"Survival of the Squeebiest"

By Matt Taibbi of Rolling Stone, courtesy of Alternet:

The word "squeeb" is a crude mix of squid and dweeb, and by inventing it I mean no disrespect to the squid...

[A squid] has no heart, and its first instinct when trouble comes is to hide in a cloud of its own excretions. This is why a squiddy word like squeeb seems to me to be a good way to describe the American voter during a presidential election season.

That's especially true now, during a "controversy" like this latest flap over Barack Obama pastor Jeremiah Wright. This Wright business is a perfect example of the American electorate at its squeeby worst -- panicky, gutless, acting more on reflex than thought, incapable of retaining information for more than a few minutes at a time. It's also a great example of how the presidential election process has become more about enforcing the attitudes of a cultural orthodoxy than a system for choosing leaders.

Through scandal after idiotic scandal, the election process has become a painfully prolonged, deeply irritating exercise in policing conventional wisdom, through a variety of means keeping the public in a state of heightened, dumb animal panic, and ultimately turning the election itself into a Darwinian contest -- survival of the Squeebiest.

click here for the whole thing

I highly encourage reading more of this article, it's jam-packed with very funny comments about this so-called scandal and the dolts who created it.

Actually, I've got nothing to ad, I just wanted to share this with all the people who stumble upon this blog after googling "eminem backmasking," (there really are a lot of them...)

Is lead overhyped? Doesn't matter.

I tuned in to some down-home Fox News talk radio this evening, as I do from time to time for laughs.

This particular pundit was ranting in typical Faux fashion about the "lead scare," and about how "lots of parents are freaking out" because of lead presence in children's toys. The pundit said that his generation, as parents, worry too much about their kids. He said something like "many" parents are opting not to buy plastic toys for their kids this Easter, because a Chinese company was found to have Easter eggs with more than the legal amount of lead in the coloring. His argument was that the hype about lead in kid's toys (made in China, of course) is overkill, because lead levels were much higher in the past and everyone turned out relatively well. "Where are th heaps of dead?" he asked.

To scare a Fox pundit you have to have PILES of dead people, not just a few poisoned children throughout the years and scores of mentally disabled people, linked directly to things like lead paint and other pollution...

Anyway, this particular rant really got my bullshit detector humming, and I wanted to document all my thoughts about it right here:

1) ARE "a lot of parents" really freaking out about this, or is Fox hoping that after hearing someone mention the latest "lead scare," that more of them WILL freak out? So, a few articles come out documenting a violation from a Chinese toymaker, some parents post some shit on the Fox Forum, and all of a sudden scores of parents are needlessly freaking out and not buying Easter eggs for their kids. Right, I'm sure Wal-Mart is bogged down with unsold Easter shit (bunnies and candy to commemorate the crucification of your savior? FUCK YOU!).

2) This pundit pointed out that the EPA's standard for lead levels in products was less than .6%, and asked "What IS .6%? I can't see that!" Something like "the average Joe doesn't know what .6% is!" just a bunch of useless whining. At the end of his bitch fit, he was careful not to sound like he was advocating laziness, or carelessness, saying that "they" (the EPA) keep "lowering the standard" of what is too much lead. Yes, the actual percentage of what is legal has been lowered over the years, but most sane people recognize that as raising the standard, not lowering it. This wording, of course, was a lousy attempt at sounding like he wasn't advocating regression in consumer safety.

Country of Laws - Ralph Nader on Spitzer/Bush hypocrisy

From nader.org:

Eliot Spitzer violated certain laws regarding prostitution and transferring of money through banks—though the latter was disputed by some legal experts—and for such moral turpitude emotionally harmed himself, his family and his friends.

George W. Bush violated federal laws against torture, against spying on Americans without judicial approval, against due process of law and habeas corpus in arresting Americans without charges, imprisoning them and limited their access to attorneys. He committed a massive war of aggression, under false [pretenses], violating again and again treaties such as the Geneva Conventions, the UN Charter, federal statutes and the Constitution.

click here for the whole thing

Yeah, Nader is really smart. I'd kick myself for not thinking of this legal conundrum myself, but Ralph is really, really smart.

Bottom line: Spitzer broke the law, he resigned; Bush has broken the law many times, he claims he will leave office with his "head held high."

