Jun 29, 2007

Die in a fire: The Fairness Doctrine


Taken from some other source: "The House voted overwhelmingly Thursday to prohibit the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from using taxpayer dollars to impose the Fairness Doctrine on broadcasters who feature conservative radio hosts such as Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity.

By a vote of 309-115, lawmakers amended the Financial Services and General Government appropriations bill to bar the FCC from requiring broadcasters to balance conservative content with liberal programming such as Air America."

Wheeew. Say what you will about all the Conservative AM Radio programs and all those Liberal - er, ah, well - they've still got NPR, right? - anyhow...
This was one of those they're idiots, but they're not THAT stupid are they?

The fact this matter was taken as far as it was scares me more than wiretaping my phone and spying on me 24/7.

In fact, earlier today, they found a two car bombs on my route home. So I'm rather glad that I'm not blown up, and I have the chance to talk about it without some damn counter-point waving fingers in my face about it's somehow MY fault someone wanted to burn me up with nails and whatnot on Haymarket by way of an Iraqi style cruise missile. I'll take a little NSA over being dead, thank you.

Now back to music, baseball, and funny pictures.

When I read that Craig Biggio hit 3000 - I thought it meant he had BEEN hit 3000 times.

Maybe he can get a new helmet. One that fits now.

Jun 28, 2007

Baseball news, June 27th

Big Hurt 500 without an asterisk,
Maddux just took his 345th,
Cubs won their sixth game in a row-
...by sweeping the Rockies...
...who swept the Yankees...
...and took two out of three from the Red Sox.

So, uh, by some goofed up logic -
did the Cub$ just win the World Series?

Meet Inmate #28301-016

I. Lewis Libby has been processed and you can now follow him with the handy government "Inmate Locator." Where is the man that lied to prosecutors to hide a traitor that outed a CIA agent? Right now he is "NOT IN BOP CUSTODY." I hope they find him soon so that I can follow this criminal's whereabouts.

I am also hoping for a Scooter-cam that will broadcast from his cell 24 hours a day. Maybe a Courtyard-cam for his hour outside every day. This administration is way into spying and I think we should all try it out with Scooter. It will be fun and then we won't mind our lack of rights as much.

We have 5-7 weeks to get this together. Let's put our tax dollars to work!!

Jun 27, 2007

Jones Deal hits a 'snag'

The Jacque Jones deal has hit a "major snag," a major-league source revealed.
As of 6:20 p.m. Tuesday, the Chicago Cubs had yet to inform Jones that he had been dealt to the Florida Marlins, another source said.

The snag likely involves money. The low-revenue Marlins almost certainly would require the high-revenue Cubs to pay the majority of Jones' remaining salary as part of the deal. OOOoorrrr --- they realized it was JACQUE JONES they were getting.

Jun 26, 2007

PARIS LIBERATED


Paris liberated

Tuesday September 12, 1944
Guardian Unlimited


Advanced elements of the Second French Armoured Division entered the city last night about ten o'clock, fought their way through the German positions, and reached the headquarters of the French Forces of the Interior (the resistance), in the Place de I'Hôtel de Ville.

De Gaulle had escaped from Bordeaux on June 17 and broadcast from London that night to the French people. With a group of other correspondents I set out for Paris this morning in a jeep, sandwiched between units of the French armour.

First it was a tear across the open countryside, and then the villages grew closer and closer together, blending into a metropolitan whole. At the street corners the people had equipped themselves with boxes of tomatoes which they handed out as soon as there was the slightest check in the traffic.

The more enthusiastic of the people, in fact, threw them at us, but the majority were more careful and made sure they were not wasted by pressing them in our hands. It is a tomato-growing district. Tomatoes were all they had and we could have them, but they wanted to make sure they were not wasted - huge, luscious things, more beautiful than any I have ever tasted.

Jun 25, 2007

McCain Nosedive

WASHINGTON- Republican support for presidential candidate John McCain has dropped by more than 11 percentage points since early February, according to the Web site Real Clear Politics.

The senator from Arizona now receives the support of 15 percent of Republicans, down from 26.4 percent 20 weeks ago, according to the Web site, which averages the results of major opinion surveys.

Although he has always trailed GOP front-runner Rudy Giuliani in national polls, McCain slipped to third place in recent weeks behind former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, who has not even officially declared his candidacy.

