Miscellaneous 36

1) While I like Charlie Crist and probably WOULD vote for him if I lived in Florida, I do have to admit it here, folks, some of the stuff that they've been saying about him (i.e., that he's a weasel, an opportunist, etc.) may in fact be true. For instance, I was watching part of one the recent debates down there, and Mr. Crist went on to say that, even if he had won the Republican nomination, he still would have left the Republican Party....Now, I don't know about you people, but, to me, that just doesn't pass the smell-test (leaving a political party right after you had won the nomination of that party). And, yes, me-buckos, add to that the fact that he STILL won't tell the public which party he intends to caucus with. I mean, I really hate to say it here, but, yeah, damned if it isn't starting to smell like some rank opportunism - or at least that's the way that I'm beginning to see it (though, yes, like I said, I'd still probably vote for him).............2) I saw an interesting "60 Minutes " piece a few weeks ago. They had this expert on who was saying that Medicare fraud has now eclipsed drug dealing as the number one crime in all of Southern Florida. I don't know, I guess that Medicare has basically become little more than a check-writing enterprise. You've got a lot of these fly-by-nights/bogus store-fronts who are literally billing Medicare for nothing. And they don't get caught because a) Medicare still has very little in terms of fraud prevention and b) by the time that suspicion does arise, the bastards have moved on to yet another scam/neighborhood. President Obama said that Medicare fraud was going to be one of his priorities. Hopefully, folks, it will continue to be so....P.S. But just for some added inducement here, hows about this one? If President Obama can significantly reduce Medicare fraud, not only will I vote for him again, I will personally carve his likeness onto Rushmore.

Ann Miller and Cyd Charisse (Circa 1953)

What would be my answer to the question, "So, who are the two women that you'd most want to see naked....together?"

Listen to Me, I'm Always Right 22

Rachel Maddow and Paul Krugman are just flat-out geniuses. Not, mind you, because they necessarily know what they're talking about, but because of this fool-proof form of logic that they've somehow/incredibly constructed (a system of argument in which they simply cannot be proven wrong)................................................................................................Here, me-buckos, is basically how it works (and, yes, I'm obviously referring here to their somewhat radical views on deficit/stimulus spending). If and when, on those sporadic occasions when government spending does stimulate the economy, there they are, Ms. Maddow and Mr. Krugman, obviously (and, yes, perhaps legitimately so) claiming that they're right. But, when in fact it doesn't work, they can also claim to be right by simply saying that the spending wasn't large enough..............................................................................................So, for instance, when somebody points out that the Japanese stimulus programs of the '90s didn't work, they can simply counter this by saying that that was only because the packages weren't large enough. They can also say that the reason Roosevelt never got us out of the Great Depression was because he didn't spend ENOUGH, that the reason Mr. Carter never really got the economy going (in the '70s) was because HE didn't spend enough, that the reason the latest U.S. stimulus program (all 862 billion of it) hasn't been effective (some conservatives would say that it hasn't been effective at all - I personally wouldn't go THAT far) was because IT wasn't big enough.............................................................................................You do see what I'm saying here, right? You simply cannot beat them. Well, unless, that is, you take a shot and maybe point out the absurdity of it . Not, of course, that they're ever going to admit to....

Sentries

This is probably going to piss off both sides BUT, in my opinion, one of the major reasons that we had continuous peace and prosperity in the '90s was BECAUSE of divided government. The Republican Congress kept a check on the Clinton administration, and vice versa. Now, absolutely, we weren't able to accomplish everything (a reform of the health-care system, the most obvious omission). But think about it here, 20 million new jobs and four consecutive budget surpluses - does that not look like a pretty good record?...............................................................................................Of course, the question is, can something of a similar nature occur if the Republicans take control of the Congress this year? A great many people say no. They point to the fact that Obama appears to be far more of an ideologue than Clinton and, hence, he may not be able to triangulate like the latter. "They" also point to the increasingly strident nature of the Tea Party movement, the fact that this movement has more or less co-opted the Republican machine (the implication being that they're not going to want to be bipartisan, either)...........................................................................................Hopefully, though, there will be more cooperation. I mean, think about it, we've got what on the horizon; immigration reform, entitlement reform, deficit reduction? I personally don't see any of these things that can be solved by one party alone.....The way that I see it here - get something substantively done, and then argue over who gets the credit afterwards.

