Thirty Lies

John K. Wilson refutes 30 lies spread by the McCain campaign about Barack Obama's "relationship" with "terrorist" Bill Ayers (most recently by Sarah Palin who quoted from her copy of The New York Times, no less). Here are a couple:

LIE: "Bill Ayers is an unrepentant terrorist."
TRUTH: Bill Ayers is not, and apparently never was, a terrorist. The conventional definition of a terrorist is someone who tries to kill innocent people for political purposes. As Factcheck.org noted, In fact, nobody died as a result of bombings in which Ayers said he participated as part of the Weather Underground. (Factcheck.org)

LIE: "I'm sure he's very patriotic, but his relationship with Mr. Ayers is open to question....Because, if you're going to associate and have as a friend and serve on a board and have a guy kick off your campaign that says he's unrepentant, that he wished he'd bombed more. And then, the worst thing of all, that I think really indicates Senator Obama's attitude, is he had the incredible statement that he compared Mr. Ayers, an unrepentant terrorist -- an unrepentant terrorist, with Senator Tom Coburn. Senator Coburn, a physician who goes to Oklahoma on the weekends and brings babies into life.' (John McCain, April 20, 2008, ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos)
TRUTH: Obama was not friends with Ayers. Ayers did not kick off Obama's campaign. And Obama was not comparing Ayers' actions with Coburn. Obama was pointing out that he works with people even when he disagrees with them.

"Who are you anyway?"

Curtis Sliwa tries to debunk Biden's "Joey Danko-Gas Tank" story. Instead, EPIC FAIL:



Sliwa is such a tool.

(thanks to reader Sal for the tip)

How to counter negative attack ads

John McCain: The Corrupt Maverick

Watch the whole thing here, beginning at noon.

Sarah Palin: A Toxic Mess in 30 Seconds

Um, no

Ramesh Ponnuru, a columnist for the conservative National Review, called (Palin) the big winner on Thursday and, more to the point, declared: “The big loser tonight was Tina Fey.”

The Rude Pundit Gets the Final Word on Sarah Failin:

"You know what? Forget it. The Rude Pundit's disgusted talking about this nothing, this nobody, this perfect amalgamation of Machiavelli and Chauncey Gardiner. She's sound and fury, motherfuckers, sound and fury with a funny accent. If she's the future of American politics, then we are goddamned. Biden wiped the floor with her. Facts trump bullshit folksiness. Don't let anyone tell you different."

Amen, brother.

Oh, but wait, Gramps has one more thing to say about America's favorite hockey mom:



(h/t AMERICAblog)

Win

Fail

IFILL: Next question, Gov. Palin, still on the economy. Last year, Congress passed a bill that would make it more difficult for debt-strapped mortgage-holders to declare bankruptcy, to get out from under that debt. This is something that John McCain supported. Would you have?

PALIN: Yes, I would have. But here, again, there have -- there have been so many changes in the conditions of our economy in just even these past weeks that there has been more and more revelation made aware now to Americans about the corruption and the greed on Wall Street.

We need to look back, even two years ago, and we need to be appreciative of John McCain's call for reform with Fannie Mae, with Freddie Mac, with the mortgage-lenders, too, who were starting to really kind of rear that head of abuse.

And the colleagues in the Senate weren't going to go there with him. So we have John McCain to thank for at least warning people. And we also have John McCain to thank for bringing in a bipartisan effort people to the table so that we can start putting politics aside, even putting a campaign aside, and just do what's right to fix this economic problem that we are in.

It is a crisis. It's a toxic mess, really, on Main Street that's affecting Wall Street (Bold emphasis mine). And now we have to be ever vigilant and also making sure that credit markets don't seize up. That's where the Main Streeters like me, that's where we would really feel the effects.

I guess we can add that one to her greatest hits:

"In the end, the debate did not change the essential truth of Ms. Palin’s candidacy: Mr. McCain made a wildly irresponsible choice that shattered the image he created for himself as the honest, seasoned, experienced man of principle and judgment. It was either an act of incredible cynicism or appallingly bad judgment."

John McCain Picked the Wrong Late Night Host to Piss Off

Dave won't let up (and why should he?)

Sarah Palin's Alternate Flute Performance

(h/t to the commenter of the previous performance video)

John McCain is a Lying, Senile, Defensive C*nt (to use one of his favorite words)

Watch John McCain lie about Barack Obama "supporting" sex education for children; get completely caught off-guard after a question about his personal government-paid healthcare (diffusing the question with the weirdest non sequitur of his campaign...so far) and become flip and defensive when Sarah Palin's qualifications are called into question:



This man should not be allowed anywhere near our nuclear launch codes. Nor should this clueless woman (who can't even list one newspaper or magazine she's ever read):



Doncha love that she brought daughter Willow along for a prop? Shameless. I sure hope Willow was listening to her Mom's comments about contraception.

And, didya know that one of Sarah's best friends is gay? Now that's Mavericky...

"Sarah Palin is a symbol of everything that is wrong with the modern United States"

Matt Taibbi dissects the Palin Phenomenon:

"Here's the thing about Americans. You can send their kids off by the thousands to get their balls blown off in foreign lands for no reason at all, saddle them with billions in debt year after congressional year while they spend their winters cheerfully watching game shows and football, pull the rug out from under their mortgages, and leave them living off their credit cards and their Wal-Mart salaries while you move their jobs to China and Bangalore.

