Strange Random Occurences

In April of 2005, Pepper Keenan, who is from New Orleans, and his band Corrosion of Conformity released their seventh record In the Arms of God. Included on the record was the song Rise River Rise, which contained the lyrics:

So rise river rise
Wash this place away
Clean my dirty soul
So I can save it
For judgement day

In August of 2005, hurricane Katrina made landfall, which caused the breach of the levees and the catastrophic flooding of New Orleans.

Four years prior, in March of 2002, Pepper Keenan and his other band, Down, released their second record, which included the song New Orleans is a Dying Whore. That song included the lyrics:

New Orleans is a dying whore

Bwah-Hah-ha-ha!

Roger L. Simon fell for the Bosniak nonsense too! Once a hack, always a hack.

Fool. What a fucking fool.

Top Ten Reasons I'm Voting For Obama

1) He's not a Republican. As partisan as that sounds, I don't see myself supporting a Republican ever. It's possible somewhere down the line I may vote for a Republican, but I'm afraid the Bush years have soured me permanently on the Republican brand.

2) He's not a rich white guy. I am so sick of rich white guys being in charge. Wait, I know what you're saying. Obama is a rich black guy. Not true. By John McCain's definition, he's middle class.

3) He's young. He didn't grow up during WWII or as a boomer in the 50s. He was too young for the culture wars of the 60s, never had to worry about going to Vietnam. All that is ancient history. Obama came of age in the 70s, grew into an adult during the Reagan/MTV years, and really came into his own in the 90s. And I relate to that. We lack the experiences of the mid 20th Century, but we also lack the bitterness of history and the stale ideas that don't apply to now.

4) He hasn't been in politics long enough to be tainted by power. A lot has been said about Obama's "lack of experience," but I think with the experience he does have, he has all the skills necessary to be president. That he hasn't been collecting markers in the halls of power for a couple decades is a good thing. (My brother likes Sarah Palin for these very reasons.)

5) He wants to end the war in Iraq. It's been a waste of resources and manpower almost from the beginning and we've accomplished all we can accomplish over there. It's time to shut it down.

6) He seeks first to understand then to be understood. (Stephen Covey's going to sue me for stealing his trademarked Habit of Highly Effective People.) You can tell that from the way he argues. He almost always concedes a little ground (his much-lampooned agreement with McCain during the debate shows that), but then he offers his dissent in a thoughtful and considered way.

7) He doesn't play the culture war game. His famous line that "we don't live in blue states and red states, we live in the United States" is refreshing in a time when politicians exploit cultural differences for their own benefit. Obama has done little of that. He knows we all get the same cable packages, even if they're not tuned to the same channels.

8) He's calm, confident, steady, and unfailingly polite. How he carries himself and how he conducts his business indicates that he has character, not just the right stance on the right issues, which is how "character" is usually defined in politics, but actual character. Manners, morals, common decency. He strikes me as a guy who would do the right thing, even if no one was looking. That's character.

9) He's not yet president, but already he has influenced the direction of this country. Consider: He put the kibosh on a Clinton Restoration, wrestling the Democratic party, and by extension the politics of the country, away from Clinton family leadership. Call it a good thing or a bad thing, but it's a thing. Also the popularity of some of Obama's foreign policy ideas have already influenced world events. Bush is negotiating timetables in Iraq, thinking about diplomacy with Iran, getting tougher with Pakistan. It's almost as if Obama is intent on proving that "soft power" still exists.

10) His definition of the "common good" extends beyond his own demographic. It's annoying that "identity politics" has such sway, and refreshing that Obama refuses to engage in them. Many commentators have said that he can't, being a black man having to appeal to a white nation, but I don't even think he wants to play the identity card. He gets that we're all in this together, that the single moms are just as important as the soccer moms. Such an expansive view of the common good is rare in politics these days.

Calling a Fool a Fool

I saw this Michelle Malkin quote first on Andrew Sullivan's blog, then on the Balloon Juice blog. I didn't actually visit her blog to confirm that she posted it, but I'll take Sullivan and Cole's word for it.

She was warm, fresh, funny, confident, energetic, personable, relentless, and on message. She roasted Obama’s flip-flops on the surge and tea-with-dictators declarations, dinged Biden’s bash-Bush rhetoric, challenged the blame-America defeatism of the Left, and exuded the sunny optimism that energized the base in the first place.

Malkin loves her adjectives, doesn't she?

This sentence stuck out for me though:

"She roasted Obama’s flip-flops on the surge and tea-with-dictators declarations..."

The "flip-flops on the surge" must be talking about how Obama was against the surge as it was gearing up, but afterwards said it "succeeded beyond our wildest dreams." This is why I think we need a better definition of "flip-flopping."

Is it simply changing your mind? Which I did this morning when I decided I wasn't going to make coffee, but later said, ah what the hell? And made a pot anyway. Am I flip-flopping on the coffee issue?

