Just An Earth-Bound Misfit, I

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Spy Low Sell High

And Bernie Madoff is running a new Ponzi scheme in the joint:

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

150 Years of Solitude

Stand By for More Identity Theft

You may recall that the company running the Clear ID program suddenly failed. Nobody seems to be really sure what is going to happen to the personal identification of travelers who were enrolled in the program. The people who were registered are not exactly poor people, which makes them a ripe target for identity thieves.

Monday, June 29, 2009

Hey, Sherlock, What Was Your First Clue?

A suspected robber shot and killed himself after he was confronted by police outside his apartment yesterday. ... His death is being investigated as a potential suicide, a spokesman for the medical examiner said.

Sounds as though the cops there are going to be racking up a lot of overtime to solve that one.

Our Kafkaesque Justice System

So the Feds try a guy for being a terrorist. They lose badly, so badly that the jury wonders why the case was even brought.

Then they arrest the guy again and are trying to deport him for being a terrorist, the same charge which they were unable to prove in a court of law.

If you want to know why our government is often reviled throughout the world, it is because of stupid shit such as this. This is the (in)Justice Department and the DBP acting like a bunch of spoiled children, whining and carrying on because they didn't get what they wanted. (ICE is an appropriate acronym for some of the goons involved, for they sure do not have warm blood flowing through their veins.)

So if you ever wondered what life would be like if six-year-olds had the powers of arrest and could carry guns, now you know.

First Comes the Bombing.
Then Comes the Occupation.

Of the Moon, that is.

Predictably, the nut jobs are convinced that this will start a war with various species of extraterrestrials.

After the first Apollo missions placed seismometers on the Moon, NASA aimed the expended third stages of Saturn V rockets at the Moon to gain data about the composition of the Moon.

Buh-Bye, Bernie

Bernie Madoff has been sentenced to 150 years (life) in prison.

Based on that, I don't see Allan Stanford getting out on bond. He is the walking, breathing definition of a "flight risk."

Treasonous Republicans

Paul Krugman argues that Republicans are committing treason against the entire planet.

I don't know if treason is the right word, but the Republican party is evidence of the fruits of theology and educational systems that do not place a premium on the scientific method. What we have in large swaths of this country (primarily in the states of the old Confederacy) is an intellectually bankrupt idea that belief trumps facts. What that has brought us is a rapidly warming planet (as well as a bankrupt political ideology [neoconservatism] and trillions of dollars thrown away in a moronic war).

The truth is sometimes painful. And the truth here is that the planet is warming up. The truth is that the costs of stopping humanity's contribution to a warming world will be painful to bear. The truth is that not doing anything will be far more painful to our descendants.

Here is something that may also come to pass: The vocal resistance to doing anything to address climate change from the eight-year delay of the Bush Administration and now the know-nothings in the GOP may lead to the extinction of the Republican party. For when things start to really go bad, people are going to look around for who was to blame. They'll blame the energy companies, who delayed any action by using the same tactics as the tobacco companies did ("junk science" "it's not proven") and then they'll blame the political parties who followed the cues (and the cash) of the energy companies.

Which leaves three ways to categorize the party of Hoover's resistance to doing anything about climate change: They are (i) crooks that took bribes; (ii) idiots; or (iii) traitors. Or "all of the above."

Saturday, June 27, 2009

English Language FAIL

Russia's energy giant Gazprom has signed a $2.5bn (£1.53bn) deal with Nigeria's state operated NNPC, to invest in a new joint venture.

The new firm, to be called Nigaz, is set to build refineries, pipelines and gas power stations in Nigeria.

Heh. That name should last as long at it takes for the cables from the Russian embassies in the US and the UK to hit ~~Putin's~~ Medvedev's desk.

(H/T)

Friday Failures

Friday seems to be the favorite day for regulators to slit the throats of failing banks.

45 have failed so far this year. Not good, but we're far from the blood-letting of the Reagan S&L debacle.

