike huckabee can maintain a straight face;
monkeyfister sez f*ck the blog nobility over at blah3;
rants from the rookery wonders why people seek longevity in view of the world conditions today (only he does it with a better punchline);
tommyjournal wants to hear some old songs a new way;
enigma4ever liveblogged the repubbb debate;
the art of peace reminds us all that fried squirrel is, for some rural poor people, more than just a joke;
the dem daily details bono's meeting w/al gore at the davos summit;
chickengirl responds to a religious tract;
blogtopus believes he's discovered the difference between clinton supporters and obama supporters;
and kudos to the barefoot bum for his observance of national blogroll amnesty & blogroll bloodbath rememberance anniversary day!
cut to the chase wonders how mike huckabee can maintain a straight face;
monkeyfister sez f*ck the blog nobility over at blah3;
rants from the rookery wonders why people seek longevity in view of the world conditions today (only he does it with a better punchline);
tommyjournal wants to hear some old songs a new way;
enigma4ever liveblogged the repubbb debate;
the art of peace reminds us all that fried squirrel is, for some rural poor people, more than just a joke;
the dem daily details bono's meeting w/al gore at the davos summit;
chickengirl responds to a religious tract;
blogtopus believes he's discovered the difference between clinton supporters and obama supporters;
and kudos to the barefoot bum for his observance of national blogroll amnesty & blogroll bloodbath rememberance anniversary day!
Labels: blogtopia
get ready for higher food prices
because farmers are cashing in on a "non crop"....water.
in a state where water has become an increasingly scarce commodity, a growing number of farmers are betting they can make more money selling their water supplies to thirsty cities and farms to the south than by growing crops.
the shortages this season among the most intense of the last decade are already shooting water prices skyward in many areas, and los angeles-area cities are begging for water and coaxing farmers to let their fields go to dust.
"it just makes dollars and sense right now," said bruce rolen, a third-generation farmer in northern california's lush sacramento valley. "there's more economic advantage to fallowing than raising a crop." - pe.com/ap
Labels: farmers, food supply, water
why edwards got my "vote by mail" vote
"it's wrong for your government to spy on you." - senator john edwards
Labels: domestic spying, john edwards, prez campaign
94
via the modulator, here's
the original 1994 pilot for 24
the original 1994 pilot for 24
Labels: entertainment, pop culture, snark, technology, television
reach out and touch someone
this looks like a worthwhile program: recycle your old cell phones for soldiers.
Labels: action alert, supporting our troops
and watch out for rudy the rabbit - a skippy rant
the war between blacks and women continues in the media. cnn reports that obama backer accuses bill clinton of suppressing vote:
people, people, people! that’s just the attitude we don’t need! sure, the republicans have beaten us the last two presidential elections. sure, they’re dirty campaigners. they’ve got the best advertising money can buy. hell, every candidate they’ve got running has their own personal fact masseuse. not masseur. masseuse. but it doesn’t matter.
did you know that every republican candidate has a direct line to the conservative media infrastructure which they check every 48 hours to see if there's any change in their poll numbers? do you know they use the most sophisticated dog-whistle political methods from karl rove, lee atwater and scooter libby?
but it doesn't matter. it just doesn't matter. we tell you it just doesn’t matter! it just doesn’t matter!
even...even if we win...if we win, hah! even if we win! even if we campaign so far above our expectations that our noses bleed for a week to ten days; even if god in heaven above comes down and points his hand at our side of the electorate; even if every man woman and child held hands together and prayed for us to win, it just wouldn’t matter because all the really good looking girls would still go out with the republicans because they’ve got all the money! it just doesn’t matter if we win or we lose. it just doesn’t matter! it just doesn’t matter!
everybody: it just doesn’t matter! it just doesn’t matter! it just doesn’t matter!
in an interview with cnn, dick harpootlian, a former chairman of the south carolina democratic party and an obama backer, said some of clinton's recent remarks on the campaign trail were appeals based on race and gender, meant to "suppress the vote, demoralize voters and distort the record."
on the other hand, the nytimjes sez that bill clinton accuses obama camp of stirring race issue:scolding a reporter, mr. clinton said the obama campaign was “feeding” the news media to keep issues of race alive, obscuring positive coverage of the presidential campaign here of senator hillary rodham clinton of new york.
