Cincinnati Reds Baseball: The Formula to a Dynasty That Continues to Field a Collection of Men Who Wear Baseball Uniforms During Professional Contests

Surprisingly to many, men who once wore Reds uniforms were once professionals who succeeded at their task

The Off-Season Begins, Now.

My favorite sports season has begun: the baseball off-season, the time of year when the Reds have the best chance in baseball at winning the World Series, along with the other teams. Glorious for Reds fans is the fact that our off-season starts much earlier than many of the teams in the Majors. The off-season is a crucial period, especially these early weeks, when the Reds always take advantage of all those suckers still playing baseball in October.

(You see, this off-season the Reds will make all the right moves to bring home the pennant next year; I fall victim every time.)

Seriously, if anyone was serious about winning in future seasons, why wouldn't they tank in the present to give future prospects more playing time and their management more time to prepare for the following season? Even the reckless-as-the-Bush-administration Ryan Freel has grown to know when enough's enough.

And, with all that time spent playing pennant-race and post-season ball, think of all those players risking injury. Who are they to put a championship first, in front of the future of the club? It doesn't make any sense. The end of the regular season is a time to "shut her down," have that corrective surgery, spend a few more minutes in the training room, maybe a little extra time in the whirlpool, but definitely not a time for legging out an infield single. Chances are you pull your groin or a hammy. Then what? Exactly. No golf for at least a week.

Masters of the Off-Season Dynasty: The Cincinnati Reds and the Formula for Continuing to Field a Collection of Men Who Wear Baseball Uniforms

Hope springs eternal nowhere like in the off-season for Cincinnati Reds fans. The Reds, for the past 15 years or so (let us not count the one game playoff against Al Leiter and the New York Mets in 1999 when Barry Larkin could have caught a serious cold in that Wasilla-like weather), have epitomized this brand of smart baseball. In fact you could call them a dynasty. No other team has done as much to assure its fans that next season would be promising like the front office of the Reds, and no other franchise has done its best to assure fans of a respectably humble season finish like the Reds.

Finishing any higher than 4th raises too many eyebrows in the Midwestern, family values-oriented town of Cincinnati. In 2006, when the Reds finished 3rd, many wondered if that were too lofty; some called the Reds management "elitist." Likely as a result, then-Reds manager Jerry Narron was rightly fired by July of the 2007 season. He was replaced by the much-less ambitious Pete MacKanin.

Narron's goals may have been too much, too soon, and in this light perhaps the polar opposite of the Reds' sure-formula for existing for so long as as a franchise who lets men wear real baseball outfits during actual professional contests at large stadiums filled with on-lookers who are not paid to be there.

The Secret Formula as Might Have Been Found next to a Nazi Armband during the Auction of the Schott Estate

The secret sauce is composed of something like this: acquire young players already the recipients of some hype, medium hype, or event a lot of hype, and then apply some home-cooked Skyline Chili-powered ultimate hype pump fans' expectations astronomically. In recent years, this has been the promise of Homer Bailey and Jay Bruce, and, before them, Austin
Kearns and Brandon larson; remember him?

Remember when Todd Coffey was getting some hype and believed to be a better pitcher than mascot Mr. Red?

The formula is genius, especially in a small market town like Cincinnati. It would not work in New York.

So the first part of the formula is the Savior. Promise the Savior to the second part of the formula, a receptive Congregation of fans. Have the Reds' baseball Clergy and media Emmisaries promise fans a Deliverance from baseball Hell through this Savior. Promise them a player so great that he would even Sacrifice his body and actually bleed during games for them (leave out the notion that he would not let fans eat his body and drink his blood). Promise them a player who would deliver a Heavenly World Series championship, and one who would live his life without fallacy, someone like Pete Rose. Promise Faithful fans a God-send who would love the city of Cincinnati and all its inhabitants unconditionally (again, leave something out - that the player was heard praying after being drafted: "Father, why have thou forsaken me?" Also leave out that the player plays for a sinful amount of cash). And promise the Faithful that they would have ample opportunity to adore their hero via tasteful endorsements, `a la Bronson Arroyo and J.T.M. hamburgers. Maybe I meant "tasty" endorsements.

Anyway, let the formula play out so that it's really subtly familiar, hmmm, something a lot like a famous story they've heard before, something that's so familiar they probably do it ever week (or at least at Christmas and Easter), something so routinely familiar that they can't tell the difference between the formula and their routine. Let the formula repeat for generations until the formula is blended in with ritual to the point that it needs little or no guidance, much less victories. At this point the formula is working so well that the fans need Reds baseball to feel that life is whole. They don't need it to be good; they just need it to be.

With guys like Homer Bailey and Brandon Larson promised to deliver Reds fans from the MLB abyss, the formula is destined to succeed.

How the Formula Plays Out

The formula begins each offseason like the sun's rays on a clear morning. Birds are chirping, squirrels are gathering acorns, and maybe drinking from the Hudy Delights you left half-finished on the porch. After shaking off a brief hangover (you can't get that drunk from Hudy, nor can you get that elated from any Reds season with the formula), a few weeks of grumbling, fans renew their faith: "You know, the Reds could be a sleeper next year" turns into "Actually I think they'll win the division if they can pick up a 5th starter." By the commencement of the winter meetings, even your friend who swore them off during the strike declares that he has beer-bonged the Kool-Aid.

The formula delivers it's bread and butter during the orgy of off-season signings and acquisitions. Grown men hide wet dreams from their wives that they had about other grown men, typically starting pitchers with names like Erik Bedard or Joe Blanton. Sometimes the dreams come to fruition and the Reds land that big fish, guys like Eric Milton or Alex Gonzalez.

Finally, the best part of the sports season comes to a close and the actual playing begins. In taking the field, the Reds, game by game, wither grown men's dreams away and by the All-Star break the cycle is complete; only one piece is left: the Savior, the guy who will make next year better.

The Reds Will Win 100 Games Next Year

No one knows the joy of the off-season quite like a Reds fan, who opens mlbtraderumors.com each morning like a kid at Christmas, just wondering what precious free agent gifts await him in his RSS feed.

What's in store for the Reds this off-season? Will Santa bring them again the gift of Corey Patterson, a once-young and rising star who may have reached home more times with Dusty's daughter than at Great American? Or will Cincinnati be graced with a Jeff Conine, or some other golden-oldie who's "a great clubhouse presence?"

Conine struck out here, but his bat and wristband helped him reach second base after the game

No matter what other cubic zirconia is delivered via the formula to our fallen phoenix, one thing is already certain: a new star is slated to rise after a brief stop in the AAAshes. For 2009, its Yonder Alonso.

Bienvenido a Cincinnati, Yonder; there's the on-deck circle and Reds' management and media has already inserted into your helmet the crown of thorns worn by Jay Bruce this past season. Make sure its snug.

Batter up!

How To Prepare For The Veep Debate

Beauty Pageant Interview Preparation Tips

The pageant interview is arguably the most important part of your competition. Your poise under pressure, personality, and intelligence will be immediately evaluated. Whether you are competing in the Miss America or Miss Universe circuits, it cannot be emphasized how crucial it is to master the interview.

This goes without saying: know your current events! Study up and have opinions. Read, read, read, and then discuss with family and friends.

Interview various people in your community. "Pick their brains" for information and ideas. Ask what they think about current affairs and take notes. They can give you invaluable knowledge and fresh points of view. University professors and government officials are great sources and are often willing to give a half hour of their time.