USAIR 1549

The NTSB animation. The upper left overlays the transcript of the cockpit voice recorder. At the bottom are readouts for airspeed and altitude.

For the non-pilots, you may note that the transmissions from the airplane were both terse and very limited. Once they told LaGuardia Departure Control what they were going to do, they stopped talking to them, for there was nothing that the controllers could do for them.

(H/T)

Caturday

Gracie is sort of over-stuffing this cat bed. It was her bed when she was a kitten (and about a quarter of her current size).

Jake is giving me his "well, come and pet me, dammit" look.

Gracie is watching me between the cushions of the sofa.

Friday, June 26, 2009

Crooked Politician

This time, a Democrat:

DETROIT - City Council member Monica Conyers, the wife of powerful Democratic congressman John Conyers, pleaded guilty Friday to accepting cash bribes in exchange for supporting a sludge contract with a Houston company.

It'll be interesting to see how much of this sticks to Rep. Conyers himself. He's been in Congress for 44 years, so the answer probably is "not much".

What a Welcome Change

It is such a refreshing sight to see a political wife who is not doing the "stand-by-yer-man" bullshit when her husband gets caught having an affair.

Jenny Sanford said Thursday that her husband Mark Sanford's political career is "not a concern of mine" and that she'd be just fine -- regardless of whether their marriage survives.

Good for her.

Sound Advice

Michael Jackson is dead.

Unless you are a member of his family or you personally knew him:

Get over it.

He was a talented singer and entertainer, no doubt. Anyone who was around when the "Thriller" music video was released can testify to that, it upended the genre of cheap-ass schlock that previously was standard for music videos.

But if you are not in one of the groups I mentioned above and if your life is so damaged by the passing of any entertainer that you need to publicly mourn, you might want to consider seeking some competent professional help.

Justice Department: The Douchebaggery Continues

The Justice Department is trying to keep notes of an interview with former Vice President Dick the Torturer out of the public eye because they are afraid of being made fun of by the Daily Show. One of the Justice Department lawyers argued this during a hearing

"I don't want a future vice president to say, 'I'm not going to cooperate with you because I don't want to be fodder for "The Daily Show." ' "

They are afraid of being the target of comedians? Call the Waaaaabulance!

What a bunch of pussies. Comedians have been making fun of politicians for longer than any of us have been alive. Jon Steward is having none of it.

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Cheney Predacted

TPM's flow-chart of GOP sex scandals:

Thursday, June 25, 2009

As Gov. Sanford Breaths a Sigh of Relief

For, with the sudden death of Michael Jackson, nobody's going to be paying any attention to his misadventures for a couple of news cycles. "Sudden," indeed, the Times URL has the word "hospitalized" in it.

So it will be a couple of days before people get back to the fact that Sanford was getting laid on his state's nickel. Nobody, other than the odd prosecutor, may even care by then.

Pretty Good

They can make it even better, though, by removing the date reference so they can add another one: In the "girls" line, the first question needs to be "dead or alive?" If "alive", the chart should continue to the next question. If "dead", it should end at "Joe Scarborough."

No Surprise From the Supremes

That the only justice who thought that it was just peachy to strip-search kids on a whim was Clarence Thomas.

A ruling that the people ordering an illegal search cannot be held personally accountable is, to my mind, toothless. But I'll have to read it to see if the press reports are close to accurate.

UPDATE: They got it wrong. The immunity applies only to these guys, because the law, in the view of the majority, was not clear enough. But it's clear enough now.

The American Basij

Only it is called InfraGuard. I've blogged about them before, but JurassicPork mentioned them again.

Their web site is pretty stale, though, the newest announcement is nine months old.

They even have a code of ethics, which says nothing about preserving, protecting and defending the Constitution of the United States, let alone the law. They "serve in the interest of InfraGuard."

Presumably, the brown shirts are optional.