And none of it matters, so long as you remember a few months before Election Day to offer them a two-bit caricature culled from some cutting-room-floor episode of Roseanne as part of your presidential ticket. And if she's a good enough likeness of a loudmouthed middle-American archetype, as Sarah Palin is, John Q. Public will drop his giant-size bag of Doritos in gratitude, wipe the Sizzlin' Picante dust from his lips and rush to the booth to vote for her. Not because it makes sense, or because it has a chance of improving his life or anyone else's, but simply because it appeals to the low-humming narcissism that substitutes for his personality..."

"I'm the new energy, the new face, the new ideas and he's got the experience based on many many years in the Senate..."

Yeah, yeah, yeah...and John McCain is The Maverick.

Sarah Palin explains her campaign stump "joke" about Joe Biden's age to Katie Couric (who apparently is the only person who thinks the "joke" is funny):



More and more, Palin's voice reminds me of fingernails on a chalkboard. And, oh god, is she dumber than a box of rocks or what? Keep on talkin' Sarah. Every time you open your mouth, an angel makes sure another vote will be cast for Barack Obama.

Interview Sarah Palin

...courtesy of a computer-generated program that creates Palin-like answers to important questions most journalists will be prevented from asking her:

Q: How will you fix the economy?

The economy and putting it back on the side of the people, and that was some destruction. terrible destruction on that day. but since September 11, Americans uniting and rebuilding and committing to never letting that happen again. I agree with taking the fight to the terrorists who are concerned about the need to have nuclear weapons, what can we do about it. No way, not Americans. We do not let them come onto our soil and try to find you some and I'll bring them to you. I answered him yes because I have not and I have not and I think our presence in Iraq that John McCain and I think it was AIG, important call there, though, because of the day are going to continue good relations with Saakashvili there.

For more, go here.

(h/t BoingBoing)

Palin & McCain Spores!

Shea Goodbye

While most of the country gloats over the fact that the hapless Mets once again failed to reach the post season, ESPN.com's J.R. Moehringer waxes poetic over the final days of Shea Stadium ("named after the Cuban Guerilla leader Che Stadium"):

Shea is often compared to a concrete doughnut, a giant toilet, but seldom to a house of worship. Shea is routinely dismissed as a sin against aesthetics, and telling people you love it is like saying you love a nuclear reactor. Or a landfill. Built during a benighted period in American architecture, named after a lawyer, set virtually alongside the taxiways at LaGuardia, Shea has long been criticized, but recently it has become a laughingstock. Personally, I always found Shea beautiful, in its homely way, but I no longer admit this in public. I can't bear people cocking one eyebrow and saying, "Shea? Really?"

All love is indefensible, especially stadium love, which has nothing to do with aesthetics. The first stadium you see is the one you love, end of story. Maybe not see, but enter, since every baseball stadium is a complex delivery mechanism for that first view of its inner pastoral utopia. You leave the hot gritty streets, you walk through the long dark tunnel, you burst forth into that vista of sunlight and cool grass -- that's the moment you become a fan. It's as irrevocable, as seminal, as when you come through that other long dark tunnel, into the arms of a doctor who grabs your ankles and slaps your ass. And you have just as much choice in the matter.

Even if you are not a Mets fan but are still a fan of the game, you can probably relate to J.R.'s ruminations about the loss of a beloved home away from home.



(thanks to reader Sal for the article and pic, and thanks to the mrs. for the t-shirt)

What an Adorable Couple

John sits by Sarah's side to make sure she doesn't say anything stupid again to Katie.

Fail:



So which was it Sarah? "Gotcha Journalism" or "a Voter" that caused you to say something Grandpa disapproved of?

Steven is a Piece of Work

Well, we survived the first weekend with "Action" Steve, but just barely. We are calling in the calvary (ie: a professional trainer) to help us ween Steven off the following bad habits:

• Jumping on people
• Stealing articles of clothing
• Confusing the apartment for the bathroom
• Confusing the great outdoors with leisure time (instead of pooping and peeing, he prefers to poke his head into every doorway and then, after a spell, simply lies down in the middle of the sidewalk
• Excessive barking

Other than the above, he's a joy. No, seriously. Sort of.

"You Were Wrong...You Were Wrong...You Were Wrong"

Has John McCain ever been right?



I don't think so, my friends.

Krup Hearts Jack Cafferty

Jack says if Sarah Palin being one heartbeat away from the Presidency doesn't "scare the hell out of you, it should":



Be sure to watch the whole thing: Cafferty essentially gives Wolf Blitzer a "You are a such a tool" look at the end of the clip.

R.I.P. David

David Foster Wallace, 1962-2008

I wonder if he left a suicide note. And, if he did, were there footnotes?





Here's a great interview with Wallace from 1996, conducted while he was promoting his hefty masterpiece, Infinite Jest.

This is ALL the Obama campaign needs to do to win in November (IMHO):

Just repeatedly ask the American people the following three questions:

01) Are you better off than you were 8 years ago?

02) Do you think the country is headed in the right direction?

03) Can you afford 4 more years of the same?

Game. Set. Match.



UPDATE: This is pretty good Barack, but you still gotta simplify it for the simpletons:

Mitch Lives!

Available now.

In Praise of Liberals

Bob Herbert says it's time to stop thinking of "liberal" as a dirty word:

...Liberals have been so cowed by the pummeling they’ve taken from the right that they’ve tried to shed their own identity, calling themselves everything but liberal and hoping to pass conservative muster by presenting themselves as hyper-religious and lifelong lovers of rifles, handguns, whatever.

So there was Hillary Clinton, of all people, sponsoring legislation to ban flag-burning; and Barack Obama, who once opposed the death penalty, morphing into someone who not only supports it, but supports it in cases that don’t even involve a homicide.