“they know this is what you want to cover,” mr. clinton told a cnn reporter in charleston, in an apparent reference to the obama campaign.
“shame on you,” the former president added.
may we take a moment to try to interject some calm into this media-fed frenzy?“they know this is what you want to cover,” mr. clinton told a cnn reporter in charleston, in an apparent reference to the obama campaign.
“shame on you,” the former president added.
people, people, people! that’s just the attitude we don’t need! sure, the republicans have beaten us the last two presidential elections. sure, they’re dirty campaigners. they’ve got the best advertising money can buy. hell, every candidate they’ve got running has their own personal fact masseuse. not masseur. masseuse. but it doesn’t matter.
did you know that every republican candidate has a direct line to the conservative media infrastructure which they check every 48 hours to see if there's any change in their poll numbers? do you know they use the most sophisticated dog-whistle political methods from karl rove, lee atwater and scooter libby?
but it doesn't matter. it just doesn't matter. we tell you it just doesn’t matter! it just doesn’t matter!
even...even if we win...if we win, hah! even if we win! even if we campaign so far above our expectations that our noses bleed for a week to ten days; even if god in heaven above comes down and points his hand at our side of the electorate; even if every man woman and child held hands together and prayed for us to win, it just wouldn’t matter because all the really good looking girls would still go out with the republicans because they’ve got all the money! it just doesn’t matter if we win or we lose. it just doesn’t matter! it just doesn’t matter!
everybody: it just doesn’t matter! it just doesn’t matter! it just doesn’t matter!
Labels: clinton, democrats, gop, hillary, movies, obama, prez campaign, snark
existential question of the day...
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
skippy's wednesday nite music club
a paul falls over the room
watching the watchers asks what attracts racists to ron paul?
but most of all, if you ask me, the attraction of the racists to candidate paul is explained by the fact that paul's policies, if ever enacted, would leave minorities completely without the protection of the federal government, the very unit that has been crucial to bestowing equality and enforcing that equality against the very folks who populate the racist groups. if candidate paul had his policies fully enacted, there would be no anti-discrimination laws, there would be no hate crime laws, and there would be a ton of heavily armed, angry white males looking to get even for past "grievances" they perceive to have been inflicted on their race.
and i wondered why it is that the racist groups have no trouble understanding that this would be the consequences of paul's policies, while paul, lew rockwell, and the other mises institute intellects claim not to see that at all. then i remembered: these people don't see "groups" they only see individuals. and, apparently, when they look into their crystal ball, they see only one crazed armed individual facing off with another crazed armed individual.
and wouldn't the "market" solve that problem by leaving one of those individuals dead, thus out of the equation.
that's the free market system!
and i wondered why it is that the racist groups have no trouble understanding that this would be the consequences of paul's policies, while paul, lew rockwell, and the other mises institute intellects claim not to see that at all. then i remembered: these people don't see "groups" they only see individuals. and, apparently, when they look into their crystal ball, they see only one crazed armed individual facing off with another crazed armed individual.
and wouldn't the "market" solve that problem by leaving one of those individuals dead, thus out of the equation.
we agree
michael j.w. stickikngs at the reaction sez john gibson is an asshole.