Listen to talk radio in your car and in your spare time. Watch "Oprah" and "The View," even celebrity interviews on late night shows. What points of view are expressed? How are they spoken? What body language do you see? STUDY it out! Who do you respond the most to, and why?

"To thine own self be true." Always, always, be yourself. Above all, the interview is a chance to be passionate, informed, and genuine. Everyone can sense when you are not. Do not make up things you don't know. Be candid, show consistency in thought and variety of expression.

http://www.pageant-tips.com/beauty-pageant-interview.html

Ouch! That Hurts!

Guess I won't be retiring when I'm 33. Yeah GOP economy. The Dow is lower now then when Bush took office. So in a way it's a good start to pretending the last eight years never happened.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/29/stock-dive-is-bookend-of_n_130398.html

The Front Fell Off

Mississippi for Obama and a turkey cranberry

"they brought their fucking toys with them!"

Yesterday, in my attempt to pump up Barry Obomber before he stepped in the ring with McBlackberry, I posted a clip from Slapshot. Little did I know that shortly thereafter Paul Newman, better known as player/coach Reggie Dunlap, would pass away at 83.

Today, CNN posted the poll, "What is your favorite Paul Newman movie?" Not among the choices was Slapshot, which is my favorite Paul Newman flick; high school would not have been the same without this film.



Rest in peace, Reg.

black kids at the earl in atlanta

09.23.08
Posted via Pixelpipe.

mogwai at variety playhouse in atlanta

09.15.08
Posted via Pixelpipe.

When I heard Obama say "suitcase,"

I hope he didn't mean "suitcase nuke." That's the stuff of fantasy novels. Now... conventional bombs or dirty bombs or some kind of chemical attack....

Now, McCain saying that the chances of a 9/11 happening today is much less than it was the day after 9/11, that's a ridiculous statement. It could be said that paranoia and chaos is much less than the day after that tragic day, but to say the chances of such an attack are less is ridiculous. The Nani thinks the chances are no greater nor less. They are always the same. (I have the terror of kudzu growing in my backyard. I could build a fence, spray some crap on it, pull it from the branches of trees, whatever; but until I go to the root, and yank that shit out, it will find a way to grow. Terrorism is the same, but to uproot it is to basically rid the world of evil, which, umm, is pretty impossibly, so I think talking about terrorism is a waste. The chances of anyone dying from terrorism are far less than dying at the hands of shitty economy. [rant to be continued])

Is McCain Georgian?

He talks about Tbilisi like he has a summer home there. (come to think of it, maybe he's got another home that we're not counting.)

The whole Iran debate was splitting hairs...

That got old. Preparations vs. pre-conditions. I call a push on that one.

I've now heard twice in two days that "we don't want another Holocaust..."

Isn't that pretty fucking obvious? It's so gratuitous at this point. Why do they have to say it? First it was Palin with Couric, now McCain tonight.

My question is, does this force Obama to say the same thing? Politically, probably yes. Let's wait and see...

Looks like Obama made the strong play with "stalwart ally in Israel," but stopped short of cheaply using the H word.

McCain and Obama admit to wearing bracelets...

Yea!!!! Our next president will wear bracelets!!!!! How superb!!!!!!

Obama could dunk over this chump

McCain invented the surge

...Obama now leveraging Biden to help with foreign policy...

maybe McCain will responde with Palin's view of Russia from Mt. McKinley.

Using a hatchet where you need a scalpel...

McCain wants a spending freeze... on all but defense and veterans and something else; Sounds like a shooting from the hip statement. Shooting from the hip is something that F-ed us up the past 8 years.

Obama's nuanced approach is much more attractive.

McCain: "Obama has the most liberal voting record..."

Way to get in that soundbite, Johnny!

Obama fights back to being liberal meaning fighting George W. Bush policies. Well played.

McCain's claim that earmarks have tripled in the last 5 years...

and that it corrupts is a good point... give the man a bit of props where deserved.

Obama is coming back now. Back to getting the middle class back on track... there we go...

Obama needs to ride the 95% of Americans tax cut...

all the way to the White House.

"Fundamental belief in the American worker..."

is a quote of blown smoke up that I'm so sick of hearing.

McCain "saw this train wreck coming?"

I'm pretty sure if you see a train wreck about to happen, you do something about it.

He's "going to hold people accountable. I promise you that." So why is a stakeholder in Fanny Mae, Rick Davis, the head of his campaign?

Live Blogging from Atlanta

Obama and McCain just came out. Obama looking sharp. McCain looking shiny.

this might settle your puppy poopy

maggie gets ready for the debate
Posted via Pixelpipe.

Barry Obomber, I hope you're puttin' on the foil about now...

TTT Guest Correspondent on Location: "The Breeders and The National Set to Play for Obama in Cincinnati, FOR FREE!

A friend of the TTT sends this fine information:

Haven't quite figured out whether The T3 is for or against this Obama fella I've been hearing about on Channel 1 lately, but noteworthy in itself is local-boys-done-well The National melting faces for free on our very own former hotbed of Klan activity, Fountain Square. The Breeders have written some jamz, too.

Fightin' the good fight a hop, skip, and a jump from Parker Flats.

Not sure if this is Trail-worthy, but there it is.

Please keep the good news coming. Now I head home, hopefully with enough petrol in the tank to make it, to prep for the debate.

Quote of the Day: Chris Rock on Obama and Flava Flav

Git-up-a-git-git down, check out Chris Rock after being asked by Larry King if he was proud that a black man was running for president:

Um, you know what? I'm proud Barack Obama's running for president. You know? If it was Flavor Flav, would I be proud? No. I don't support Barack Obama because he's black.

Yeeeeeeeeeeah Boyyyyyyyyyyyy!

The Sarah Palin Files, Pt. 39

It seems that McCain's senior staff has concluded the obvious as well:



"Palin is clueless."

The Sarah Palin Files, Pt. 38

In the last post, we viewed how some of the intellectual elite of the conservative movement are seeing Sarah Palin for the completely overmatched, not-ready-for-prime-time farce that she is.

Most assuredly, I will never - never - mislabel conservative columnist Kathleen Parker as one such intellectual. But even she can no longer pretend that Palin is qualified. The more the public sees Palin, the more there is a trickle-down effect, even within the Republican party.

Quote from Parker's column at the conservative Townhall.com:

Some of the passionately feminist critics of Palin who attacked her personally deserved some of the backlash they received. But circumstances have changed since Palin was introduced as just a hockey mom with lipstick -- what a difference a financial crisis makes -- and a more complicated picture has emerged.

As we've seen and heard more from John McCain's running mate, it is increasingly clear that Palin is a problem. Quick study or not, she doesn't know enough about economics and foreign policy to make Americans comfortable with a President Palin should conditions warrant her promotion.

[...]

Finally, Palin's narrative is fun, inspiring and all-American in that frontier way we seem to admire. When Palin first emerged as John McCain's running mate, I confess I was delighted. She was the antithesis and nemesis of the hirsute, Birkenstock-wearing sisterhood -- a refreshing feminist of a different order who personified the modern successful working mother.

Palin didn't make a mess cracking the glass ceiling. She simply glided through it.

It was fun while it lasted.

Palin's recent interviews with Charles Gibson, Sean Hannity and now Katie Couric have all revealed an attractive, earnest, confident candidate. Who Is Clearly Out Of Her League.