Anyway, the Republicans were back at it last week at their convention. Mitt Romney wasn’t content to insist that he personally knows that “liberals don’t have a clue.” He complained loudly that the federal government right now is too liberal.

“We need change, all right,” he said. “Change from a liberal Washington to a conservative Washington.”

Why liberals don’t stand up to this garbage, I don’t know. Without the extraordinary contribution of liberals — from the mightiest presidents to the most unheralded protesters and organizers — the United States would be a much, much worse place than it is today.

There would be absolutely no chance that a Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton or Sarah Palin could make a credible run for the highest offices in the land. Conservatives would never have allowed it.

Civil rights? Women’s rights? Liberals went to the mat for them time and again against ugly, vicious and sometimes murderous opposition. They should be forever proud.

The liberals who didn’t have a clue gave us Social Security and unemployment insurance, both of which were contained in the original Social Security Act. Most conservatives despised the very idea of this assistance to struggling Americans. Republicans hated Social Security, but most were afraid to give full throat to their opposition in public at the height of the Depression...

Liberals who didn’t have a clue gave us Medicare and Medicaid. Quick, how many of you (or your loved ones) are benefiting mightily from these programs, even as we speak. The idea that Republicans are proud of Ronald Reagan, who saw Medicare as “the advance wave of socialism,” while Democrats are ashamed of Lyndon Johnson, whose legislative genius made this wonderful, life-saving concept real, is insane.

Read the whole thing and "hold your head up."

Triumph Does The RNC

McLame: "I will be a great president because, have you heard, I was a POW 40 years ago and I learned to love my country."

That was more or less the total gist of McShameless' acceptance speech last night. Well, that plus some "Change We Can Trust" b.s. backed up by the claims that:

• He went to Washington to "fight corruption" (well, only after he was caught knee-deep in a corruption scandal which cost taxpayers $3 billion dollars)

• He has had the "courage to take on the G.O.P." (when he wasn't voting with George W. Bush 95% of the time)

• He "always tell(s) the truth" (except, of course, when he isn't).

Corrupt Corruption Fighter, Courageous Champion of George W. Bush's Failed Policies and Teller of Truthiness. That's a pretty thin resume. Heck, he doesn't even have any "EXECUTIVE" experience:





So, I guess the only thing that rang true during McSame's speech last night is the fact that, yes, we get it, he was a POW. But as both that Dirty Hippie Wesley Clark and that Hollywood Liberal Fred Thompson have said, it doesn't qualify someone to be president:



They're just sayin'...

One last thing: Green Screen! Stephen Colbert must be a very happy man...

Green Screen Update: The picture behind McCain was supposed to be of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. But Republicans can't do anything right:

"You're gonna love this. Remember the weird green screen behind McCain as he was speaking last night? As his speech went on, we realized it was grass - grass from a larger photo of a house or some big mansion or something. In fact, the picture was of Walter Reed. No, not Walter Reed Army Medical Center where injured troops are treated - though that was clearly McCain's intent, to use our injured troops as a political prop (just as last night they dared show footage of the planes crashing into the World Trade Center, and the towers falling) - no, in fact, McCain posted a photo of Walter Reed Middle School, a school for kids in California that has nothing to do with Walter Reed the military hospital. They actually thought the school was the Army hospital. Apparently McCain just discovered the Google."

What's even more amazing about this fuckup, is that they eventually replaced the picture with an American flag video providing a blue screen behind McCain (blue screen is just as easy to mess with as green screen).

Rest in Peace Dad

Jerry Krupnick: 1926-2008

If you would like to make a donation to the American Heart Association in my father's name, you can do so here. Thank you.

Krup's Tumblr Will Tumble For Ya

Things are a little topsy turvy in the Krup universe these days so I don't quite have as much time to blog as I would like. So, in the meantime, you can click the Tumblr logo below or the "Super Kids" pic on the left to find items that interest me (and just might interest you):

The Commander in Chief Test

(h/t AMERICAblog)

Rap Is So Much Better When It's Performed By Muppets

I was a big rap fan back in the late '80s before it became all blinged-out and violent. You know, when it was smart and/or had a sense of humor (De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, Black Sheep). This mash-up of a M.O.P. song makes it all good again:

This or That?

THIS (Obama in Kuwait):



or THAT (McCain in Kennebunkport, ME):



THIS (Obama in Berlin):



or THAT (McCain in Ohio):



Fudge it America. The choice is yours...

Facts Are Just So Darn Silly

Either John McCheese has no idea what he's talking about or he is a colossal liar:



Straight Talk:

The major Sunni sheik who John McCain said was protected by the surge and subsequently helped lead the Anbar Awakening, was actually assassinated by an al-Qaeda led group in midst of the surge.

On Tuesday evening, McCain falsely claimed that the downturn in violence in Iraq's Anbar province was a result of the surge, when in fact the surge began months afterward. Moreover, he said, if it weren't for the work of U.S. forces, the major Sunni figure leading that awakening wouldn't have had the protection he needed.

"Colonel MacFarland was contacted by one of the major Sunni sheiks," said the Senator. "Because of the surge we were able to go out and protect that sheik and others. And it began the Anbar awakening."

The Arizona Republican's campaign went further the next day, claiming that the major figures that turned around Anbar province would have been killed had the surge policy not been in place. "If Barack Obama had had his way, the Sheiks who started the Awakening would have been murdered at the hands of al Qaeda," said spokesman Tucker Bounds.

Sadly, that murder took place even with the surge underway. In September 2007, Abdul Sattar Abu Risha, the sheik widely credited with persuading Sunni leaders to turn against al Qaeda in Iraq, died in a bomb attack in Anbar. His work, prior to then, was held as a major effort in transforming the province from one of Iraq's deadliest areas into one of its safest.

