The Pure Insanity of obamaCare Advocates isgoing to (Thankifully) Kill It

I have not written anything about ObamaCare since Barack Obama gave his pitch to the nation a few weeks ago. Frankly, my eye has long since glazed over while thinking about the whole matter. The national debate--I am being generous in calling it that--has gone well beyond theater of the absurd into pure nihilism. I pretty much stopped following the circus once a protester got his finger bit off by an ObamaCare supporter.

Think of the demented character one has to have to bit off a man’s finger over a political dispute neither of them has any real control over in the first place. You cannot even chalk the incident up to the unwashed masses’ uncouth attitudes because, whether progressives want to admit it or not, there were death panels in the Senate Finance committee bill with an army of chomping at the bit (See what I did there?) eager to serve on them. If there is a difference in the character of people who will bite off someone else’s finger in a pointless political debate and someone else eager to have the power of life and death in their hands, I have no clue what it might be. I weep for our national character regardless.

ObamaCare’s support as a whole has dropped to 41% according to the latest Rasmussen poll. This is after Obama has mad his sales pitch to the country at which he was handed victim status, a valued condition for progressives, when Joe Wilson publicly called him a liar. What ever sympathy Obama might have gotten out of the outburst has faded into oblivion. I do not think there is much else he can do to win public support. Two ket senate committees have dropped the public option, resulting in health care reform being little more than new regulations for insurance companies.

Progressives have figured this out, too, and are running with one of two strategies for getting the public option back in.

The first is to just ram it through without republican support and against the public’s wishes. Few elected officials will advocate this publicly, but well known, unselected progressives--the naïve liberals for whom no one can possibly be liberal enough--like Keith Olberman, Rachel Maddow, Michael Moore, and Bill Maher are pushing for it. These are the elitist types who swear up and down government knows best. They are the ones firing up the unthinking members of the progressive base. I have serious doubts this is going to happen.

These cod option seems more popular; scare mongering with more than a dash of lunacy. I am talking about Nancy Pelosi and her nazi references, Harry Reid’s labeling of ObamaCare opponents as evildoers, and now, Alan Grayson. I will confess I had never heard of Grayson before yesterday. He is one of those 400 or so anonymous, often absentee, house members. He wants to make a name for himself in all the wrong ways.

Yesterday, he claimed the Republican health care reform plan was for sick people to hurry up and die. Today, he refused to apologize to republicans, which is fine. Lord knows most politicians need thicker skins than their candy butts seem to have. But he turned around and said he will only apologize to the dead in this holocaust of a health care system we currently have. For good measure, he said he would not apologize for the Holocaust reference, either, because he thinks the Anti-Defamation League is a ’crazy, racist institution.” Run by the same Zionists who run the world through European banks, I will bet.

I made a prediction months ago ObamaCare was going to die because it was a combination of bad legislation, drafted my naïve progressive, advocated by nutty Congressmen who have not even read the bills, and pushed by an insane grassroots effort of violent tugs. I still believe ObamaCare is going to die because the situation has nly gotten worse.

Do not get me wrong, I am thrilled ObamaCare will likely not pass. It is an awful idea that would lead to health care rationing and skyrocketing costs for a commodity constantly decreasing in quality. But I do wish there could have been a reasonable dialogue over the issue rather than the madhouse jamboree we have gotten so far. The lunatics are running the asylum, people.

Literally.

Obama, I Sing of Thee

Who said give me the children and in ten years I will rule the world? Adolf Hitler and Barack Obama, apparently.At least he has not given them guns like the Khymer Rouge...yet.

This seems like something Kim Jung Il would force children to do in North Korea. I expect a country to slowly slide into liberalism. it is, after all, the law that all things head towards entropy. But I never expected our country to go careening into blatant Marxism as fast as it is without some military takeover preceding it. This is just unreal.

I note left wing sites are ignoring the video. they are not eve bothering to defend it from the myriad conservative sites posting it, which tells me they are just as creeped out as the rest of us. That makes me feel somewhat better.

Patrick Stewart to Appear on Doctor Who?

It could happen, but it is just a rumor at the moment.

Word is Patrick Stewart has hit it off with David Tennnt while the two are starring in Hamlet for the Royal Shakespeare Company and would like to work with him again. So a spot in the fifth season of Doctor who would fit the bill considering Stewart's built in Star Trek and X-Men fanbase.

But is Stewart just being polite in interviews? One might assume so, but the possibility of Stewart playing the Meddling Monk, a renegade Time Lord who use his time traveling abilities to enrich himself. Think of the character as a much less sinister version of The master. If you want to think in Star Trek terms, the Meddling Monk is similar to Q. Someone has put thought into it, even if it is just a rumor is my point.

I am no scholar of class Who, but I believe the Meddling Monk has only appeared once before in the William Hartnell story, "The Time Meddler." Given his personality, I can understand why he would not have taken part in the Time war and ultimately survived. But goodness gracious, exactly how many time Lords did ultimately survive?

The Sarah Connor Chronicles: "Allison from Palmdale"


My review is a little late, but I missed last night’s airing. I found the episode through other means eventually and am glad I did. I am a sucker for “untold tales of the past” themed episodes. It goes back to my comic book collecting days when new writers would want to leave their mark on a character’s mythos by revisiting his origin and adding a new element we never knew about. It is rare to see it done well at all on television, much less done well. I recall some stand out episodes of the X-Files and a couple Battlestar Galactic, but that is about it. I was anxious to see what TSCC could do with the concept.

The results were mixed. I am still not very connected to these characters. I am not sure if it is the fault of the creative team or that I have experienced so many variations of the Terminator story from the movies and comic book series that it is difficult to become emotionally invested when I have see things done nine different ways in three different genres. The upcoming new trilogy of movies will probably muddy the waters for me even more.

Or it could just be the implausibility of it all. John Connor is still a whiny brat. I cannot see why his future self would send back a teenager to protect him rather than another T-800 like Ah-nold and there has been no effort to explain that one beyond being able to cast Summer Glau as eye candy. Does it seem more reasonable to have a teenager as a secret Terminator so she would be less conspicuous? I suppose that is the answer, but I have yet to see one line of dialogue or situation to prove that is a decent rationale.

In fact, I have seen the contrary, including in this episode. Cameron wigs out in a supermarket and winds up amnesiac. She is arrested, bonds with a streetwise waif named Jodi, moves into a halfway house, and eventually aids in a breaking and entering escapade all in the implausible span of an afternoon while encountering a helpless John off and on.

Cameron is convinced she is called Allison, a girl who has been captured by the Terminators at some point in the future. The real Allison is eventually killed by Cameron in the future before she is reprogrammed by the John of that time period. So is part of Cameron’s malfunction the result of guilt? Cameron has taken on the appearance of Allison, which was supposed to be a shocking revelation. But like I said, I am just not emotionally invested enough to care. What bugged me more was she nearly winds up killing Jodi, then leaving with John as though nothing terribly odd just happened. Personally, I would be freaked out if a killer robot sent to protect me was obviously going homicidally batty, but I suppose if I believed my future self had my best interests at heart, I would go with it.

As an audience member, I am having a difficult type. I thought the “B” story about Sarah Connor bonding in the hospital with her pregnant neighbor was just an excuse to get her away from John and Cameron long enough for the “A” story to be effective. The Catherine weaver subplot is moving so slowly, I have lost a lot of interest. In fact, it took me a minute to realize her description of the helicopter crash killing her husband was a different scene than the one in the preceding episode. If they cannot even vary separate appearances, the story is definitely not progressing. Shirley Manson is strangely alluring, however.