So, maybe he should leave the ring, then come back in at the last minute? Seems to be Al Gore's game plan.

George vs. the Microphones
















"Talk to the hand, sucka's."

Jun 24, 2007

Jun 22, 2007

Meanwhile...

Meanwhile, from the DEBKA site:
The USS Enterprise CVN 65-Big E Strike Group will join the USS Stennis and the USS Nimitz carriers, building up the largest sea, air, marine concentration the United States has ever deployed opposite Iran. This goes towards making good on the assurances of four (!!) carriers US Vice President Dick Cheney offered the Gulf and Middle East nations during his May tour of the region.

Follow This LINK - for important information on how to survive the weekend. Also, it's the MP3 of the actual record released by TOPS. Enjoy!

100 DAYS, zero results



Approval ratings below Bush? Believe it.

Jun 18, 2007

Cover Art



Open Letter to Joe Lieberman

Dear Mr. Lieberman~

Unlike many other residents (and in my case former resident) of Connecticut, I will not lie to you. You, sir, are a disgrace to the United States of America. Not to a political party, mind you, but to the country you profess to serve.

I did not vote for you in the 2000 election. I did not vote for one of my favorite candidates (Mr. Gore) because of you and his wife Tipper. At the time I did not think you a dangerous warhawk, I thought you dangerous for your desire to take away American's rights of free speech and freedom to share information. I was opposed to the censoring of music, television, movies, and video games that you were advocating.

You continue to do this even now, at the same time you demand freedom and democracy for the Middle East. Iran already censors their information, Senator, they do not need your help to do it. I understand that war is fun. They show the cool night-eye vision goggles on CNN and things go BOOM Their are bright colors and fires and chaos and cool weaponry for the History channel. I understand. What I think you are failing to grasp is that their are human beings involved in this war. Real breathing (or formerly breathing) people. And they are dying on both sides in the tens of thousands.

I know you were and continue to be for the war for your own personal religious reasons. I have read and re-read the Old Testament and have yet to find the "blow the shit out of your enemies" section of the text. I did see the "turn the other cheek" part but that assumes that you were hit on your cheek in the first place. I read the "love your enemies" part and the "be kind to your fellow man" area but something probably got lost in the translation.

Recently, you encouraged the president to not only continue in Iraq but to expand the war into Iran.
"I think we've got to be prepared to take aggressive military action against the Iranians to stop them from killing Americans in Iraq," Lieberman said. "And to me, that would include a strike over the border into Iran, where we have good evidence that they have a base at which they are training these people coming back into Iraq to kill our soldiers."
You were able to come to this conclusion by traveling to Iraq and speaking with the soldiers. Sir, these men are soldiers. There job is not to give you answers but to protect our country and our people. In turn, they ask for honesty and for you to look out for them. With armor, weapons and necessary equipment to fund a war and the best care available if they are injured while fighting for the country. You took their answers to your questions and parlayed them to us falsely then had the gumption to act shocked that they are not happy.
During Sen. Joe Lieberman’s (I-CT) trip to Iraq two weeks ago, McClatchy published an article highlighting how several soldiers who met with Lieberman had wanted to ask him, "When are we going to get out of here?" Others told McClatchy, "We’re waiting to get blown up," and "We’re not making any progress," but said they didn’t feel comfortable telling Lieberman their true feelings. One said he thought he would be demoted if he spoke openly.

This morning on CNN, Lieberman was asked about the article and appeared to blame the soldiers for not being honest with him. "I was really upset about it," he said, because "I sat at a table with a bunch of our soldiers there" and "was asking them to speak to me from their heart."

I also have issue with your reaction to the politicalization of the Department of Justice. You recently voted against cloture in the lack of confidence vote against Alberto Gonzalez. You claimed that you voted against ending the discussion claiming "[i]t is an expression of opposition to spending any more time on a resolution that will accomplish nothing, instead of going ahead with the next item of business, which is energy legislation." You realize the irony in that statement, right? You voted against ending the discussion of the no confidence vote because you did not want to talk about it. There were more important things ahead.

Well, the politicalization of the Justice Department is one of the most crucial items that our Congress should work to fix. The basis of our democracy rests on it. This is not a political stunt. This is defense of our constitution.

In the past year, there has been an increase of defendants claiming that the charges brought against them are political ploys and not true charges.
The controversy has drained morale from U.S. attorney offices around the country. And now, legal experts and former Justice Department officials say, it is casting a shadow over the integrity of the department and its corps of career prosecutors in court.