Free Tibet! (and the rest of China too, damnit!)

From the AP via Yahoo:

BEIJING - Soldiers on foot and in armored carriers swarmed Tibet's capital Saturday, enforcing a strict curfew a day after protesters burned shops and cars to vent their anger against Chinese rule. In another western city, police clashed with hundreds of Buddhist monks leading a sympathy demonstration.

the whole thing

I had to click this headline when I saw it because I saw a "Free Tibet" table outside the UNO library not but three days ago. When I saw them, I thought about their cause and realized that it's kinda short-sighted. While Tibet probably deserves freedom, so does ALL of China! In other words, don't just free Tibet, free the rest of China as well, it's still a one party state and this is the 21st century.

Read "The China Fantasy" by James Mann.

Happy 400th Post!

Wow this is my 400th post.

I've been doing this since the '04 election, and now the next election is at our doorsteps.

Let's recap the last Bush term:

• still in Iraq
• still have disproportional taxes
• Supreme Court is basically Margaret Thatcher's wet dream
• still aid terrorist states
• still have NAFTA
• the gears of war are shifting towards Iran
• and a whole lot more

Guess I better keep blogging.

An excersize in bullshit detection

I was looking through some British news sites, ones I don't usually read like The Independent and The Times, and I found this article about Hamas/Iran at the latter 'news' paper. The article is really short and to the "point," and to the average reader, this article would probably present a reasonable excuse for starting a war with, or at least placing sanctions on, Iran. Is it possible that that's what the article is designed to do, make the average Joe who happens to read it feel like the authorities are doing the right thing at that time? Just consult your bullshit detector, here's how:

THE Palestinian group Hamas, blamed for last week’s massacre of eight students at a Jewish seminary in Jerusalem, has revealed that hundreds of its fighters have been trained in Iran.

So Hamas was "blamed," but were they actually responsible for it? Did they admit to committing the "massacre"? While the subject of the article is aside from that detail, the addition of "blamed for killing school girls," makes sure the reader knows these are the bad guys, regardless of who actually trained them (that's the subject of the article). Let's continue:

A senior commander interviewed by The Sunday Times said 300 of the group’s “best brains” had been secretly sent to Tehran.

You can't tell from just this quote, but the senior commander they're referring to is supposedly a commander from Hamas. This may seem like a weightless argument, but why would a senior commander of Hamas reveal a "secret" to a reporter from The London Times, much less agree to an interview in the first place? Is this a credible testimony? The article doesn't name who the commander was, so if what "he said" was actually true (considering the interview really happened), he must be sabotaging Hamas from the inside. That would make sense, except that the article also says this:

“Iran is our mother,” the commander said. “She gives us information, military supplies and financial support.”

Forgive me again, for sounding like a conspiracy theorist, but isn't that statement kind of.... exactly what certain people want to hear from groups like Hamas, so they can continue to label Iran a "terrorist threat" and therefore legitimize sanctions or even war? and once again, why would a senior commander of Hamas, who says things like "Iran is our mother," expose all of this to a Times reporter if the training was supposed to be a secret?

Enough with my pointed questions, I'll just say this: I think it's highly likely that this article is complete bullshit. There's no way to confirm that this interview even took place, that's the beauty of the story: the guy was giving away a secret about his big bad terrorist organization, he'd be killed if he were identified. But therein lies another contradiction: if this guy is a commander of a big ol' bad schoolgirl killing organization, why hide his identity and protect him? What does The Times owe to this guy, who's part of an organization who supposedly kills innocent people? It is physically impossible that everything in this article is accurate, there's at least one fabrication here.

The Ritter lecture I saw

This is the actual lecture I attended with Scott Ritter, former UN Weapons Inspector/Intelligence Officer/US Marine.

Austin domestic abuse officers more efficient than Houston's

In this really short article from the Texas Observer, Houston is compared with Austin in terms of how its law enforcement deals with domestic abuse. There's also information about the Bush administration's undoing of legislation that protected undocumented women from the "catch-22" of calling the police after being abused by husbands with legal US citizenship.

It's a good, important read for everyone, check it out.