In all, I would call this one mediocre. I had high hopes considering the previews, but no cigar. Perhaps someone else with lower expectations would have found it more amusing.

Rating: ** (out of 5)

End of the World, Day Two

Have you stocked up on canned goods and bullets yet? You know when gold is up that high, it is a clear sign you need to load your gun and shoot to kill. you never can be too careful when there is a major credit crunch.

Or maybe you can, since congress decided to take a coupledays off amid the"crisis." there is a lose/lose proposition for you. if things recover while they are out of session, voters will wonder why they thought a $ 700 billion bailout was necessary. if things get worse, they will look they were fiddlin' a veritable hootenany while rime burned.

Personally, I think this whole shebang was orchestrated just to convince the rest of the world we are absolutely stark raving mad.

Jennifer Aniston in a Bikini


Because a hot body in a bikini almost makes up for being high maintenance and clingy.

Almost.

Bailout Bill Defeated by US House

Score one for the taxpayers. The Dow dropped 560 points in immediate reaction, but that is capitalism in action.

The free market economy is a magnificent creature.

Before anyone grabs pointy objects to throw at me for supporting the free markets ability to course correct, bear in mind this bill could have passed easily without a single Republican vote. Ninety-five Democrats decided nationalizing our financial system was a bad idea. That has to renew faith the political left can be reasonable souls when it really counts.

War Heroes & the Shifting American Culture

Tracking polls are showing Barack Obama with a lead over John McCain of anywhere from five to eight points. It is too early for a post debate bounce to count, assuming he gets one, so Obama’s lead is likely related to the economic downturn. McCain has stated before he has little economic knowledge, so I do not expect him to pick up any steam there. While voters may very well ignore pundits and declare him the winner of the debate, I have my doubts. Said doubt also leads me to think, baring some major Obama gaffe, McCain cannot count on a debate performance to lift up his campaign. At least for now, it looks like Obama is going to sputter across the finish line first, propelled only by fumes.

Early on, I considered the 2008 election to be a repeat of 1996. I figured the GOP was burning off a candidate they were not enthusiastic about in a hopeless election. That McCain has kept the contest close perked me up a bit, but like most conservatives, I will be casting my vote not so much for McCain, but against Obama. Sarah palin certainly boosted my opinion of the ticket more than Jack Kemp in 1996 and I think I am not alone in that. She has the base as fired up as Bush did in 2004. Plus, the more the media attacks her, the more the base, who hate the liberal MSM, will flock to her. I still anticipate a Bradley effect tinged electoral map similar to 2004 with razor thin margins and four or five Floridas from 2000. If the election does not end in litigation, I will be shocked.

But all that said, I expect Obama to eke this one out. But I still have to wonder why. We have an unknown, inexperienced black candidate with the most liberal voting record in the Senate defeating a genuine war hero with twenty-five years experience who has been popular among democrats and independents. Pundits marvel McCain has kept it so close. I marvel that Obama is winning.

It solidifies a key shift in our culture that began when Bill Clinton defeated George H. W. Bush in 1992. The economy was tanking then, too, so I cannot ignore that fact, but was the first someone who has openly antagonized the US military was elected president over a veteran. It happened again when Clinton defeated dole in 1996, again when Bush 43, who joined the National Guard rather than go to Vietnam, defeated Al Gore, who went to Vietnam as a protected journalist, but still went. It happened again when Bush 43 defeated John Kerry, who might be more famous for protesting the war, but still went. I call it a fundamental shift because it obviously crosses party lines.

But it has been a long tradition to not only elect veterans as president, but war heroes. We do not even seriously question their qualifications. We have wanted war heroes like George Washington, Andrew Jackson, Ulysses s. Grant, and Dwight Eisenhower. We have entertained the idea of nominating the likes of Wesley Clark who have had mediocre military victories. We have entertained nuts like George McClellan and William Sherman. As far as Americans are concerned, if you can lead men into battle without getting killed yourself, we will at least pay lip service to you running for president.

Or at least we used to. We seem to prefer wishy washy caretakers as presidents these days. Even Bush had to promise to be a compassionate conservative (translation: I will be a liberal if it gets me anywhere.) in order to get elected. I do not see that changing, either. If the problem is that the Vietnam War was unpopular and we do not want anyone associated with it in the white House, then I can imagine the trouble Iraq War vets are going to have. Afghanistan, too, one assumes.

I guess it caught McCain off guard. He ran his 2000 campaign based largely on his POW story, assuming it was going to resonate more than it did. As much as he mentions it in the 2008 campaign, he has cut down on it since 2000. I suspect he realizes the cultural shift, but still harbors a wounded idealism the electorate will care. I have my doubts.

One of my first thoughts on 9/11, other than the historical reference of the Visigoths marching towards Rome, is we may gain a new appreciation for the military. It lasted a while. You may blame Bush for squandering it, but I do not think so. I think we as a country have developed a distaste for the military. Obama has not only opposed the war in Iraq, he has refused to meet with wounded soldiers in Germany, and talks about moving brigades and platoons with at best a cluelessness or at worst like a child playing RISK. But that is what voters want these days.

I wrote a few days ago when Olmert resigned in Israel they had become more willing to let their enemies walk all over them because the “Never Again” World War II generation was out of power and never would be again. If Israel is forgetting their past and the consequences of not fighting back, how in the world does our country have any hope?

Emma Rigby in a Bikini

I had to look her up. Emma Rigby is a British actress who fills out a colorful bikini quite nicely last week in Dubai. The photo can be enlarged if you so desire.

The Bailout Bill

The left is happier than the right, so I will assume it is a bad deal. Both Barack Obama and John McCain support it--not that that tells us anything.

Family Asked Obama to Not Wear Son's Bracelet

They did not want their slain son politicized. Obama has refused and used the bracelet asa "Me, too' prop in Friday's debate.

Where is the media on this? it is not like John McCain ticking off Heart by playing "Barracuda" at campaign rallies. This is Obama exploiting a slain soldier for his own benefit against the family's wishes.

Obama's deliberate refusal is deplorable.

UPDATE: Full disclosure: The parents, who are divorced, disagree on whether Obama should wear the bracelet. The mother was described as "ecstatic" Obama used it in Friday's debate. She does, however, acknowledge e-mailing him in February to stop using it.

The waters are muddied enough to explain why McCain and the media are not making an issue of it. Still, Obama looks uncaring and opportunistic if he ignored the mother's wishes in the first place.

Obama is not Doing as Well as You Think

A lot of John McCain supporters across the internet are panicking over a combination of a Barack Obama lead in the polls and the general notion the debate was at best a tie. There is no need to fret just yet. Reality check--people will forget the first debate because nothing particularly eventful happened and Obama is over polling right now.

Here is the deal. National polls are irrelevant. The presidential election is a state by state battle for an electoral college majority. But even the national poll is skewed towards Obama because he has huge leads in California and New York, the bluest of blue states. California alone has 12 million registered voters. Polling those two states could be padding Obama’s total vote count by millions. That is worth a percentage point or four.

Never mind that Obama has yet to poll above fifty percent in any poll of likely voters nationally. No Democrat has won more than fifty percent of the vote since Jimmy Carter in 1976 and he only mustered 51%. Bill Clinton won with 49% and 43%. Both Carter and Clinton ran as moderates who appealed to rural voters. Obama is a progressive who blasts rural voters for bitterly holding onto their guns and religion. He has not endeared himself to them with that, as Hillary Clinton’s primary victories in Ohio and Pennsylvania have showed. Do you really believe those voters are going to change their minds now and choose Obama over McCain?