Sadly, the mainstream media along with too many Americans believe that John McCain knows how to win wars that are unwinnable.

Obama Supports Our Troops/Our Troops Support Obama

Watch the video:



Lots more here.

Meanwhile, Shameless McSame tells supporters Obama wants to "lose" the war in Iraq:



(h/t AMERICAblog)

For $12,522 You Would Think They'd At Least Include Complimentary Barf Bags

Who could possibly want to eat dinner while being suspended in the air by a crane? A crane!!! These people:



(Click to watch)

(h/t WFMU's Beware of the Blog)

Annoying Musical Theatre Geek or Brilliant Parodist?

You decide:





More here. (via Boing Boing)

Join the 3000!

Sean Tevis has decided to "retire" his current anti-choice, anti-gay, anti-evolution, pro-censorship State Representative in Kansas. He believes he can achieve his goal if 3,000 people donate $8.34 to his campaign:



(Click for the complete story and to donate)

C'mon: You know you've wasted $8.34 on much less important things. For example, that picture of Jake Gyllenhaal shopping for magazines:




(h/t Boing Boing and good luck to Sean!)

Cool or Creepy?

Whales Blowing Bubble Rings
by DiagonalView

(h/t Videogum)

Bonus awwwwwwwwwwwww video (because my pal P.S. Mueller likes puppies):



(h/t freakgirl)

Now THIS is Satire

(h/t AMERICAblog)

Your McCain Moment of Zen:

(gotta love MSNBC's lower third: "MCCAIN ANSWERS A VERY HARD QUESTION")

Everything You Need To Know About Obama's So-Called Move To The Center

The Rude Pundit writes it so I don't have to (and it's a good thing because, a) I don't have the time and b) he's a far superior writer):

...Anyone who actually listened to Obama and read about his positions knew that he was, at best, slightly to the left of moderate (in today's right-warped political belief continuum). Those who believed he was a liberal savior were actually just reacting to the right wing's portrayal of him as "the mostest liberalest Senator" or some such shit, as in "Well, hell, if Bill O'Reilly says he's the mostest liberalest, then he's the candidate for me." We on the left often make this mistake: to see ourselves only as reflected in the conservative nutzoid mirror.

(It's the same reason so many on the left romanticize the Clinton presidency. Jesus, back in 1996, when Clinton had triangulated himself to near-Reagan levels of corporate lackey-ism, the only reason the Rude Pundit voted at all was because of Supreme Court appointees.)

But don't worry, The Rude One's not going to let Obama off the hook for his FISA vote:

Barack Obama's reversal of his position on the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 was a craven, cowardly bullshit move that ought to haunt him with the left (and libertarian right) for the rest of the campaign. By voting for the bill yesterday (including voting for cloture), Obama made a mistake that is the political equivalent of Hillary Clinton's Iraq war vote. (They are not morally equivalent, since the dead would probably rather be alive and spied on.) And while there's no telling how Clinton would have voted had she been the nominee, just as there's no way to know how Obama would have voted on the war had he been in the Senate in 2002, the New York Senator was unencumbered and able to take the moral high ground and voted against the bill.

It wouldn't be so bad if Obama hadn't made an absolutely definitive statement about opposing any bill that contained immunity from civil lawsuits for telecommunications companies. But the bill did contain it. And he still voted for it. So he joined with other enabling Democrats to be like beaten dogs to their President-owner, hoping that Bush would praise them and pet them, even briefly. A proud, proud moment.

And now for the payoff:

Ultimately, many of us who support Obama do so even if we know his flaws, even if our stomachs churn when he acts like another politician desperate to get elected. That's because, like Michael Moore pointed out, his movement is more important than he is. If he's bringing legions of new voters to the party, then that means big ass gains in Congress. It's a way of transitioning away from the enormous damage done to our America this century. It's gonna take time, probably a few presidents, to heal ourselves. This ain't about forgiving Obama or giving him a pass. If a President Obama does nothing else but get us out of Iraq, even if it takes more than 16 months, then that's a running start.

Maybe the only way to achieve some ideals is to give up our idealism.

Remember where our idealism got us in 2000, Ralph Nader voters?

Why See Wall-E When You Can Watch Someone Watching The Wall-E Trailer?

As my niece Lily explained to me, there's a new generation out there: The generation that loves to advertise itself. This is one of the most striking examples:



If you loved that, you're going to love what happened to Courtney after she posted herself watching the Wall-E trailer.

(via Elephant Larry's Group Blog)

Make Love Not War

A Peace of History:

"In 1969, a 14-year-old Beatle fanatic named Jerry Levitan, armed with a reel-to-reel tape deck, snuck into John Lennon's hotel room in Toronto and convinced John to do an interview about peace. 38 years later, Jerry has produced a film about it. Using the original interview recording as the soundtrack, director Josh Raskin has woven a visual narrative which tenderly romances Lennon's every word in a cascading flood of multipronged animation. Raskin marries the terrifyingly genius pen work of James Braithwaite with masterful digital illustration by Alex Kurina, resulting in a spell-binding vessel for Lennon's boundless wit, and timeless message."

Can You Feel the Excitement?

Two stellar entries in Stephen Colbert's Green Screen Challenge: Make McCain Interesting





More can be found here.

American Journalism at it's Finest

Actual AP story:

Poll: Obama beats McCain as barbecue guest

People would rather barbecue burgers with Barack Obama than with John McCain.

