Sunday, November 30, 2008

He May Be a Bad Student...., Part Two

Just for the record, folks, I did a correlation coefficient on the Biden versus McCain class rankings comparison. As it turns out, if in fact here WERE 1,099 law students at Syracuse (the number of cadets in McCain's class at Navy), Biden's rank would have been 982nd. So, yeah, Biden would have come out better than McCain. But I don't know, 982nd doesn't sound ALL that much better than 1,094th.................................................As for Biden's ranking coming in law school, and this supposedly meaning more than McCain's stint at Navy, a couple of points. First of all, this was Syracuse Law School. A good school, but it isn't exactly Yale, Harvard, Penn, Cornell, or Columbia. And, while, yes, Syracuse is a damn decent school and all, 76th out of 85th - kind of hard to spin your way out of that one. He's a lawyer, for Christ!! You know how wany lawyers there are out there? Just in my little area alone, the Yellow Pages are full of them...................................................And another thing, folks. The Naval Academy is probably a little more challenging than the University of Delaware, the place where Biden got HIS undergraduate degree. And, yes, when Biden finally did make his way to Syracuse, McCain had a little something else going on. I think it was called Vietnam (something that Mr. Biden apparently didn't feel the need to participate in).

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Dialogue/Soliloquy

Seriously, though, why the hell does Keith Olbermann even bother to have guests? This, I'm saying in that whenever I happen to watch his show, he always has a bunch of folks on who basically answer HIS questions....the same frigging way that he frigging would................................................Just take tonight (11/26/08), for example. He had Jonathan Alter from Newsweek on and, yeah, you better be believing it, folks, Mr. Alter gave Mr. Olbermann exactly what Mr. Olbermann wanted. I think the question was basically, "do the last eight years completely repudiate conservative economic policies?" - something like that. Nice, huh? - Jonathan's response of course being, "well, obviously, Keith." And, yes, folks, that was basically that................................................Now don't get me wrong here. Mr. Olbermann is certainly entitled to his opinion and all (hell, I even agree with him from time to time) but, hey, don't you think we might want to flush some of this stuff out a little more? Like, I don't know, instead of having somebody like Alter ricocheting back to Olbermann Olbermann's party-line, answering the above question in this manner: "I don't know, Keith. It definitely repudiates the policies of this particular Republican president/congress (though, please, Keith, keep in mind, the Dems have controlled the congress since'06). To go beyond that, though, I think you first have to ask yourself the following. Were the policies that this Republican president followed necessarily conservative ones? I mean, just the out of control spending alone would lead me to have some doubts."...................................................Oh, and, yeah, maybe then throw a little Jimmy Carter back at him. "And then there's Jimmy Carter. He and the Democratic congress of his era had 19% interest rates, a 12% inflation rate, unemployment up the poop-shoot, etc.. Did that scenario necessarily represent a repudiation of LIBERAL economic policies (liberals, of course, saying that Jimmy Carter wasn't a liberal)? No, huh? You do see what I'm saying, though, Keith, right?.....................................................I don't know, that's how I would have answered it anyway.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

He May Be a Bad Student But He's Our Bad Student

I don't know, folks, to me, irony is ALWAYS beautiful. Of course, it's probably at its most exquisite when those on the receiving end are essentially lunatics, stooges, a bunch of self-satisfied bastards, etc.. Take, for instance, what's recently happened over at Lydia's. For months those lunatics have feasted on the well known fact that John McCain was hardly a stellar student at the Naval Academy, the fact that he finished fifth from the bottom of his class, etc.. And, yes, of course, they're always contrasting this aspect of McCain's resume to the fact that their guys, Obama and McCain, are flat-out geniuses....................................................Well, guess, what, folks, while Joe Biden may in fact be a genius of sorts (based, I gather, on one of the intellectual assessments used to determine such things), he wasn't exactly a great law school student at Syracuse. According to the research I've done, Biden only finished 76th out of a class of 85. Not quite as bad a ranking as McCain had, mind you, but, still, that's pretty piss-poor when compared to others in the field.......................................................Of course, when I pointed this little tidbit out to the lunatics over there, the response was as it always is - spinning, laced with pure bellicosity. And the thing is, folks, I could hardly give a rat's-ass about any of this. I could care less about any of their class rankings. My only concern is whether or not these politicians put forth a coherent message (McCain and Biden both ranked near the bottom of the the class in this regard). But you do see what I'm saying about irony, though, right, the fact that I couldn't help BUT to tweak the SOBs, etc.?