We cannot even quantify the Bradley effect—the tendency of white voters, paranoid about being considered racist, to say they will vote for a minority candidate when they really have no intention of it—until after the election, but I guarantee it is a factor.

McCain only has to pick off one or two blue states to defeat Obama. Pennsylvania and Michigan are likely possibilities. There is still a large chunk of undecided voters in those states, many of whom will not make up their minds who to vote for until they actually get into the voting booth. Voters who are wavering that late in the game tend to make the safe choice. That adds up to either reelecting the incumbent or choosing the guy they know the most about. In this case, McCain.

Sarah Michelle Gellar Returns to Television

Sarah Michelle Gellar is returning to television in a show about grown children in a family that lost their parents at a young age. It sounds like she is just now joining her contemporaries Neve Campbell and Jennifer Love Hewitt in another Party of five. Television hates original material unless it has been done before and so does Gellar.

I understand, though. One certainly wearies of starring in remakes of Japanese horror films after a while.

the news should warm the heart cockles of desperate Buffy the Vampire Slayer who realize Serenity's poor showing at the box office ended any real chance of a Buffy movie. I have tried watching the show a couple times since a number of people i know with similar tastes as mine like it, but I got the same vibe from it as i do Heroes--I am getting too old for this stuff.

Not even Ali larter's strip tease or Gellar's high kicks in tight jeans could do much about that. She is hot, though, when you do not have to suffer through a silly teenie bopper plot in order to enjoy her.

Obama's Goon Squads

What happens if you criticize the One True Obama in Missouri? You just might go to jail.

Ah, yes. A Department of Justice in an Obama Administration is going to be a thing of beauty.

PETA's Boob Job

PETA's latest lunacy is urging Ben & Jerry to use human breast milk in their ice cream to avoid the exploitation of cows.

Paul Newman (1925-2008)

The Grim Reaper has been brutal this year.

Paul Newman passed away Friday of cancer. He was good guy who did not live the Hollywood lifestyle and I respected that. He rarely sought the limelight, thought signing autographs was a pompous, self-important act, and was content to race his cars down and dirty with the best of them. There was not anything fake about him.

Some of my favorite movies of his are Cool Hand Luke, Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid, The Sting, The verdict, and Blaze. quite an eclectic bunch.

I have even tried his popcorn once. I thought it was quite good. I never got around to sampling his salad dressing. Thanks to diverticulitis, I never will. I always liked the fact Newman’s Own started out as a joke, but turned into a major business with all profit going to various charities. Newman has donated $ 175 million to charity through the company since 1982. That is enough to salute him right there.

He is one of those old school, versatile tough guys like Steve McQueen you will never see anymore. George Clooney tries hard, but he cannot quite pull it off. Newman broke the mold. I wish him Godspeed.

Caturday

This photo sums up the last couple days aptly, whether you all know it or not. Have I mentioned lately i think humanity is a huge waste of flesh? Or about how we are all serving a life sentence in said flesh?

Both bear repeating often, often and loud.

The First Presidential Debate

I have mixed emotions about tonight’s debate. There were no knock out punches by either John McCain or Barack Obama, nor were there any key sound bytes you are going to hear over and over again all weekend. I would the debate a split because, to McCain’s detriment, it began with an address to the economy.

I am fairly politically astute and a conservative partisan. McCain’s promise to cut spending resonates with me, as does the idea of making it easier to do business in the United States. It is a simple concept: the more business grows, the more good jobs are created. But Obama’s idea of taxing the rich class warfare resonates may rank with rank and file voters. McCain fumbled here. His lack of economic acumen shined through. He just did not make a whole lot of salient points, nor did he really hammer home Obama has grandiose liberal plans that are going to cost tax payers a bundle. The guy has the most liberal voting record in the Senate.

One reason I cannot hand this half of the debate to either candidate is because neither one, even though they were each given multiple chances by Jim Lehrer to explain how the bailout would hamstring their plans as president, neither did. McCain had an opportunity to hammer home that cutting spending would free up money we are currently wasting in contrast to Obama prioritizing a list of his spending plans, but he did not accomplish that. I was disappointed.

But I was not disappointed by McCain in the foreign policy debate. He effectively called attention to Obama’s inexperience and lack of understanding of foreign policy issues at least seven times by my count. Plus, Obama said he agreed with McCain at least six times. Had this debate been exclusively about foreign policy, McCain would have won the wholeshebang hands down.

I would say he got in two really good shots. One is about Obama’s being wrong about the surge. No matter how unpopular the war in Iraq is, the country does not want to lose it. The surge has been the key element to success in the war. The other is painting Obama as reckless for his comments on Pakistan. I do not believe for a minute Obama wants to expand the war militarily inside Pakistan, but McCain made him look irresponsible but not wanting to work with allies instead. McCain is right that the recent hotel bombing in Islamabad was proof terrorist elements are enemies of the Pakistani government. We should be working with Pakistan’s government, not threatening its country. It made Obama look naïve and uninformed.

Just as an observation, McCain looked more presidential. Obama smirked, laughed, and often had a pained looked on his face. At one point, he even got whiny about the bracelet he had been given by the mother of a slain serviceman in Iraq. “I have a ribbon, too!” He sounded like some schoolyard kid. “And mine is better than yours! It was, uh, Steve. His mother gave it to me.” Good grief. It was not a sound byte, but it came across to me as far less than presidential.

In short, McCain came of his personable while Obama was a stiff policy wonk. Voters typically warm up to the former and steer clear of the latter, if election history holds.

Get ready to see campaign ads featuring Obama saying he agress with McCain numerous times and images of Democrats during the primaries pointing out Obama’s lack of experience and understanding, including Joe Biden, coupled with McCain’s saying it multiple times. Tonight’s debate may have further reaching consequences than immediate poll risings or falls.

McCain Will Submit Alternate Plan

John McCain has a proposal to lend the money, rather than give it away, with tax breaks in order to help banks pay it back.

I have doubts it will come to anything, but that is probably the idea. McCain submits a plan favorable to taxpayers, Chris Dodd and the rest of the Democrats shoot it down, then McCain leaves Washington for the Oxford, Mississippi debate angry at the obstructionist Democrats. He then becomes an anti-bailout populist.

On the off chance his proposal passes, he looks like a hero and it is months after the election before anyone knows if it works. But in the short term, the markets will stabilize because, well, something got done.

No matter what, McCain cannot skip the debate tonight. He cannot risk Barack Obama turning it into a town hall meeting, taking questions from the audience. he will look presidential while McCain will look like just another bickering Congressman lost in the cacophony.

Natalie Portman is Single

Natalie Portman has gotten rid of weirdo folk singer Devendra Banhart. According to People:

Portman, 27, began dating Banhart, also 27, after starring in his "Carmensita" video, which was shot last March. A short time later, they took their romance public when they were spotting kissing on the streets of New York and over a sushi dinner at Jewel Bako.

I assume the news will excite many. Personally, she does not do it for me. i have seen her naked and she barely qualifies as a butterface. Plain face, no curves on the body.

Nevertheless, let the stampede begin.

Bailout Breakdown

All right, maybe Congress was not on the verge of a deal this morning. And maybe, just maybe, this bailout is all about politics and not economics.

The deal allegedly blew up this afternoon after a “disastrous” White House meeting with Congressional leaders, Barack Obama, and John McCain. It looks like Democrats are upset over McCain’s grandstanding in suspending his campaign in order to throw his two cents worth into the deal and would not mind tanking the whole thing and blame it on him.

