Burger King Goes all Jetsons

Image from source, SlashFood

Burger King is taking a big risk here. Sure Tomorrowland at Disney World can be appreciated for its camp value, but it probably looked dated the day it was finished. So if BK is doing over all their restaurants this way, I wonder how they'll fare. I wonder how many years they're going to leave it like this.

[Excerpt]

Burger King Gets Edgy, 'Futuristic' Makeover

Burger King is going red, steel and flame.In an effort to get more customers to choose dining in over the drive-thru, the country's No. 2 fast-food chain is revamping the interiors of its 12,000 locations worldwide, the Associated Press reports. Burger King hopes this contemporary, upscale look and feel will appeal to its biggest customers -- young men. . .

Read more at: SlashFood

Keith Olbermann's Special Comment: Health Care Reform

It's no secret that I'm a big fan of Countdown with Keith Olbermann's "Special Comments." While critics will argue that the entire program is editorial commentary, the Comments are especially so, and labelled thus. Olbermann gets especially serious (usually), and often personal during these segments. And on Wednesday's episode, he dedicated an entire show to a Special Comment on the issue of health care reform.

Using the framing device of his father's ongoing illness, Olbermann gives a unique perspective on the issue, particularly regarding his luck at being unworried about the cost of medical procedures for his dad. It's a powerful set of clips, and since it was an hour long, I'll only include the first one here. If you enjoy it, be sure to check out the rest at MSNBC.com.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Jon Stewart: The Gay After Tomorrow

Heh.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
The Gay After Tomorrow
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Ron Paul Interview

Jesus Wrote the Constitution?

Image from source, Wonkette

WWJD? Write the United States Constitution, apparently. Whatever, you freak. . .

[Excerpt]

‘Real American’ Records Actual Historical Event In Beautiful Painting

A bunch of you have sent us a link to this painting by a fellow named Jon McNaughton, depicting the divine event that took place during the hot Philadelphia summer of 1787, when Jeebus flew to America from his ice cave on Pluto to deliver the U.S. Constitution to some brat before an in-studio audience consisting of George Washington, Mister Hollywood, Liberal News Reporter, Satan, and others. “Jon McNaughton would like to set the record straight,” we read. . .

Source: Wonkette

Smoking Makes You Gay?

I don't know why I found this so funny. I shouldn't. But I do. Damn you, Onion!


New Anti-Smoking Ads Warn Teens 'It's Gay To Smoke'

Paul Krugman: The Politics of Spite

Image from source, NYT

Thanks to my friend, Tracy for pointing out this op-ed piece by the always worth-a-read Paul Krugman. He captures my mood about politics right now perfectly, and of course in better words than I'm capable of committing to pixels. Enjoy.

[Excerpt]

The Politics of Spite

There was what President Obama likes to call a teachable moment last week, when the International Olympic Committee rejected Chicago’s bid to be host of the 2016 Summer Games.

“Cheers erupted” at the headquarters of the conservative Weekly Standard, according to a blog post by a member of the magazine’s staff, with the headline “Obama loses! Obama loses!” Rush Limbaugh declared himself “gleeful. . .”

Read more at: New York Times

Rachel Maddow Takes on King of Astroturfing, Rick Berman

Critics of MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show often mischaracterize both the show and the host. You'll read that she's just the flip-side of a Glenn Beck or a Sean Hannity. You'll hear that she's shrill. You'll hear that she never allows competing views on her program. All of those things are false, as is obvious to anyone who has actually watched her show.

Case in point, the following interview with non-profit, pro-corporate web-site and "astroturfing" (fake grass roots) maven, Rick Berman. The interview is fascinating for several reasons, but mostly for the tone and tenor of the host. To say that Maddow's sympathies do not lie with Berman would be understating things. And while she does interrupt him to keep the interview on track, she's polite, thoughtful and engaging. What other cable news host could you say that about?

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Sen. John Ensign's Ethics Woes Continue

Image from source, TPM Muckraker

Nevada's own Captain Hairdo, John Ensign seems to be stuck in the denial phase, after his public shaming over his affair, and the coverup that it lead to. Or, like the professional politician he is, he might just be denying, denying, denying right up until he resigns or is forced from office, not because he believes it. He just wants to make us believe it. We're not that gullible, John.

[Excerpt]

Ensign: I Followed Ethics Laws When I Helped Clients Of Mistress's Husband

The John Ensign story is back on the front-burner, thanks to last week's New York Times report that the philandering Nevada senator actively helped Doug Hampton, the husband of his former mistress, get set up as a lobbyist, then acted to benefit Hampton's new clients. . .

Read more at: TPM Muckraker

Michelle Bachmann: 1 to 2% is a "Movement"

Nobody brings the crazy like Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-Minn.). She's the gift that keeps on making wide-eyed, earnest nuttiness.

[Excerpt]

Bachmann: I’m comfortable with Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck being the voices of the GOP.



Tonight on CNN’s Larry King Live, a panel that included Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) discussed the impact and influence of the 24-hour cable news chatter. Bachmann once again demonstrated her true love for Fox News, arguing that Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck are gaining audiences because “people go where they think they’re going to hear the truth.” King then pressed Bachmann on whether she wants those right-wing pundits to be the “voice of the Republican Party”. . .

Read more at: Think Progress

An Actual Scary Movie? Count Me In!

Image from source, AOL

I've been waiting a long time for a gen-u-ine scary horror movie to come along. I like goofy, silly, even bad horror movies, but I can't even remember the last one that unsettled me or made me jump (beyond a "cat scare" fake-out). The last one might have been the original Friday the 13th in 1980. Will this one do it? I'm anxious to find out.

[Excerpt]

Is 'Paranormal Activity' the Next 'Blair Witch Project'?

