N-Bomb Nader

You can dance to it, they'll say it to each other, but if a white guy uses it, duck.

Speaking Wednesday night at a Washington fund-raiser to retire the debt from his 2004 presidential campaign, Nader complained that Democratic Party powerbrokers had kept him off the ballot in such Southern states as Georgia and Virginia - which reminded him of the oppressive Jim Crow laws that denied African-Americans equal rights.

"I felt like a [n-word]," remarked the 70-year-old white multimillionaire graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School.

I'm shocked, shocked and outraged! Ralph Nader is a filthy racist!

Oh wait, I guess not.

"Nader is not a racist by any stretch of the imagination," Sharpton told me yesterday. "He has a good track record. But he ought to be sensitive that he does not sanitize that word."

Sanitize the word?? Perhaps black people using the word in every sentence are sanitizing the word? Perhaps every song on MTV and top hits radio that shouts the word fifty times a minute is sanitizing the word.

I swear, I listened to a black comic (Ronnie Jordan) on Puff Daddy's new comedy show, it was absurd. Every word. This is verbatim: "Niggas be mean, niggas." So he was using it to describe black people, AND to address the audience! It was crazy-talk! Literally, every joke opened that way. "Niggas be lazy, niggas" "Nigagas be broke, niggas" "nigga, you ever try to get a ride from a nigga, niggas?" I am dead serious, I recorded some of it because it was so insane. Talk about sanitizing the word!

It's nice to see Al Sharpton sticking up for Ralph Nader's comment. Think he does the same for a GOPer? I'm sure he would. Remember when he stuck up for Rush Limbaugh when Rush said the media treats McNabb better because he is black? No? Me neither.

Talk about a weird juxtaposition

Right now, simultaneously, if you have HBO, you can see Arnold as the Terminator (Terminator 3) and as the Governator, on FOXNews.

What an odd time we are living in...

At least the Brewers don't play Everquest (Curt Schiiling is a ubergeek!)

Curt - My most memorable EQ and EQ2 moments usually center around laughter. So many late night sessions, things that made me bust out laughing out loud at 3am are things I remember. Drow's original Gunny, one night he was foraging, talking trash on guildies and in chat and splat, falls off a cliff and dies, laughed for 30 minutes at that one. Another one was when one of our original Coercers, Obms, was killed to the point of nakedness during an early Maidens Gulch Raid. It was like 2am, we just wipe for the 6-7th time, I turn around and there's a naked ratonga, emoting left and right about covering himself and yelling in ooc not to look. Spur of the moment stuff like that I remember. I also remember Amaryllia and Locke basically table dancing in front of a DROW recruit in EFP, then I get a tell from that person with something like "Dude where can I sign up and does that come with membership"?

anyone know what the hell he is talking about?

C-SPAN 3 IMPEACHMENT!!

Well, here we go. Charlie Rangel is basically talking around the fact that he thinks President Bush should be impeached, and that an inquiry should be started into the impeachment proceedings.

Fan, meet feces (perhaps).

Here is the DU thread about the hearings, pretty informative (sift through the nuttiness).


UPDATE: Tammy Baldwin (as John Kerry would say) the umm, cough, er...lesbian Congresswoman from Wisconsin, is also at the hearing, I am hoping she opens her mouth and say something as stupid as the rest of these chuckleheads, as I assume I am one of only five people in all of WI watching C-SPAN 3.

Nadler just talked impeachment.

C-SPAN Question

Do they have call screeners on Washington Journal. This was the call just now to a Tim Curran, editor of Roll Call:

(woman from Arkansas): You need to find out who put a tap on my phone, because whoever did is a murderer and a traitor.

What?????

I'm home from work because of a funeral in a few hours, and I decided to watch C-SPAN because the lefties claim it is the best source of news. This is what I get? A nutter from Arkansas telling the editor of Congresses' paper that her phone was tapped? This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever spent any time on. Honestly, no wonder DUer's are so unstable.

Gitmo Rant

I may be pointing out the elephant in the room here, but I think there are more practical reasons for "torture" than garnering information.

There is a reason I won't ride the Marakesh Express, I don't want to wind up in a Turkish prison. If playing Christina Aguilera music and parading women around naked while depriving men of sleep (when did Gitmo turn into a weekend in Vegas?) makes a few murderes stop and ponder their fates if they are caught, all the better.

It's the old head-on-a-pike theory, the deterrence of perceived violence. I see nothing wrong with letting the world know that if we catch a terrorist, they aren't going to get a stay in Club Med, they are going to be punished and grilled for information.