No one hates saying that more than I do. Like so many women, I've been pulling for Palin, wishing her the best, hoping she will perform brilliantly. I've also noticed that I watch her interviews with the held breath of an anxious parent, my finger poised over the mute button in case it gets too painful. Unfortunately, it often does. My cringe reflex is exhausted.

Palin filibusters. She repeats words, filling space with deadwood. Cut the verbiage and there's not much content there ....

If BS were currency, Palin could bail out Wall Street herself.

No argument from the Hot Rod.

The Sarah Palin Files, Pt. 37

Daniel Larison at The American Conservative:

I resent the reverse classism that Palin uses to justify her lack of experience in traveling abroad, as if only the children of the wealthy go to other countries in their youth. Yes, those of us who have been privileged to come from families that could afford for us to travel overseas several times before the age of 43 are fortunate, but if she has spent so much time with book-learning about the rest of the world why is it that she doesn’t seem to know anything?

[...]

Her answer in response to Couric’s question on Hamas and democracy in the Near East was simply pathetic. There is no other way to put it.

The Hot Rod isn't privileged, yet I managed to earn a scholarship and study abroad one summer in college. Palin, on the other hand, was probably too busy constantly flunking out of community colleges and filling out her transfer papers during her extended college years to even think about scholarships or study abroad opportunities.

The Sarah Palin Files, Pt. 36

All I can say at this point is thank God the poll numbers are trending toward Obama because if McCain / Palin win this election, I think I'm going to fucking snap. Not in my wildest dreams would I have guessed that there would be a candidate for national office on a major party ticket that would make George W. Bush's mental agility look formidable, or even respectable. But here she is.

Here's the video:


Watch CBS Videos Online

Ejecting My Rage from McCain's W-esque Schoolyard Bully Maneuver

Here's something I just wrote to a Republican I know:

I'm totally enraged by this reckless, unilateral move by McCain, and I can't understand how anyone could support a candidate who:

• Is trying to bully the political process; this is tyrannical (do we really need 4 more years of Give-me-your-lunch-money carelessness and recklessness?)
  
• Is trying to exploit the economic struggle to disrupt the political process - this is "un-American" to use a favorite pejorative label from the right
  
• Hides his running mate from the press - some are calling this sexist; stop treating Palin like a delicate flower and put her out for the press like the Moose-hunting bad-ass you're painting her to be
  
• Hides himself from the press - what happened to the Straight-Talk Express? Suspended? Oh, that's convenient.
  
• Can't do two things at once - shit, most of you Republicans do more things during your commute to work than some do all day. As masters of multitasking, don't you think the President should be able to as well?
• Is basically trying to extort/bribe, whatever you wanna call it, Congress so that a deal can go through. I mean, is $700 Billion the type of chump change we need to rush by Friday? And, is McCain really necessary for this thing to go through? Seems like rushing this amount of money is not the right idea, but that's just me. I'd prefer we are confident in the plan, not appeasing the whims of a bullying political candidate.

McCain and Palin are scary. McCain, once an honorable war hero, is now just an honorable war hero turned dishonorable politician. Palin is attractive as a candidate, but only physically.

Also, I have a huge problem with terms like: liberal media, biased press, etc. This is all bullshit. To label the media, as a whole, as "liberal," or "biased," is as nuts as saying all Jews are cheap, all Kentuckians are rednecks, all Catholics blame the Jews for killing Jesus, all Muslims are terrorists, all Mexicans in America are illegal, all African-Americans want black power, all white people want white power and love NASCAR.

Right now, and this might sound crazy, but I'm wondering if I should be as offended by the stereotype of journalists as I am at any derogatory racial or religious epithet. (and think about it, journalists have been grilled for the last 8 years of not busting balls over 9/11, Iraq, the Bush Administration, and other topics; seems like they're finally trying to hit back and now everyone right of center calls them biased... F That!)

So, why doesn't your side take the time to actually read a variety of sources, judge each article or author on its/their merits, instead of just doing the simple-minded thing of calling them all liberal and discarding them? It's called lazy narrow-mindedness.

The media is finally doing its job.

Finally, I am nauseous at the idea that half of the votes in America are from dumbed-down lack of thinking. I can't tell you how many of my Republican friends (yes, I have a few) think that Obama plans to raise their taxes. Also, these friends say they don't want Obama, a Democrat, to make the government bigger. Crap, the government and government spending grew ridiculously under George W. Bush in the last 8 years. And, I have the feeling that Obama's planned spending would help improve infrastructure, schools, and other sectors of our economy that will create good jobs, and not those jobs that take place in Baghdhad or Kabul - when getting your leg blown off by an IED is part of the job description, that's not a good job for an American.

We need some brains in that White House and John "I don't send email yet I invented the Blackberry" McCain and Sarah "I can see Russia from a mountain in Alaska so I have foreign policy experience" Palin don't cut it, by a long shot!

Going to blow chunks now...

John McCain, Liar; Dick Polman, Translator

McCain "suspending" his campaign (and dodging the debate) purportedly to be a statesman, in plain English:

McCain's statement, after it is scanned by the hogwash detector:

"It's clear that my poll numbers are crashing this week - even the Fox News pollsters have me going south - so I've got to try to do something, anything, to stop the slide. Which is why I want to stage a retreat from the first debate. Politically, the timing is very bad for me. I sure don't want to stand at some lectern and watch that upstart mock me for saying that 'the fundamentals of the economy are strong.' I don't want to be asked why I switched overnight from my long-held belief in deregulation to my newly-held belief in regulation. And I don't want Obama to remind people that he gave a speech, way back in March, talking about lax oversight of the sub-prime crisis and calling for major reform of regulatory policies. Heck, this economy thing is so big right now that my whole foreign-policy message is going to get drowned out. The polls already show that Obama is more trusted on the economy by double-digit margins, so why would I want to appear in front of the American people on Friday night and risk further erosion? That's why I'd rather go back to Washington, play the 'country first' card, try to look like a statesman, and if Obama doesn't do the same, maybe I can flail him for putting 'country second.' So that's my message: I want to cut and run from the presidential debate. I wonder if I can get away with this. Or, failing that, I wonder if they'll let me bring Gov. Palin on stage to stand beside me at the lectern. The crowds seem to like her."

Question of the Day

As posed by the Hot Rodette:

What are you going to blog about once the election is over?

Hmmmm.......

The Sarah Palin Files, Pt. 35

Wow. Has a Vice Presidential Candidate ever talked so much, yet said so little?



No wonder McCain wants to postpone her debate with Joe Biden.

The Sarah Palin Files, Pt. 34

Seriously, how stupid does John McCain think:

(a) we are;
(b) the press is;
(c) Rodney "Hot Rod" Lincoln is;
(d) our friends at Operation Sarracuda are; and
(e) self-respecting Republicans* are.

Yeah, you can take, print, and broadcast pictures of neophyte Palin meeting her first world leaders (but don't use the word "first"), but you can't ask her any questions or listen to what she's saying.

I mean, the utter contempt for voters on display is breathtaking in scale.

Sadly, there will be Republicans who will mount a spirited defense to all this bullshit. My hope for them is that they got a good price from Satan for their souls. Contemptible fucking bastards.

(*) Self-respecting Republicans, like Sasquash, are rumored to exist, but mostly they are an urban legend.