While many are still deciding who should be president, by 52 percent to 45 percent they would prefer having Obama than McCain to their summer cookout, according to an Associated Press-Yahoo News poll released Wednesday.

However, to be fair to the esteemed AP news team, the article did contain this gem:

Having Obama to a barbecue would be like a relaxed family gathering, while inviting McCain "would be more like a retirement party than something fun," said Wesley Welbourne, 38, a systems engineer from Washington, D.C.

R.I.P. George

George Carlin was one of the greatest. Don't expect wall-to-wall Tim Russert-like coverage of his death.

Here's George on war (or, in his words, "Prick Waving"):


(NSFW)

and here's some classic early Carlin (quite a contrast):



FMU's got a lot more.

Someone Had To Say It

Jonathan Schwarz over at This Modern World:

How Tim Russert Helped Plant the Seeds for Iraq War

December 19, 1999: With Al Gore as guest, Tim Russert says on Meet the Press: “One year ago Saddam Hussein threw out all the inspectors who could find his chemical or nuclear capability.” Russert asks Gore what he’s going to do about this.

Soon afterward: Sam Husseini leaves a message on Russert’s answering machine, and speaks to two of his assistants, telling them the inspectors were withdrawn by the UN at the request of the United States.

January 2, 2000: With Madeleine Albright as guest, Tim Russert repeats the error on Meet the Press: “One year ago, the inspectors were told, ‘Get out,’ by Saddam Hussein.” Russert asks Albright what she’s going to do about this.

January 21, 2000: Sam Husseini writes a letter to Russert, again laying out the facts, and requests a correction.

January 22, 2000-March 19, 2003: Russert never corrects his error.

March 19, 2003-present: Hundreds of thousands of people die in Iraq War. Russert dies, not in Iraq War. Official Washington weeps copious tears for Russert and his Extraordinary Journalistic Standards.

Here's an "obscene" example of tears shed for Russert:

It's surely no consolation to his family if we note that Russert dedicated himself to the pursuit of a noble cause: journalism, the free flow of information, the First Amendment, the need (more than ever) to hold politicians accountable for their words and actions. That, in fact, is more than a noble cause. It is patriotism. And his passing is sad proof that a patriot can sacrifice himself for the country he loves without dying in battle.

I'll only accept this argument if I never have to hear someone question Barack Obama's patriotism ever again.

Why I'm Voting Independent

(h/t Poplicks)

Why I'm Voting Republican

Register to Vote

John McCain's a Bigger Dick Than You Thought

The Maverick's first wife speaks:

...She was the woman McCain dreamed of during his long incarceration and torture in Vietnam’s infamous ‘Hanoi Hilton’ prison and the woman who faithfully stayed at home looking after the children and waiting anxiously for news.

But when McCain returned to America in 1973 to a fanfare of publicity and a handshake from Richard Nixon, he discovered his wife had been disfigured in a terrible car crash three years earlier. Her car had skidded on icy roads into a telegraph pole on Christmas Eve, 1969. Her pelvis and one arm were shattered by the impact and she suffered massive internal injuries.

When Carol was discharged from hospital after six months of life-saving surgery, the prognosis was bleak. In order to save her legs, surgeons had been forced to cut away huge sections of shattered bone, taking with it her tall, willowy figure. She was confined to a wheelchair and was forced to use a catheter.

Through sheer hard work, Carol learned to walk again. But when John McCain came home from Vietnam, she had gained a lot of weight and bore little resemblance to her old self...

(snip)

Carol insists she remains on good terms with her ex-husband, who agreed as part of their divorce settlement to pay her medical costs for life. ‘I have no bitterness,’
she says. ‘My accident is well recorded. I had 23 operations, I am five inches shorter than I used to be and I was in hospital for six months. It was just awful, but it wasn’t the reason for my divorce.

‘My marriage ended because John McCain didn’t want to be 40, he wanted to be 25. You know that happens...it just does.’

Ah, the sanctity of marriage...

Elmo Auditions for Scorsese's Casino

SoooooooooNSFW:

It's About Time

Here's the context:



(photos taken by "the mrs." in nyc)

Question: I've been reading a number of articles (for example, this one) that puts the primary onus of "healing" the Democratic Party on Barack. I know he will (because he's good like that), but shouldn't Hillary be the one charged with that task? She's the one who has continually tried her darnedest to rip the party apart. Just sayin'...

"McCain's YouTube Problem Just Became a Nightmare"

Pass it on. Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEtZlR3zp4c&feature=email

This Is Why We Need A Change (Sorry John, Sorry Hillary)

Fearless leader George W. Bush on his decision to go to war in Iraq (from a new book by NBC News' Richard Engel):

"'This is the great war of our times. It is going to take forty years,'" [Bush told Engel]. "Bush said in forty years the world would know if the war on terrorism, and conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, had reduced extremism, helped moderates, and promoted democracy."

- Bush admits to Engel that going to war was a decision based on his personal instinct and not on any long-range strategy for the Mideast:

"I know people are saying we should have left things the way they were, but I changed after 9/11. I had to act. I don't care if it created more enemies. I had to act."

Can we have the election tomorrow?

This Is Humbling

I will never, ever refer to myself as a sort-of-musician again:



More here.

Alice

Brilliant. Watch it now before Disney wipes it off the 'net. And go here to download a free mp3 of the track.

Quote of the Month, Perhaps Decade

"[T]he constitutionally based right to marry properly must be understood to encompass the core set of basic substantive legal rights and attributes traditionally associated with marriage that are so integral to an individual’s liberty and personal autonomy that they may not be eliminated or abrogated by the Legislature or by the electorate through the statutory initiative process. These core substantive rights include, most fundamentally, the opportunity of an individual to establish — with the person with whom the individual has chosen to share his or her life — an officially recognized and protected family possessing mutual rights and responsibilities and entitled to the same respect and dignity accorded a union traditionally designated as marriage."