Is it when you acknowledge you were wrong? Is that a "flip-flop?" I thought Metallica's new record would be a dud. I was wrong. Does that make me a flip-flopper?

Also, notice how Obama's position on the surge now agrees with Malkin's, but she's going to slam him anyway for flipping to her view. Agree or disagree, he's a flip-flopper!

As to the "tea-with-dictators declarations," I've already posted segments of the debate where Obama mentioned "tea-with-dictators."

Here's the relevant quote about meeting with Iran, which may or may not involve tea or some other non-alcoholic beverage:

Now, understand what this means "without preconditions." It doesn't mean that you invite them over for tea one day.

How stupid (or willingly dishonest) do you have to be to hear that and think, "Oh, he means tea with dictators." You have to be a

Fool.

Honking on Bobo

Skipped this debate, too. But I thought I'd share with you that 87% of Instapundit readers thought Sarah Palin won. 87%?

And he has the temerity to complain about bias in the real media? Bah.

Most of the other polls I've seen are a little closer...and I think their methodology and sample groups are a bit more valid.

Anyway, I highlight this stupidity from Instapundit to bring you yet more stupidity.

Witness:

MORE STILL: Reader David Rensin emails: "He didn't just call the citizens of Bosnia 'Bosniacs', did he?" Yeah, he did.

I guess we should laugh at Biden's ignorance.

But wait! The citizens of Bosnia are "Bosniacs!"

Fool.

(Ah, he corrected it. Oh well. He's still a fool.)

Updated: Josh Marshall writes:

Watching the debate I noticed that Biden referred to the Muslim population of Bosnia and Herzegovina as "Bosniaks". This is actually the correct term, though in English people often say simply Bosnian Muslims. When he said it, the first thing I though was, I wonder how many right-wingers would jump on this as a gaffe on the model of candidate George W. Bush's reference to 'Grecians.'

He has a few more examples that do not include the venerable Glenn Reynolds, glorious pundit of the Insta variety.

Art of the Pulps

I have all but one of the books published by Hard Case Crime, publishers of pulpy crime novels, some old, some new. I'm a subscriber, so they mail that month's book to me directly. They're cheap, in price and quality, but the covers are great.

Here's this month's cover, for The First Quarry by Max Allan Collins.

The woman's clothes belong in another period, but notice her bodyshape. Since her back is turned, there is no bosom to accentuate, and we all know how the pulps love to accentuate the bosom, so the artist instead gives her wide hips and a nice plump ass.

The irony is that it's the kind of ass that gets ridiculed in the tabloids. The pulps know better.

This cover, on the other hand, is unintentionally funny.

Wait, isn't that Robert DeNiro rolling the dice and Angelina Jolie mewling behind him?

A Lonely Winter

Damn it all. My schedule changed today and I thought I was going to get a couple months of 10-6, Tuesday through Saturday, an almost respectable "normal person" schedule. You get the dual benefits of sleeping in everyday, but also having enough time in the evening to visit family and friends, go to the movies, dinner, etc.

But when I showed up at 10 today, I realized I was misinformed! 10-6? Noooo, you're on the 2-10 shift. You know, the one shift of all possible shifts that you hate the most. The one that gives you two days a week to interact with the world in any meaningful sense. (Oh, to be an an alcoholic! Close down the bar every night, and still have plenty of time to sleep off the hang-over.)

You know, I love the company I work for, love the people I work with, love my paychecks, but I can't stand the schedule.

And this one, the 2-10 bullshit, is going to take me through the end of the year. And then I go back on nights. Oh joy.

Travis Henry's Last Run

Travis Henry is known for being an unreliable NFL running back. He's also known for all his kids and their various mothers. Oh, and before the Broncos cut him, he was known for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy.

Now he's known for being the money man in a cocaine smuggling operation.

Gene Upshaw is rolling in his grave right now. "I fought my entire life for higher pay for players and this is the thanks I get? I said, you should be more like Joe Montana. Joe! Not Tony!"

Safe For Work Porn

Okay, maybe not.

These are real porn clips, but given the Roger Rabbit treatment. Plenty of sex acts, but no nudity.

http://view.break.com/577249 - Watch more free videos

Proof or Pudding?

Glenn Reynolds found proof that the "MSM," otherwise known as "Where Most People Get Their News," is "in the tank" for Obama.

An anonymous e-mailer from "A MAJOR NEWSROOM" says the fix is in. I guess that's it. Case closed.

To get the TRUE story, you have to go to a dimwit college professor's blog that has "Pajamas Media" in the title. Oh, and his chin also functions as his neck.

Is it just me, or is it weird that Glenn Reynolds "and his ilk" think the MSM is so hopelessly biased that they have to start their own media outlet...so they can be as biased as they want?

I mean, he doesn't seem to have a problem with being "in the tank" for McCain...

Updated: Roger L. Simon took the bait. Fool.

I left him this comment in my own name, which probably will not appear:

This is rich. On another thread, you called me a "drive-by coward posting anonymous* comments on a blog" then deleted my follow-up comments!