Harry Reid complained that McCain said nothing during the white House meeting, but Chris Dodd complained that McCain stepped on his toes by proposing a whole new plan as I speculated last night he might. Both Reid and Dodd were at the meeting. Did McCain remain silent or offer up a new suggestion? The democrats need to get their smears straight before they put them out in the public realm.

Either this is a major financial crisis the Democrats are irresponsibly playing games with in order to derail the McCain campaign or it is a made up crisis Congress really does not have to do anything about. Taxpayers deserve to know which one is true.

What Was McCain Thinking?

It is becoming obvious a deal for the bailout is going to be hammered out quickly without any input from John McCain or Barack Obama beyond a yes or no vote. The two of them are insiders enough to have been aware of this long before the public. McCain has been a senator for twenty-five years. He knows his place in the pecking order, too. The suspension of his campaign was a politically calculated move to score points, not to serve any real purpose in solving financial issues.

What was he hoping to accomplish? Since most people are ignorant of how the Senate works, they probably did believe McCain could march in, take over, and show of his presidential chops by drafting a compromise bill. But it is going to be clear even to them McCain had very little to do with the eventual bailout legislation. Are they going to realize what a cynical move McCain made?

Or worse. McCain likes his maverick status to the point he gambles way too much in order to keep it rolling. The suspension of his campaign is the third shock move he has made in this campaign. First he chose Sarah Palin, which gave him a bost for a while and made the conservative base. Second, he canceled the first day of the RNC because of the hurricane which worked out well for him since it kept the unpopular Bush from speaking. Now, he has suspended his campaign in what may be a less dramatic situation than previously believed. Maybe it was not such a good idea.

McCain may be such a maverick he will scare voters off with his erratic behavior. People may say they want a different kind of politician but too much of a good thing is not necessarily a good thing. Such rash decision may make Obama look level headed. Lord, that is a scary thought considering his political beliefs. How long can McCain’s luck hold out? He is already dipping in the polls.

It is because of his dip I do not buy into the theory he is afraid of debating Obama. Quite the contrary, a politician who is trailing this close to election day only has the debates left in order to deal a strong blow to his opponent. There is no way McCain would want to blow his biggest chance to derail Obama. He had best hope he can, because I doubt this current stunt is going to give him much of a boost. In fact, I am curious whether his advisors are ripping their hair out over his decision.

That $ 700 Billion Estimate?

They just made it up:

In fact, some of the most basic details, including the $700 billion figure Treasury would use to buy up bad debt, are fuzzy.

"It's not based on any particular data point," a Treasury spokeswoman told Forbes.com Tuesday. "We just wanted to choose a really large number."

I wish I was quoting The Onion, but I am quoting Forbes. The Treasury Department does not really know how much money it needs. it just wanted to give the whole situation a dramatic tension. as if we needed that at the moment. This does not inspire confidence.

Remember, ladies and gents--September 25th, 2008 was the day satire died.

McCain, Obama & the Bailout

Upon further reflection, John McCain suspending his campaign, while still looking statesman-like, it much more of a political calculation than I previously assumed. Funny, I am not famous for being an idealist. Let me reiterate before I say anything else; I do not have a clue what the best solution to our current economic crisis is. The bailout might be a hunky dory idea every capitalist worth his salt should enthusiastically endorse or it may be an awful slippery slope towards Marxism. I am not even going to pretend I know. I am only commenting on the chess game teams McCain and Ombama are playing with it.

Chris Dodd, Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, says final details on the bailout bill are being hammered out for an almost immediate vote. The urgency of a solution is not lost on me. While I thought Bush used an awful lot of hyperbole in talking about worry, concern, and angst in his address to the nation earlier, I appreciate we are on the precipice of an economic meltdown. I further appreciate it is no timefor partisanship in trying to find a solution.

But the solution is going to come without input from either McCain or Barak Obama. The best McCain can do is vote yes or no on a bailout bill that will most likely have been completely drafted before he ever sets foot in his Senate office. I do not believe his position in the senate hierarchy would allow him any special input regardless. He just simply wants to appear he is doing his job.

What about Obama? It is in his best interest for the economy to tank and for him to be as far away from Washington as possible when it does. Voters are likely to blame the Bush Administration for any economic collapse. McCain will suffer for that in the polls. But you cannot dismiss Congress’ gross unpopularity both Obama and McCain have been running against “business as usual” Congressional politics. Now they have to head back and be a part of it.

I suppose seen in that light, McCain has made the best of it. He looks like he is doing his duty by returning while Obama is more interested in protecting his presidential prospects. He certainly did not help himself by claiming he would oly return to Washington if Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, ineffective leaders both, asked him to. Obama is being a leader, not a follower there. Not to mention whose wisdom he is bowing to there. I would be embrassed to admit I was waiting for advice from Pelosi and reid before I took steps to avoid a potential economic depression.

I try not to be a conspiracy theorist, but I have to wonder if Obama would not like the economy to tank anyway. It would ensure his victory, then he could New Deal his way out of it. It is probably what he plans to do anyway, boom or bust. Unless McCain serves up a knockout punch in the debates, he may get hischance regardless. I do not see either one of them gaining any advantage with how they are respectively handling the bailout bill.

Cylon Home World Revealed?

Aaron Douglas, who plays Chief Galen Tyrol, one of the Final Five Cylons, may have let slip a big spoiler for the remainder of season four of Battlestar Galactica while talking to KUFO-FM radio personalities Cort and Fatboy.

Douglas was asked if we would ever see the Cylon home world. He answered that wealready have. Earth is the Cylon home world in their scriptures. He said the Galactica crew had discovered bone fragments among the rubble of the nuclear wasteland that revealed the population had been Cylons.

Two things here. One, Douglas is describing scenes that did not happen in the midseason finale. The episode in question ended with the Galactica arriving on what they assumed to be Earth after a nuclear war has apparently destroyed everything. We may discover the bone fragments that reveal earth was populated by Cylons (Humans are Cylons, then? It is not the first time that has been speculated.) when the season resumes, but we have not yet. It sounds like Douglas is confusing the midseason finale with the back half premiere.

I find it difficult to believe Douglas would blow the plot twist. Surely there is a confidentiality agreement in place to prevent such a thing. Is he serious or just jerking the disc jockeys around? I have faith in Ron D. Moore to make it cool either way, but I would be totally surprised to hear the secret blown months in advance on some radio show.

Douglas also revealed the Cylon centric television movie will be called “The Plan.” It will begin thirteen days before the nuking of Caprica and bounce between that time period and somewhere in the third season, a la Razor. The plot revolves around—wait for it—the Cylon plan. There is a spoiler for you, no?

Jessica Simpson Makes Porn Star Faces

If her stab at a country music career tanks and Tony Romo heads for the hills 9or the Underwood(s, more likely) Jessica Simpson may have a career in the adult film industry. She has always had a habit of making strange faces as she butchers a song, but these two are fine examples of some of the more provocative she has ever attempted. I am certain sheltered country fans, even the kind who showed up to the L. A. County Fair this weekend, more mighty impressed.

Here is a bonus--Simpson jogging. She is pretty attractive in the photo without looking like some cheap floozy who wants to be a star but only has a nice pair of boobs going for her. Uh, even though that is exactly what she is
Both photos can be enlarged should you deem it necessary..

McCain Suspends Campaign to Focus on Economy

It has taken me a while to absorb this one. John McCain is making a calculated, but risky move to look more presidential.