Monday, November 24, 2008

Dirty White Noise

I swear to God, folks, there was nothing - nothing but a blunt-faced bull-session, for Christ! And the fact that each of these stooges had had a myriad of their own "accomplishments"/were themselves AS preposterous, damned if that didn't add to it, too, damn it!! Of course, the fact that Slade Leeds had himself been amped to the surface at Sassy's, tarred and feathered, ridiculed, and what-not, might it not have been just enough for me NOT to laugh? I mean, come on, folks, we've got to leave a little something for humanity, no? Seriously.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Chin-Strap Reporting

I don't know, folks, to me, of all the various aspects to this year's elections, it had to be the press-coverage of Sarah Palin that truly revealed just how divisive it was. Take, for instance, the disparate coverage that this woman got on the various cable news networks. I cite, specifically, Fox and MSNBC....................................................On Fox (and, yes, especially if a person only watched Fox), the impression that one would get is that Palin is purely and strictly a victim. If in fact she's made any mistakes, they pale in comparison to the vicious/one-sided onslaught that this left-leaning press of ours has delivered; a press that was prone to despise her from the get (the fact that she's a conservative Christian, a staunch pro-life woman, all of it).....................................................Contrast this, of course, to the treatment that MSNBC gave her. I mean, just Keith Olbermann alone, for Christ (not that Olbermann himself is religious, mind you, but, I'm telling you, that son of a bitch was touting her as the frigging anti-Christ)!! Man, did he/they ever go after her....................................................Bottom-line, folks, these two rump cable news organizations have officially entered the fray. And, yes, any attempts to garner unbiased coverage/reporting must, by necessity, circumvent them - unfortunately.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Obnoxious, Moronic, and Paranoid is no Way to Go Through Life, Son

Not only is Bradley Hadley a nincompoop, folks, he's a bald-faced lying cracker as well. And, yes, me-buckos, even those bogus elements of his shiftlessness/tweaking, damned if nary a sharp-shooter could have ever resisted/plead. I mean, think about it. This guy couldn't even get the facts straight over his own anemic "resurgence", for Christ! How the hell could he even begin to decipher truth/legitimacy? Oh, and, did I mention, this stooge happens to be a nincompoop, too?

Friday, November 21, 2008

Scriptural Rupture

If somebody ever asked me to come up with a Ten Commandments of politics, how 'bout this one for starters; Thou shalt not engage in idolatry? Yeah, huh? I mean, don't get me wrong here, folks. This Obama guy looks like he actually might have the goods to be an effective leader (I especially like what appears to be a pragmatic side). He's obviously got a good head on his soldiers and, yes, I'm hoping against hope that he's learned from the mistakes of previous presidents (from McKinley all the way to Bush Jr.). But, seriously, don't you think that some of this adulation has often been a tad over the top? I've already documented instances where I think he's acted out of pure political expediency. And now he's actually thinking about putting Hillary Clinton in charge of the State Department. I don't know, to me, that sounds a lot more like the politics of "same" than it does the politics of "change" (nothing against Hillary, per se - she just needs to be in charge)...................................................And, I'm telling you, if you don't think that there's idol worship out there for Obama, just try criticizing him, putting forth an objection or two to one of his flock, etc.. I mean, you want to talk about people "losing it"? And I'm not even talking about harsh criticism, either. Hell, folks, some of the Obamaites I'd actually go as far as comparing to George W. Bush (how's that for some irony, huh?); "you're either with us or against us", etc.. Talk about scary, huh - a bunch of grown-up people putting their minds on hold like this?...................................................Speaking of which, perhaps these folks have already put forth their own Ten Commandments of politics; Thou shalt not be critical of Barack Obama - numero uno, obviously!!

