Saturday, January 31, 2009

Need a laugh?

Here's the story of a wingnut who went on a hunger strike because of Obama-
bjkeefe: no-one-could-have-predicted

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Well Blago is gone...alas the circus is over.

The last two weeks has pretty much removed any doubt that the man is certifiably insane.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Pubwoof's Featured Artist - Mr. Scruff



I thought I'd share this one because it's Mr. Scruff and because it has donkeys partying. I like the visual. Enjoy!

Check out Team Coleman...

In case you hadn't heard, Coleman has taken Franken to court over the recount. Yesterday Coleman's legal team turned in evidence that had been written on, redacted and edited without the changes even being noted.

TPM: minnesota-election-judges-toss-colemans-faulty-evidence-tell-him-to-try-again

Monday, January 26, 2009

Dispatches from the "War Intra-GOP" or WIG.

Looks like the tax cutters have won. I guess we should have seen that coming. Honestly it's all they seem to know. They cut taxes in good times and bad times. It's like they don't actually care about the affects of tax cuts on our budget and economy. They just want more tax cuts.

As thereisnospoon noted at DailyKos there are 3 types of Republicans left:


Residual racists uncomfortable with any portion of their tax dollars going to blacks or Hispanics, and desirous of indiscriminately killing any ethnic or religious group around the world who makes them fear for their safety;

Religious fundamentalists furious that women may be having sex without the appropriate "consequences", and terrified that gay people might "recruit" their children if allowed to live out their lives in open happiness; and


Super-wealthy families desperate to keep their 8-figure incomes untouched by the nasty hands of the same "big government" that provides the services and protections upon which they so heavily depend.

The racists and fundies are just too dumb to recognize the only group getting what they want are the super-wealthy families.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Just dropping in for a quick hello & to remind you about the Chinese New Year

Just wanted to say HEY to everyone. Sorry I have been so absent lately- I am working on a big, highly publicized trial right now and am working 70+ hours a week. I think we have one week left so I will be back soon.

Also, the chat widgy thingy doesnt work for me since the upgrade but I have already filed my official complaint with Mr. B:)

Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the new era of President Obama. I have only been able to catch 2 of his executive orders- closing Guantanimo and reversing the international funding ban on pro-choice orgs. I think both are great moves and cant wait to see what else he has in mind.

FYI the Chinese New Year is Monday. Jan 26th starts the year of the Ox- which is the year I was born under in 1973 and I am just thrilled my baby will be an Ox, too. I am fascinated by the rituals of the Chinese New Year. The Chinese believe that what you do on the new year sets the tone for the rest of the year. So, think happy thoughts on Monday, dont curse or get angry and DONT DO ANY CLEANING. In fact, hide all your cleaning products out of sight. I usually try to get my whole house clean on the Chinese New Years Eve so I can enjoy the new year in a clean space. I guess I should get busy on that, hmmmm.... Anyway, its also a good idea to wear red on the Chinese New Year and to NOT wear white or black. Color color color is the idea.

Thats all for me as I must get busy and be productive this weekend. All is going very well with the pregnancy- I will be 22 weeks tomorrow and have never felt better. Seriously, I am really enjoying being pregnant. I think I should be pregnant all the time- but daddy says no:)

xoxoxo,
S. City

Friday, January 23, 2009

Tonight's Featured Artist-The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band



Here's the are doing "The Battle of New Orleans" by John Horton.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

How to stump a Pro-Lifer.

When you say "I've known Mr. X their whole life" do you mean from birth 'til their death or do you mean from conception?

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Senator Ted Kennedy convulses then collapses at luncheon.

Senator Ted Kennedy, it is being reported, collapsed at a luncheon today. Senator Byrd was so upset he collapsed too.

That's friendship for you. When your buddy goes down, you better make sure your in the ambulance with him.

Senator Kennedy...you better not die today. You still got work to do.

Deluded? Living in LaLaLand? Try Conservo-Copy Editing!


Don't you just hate it when some punk Liberal comes along and tells you what you know to be real is bullshit? What's worse those silly fact checking sites like snopes and factcheck.org don't actually say what they should be saying.