The partisan in me would like to think the move goes along with the Country First” theme of the campaign. McCain has famously said he would rather lose a campaign than a war when referring to Iraq. Now he has shown he is willing to risk losing the White House for the sake of the economy. Furthermore, he has also admitted he is not up to speed on economic issues. If he can go to Washington tomorrow with a bailout plan in hand (he met with Mitt Romney yesterday on the issue. It is probably too much to ask he will suggest Newt Gingrich’s idea.) he will look good either way.

Of course, McCain is likely to go to Washington, vote for the bailout, thereby screwing over taxpayers, and pretty much ending any chance he had of winning the White House.

If his plan passes, he has established his economic chops. Whether it actually works will not be known until well after November 4th, so it can only count in his favor. If he cannot pass a new plan, then nothing happens and we chalk up another failure for this grossly unpopular Congress. Either way, McCain gets to play Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, which is his element.

Conversely, the cynical in me thinks this is a cheap political tactic. McCain is not really suspending his campaign. He is just moving it to a venue where he does not have to spend money in order to campaign. He may give off the impression he is cash strapped. Thanks to accepting public financing, he probably is. Plus, trying to cancel the debate may give the impression he is afraid to face Barack Obama. I do not believe that for a second, but I have already heard an army of liberals cackle over the notion.

I really just do not know right now. I have heard comparisons between McCain’s move today and Bob Dole’s resignation of his Senate Majority leader status in 1996, but I think this the exact opposite. Dole gave up the best example of his leadership skills in order to campaign freely. McCain is giving up campaigning (more or less) in order to be a leader. I count that in his favor, at least for now.

I guess a lot of the outcome depends on Obama. He has already said he will not return to Washington unless Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi want him there. To me, that shows a lack of leadership. He wants to be president, but he is deferring to others? It is not like he is a senator from Illinois who hasa job to do, either, right? If Friday’s debate is not cancelled and McCain does not show up because he is at work in Washington, will Obama just stand at a podium with his thumb up his butt talking about his foreign policy ideas? The Obamaniacs might for that, but I doubt rank and file voters will.

To me, if Obama does not postpone the debate and go to Washington, it plays into the “Me! Me! Me!” tone of his campaign his detractors have labeled it with. He may have to follow McCain’s lead, though I have doubts he will come up with a bill to solve thefinancial crisis himself. If fact, he has to vote against whatever McCain comes up with even if it is a stupendous idea. Of course, I still have to wonder what happens if this all drags out and cancels more debates. I can picture McCain stuck in a legislative morass while Obama rolls through all the swing states unopposed for the next forty days.

Yeah. There are a lot of risks involved here.

UPDATE: obama will hwad to Washington tomorrow for a bipartisan meeting at the request of Bush.

The Bailout Depends on McCain

The Democrats do not have enough votes to approve the bailout if John McCain votes against it. The conventional wisdom is the Republicans will not go against McCain's position on the bailout even though McCain would probably have no qualms going against his party if the shoe was on the other foot.

So mcCain gets to play president for a day in likely the most important decision of his political career. If he votes yes, he will stave off a probable recession, but will engage in socialist economic policy in order to do so. If he votes no, he will gain the favor of the conservative base who do not believe their tax money ought to go to help wealthy businessmen who have made bad business decisions. or the base will be happy until the economy is mired in the almost inevitable recession.

Actually, this is lose/lose for McCain, is it not?

Cybermen in the TARDIS


here are a couple photos from a deleted scene from "Journey's End' featuring Cybermen in the TARDIS. The scenes were deemed "unsuitable" by the production staff. I have no clue what that means other than speculating this was supposed to be a cliffhanger which lead into the Christmas special, but the production staff decided to end with the doctor moping about being left all alone yet again.

Thescenes will be available for viewing on the season four DVD box set.

The Bailout as Nigerian Scam

I do not know who originally wrote it, but I like it.

Tricia Helfer Side Boob

because you need something to pass the time until Battlestar Galactica and Burn Notice resume their respective seasons.

The photo can be enlarged for a better look. In fact, I highly recommend it. Right click, save, too. Go ahead. No one is looking.

The Team Obama Implosion

There appears to be a lot of friction in Team Obama. At the very least, a lack of communication. But either way, it is very public. I recall back in the day murmurings Bill Clinton and al Gore did not really like each other, so Gore was not particularly involved with Administration doings. There was a public happy face, however. Gore went off to do his own wacky science, environmental, and budget cutting projects as though that was the plan all along.

History may repeat itself here, although Obama and Biden do not appear about to get on the same page about what a big, happy family Team Obama is. Oh, I also doubt Biden would run off on any intellectual side projects even if the opportunity presented itself.

So what is the deal? It has been a pretty bad day for the party line. Biden criticized last week’s ad blasting McCain for not using computers. I actually think Biden did a good job here. He pointed out McCain does not use computers because his war injuries prevent him from lifting his arms high enough to type. That ad ought to have been called out. The fact that Obama is miffed about Biden’s chastising speaks volumes about Obama’s lack of character.

Did Obama publicly call out Biden on supporting the AIG loan in revenge or was he trying to please the party base? Considering Obama’s strong arm tactics, it might be a little from column A and a little from column B. It is fun to watch either way.

Oh, heck. It is fun to watch Biden period. Today he also claimed Obama does not support clean coal when he does. Poor guy does not even know his own ticket’s position. Hehas been Obama’s albatross since he was chosen as Veep and it is not getting any better. He certainly is a gift to Republicans. I cannot wait to watch him get slaughtered by Palin in their debate.

Bailout in Jeopardy

I am honestly unclear of what to make of all this. I am a capitalist, so at least philosophically, I am against any bail out. Businesses make bad decisions, then the market punishes them for it. It looks good on paper at any rate, but when the entire econo0my is at stake, maybe that should go out the window. However, I really, really hate socialism and that is what this is—government control of the economy.

So the bailout is in jeopardy. Why is that?

First, the Bush Administration is in its ‘hurry up and give us what we want’ mode. Even conservatives are wary—or at least they should be—when Bush wants to pull something like a $ 700 billion bail out through right this minute. This has been the most free spending Administration of either ideology, much less allegedly conservative. I am disappointed, even though I never had much faith in Bush’s conservatism to begin with. I am not big on his blatant cronyism, either, even though I am realistic enough to know that is what all politicians do to varying degrees. Bush is simply breathtaking in that regard.

Second, the cynical side of me also wonders if the Democrats have seized on the realization voters blame Republicans for the financial crisis and want to drag out the debate over a solution, even risking a recession, in order to ensure victory on November 4th. The more reasonable part of me can appreciate the possibility Democrats just want to know what taxpayers’ $ 700 billion is buying them. Which is true? Beats me.

To quote their hero, the answer is above my pay scale.

Hugo

It may be tacky to reminisce about another hurricane in the wake of the devastation of Hurricane Ike, but the older I get, the better perspective I have, and Hurricane Hugo becomes a more prominent event in my life than I ever assumed at the time. I have written copiously about it in the past, so I have purged much of the fire in me about the hurricane and its personal aftermath. I will not go into it much here.

Hugo hit 19 years ago as a slightly weakened category four hurricane. We feared it might be a full five when it struck Charleston, but we were relatively fortunate. As it was, the storm was so powerful, it crossed the capitol city of Columbia in the center of the state with nearly as much force as when it initially made landfall.

Hugo caused $ 7 billion in damage to South Carolina. It was the most expensive natural disaster to hit the United States at the time. Now, it is oly the sixth most expensive, which is all you need to know about how rotten the last two decades have been.