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

The People/Lunatics Have Spoken

The results of these elections aren't surprising, folks - seriously. And, no, you really don't need to be a partisan liberal, either, to say that they're probably justifiable, too. Not only have the Republicans screwed up for much of the past eight years (though, yes, perhaps with an assist from Barney Frank and Chris Dodd over the final two), they also fielded a candidate for president, John McCain, who ran as dismal a campaign as any in recent memory. The guy (along with his running-mate, of course) basically didn't deserve to win. No argument from this blogger on any of it..................................................Of course, what I did find perplexing (though, no, not really, we are talking politics here) was the absolute bile that was summoned by the left (the extremists, I'm saying) in their attacks on Mr. McCain. I mean, seriously, of all the Republicans to treat like a piece of garbage - I don't know, I would have thought that McCain to have been pretty far down on such a list. Sure, he did some flip-flopping in order to get the Republican nod and all and, yes, ran a negative campaign of his own but, still, who among Republicans has crossed the aisle to work with Democrats more than McCain has? I can't think of many....................................................And, no, folks, it hasn't been on a bunch of easy/consensus issues that McCain has made these compromises. He's worked with Democrats on such contentious issues as climate change, torture, campaign finance, immigration, a patients' bill of rights, gun control, Indian affairs, etc.. Oh, and let's not forget, either, that McCain was one of the prime movers on that "gang of fourteen" (the bipartisan group in the Senate that fought to retain the filibuster option regarding court appointments)....................................................And you know what really surprised me, folks? A lot of this working across the aisle that McCain's been doing has actually taken place SINCE 2005 - the time he was seemingly moving to the right (yes, yes, I know, the 90% but, please, read on). Of all the legislation that McCain has introduce over the past three years, 55% of those times he's had a Democratic co-sponsor. Compare this to President-Elect Obama - who, when he has put forth legislation, has only sought a Republican co-sponsor 13% of the time. And when he did have a Republican co-sponsor, the legislation was usually of a non-contentious nature; ethics reform, loose "nukes", stuff like that...............................................So, yeah, while I do agree with those who say that the Republicans were undeserving of re-election, that McCain himself ran a lousy/"push the envelope" enterprise, no, I just couldn't wrap my arms around the vitriol. Sorry - flip-flops or no flip-flops........................................................P.S. Obviously, folks, I'd be remiss if I didn't also say that the right has had its own field day. They've accuse Mr. Obama of being everything from a Muslim (which isn't exactly an insult, if you think about it) to a drug addict to the illegitimate great grandchild of Friedrich Engels (oh, alright, I made that one up). They've taken some of the more peculiar associations of his and, instead of seeing them in a more benign light (i.e., as simple attempts to further his political career), tried to derive something sinister about them (Sean Hannity, anybody?)......................................................The reason I focused on McCain here is that this is a fellow who, for a while, was considered a de-facto Democrat, a man who used to thumb his nose at his own party, and who John Kerry actually wanted as his running mate in '04. I don't know, I guess I just found it amazing how quickly a lot of these old "friends" of his took an about-face on him. That's all.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Where the Hell is Dana Carvey When You Need Him?

Senator Al Franken????? Oh hell, why not? The country seems to be going down the tubes anyway. Why the hell not add a little slice of comic-relief, a man sized dose of absurdity, etc.? Granted, I would have greatly preferred Dana Carvey or Phil Hartmann (God rest that poor fellow's soul, huh?). This, I'm saying, in that at least those comedians did impressions (ever see Carvey's impressions of Ross Perot and the first President Bush? - hilarious, huh?), too. But, hey, the "Al Franken Decade", "Stuart Smalley", that was some pretty good stuff as I recall. And during these hard times, I will absolutely take it, my friends. Oh, wait a minute, he actually will be casting votes, huh? Yikes! In the words of Miss Emily Littella, "never mind".