Nice Job of Being Concerned About Our National Security

Former US National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft has confirmed that the US government has spies on the ground in Iran.

Hey, Douchebag! The proper answer is "I can neither confirm nor deny that the US Government has spies on the ground in Iran." A simple "I cannot talk about that" or "that's classified" also works.

(H/T)

As the Governor Strays

"Just another politician with a conservative mind and a liberal penis." -- Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Governor Mark Sanford's Affair

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Stephen Colbert also weighs in:

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Mark Sanford Does Something Interesting

www.colbertnation.com

Stephen Colbert in Iraq

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

We Now Return to Our Soap Opera: "As the Governor Strays"

The lengths these guys will go to ~~get laid~~ have an affair: Governor Sanford's trip to Buenos Aries was so that he could spend some quality time with his mistress over the Fathers' Day weekend.

I was wrong, of course; I thought that he would turn out to be just another Wingnut closet case, but I was close enough.

UPDATE: True to form, Fox News identified Sanford as a Democrat. (H/T)

Meanwhile, Back at the NY Offical State Circus

otherwise known as the State Senate, two competing sessions of the senate were held at the same time and in the same room.

I'd call them "a prize collection of Bozos", if I didn't fear that could give rise to a defamation lawsuit from Bozo the Clown. What they ought to do is reopen one of the old state idiots' asylums and move the senate sessions there.

Argentina, Appalachia

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford was in Argentina during a days long unexplained absence, not hiking the Appalachian Trail as his staff told the public when state leaders raised questions about his whereabouts, the governor told a newspaper.

Yeah, he just ups and flies to Argentina on a whim, driving five or so hours to Atlanta to catch a flight to Buenos Aries. He's got children and he disappears over the Fathers' Day weekend?

Suure, he just took off on a whim. Just for shits and grins, he took a ten-hour flight to South America, because nothing says "fun" like flying to Argentina at the start of winter.

I have the sneaking suspicion that he went to Argentina for some gay sex, a little vacation out of the closet, if you will. He probably figured it was safer than going to the can at the Minneapolis Airport.

One thing is clear: The field of potential GOP nominees for 2012 is doing a great job of self-immolation.

Some Things Never Change; Stars & Stripes Edition, Pt. 2

The MSM is beginning to pay attention. The thrust is clear, the sin of the reporter was that he refused to write the stories that the ~~duty liars~~public affairs officers wanted him to run.

The "Baghdad Bobs" of the 1st Cav ought to re-visit that portion of their oath about "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States", before they start being asked hostile questions which originate from the E-Ring of Ft. Fumble.

Supreme Court to Old People: Quit Your Job, Go Home and Die

That's the basic undercurrent of the majority opinion in Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc. In an opinion written by Justice Clarence "I've Got Mine, Fuck You" Thomas, the Supremes threw out the use of "mixed-motive" proof that is used in every other type of employment discrimination case. Justice Stevens, in his dissent, accurately characterized the majority opinion as "unabashed judicial lawmaking."

In the view of the "hooray for the powerful, screw everyone else" wing of the Court, a litigant who claims that he or she was discriminated against because of age has to prove that "but for" that person's age, they wouldn't have been fired. Which is just bullshit. What the "fuck the workers" side of the Court just did was to hand a recipe card to every employer who wants to fire their old folks. All they have to do is engage in "papering the file"; they have to put a disciplinary note in the file of the oldsters they want to terminate and then, when there is enough paper, just fire them.

Companies do this all the time already. You might have noticed that at companies which vest their employees for pension purposes, people tend to get fired a couple of months prior to their vesting. Or you might see a case where a supervisor is fired because their position "is no longer necessary", but in three months, surprise, surprise, surprise, the company finds out that that position is necessary and they fill it with someone who is 15 to 25 years younger and who does the job for $20,000 less.