The phenomenon that was 'The Blair Witch Project' is a rarity Hollywood has been dying to replicate since the Little Indie That Could's 1999 release, when it scared up a staggering $140 million -- from a budget of $60,000. . .

Read more at: AOL

Top 10 Conservative Idiots, October 5, 2009

It's a little late, but I'm just getting caught up! This is one of my favorite "web events," even though it is now every two weeks instead of weekly. Enjoy.

[Excerpt]

The Top 10 Conservative Idiots, No. 374 *
October 5, 2009
Petty Hate Machine Edition

This week there's a whiff of desperation in the air. The Hate America First Crowd (1) celebrates the fact that the Olympics won't be held here in 2016, Newsmax (2) day-dreams about a military coup, and Chuck Norris (4) wants you to desecrate the flag. Elsewhere, John Ensign (7) is in deep doo-doo, Jim Bunning (9) takes a nap, and Newt Gingrich (10) is hot to trot. . .

Read the list at: Democratic Underground

*EDITOR'S NOTE: Greenlee Gazette does not contend that all conservatives are idiots. Merely that many prominent conservatives are idiots, as this column regularly confirms. So, please, no offense is intended to those of my friends and family who are themselves conservative. In other words, present company excluded!

Glenn Beck & FOX "News" Banned at Grocery Store

Image from source, Think Progress

I'm glad I'm not the only one annoyed by being subjected to FOX "News" on random televisions. I'd like to see more of this.

[Excerpt]

UK supermarket pulls ads from Fox News after customers complain about Beck.

Upscale British supermarket chain Waitrose has announced that it will no longer be advertising on Fox News in the U.K. because of Glenn Beck’s comments that President Obama hates white people. The decision came after Waitrose shoppers complained. . .

Read more at: Think Progress

Back to Ohio: Day Five - Back to Las Vegas!

Today wraps up my mini-vacation back to Ohio. As of this writing (done ahead of my trip to keep the blog fresh), I have no way of knowing how the trip went. Hopefully all went well!

In the mean time, here is my final place-holder post, this time. . .

Matt Foley, Motivational Speaker: In a Van Down by the River! from Saturday Night Live

Back to Ohio: Day Four

I'm on a trip back to Ohio for several days. Since I won't be able to blog very much, I'm pre-writing a few things to keep the blog fresh, and let you know I'm still around. With a little luck, Stupid Monkey Planet might get a chance to fill in a little too. So for day four, I've got. . .

Jane Curtin on Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update"

Back to Ohio: Day Three

I'm on a trip back to Ohio for several days. Since I won't be able to blog very much, I'm pre-writing a few things to keep the blog fresh, and let you know I'm still around. With a little luck, Stupid Monkey Planet might get a chance to fill in a little too. So for day three, I've got. . .

Church Chat, Dana Carvey as Enid Strict, "The Church Lady" from Saturday Night Live

OMG! Famous Women of Conservatism Calendar Released!

Image (not from calendar) from Archaelogy vs. Diplomacy

EEEEEEEK!!! The scariest calendar of all time is being released! Not safe for children! Not safe for work! You just might go insane. . .

[Excerpt]

A Year's Worth of Conservative Women

This isn't your average teenage pin-up calendar -- not when the women photographed carry titles like congresswoman and columnist.

On Friday, the Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute plans to release its fifth annual Great American Conservative Woman calendar. Demand is already so high for the 2010 run that the institute expects it to sell out, and may order a second printing, according to de facto calendar spokeswoman Alyssa Cordova, the lecture director for the institute. . .

Read more at: AOL

Back to Ohio: Day Two

I'm on a trip back to Ohio for several days. Since I won't be able to blog very much, I'm pre-writing a few things to keep the blog fresh, and let you know I'm still around. With a little luck, Stupid Monkey Planet might get a chance to fill in a little too. So for day two, I've got. . .

Blogiversary: 28 Months! Over 5,555 Posts!

At some point, I really probably should stop doing these monthly "atta boys" to myself. It's kind of like when people tell you that their toddler is 38-1/2 months old. But every month, I sort of feel like "hey, I did it!" So, why not.

The month of September was an odd one, in a way. I blogged less than I did all summer, having gotten distracted with Facebook and other things. I was gone on an unscheduled trip for my grandmother's funeral, further lightening the posts. And yet, I had the best month in a long time, my third best for the year, visitors-wise. Cool!

I made a little headway into getting some regular features, or at least some nifty headings. I hope to do a little more in the near future. I also will try--again--to lighten things up a little more. Things can get dreadfully dreary around here sometimes, even if it is so easy to be snarky with the current bunch of political goings-on.

So, thanks for reading. I hope you don't all leave while I do for the next several days. I'll be popping in as much as I can (without offending my family, hopefully!). And as always, bring your friends! Thanks, everybody.

Back to Ohio: Day One

I'm on a trip back to Ohio for several days, and will get there sometime this afternoon. Since I won't be able to blog very much, I'm pre-writing a few things to keep the blog fresh, and let you know I'm still around. With a little luck, Stupid Monkey Planet might get a chance to fill in a little too. So for day one, I've got. . .

Tom Friedman Scares Me

Image from source, New York Times

This is a sobering--but important--read. Check it out.

[Excerpt]

Where Did ‘We’ Go?

I hate to write about this, but I have actually been to this play before and it is really disturbing.

I was in Israel interviewing Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin just before he was assassinated in 1995. We had a beer in his office. He needed one. I remember the ugly mood in Israel then — a mood in which extreme right-wing settlers and politicians were doing all they could to delegitimize Rabin, who was committed to trading land for peace as part of the Oslo accords. They questioned his authority. They accused him of treason. They created pictures depicting him as a Nazi SS officer, and they shouted death threats at rallies. . .

Read more at: New York Times