Well try Conservo-copy editing and you can make those supposedly reality based fact checking sites say whatever you need them to!

Here's how it works. Say you're debating some punk ass Liberal about the causes of the economic mess. Now you and I both know as Conservatives, it's all ACORN's fault. Obviously factcheck.org, being a scrupulous fact checking site should say that. This couldn't possibly be untrue: "That's SO funny, because Factcheck--along with, like, the whole of the internet--states that ACORN bullied, threatened harassment lawsuits, and held protests to smear bank reputations to force them into the risky loans of the sort at the heart of our current financial crisis-"

But we got this punk ass liberal who says something to effect of: "It's funny you say factcheck.org backs up your claim that ACORN bullied lenders into writing bad loans, when in fact factcheck.org says nothing of the kind."

Now is the time to employ Conservo-copy editing to make that link say what you need it to say. So lets look at the portion of text we need to Conservo-copy edit:




The McCain ad says that ACORN in Chicago engaged in "bullying banks. Intimidation tactics. Disruption of business" and "forced banks to issue risky home loans." In support of these statements, the McCain campaign cites conservative opinion pieces, including a column by Mona Charen posted by the National Review Online, titled "Guilty Party: ACORN, Obama and the Mortgage Mess."

It is true that ACORN has led demonstrations on a number of issues nationwide – predatory lending, immigration reform, neighborhood violence, utilities shut-offs, minimum wage increases. Sometimes the group's tactics are confrontational, veering into civil disobedience. For instance, in the late 1980s, ACORN activists in a number of cities, including Chicago, seized abandoned houses and encouraged "squatting" by homeless people, in an attempt to force local governments to salvage abandoned properties and convert them into low-income housing. The targets of ACORN's protests sometimes describe the activists as intractable or even aggressive. Other ACORN protests are less confrontational; Sen. McCain himself spoke at an ACORN rally on illegal immigration in 2006.

It stretches the facts, however, to say that ACORN "forced" banks to make risky loans, though it has certainly applied pressure on banks to make loans to minority and low-income borrowers. ACORN also has worked directly with banks in a joint effort to increase such lending. In Chicago these efforts date back at least to 1992, after a report by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston showed that minorities in that city were two to three times as likely to be denied mortgage loans as white applicants, and that high-income minorities were more likely to be turned down than low-income whites. Chicago ACORN then started a mortgage assistance program, in cooperation with five local banks, to help minority and low-income borrowers get mortgage loans.

The mortgages that ACORN worked out with the banks did have lower underwriting standards than were customary. They allowed a higher percentage of a family's income to go to debt repayment, and counted rent and utility payments, not just credit card payments, as evidence of ability to pay back a loan. The loans were also more forgiving of past credit problems, as long as the recipient was making a proven effort to address them. But ACORN provided loan deals only to people who went through counseling on budget and credit issues. In 1992, First Nationwide Bank Vice President Neal Halleran told the Chicago Tribune: "Transaction by transaction, [loans from the ACORN program] would appear to be performing no worse than our portfolio overall." According to the Tribune, First Nationwide had contacted ACORN to initiate the lending program.

Factcheck.org: ACORN accusations

Well there is some good stuff in there if you're a Conservo-copy editor. First of all we got to remember, the original author chose the order of points for a reason. Conservo-copy editing magically disregards this. Watch how it works. Take the second clause from the 1st sentence in the third paragraph. Never mind the first clause of that sentence directly contradicts what was claimed. So now we got ACORN pressuring banks, but we still got to add the bullying part in there so lets take the first clause from the second sentence and the whole fourth sentence in the second paragrah while capslock screaming "AGGRESSIVE."

Thus we get:
"[ACORN] has certainly applied pressure on banks to make loans to minority and low-income borrowers. ... Sometimes the group's tactics are confrontational ... The targets of ACORN's protests sometimes describe the activists as intractable or even AGGRESSIVE"
After we applied Conservo-copy editing we get a factcheck.org citation you would be proud to have your mother post on the kitchen fridge.