Miscellaneous 35

1) Yes, folks, I voted for Mr. Obama. But I voted for him, not because I thought that he was the "next Lincoln"....or the "next JFK"....or the "next FDR"....or the "next Ike"....or the "next Truman". I voted for him largely because his opponent, Mr. McCain, was talking like a crazy-man (sing-songing about devastating aerial attacks, engaging in a litany of bizarre 180s, etc.) . I, in other words, was voting for the lesser of the inadequate choices. Never once, folks, did ever buy into this whole "he's a new brand of politician" nonsense. Just for the God-damned record, I'm saying.............2) I have to admit it here, I've never really cared that much for Barbara Boxer. But when that individual went out of her way to get the General to address her as "Senator", man oh man, I'd probably have to say that it was THAT that really put me over the edge. I mean, talk about some severe pomposity!....And, yeah, I'll flat-out say it here, ignorance, too. Ma'am and Sir. That is HOW the military is directed to talk to civilians. It's like, what, she didn't frigging know that?....I actually kind of hope that Fiorina beats her. If nothing else, she's easier on the eyes.............3) Tony Perkins (he of the Family Research Council) went on National television last week ("Parker-Spitzer, I believe) and proclaimed that getting rid of "don't ask, don't tell" would allow for "open homosexuality in the military." He told a bald-faced lie, in other words. Getting rid of "don't ask, don't tell" would do literally NOTHING to the current code of conduct in the military. It would still be against protocol to fraternize. This Perkins dude is either an idiot or he's trying to gin-up fear. Either way, he was clearly being a dick.

Miscellaneous 34

1) I live in (supposedly) the tough part of town. And I have to be honest with you here. When I'm out late at night walking, and I see some young people (they're almost always white - so, please, do not go there), I DO tend to get nervous. Does this mean that I'm stereotyping/sliming all of the young people in my neighborhood? I sure as hell hope that it doesn't. And, yeah, this is exactly why I'm willing to give Juan Williams a break on his recent controversial comments on Muslims (that, and, plus, if you listen to the entirety of Mr. Williams's comments, he was basically defending Muslims).............2) I also have to wonder here. What if Mr. Williams had made a similarly disparaging/stereotypical comment about the Tea Party people? Would NPR have fired his sorry ass for that? I personally don't think that they would have. Hell, folks, they might have even given him a raise/contract extension.............3) They say that even a broken clock is right twice a day. To which I would always counter by saying, "Yeah, well what about Tom Tancredo?" Well, guess what, folks? It looks like I finally might have to add Mr. Tancredo's name to the adage. I was watching Fox the other day and in this interview he said that, GET THIS, we really need to look at legalizing marijuana, that the "war on drugs" is failing, and that the legalization of pot would be one effective way to neutralize the drug cartel. Wow, huh? Let's just say that I couldn't frigging believe it....You go, Mr. Tom Tancredo.

If Sisyphus Had a Shovel

One of the things that bugs me most about Mr. O'Reilly is the fact that he NEVER....STOPS....DIGGING! It's like with this whole "Muslims attacked us on 9/11" situation. All that the SOB really needed to do was simply say, "Yeah, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply that all Muslims had some culpability here. I probably should have clearer that it was the extremists who were responsible." And, yes, me-buckos, that clearly would have been that. But nooooooooooo, he had to dig in his heels and get all defensive about it."......................................................................................................And he's continuing to be defensive about it. I mean, he's even going as far as to try and rationalize away some of the more unimpeachable criticisms. When, for instance, Barbara Walters (quite correctly, in my opinion) pointed out (to him) that the analogy between WW2 Japan and today's Islamic terrorist situation isn't a correct one - that Japan is a specific nation and Islam a world-wide religion - he's even been trying to rebuff that (granted, it took him a couple of days to come up with something). He pointed out that Afghanistan (this, in that it harbored Al Qaeda) and Iran (in that it continues to sponsor terrorism) are in fact Muslim countries, countries to which we've had a lot of trouble with....and, hence, it is a good analogy......................................................................................................Of course, what he doesn't tell us is that a) Afghanistan and Iran are only two of what are a lot of Muslim countries (several of which we've supposedly "liberated") and b) a lot of the Iranian population is actually quite PRO western. And, yes, folks, even with the Taliban - yes, they gave safe sanction to Al Qaeda and, yes, they've treated their people like garbage. but THEY THEMSELVES didn't attack us on 9/11. We could have very easily gone in their, annihilated Al Qaeda and left. As it turned out, we've probably created more of these mother-frigging terrorists. Atta boy, Mr. O'Reilly.........................................................................................................And to think that I was defending this guy only a couple of weeks ago.