Many of our apocalypse obsessed Christians howled full blast the storm was a Sign of the End—clear evidence of God’s judgment. It was hard to dispute the argument. I lived far inland, but we were still without power for days. I recall the day after getting in the car and riding through my tiny hometown to gawk at the damage. The place looked like a war zone. Trees had fallen on house and cars everywhere. Power lines were down. But there was no one out and about, save for the occasional morbid sightseers like us.

We returned home, cooked our best frozen foods before it was too late, and sat in the dark until bedtime. I do not remember how long we kept up that routine, but it was the better part of a week before got any electricity. My parents headed off to Myrtle Beach to gauge the damage at our beach house. We were wiped out, but so was Myrtle Beach. We spent a year rebuilding that place, but it was never the same and neither was thecity. It became less a family vacation spot than a yuppie haven for golfers. I never cared for golf.

The economy was wrecked, so my father’s car business was wrecked right along with it. He crawled into a bottle and never crawled back out. My parents divorced and the rest, as the wise men say, is history.

The fascinating part of it all-bitterly fascinating, I should say—is how a hurricane works. For those at the eye of the storm, it can be a life altering, devastating experience. For the last people to experience its remnants, it is merely an inconvenient drizzle of rain. Someone more Zen than I am would probably make the analogy of a butterfly flapping its wing in the united states causes a typhoon in China, but somehow the idea has never filled me with any sense of enlightenment. I am personally amused the character of Hugo on Lost suffers a continual strain of supernatural bad luck , if that counts for anything.

But hey, a local printer started making “I Survived Hugo” tee shirts and made a bundle, so it was not a total loss. South Carolinians are gutsy folk who can survive anything. I did not need some overpriced rag of a tee shirt to remind me of that. But somehow, this song still seems eerily appropriate:

Emilie de Ravin

Because not only did Loost not win an Emmy Sunday night, but this Australian beauty's character, claire, will not appear in the upcoming fifth season at all. So get her while the getting is good.

The Sarah Connor Chronicles--"The Mousetrap"

Meh. I am still not as impressed with the sophomore season as i was with the first.

Charley unfortunately returns to Sarah’s life when Cromartie kidnaps his new wife, Michelle, in order to lure John into a trap. Sarah reluctantly agrees to help without telling John what she is up to. It is just as well since john is more interested in chasing after his pregnant semi-girlfriend and whining about Cameron not giving him any personal space. Sarah is at least acting amore like her movie counterpart. John has yet to have whatever epiphany that will turn him into humanity’s savior. Considering his pouty, childish character, I find it implausible he ever will.

It is all an elaborate plot by Cromartie to get John alone. For all the precautions Sarah and John take to remain hidden, they are infinitely predictable. Michelle appears to be tied to a bomb. In fact, there is a bigger booby trap they are all caught in but do not immediately foresee when the first is revealed to be a dud.

Okay, maybe Sarah is not as sharp as her movie counterpart. Neither are these terminators. Cromartie goes after John on a dock and even chases him into the water in spite of the fact—surprise—terminators cannot swim. I am not sure what is worse: the fact that the supposedly invincible killing machines have such a profound weakness or the odds of us seeing Summer Glau in a bikini just went way down.

John escapes by luck, but Michelle does not. She is injured in the real booby trap. It does not appear all that serious at first, but she winds up dying off screen. Her death was lacking in drama. We never get to know or much care about her. In fact, Sarah assumes from the beginning she is already dead, so we are prepared for that in the first place. Charley has not been a sympathetic character, either. I just did not feel his loss.

The episode ended with more odd religious overtones during Michelle’s funeral. I keep an eye out for John Connor as Jesus allusions, but I did not gather much this time around. I get the impression the writers want to present John as a special savior of humanity, but just do not have what it takes to pull it off. I was thinking the entire time watching this how much better this show could be with j. Michael Straczynski or Ron D. Moore supervising the story arc rather than the guys we currently have. At the very least, the existential elements would have more finesse.

Catherine weaver was almost a footnote this week. Her participation was little more than brief foreshadowing for the future without enough sense of menace for my tastes.

I was underwhelmed by “The Mousetrap.” It just did not invest me in it in any way. But next week looks promising as we get a glimpse into Cameron’s past which is actually the future. I used to really dig that sort of thing when the X-Files would do the occasionally do that sort of thing. Of course, TSCC is no X-Files.

Rating: ** (out of 5)

The $700 Billion Bail Out

I am fascinated by the rising opposition among pundits on both the left and right to the bail out legislation. It warms the cockles of my cold, near dead heart to know partisans of both stripes do not want to apply a socialist economic solution to capitalism (Make bad decisions and the market will punish you for them.)

It should be noted the bail out evens out to about $ 20,000 for every man, woman, and child in the United States. Pony up your share, bucko.

Which of the presidential candidates will get a boost from the financial meltdown? Convential wisdom says Barack Obama since he is the relatively new guy and John mcCain has admitted both that he is not strong on economic issues and that he would like to invest Social Security funds in the stock market. But the first time voters will get a chance to hear anything of substance out of the two will be Friday's debate--all about national security, not the economy. considering bipartisan jitters about the bail out, i bet they would both like to sweep it under the rug.

Not that it is unusual. We have known for a while banks were handing out bad loans at ahuge profit and did nothing about it. nothing was done because a good chunk of those profits went to the election campaigns of members of both parties. The middle class is going to wind up shouldering a lot more than its fair share of the failure of wealthy bankers to make sound decisions and the politicians who looked the other way.

David Axelrod's Astroturfing Exposed

You have the old adage if you cannot be trusted with a little, you cannot be trusted with a lot? One way of looking at that is that if your dishonesty in a relatively small matter has been exposed, one assumes you are dishonest on bigger matters, too. You just have not been exposed yet. A relatively small matter regarding Team Obama is about to erupt thanks to some intrepid bloggers.

If you want to read the evidence, you should click on Rusty Shackleford’s blog. within ninety minutes of that blog post, all copies of the video in question were removed and the YouTube account deleted. As for why this matters, Ace has a good explanation.

If you want the short version of the story, a video falsely alleging Sarah Palin was a member of the anti-American group called the Alaska Independence Party surfaced on the internet and started making the YouTube rounds. The video was allegedly made and posted by a concerned citizen. In reality, evidence points to the video having been created and distributed by a public relations firm associated with Barack Obama’s chief advisor, David Axelrod, Winner & Associates. The videos were placed on accounts with the screen names of ‘cswinner” and “eswinner.” Those accounts and all videos were deleted with ninety minutes of theabove post, as I said.

Here is the thing: David Axelrod is a master of astroturfing. In political terms, that is faking a grassroots campaign in order to put ideas out there the campaign cannot officially endorse itself. Axelrod did this yearsago in Illinois when he convinced the citizenry to accept a rate increase in their electric power by convincing them their power would be turned off if the increase were not allowed.

It has only been caught on a few isolated incidents, but Axelrod is doing it with the Obama campaign now. The motif goes that “concerned, Republican voting Christians’ are expressing doubts about McCain/Palin across the country under different names, but the same content. Posting fake videos takes it a step further. A trail of evidence might even catch the attention of the federal elections Commission.

Is this a bombshell? Probably not. There is only circumstantial evidence to say Axelrod was involved in any way and therefore Obama probably knows nothing about it regardless. But Obama has let it be known with a wink here and a nudge there that independent groups supporting him feel free to blast McCain/Palin with everything they have, so I am sure it suited him regardless even if he would never admit it.