Congress needs to fix this, now, just as they did for the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Words to Live By; Relationship Edition

Guys, take this one to heart:

Whatever you give a woman, she will make greater. If you give her sperm, she'll give you a baby. If you give her a house, she'll give you a home. If you give her groceries, she'll give you a meal. If you give her a smile, she'll give you her heart. She multiplies and enlarges what is given to her.

So, if you give her any crap, be ready to receive a ton of shit.

This has been a public service message from Your Friendly Correspondent.

That is all.

Some Things Never Change; Stars & Stripes Edition

During the Second World War, General Patton got all kinds of pissed off at Stars and Stripes because of,among other things, the cartoons of Bill Mauldin.

Some things don't change, for now the First Cavalry Division has barred a reporter from the Stars and Stripes because he was insufficiently cheerleady about what 1st Cav was doing in Iraq.

Guess, what, First Cav: Stars & Stripes isn't Красная звезда (Red Star). It never has been. Stars & Stripes is not a propaganda house for the DoD, the Army or any particular overly-full-of-himself general.

This is a bone-headed move and hopefully some really senior officer will helicopter into Mosul and administer some very well deserved dope slaps to the officers responsible.

(H/T)

Can You Imagine George Bush Ever Saying He Liked Any Poetry That Did Not Begin With "There Once Was a Man From Nantucket"?

Or, for that matter, giving a wide-ranging interview with a Pakistani newspaper? President Obama did, in which he discussed cooking Pakistani food and reading Urdu poetry.

Stuff like this really matters.

Cracks in the Wall

In a blatant act of defiance, a group of Mullahs took to the streets of Tehran, to protest election results that returned incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power.

I suspect that the Basiji will have as much a problem with shooting down clerics as they do with shooting women. Those guys definitely have some stones.

As do the women who are stepping up to the thugs and daring them to swing their clubs. I doubt if those women are going to be willing to settle for being pushed down by the state and the conservative clerics anymore.

Go Ahead, John, What's Stopping You?

Rep. Boehner: "Being in Congress this year is like standing in front of a machine gun." [Boehner Press Conference, 6/23/2009]

Please, Boehner, go get some first-hand experience at being shot. Then come back to let us know if your pissy-ass whine was indeed correct.

What a collection of pathetic babies now make up the congressional GOP caucus.

(H/T)

Oh, I Hope This Letter Was Real

A 2000 complaint letter to Chrysler, which gives a good indication why they failed. This is just part of it:

I’d like to sell the car, but I can’t because I can only drive it about 30 miles before something else goes wrong. (This has been my recent experience as the car has been in and out of the shop over the last few weeks. They can’t even find what’s causing the problem this time.) Plus, if I sold it, I’d probably get shot by the guy I sell it to after he walks 30 miles back to my house. Can’t be too careful these days you know.

Too funny.

Quote of the Day

From Joe Klein:

[John] McCain's bleatings [about Iran] are either for domestic political consumption or self-satisfaction, a form of hip-shooting onanism that demonstrates why he would have been a foreign policy disaster had he been elected.

(H/T)

Daily Show in Iran

Jason Jones was recently in Iran. While he was there, he interviewed three people who have since been arrested by the regime.

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Jason Jones: Behind the Veil - Persians of Interest

Sometimes they cannot help but get serious about events.

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Ebrahim Yazdi's Arrest

Neda Agha Soltani, shot down by the Iranian Basiji Militia on Saturday.

Gil Scott-Heron Was Not Wholly Correct

While the revolution will not be televised, while it takes people going out on the street and fighting and dying,

television and passing around video over the internet and by cell phone is having a major impact. The prime example, of course, is Neda Agha Soltani, who would have just been a statistic, one of the many killed during Saturday's demonstrations in Tehran, if a couple of people hadn't captured her dying on their cellphone cameras.

Words have impact, but images have real power.

Kodachrome

Kodak is discontinuing Kodachrome. It has been in production for over 70 years. Digital killed it, for the main market was to professionals and they almost all shifted to digital early on.