"This Has All the Excitement of a Spanish Silent Movie"

What would be my answer to the question, "So, what's you all-time favorite Howard Cosell commentary during a heavyweight title fight (Muhammad Ali vs. Alfredo Evangelista, 1977)?

Some Interesting Quotes

"Al Qaeda really hurt us, but not as much as Rupert Murdoch has hurt us, particularly in the case of Fox News. Fox News is worse than Al qaeda - worse for society. It's as dangerous as the Ku Klux Klan ever was."....Keith Olbermann, "Playboy" magazine (2007)............"Olbermann's become O'Reilly on the left - completely predictable, unfunny, and arrogant."....Michael Kazin, Georgetown University............"To my mind, what he (Olbermann) does is no different from Hannity and O'Reilly....At least Hannity and O'Reilly engage with the other side (if merely just to yell at them). Olbermann is just an echo chamber."....Michael Cohen, New America Foundation............"A man (Olbermann) of middling intelligence who imagines himself as Goethe."....Some anonymous blogger over at hotair.com.

Stephanie Seymour, BY FAR!!!

What would be my answer to the question, "So, who's your all-time favorite supermodel?"

The Truth About True Colors

The next two years have the potential to be very informative. I especially think that we're going to have the chance to see a) President Obama and b) the Tea Party in some very new and unique situations (potentially, I'm saying)...........................................................................................................For Mr. Obama, I especially see this in terms of "don't ask, don't tell". This, in that, clearly, after the election, even more so than now, the Democrats will surely NOT have a veto-proof majority. And, yes, me-buckos, because of this, the only way that President Obama will be able to halt, en masse, the discharges that result from the policy (yes, I know, he needs the Congress to pass a law to permanently eliminate it - but, just to halt the God-damned bleeding, I'm saying) is an executive order. Will he, my friends, have the political courage to do it? Me - I'm not entirely sure. My suspicion is that, if he thinks that it'll hurt him politically, he won't. Obviously here, I hope that I'm wrong..........................................................................................................As for the Tea Party, their big test will be if the Republicans ends up nominating Mr. Romney. Will they, as the clearly have with Mr. Obama, take the former Massachusetts Governor to task for his (let's face it here, VERY) liberal record (his hugely expensive health-care policy, in particular)? Or, folks, will they (in a move that would clearly indicate something FAR beyond politics) give him a pass? I don't know but, either way, it should be interesting, huh?

Miscellaneous 33

1) I don't always agree with Fox News's/syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer (especially so when it comes to foreign policy). But, I do have to tell you here, he did say something the other day to which I TOTALLY agree with. Mr. Krauthammer suggested that both parties AND the media come to an agreement which states that life officially begins for candidates AFTER COLLEGE. So, yeah/no, no more of this idiotic witchcraft, bearded Marxist, bowing down to "Aqua Buddha" bullshit. All candidates get a pass.....Better yet, we all get a break.....Very good suggestion there, Chuckster.......2) Considering that Kathleen Edwards actually comes from Canada, it probably shouldn't come as a surprise that the songwriting genius will, from time to time, throw into the mix a hockey metaphor. But, folks, I'm telling you here, on "I Make the Dough, You Get the Glory", damned if she didn't even surprise me/take it up another notch. The woman actually bellows out to some horseshoe-up-his-ass lover/douche-bag, "You're the 'Great One', I'm Marty McSorley." I mean, talk about some major-league sarcasm.......3) Just the other night, O'Reilly did this segment in which he asks his viewers (the tease), "Does President Obama have a trust problem with the American public?" O.K./fine, fair question.....But then I started thinking about it. Did Mr. O'Reilly ever do a similar segment on President Bush (you know, being that THAT President got us into a shitty war, racked up humongous deficits, etc.)? Hm. I personally don't recall there being one. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Miscellaneous 32

1) I am NOT a violent human-being. And I especially do not condone violence against women. But, I really have to tell you here, during that recent Nevada Senate debate, when Sharron Angle tried to slime/tar and feather Harry Reid with all of that, "So, Harry, where did you get all of that money on a Senator's salary?" bullshit, there is, folks, at least a possibility that it wouldn't have bothered me if somebody had bitch-slapped her. I mean, yes, I really do hate to admit it BUT, damn it all, that was just flat-out despicable, even for Sharron Angle.......2) Oh, how utterly predictable these partisan "news" cable shows have stunningly become. Just tonight, for example, Sean Hannity focuses like a frigging laser on Jack Conway (running for the Senate in Kentucky against Rand Paul), the fact that Mr. Conway's recent ad against Mr. Paul was disgusting/slimy (and it was), etc.. This, while, at the same time, he totally ignores the apparently thuggish actions of the Miller campaign up in Alaska. Dud, huh?....Oh, and, yeah, Olbermann, that guttersnipe -he, of course, does the exact/mirror opposite; focuses like a laser on Miller and totally ignores Conway. I mean, come on here, FOLKS, is this not getting ridiculous, cartoon-like, etc.?