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Seemingly Fair/Balanced

While I'm not sure what to make of it, folks, it sure as hell seemed as if Fred Barnes, Charles Krauthammer, and Morton Kondracke were bending over backwards, trying to be nice/complimentary to Obama (this, in response to his press conference last week - 11/7/08). Please, feel free to insert some "Twilight Zone" music here..................................................Seriously, though, I suppose it could have been sincere and all, trying to give the new president-elect the benefit of the doubt - whatever. But, still, I couldn't help but wonder, could this entire thing be a charade (oh my God, the Cliffster's wearing off on me - get ME to a shrink!!), a fabricated base-line of fair play or something. They want us to think that they're fair, that they're actually giving this Obama fellow a break. And, THEN, once they've established this base-line, BOOM, they're all over the guy, pressing him/his flesh to the grind-stone, holding him "accountable", etc...............................................Oh well, whatever it was, it was actually kind of nice to see - them saying that a Democrat was doing well for himself, wasn't a threat to Western Civilization, etc..

Friday, November 14, 2008

Words Can Be Dissected, Too

I guess another thing about Obama that bugs me is his terminology at times. Take, for instance, this whole tax-cut notion of his. He's promise to give 95% of Americans an income tax cut. Of course, what he doesn't explain to us is that 40% of Americans pay NO income tax. Or that, therefore, the money/reimbursement that these folks would be getting wouldn't exactly be an income tax, per se, but an entitlement.....................................................And, no, folks, I'm not necessarily saying that this is a bad idea (maybe those lower income folks DO need some help). I could probably be persuaded either way. I'm just saying that we should call a spade a spade here. If you want to give people an entitlement, tell them, "I'm giving you an entitlement." Don't try and insult their intelligence/try to sell the rest of us a bill of goods at Sassy's. That ain't even close to being presidential. P.S. And, yes, McCain certainly did his fair-share of pandering, too. In fact/like I said before, this whole election seemed like a pander fest at times. Yeah, huh, like I should have expected something different. LOL

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Oh Hell, Just Give Me a Bush Beer

For me, folks, the election basically came down to "Bush-Lite" versus "Uber-Bush" - with me ultimately deciding on the former. Yeah, that's right, I cast my vote for Senator Obama...............................................Not that I'm feeling ALL that great about it, mind you. I basically picked him over a guy who couldn't differentiate between the rival sects in Iraq, yucked it up about the possibility of bombing its neighbor, Iran, and who actually thinks that some sort of traditional victory is still a possibility in Iraq (oh, and, yeah, he thought that the fundamentals of the economy were sound/Sarah Palin was the best available V.P. choice). I mean, it was better than Obama's first victory back in '04 (over the idiot, Alan Keyes) but, still, nothing really special (actually, he did run a pretty good campaign)........................................................Why was my support for Obama not more enthusiastic, you ask? Let's see. Well, first of all, the guy's foreign policy kind of scares me. He has on many occasions talked of leaving a large residual force in Iraq (up to 80,000 troops, according to the New York Sun) - a position that I find rather shaky. I mean, think about it. What if all hell starts breaking loose? Those troops are going to be extremely vulnerable.....................................................And then there's his assertion that, if in fact the above contingency happens, he will be unhesitent to "go back in". Yeah, that's right. He has said that he would be willing to re-invade Iraq. Youza, huh? I mean, yeah, I can understand the moral argument for it and all (we broke it, it's ours, etc.) but, still...................................................... Perhaps, though, the scariest thing that Obama has put for is his willingness to send either troops or missiles into Pakistan. Now, don't get me wrong here. I want to get bin Laden and Al Qaeda as much as anybody. But going in to a sovereign nation without their permission, and especially when the new president of that country has threatened retaliation, I don't know, folks, that sounds more than a little wreckless to me.......................................................I do have other reservations about Obama but I think that that's enough for now. Later.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Plucking Out a Few Good Moments