The Sarah Palin Files, Pt. 33

Even the AP knows bullshit when it steps in it:

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Less than a week after balking at the Alaska Legislature's investigation into her alleged abuse of power, Gov. Sarah Palin on Monday indicated she will cooperate with a separate probe run by people she can fire.

An attorney for the GOP vice presidential nominee met with an investigator for the state Personnel Board to discuss sharing documents and schedule witness interviews, McCain spokeswoman Meg Stapleton said.

As explained by the locals on why this "separate" investigation by the Alaska personnel board is a farcical charade:

The bottom line:

Bipartisan, unanimously endorsed, Palin-sanctioned investigation by the Alaska State Legislature

vs.

Republican, 3-member board, governor appointed, working directly for Palin, McCain sanctioned investigation.

You make the call.

Gaming the system to avoid real accountability? How maverick-y!

Wall Street Bailout

I'd vote for her if I lived in Toledo...


Preach it, sister! This is why Democrats need to be in control.

A Pain In The Ass

A selection of funny and poignant notes, discovered by chance, are now collected in a book by Found magazine. Check out a some of them here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/gallery/2008/sep/23/art.pressandpublishing?picture=337865518

I particularly liked this one.

Slogan of the Day

Quote of the Day

The New York Times Bob Herbert today:

Does anyone think it’s just a little weird to be stampeded into a $700 billion solution to the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression by the very people who brought us the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression?

I am not going to pretend like I completely understand the current financial crisis, its causes, and all of its implications. And that is why what is going on right now scares the shit out of me.

The one thing I do know: I am getting a very, very queasy feeling in my gut as the architects of the Bush's Iraq adventure, and the authors of "Weapons of Mass Destruction" put their point person, an ex-Wall Street insider, out in front of this mess:

(a) to ask for $700,000,000,000 from taxpayers ...
(b) to buy junk securities for well above market value, and also ...
(c) pay the crooks from Wall Street who got us into this clusterfuck to administer this ingenious plan.

And if that weren't enough ...
(d) to pay the ransom, -er, I mean, pass the law by Friday ...
(e) with no strings attached, and further ...
(f) to prevent regulatory oversight, and, capping it all off...
(g) giving the middle finger to the branch of the federal government set up under Article III of the US Constitution: preventing any review by the courts.

And why should we agree to this? "Trust." Just trust us.

Yeah, right. What was that cliche that Dubya Bush mangled about getting fooled once and so forth ???

Ah yes...



Trust??

One of my fave's, The Rude Pundit, draws some eerie Iraq parallels here.

The Twelve Lies of Sarah Palin

Andrew Sullivan's making a list, checking it twice .....

Quote:

So for the record, let it be known that the candidate for vice-president for the GOP is a compulsive, repetitive, demonstrable liar.

No wonder she's John McCain's soulmate.

Imbiciles on Motorcycles

This seals the deal. I am never watching American Chopper again. And if there was any possible way for me to put back the 3.5 episodes I have watched, I'd do it right now.

Aggregate cast IQ: 95.

Pertinent questions:

Is this show still on the air? Why?

How did this show ever get on the air?

Did anyone watch more than the 3.5 episodes I did, or do I hold the record for most shows watched?

I fully realize (and am demoralized by the fact that) the answer to the last question can only be provided if American Chopper enjoys a Phish-like following: i.e., where guys with dreadlocks who routinely skipped their college statistics class to get high are compiling and cross-tabulating statistics on set lists, song appearance frequency, number of shows attended, number of bootlegs swapped, number of drugs consumed, etc. (in the case of Phish shows), or number of design flaws, number of manufacturing flaws overcome, number of father-son arguments, number of flame paint jobs versus stencil-line design paint jobs on the chopper gas tank, and so forth (in the case of American Chopper).

Anyone know of someone doing this? Who's got my miracle?

Quote of the Day II (or The Sarah Palin Files, Pt. 32)

Sam Harris in Newsweek (a must read):

What is so unnerving about the candidacy of Sarah Palin is the degree to which she represents—and her supporters celebrate—the joyful marriage of confidence and ignorance. Watching her deny to Gibson that she had ever harbored the slightest doubt about her readiness to take command of the world's only superpower, one got the feeling that Palin would gladly assume any responsibility on earth:

"Governor Palin, are you ready at this moment to perform surgery on this child's brain?"

"Of course, Charlie. I have several boys of my own, and I'm an avid hunter."

But governor, this is neurosurgery, and you have no training as a surgeon of any kind."

"That's just the point, Charlie. The American people want change in how we make medical decisions in this country. And when faced with a challenge, you cannot blink."

The prospects of a Palin administration are far more frightening, in fact, than those of a Palin Institute for Pediatric Neurosurgery. Ask yourself: how has "elitism" become a bad word in American politics? There is simply no other walk of life in which extraordinary talent and rigorous training are denigrated. We want elite pilots to fly our planes, elite troops to undertake our most critical missions, elite athletes to represent us in competition and elite scientists to devote the most productive years of their lives to curing our diseases. And yet, when it comes time to vest people with even greater responsibilities, we consider it a virtue to shun any and all standards of excellence. When it comes to choosing the people whose thoughts and actions will decide the fates of millions, then we suddenly want someone just like us, someone fit to have a beer with, someone down-to-earth—in fact, almost anyone, provided that he or she doesn't seem too intelligent or well educated.

I believe that with the nomination of Sarah Palin for the vice presidency, the silliness of our politics has finally put our nation at risk.

The Latest on George Michael

On Friday, George Michael, formerly of Conway Bangs' favorite band, "WHAM!" was arrested in a public toilet down the way from his English mansion where gay men are known to meet up for sex (calling Sen. Larry Craig (R- Id.)) in possession of crack cocaine and marijuana. He was arrested, taken to the police station and given a "caution," and has now declared that he's sorry about the whole incident. And that's it. No further legal problems.

Christ almighty - the jokes write themselves on this one!

My only question is when is John McCain's campaign going to release an ad blaming Barack Obama for this? That would really rile up the radical right. At least until some a member of Sarah Palin's family gets caught doing exactly the same thing, at which point the religious leaders of this country will deem it a "blessed event."

Ugh.

Mogwai Supports Obama

In a recent Wired interview, members of Glasgow rock legends Mogwai, Barry Burns and Stuart Brathwaite, discussed the current global political climate, lamented George W. Bush's idiocy, and showed support for Barack Obama.

One thing which is not a good thing, according to the outspoken band, is George W. Bush. Burns once joked online that Mogwai would bypass touring America after Bush was elected to his second term in 2004. Things have only fallen apart since then, culminating in a Cold War rerun with Russia and Georgia. And although the band doesn't have a dog in the nasty fight otherwise known as the 2008 election, it's as ready for change as any other U.S. citizen.

"The political situation is worrying," Brathwaite says. "As Boney M famously sang, 'Oh those crazy Russians!' But Bush is a total idiot and I'm so glad that America has realized what a fool he is. I like what I've heard so far from Obama. He is an inspiring speaker, which is a marked changed from W, who can't even speak."

Quote of the Day

Hilzoy at Obsidian Wings:

I won't say anything about [McCain's] saying "that's not country first, that's Obama first", beyond agreeing with Steve Benen: no one who puts Sarah Palin on his ticket has any right to lecture anyone about putting country before ambition.

David v. Goliath

New York be the site of another crisis today. This time however, it will be a crisis of confidence in the visiting Cincinnati Bengals who take on the defending Super Bowl champs, New York Giants.