I was sort of serious about photography in my teens and early 20s. Kodachrome was what the pros and serious amateurs shot, even though it was the one film that could not be developed at home (you could develop black & white and Ektachrome). It really did the best job in rendering colors. It came in ASA 25 and 64; if you wanted to take photos of moving objects, you learned how to pan and to follow through. I probably shot well over a thousand slides of it (and I still have most of them).

I haven't used any in decades, though, so while I won't miss Kodachrome, its discontinuance makes me feel like a bit of a dinosaur.

Monday, June 22, 2009

27 Years Old and Dead in the Street

She wasn't taking part in the demonstrations, but a Basij killed her anyway. The Iranian regime has much to be proud of; they've proven that they can gun down a young, slender, unarmed woman.

Deafening Silence

As Springbored has noted, the silence coming out of the other nations of the Mideast regarding the Iranian election has been notable for its utter lack of volume. There isn't a single Muslim nation, to my recollection, which has said anything other than to congratulate Ahmadinejad, including Iraq and Afghanistan.

We know where our erstwhile allies, the guys who democracy-loving George Bush put into power, feel about elections: They are in favor of them, but only if they can also rig the outcome. The Iranian regime, our so-called friends and the GOP all agree with the old saying of Boss Tweed: "As long as I count the votes, what are you going to do about it?"

Who Dragged Him Out of the Tyrant Protection Program?

And who really gives a shit what the Shah's spawn has to say?

The son of the former shah of Iran called Monday for solidarity against Iran's Islamic regime, warning that the democratic movement born out of the election crisis might not succeed without international support.

Like he doesn't have a dog in the fight. Spawn of Shah should forget about any dreams of becoming the next leader of Iran, for the odds are that there are damn few people in Iran interested in being ruled by the offspring of a CIA stooge.

I don't know what Junior was doing before today, but he ought to go back to doing it and keeping his jaw in the closed and locked position. The fact of the matter is that nobody is going to intervene. Intervention in a nation's affairs has taken a very bad odor since the neocons and their puppet president invaded Iraq. Besides that, there isn't a nation that has the military power, let alone the will, to invade and hold Iran.

Yes, the Ballot Boxes Were Stuffed. But That Doesn't Change Anything.

That's the latest line from the Iranian regime, where they now admit that in at least fifty cities, the number of votes cast exceeded the number of registered voters. Note also that the Iranian regime is asking its citizens why they simply cannot accept the results of a fraudulent election in the same way that Americans do.

One thing is clear, though, and that is that the Iranian conservatives are looking hard for any outsiders to blame. President Obama is smart enough not to get caught up in that. The various blowhards from the Party of Hoover, such as Lindsey Graham and John McCain, are nowhere near as savvy.

Why Children Should Go Hungry

A lawmaker from the party of Hoover actually made an argument for allowing children to go hungry. Note the item of jewelry that said lawmaker is wearing around her neck. Feel free to comment on the irony. No, it is not Michele Bachmann (R-Nut Barn), but it is understandable if you assumed that.

Then take a look at her actual newsletter and note the "joke" she posted on the bottom, which is a "humorous" take on the decades-old Wingnut line that "poor people are lazy."

I gather that she neither did not get the memo about "compassionate conservatives" nor was she awake for a good part of her Sunday School classes.

(H/T)

Sunday, June 21, 2009

So Much Blood

During a peaceful demonstration in Tehran on June 20th, a 16 year-old girl named Neda was shot to death by a paramilitary sniper.

Tehran Time

If the time stamp on this blog looks a little off, this is why. I'd suggest that everyone consider adopting point "a" and set their blog time to GMT+3:30, rather than GMT-4 (EDT) or whatever your local time zone happens to be.

Let's help cover these guys.

Bangity, Bangity, Bangity

I finally got around to taking my M-1 to the range. This is an M-1:

I purchased an adjustable gas cylinder plug for it. The plug normally closes off the front of the gas cylinder, and as issued, it is a solid piece of steel.