Labels: faux news, multi-millionaire media
things that make you go....
eeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwww.......
bizarre experiments: why did they do that? researchers have isolated the bacteria in the stomach lining of kangaroos whose anal gas contains no methane, a greenhouse gas far more damaging than carbon dioxide. adding kangaroo abdominal bacteria to cattle feed, the researchers hope they could create cattle herds with much lower carbon footprints. - saturday star
try not to eat the back up chorus
we disagree w/askmen.com on the top 10 car commercials of 2007...this one for jeep liberty should be number one:
Labels: advertising, animals, capitalism, music, snark
memo: don't be a jerk
to: patrick goldstein, latimes
from: skippy, sag member
re: your recent column
well, it really rains when it pours, doesn't it? it's easy to toss out hyperbole without actually dealing in facts, especially when you don't even bother to mention the latest (and quite available) news that makes the one side look good when you're trying to make them look bad.
don't get me wrong. you've tossed a few crumbs to the wga in your columns during this current labor action. and i'm sure the guild appreciates it.
but you don't really don't expect everyone to buy your adulation of the dga's negotiation, as if it was gil cates that got the amptp to offer residuals for internet usage, and not the prospect of an oscar-less february. do you?
oh, sure, john wells praised the dga settlement, and yes, he used to be president of the wga. but now he's a...what was that again? oh yes. a producer. but, you didn't need to include that fact in your cute letter, because that would have given some context that would have destroyed your clever repartee.
speaking of which, your whole "letter" to partic verrone was predicated on the implication that the wga members are itching to get back to the negotiating table, but mr. verrone, for some unexplained reason, needs convincing. "you need to act more like a statesman than a street fighter," you urge.
what i don't understand is what makes you think verrone was being so obstinate. as anybody who bothered to read any of the internet sites about the strike (united hollywood, nikke finke) this last weekend would know, informal talks had been arranged between the amptp and the wga. but again, including that information would have destroyed your cute approach of "scolding" the guild in your letter. couldn't have that!
i won't get into the specifics of why a contract that might be good for a guild of one set of workers with one set of skills and needs, may or may not be good for a completely different set of workers with a completely different set of skills and needs. only an idiot couldn't see that premise to be true on the very face of it. oh, sorry, was i being condescending there?
and, i love your hard-hitting yet sage advice to patric: "you should go back to the table and make the studios pledge not to leave, like they did before, until you have a deal." gee, why didn't the wga think of that? this whole sordid, bloody mess could have been avoided, if only patric verrone would have "made" the studios "pledge" not to leave! it's all so simple! (oh, there's that condescending attitude again! sorry!)
and, as to your advice not to "take on the grammys"...sorry, i had to take a minute to pick myself up from the floor, where i fell over laughing. aside from the fact that that beyonce and the foo fighters lead a group of musicians announcing they would show up at the grammys irrespective of any action by the wga (who, by the way, have chosen not to picket), tom petty pretty much summed up the industry's feelings about the whole thing in the associated press story, which quoted him as saying "i've never met a musician who gave a damn about the grammys, actually."
that's right, patrick. the only people that care about the grammys broadcast are music industry moguls (read: producers) and people who watch tv for a living (read: tv critics).
but i've got to give you credit for the best back-handed motivational image i've read in many a year. urging mr. verrone to go back to the negotiating table lest he be compared to yassir arafat...that's golden! what better way to set yourself up as the pure one, than to label someone you're trying to scold as a terrorist? i salute you sir, for snark so slimey that it recalls the best work of karl rove.
oh, sorry, was i being condescending again?
from: skippy, sag member
re: your recent column
well, it really rains when it pours, doesn't it? it's easy to toss out hyperbole without actually dealing in facts, especially when you don't even bother to mention the latest (and quite available) news that makes the one side look good when you're trying to make them look bad.
don't get me wrong. you've tossed a few crumbs to the wga in your columns during this current labor action. and i'm sure the guild appreciates it.
but you don't really don't expect everyone to buy your adulation of the dga's negotiation, as if it was gil cates that got the amptp to offer residuals for internet usage, and not the prospect of an oscar-less february. do you?
oh, sure, john wells praised the dga settlement, and yes, he used to be president of the wga. but now he's a...what was that again? oh yes. a producer. but, you didn't need to include that fact in your cute letter, because that would have given some context that would have destroyed your clever repartee.
speaking of which, your whole "letter" to partic verrone was predicated on the implication that the wga members are itching to get back to the negotiating table, but mr. verrone, for some unexplained reason, needs convincing. "you need to act more like a statesman than a street fighter," you urge.