For all those denizens of Who Dey Nation who have been asking themselves, "how bad is the season going to get?" tune into CBS today at 1 PM.

Your answer awaits.

There is a sliver of hope for the Bengals. In week one, they managed a field goal on offense. In week two, they actually scored an offensive touchdown. You see a pattern here? That's right, the Bengals are on pace for 10 points today, and, with enough lucky bounces and $100 handshakes with the referees, perhaps as many as 14.

Maybe the Bengals should hire Sarah Palin's Kenyan witch-doctor spiritual advisor to lay hands on the team and pray, "Lord, make a way!"

But while Jesus loves sinners and everything, I don't think God is going to touch the Cincinnati Bengals with a ten foot pole. We are utterly on our own, kind of like everyone not named "Noah" during the great flood.*

(*) Twelve years of Catholic education, all so I could write a paragraph in a blog post like that.

McCain on healthcare.

What a maverick! Here is an excerpt from an article written by John McCain in the Sept/Oct issue of Contingencies - the magazine of the American Academy of Actuaries.
McCain talking about the wonders of market based health reform:

"Opening up the health insurance market to more vigorous nationwide competition, as we have done over the last decade in banking, would provide more choices of innovative products less burdened by the worst excesses of state-based regulation."
http://www.contingencies.org/septoct08/mccain.pdf

So let me get this straight. If we deregulate health care, it will perform as well as the financial industry? Genius!

Kindred Spirits

If you enjoy the Triple-T's reporting on the biggest political fraud of the century, Sarah Palin, check out our friends over at Operation: Sarracuda.

I like their approach - they are keeping their reporting on Sarah Palin truthful and reality-based. That may sound like no big deal since who needs to lie when Palin's life is stranger than fiction in the first place? But be mindful of the fact that if Palin was a Democrat, you know the radical right would be be telling whoppers about her and sending around 5 email smears a day that would be out and out lies.

And that's a big reason why I'm not a Republican.

Anyway, check these guys out!!

The Rumors of My Demise Are Greatly Exaggerated

I took off a day from blogging yesterday, and my absence can be explained by the following mathematic equation:

A + B = C

Where:

A = Hot Rod Lincoln
B = Golf
C = An embarassing mockery of the game.

Yes, it is the one day the Hot Rod plays golf every year - the company golf outing. That means, sunshine, beer, physics-defying slices, fourteen lost golf balls (but only one in a water hazard this year!), and even more beer.

Tiger or the Hot Rod? Based on performance alone, it is difficult to tell.

I have to say though, it was nice to get my mind off of politics for a day and especially to get away from the economic meltdown, which is particularly scary.

I'll try to get some shit thrown up on the blog today and tomorrow .... making up for lost time....

the most offensive rap song ever...

...and there are a lot of offensive rap songs; Slick Rick, you got nothing on this one.


Slick Rick is rolling over in his grave and isn't even dead yet.

Nani made up a little Rick-style jingle to sum things up:

Lotti-dotti,
Check out this party
They don't do nothin'
But insult everbody.

The Sarah Palin Files, Pt. 31

So this is why I keep hearing the phrase "I told Congress 'thanks but no thanks' on that bridge to nowhere. If we wanted a bridge we'd build it ourselves..." as I drift off to sleep each night.

Drill Baby Drill, Drill Baby Drill

Political Bullshit

Mr Cantors performance on MSNBC reminds me of this interview on BBC Newsnight with the former conservative leader Michael Howard.

Quote of the Day

Nebraska Republican Senator, Chuck Hagel, an honest man:

Of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Hagel said, "She doesn't have any foreign policy credentials. You get a passport for the first time in your life last year? I mean, I don't know what you can say. You can't say anything."

"I think they ought to be just honest about it and stop the nonsense about, 'I look out my window and I see Russia and so therefore I know something about Russia,'" said Hagel, an opponent of the war in Iraq and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "That kind of thing is insulting to the American people."

Hagel said "in a world that is so complicated, so interconnected and so combustible, you really got to have some people in charge that have some sense of the bigger scope of the world. I think that's just a requirement."

And would Palin qualify?

"I think it's a stretch to, in any way, to say that she's got the experience to be president of the United States," Hagel said.

GOP: "The Buck Passes Here."

God Bless Chris Matthews.

Updated: 9/18 with longer video from MSNBC. Note at about the 6:56 mark - Rep. Cantor starts talking about how it's time to stop pointing fingers and start fixing things. Yeah, funny how that works - when the Republicans fuck something up (i.e., the economy, Iraq, Katrina, heeding the pre-9/11 warnings, or hell everything since January 2001) THEN finger-pointing has no place; rather,the protocol is to break out magic healing crystals, sit in a circle, sing happy songs, and, I don't know, do some transcendental meditation. Anything except take (to quote Gov. Palin) "actual responsibility."

Gutless.

Obama at the RNC??????

Your World Explained in Charts

Specifically, pie charts.

Mogwai in Atlanta

Last night The Nani saw Mogwai at Variety Playhouse in Atlanta. The show was great. The band from Glasgow, Scotland, whose drum kit was draped with a Celtic FC scarf (YYYYYYYYYeeeahh Catholics!), has a gift in taking delicate melodies, welcoming in the audience, then adding layers like a rising tide and eventually driving them to crescendos of complex sound, like a tsunami's wall carrying with it all the creatures of the sea, and then back out again into a solemn resolution. (yes, this is Nani's first attempt at a music review and it's cheesy as a mofo*)

Even those not familiar with the band are drawn in and know the songs by halfway through - maybe a testament to the length of some of the tracks. Anyway, they do this without vocals - save for a couple of tunes, one of which had vocals supplied by Iggy Pop:

The band has another gift... mastery of feedback and distortion. About 2/3 through the show, Mogwai played from Happy Songs for Happy People - the tune, of which I can't remember the name, was steadily driving toward its peak and all the while both of the guitarist were generating some surreal feedack, in which I heard the crowd of a soccer stadium, rush hour traffic, a group of friends talking, and maybe even some birds chirping - all this without Conway's Bongs; just a beer in-hand.

Anyway, the show was superb and The Nani would see them again if he is lucky enough. If your interested, you should check out some of the animated videos they have at Youtube. Here is "Hunted by a Freak," which might refer to my attempts to avoid la mere du Hot Rod, a song played last night as well:

This leads The Nani to one more thing regarding Mogwai. They provided the score to a documentary about Zinedine Zidane, football master. The film and music combined, with some captioned quotes from Zidane, deliver an experience that must be very close to what it feels like to playing in front of 80,000+ fans. Here are a couple of clips from that film, the first with music from Mogwai, the second without.




*denotes 2nd gratuitous usage of "mofo" by the TTT for the day

If You Were Born a Palin...

What would your name be?

Trig? Track? Willow? Bristol? Pilot Inspektor?

Maybe Bob?

Find out here.

John McCain Invented the Blackberry, According to McCain Aide

While he hasn't been inventing lies about his record or Barack Obama, and while he was probably more likely to have invented fire, Cuneiform, or Hammurabi's Code, John McCain, a la Al Gore, has been attributed to having invented mobile email communication, according to a McCain aide. Gizmodo.com breaks it down:

Here's a pretty amazing claim from a McCain staffer: John McCain invented the BlackBerry. Yes, that's right, the senator who doesn't know how to use email invented the BlackBerry, a device known for letting you check your email on the go. Move over, Al Gore, there's a new "inventor" in town!

Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a top McCain policy adviser, waved his BlackBerry around and talked about McCain's work as a senator, telling reporters Tuesday, "You're looking at the miracle that John McCain helped create."

His argument was, like Gore's, that by working on bills that dealt with the telecommunications industry, McCain helped facilitate conditions that allowed the BlackBerry to exist. I'm pretty sure that's not the definition of an inventor.

When asked for comment, Obama's campaign spokesman Bill Burton said: "If John McCain hadn't said that 'the fundamentals of our economy are strong' on the day of one of our nation's worst financial crises, the claim that he invented the BlackBerry would have been the most preposterous thing said all week." Oh snap, Bill Burton!

Newest Bengal?

The Bengal’s should sign this guy. They know a thing or two about not getting in the end zone. But then again who amongst us has not celebrated a little prematurely, eh?

Meltdown

Wow, where to begin? I think we’re finally seeing the shakeout of years (probably decades) of total incompetence in our national leadership. Both parties, both Houses of Congress, the White House, lobbyists, everyone is to blame. There is no clear vision of any national plan only a patchwork of special interest policies. We are in many ways better off having no policy than a horribly broken one. This can apply to not just the housing and financial debacle but national energy policy, immigration, national security… pretty much anything the federal government touches. It would be nice if the federal government would get focused on what it is supposed to do (I know this is broad but I’m thinking large national interests like an energy plan as opposed to worrying about whether gay people get married or education policy for that matter) since it has trouble even doing its most basic functions. That’s why I get concerned when I hear Obama and McCain talk about all these new federal government programs they are going to create. Let’s first master the basics of governing before we expand into new areas such as health care.

Speaking of Obama. I think his Bush 44 campaign against McCain is lame and doesn’t work. Anyone with half a brain can see Bush is an anomaly of incompetence even for politicians. People I talk to aren’t buying that argument. Obama is much better served by talking in general about the failings of Republican economic policies. People are much more receptive to that argument. After all what was it again we didn’t like about Bill Clinton, was it the peace or prosperity? When folks hear McCain is just another Bush they don’t buy it and the message of trickle down doesn’t work gets lost. Just a little advice from an undecided…

John McCain, Liar (Wikipedia edition)

The DNC has apparently set up a Wikipedia-style page collecting and counting John McCain's lies.

See: here.

Hmm.... maybe before they dedicated any resources to this, they should have just read the Tricky Trail Times. We've been on this mofo* from the beginning.

(*) Note gratuitous use of word, "mofo"! It totally rules!!!

The Sarah Palin Files, Pt. 30

NYT's Herbert: "She's Not Ready.":

While watching the Sarah Palin interview with Charlie Gibson Thursday night, and the coverage of the Palin phenomenon in general, I’ve gotten the scary feeling, for the first time in my life, that dimwittedness is not just on the march in the U.S., but that it might actually prevail.

How is it that this woman could have been selected to be the vice presidential candidate on a major party ticket? How is it that so much of the mainstream media has dropped all pretense of seriousness to hop aboard the bandwagon and go along for the giddy ride?

For those who haven’t noticed, we’re electing a president and vice president, not selecting a winner on “American Idol.”

Ms. Palin may be a perfectly competent and reasonably intelligent woman (however troubling her views on evolution and global warming may be), but she is not ready to be vice president.

With most candidates for high public office, the question is whether one agrees with them on the major issues of the day. With Ms. Palin, it’s not about agreeing or disagreeing. She doesn’t appear to understand some of the most important issues.

The Sarah Palin Files, Pt. 29

NYT: Palin's an idiot, Charlie, on foreign policy:

Asked by Charlie Gibson what insight into Russian actions her Alaskan proximity gave her, Sarah blithely replied: “They’re our next-door neighbors. And you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska.”

Being a next-door neighbor is not quite enough, though. If Sarah had been reading about the world she feels so confident about leading rather than just parroting by rote what Randy Scheunemann and the neocons around McCain drilled into her last week — Drill, baby, drill! — she might have realized that as heinous as Russia’s behavior toward Georgia was, it was not completely unprovoked. The State Department has let it be known that it warned McCain’s friend, Misha, the hotheaded president of Georgia, not to send troops in to crush the rebellion in two breakaway states.

And she might not have had to clench her jaw and play for time when Gibson raised the Bush doctrine, the wacko preemption philosophy that so utterly changed the world.

The really scary part of the Palin interview was how much she seemed like W. in 2000, and not just the way she pronounced nu-cue-lar. She had the same flimsy but tenacious adeptness at saying nothing, the same generalities and platitudes, the same restrained resentment at being pressed to be specific, as though specific is the province of silly eggheads, not people who clear brush at the ranch or shoot moose on the tundra.

Just as W. once could not name the General-General running Pakistan, so Palin took a position on Pakistan that McCain had derided as naïve when Obama took it.

“We must not, Charlie, blink, Charlie, because, Charlie, as I’ve said, Charlie, before, John McCain has said, Charlie, that — and remember here, Charlie, we’re talking about John McCain, Charlie, who, Charlie, is John McCain and I won’t be blinking, Charlie.”

[ ... ]

Like W., Sarah has the power of positive unthinking. But now we may want to think about where ignorance and pride and no self-doubt has gotten us. Being quick on the trigger might be good in moose hunting, but in dealing with Putin, a little knowledge might come in handy.

Drill Baby Drill? - Pt. 2

Dick Polman:

Nor was any concern voiced about her Bush-style aversion to factual reality. At another point, she told Gibson that Alaska "produces nearly 20 percent of the U.S. domestic supply of energy," which comes as quite a surprise to the folks who work at the U.S. Energy Information Administration - and who say that Alaska actually produces 3.5 percent of all domestic energy. And if she meant to say "oil" instead of energy, she got that wrong, too, because Alaska produces 14 percent of the nation's oil output. All told, her inability to recite the most basic facts doesn't speak very well for McCain, who recently boasted on TV that his running mate "knows more about energy than probably anyone else in the United States."

Quote of the Day

Joe Biden, today in Michigan:

Eight years ago, a man ran for President who claimed he was different, not a typical Republican. He called himself a reformer. He admitted that his Party, the Republican Party, had been wrong about things from time to time. He promised to work with Democrats and said he'd been doing that for a long time.

That candidate was George W. Bush. Remember that? Remember the promise to reach across the aisle? To change the tone? To restore honor and dignity to the White House?

We saw how that story ends. A record number of home foreclosures. Home values, tumbling. And the disturbing news that the crisis you've been facing on Main Street is now hitting Wall Street, taking down Lehman Brothers and threatening other financial institutions.

We've seen eight straight months of job losses. Nearly 46 million Americans without health insurance. Average incomes down, while the price of everything -- from gas to groceries -- has skyrocketed. A military stretched thin from two wars and multiple deployments.

A nation more polarized than I've ever seen in my career. And a culture in Washington where the very few wealthy and powerful have a seat at the table and everybody else is on the menu.

Eight years later, we have another Republican nominee who's telling us the exact same thing:

This time it will be different, it really will. This time he's going to put country before party, to change the tone, reach across the aisle, change the Republican Party, change the way Washington works.

We've seen this movie before, folks. But as everyone knows, the sequel is always worse than the original.