Go California.

Appease Allow Me To Introduce Myself

I'm not a big fan of Chris Matthews. Actually, I don't really like him at all. His voice gives me a headache and his laugh freaks the hell out of me. But yesterday, Matthews conducted the greatest interview of his career and absolutely eviscerated right-wing hack Kevin James who came on Hardball to backup the Preznit's not very veiled claim that Barack Obama's ideas regarding diplomacy and negotiations make him comparable to Nazi appeasers. The only problem was that James had zero grasp of the facts pertaining to Nazi appeasement, particularly the actions of Neville Chamberlain back in 1938. This may be the funniest pundit video I've ever seen:



Now, I admit, I didn't know exactly what Chamberlain did either (I must have been "absent" that day in school), but I don't go around talking smack on the radio or television about stuff I don't know about. It took me less than a minute to find the information on the internet. You would think if you are going to share your "expertise" with the American public that you would at least take a few minutes to prep your talking points.

It would be fantastic if Matthews' actions became a trend on pundit television, especially during this election year (we're going to be hearing a lot of crap, and not just about appeasement, from now until November). Could you imagine how great it would be to see talking head after talking head getting completely smacked down for not doing their homework? For too long, these Rovian thugs have gotten away with bullshitting the American people. It's time our members of the press did their jobs.

For example, did you know that John McCain was in favor of talking to Hamas before he was against it? You wouldn't have if you simply read or listened to what was mostly doled out by the media yesterday. Fortunately, a reporter from the Washington Post recalled this interview with McCain from two years ago:



That's journalism. I wonder how many mainstream U.S. journalists are going to look into Bush's grandfather's dealings with the Nazis? I'm not going to hold my breath.

For more appeasement fun, let's go to our old pal Jon Stewart:



UPDATE: I meant to mention this before. One of the most hilarious aspects of the Matthews/James interview was James' attempt at a final zinger as he tried to pin 9/11 on Bill Clinton. Mark Green correctly comes back with the fact that 9/11 happened on Bush's watch and that for 9 months former members of the Clinton administration, particularly Richard Clarke, tried to warn the Bushies about bin Laden. James' retort? Watch an ABC made-for-TV movie he erroneously called "Pathway to 9/11" (he meant Path to 9/11 which TV critic Tom Shales called "Factually shaky, politically inflammatory and photographically a mess."). Why read or listen to facts when you can watch pretty pictures on the teevee?

Sacrifice

(for more information, go to The Bush Legacy Tour)

More from K.O.:

The Day There Was No News

If only...




(h/t boingboing)

The Real Problem With Hillary Clinton:

Instead of trying to educate this country and bring it together, she is instead exploiting the hatred and ignorance of people like these "fine" folks from West Virginia:



(h/t to reader Sal)

Sad

2:57 p.m., Yeager Airport, Charleston, W.Va.: A steep descent brings Clinton's plane to Charleston's hilltop airport. After an appropriate wait, she steps from the plane and pretends to wave to a crowd of supporters; in fact, she is waving to 10 photographers underneath the airplane's wing. She pretends to spot an old friend in the crowd, points and gives another wave; in fact, she is waving at an aide she had been talking with on the plane minutes earlier.


Pathetic, actually.

Two (to 8) Out Of Every 10 West Virginians Don't Like Black People

I am soooooooooooooo shocked:

"The number of white Democratic voters who said race had influenced their choices on Tuesday was among the highest recorded in voter surveys in the nomination fight. Two in 10 white West Virginia voters said race was an important factor in their votes. More than 8 in 10 who said it factored in their votes backed Mrs. Clinton, according to exit polls."

Less shocking? Hillary Clinton's take on her token victory:

"The White House is won in the swing states. And I am winning the swing states," Clinton told cheering supporters at a victory rally.

So, in other words, all of you white people out there better get your act together or you are gonna end up with a big Black loser in November. Or something to that effect.

Fun Fact: Both Gore and Kerry lost West Virginia (and it's grand total of 5, count 'em, electoral votes) in their bids to become POTUS. Perhaps West Virginia is no longer the bastion of Democratic salvation that Hillary wants you to think it is. Methinks there are bigger fish to fry (and Obama knows it).

This One Goes Out To "Rico Bach"

Except for the occasional, angry Jared Leto fan, I rarely receive negative comments from readers of this blog. In fact, this blog rarely receives any comments at all unless you count the enthusiastic missives from obsessive Titanic fans or the nice folks who like to discuss Jehovah's Witnesses.

However, last night I received the following comment about yesterday's Bill O'Reilly post from some brave soul with a fake name, living in his parent's basement, who needed to let me know what a jerk I am:

As if your politics were not a large enough nut-filled turd, now you're beating your villians over the head with old blooper reel footage. The guy was stuck on "Inside Edition" for Christ's sake. If you are the savvy industry insider you claim to be, you know all of the less than flattering moments dubbed off on thousands of videotapes... capturing talent at their worst. Good thing there were no cameras in the edit suite rolling when you were throwing hissy-fits while keying cheesy supers over Ren & Stimpy promos... eh, Ace? My advice to you: grow up. And vote McCain, dumbass.

Where do I begin? Okay:

• First of all "Rico", if my politics seem like a stinky nougat to you, why are you even reading my blog? Shouldn't you be reading Jonah Goldberg?

• "Villains"? How quaint.