what i don't understand is what makes you think verrone was being so obstinate. as anybody who bothered to read any of the internet sites about the strike (united hollywood, nikke finke) this last weekend would know, informal talks had been arranged between the amptp and the wga. but again, including that information would have destroyed your cute approach of "scolding" the guild in your letter. couldn't have that!
i won't get into the specifics of why a contract that might be good for a guild of one set of workers with one set of skills and needs, may or may not be good for a completely different set of workers with a completely different set of skills and needs. only an idiot couldn't see that premise to be true on the very face of it. oh, sorry, was i being condescending there?
and, i love your hard-hitting yet sage advice to patric: "you should go back to the table and make the studios pledge not to leave, like they did before, until you have a deal." gee, why didn't the wga think of that? this whole sordid, bloody mess could have been avoided, if only patric verrone would have "made" the studios "pledge" not to leave! it's all so simple! (oh, there's that condescending attitude again! sorry!)
and, as to your advice not to "take on the grammys"...sorry, i had to take a minute to pick myself up from the floor, where i fell over laughing. aside from the fact that that beyonce and the foo fighters lead a group of musicians announcing they would show up at the grammys irrespective of any action by the wga (who, by the way, have chosen not to picket), tom petty pretty much summed up the industry's feelings about the whole thing in the associated press story, which quoted him as saying "i've never met a musician who gave a damn about the grammys, actually."
that's right, patrick. the only people that care about the grammys broadcast are music industry moguls (read: producers) and people who watch tv for a living (read: tv critics).
but i've got to give you credit for the best back-handed motivational image i've read in many a year. urging mr. verrone to go back to the negotiating table lest he be compared to yassir arafat...that's golden! what better way to set yourself up as the pure one, than to label someone you're trying to scold as a terrorist? i salute you sir, for snark so slimey that it recalls the best work of karl rove.
oh, sorry, was i being condescending again?
Labels: labor, multi-millionaire media, writers strike
reality-based study is biased towards reality
upsetting the hardly-ever-right quite a bit is the release of the news that awol lied:
but it gets better. after the captain dismisses the information because of funding bias, he goes on to point out that all the information was already available:
which is it, captain? suspect information because lefty's funded the folks that compiled it, or old information that everyone already knew? is the info invalid because of who signs the paychecks, or is it valid but redundant?
one might think that the premise of one arguement destroys the validity of the other.
or not, we suppose. the hardly-ever-right wing bravely continues to guard against old, sorry, we mean suspectly-funded, information! they must protect the people! the people who need people!
they're the luckiest people in the world!
a study by two nonprofit journalism organizations found that president bush and top administration officials issued hundreds of false statements about the national security threat from iraq in the two years following the 2001 terrorist attacks.
the study concluded that the statements "were part of an orchestrated campaign that effectively galvanized public opinion and, in the process, led the nation to war under decidedly false pretenses."
the study was posted tuesday on the web site of the center for public integrity, which worked with the fund for independence in journalism.
the hardly-ever-right wing points out that the center for public integrity is partially funded by the streisand foundation, which makes it suspect. we kid you not.the study concluded that the statements "were part of an orchestrated campaign that effectively galvanized public opinion and, in the process, led the nation to war under decidedly false pretenses."
the study was posted tuesday on the web site of the center for public integrity, which worked with the fund for independence in journalism.
nowhere in these articles do either news organization bother to inform their reader of the partisan nature of the cpi. besides soros, it gets financing from the streisand foundation, the ford foundation, and the los angeles times foundation.
oh, no! the los angeles times? the ford foundation? barbra streisand???but it gets better. after the captain dismisses the information because of funding bias, he goes on to point out that all the information was already available:
dafydd at big lizards does a good job of pulling apart the supposed quotes that cpi used to blow some hot air into the limp "bush lied" meme, but even the new york times wasn't impressed:
that's right. the information is suspect because lefty's put it together, and everybody knew it already anyway.there is no startling new information in the archive, because all the documents have been published previously.
which is it, captain? suspect information because lefty's funded the folks that compiled it, or old information that everyone already knew? is the info invalid because of who signs the paychecks, or is it valid but redundant?
one might think that the premise of one arguement destroys the validity of the other.
or not, we suppose. the hardly-ever-right wing bravely continues to guard against old, sorry, we mean suspectly-funded, information! they must protect the people! the people who need people!
they're the luckiest people in the world!