If anyone really believes that the treatment we give these bastard makes on iota of difference to how our soldiers are treated, they need to wake up, turn off NPR, and take a peek into the real world now and then. These are evil people trying to do evil things to literally kill you and I.

We are at war, you namby pamby pinko pacifists, and war is unpleasant. Go hug a tree or save a whale and leave the real world problems to people with a backbone.

crossposted at BBA.


UPDATE: A slogan for those namby pamby pinko pacifists over at Right Wing News

Another Geek Post (The Gamers Manifesto)

This is great. The ten things video gamers want from "the industry" now that the seventh generation of video game consoles is about to be unleashed. Sprinkled with harsh humor and intelligent arguments, this is a great read for video gamers (yeah, even those of us who only play EA sports games).

I understand that John Madden was raised by wild boars...and that he learned his few English phrases phoenetically from watching reruns of Wild World of Sports. But EA, if you want to get me revved up about Madden 2006 on the XBox 360..promise me that you won't play the same Madden commentary sound files on every fifth play. "Whoa, he looked like he was hit by a truck! A five-ton truck hauling a trailer!" Yes, you'll hear that one six motherslapping times in one game of Madden '05. YOU HAVE A HARD DRIVE NOW, taking data from a 9 GB DVD. You have NO excuse to keep recycling the same mindless observations over and over and over again until we're pointing at our television with a shaking finger and screaming "EAT ME, JOHN! JUST EAT MEEEEEEE!" as most of us do now

That's gold Jerry, gold!

So Much for Transperancy in Government! (Hillary shuts out media)

A major appearance by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in Buffalo was suddenly closed to the media Monday, a week after the senator lambasted reporters for lacking enough "spine" to stand up to the Bush administration.

After a day of conflicting statements, there was no clear answer to the question of who closed the Erie County Democratic Committee's fund-raising event in the Buffalo Convention Center to reporters and photographers.

Senior county Democratic officials told The Buffalo News early in the day that Clinton aides had told County Democratic Chairman Leonard R. Lenihan that the senator's people wanted the event closed to the media.

So, does the media lack the spine to face the Bush administration or does Hil lack the spine to face the American public with her leftist rhetoric?

L.A. Marquardt: Today's LTTE Idiot

The Urinal chose today to publish a letter to the editor so shockingly stupid that I can barely form the words to explain it.

President Bush says Amnesty International's charges are absurd. Or was it the word "gulag" that was absurd?

The questions we citizens should ask ourselves are: Are we treating the detainees as we would want our soldiers to be treated? Are we forgetting that the detainees are only accused? Are we teaching the principles of freedom and democracy by the way we have treated the detainees?

Given the charges about how we treat detainees, why are there no serious and open investigations by our government? Finally, why do we appear not to care about the answers to these questions?

It is silly to wave our flag or the Bible if we do not support the values for which they stand.

L.A. Marquardt
Stevens Point

Yes, sir/mam, the word "gulag" was absurd, and Amnesty International admitted it was over the top hyperbole and that no one was bring starved or forced to work. In fact, these enemies of America have it better than they have probably ever had it in their lives. They have shelter, regular meals (better than I normally eat), and they even get their own shiny new Koran. (Check out Lee P. Butler's great editorial; The Disneyland of Gulags).

Secondly, are we treating detainees as we would want our soldiers treated? Let's look back on the past few years of captured Americans. If supposedly urinating on the Bible or blarinf Afghan's equivalent of Christina Aguilera was the worst Americans were getting, then this may be a valid point. However, I seem to reall a BEHEADING or two (or has it been dozens?) and some contractors burned and their bodies desecrated. Yeah, L.A., not their bibles, but their actual bodies. Which is worse?

Personally sir/mam, I think it is silly to waive your quaint idealistic leftist comapssionate world view at the terrorists we have detained while you fail to do the same for the American's who are protecting you life.

Fascinating Discussion on the Origins of the Laffer Curve

I got a link to this through Townhall.com's email updates. This is a darn interesting clarification on how the Laffer Curve came to be a staple of the 1980's economic policies.

in the afternoon Rumsfeld's secretary advised me that he had to cancel because the President wanted him at that hour, but that I should meet with his deputy, Dick Cheney.

I'd also known Cheney from his OEO days with Rumsfeld, and when I got him on the phone I suggested we meet at the Two Continents cocktail lounge in the Hotel Washington, just a block from the White House.