Then again, someone had to pay for that video. Public relations firm are not in the habit of producing material out of the goodness of their hearts. But bill Clinton sold missile technology to the Chinese in exchange for illegal campaign contributions and later lied to a federal grand jury about a sexual affair with no one caring either time, so liberals have a way of getting away with a lot of nasty things without the electorate blinking.

But ask yourself this: if a public relations firm associated with someone in Team McCain was found to be creating videos claiming Obama was a secret Muslim and pseudonymously posting them on multiple YouTube accounts, do you not believe the media would be all over the story, demanding answers, and creating a huge scandal out of it?

Kylie Minogue

Because when it comes right down to it, I would not mind playing the Big Bad Wolf.It is not just Big Bad Wolves:Big Bad Daleks like her, too, apparently.

We Wuz Robbed

Can you believe Michael Emerson did not win Best Supporting Actor?

Sarah Palin in Kuwait

It is difficult to hear the guy at the end, but he compliments Palin on hitting the target near dead center.

She not only knows how to use a gun, but she is good at it.

You can keep Bill Clinton and his silly saxophone. Give me pistol packin' Sarah Palin.

GM Unveils Electric Car for 2011

In recent newspaper ads, GM promised to reinvent the automobile. After $ 25 billion in taxpayer loans, this is what they came up with?

The GM Volt 2011 has a forty mile range. This is a selling point to who, exactly?

Ehud Olmert Resigns

Thereby ending one of the most incompetent periods of Israeli leadership in the modern era.

Not that his successor will be much of an improvement. His replacement, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's first, middle, and last moves once coming into prominence have been appeasement towards Palestinians and Syria--a peacedeal for the sake of having one. Israel is four miles wide at its smallest point and surrounded by enemies. Not to mention some of the largest press in Israel is calling for an immediate attack on Iran's nuclear program.

I have to resign myself to the fact the "Never again!" World War II generation has passed the torch to a new crowd who do not recognize some things are worth fighting for. You cannot appease terrorists. If you give someone $100 every time he punches you in the face, he will never stop. Bash him across the head with a rock, though, and he will think twice about taking a shot at you next time.

I can only hope the Likud has a quick resurgence.

Amy Poehler

Because she is leaving Saturday Night Live later this year to give birth, then join the cast of a spin off of The Office.

If you are keeping track, that means it is a spin off of an Americanization of a British sitcom, neither of which I like(d), so i have serious douibts i will partake of the spin off, either.

Jusging by the first two SNL's of the season, they are going to lose their funniest cast member--which is not saying much these days, I am afraid. Even a skit co-written by Al Franken could not save this week's episode. Oh, for the glory days of Conan O'Brien, Fred Wolf, and Tina Fey as SNL writers.

John McCain & Cotton Hill

Forget those Cylon comparisons. this is the one that resonates with McCain/Palin voters.

They look like. They are both war heroes. They were both POWs. They both suffered war injuries. They will both bring up their war records in a heartbeat. They both prefer younger women. They both have fiery tempers. the pair are pretty much the same.

I have not paid much attention to King of the Hill as of late, but I am told cotton has since passed on due to some bad shellfish. keep McCain away from seafood for the foreseeable future, all right, peggy--er, Gov. Palin?

The Media's Racial Fear Mongering

After three weeks of John McCain tied with or leading Barack Obama, plus the choice of Sarah Palin as Veep boosting his campaign, I expected the media to begin shoring up the Obama campaign as much as possible. Liberals firmly believe the heart of every issue comes down to race and class, so playing the race card was inevitable. Some of it has been absolutely ridiculous.

I expected something like CNN’s Jack Cafferty claiming the only reason Obama is not far out ahead of Obama is racism. There he is trying to rally leftist troops to come out and vote against evil, racist conservatives without actually saying so. But yesterday, the AP took things a step further by releasing a poll needling democrats for their own racist views.

The things is the headline is misleading. While it claims racial issues are impeding Obama even among Democrats, buried within the article is this bit of truth:

Race is not the biggest factor driving Democrats and independents away from Obama. Doubts about his competency loom even larger, the poll indicates. More than a quarter of all Democrats expressed doubt that Obama can bring about the change they want, and they are likely to vote against him because of that. Three in 10 of those Democrats who don’t trust Obama’s change-making credentials say they plan to vote for McCain.

So why the headline if doubts about Obama’s efficacy is a bigger deal than his race? Fear is the best motivator, I assume. Randall Kennedy wrote the first speculation on black reaction to an obama loss to come to my attention:

"But deep in their bones, [Blacks] will believe--and probably rightly--that race was a key element, that had the racial shoe been on the other foot--had John McCain been Black and Obama White--the result would have been different."

Kennedy writes a well reasoned, even handed essay, but he still draws the ultimate conclusion that the only reason Obama might lose is racism and that will cause social turmoil—a situation which could be remedied if everyone would just go ahead and vote for Obama to be on the safe side.

Call it a game of playing the Bradley Effect to the left’s advantage. They are beginning to fear Obama is over polling due to the Bradley Effect, which ids essentially white voters tendency to lie about supporting a black candidate when they have no intention of voting for him. The lie is motivated by a fear of appearing racist to an anonymous pollster. Of course, when they get into a voting booth, no one is there to see them vote for the other candidate or ask why.

If enough people buy into the idea there will be catastrophic social upheaval if Obama loses, will they vote for him just to keep the peace? That is a cynical view even for me. I do not buy that it will work on a large scale even if some people are convinced that is why they should vote for Obama. Nevertheless, watch for the meme to intensify as November 4th draws near and even more so if McCain takes a solid lead after the debates.

Caturday

For the current Caturday, may I present Ninja Kitty.

Boo and I play this game from time to time. The difference is it usually ends with a quick pop by the paw whenever I emerge, then she heads for the hills. Some ninja.

What do you think, Boo?Uh, oh.

Eve Myles in Merlin

Looks like the hectic Torchwood filming schedule has taken its toll on the lovely Eve Myles.

Actually, the above photo is from Merlin, a BBC adaption of the King Arthur legend which will air on NBC sometime later this season. Myles is playing a witch, obviously. I assumed with her raven black hair she would be playing a more goth type witch, but the producers have gone the traditional old hag route.

She looks pretty cool anyway--although I do miss this:Or even better:

Sarah Palin Assassinates Bullwinkle J. Moose!

Do not fret. He had it coming.

They Just Don't Get It

Or, Charlie Gibson is a clueless jackass.Are we fighting a holy war?

Well, some of us are, Charlie. I do not know what the heck you are doing.

We Are All Doomed

It is the only logical conclusion one can draw about the ascendency of Jessica Simpson. She must have made a pact with sinister, dark forces that will cast us all into an eternal abyss of soul searing darkness.

Why do I believe this? Because Simpson’s new album has debuted at number one on the country charts and number four on the Hot 200. This abomination occurred in spite of the fact she has received a mediocre at best response from country fans at concerts, her performance at the Grand Ole Opry was universally panned, and her skirt flew up while performing on Good Morning America recently to reveal a bare butt that closely resembled a topographical map of the Andres Mountains.

To top it off, straight out of Damn Yankees, the Dallas Cowboys pulled out a victory against the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night and will probably defeat the Green Bay Packers this week. The Cowboys will remain in contention this season in spite of the distraction of Simpson cheering on her fellow, Tony Romo. The Curse of Yoko Romo has apparently been lifted by the evil powers of Satan.

What price are we going to pay for this unholy deal? Will Barack Obama become president? Will Knight Rider become the bigges thit of the television season? Simpson is desperate to get pregnant by Romo. Are we about to witness the birth of the Antichrist?
Satan is pleased.

Who Was That Masked Man?