Really? Yeah, Right

Some of these situation comedies on television are absolutely hilarious. Not because they're necessarily funny, mind you, but because of the absurdity of the assumptions involved. I mean, just look at the ridiculousness of some of these married "couples"; Jim Belushi with Courtney Thorne Smith ("According to Jim"), Kevin James with Leah Remini ("The King of Queens"), Michael Chiklis with Julie Benz (the upcoming "No Ordinary Family"), Cheryl Hines with Larry David ("Curb Your Enthusiasm"), all of those idiotic/ridiculous combinations in "Yes, Dear", "Still Standing", etc.. Do, folks, ANY of these combinations sound plausible? And it's frigging been like this FOR EVER; Elizabeth Montgomery with Dick York ("Bewitched"), Larry Hagman with Barbara Eden ("I Dream of Jeannie"), Whitney Blake with Don DeFore ("Hazel"), etc., etc.!....................................................................................................I mean, don't get me wrong here, folks. I wish to hell that life DID work this way (and, yeah, I guess that in some instances it ultimately does; Felicity Huffman and William H. Macy come to mind). But, come on, the absurdity of it, I'm saying - the pure, unadulterated absurdity of it.

A Much Needed Break From the Monotony

Chris Matthews has ruffled quite a few of feathers over the years - on the right AND on the left. I mean, yes, the fellow has basically gotten his bread buttered as a Democrat/liberal, but, I'm telling you, the overall thrust of his career is one that could hardly be called linear. And that absolutely includes now. His latest deviation occured just last week. He had salon.com's Joan Walsh on - who, in her typical partisan manner, started spinning hard for Connecticut Senate candidate, Dick Blumenthal; posing that it was a stretch to say that Mr. Blumenthal had lied about his military service (Mr. Blumenthal has, as you know, implied on several occasions that he had in fact served IN Vietnam), implying instead that he had simply misspoken about his service. Matthews, very much to his credit, immediately shot this assertion down. "How do you misspeak on something like that?"....And he didn't let her wiggle out of it, either. I mean, I don't know about you kids, but I really and truly enjoy that level of independence. Here's to hoping that we see a hell of a lot more of THAT on cable.

"I Couldn't Go For Three"

What would be my answer to the question, "So, what's your all-time favorite (former Ohio State Buckeye coach) Woody Hayes line (this, when Hayes was asked by a reporter why, when his team was already leading by 50, he decided to go for two)?"

Some Quick Observations on the O'Reilly/"The View" Dust-Up

1) Behar and Goldberg were flat-out wrong to have walked off the set. It was bush-league and they really need to get a grip in the not too distant future.......2) Mr. O'Reilly should have been far more careful in his assertion that "Muslims attacked us." The man is smart enough to know that a) it was an extreme element of Islam that attacked us and b) Muslims themselves were also the victims of this terrorism.......3) I also strongly question Mr. O'Reilly's WW2 analogy; namely, how, because we never said that it was Japanese terrorists/extremists who attacked us at Pearl Harbor, we needn't have to make a similar distinction now (i.e., the one that exists between Muslims as a whole and Muslim extremists). I mean, doesn't he know that there's a huge difference, MEGA, between a specific nation and a world-wide faith? It's like, how would he like it if every time one of these bible-thumpers blew up an abortion clinic/killed an abortion doctor we called THAT an attack by Christianity? He probably wouldn't, would he?......4) I thought that Barbara Walters handled the matter quite appropriately. She both chastised her colleagues for walking off AND challenged Mr. O'Reilly's comments. It was a very prudent piece of moderation, in my opinion.

Admission Denied!!

When Reggie Bush voluntarily gave back his 2005 Heisman Trophy, he was also quick to point out that this did not in any way signify an admission of guilt. Gee, what a surprise, huh?....................................................................................................Seriously, though, wouldn't it be awesomely refreshing if JUST ONE of these individuals - from the world of sports, from the world of politics, etc. - came clean/told us the entire truth? I mean, just in the current environment alone; Dick Blumenthal with Vietnam, Meg Whitman with illegal aliens, Lou Dobbs with illegal aliens, Roger Clemens with steroids, etc.. NONE of these frigging douche-bags have even given us a whiff of the straight stuff yet. I mean, certainly, it's a little more complicated with Clemens here - you know, now that the son of a bitch may have committed perjury and shit. But with the others it really ISN'T complicated. Just admit that you've majorly bungled and apologize. But TRULY apologize. None of this "to those who I may have offended" nonsense/attempting to mitigate the damage bullshit. To me, at least, that crap only tends to make these mamby-pambs even more unlikable.