When we met there in a booth at 4 p.m., the only other person to join us was Grace-Marie Arnett, who had been press secretary to Sen. Pete Domenici and who Cheney later hired as deputy press secretary in Ford's 1976 presidential campaign. Oddly, both she and Cheney recall Laffer drawing the Curve, but he insists he has no recollection of having done so. It no doubt was routine to him, but not to the rest of us.

Really all I remember taking place was his drawing the Curve. This occurred with Laffer unable to get Cheney to see how two tax rates would produce the same revenue, one at a higher lever of production than the other. The paper-napkin sketch obviously impressed him because he called me a few weeks later at the Journal to tell me Rumsfeld had asked Treasury Secretary Simon to prepare a tax-cut proposal for presentation in January with the budget and the President's economic message.

Patrick Ruffini Nails Gitmo

This is some of the best analysis of the current lefty furor over Guantanamo Bay and Camp X-Ray. Basically, WE ARE AT WAR! These people are/were trying to kill us and possibly know of others who are trying to kill us. When, in the history of the world, has throwing people who are at war with your country into hock been frowned upon? It is a ludicrous argument that we on the right should be happy to fight.

I'm surprised that some on the right haven't been quite this forward about making the argument. When it comes to national security, as evidenced by last November's election, unalloyed strength is almost always the best position, regardless of the specifics. And yet, when it comes to making the argument for strength, conservatives have been flummoxed. But there's a cure for all that ails us.

National security populism.

We shouldn't be afraid of making the argument, even when it sounds rough, even when it sounds impolitic, in ways that connect directly to the security of you and your family. That's how you approach debates like Guantanamo and Bolton. The moment you get bogged down in arcane procedural minutae (Is it or is it not a filibuster?) you make it something less than what it is: a referendum on strength or weakness in the war on terror.

With rare exception, Democrats have taken the position of weakness. Oh sure, they can call it what they want: conciliation, negotiation, nuance, understanding, but their basic position is something the public pretty plainly understands and clearly rejected in the elections of 2002 and 2004. As such, we don't need to win the argument all over again when trying to mobilize people over al Qaeda detainees and Bolton: just connect these issues to the narrative of strength and weakness people already feel in their gut.

FSU QB: "I AM GOD!"

Chris Rix is a teetotaler, (note the brushed out booze glass in Michael Bolton's hand). Rix and fellow QB (for a brief stint) Adrian MacPhersons had legal trouble to varying degrees. Now, incoming incumbent QB Wyatt Sexton has been escorted to the hospital by police after a Dave Matthews concert (see also, acid/mushroom induced hysteria) for causing a ruckus in the middle ofthe street.

Witnesses told police that Sexton had been making strange gestures, and at one point jumped onto a car. When asked to identify himself, Sexton "yelled that he was 'God,' " the report said, and acted in a manner irrational enough that the officer pepper-sprayed him.

Only when police put him in a patrol vehicle did Sexton identify himself by name. As police transported him to the hospital, and upon arrival, he reverted to identifying himself as "God" or the "son of God."

Bobby Bowden, the notoriously soft head football coach at FSU and friend to Burt Reynolds has suspended Wyatt, at least until he decides upon one part of the Holy Trinity with which he identifies.

Feingold Solidifying His Radical Stance

Today Sen. Feingold made it a point to be a radical by voting (with 23 other dems) against confirmation of a moderate judge nominated by President Buch. Not even the nuts at DU could get themselves worked up over this one, yet Feingold voted against confirmation, throwing his name in with other ultralibs like Hillary Clinton, Barbara Boxer, Ted Kennedy and John Kerry.

Maverick my ass! Even fellow leftists like Chuck Schumer and Barak Obama voted to confirm.

Exposing Barak Obama - Leftist

WILLisms has a fantastic dissection of Barak Obama, exposing the media darling and so called moderate for the leftist he really is. It is quite in depth, as are most of WILLisms posts (remember the Babe Theory!)

But Obama is not moderate. He wasn't a moderate before his 2004 election, nor has he become moderate since joining the Senate.

Indeed, Obama recently went out of his way to compare President Bush's vision for an Ownership Society to "Social Darwinism-- every man or woman for him or herself," in a commencement address at Knox College:

It’s a tempting idea, because it doesn’t require much thought or ingenuity. It allows us to say that those whose health care or tuition may rise faster than they can afford—tough luck. It allows us to say to the Maytag workers who have lost their job—life isn’t fair. It let’s us say to the child who was born into poverty—pull yourself up by your bootstraps. And it is especially tempting because each of us believes we will always be the winner in life’s lottery, that we’re the one who will be the next Donald Trump, or at least we won’t be the chump who Donald Trump says: “You’re fired!”