Labels: aWol, iraq, right hypocrisy
forget the mud slinging....
it's dirt we should be looking for.
the lowdown on dirt: it's disappearing. while many worry about the potential consequences of atmospheric warming, a few experts are trying to call attention to another global crisis quietly taking place under our feet. - seattle post-intelligencer
Labels: environment, global warming
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
skippy's tuesday nite music club
afghan whigs - miles iz dead - live!
we just like writing the words "dead - live!" in succession...
addendum: speaking of music on tuesday nite, our blog buddy alicia morgan of last left turn before hooterville will be appearing tonite at the lighthouse cafe in hermosa beach. she'll be playing keyboards and singing with, as she says,
with the fabulous blues guitarist/singer dave widow, along with the baddest rhythm section i've ever had the privilege to work with - the legendary james gadson on drums and the world-famous gerald johnson on bass. if you don't know who these guys are, just google. if you're a blues fan or just a music fan, treat yourself to an evening at the lighthouse
Labels: skippy's music club
flame on!
sometimes we wished we got flame wars in our comments, because then it meant that somebody actually read our blog.
on the other hand, such things can be messy. digby has cut off her comment section to avoid such:
so we can relate to the passion, and sometimes lack of perspective, of the voters in this presidential campaign. but we really mourn the lack of comments on digby's fine blog.
because it's one of the best blogwhoring venues we have, and now we'll just have to got to crooks&liars more.
on the other hand, such things can be messy. digby has cut off her comment section to avoid such:
i've been doing this for five years and i've taken enough controversial stances to have received my share of commenter ire. i even have a couple of internet stalkers. but i've never had to deal with the kind of abuse to which many others have been subjected, so i'm not complaining. my regular commenters are the greatest. it just got a little bit too heated and i don't have the inclination to referee flame war, which is what i would take.
a lot of criticism has come my way recently because i won't "endorse" anyone and this has led to people making assumptions about my position. but the truth really is that i am not invested in any of the candidates…
i've been closely following the sexist treatment of hillary clinton in the press --- i always monitor the media narratives and this one was indisputably powerful and instructive. (eric boehlert has a column up about the tweety effect today.) and i've also been critical of some of obama's post-partisan rhetoric because i just disagree with it as a matter of strategic principle, even as i understand why he is doing it. those two things seem to have led readers to believe that i am a biased, possibly paid, closet clinton shill, which is what turned the comment section into a war zone.
we understand. tho we haven't had anything close to a "flame war," we have had an obama supporter totally dismiss our post on how the mmm creates a false framing of racism as somehow negative towards obama (when the very next post was about how the senator actually won more delegates in nevada than sen. clinton).a lot of criticism has come my way recently because i won't "endorse" anyone and this has led to people making assumptions about my position. but the truth really is that i am not invested in any of the candidates…
i've been closely following the sexist treatment of hillary clinton in the press --- i always monitor the media narratives and this one was indisputably powerful and instructive. (eric boehlert has a column up about the tweety effect today.) and i've also been critical of some of obama's post-partisan rhetoric because i just disagree with it as a matter of strategic principle, even as i understand why he is doing it. those two things seem to have led readers to believe that i am a biased, possibly paid, closet clinton shill, which is what turned the comment section into a war zone.
so we can relate to the passion, and sometimes lack of perspective, of the voters in this presidential campaign. but we really mourn the lack of comments on digby's fine blog.
because it's one of the best blogwhoring venues we have, and now we'll just have to got to crooks&liars more.