Ashton Kutcher (For Cheating on Demi Moore) and David Arquette (For Cheating on Courteney Cox)

What would be my answer the the question, "So, who, in your opinion, are the two most moronic human beings on the face of the earth?"

The Worst, Indeed

Tonight, at approximately 8:50 P.M., those rescuers down in Chile were valiantly pulling out the 33rd and final trapped miner. CNN and Fox News were both providing continuous/live coverage of the event. You want to know what MSNBC was doing during this historic event? They were showing the 800 millionth installment of Keith Olbermann's "Worst Persons in the World" segment. Yep, that's right, folks, the programmers over at MSNBC thought that it more important to stay on message/continue to allow one of their guttersnipes to spew ad hominems than it was to cover one of the greatest, most inspiring rescues of recent memory. And it absolutely continued like this the entire evening; CNN and Fox News covering the event, MSNBC propagandizing/stumping for the Dems..............................................................................................I mean, you want to talk about some irony here. Isn't it in fact Olbermann himself who's constantly going around saying that Fox News doesn't really cover the news, that they're only a propagandist outlet masquerading as a news channel? Wow, huh?................................................................................................Oh, and, just for the record, this post wasn't in any way provided to defend Fox's enterprise. I still very much consider them to be biased. My only point is that for people like Olbermann to so flat-out say that they don't cover the actual news is just plain ridiculous. And, yes, me-buckos, based upon tonight's performance, more than a little hypocritical, too.

"Gross" Tonnage

The Live Earth Concerts of 2007 were supposed to educate the public as to the dangers of worldwide global-warming. Were they at all successful in accomplishing this?....I don't know/couldn't tell you. I mean, my suspicion is that they probably had but a marginal effect. 1) The viewership was significantly less than what was expected. And 2) there really hasn't been much in terms of substantive change since the events...........................................................................................So, having said all of this, what in fact was the REAL net result of these 2007 concerts? Hm. How does 100,000 tons of emitted CO2 sound? Yeah, that's right, folks, these supposedly environmentally friendly concerts emitted more CO2 gasses (i.e., from the traveling, the set-up, the electricity used during the shows, etc.) than a fleet of 2,000 Humvees would in an entire 12 months. Yikes, huh?....Let's just say that the road to this hell is more than likely paved with some pretty massive tire-tracks/egos.

Food on the Table, Money in the Register

Pelosi was right (yes, it does happen from time to time) and Gingrich was wrong. Food-stamps DO stimulate the economy. They stimulate it in that they a) go to poor and working class families who are far more likely to spend them and b) literally HAVE TO BE SPENT (as opposed to cash which can also be saved), and, yes, spent on legitimate items (food, as opposed to drugs and gambling). Now, are they totally sufficient, in and of themselves (i.e., to get an economy out of a recession)? Probably not. We would probably also need some longer term investments, too (non-pork infrastructure projects, job-training, small business tax-cuts, etc.). But for guys like Gingrich and O'Reilly to say that these food stamps are of limited utility and/or useless is flat-out wrong..........................................................................................................P.S. Gingrich may have also been insinuating something else with his comments (i.e., that there may in fact be a stigma involved in collecting food-stamps, an us vs. them mentality, if you will). And, yes, for that, too, he should probably reassess.

Note to Ed Schultz and Sean Hannity

Gentlemen, please, enough already with these surveys. We already know that your audience agrees with/worships you. We DO NOT need a bunch of 90-10, 95-5 results to reinforce this. And you know what else here, fellows? Neither should you.

A Combination of Nagasaki and Ground-Chuck

What would be my answer to the question, "So, what did Danny "Little Red" Lopez's face most closely resemble after its 13-round exposure to the fists of Salvador Sanchez (February 2, 1980)?"