There has long been a presumption that, because they represented the Justice Department, prosecutors had no political agenda and their word could be trusted. But some legal experts say the controversy threatens to undermine their credibility.

"It provides defendants an opportunity to make an argument that would not have been made two years ago," said Daniel J. French, a former U.S. attorney in Albany, N.Y. "It has a tremendously corrosive effect."

Defense lawyers in political corruption cases often argue to juries that the prosecution was motivated by politics, especially when the prosecutor happens to be of a different political party than the defendant.
Let me decipher this for you because you seem to have issues doing it yourself. There are three branches of government. Each with separate and independent powers, They are the Executive, Legislative, and the Judicial. This is Separation of Power. The founding fathers thought that with human nature being the way it is one day we just might elect a person because we would want to have a beer with them rather than by who would do the best job. In turn by having others make sure that they don't do anything like start an unfounded war or turn the government of this country into a Corporate Branch.

The most important of these is the Justice Department. It's job is to ensure that whatever else happens, there will be a non-political set of eyes on the issue and it will be resolved fairly. Congressman, you are trying to put an end to a fair and just criminal system.

You have recently said about Alberto Gonzalez, "... Attorney General Gonzales is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States, and it's time for him to really look into his own heart and soul, as tough as it is, and ask whether he should continue in this job. And it is time for the Senate to move on right now..."

Unreal. You, sir, should look into your heart and soul and decide, as tough as it is, and ask if YOU should keep your job. You should decide now if you are with America or against her. Decide well. Our country depends on it.

One F

Jun 14, 2007

Surf's Up remembered

Perhaps it was about ten years ago,
a hot and sticky Central Illinois summer day,
Killre entered the room - showing me a tape,
and then playing on the room's dusty stereo,

A wonderful song.

Listen, listen... listen.
The lyrics - Columnated ruins domino

After three full stanzas, waiting for the payoff.
A grin, waiting for my response.

"Surf's up, hmmm mmm...."

Ah, Beach Boys! Wait, what!

The grin bears teeth. He got it. Mind blown.

I mention this story because it has been on my mind quite often lately,
for absolutely no reason whatsoever.

I suppose it's because I tend to use the Beach Boys back catalog to lulabye my baby girl to sleep. Starting with Surfer Girl, and ending with Wouldn't it Be Nice.

I purchased the Rockabye Album - Beach Boys. Perhaps you'll recall my previous post on the subject, featuring the Radiohead covers? The album is Beach Boy songs, but in a 'Baby' remix. Here's a link to alow you to listen to samples. In the meantime, I have had to learn the lyrics - rather than just sing along. I have to say it's easier for me to hit the register of Al Jardine than Thom Yorke. And even still, it's more of a hum in spots.
Ruins domino - yeah, ah, not so much.

The album is perfect, however I still have trouble with 'Caroline No', since I never seem to know when to come in.

Now, the question of the day is whatever happened to Al Jardine and Brian Wilson's intentionally childish "Loop de Loop" collaboration? Given the success of the Rockabye album (it's found on Amazon and also Costco!) isn't it time to push the dust off these tapes?

Jun 13, 2007

Surf's Up



(Brian Wilson/Van Dyke Parks)

A diamond necklace played the pawn
Hand in hand some drummed along, oh
To a handsome man and baton
A blind class aristocracy
Back through the op'ra glass you see
The pit and the pendulum drawn
Columnated ruins domino

Canvass the town and brush the backdrop
Are you sleeping?

Hung velvet overtaken me
Dim chandelier awaken me
To a song dissolved in the dawn
The music hall a costly bow
The music all is lost for now
To a muted trumperter swan
Columnated ruins domino

Canvass the town and brush the backdrop
Are you sleeping, Brother John?

Dove nested towers the hour was
Strike the street quicksilver moon
Carriage across the fog
Two-Step to lamplight cellar tune
The laughs come hard in Auld Lang Syne

The glass was raised, the fired rose
The fullness of the wine, the dim last toasting
While at port, adieu or die

A choke of grief hard hardened I
Beyond belief a broken man too tough to cry

Surf's Up
Aboard a tidal wave
Come about hard and join
The young and often spring you gave
I heard the word
Wonderful thing
A children's song