The Sarah Palin Files, Pt. 28

After the "Oh face": Conservative Commentator, Ross Douthat at The Atlantic.com cleans himself off:

Now that we've seen the entirety of the Palin-Gibson tete-a-tete, I concur with Rich Lowry and Rod Dreher. The most that can be said in her defense is that she kept her cool and avoided any brutal gaffes; other than that, she seemed about an inch deep on every issue outside her comfort zone. Yes, the questions were tougher than the ones that a Tim Kaine or Tim Pawlenty probably would have been handed, but they were all questions that a vice-presidential nominee needs to be able to answer. And there's no way to look at her performance as anything save supporting evidence for the non-hysterical critique of her candidacy - that it's just too much, too soon - and a splash of cold water for those of us with high hopes for her future on the national stage.

John McCain, Liar

Now an official campaign ad for Obama:

Anti-Farm Aid, ctd.

President Harry Truman, September 18, 1948, on the difference between Republicans and Democrats:

The farmer and the worker know that their troubles have been coming from another source. Right here I would like to cite you an example of the situation that they were faced with not so long ago. In 1932, under the Republicans, we had 12,500,000 unemployed, with average hourly wages at 45 cents, and we had 15 cent corn and 3 cent hogs. In fact, you burnt up some of your corn, because you couldn't market it, it was too cheap.

Those gluttons of privilege remember one plain fact. Never once during the great crises of the past 50 years have the Wall Street Republican administrations lifted a finger to help the farmer. Wait a minute-wait a minute!--they did once. They gave you a Farm Board. That was their great contribution.

How well you must remember the depression of the 1930's! The Republicans gave you that greatest of all depressions, as I said before, when hogs went down to 3 cents, and corn was so cheap you were burning it up.

All through this country, the American farmer and worker have been the victims of boom and bust cycles--with accent on the bust, especially for the farmers and the workers. And they have suffered alike in these misfortunes.

I wonder how many times you have to be hit on the head before you find out who's hitting you? It's about time that the people of America realized what the Republicans have been doing to them.

Why is it that the farmer and the worker and the small businessman suffer under Republican administrations and gain under Democratic administrations?

I'll tell you why. It is the result of a basic difference in the attitude between the Democratic and the Republican parties.

The Democratic Party represents the people. It is pledged to work for agriculture. It is pledged to work for labor. It is pledged to work for the small businessman and the white-collar worker.

The Democratic Party puts human rights and human welfare first.

But the attitude of the Republican gluttons of privilege is very different. The bigmoney Republican looks on agriculture and labor merely as expense items in a business venture. He tries to push their share of the national income down as low as possible and increase his own profits. And he looks upon the Government as a tool to accomplish this purpose.

These Republican gluttons of privilege are cold men. They are cunning men. And it is their constant aim to put the Government of the United States under the control of men like themselves. They want a return of the Wall Street economic dictatorship.

Quote of the day

"Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it."
Adolph Hitler

Sidney Crosby is Nick Jonas

Who is who? I don't feel like writing an article, sorry.

Drill Baby Drill?

To solve what, exactly?

Ezra Klein, points out:

This, it should be noted, is the primary solution emphasized by the woman John McCain says "knows more about energy than probably anyone else in the United States of America." At least he left a "probably" in there as a hedge.

Maybe Kansas is right

Quote of the Day IV

Barack Obama:

"There is an old saying that Abraham Lincoln had about one of his opponents, he said if you don't stop lying about me, I'm going to have to start telling the truth about you."

The Bush Doctrine?

I quote James Fallows of The Atlantic at length:

It is embarrassing to have to spell this out, but for the record let me explain why Gov. Palin's answer to the "Bush Doctrine" question -- the only part of the recent interview I have yet seen over here in China -- implies a disqualifying lack of preparation for the job.

Not the mundane job of vice president, of course, which many people could handle. Rather the job of potential Commander in Chief and most powerful individual on earth.

The spelling-out is lengthy, but I've hidden most of it below the jump.

Each of us has areas we care about, and areas we don't. If we are interested in a topic, we follow its development over the years. And because we have followed its development, we're able to talk and think about it in a "rounded" way. We can say: Most people think X, but I really think Y. Or: most people used to think P, but now they think Q. Or: the point most people miss is Z. Or: the question I'd really like to hear answered is A.

Here's the most obvious example in daily life: Sports Talk radio.

Mention a name or theme -- Brett Favre, the Patriots under Belichick, Lance Armstrong's comeback, Venus and Serena -- and anyone who cares about sports can have a very sophisticated discussion about the ins and outs and myth and realities and arguments and rebuttals.

People who don't like sports can't do that. It's not so much that they can't identify the names -- they've heard of Armstrong -- but they've never bothered to follow the flow of debate. I like sports -- and politics and tech and other topics -- so I like joining these debates. On a wide range of other topics -- fashion, antique furniture, the world of restaurants and fine dining, or (blush) opera -- I have not been interested enough to learn anything I can add to the discussion. So I embarrass myself if I have to express a view.

What Sarah Palin revealed is that she has not been interested enough in world affairs to become minimally conversant with the issues. Many people in our great land might have difficulty defining the "Bush Doctrine" exactly. But not to recognize the name, as obviously was the case for Palin, indicates not a failure of last-minute cramming but a lack of attention to any foreign-policy discussion whatsoever in the last seven years.

Two details in Charles Gibson's posing of the question were particularly telling. One was the potentially confusing way in which he first asked it. On the page, "the Bush Doctrine" looks different from "the Bush doctrine." But when hearing the question Palin might not have known whether Gibson was referring to the general sweep of Administration policy -- doctrine with small d -- or the rationale that connected 9/11 with the need to invade Iraq, the capital-D Doctrine. So initial confusion would be understandable -- as if a sports host asked about Favre's chances and you weren't sure if he meant previously with the Packers or with the Jets. Once Gibson clarified the question, a person familiar with the issue would have said, "Oh, if we're talking about the strategy that the President and Condoleezza Rice began laying out in 2002...." There was no such flash of recognition.

The other was Gibson's own minor mis-statement. American foreign policy has long recognized the concept of preemptive action: if you know somebody is just about to attack you, there's no debate about the legitimacy of acting first. (This is like "shooting in self-defense.") The more controversial part of The Bush Doctrine was the idea of preventive war: acting before a threat had fully emerged, on the theory that waiting until it was fully evident would mean acting too late.

Gibson used the word "preemptively" -- but if a knowledgeable person had pushed back on that point ("Well, preemption was what John F. Kennedy had in mind in acting against the imminent threat of Soviet missiles in Cuba"), Gibson would certainly have come back to explain the novelty of the "preventive war" point. Because he knows the issue, a minor mis-choice of words wouldn't get in the way of his real intent.

Sarah Palin did not know this issue, or any part of it. The view she actually expressed -- an endorsement of "preemptive" action -- was fine on its own merits. But it is not the stated doctrine of the Bush Administration, it is not the policy her running mate has endorsed, and it is not the concept under which her own son is going off to Iraq.

How could she not know this? For the same reason I don't know anything about European football/soccer standings, player trades, or intrigue. I am not interested enough. And she evidently has not been interested enough even to follow the news of foreign affairs during the Bush era.

A further point. The truly toxic combination of traits GW Bush brought to decision making was:

1) Ignorance
2) Lack of curiosity
3) "Decisiveness"

That is, he was not broadly informed to begin with (point 1). He did not seek out new information (#2); but he nonetheless prided himself (#3) on making broad, bold decisions quickly, and then sticking to them to show resoluteness.