Miscellaneous 31

1) Mr. (Lou) Dobbs has evidently never taken a course in damage control. I mean, think about it here. All that the guy really had to say was, "Yes, I really should have been more diligent, asked a lot more questions pertaining to legal status, etc..", and it would have been solid. Not that it would have silenced every critic, mind you, but it certainly would have satisfied some of them out there. This, I'm saying, as compared to the stonewalling and boorishness.......2) Alright, having said that, I actually DO have a little sympathy for Dobbs. The dude a) lives in California and b) wants to hire a landscaping firm. The odds of him finding a contractor that DOESN'T have at least one undocumented worker is literally nil. It's kind of too bad that he didn't think it through - you know, before he started to - you know..........3) Politics has literally gotten so objectionable to me that I am now basing a lot of my viewing strictly on the C.F.; the Chick Factor. At 7 (P.M.), for example, I'm now mostly watching John King - not, mind you, because Mr. King is a top notch and fair-minded journalist (which, yes, he obviously is) but because he almost always has one of my favorite news hotties, Jessica Yellin, on. Am I totally proud of this? No, not really. But it is what it is.

Miscellaneous 30

1) According to statistics from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the deportation of illegal immigrants is actually UP under Obama (a full 10% higher than they were under President Bush). Interesting, huh? Of course, what's even more mind-blowing (though, no, not really) than this is the fact that a) the right refuses to give him credit for it and b) the left refuses to give him blame for it.....And they wonder why we hate them.......2) In the comments section under one of Cyd Charisse's dance number videos on Youtube ("Party Girl" 1957), a female contributor, RivaJane, "contributed" this little gem, "Fucking hell seriously, I think I just became a lesbian after watching that!" Ooh, huh?. Now THAT is what I'm talkin' 'bout!!!!......3) The Emmys honored Mr. (George) Clooney this year for his humanitarian work. Terrific, huh? Just what this individual needs, MORE APPROBATION. I mean, don't get me wrong here. The guy DOES do a lot of good/charitable work. But he's also a frigging horse's ass at times. Like when he won his frigging little Oscar. He goes up on stage and gives this totally self-congratulatory speech; a speech in which he not only pats himself on the back but the entire movie industry, too. "We were ahead of the rest of the country when it came to race relations, yada yada." YEAH, RIGHT. African-American and Latino actors (men AND women) have been treated like shit in Hollywood. Yes, they did give Hattie McDaniel the best supporting actress Oscar in 1939. But they also made her sit in a separate section and, BOOM, in that way, treated her just like any other minority. Couple that with the lack of good roles for these minorities (white people played the Indians, remember?), the fact that the few roles that they DID get were frigging stereotypes and, yeah, Mr. Clooney really did come off like a God damned idiot/stooge. But, sure, go ahead and stroke him all you want there, folks.

"Rocky" Beating Out "Network" (Best Picture, 1976)

What would be my answer to the question, "So, what do you think has been the biggest miscarriage of justice ever at the Oscars?"

Miscellaneous 29

1) It appears that one of Jerry Brown's associates recently referred to Mr. Brown's challenger, Meg Whitman, as a whore. Sounds like a "Worst Person" nominee to me. ALTHOUGH, we will just have to wait and see here, now won't we?......2) People like Ralph Reed are always quick to point out that tax revenues doubled during the 1980s (i.e., the Reagan years) - a point that, yes, is in fact true. But, what Mr. Reed fails to tell us is that a) tax revenues have basically doubled during every decade (the 1930s obviously excepted), b) Reagan, in addition to cutting taxes, also engaged in a lot of deficit spending, and c) Mr. Reagan eventually RAISED taxes on folks. For him, Reed, to so categorically state (as Mr.s O'Reilly, Hannity, and other also have) a causal link between tax cuts and revenue enrichment is flat-out pseudoscience (not that it necessarily doesn't exist, mind you, but that it cannot be proven scientifically).