The campaign is over, folks - mercifully. I would, however, like to give kudos to each candidate for a couple of good points that they made toward the end................................................On the Obama front, I felt he really put the whole Ayers thing in perspective when he noted that, yes, there were in fact Republicans on that educational board, too. In fact (and, yes, I believe that he pointed this out, too), wasn't the whole board itself started/financed by a Republican? Why the Obama campaign, in general (not to mention Obama's supporters in the media), didn't continuously hammer away at this point, I don't think that I'll ever know the answer to that. I mean, don't you think that it might have slowed down the vitriol a tad?....................................................McCain's good point near the end involved the program, Head Start. He said (during an overall discussion on spending) that, while, yes, Head Start is in many ways a noble program, its overall effectiveness has clearly been questioned by researchers. The gains (he goes on to say) that a lot of these children make are lost by the third grade (lack of parental involvement, bad schools, whatever the reason). Does it necessarily make sense (McCain's point continues) to throw more money at a program that isn't getting good results? Not really, right?....................................................And, yes, for McCain to have made THAT point (instead of pandering - something he had clearly been doing up to that point) at THAT juncture of the campaign - I think that that took some courage, frankly. It's kind of too bad he didn't show more of that candor on the campaign trail. He might have ended up doing better.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Germs Heading South

I was listening to O'Reilly and Bernie Goldberg the other night, folks (forgot the date), and, yeah, all I could do was scratch my head. News Flash - they're still nuts!! I mean, sure, they do from time to time put forth some decent analysis (the mainstrem media seemingly favoring Obama, etc.)....and are even amusing on occasion. But the hyperbole, though - damned if that doesn't ruin it even more consistently ("they're ALL cheer-leading for Obama", "they're ALL in the tank for the Senator", "they're ALL taking it up the poop-shoot for Obama", whatever!). At least it does for me...................................................And, of course, they're still maintaining that mantra of theirs that the Fox News Network is fair and balanced. Their current emphasis is that Fox has just as many liberals on the air as they do conservatives; equal representation, yada-yada...............................................I mean, talk about deceptive, huh? First of all, I don't think that it's necessarily true. And even if it were, it's the conservatives who always get the top-billing/their own shows; "Hannity's America" (Sean Hannity), "Fox and Friends" (all conservatives), "The O'Reilly Factor" (Bill O'Reilly), "Huckabee" (Mike Huckabee), "Your World" and "Cavuto on Business" (Neil Cavuto), "Special Report" (Brit Hume). Even Laura Ingraham and Paul Gigot have landed gigs, apparently....................................................And like I've said many times before, the liberals that they do get are almost always ineffectual. They're either off-the-charts lunatics like that Temple professor/human pinata of theirs, or they're frigging moderates/easily co-opted talking-heads like Juan Williams or Mort Kondracke. It's not exactly fair and balanced, in other words.................................................Of course, the most damning evidence of all is the fact that these liberals are always on the defensive. And if you don't believe me, folks, just watch one of these shows of theirs. I swear to God, practically every single one of their stories is something that makes the Democrats look bad (to which, of course, they have to defend themselves). There's practically no dirt-digging on the Republicans at all................................................Bottom-line, folks, O'Reilly and Goldberg are flat-out full of crap. At least they are on this issue. And, no, the fact that MSNBC and the New York Times are just as bad in the other direction - that doesn't mitigate it, either. If you say you're fair and balanced, then you sure as hell better be that - period, end of discussion.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Bolshevik Nation

We've had, folks, since the 1910s, a graduated income-tax. And, yes, a grand total of sixteen presidents have presided over this particular structure; nine of which have been Republicans. Are we led to believe that all sixteen of these presidents have had at least some socialistic leanings? I mean, seriously, if one of the criteria is that of putting a disproportionate burden on the upper-class for revenues/taxation, then, yeah, you'd probably have to believe so................................................In fact, everybody but Steve Forbes (among recent presidential candidates), Mr. Flat-Tax, you'd probably have to put into this infamous category. Add to that the whole Earned Income Tax Credit thing (another Republican approved policy) and, man/boy, do we ever have a bunch of "commies" down there in Washington...............................................Look, folks, Obama absolutely DID put his foot in his mouth (again, some might say) with that "spread the wealth" comment. But, really, his plan to alter an already graduated income-tax by a mere 3.5% (that being the increased burden for those on the top), basically getting it back to where it was in the 90s, I don't think that that alone constitutes Marxism, socialism, etc...................................................Granted, the fellow might screw up in other regards; the economy in general, foreign policy-wise, etc.. But, no, I don't think that he's going to be turning us into Sweden over-night. And, besides, even if he tries to over-reach in any significant way, he'll probably end up losing Congress in 2010 - and maybe even his own job two years later. We do still have elections, right? I mean, even a Marxist would have trouble stopping those, I would think.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