We don't know for sure about #2 for Palin yet -- she could be a sponge-like absorber of information. But we know about #1 and we can guess, from her demeanor about #3. Most of all we know something about the person who put her in this untenable role.

Hollywood Commentary of the Day

Paul Reiser, on the absurdity of what this campaign has become:

"I think the tone of this whole campaign would have been very different if Senator Obama had accepted my request for us to appear in town hall meetings all over America," the Senator from Arizona tells us.

Am I just losing my friggin' mind? Seriously. I keep looking around the room to see if I'm living in some suddenly altered state where everything we know is now called the opposite, and nobody notices. Or can stop it.

"I wish I didn't have to take your lunch money, but you should'nt of hadda brung it."

We're in the 3rd grade again. The skinny, smart kid who just moved in to the neighborhood is getting roughed-up by the asshole bully. The kid who hits you in the head with your hand and says, "Why're you hitting yourself? Why're you hitting yourself?"

"Um, actually I'm not. You're hitting me."

"You calling me a liar?"

"No, I'm just pointing out that..." SMACK!

"Why're you hitting yourself?"

And there seems to be no one to appeal to. There're no grown-ups around when you need 'em. No one to step in and say, "Alright, that's enough now. We don't do that here, fella." And in the absence of any authority, the asshole gets to keep doing it.

"Why're you hitting yourself? SMACK! Why're you hitting yourself?"

Is Socialism the "new black"?

With the nationalisation of Fannie and Freddie last weekend, it might be fair to say that Putins soul wasn't the only thing Bush saw on that fateful day.
According to The Times :-
"This was, after all, the biggest expropriation of private property undertaken by a government outside the former communist world, yet there was absolutely no protest, nor even discussion, about the terms imposed by the US Treasury. But what is even more significant is that nobody in American politics or business objected to this anti-capitalist coup."
Or did American politics and big business have a bigger fish to fry.......... a pig in lipstick maybe?

The trend continues though......
"An early sign of which way the wind is blowing will come from a vote in Congress later this month on a request from General Motors and Ford for $25 billion in subsidised government loans to support their investment programmes through the energy and housing crunch. A few months ago such a request, which would, of course, be illegal under EU state aid rules, would have been unthinkable. Today, however, the question in Congress is not whether to grant this subsidy; it is whether to leave it at $25 billion or raise it $50 billion, as both Barack Obama and John McCain now propose."

Maybe the US isn't as Conservative as the republicans would have us believe. POWER TO THE PEOPLE! Long live Che!

Quote of the Day, II & III

Sarah Palin (from the San Francisco Chronicle):

Palin said she had insights into U.S. relations with Russia because "they're our next-door neighbors, and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska ... from an island in Alaska."

Krista at Balloon Juice:

"And when I look out my window I can see the moon. Doesn’t make me a fucking astronaut now, does it?"

Quote of the day!

"Alaska: a place where you can't be too fat or too drunk, a place where no one says, ‘Let's see your high-school equivalency certificate.'" Homer J. Simpson

PIG GATE

Putting lipstick on a pig — who said it first?

“You can put lipstick on a pig. It's still a pig”
Barack Obama, on Tuesday, on John McCain's campaign adopting his “change” mantra
“I think they put some lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig”
John McCain, in October 2007, on Hillary Clinton's healthcare plan
“John Kerry tries to put a bunch of fancy, fancy talk . . . but there is nothing you can do to really - to really obscure that record. You can try, though . . . We call it putting lipstick on a pig”
Lynne Cheney during the 2004 presidential campaign
“Mr President, it's not that easy. This town is full of people very experienced when it comes to putting lipstick on a pig”
GOP Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Washington in April 2004
Source: Times archives

Hollywood Commentary of the Day, II

A slightly more analytical take from Pamela Anderson:

"Confident in that Readiness"

In Charlie Gibson's interview with Sarah Palin, the power-abusing, creationist responded to a question about when McCain asked her to marry him... on the presidential ticket, that is:

"I answered [McCain] 'yes,' because I have the confidence in that readiness and knowing that you can't blink, you have to be wired in a way of being so committed to the mission, the mission that we're on, reform of this country and victory in the war, you can't blink."

"I thought yes right off the bat. … When he offered me the position as his running mate, the first thing I said to him was, 'Do you really think that I could help the ticket? Do you really think that I could help this country?"

Hmm.... confidence? Something about the word confidence and immediately questioning her value to ticket and country doesn't jive. Aren't these questions indicative of a lack of confidence?

If my boss asked me, "Nani, would you to help me lead a team of renegades to loot the Gulf Coast during post-hurricane pandemonium?" and I responded, "Well, Sonny Landham, do you think I would be good at carrying flat screen TVs at a quick pace? Do you think I would help uplift the good name of renegades everywhere with my actions?" how would that sound?

McCain / Palin Campaign Demands Apology From Cincinnati Road Race

In the wake of the recent flap over Democratic Presidential Nominee Barack Obama's recent remark that the Republican Presidential Nominee, John McCain's claim to be the candidate of change amounted to "putting lipstick on a pig," the McCain campaign has lashed out at what they consider another sexist use of the word "pig."

This time the McCain campaign's target was Cincinnati's Flying Pig Marathon.

Speaking on behalf of the McCain campaign, former Massachusetts Gov. Jane Swift tonight flatly stated that the entire City of Cincinnati had called Palin a pig.

"[T]he formation of the Palin Truth Squad couldn't have happened too soon, as we saw when we discovered what I can only deem to be disgracefully named road race in Cincinnati, Ohio that compares our vice presidential nominee Gov. Palin to a pig," Swift said.

"The City of Cincinnati owes Gov. Palin an apology," she said.

Asked whether she knew that the name of the race dated back to a time before Palin was even Governor of Alaska, and why she would jump to the conclusion that one of the most conservative cities in America was "comparing" Palin to a pig, she said Palin was the only one of the four candidates on both parties' tickets who both must "fly" to reach another state, and who is, in fact, a pig.

"She is the only one of the four candidates for president, or the only vice presidential candidate who can't drive to a neighboring state, and the only one who's a pig, so...," Swift said. "Oh wait, that came out wrong. What I meant was, it seemed to me a very gendered comment."

But, Swift added, if "as part of its apology the City of Cincinnati wants to say, no, the race was named after Sen. McCain -- who is a true hero in our country, then I suppose we could wait en masse for an apology to that, as well."

It was pointed out to Swift that Cincinnati has other oddly named events, such as "Goettafest," Swift then suggested that Cincinnati was calling McCain "well, something nasty, I'm sure, although I don't know what that is."

"I have a fourth-grader and two second-graders at home," she said. "I bought them from a family of gypsies. Anyway, I would not teach them that this is sort of a high-minded city event when they are calling people goetta or a pig. In fact, it sounds a lot like some of the least intelligent debates on the playground sound like at our elementary school."

A reporter then reminded Swift that in December, McCain was asked about criticisms coming his way from then-opponent Gov. Mitt Romney, R-Mass., and McCain replied, "Did you ever hear the one about the ape raping the woman and the woman likes it?"

Was McCain being sexist or calling Romney an ape? a reporter asked Swift.

Of course not, Swift said. "He would be the first one to tell you, his wife's a c*nt. He can be as sexist as he wants. He deserves the latitude."

-- Rodney "Hot Rod" Lincoln fake reporting for the Tricky Trail Times.

Partially adapted from this blog post from Jake Tapper.