Miscellaneous 28

1) If I were the Democrats, I would definitely put the Republicans on my Christmas card list. I mean, come on here, all of these gifts/freebies that the elephants have been giving the Dems of late. The Dems, in my opinion, really need to show their appreciation somehow..................................................................................................I site, for instance, this Miller from Alaska fellow. He's continuously going around saying that unemployment benefits are somehow unconstitutional. This and, yet, his very own wife had collected said benefits not such a very long time ago. Worse yet, she had in fact been laid off by Mr. Miller himself. Oops!..................................................................................................Now, don't get me wrong here. This Miller isn't anywhere near the imbecile that Angle, O'Donnell, Brewer, and Paladino are. But he's certainly stepped into something nasty here, now hasn't he?......2) I wish that my fellow bloggers would realize - there's absolutely nothing wrong with criticizing people who you happen to like and/or support. It certainly doesn't mean that you suddenly have to stop liking/supporting them. It just means that you're applying a consistent moral standard for them - that's all. I mean, my God, there were quite a few things about Mr. Obama that gave ME some pause (his inexperience, his proposal that we bomb in Northern Pakistan, etc.). But, yes, I still voted for him. I voted for him largely because the other candidate, Senator McCain, was starting to act MORE than a little batty. And THAT to me - that's in fact how we're supposed to vote. Pick out the lesser of the two train-wrecks and hope LIKE HELL for the best (all the while while keeping an open mind, of course).......3) I often wonder, folks. How do people like Hannity and Limbaugh react when they hear about all of these young homosexuals committing suicide? Do they feel bad about it? Happy? Nothing? I mean, I just can't figure it out. This, in that it's not like they spend a lot of time covering it or anything. Perhaps it's just that they're plain oblivious (perhaps the greatest sin of 'em all - if in fact you think about it)?......4) Christine O'Donnell says that she's me?....Well then I'm definitely not going to vote for her. I mean, my God, FOLKS, we're talking about a United States Senate position here. I ain't even remotely qualified for that. Man, oh, man, if I were in her position, I would definitely pull that ad - it already haven gone viral OR NOT.

Breathe, But Breathe Slowly

We're obviously in a very difficult economic circumstance (duh, huh?). And a very unique one, too. I say this, folks, in that, not only are we facing a devastating recession, we're also facing record high deficits and a crippling debt. There isn't, in other words, a whole hell of a lot of room for error here....................................................................................................Take the Bush tax-cut scenario; whether to extend them, who to extend them to, etc.. If we don't extend them, we could end up hurting the economy. If, on the other hand, we do extend them, the budget deficit mushrooms even more so. The Republicans want to extend them for everybody. The Democrats want to extend them for everybody making $250,000 and less. What in the hell do should we do?.....................................................................................................Here's what I say. I say that we extend them for another two years. But, instead of cutting it off at $250,00, I say that we up it to $300-500,000. I would do this for several reasons. 1) There are at least some small business owners that DO make over $250,000 (and, no, my friends, they aren't all hedge-fund brokers and people like that - a lot of them are doctors, lawyers, and dentists whose offices employ nurses, medical assistants, paralegals, secretaries, hygienists, etc.). And 2) these people very much DO spend money. It probably isn't the best idea to put a squelching on that activity now....................................................................................................So, what do you think, folks? I like this compromise because it continues to pump money into the economy but it also reduces the deficit by billions.....I don't know, maybe somebody like Jim Webb would agree with me.

From the Esteemed Keyboard of One "ChickenNGravy"

This is a comment that I recently plucked from a "Huffington Post" article. Please, check it out for a minute................................................................................................."Oh please, why all the constant whining about O'Reilly? His show is commentary and the only show on Fox I can sit through. He has guests all show long with differing opinions and lets them have their say. Today's guests included the President of La Raza and reps from the NAACP....O'Reilly just doesn't agree with progressive policies - so what?"............................................................................................My response? I hate to say it here, folks, but there really isn't a whole hell of a lot about that that I can disagree with. I mean, sure, he does tend to slant to the right and probably does have more in terms of conservatives on BUT, like the young fellow seems to indicate, compared to a lot of those other talking heads on cable news, talk radio, the blogs, the rags, etc., damned if he, O'Reilly, isn't rapidly becoming one of the more tolerable ones. Who'd have ever thunk THAT, huh?

The Suckiness of Long-Term Memory

The Republican Party used to have a lot of grown-ups in it; Bob Dole, Howard Baker, Jim Baker, Brent Scowcroft, Gerry Ford, Bob Michael, Everett Dirkson, the first President Bush, etc.. Hell, people, I might even go as far as to say that the earlier incarnations of Dick Cheney had had some gravitas/common sense.....WHAT, PRAY TELL, IN THE HELL HAPPENED? I mean, I'm sorry, but, damn, I'm just not seeing a similar level of maturity in this current configuration/hodgepodge; the religious right, tea partiers, neocons, supply siders, etc. - not even remotely so. Not, mind you, that the Democrats have been necessarily wowing me, either (President Obama as the next JFK, paaaaleeeease!), but at least there seems to be a few of them seemingly still coherent. A few. A precious few, I'm saying.