Gaza Under Siege

Gaza Under Siege is the latest article from Ralph Nader. Here's the most interesting quote:

Hamas, which was created with the support of Israel and the U.S. government years ago to counter the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), has repeatedly offered cease-fire proposals.

Just another example of how spot-on and direct Ralph is on the issues. Here's an idea: vote for him.

Friday Face Time: Instant Runoff Voting

Definitely Not Safe for Work

Sitting here in a simultaneously liberal and conservative city, I'm reminded of how equally crazy my home state is.

If you're in a place where you can read a story and watch a video about dildos/sodomy and the legality of owning one/participating in it in the Lone Star State, click here now. The article, courtesy of Alternet, is called "The Great Texas Dildo Wars of 2008."

Bottom line: sexual discrimination is still a problem in this country, depending on where you go.

Commanding Heights

Go check it out, it's a PBS feature.

I haven't finished watching it so you may see an update on this later.

The US, UN Security Council, and EU are BREAKING THE LAW

From the AP via Yahoo!:

The U.N. Security Council approved a third round of sanctions against Iran on Monday with near unanimous support, sending a strong signal to Tehran that its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment is unacceptable and becoming increasingly costly.

For the first time, the resolution bans trade with Iran in goods which have both civilian and military uses and authorizes inspections of shipments to and from Iran by sea and air that are suspected of carrying banned items.

Iran signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty circa 1976 (when our puppet leader, The Shah, was in power), and has every legal right to enrich uranium. The UN Security Council is punishing Iran for NOT breaking the law.

Imagine if a police officer gave you a ticket for going the speed limit. That would be illegal. This is the EXACT same thing.

Iran was under the control of the Shah when they signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty, Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney were there, probably grinning like idiots. Now that Iran is under leadership who don't answer to the United States or United Nations or European Union, all of a sudden it's "unacceptable" for them to enrich ANY uranium AT ALL.

The Shah did studies back in the 70s and concluded that, despite Iran's oil capacity, the country would hit an energy crisis within 30 years if they did not begin to find an alternative way to generate energy. Eager to help, Rumsfeld and Cheney oversaw and approved Iran's signing on to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

IT'S A FISH CONSPIRACY

You know there's a conspiracy afoot when something smells fishy, and this time it's actually fish.

Have you noticed how every single fast food chain (including Subway) has starting featuring their fish sandwiches in more ads lately? McDonald's has the double Fillet O Fish, Jack in the Box has a new fish sandwich, Wendy's has a new fish fillet sandwich, and I just saw a Subway commercial that featured their tuna sandwich.

Is this a result of the beef recall? Seems like it. Probably is. I dunno, it's kinda stupid seeing as most of the recalled supply of beef has already been eaten, and there wasn't necessarily anything wrong with it in the first place.

So maybe it's not because of the recall, maybe there's something else wrong with the beef..... more than the big corporate farms, the fast food chains, and the media tare elling us.......IT'S A CONSPIRACY! That's the only explanation.

(yes this was a joke......) But really, is fish any better right now than it's been before? Could there be something wrong with the current beef supply? I guess it's always better to opt for fish if you're gonna have meat, maybe this is an overall good thing. But that just wouldn't be blog worthy, would it?

The Senate "appologizes to Native Americans"

It's an election year, and a Republican decides to act as the spokesperson of a heart-warming, feel-good...piece of paper. A piece of paper that says something to the effect of: "The US government apologizes for any misdeeds it committed against the Native American community over the coarse of this nation's history."

Hundreds of years of exploitation, humiliation, subjugation, genocide....."Sorry."

'Yeah, sorry about destroying your way of life and everything, man our great great grandfathers were NUTS! Well, here's a piece of paper that says we acknowledge that people like us did horrible things to people like you, happy now?'

Okay, to be fair, the Senate is putting more money into "health care for Native Americans" or something like that, but I still get this weird vibe from this story. Seems kinda like....a diversion or something.

Happy March - I just found some vodka in the freezer

I'm feelin' pretty good right now.

I just opened the freezer and saw a bottle of "spring water." I picked it up and realized the stuff inside was not frozen. I took a whiff and concluded that it was some sort of clear liquor.

So I took some sips.

And I'm diggin' some Weezer, I can't wait until their new cd comes out, here's a link to a vid I made about Weezer fans:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=wSp5Ov_6Zho