Mr Bold

In or around busting the liar who wrote this post:
stlouis.craigslist.org/pol/993645260

cross posted ad nauseum on St. Louis' politics board.

A friend told me she is hopeful...

And I am too. I hope as much as Pubwoof does that we are going to see an end to the selfishness that permeates the American psyche. We're definitely going to see the end of anti-intellectualism in our public policy for a while. Wackadoodles who want to deny global warming and teach creationism in our science classrooms will not have a friend anymore in the White House.

This is an open inaugural thread. Feel free to leave comment about whatever you feel like.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Pubwoof's Obama's Inaugural Theme (a mash up)

"It's Monday Morning in America"

A little play on the Peggy Noonan's "Morning in America" she wrote for Reagan. Their message was that the sun is coming up and all is about to be better, etc. I sense a similar feeling amongst the populace nowadays, but with a greater degree of dread about how bad things are going to get (might get). If Obama wants to be one of our greatest presidential leaders, he needs to calm fears while preparing the nation for the enormity of the tasks that lay before us. The "Monday Morning" theme represents my opinion of how America should view the now; we may have a lot of work to do, but at least we can get started now, so let's get our asses in gear.

Obama will get bonus points as a presidential leader if he can begin to instill into Americans a greater sense of shared destiny. More teamwork, more looking out for the group, more connection to each other. Less selfishness, less fear, less isolationism. A renewed realization that we can stand only when together and can fall only when divided. What love can one really have for America when there is no love for other Americans? (here's mash up 2) "America simply can't work if the greatest thing we have to fear is what you can do for your country."

Of course, Obama isn't known to suck too badly at speeching, so I'm sure whatever he does will be pretty good too.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

And now the best defense of why Good people need to sometimes be assholes online...

Pharyngula: Open Season on Fresh Meat

I agree with that 100%.

Monday, January 12, 2009

Are you feelin' foggy on this economic mess we're in?

CNN ran a documentary the other day called "IOUSA." It's largely a series of one piece of misinformation after the other-which means it's great fodder for the wingnuts.

Here's a good response that corrects the record and informs you on some basic fundamentals of macro economics that's written in a clear, concise way-
Response to CNN's IOUSA

Saturday, January 10, 2009

In Holland they're skating in the canals...

This is a great Dutch tradition that unfortunately was under siege by Global Warming. This year it was cold enough to do it at their traditional time.



The film maker around 3 minutes in makes a reference to the firecrackers heard in the background. That's the symptom of an unfortunate Dutch tradition of setting off fireworks right in front of your home.

Friday, January 9, 2009

171 Republicans voted against a fair paycheck.

I just don't know how if you are woman, you could possibly vote Republican. Today's vote on the Paycheck Fairness Act in the House of Representatives should confirm to all women that Republicans do not give a damn about your rights.

AP: House approves ending of wage discrimination

Bush is of course expected to veto this fair and just bill.

Friday open thread

Thank the gods it's Friday.

Speaking of gods...they're still fighting over in the so called "Holy Land." I honestly don't think it's holy, but it's probably got some real sweet beaches.

And you know, I'd probably kill for a good beach too.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

From around the web...

I just read a hilarious round up of highlights from American racists in 2008-
SPLC-2nd Annual Smackdown awards

Monday, January 5, 2009

Tonight's Featured Artists: Pearl Jam

Here they are performing "Severed Hand" live. The music starts right after the 2 minute mark. Eddie talks a LOT.

It's official: Mr Bold has a sitting senator's signature in a book...

Al Franken has clinched the election in Minnesota. The recount is over.

I wonder what that means for my autographed copy of "Liars and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them"?

Congratulations Al! I gotta think Senator Paul Wellstone would have been proud to see the day.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Tonight's Featured Artist-Jon Bon Jovi



Here is JBJ doing "Wanted Dead or Alive" live in NYC. The song begins around 1:10 minutes in.

Friday, January 2, 2009

17 days left to go...

I can't wait til we get a President again.

Until then Call of Duty: World At War will have to do.

BTW...have you gotten a PS3 yet? They're really freakin' awesome.

 

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