Labels: blogtopia, digby, prez campaign, technology
then he does the macarena for hispanic crowds
mitt shows us just how un-hip mormons can be:
mitt romney was greeted warmly by a largely african-american crowd at the martin luther king, jr. holiday parade in jacksonville. he shook hands with several dozen parade-goers and even hugged a few of them.
as he posed for a picture with a group of young people, the typically old-fashioned romney was relaxed enough to quote from a popular hit single from a few years back.
“who let the dogs out?” he called out, as he stood there beaming in his shirt and tie. “who! who!”
oh yes he did:as he posed for a picture with a group of young people, the typically old-fashioned romney was relaxed enough to quote from a popular hit single from a few years back.
“who let the dogs out?” he called out, as he stood there beaming in his shirt and tie. “who! who!”
Labels: gop, mitt, pop culture, prez campaign, snark
take us out of the ball game
eccentricity wonders where congress's priorities are.
maybe "unquitting," maybe not...
i don't really know. although the fact that this post exists suggests i've already "unquit." still...
that was a democratic primary?
i understand that the repulsicans must pay homage to reagan while pandering for votes but democrats?
obama:
clinton:
no mention that the reason grandma has to eat cat food is reagan and greenspan cut social security benefits while raising the social security taxes and called it "saving social security"?
no mention of ronnie's posse and their role in giving aid to terrorists in exchange for holding americans hostage until after the 1980 election?
no criticism of the repulsican shell game of shifting taxes to working americans while calling them tax cuts?
if this is how obama and clinton play to their base what do they have in store for us when they need to give repulsicans a reach around?
obama:
He tapped into what people were already feeling, which is, we want clarity, we want optimism, we want, you know, a return to that sense of dynamism and, you know, entrepreneurship that had been missing.
clinton:
He could call the Soviet Union the Evil Empire and then negotiate arms-control agreements. He played the balance and the music beautifully.
no mention that the reason grandma has to eat cat food is reagan and greenspan cut social security benefits while raising the social security taxes and called it "saving social security"?
no mention of ronnie's posse and their role in giving aid to terrorists in exchange for holding americans hostage until after the 1980 election?
no criticism of the repulsican shell game of shifting taxes to working americans while calling them tax cuts?
if this is how obama and clinton play to their base what do they have in store for us when they need to give repulsicans a reach around?
Labels: bipartisanship, prez campaign, primaries
Monday, January 21, 2008
skippy's monday nite music club
americans taking mexican jobs
we don't hear too much about how americans are sucking mexico dry....
oilfield services provider halliburton co. said monday it has secured a three-year, $683 million contract with mexico's state-owned oil monopoly to manage the drilling and completion of 58 land wells in the country's southern region. - ap
Labels: halliburton, mexico
edwards gets mail
from martin luther king, iii.
....i believe that now, more than ever, we need a leader who wakes up every morning with the knowledge of that injustice in the forefront of their minds, and who knows that when we commit ourselves to a cause as a nation, we can make major strides in our own lifetimes. my father was not driven by an illusory vision of a perfect society. he was driven by the certain knowledge that when people of good faith and strong principles commit to making things better, we can change hearts, we can change minds, and we can change lives.so, i urge you: keep going. ignore the pundits, who think this is a horserace, not a fight for justice. my dad was a fighter. as a friend and a believer in my father’s words that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, i say to you: keep going. keep fighting. my father would be proud.
Labels: edwards, flickr, martin luther king
down the penrose lane
Labels: huckabee, mccain, penrose, prez campaign, toons
say hello
to political fleshfeast.
