Archive for the ‘Splenetics’ Category
Fiore's "Learn to Speak Tea Bag"
Well, gosh, word is (via Joe.My.God) that Mark Fiore's cartoon, "Learn to Speak Tea Bag", has caused some upset among conservative political extremists. Imagine! Is there, then, any better reason than that to do some viral spreading with this metaphorical blog sneeze? [YouTube link for those who don't see the embedded player.] Share on Facebook
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Rep. Joe Wilson: Republican VP Hopeful?
So we have the curious case of Representative Joe Wilson, Republican of South Carolina, shouting at the President during the latter's remarks to a joint session of congress last night. In the midst of reporting on that in today's press (e.g., the New York Times), some mention was made of the President's speech. As I [...]
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Mozart Hated It–We Should Love It?
Somewhere in my top-10 of all-time vapid pieces of music is Mozart's concerto for flute and harp, K. 299, in c major. It is dull, totally devoid of inspiration, and defines the tedious listening experience. Virtually every radio announcer who introduces this playlist favorite will point out how much Mozart is reputed to have hated [...]
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Freedom to Choose a Doctor in the US
I find that I'm still thinking today about health-care matters and the train-wreck-in-progress in the US as "we" work towards health-care "reform". Possibly topping the list of the fear and doubt instilled in the minds of voters by the big health-insurance companies is that universal health-care (usually labeled "socialized medicine") could restrict one's freedom to [...]
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Health Care: "Reform" = "Universal"
I've been reading and listening to talk about health care "reform" recently. As you will realize, for those of us in the US right now that's not a surprise, since it's the one thing all politicians are talking about while they try to figure out how to do nothing about it. The discussion right now [...]
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Phony Moralizing
Earlier today I hear a news headline / story on NPR (see also, for one more example) that quoted Dick Cheney* as referring to objections to waterboarding# as "phony moralizing". I naturally presume that this is directed at liberals like myself, particularly atheistic moral relativists who don't believe that a god is necessary to account [...]
Share on FacebookThat McCain-Palin Mob
Via virtually everyone comes links to these worthy videos at Blogger Interrupted that Tim Russo following a Sarah Palin rally: The McCain-Palin mob in Strongsville, Ohio; and McCain-Palin Mob Part 2 – Woman’s child says of Barack “you need gloves to touch him” (I link to his page so that you can see his commentary [...]
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The Correct vs. The Popular
Robin Tyler was one of the original plaintiffs in what became In Re Marriage Cases, for which the recent decision overturned prohibitions in California on same-sex marriages. In an article of personal reflections, she made these observations (obviously, among other interesting observations): In a Los Angeles Times article on May 18, Chief Justice George indicated [...]
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Local Primaries
Apparently one of the New England states had a local primary election yesterday, whose purpose was to choose a few delegates to go to a presidential nominating convention. The convention itself strikes me as a quaint curiosity, a vestigial bit of ceremony with no real use in the 21st century. The trill that people can [...]
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Definitely Finite
WASHINGTON – The Bush administration now acknowledges it is trying to recover nearly $500 million from people who improperly received federal aid money intended to help victims of two deadly hurricanes, Katrina and Rita, along the Gulf Coast two years ago. It said the amount may increase further. “This is a moving target and not [...]
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McCarthy Reconsidered
I've been thinking some about the universal excuse conservatives use to exculpate their bad ideas and failed policies: "we didn't go far enough!" It comes with numerous variations, of course, like "we didn't give it a chance" (not far enough in time), or "he wasn't a true conservative" (not far enough ideologically). We've had plenty [...]
Share on FacebookLess than Permanent
Alas, the much-touted, and much-feared, "permanent Republican majority" of the twenty-first century seems to have become somewhat less than permanent, with chunks falling off every day. Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott's resignation announcement on Monday was the latest in a wave of retirements to hit congressional Republicans, making an already difficult 2008 electoral landscape even [...]
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The Myth of Journalistic Balance
Andy* relates a little, but telling moment with Al Gore revealing some wisdom. He (Gore) was talking to some news-type person on some morning news-type program when she confronted him with an anti-global-warming editorial by a well-known global-warming critic/denier — well-known to the audience and tiresomely well-known to Gore. Here's the part of Gore's response [...]
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My Larry Craig Strategy
Throughout this whole debacle with Larry Craig and his wide stance, the main theme seems to be blinding hypocrisy on virtually everyone's part. The observation would seem to be correct that he didn't actually do anything criminal, although he confessed to a misdemeanor after being pressured and implicitly threatened with exposure. Was it entrapment? Well, [...]
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Deadline for Victory
I hear the soundbite of some Senator arguing against putting any sort of date for withdrawal from the Iraq quagmire. The claim: any sort of deadline would tell the "terrorists" just how long they have to wait us out. To my ear, the implications of that argument are two-fold: If we don't want them to [...]
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The Dumbest & Most Intelligent
Throughout this past week I heard occasional news reports about yet another helicopter crashing in Iraq or Afghanistan, killing several troops. I don't like it, but it happens — it's a war, as Dear Leader frequently reminds us. Here's what I don't get: the unseemly rush by the pentagon to release word that none of [...]
Share on FacebookIraq War or Lesbians?
The Pavlovian right-wing reaction to the news that Mary Cheney and Heather Poe are having a child — that Ms. Cheney is pregnant — is predictable, but I thought this was a dangerously slippery slope to head down: "They're deliberately bringing a child into the world without a father, leaving a great gaping hole. Father [...]
Share on FacebookPresidential Destiny: The Sequel
Nearly two years ago, while wondering why in the world any electorate would actually elect the second president Bush to a second term (all the while wondering whether we'd ever know whether he was actually elected by a majority of votes cast) I wrote* I suspect that the current president's [i.e., G.W.Bush's] destiny is to [...]
Share on FacebookA Tiny, Partisan Moment
A few days back, maybe last week, I was at my favorite luncheon spot: Taco Bell. Like most fast-food places these days, they have a wee labyrinth on the approach to their cash register (oops! I mean point-of-sale terminal, of course) to guide the single queue that forms in order to order. The labyrinthine area, [...]
Share on FacebookA Short Announcement
Since the local retailers seem convinced that the Holiday Season is upon us, I'm trying to decide which would irritate fundamentalists more as I fire my salvos in the war on you-know-what: calling it the "Holiday Season" or calling it "Xmas". I might go with the latter since great numbers of otherwise sensible people (in [...]
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