There are a few reasons to consider replacing the plug with an adjustable one. First off, for military ammunition, the gas system is set up for very positive cycling, which means that the operating rod (a long machined piece of steel that starts out with a gas piston at one end and locks onto the bolt at the other end) moves with a lot of force. It moves with more force than is really necessary for civilian uses. Second, if you want to make handloads, the adjustable port allows you to tune the gas system for your loads. Third, if you want to hunt with bullets that are heavier than the military ones, you will put a lot more stress on the gas system if you do not use an adjustable port. "Stress", in this case, means that you can bend the operating rod, which is A Bad Thing.

This is an adjustable gas port from Midway Arms.

Two vent holes are drilled on either side of the centerline of the plug; the holes are angled in. A central hole is drilled and threaded for a Allen set screw. The more you screw the set screw in, the more you close up the vent holes and the more gas is pushing on the gas piston end of the operating rod. A second set screw (really a ring) is provided so that you can lock the set screw.

I adjusted it this way: I started with the set screw cranked out. I loaded and fired a single round, which did not cycle the action. So I pulled the bolt back, ejecting the round and locking the bolt back. Then I used the Allen key to turn the set screw in 1/4 turn. I then loaded and fired another round and repeated the process until upon firing, the round ejected and the blot locked back.

(Caution: It is really important that in this procedure, you only load and fire one round at a time. You really want the bolt back and locked each time, for regardless how careful you are, it is almost impossible to adjust the set screw without having the barrel pointing near your face.)

Once I had it at that point, I started firing to sight in the rifle. At one point, I did get sluggish cycling, so I turned the set screw in another 1/4 turn. That seemed to cure it, so I turned it in another 1/8th of a turn for insurance and then screwed in the locking screw. Of course, if I change the ammunition that I fire to another bullet weight, the procedure has to be repeated.

On another note, it seems from my wholly unscientific and non-random visits to gun shops, that some handgun ammunition is becoming more available. .380 and .45 ACP seems to be in short supply, but 9mm and .40 were readily available.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

The Blathering of the Imbeciles

Mainly some jerkoff named Ruben Navarrette Jr., who thinks that President Obama should speak out on Iran.

Three words for Navarrette, which do not appear anywhere in his commentary: "The Great Satan". He apparently has zero understanding how well an outspoken stand by the United States would play right into the hands of the conservative clerics.

Three more words for Navaratte, which also do not appear in his argument for speaking out: "The Hungarian Revolution". If he has no idea how that played out, thanks to US vocal support for the revolutionaries, he should read up on it.

Obama is playing this one smart. Navarette should go back to doing what he apparently does best: Polishing the turd that is the Republican Party.

The Health Insurance Industry Protection Act of 2009

I have not been spending much time reading (and then blogging) about the health insurance bills that are being considered in the House and the Senate. But having said that, one thing struck me about the Senate's proposal, so far: All it does is mandate that everybody buy health insurance and for those who can't afford it, some paltry assistance with paying for it will be made available.

That's basically it. The bill looks out for the health insurance companies before anyone else. Yet the hard reality of the situation is that this country spends more, per capita, on health care than virtually any other nation and what we get for it is a system that is corrupt at its very core.

It is grossly inefficient. First, there are a number of health insurance companies, all with their own forms, their own authorization protocols and their own billing procedures. Any medical establishment, from a solo-practitioner to a major hospital, has to be able to deal with all of them.

Second, the system is geared towards encouraging that everyone buy the most super-duper machinery without any consideration as to demand so they can advertise "Bushwa County Hospital has a new, state-of-the-art, dilithium-quark imaging system". Of course, running someone through that shiny new DQIS costs three times as much as a PET Scan, four times as much as a MRI, six times as much as a CAT scan and twenty times as much as taking an X-ray.