Labels: say hello
"i have a blog!"
kevin hayden thinks mr. king, jr., would like to have a word w/hillary and barack over at the american street;
juan melli remembers mlk over at blue jersey;
on this mlk day, a woman lost her job at a movie theater over an incident in which she asked sen. mitch mcconnell about iraq (read about it at bluegrassroots);
rebecca juro finds the human rights campaign a bit hypocritical in its exploitation of mlk over at the bilerico project;
the mystery of the haunted vampire has an essay from a six year old kid about mlk;
my two sense find a cartoon about hillary and mlk (and kick! finds a toon about race-baiting in general);
make them accountable, however, finds a houschron article that indeed shows how lbj and mlk worked together to make the dream a reality;
and liza finds an mlk groove over at the culture kitchen.
juan melli remembers mlk over at blue jersey;
on this mlk day, a woman lost her job at a movie theater over an incident in which she asked sen. mitch mcconnell about iraq (read about it at bluegrassroots);
rebecca juro finds the human rights campaign a bit hypocritical in its exploitation of mlk over at the bilerico project;
the mystery of the haunted vampire has an essay from a six year old kid about mlk;
my two sense find a cartoon about hillary and mlk (and kick! finds a toon about race-baiting in general);
make them accountable, however, finds a houschron article that indeed shows how lbj and mlk worked together to make the dream a reality;
and liza finds an mlk groove over at the culture kitchen.
Labels: blogtopia, civil rights, holiday
Sunday, January 20, 2008
skippy's sunday nite music club
rip, suzanne pleshette
the onion 1999: universe ends as god wakes up next to suzanne pleshette
suzanne pleshette dies at 70
suzanne pleshette dies at 70
Labels: passings
democrats - home of racism
at least that's the storyline that's getting passed around by the mmm. digby:
as digby points out, the mmm doesn't consider that the younger voters may not have even been socially mature (read: aware) of politics 10 years ago when the clintons did their notable work; that is to say, the clinton brand means far more to a 45-55 year old, who was 30 to 40 during the clinton presidency, than a 22 year old today who was 4 years old when bill clinton took office.
also, as many commenters on digby's post point out, obama's kind words for st. ronald the alzheimer would rub any democrat who was actually alive in the 80's the wrong way.
this time parameter would obviously leave out any young obama supporter under the age of 30, who, even if they were alive during reagan's presidency, were not politically cognizant to recognize the damage that king's row did to the country.
apparently, some people think so. here's a headline on cbs:
it's not all that hard to figure out that older voters would vote for the person who is running on "experience" just as it's not surprising that younger voters would vote for the man who promised "change." fergawdsake, it's obviously not racism inside the democratic party among a generation of liberal baby boomers who fought for civil rights alongside african americans.
the people who don't like blacks are in the party where there are none. to say that democrats over 45 are voting for hillary because they are racists is calumny. there's no evidence that racism is involved at all.
the real point here is that it is the multi-millionaire media that is racist and misogynist. from the beginning they have assumed that all women will vote for hillary, and all blacks will vote for obama.obama's age gap: is it race?
cbs's dick meyer says older americans have so far proven unwilling to vote for barack obama
how about young voters have so far proven unwilling to vote for an older person? is it ageism? really, this is ridiculous.cbs's dick meyer says older americans have so far proven unwilling to vote for barack obama
it's not all that hard to figure out that older voters would vote for the person who is running on "experience" just as it's not surprising that younger voters would vote for the man who promised "change." fergawdsake, it's obviously not racism inside the democratic party among a generation of liberal baby boomers who fought for civil rights alongside african americans.
the people who don't like blacks are in the party where there are none. to say that democrats over 45 are voting for hillary because they are racists is calumny. there's no evidence that racism is involved at all.
as digby points out, the mmm doesn't consider that the younger voters may not have even been socially mature (read: aware) of politics 10 years ago when the clintons did their notable work; that is to say, the clinton brand means far more to a 45-55 year old, who was 30 to 40 during the clinton presidency, than a 22 year old today who was 4 years old when bill clinton took office.
also, as many commenters on digby's post point out, obama's kind words for st. ronald the alzheimer would rub any democrat who was actually alive in the 80's the wrong way.
this time parameter would obviously leave out any young obama supporter under the age of 30, who, even if they were alive during reagan's presidency, were not politically cognizant to recognize the damage that king's row did to the country.
Labels: clinton, multi-millionaire media, obama, prez campaign, racism
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