A Scrub(bing) of History

I think that we've all gotten accustomed to Keith Olbermann's partisan presentations. But a comment of his last week went really, REALLY, over the top. He starts off by saying that the Republican Party won the Civil War, and then, in an obvious smearing of the grand old party, cuts it off at that. They haven't had an accomplishment in 150 years, in other words...........................................................................................I guess, folks, that he's forgotten about the six national parks that Teddy Roosevelt established, his signing of the Antiquities Act, his trust-busting rampages, etc.. Ditto, he evidently hasn't heard about Civil Rights Bill of 1957 that Eisenhower signed, the fact that he developed the interstate highway system and ended the Korean War. And, yes, what about Ford cutting inflation from 12.2% to 4.6%, the fact that he granted clemency to draft dodgers, Nixon normalizing relations with China and ending the draft, Reagan reducing inflation from 12.4% to 1.1% and signing the INF Treaty with Gorbachev, Bush 1 signing the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Clean Air Act, his brilliant conducting of the first Iraq War (yes, Mr. Perot, I know, he "created" Saddam Hussein in the '70s but, still)? Do not ANY of these things count as accomplishments? Hell, folks, even the second Bush did a good thing by tripling humanitarian aid to Africa (yes, there have in fact been questions as to how effectively the money's been spent)..............................................................................................Now, I am not in any way saying that the Republicans are perfect (they're certainly FAR from perfect currently). But for Olbermann to say that they haven't accomplished anything for nearly a century and a half is just plain ridiculous.....Here's to hoping that the programmers at MSNBC will at least consider a modicum of balance down the road.

Hit (A Lot) and Run (Extremely Fast)

I don't even think that the hard core baseball fan has truly appreciated what Ichiro (Suzuki) has just accomplished. I mean, just to get to 200 hits in a season once is an extraordinary accomplishment. The fact that this frigging guy has now done it for an entire decade (yeah, that's right, ten consecutive seasons of over 200 hits)/every single year he's been in the bigs - UNBELIEVABLE. And, while, yes, he has in fact been largely a singles hitter (he is, after all, a lead-off hitter), the rest of his stats aren't exactly shabby, either. In addition, folks, to his hit total of 2,242, he's also produced 1,046 runs scored, 257 doubles, 71 triples, 90 dingers, 556 RBIs, 382 stolen bases, 457 walks, and a .331 lifetime average. Add to that the fact that he's also won a gold glove for every year he's been in the league and, yeah, I think that it's totally fair to say that this guy is awesome.....Man, though, can you imagine if he had been able to play his entire career in America, the frigging statistics that the guy could have ended up with?..................................................................................................P.S. Still, though, even if he does slow down a tad - 5 more years at 150 hits a year - that pretty much gets him to 3,000. Not too bad, huh, for a guy who started out as a 27 year-old rookie?

"If This Song Doesn't Put the 'Cunt' Back in Country, I Don't Know What Will", Carlene Carter (Circa 1980)

What would be my answer to the question, "So, what's your all-time favorite quote from a female rocker?"

It's More Important to be....What?

How important is likability? I don't know. I guess that it all depends on who you're asking here. My suspicion is that it probably doesn't mean much at all to the bulk of these partisan radio and cable-news flunkies (Rush, Sean, Keith, Laura, etc.). I mean, come on, people, just the mere the fact that every other word from their mouths these days is an ad hominem/only people who lap it up large seemingly respect them.....................................................................................................Now, compare this, I ask you, to Daniel Patrick Moynihan. This, folks, was a fellow who literally everybody, not only liked but loved as well. And do you know WHY all of these people loved him? They loved him....BECAUSE HE WASN'T A DICK!! I mean, seriously here, this is not rocket science, folks.

To the Top of the Pile, Please!

I've decided that I need to primp MY resume, too. These, folks, are my NEW educational credentials. I have a Bachelors from Amherst, a Masters from Penn, and a PhD from Carnegie Mellon. Yes, I could have had a Rhodes Scholarship, too, but decided that it would be better to work with inner city kids for a year instead.....So, what do you think? Yeah?.... Let's just call it my brand new story and, yes, me-buckos, I am sticking to it like glue (which I invented, by the way).

High Praise

I think that we're all used to rock-folk-country-blues legend, Steve Earle, sharing with the folks his bold/controversial/unvarnished opinions/views. This, me-buckos, and, yet, rarely, if ever, do they cease to amaze/flabbergast (some of that shit about Lou Dobbs still has me cracking up). The latest quip of his that doubled me over came from one of his recent interview videos (I believe that it accompanies his Grammy-winning CD, "Washington Square Serenade"). In it, Mr. Earle referred to fellow icon, blues legend/pioneer, Robert Johnson, as "one lazy mother-fucker" (I guess because Mr. Johnson didn't want to pick cotton or something)." But, please, people, before you jump all over the guy, hear me out here. He meant it, folks, AS A COMPLIMENT. Whoa, huh? Musicians. LOL