Third, everybody tries to do everything. A sensible system would have all hospitals set up to stabilize whoever came in the door and then a regional system for specialty cases. If you needed a hip replacement, you'd go to one place, brain surgery, another and so on. By concentrating cases, the doctors who work on those would have enough to do to be thoroughly proficient; a mechanic who rebuilds transmissions every day is likely to be far better at it than one who does it every six months and the same is true for doctors. The current system rewards inefficiency.

But the biggest obstacle to fixing the health insurance mess is the health insurance industry, as any serious reform would threaten their rice bowls. Our current systems costs too much for what it delivers. The current system saddles employers with huge costs that increasingly make them non-competitive. But since the health insurance companies are able to get the best Senators that money can buy, don't look for anything to change anytime soon.

Caturday!

This is Sweetie. She is an outdoor cat, she will not come inside. She is Gracie's littermate. Their mother was feral. Sweetie was trapped when she was nearly two, but she refused to adjust to being indoors. She was, at least, spayed.

Gracie developed a nasty respiratory infection as a young kitten, which is why she was easy to catch. A strong course of antibiotics, at least four deworming courses, spaying and she's a fat aging cat.

George's lion cut is beginning to grow out. He'll be back to full-length hair by the time it turns cold.

Friday, June 19, 2009

405 Worthless, Pointless Douchebags

Otherwise known as the United States House of Representatives, which took time out their day to vote on a stupid-ass resolution about Iran. Ron Paul voted no. The other 29 either hadn't sobered up or hadn't been able to have the bail bondsman post their bond in time for them to cast their vote.

This stupid-ass resolution does nothing, other than provide a talking point for the forces of oppression in Iran. I gather it didn't occur to any one of those 405 drooling imbeciles that the Iranian conservatives regard the US government (including, yes, the 405 retards) as "the Great Satan".

They can't do anything to help on climate change or the mortgage meltdown or health care, but by gum, in the true spirit of bombastic bipartisan balderdash, they sure can pass toothless feel-good resolutions about events happening six thousand miles away.

Horseshit can at least be used as fertilizer. I'm not sure what good a congressman is.

Washington Post, Washington Times, No Difference

The Washington Post seems to more and more be trying to plow the same ground as the Washington Times and Fox News.

Case in point: They hired Bill Kristol and fired Dan Froomkin. They don't have any problem with giving space to the pro-torture advocates, but when it comes to a liberal who has proven to be one of the best-informed critics of first the Bush Administration and now, increasingly, the Obama Administration, they dump him.

I can't say that I have much use for the Washington Post.

UPDATE: Paul Krugman weighs in. I think he's got a point. There is also an argument to be made that you're better off watching Fox News or reading Pravda, for at least you know where they are coming from.

We Will Steal the Election, Call It "Fair" and You Will Like It

That is the message of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the "supreme leader" of Iran.

Sorry, bucko. There is too much evidence otherwise. There was no real count of the votes; for once the count was started and it became clear that Ahamdinejad was going down to defeat, fraudulent numbers were used. The government just made shit up. It was as fair as a game of Three-Card Monte.

The Iranian regime is going to end. Maybe not now or this year. But they will go the way of the Shah, for they have shown themselves to be just as autocratic and dictatorial.

TSA Has a "Well, Duh" Moment

The Homeland Security Department's inspector general said Wednesday the national security threat posed by general aviation is "limited and mostly hypothetical."

I have to wonder what is going on, though. The TSA and their parent agency, the DBP, operate by creating irrational fear. Giving up the "ZOMG, Cessna 150s Are Coming To Kill Us" line would seem to be counterintuitive for the TSA. They are not going to get far by adopting policies based on rational threat evaluation.

GOP Twits

Pete Hockstra is not the only self-important Republican twit who is comparing his trainwreck of a party to the Iranians.

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Irandecision 2009 - The Oppression of House Republicans

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Irandecision 2009 - Iranians Support the GOP