And now you're willing to take some drive-by coward sending anonymous e-mails to a blog as gospel? Why, because it reinforces your biases?

(*surely you can appreciate the difference between anonymous and pseudonymous)

One More Reason to Hate Tom Tancredo

He voted for the failed bill, which isn't a bad thing. (I like the updated version more than the original plan, and if it had passed, I don't think the stock market would have tanked.)

No, you should hate him because he used a silly (but applicable, I guess) analogy to explain his vote:

"We could refuse to call the fire department and take solace in the fact that the careless smoker will lose everything - but if we do not act, the embers from the fire caused by his irresponsibility may land on homes throughout the neighborhood," Tancredo said.

The evils of the careless smoker.

Whenever John McCain Speaks He Uses a Noun, A Verb, and a FUCKING LIE

I just heard John McCain blame the failure of the bail out on "Senator Obama and his allies in the Congress."

Yes, because Obama and his "allies in Congress" are the Republicans who killed it!

I cannot take anything this man says seriously. From his VP pick to his campaign histrionics, he's a complete and utter joke.

Updated: Here's the full quote.

"Senator Obama and his allies in Congress infused unnecessary partisanship into the process. Now is not the time to fix the blame, it's time to fix the problem."

As John Avarosis says:

"Catch that - it would be inappropriate to start casting blame now, says McCain, in the next sentence after he blames Obama."

Yes, McCain's logic is impeccable.

Any intelligent person should be offended whenever this man speaks.

Clowns

So I'm watching House Republicans blame Nancy Pelosi for the bail-out bill's failure in the House, decrying all the "partisanship."

Which is kind of funny, because it was the House Republicans who killed it.

Updated: I'm with Barney Frank on this one.

Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., scoffed at the explanation.

"Well if that stopped people from voting, then shame on them," he said. "If people's feelings were hurt because of a speech and that led them to vote differently than what they thought the national interest (requires), then they really don't belong here. They're not tough enough."

Grow the fuck up! "Nancy made me do it" just ain't gonna cut it.

Aburdity of The Day

Funny question from Seth Godin:

After inspecting more than twenty million pairs of shoes, have the screeners found even one dangerous pair?

Short answer? NO.

But don't expect the policy to change. Safety first!

Oh Noes!!!

Glenn "Instapundit" Reynolds cracks me up, and not in a good way. He writes:

The press has been trying to avoid covering this for months.

The "this" is Obama's connections to former Weather Underground founder Bill Ayers.

But then he offers this quote, from a NY Post investigation:

While Barack Obama has long downplayed his connection to Bill Ayers, a co-founder of the violent Weather Underground radical group, new documents show the two worked much more closely together in starting an educational foundation than has been previously known.

Oh no! Not an educational foundation!!

Hey, I get it. The Weather Underground sucked. But the guys playing this guilt by association game just aren't winning.

A few weeks ago, that coward Roger L Simon tried to play it too. Of course, being a sleazy liar, he starts out with:

I’m opposed to guilt-by-association.

Read the rest of his post to see just how opposed he truly is.

Herb left him this love note:

Sorry, Rog, I’m not buying it. And I’m not talking about your book. I’m talking about your sincerity.

You open this post with “I’m opposed to guilt-by-association.” And then spend the next 6 paragraphs dancing to the “guilt-by-association” tune.

And I think you knew it, too, which is why you offered up this dodge:
“No matter what the truth is, this obfuscation makes it worse. Indeed, the obfuscation is the problem, in itself probably worse than almost any possible fact being hidden.”

It’s not the Weather Underground ties. It’s the obfuscation!

So which is it, Roger? Is the obfuscation really the issue? Or are you trying to play the guilt-by-association game?

Now that the obfuscation really isn't the issue, what are they left with?

An educational foundation. Which is so scandalous that Larry Craig, Mark Foley, and Scooter Libby all suffered a collective shiver.

Less Purple, More Blue

We were watching the pre-game stuff at work so I missed the candidates for Colorado's open Senate seat debating on Meet the Press this morning. I think Mark Udall (of the famous Udall family) won that one.

Of course, Schaffer's been trying to explain away his relationship with Jack Abramoff and the whole Marianas Islands mess.

Mark Udall's been around for a long time now as a House Democrat. I'm not in his district anymore, but when I was I used a fax-your-congressman feature on NORML's website to express my feelings on marijuana legalization. He responded favorably, saying he'd vote for any reform efforts that came through the House. My Senator, Wayne Allard, on the other hand, responded with the same old nonsense about how its a dangerous drug and yadda yadda yadda.

I never voted for Allard after that. I'm glad he's going. And I'm glad that Mark Udall will probably take his seat.

In Memorium

Sad entertainment news this week: We lost a legend.

Yes, Scarlett Johansson married Ryan Reynolds.

What's that? Paul Newman died too?

Oh, god...kill me now!

(The Broncos also lost today, too. To the Chiefs!!! The fricking Chiefs?!?!)