Quid Pro....Not So Fast, My Friend!

On this evening's "Hannity", the intrepid reporter shared some rather interesting data with us. He sited, specifically, a statistic which shows that counties that voted for Obama, when all is said and done, will ultimately receive twice as much stimulus money as those that voted for McCain..............................................................................Wow, huh? Well, at least that was my initial reaction to the numbers. After a few minutes, I started thinking, gee, could there possibly be one or two other distinctions going on here? Like, for instance, what are the populations of these counties? Democratic areas tend to be more densely populated. Wouldn't it stand to reason that the counties which Obama carried would also have more people? I don't know, to me, a much more fair and square analysis would be to look at this trend more from a per capita perspective. Are these Obama leaning counties getting more stimulus money per capita? If in fact Mr. Hannity can provide me some compelling numbers along these lines, then, yes, maybe I'll listen to him. As it stands now, I'm at least a little skeptical.

Love Has No Pride, Baby

I don't know, folks, I guess I would consider myself a fairly proud individual. Not in the sense that I consider myself special or anything. Clearly, I know that that just isn't the case. No, I'm talking more in terms of not being one of those guys who constantly feels the need to kiss people's asses - that type of being a proud fellow...........................................................................But, I'm also telling you, if the great Barbara Stanwyck (circa 1935-1945) had ever asked me to bend over and pick up a pile of dog-shit (bare-handedly, mind you), I'd have flat-out done it, folks. I would have even gone so far as to do it with a smile on my face. Seriously. Hell/youza, I probably would have done it in a manner that would have made the Fred MacMurray character in Double Indemnity look WAY triumphant, look like a he-man, look like a guy who didn't need a spinal transplant, etc..............................................................................Pride, in other words - it just might have taken a lengthy vacation with THAT femme fatal around. Reooowww!!

Like Bubbles on a Shotgun

Hey, Congressman King, why don't you tell us what you REALLY think about Michael Jackson? LOL..................................................................Seriously, though, did you have the chance to catch any of that little beat-down? Talk about a major-league bitch-slapping, huh? I mean, don't get me wrong here. I was never a big Michael Jackson fan, either. At the very least, I considered the guy a schlockmeister - and, yes, an inappropriate one, at that (this, I'm saying, in that, even if he didn't molest children, he brought them into his bed, for Christ!) But, come on (I wanted to tell the congressman), they haven't even buried this poor guy yet. And as even someone as bellicose as Pat Buchanan has stated, when the good Lord has his hands on a person, it's probably time for the rest of us to let go. I mean, don't you think so - at least for a while?

Thinking Outside the State

I have absolutely no idea what Sarah Palin is doing here, folks. I mean, sure, if she's decided that she's flat-out sick of politics, wants to pack it in, etc., fine. That I understand (and, no, I can't really blame her, either - the way that she's been mistreated by the press, etc.). If, however, she still has an ultimate design on the Presidency, then, no, what the governor's doing here is utterly incomprehensible (to me, anyway).............................................................................I mean, think about it here. What is it that Mrs. Palin needs more than anything else? Yeah, that's right, something to put on her resume! And, yes, me-buckos, what could be better for that than finishing off her first term as Alaska's governor? Now I understand that a lot of people are saying that this decision will free her up so she can start campaigning. But come on, it's only 2009, and we're only half way through it!! She would, if in fact she finished her term, have ample time to put together an operation..................................................................................Of course, an even more damaging aspect to this decision is the fact that it allows her political adversaries (and, yes, there are many, MANY, of them out there - OF BOTH PARTIES!!) to label her a quitter. That characterization alone could sink her. We'll just have to see, though, huh?

Haunts of Vintage Wrestling

So, how in the hell does this "Fairness Doctrine" work? Rush Limbaugh would get to do his shpeel for a while? And then, what, some Keith Olbermann type would get the microphone and counter him? Is that how you seriously propose that this thing would work? Hm, that's interesting...........................................................................This, I'm saying, in that, sure, it sounds like it might be entertaining and all (God-damned humorous, one might even goes as far as to say). But, ladies and gentlemen, it also sounds like one would be running a radio station like it's a bunch of nasty bullshit. I mean, come on here, what about the frigging 40% of us who don't particularly care for either Limbaugh OR Olbermann? Who in the hell is going to be speaking to/for us? It doesn't sound like anybody will. Oh well, at least we'll still have that 3-6 ring circus to constantly divert/amuse us. Oh, and the classic rock station, too. Heaven forbid that I forget about that.

Blunt Message to Hadley

So, Mike, you think you've never lost an argument, huh? Wow. That's some interesting (not to mention egotistical, self-serving, delusional, etc.) shit you got there, bro. But you know who else thinks that they've never lost an argument? I'll tell you. Children. Yeah, that's right, Mike. Children NEVER, EVER, think that they're wrong. And, while, yes, sometimes they're actually kinda cute when get that way (well, especially when they're not YOUR kids), you, Mike, you're in your frigging 30s. It isn't anywhere near that cute when you do it ("look at me, I'm right again, yada, yada, yada"). Sorry, but it isn't........................................................................In all seriousness, though, these are extremely complicated issues. And, no, me-bucko, not a one of them seems to have a perfect solution, either. Take the current health-care crisis, for instance. Yes, Mike, there ARE advantages to a single-payer health-care system. But, unfortunately, so, too, are there disadvantages. It is ALL about intellectual honesty, bro. This, I'm saying, in that, yes, argue for your positions and all, but, please, so, too, hold out for at least the slightest possibility that you might in fact be wrong. BECAUSE, believe me, there's a rock-solid 50% chance that you may be.

Steeper Hills, Less Gas to Go Up Them

There's this one thing about "Cap and Trade" (i.e., the energy bill recently passed by the House) that seriously puzzles me. How do all of these things lessen global warming if China, India, etc. continue to grow (their economies) and pollute with impunity? And couldn't this legislation even go as far as to increase the level of greenhouse gasses that some of these companies emit? This, I'm saying, in that, what if some of these businesses decide that they need to go overseas for survival - and, yes, to a country that has even lesser air quality standards than we do? Talk about the law of unintended consequences, huh?.......................................................................And then, of course, there's the economic unfairness of it. We're asking American companies and individuals to make a series of sacrifices that these other emerging super-powers AREN'T making. And we're doing it in the middle of the worst economic down-turn in decades. I don't know. It just doesn't make any sense to me.