A Crazy Seed, Period

To be honest about it, folks, I don't think that that "Island Rage" was even a factor with Leeds, his having a precipitous demise at Sassy's, Garvin's, etc.. I mean, think about it, everybody! Was there not FROM THE START....at least a trace of that silly-putty nature? I, for one, am purely thinking so....................................................P.S. And, no, I'm not even counting those times that he peed through his britches at Hightower. That, I'm afraid to say, is an all-together different scenario (him having the capacity to be such a nimrod, a douche-bag, etc. and twisting it up big time!).

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Dotting the I, Crossing (Moving) the Muslim

Barack Obama's most ardent supporters are always quick to point out that their candidate is a new breed of politician, that he goes about his business differently, less partisanly (post-partisan, I believe is the term that they use), etc.. And, yes, in many ways the guy truly has been a breath of fresh air (in an inspirational sense, at the very least). But, I'm also telling you, folks, so, too, have I seen some confounding evidence here/things that lead me to believe that, yes, he is in fact quite typical; his move to the center once he got the nomination, his decision not to go with public financing, stuff like that...................................................Of course, if you're bound and determined not to believe me/continue to think that this young man is a heroic figure, then what about this? Remember when Obama was about to give a speech, and his handlers saw those two Muslim women in scarves seated behind him, and how, before the speech got started/the television cameras started to roll, those two women were asked to move? Yeah?......................................................I mean, talk about acting out of PURE political expediency, accepting the roll of a typical politician, etc.. I think it was that that cued it for me, folks/led me to believe that Barack Obama is in fact quite typical, after all......................................................P.S. Not that this was a bad "strategic" move to make. This, I'm saying, in that it probably would have looked bad to have the candidate being in such a close proximity to Muslim looking individuals. My only beef is that it wasn't in any way a new/courageous way of dealing with the problem (not to imply that Muslim-Americans are necessarily/inherently a "problem", of course). That's all.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Unbalanced Sheets

There's this thing that's been floating around the Internet lately. It asks a bunch of hypothetical what-if questions. Some of these questions are, what if Barack Obama ranked fifth from the bottom at the Naval Academy?, what if Barack Obama cheated on and ultimately divorced his recently disfigured wife?, stuff like that (stuff, in other words, that make Obama look magnificent and McCain significantly less so - a chump, basically)..................................................Kind of an interesting line of attack, wouldn't you say? Is it fair? Yeah, I guess it's fair. I mean, they aren't necessarily fabricating anything here. Obama DOES have some good points that need to be stressed and McCain some weaknesses. But it also must be stated that the McCain campaign could just as easily play this game, too. For example, what if John McCain had uttered the phrase, "typical" black people? What if John McCain had started a run for the presidency less than two years into his Senate career? What if John McCain had broken a promise about taking public financing for his campaign? What if John McCain had voted "present" 130 times as a member of the Illinois State Senate? What if John McCain had attended a church for 20 years where the pastor at least occasionally uttered anti-American rhetoric? What if, indeed.......................................................P.S. Just for the record, I think that all of this is idiotic. It's idiotic for Obama supporters to be doing it. And, yes, it would be just as idiotic for the McCainiacs to be doing it. The bottom-line is that BOTH of these guys, while they're no doubt decent fellows over-all, are extremely flawed as candidates. Our job tomorrow will be to pick out the one that is least objectionable. For me, I don't know, I guess that that choice will probably be Obama.