Not that anyone with two brain cells to rub together ever paid attention to anything Pamela anderson ever said before, but now you can safely ignore anything subsequent. she has officially crossed the Rubicon into absolutely insanity.

Here she is in London being escorted by a mystery man in some sort of robot get up. Origato, Mr. Roboto. there is some speculation this might be Michael Jackson, as the two have been rumored to be hooking up. The guy looks a little tall to be Wacko Jacko, but the costume certainly wouldfit in with Jacko's past lunacy.

Shall we start the countdown until Tomy Lee pounds Jackson into toothpaste for messing with Pamela or is this even too weirdfor him to care about?

Burn Notice--"Good Soldier"

I have a bigger penchant for cable shows than network television, but the biggest drawback is the short seasons. More precisely, it is cable’s notion a single season can be stretched into two by splitting it up into two chunks of ten episodes. It gets even worse when the front ten end on a cliffhanger that changes what you thought was the storyline you were watching. Ask any Battlestar Galactic fan to show you his bald spots from where he has ripped his hair out over that. Tomorrow, you can ask a Burn Notice fan to do the same.

I was expected the finale to be completely devoted to the running Carla story, but it was not. I initially thought that was a bad move, but I enjoyed Michael’s latest client. He was not a friend of the family for once, so we have thankfully strayed from the formula. Michael is hired by a guy working for a bodyguard outfit who is being threatened to help a kidnapper take an oil magnate’s daughter and hold her for ransom. Michael poses as the girl’s lush bodyguard, hoping to discourage the plot.

I was greatly amused in the end Michael convinced the kidnapper he had a spiritual awakening by watching a televangelist on a sleepless night, the becoming a violent religious nut. Think Samuel l. Jackson’s reciting the fictitious Ezekiel 25:17 in Pulp Fiction. There is a moment in which Michael is revealing his epiphany about personal redemption and changing his life which Fiona overhears. You get the distinct impression she believes Michael is talking about himself. Or maybe she wishes he did. There is much more than sexual tension between them.

Sam spends the episode spying on Carla as the sniper shot appears ready to happen. Sam isa lucky dog. Carla spends most of the time in a hotel swimming pool. Tricia Helfer in a bathing suit is a sight to behold. But we have been reading this wrong. After a climactic chase sequence, it is revealed the sniper has been killed in spectacular fashion before he could do the deed. Just what was Carla’s involvement in the plot? The episode ends with Michael caught in a booby trapped explosion at his apartment.

We will have to wait until winter 2009 to find out how that turns out. In the meantime, “Good soldier” was a good send off. The only part I found totally unbelievable was a stunt in which Michael slide a motorcycle under a semi. First, that he did it without either knocking his head off or peeling the skin off his right side and two, he did not set himself on fire when all the sparks flew with metal meeting asphalt. I will forgive it, though. I like this show too much to fret over it. Spies have to have a little bit of extraordinary luck to survive, no?

Rating: ***** (out of 5)

David Kernell Hack Sarahed Palin's E-Mail

David Kernell is the twenty year old son of Tennessee Democratic State Legislator Mike Kernell. the little twerp has been busted by the FBI and the Secret Service. He is legally an adult, too, so he cannot worm his way out of this one by claiming he is too young to be held responsible for his actions.

There is a decent round up about him here.

Can you believe the press identified his father's party affiliation? Usually when a Democrat gets in hot water, the press does not readily reveal what party he is from, unlike when Republicans screw up.

Jessica Simpson's CD is a Hit

Do You Know?, Simpson's first country CD, debuted at number one on Billboards country chart and number four on the Hot 200. She will never go away now.

Lord, why have you abandoned us?

Doctor Who Christmas Special Revelations

According to Russell T. Davies, the title will be The Next Doctor.

In it, the Tenth Doctor arrives in Victorian England to hear a woman scream. He rushes to her aid only to discover another dashing hero save her instead. The other hero reveals himself to also be the Doctor, played by David Morrissey. Ten serves as more or less his companion for the special.

The plot line is sounding less like The Other Doctor, a novel in which a fake Doctor controls an army of Cybermen. this in spite of Cybermen serving as the villains in The Next Doctor.

It has also been revealed Hollywood star Kate Winslet was offered the role of Dr. River Song, but turned it down. ER's Alex Kingston took it instead. You have to assume with star power like Winslet being offered the role, River Song must not have been planned as a regular character.

Val Kilmer for New Mexico Governor?

Why not? He has pretty much killed his Hollywood career.

Rumors are Kilmer is a possible Democratic candidate to replace current Governor Bill Richardson once his term ends in 2010. There has been no official word from the actor or any of his reps, but Richardson has weighed in on the idea:

"I like the idea. Val Kilmer is a New Mexican, he was Batman. You know there have been successful actors going into politics. I haven't talked to him about it, I don't know how serious he is, but you know if he jumps in a race he's got name ID, so it can't be discounted."

Actually it can. not only is this a pretty dumb rumor, records show that even though Kilmer is a native of New Mexico, he has never voted there. Not exactly something to put on the old gubernatorial resume, no?

Barack Obama Denies Lindsay Lohan

Recently, Lindsay Lohan offered to host several events for Barack Obama's presidential campaign. According to the Chicago Sun Times, obama has refused, claiming Lohan would not be the kind of helpful star power he needs.

Translation: you are a drug addicted, alcoholic, convicted of DUI, and currently in a lesbian relationship. plus you have brutally attacked Sarah Palin as a homophobe and made various other inflammatory statements on your MySpace blog. While all that would normally qualify you as a top notch democrat, I like to throw celebrity supporters under the bus unless they can help me raise $ 11 million in one night.

*Waves to Barbra Streisand*

Cheer up, Lindsay. If the Obamassiah denied someone like Scarlett Johanssen, what possible chance did you have?

Cats That Look Like Hitler

They are common enough to have a name for them: Kitlers. My sister used to own one herself. He not only looked like Hitler, but was every bit as evil.

Here is a site with regularly updated photos of cats that look like Hitler.

Fun, fun, fun in the high Bavarian Alps.

Hackery

Am I referring to the intrusive attack on Sarah Palin orthe journalists who are covering it? to whit:

Sarah Palin's personal e-mail account was hacked and posted online--a federal crime--but the AP calls into question Palin's ethics.

Excuse me? Is the press happy it happened so they have some new material to waste ink on attacking her? Apparently so.

You have to love our "objective" media.

The Fed Bails Out AIG

So any common stock holders should go have a (cheap) beer with the investors who lost their shirts with Bear Stearns.

I imagine you can blame Hurricane Ike for this one. AIG had $ 14 billion in obligations, but needed $ 85 billion from the fed? That number is much higher than at least three other estimates over the weekend. Tomorrow, AIG may decide it needed even more because of claims coming in from devastated parts of Houston and the rest of the Gulf Coast.

(Now that I think of it, the House bill to allow oil drilling beyond the Gulf Coast is probably damage control from when voters get jittery over the damage done to oil platforms du by Ike. Cynical, no?)

Bear in mind this is a loan. The critics’ notion the federal government now owns a majority of AIG is not entirely true. AIG is getting a credit line. It is true that AIG insures real estate loans, sixty percent of which of from federal sources, and therefore the fed is insuring its own loans is a bit more true, but thinking about that makes my head want to explode.

Oh, well. We could not let the wheels come off AIG, so I guess we had to bite the bullet. I cannot help but think--because I have a political science degree, not an economics one, perhaps—the bailout was more a political move to hold everything together until after the election rather than an intelligent economic solution.