Requisite Video Game Tournament Advice

via FARK

There are few pieces of advice one can give to a friend when they embark on a video game tournament. Top on the list has to be "get a life" but a close second comes from Gary, an Anglican pastor and avid Halo 2 gamer.

"Look out for the guys with no tans," Gary says. "They're the dangerous ones."

The rest of the article is a pretty funny play-by-play of the decimation faced by novice gamers when they venture into the no holds barred world of competitive video gaming.

The next game is a blur on failure. I can't count the number of times someone snuck up behind me and "assassinated" me. I'm tempted to change my game name from The Parcel to Target Dummy.

Suddenly the Master Chief enters, clad in his magnificent green armour. Fans flock around to have their photo taken with him. It's like Pamela Anderson has entered the room. Interestingly, he doesn't have his trademark battle rifle - it's illegal to brandish even a replica gun in public in NSW.

It is on game six that I cross battle rifles with Grim Wally. The object of the game is to hold a ball for five minutes, but after Wally kills me a few times, all I can think about is revenge. Once I get him in my sights, I lose it.

"Die, Grim Wally, die!" I scream. After a burst of gunfire, his figure crumples to the ground, arms twitching. I'm not the only one screaming in the room. By this time, people have fuelled up on Red Bull and are getting jumpy.

Caffeinated teammates are exchanging high fives and yelling, "Double kill! Double kill!"

Our losing streak continues until lunch. We resolve as a team to win at least one game. Gary and I discuss the possibilities of Halo 2 as a church event, but Gary is unsure about the idea of his flock "shooting" the pastor.

Sorry but this whole article inspired a lot of searching for a documentary called Gamers and hillarity ensued. Eventually, I found the Gamers website but not before stunbling upon a video that has made me laugh for hours on end when the work trickles to a drizzle. The classic LARPer "lightining bolt" video. In addition, I ran into this film, an entire documentary about the crazy LARPer's (live action role playing). Nutty stuff. Make sure to check out the trailer! There is also a TV spot worth viewing.

The Situation with Tucker Carlson

Tucker Carlson Starts Anew With MSNBC Show - Yahoo! News

Tucker Carlson's new show starts on Monday on MSNBC at 8 O'Clock. The Yahoo! story says it will be like a PTI for politics, which actually sounds promising. Also, if Olbermann's show is any indication facts, news and ratings won't affect the shows tenure.

I like Carlson's show on PBS, I can't for the life of me recall what its called right now, and I hope it will be a blend of that and Crossfire, in that it will feature political substance with some debate, instead of the story du jour used to incite arguments.

"What we have on the air is not a right-wing program or a left-wing program or even a middle-of-the-road program," said Kaplan, a longtime producer at CBS and ABC News before moving up the executive ranks. "We think that we have a program that's full of opinion and full of biases on all sides. I think that's really the key. You want to leave it with the viewers to make their own determinations."

Sounds like it is worth a shot on nights when the Crew isn't playing. It can't be worse that Countdown or Coast to Coast.

The Situation homepage over at MSNBC.com has a preview of the show, seems like it could work. Also, in what seems to be a prerequisite over at MSNBC these days, Tucker will have a blog hosted by MSNBC.com.

Radio Bleg

A buddy of mine was just on 620 telling Stuart Scott to "take a hike." I was watching the Cubs-Sox game so I didn't hear it. I despise Stuart Scott and was hoping one of you had recorded the show. I really want to hear this segment but have no idea how, unless someone by chance recorded it.

Any help is much appreciated!

South Park Conservatives

I finally got around to listening to the gop.com podcast with the author of South Park Conservatives, Brian Anderson. I am particularly interested in this book because I have an inkling that my political views are closer to the so-called "south park conservatives" than they are with traditional conservatives. By this I mean on social issues I tend to lean somwhat more libertarian than I do on economic issues, where I am a hard core free market Randian.

Anyway, to the point. I listened to the podcast and was quite surprised. It is well done, insightful, and entertaining. I think it is about ten or fifteen minutes and well worth the listen.

In short, I will be picking up South Park Conservatives tomorrow, and will drop a review when I get a chance.

To keep the reading kick going (and to make it look like I do more than surf the internet) I am currently reading Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress Free Productivity. It's actually a well-written, light read that has some helpful techniques about how to get your work done without the hassle of all-out mental effort, thus really freeing up your free time. I recommend it to anyone with a job that also wants to have a life. The fact that it was helpful to me, a 23 year old without any real responsibility, I imagine it would be incredibly helpful to those who have to share their time with family.