• This is a blooper:



Hahaha. Wasn't that simply hi-larious? You see, Rico, a blooper is, to quote Merriam-Webster, "an embarrassing public blunder." I'll add the word "harmless" to that definition. The Bill O'Reilly video was not a blunder. It consisted of the lunatic ravings of a very unhinged man who continues to act that way, albeit without the profanity, on his high-quality "news" program, The O'Reilly Factor:



• Billo was "stuck" on Inside Edition?!?! For six years?!?! Bill started on that show as a correspondent in 1989 and worked his way up to anchor. Bill was actually so proud of his imprisonment tenure at Inside Edition that, in 2001, he falsely claimed that the show had won a prestigious Peabody Award. After he was busted for his lie by Al Franken, Bill claimed that he had mistakenly said "Peabody" and meant to say "Polk" (it was later learned that Inside Edition received it's Polk Award a year after O'Reilly was "released" from the show).

• I don't ever recall claiming I was a "savvy insider" but I might have once said I won a Polk Award (I was probably drunk when I said it so I really don't remember).

• "Hissy-fits"? I beg your pardon sir, but I don't roll that way. I once, at the ripe old age of 23, threw a 3/4" tape across a control room (which I believe "hissed" as it made it's way to the adjacent wall) but it's not a moment I'm particularly proud of (although someone had seriously messed up). However, it was a one-time event and not something I would use to base my career on. Yelling at people or physically intimidating them gets you nowhere unless you plan on hosting a show on Fox News. But, on this particular point, I agree with your view Rico and I'm glad there's no videotape of that unseemly event.

• Cheesy supers? You'll have to take that up with the Spike graphics guy who made them (and, I guess, John Kricfalusi since the graphics are simply a variation on Kricfalusi's logo.). I kinda like that spot, however, which is, admittedly not a graphics' showcase but more about writing and editing:



(Click to watch)

Well, writing...not so much.

• "Ace"? I like it. Any readers who want to leave negative comments are hereby requested to call me Ace. I've also instructed my wife to call me Ace in bed.

• I will never grow up. I'm too old for that.

• And finally, if, in November, I find myself pulling the lever for that ancient, doddering, war-mongering hypocrite, then, yes, I am a "dumbass."

So Rico, because I'm a good guy, I'd like to dedicate the following song to you. From RevoLucian, the man who brought us the classic Barbara Streisand remix STFU, comes F#*k It. Click the link to enjoy!

MoveOn.org's "Obama in 30 Seconds" Contest Winner

To watch the other finalists, go here where you can also donate to help put the winning ad on yer teevee.

There Goes Hillary's White Vote

This is a real ad:



No, seriously. It's real.

The Unbearable Whiteness of Being...Hillary

"I have a much broader base to build a winning coalition on," (Clinton) said in an interview with USA TODAY. As evidence, Clinton cited an Associated Press article "that found how Sen. Obama's support among working, hard-working Americans, white Americans, is weakening again, and how whites in both states who had not completed college were supporting me."

"There's a pattern emerging here," she said.

Will someone please stick a fork in this woman.

"It's excruciatingly painful being green."

Sad Kermit covers Elliott Smith's "Needle in the Hay" (which you may recall from The Royal Tenenbaums):



Sick but genius.

"The America That We Believe In"

Last night, Barack Obama took back the soul of the Democratic Party. Yes, it was only a speech. But Barack Obama sounded like someone who truly loves his country. Barack Obama sounded like someone who wants to be President because he (rightly) believes our country has been tainted and he wants to do whatever he can to restore the promise of America. Hillary Clinton sounded like someone who thinks she deserves to be President. Take it away Barack:

PEHDTSCKJMBA

Learn how to pronounce PEHDTSCKJMBA with our old pal, Tom Waits:



If Tom is guided toward your town, do not miss him. He gives one helluva concert.

The Great Derangement

Rolling Stone's excellent political writer, Matt Taibbi has a book coming out tomorrow called The Great Derangement: A Terrifying True Story of War, Politics, and Religion at the Twilight of the American Empire. Here's the basic premise of his book:

(After 7 years of "a corrupt White House and an acquiescent corporate media") "Americans are now supposed to make their own sense of the world, but are the right messages even reaching our collective brain? Are the halves of that brain even connected? Do we know who we are anymore? Are we sane? It's a hell of a problem for a nuclear power."

To promote the book, Matt made a video with animator Eric Merola. Enjoy:



You know our country has gone insane when Jesse Ventura makes more sense then the majority of talking heads and politicians we see day in and day out on the TeeVee:

"If America is changing because of the war on terrorism, then the terrorists are winning..."

Donny Deutsch is a great example of the inanity of our talking head culture. He goes from a discussion of "chicken hawks" to asking Ventura about Martha Stewart (!?!?) Amazingly, Ventura is able to turn that inane question into an example of how insane America has become.

Something For The 8-Year-Old In All Of Us

(h/t List of the Day, a new websession)

I Think I Sort Of Remember When This Guy Was An Eloquent Speaker

Bill Clinton, campaigning for his wife at a North Carolina church:

"I didn't come here to ask you to vote for my wife," said Clinton, addressing the congregation at Church of the Pentacostal in Asheville, N.C. "I came here to ask you to pray for her. And to vote. Do whatever you want. Show up. Our country is in dire distress.

"I just want you to pray for her and to make your voices heard," he added. "Do whatever you think is right. But don't sit this out, because we are being called upon to return to our true purpose."

Yes, my friends, your true purpose is to send Bill back to the White House or "whatever you want."

The Empire Strikes Barack

Indiana, North Carolina: The Choice is Yours.



May the Force Be with You.

The Ad Republicans Didn't Want You To See

Why? Because McCain's hunched-over look is creepier than Nixon's?

"a drama of race, values, patriotism and betrayal"

Enough. The mentality of reality television has completely taken over this election. The above quote is from the opening paragraph of today's The New York Times article on Obama and his ex-pastor. In a more intelligent universe, Obama's comments denouncing Rev. Wright (as well as his previous speech on racism) would be the end of the "controversy." But the press loves them some good "drama" so we'll be hearing about this "controversy" until the Democrats pick a winner.

Instead, as the same edition of The New York Times stated on it's editorial pages, we should be having "a serious, healthy and much-needed discussion on race." Not to mention serious discussions about the unwinnable war in Iraq, healthcare, education and the economy.

Ah, fuck it. Let's watch another episode of The Hills instead...

Media Lemmings

Well it looks like members of our esteemed media have bought into the Clinton theory/lie that Obama is unelectable in the general election because he has not been able to carry the big swing states like Ohio, Texas and Pennsylvania as well as solid blue states like New York and California. This theory is of course based on the dubious assumption that the people who voted for Clinton in those states will not vote for Obama in November.

Obama's "problem" apparently is that only kids and black people like him. Old white women and blue collar workers can't stand him because he sucks at bowling. This has led to the dreaded "McGovern" comparison:

Indeed, if you look at Obama's vote in Pennsylvania, you begin to see the outlines of the old George McGovern coalition that haunted the Democrats during the '70s and '80s, led by college students and minorities. In Pennsylvania, Obama did best in college towns (60 to 40 percent in Penn State's Centre County) and in heavily black areas like Philadelphia.

Its ideology is very liberal. Whereas in the first primaries and caucuses, Obama benefited from being seen as middle-of-the-road or even conservative, he is now receiving his strongest support from voters who see themselves as "very liberal." In Pennsylvania, he defeated Clinton among "very liberal" voters by 55 to 45 percent, but lost "somewhat conservative" voters by 53 to 47 percent and moderates by 60 to 40 percent. In Wisconsin and Virginia, by contrast, he had done best against Clinton among voters who saw themselves as moderate or somewhat conservative.

Obama even seems to be acquiring the religious profile of the old McGovern coalition. In the early primaries and caucuses, Obama did very well among the observant. In Maryland, he defeated Clinton among those who attended religious services weekly by 61 to 31 percent. By contrast, in Pennsylvania, he lost to Clinton among these voters by 58 to 42 percent and did best among voters who never attend religious services, winning them by 56 to 44 percent. There is nothing wrong with winning over voters who are very liberal and who never attend religious services; but if they begin to become Obama's most fervent base of support, he will have trouble (to say the least) in November.

There is only one problem with this theory: Actual votes. Obama has received well over 14 million votes during the 31 primaries held so far. John McCain received less than half as many votes over 29 primaries to capture the GOP nomination. And how many votes do you think George McGovern received in the Democratic primaries to snag the nomination? If you guessed 4,053,451 then you are faster than Google.

Obama has energized the Democratic Party and, as a result, record numbers of voters have been turning out to vote in the primaries. Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, has been sucking the air out of the Democratic Party, dragging the campaign into the mud and doing the Republicans' job for them. The country obviously wants a change so the November election is the Democrat's to lose. If the Clinton campaign continues to influence the media, yes, Obama's chances will diminish. So you have to ask the question, "Does Hillary Clinton care more about herself or her country?"

(image "courtesy" of carolynbaker.net)

"We've Got To Do Something"

If Russell Brand doesn't do this, who's gonna do it?

Maybe I Was Wrong

It looks like there is a mathematical possibility Hillary can still win this thing:

Why I Hate Hillary Clinton

Jon Stewart breaks it down:

Clinton: "If we had the same system as the Republicans, I'd already be the nominee."

Stewart: "So what it comes down to is, that you would win the nomination if Democrats were Republicans. That sounds like one tremendous 'if-you' to the process."

When Clinton, along with all of the other Democratic candidates, agreed to NOT count Michigan and Florida, she was the clear frontrunner. In fact, she declared on This Week with George Stephanopoulos that “It’ll be over by Feb. 5" (this, however, did not stop her from shamelessly campaigning in Florida after pledging not to). Now that things haven't quite gone the way she planned it (February 5th? If only...), Hillary finds herself in a mathematically impossible situation to snag the nomination without Florida and Michigan. She is suddenly desperate to change the rules and make the popular vote, not the delegate vote, determine the nominee (after all was said and done about Hillary's double-digit Pennsylvania win that was in reality 9.4%, Hillary only gained 9 delegates; she also, contrary to popular belief, lost Texas but she's such a sore loser that her campaign has actually contemplated taking legal action!).

Well, I'm sorry but you cannot change the rules to suit your needs. Period. But try telling that to a Clinton:

"I'm very proud that as of today, I have received more votes by the people who have voted than anybody else, and I am proud of that," Clinton said at a rally in Indianapolis. "It's a very close race, but if you count, as I count, the 2.3 million people who voted in Michigan and Florida, then we are going to build on that."

She wants to build on a pile of crap. That's why I hate her.

BTW: When I was a wee lad, my parents often told me that hate was a strong word. Admittedly, I often carelessly tossed it around. For instance, I once said I hated Art Fleming, the former host of TV's Jeopardy! Okay, so that was a stretch. But I'm older and wiser now so, trust me, I don't use the word lightly. People in power (especially those who work for us) are not above rules. They are not allowed to lie to us. Haven't we had enough of that shit for the last 7 years?