Obama a One-term President? Not so fast. . .

This doesn't surprise me. I know that the tea baggers have got the right riled up, and that FOX "News" and talk radio has the right-wing in a lather. But truth be told, the leading prominent Republicans are really a collection of cartoon characters. I'm not going to get my hopes up too high--a charismatic GOP standard-bearer could somehow arise--but right now? I'm feeling okay about President Obama's chances. Let's hope that the only conservatives to rise to the challenge are the current crop of clowns.

[Excerpt]

Poll: President Obama still by far the most popular national politician

For all the talk, saber rattling, obstruction and fervent peddling of alternate realities Republicans have engaged in since President Obama took office, one might think they'd be doing a little better in the polls, even if by merely playing the role of a lesser of two evils in the eyes of the masses.

Not quite. . .

Read more at: Raw Story

Glee's Sue Sylvester Vogue Video

Love. It! And loved her Sarah Palin joke earlier in the episode. I guess I'm a "gleek" now, huh?



And now, the original Madonna video for comparison. . .


Madonna - Vogue
Uploaded by zocomoro. - Watch more music videos, in HD!

And just for fun, the MTV Music Awards performance (lip-synched, of course). . .


MADONNA Vogue MTV Music Awards
Uploaded by fredgd. - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

FOX "News" Yanks Obama Presser for. . .Glenn Beck

Images from source, DailyKos

Way to stay classy, FOX. The President of the United States is giving a press conference after a historic nuclear proliferation agreement between the US and forty-six other world leaders, and they think Glenn Beck is more important? Really?

[Excerpt]

Fox cuts off Presidential news conference for Glenn Beck show

It's one thing for Fox to cut off speeches by President Obama...but a news conference? With reporters asking questions? And the President of the United States of America delivering unscripted responses? . . .

Read more at: DailyKos

Obama Leads Big World-Wide Changes at Nuclear Summit

This nuclear thing is a big deal for President Obama, and his administration. Probably for the US and the world too. I don't pretend to be an expert on any of it, but on the whole, it seems like a really good thing. I'm sure we'll hear lots of nay-saying from the right, but I think this is going to turn out to be as big a "legacy" moment as health care reform. Plus, I'm really glad a 24-type moment didn't happen with all of those world leaders in one place. Because. . .you know. . .Jack Bauer isn't real.

[Excerpt]

Obama: 'Real progress' at nuclear summit



President Obama said Tuesday that the 47-nation nuclear security summit he convened raised global awareness of the threat of nuclear terrorism and yielded commitments to better secure nuclear arsenals and materials. . .

Read more at: CNN

More Toyota Woes

Image from LATimes

Another Toyota recall? Well, at least they didn't stonewall this time. Thanks to Stupid Monkey Planet for the link.

[Excerpt]

Toyota suspends sales of Lexus GX 460

Toyota asked dealers to temporarily suspend sales of the new 2010 Lexus GX 460 after Consumer Reports issued a safety warning on the SUV.

"We are taking the situation with the GX 460 very seriously and are determined to identify and correct the issue Consumer Reports identified," said Mark Templin, Lexus Group vice president and general manager, in a prepared statement. . .

Read more at: CNN

Democrat Wins Florida House Race

Huh. Do you suppose this dude is going to be hailed as heartily as Scott Brown, after he won his Senate Seat in Massachusetts? Somehow, I kinda doubt it. In fact, I can almost guarantee that FOX "News" will continue pointing to Brown as a "trend," and will ignore this win. You watch.

[Excerpt]

Democrat wins Fla. House race

Democratic state Sen. Ted Deutch on Tuesday handily won the first U.S. House race since Congress passed President Barack Obama's massive health care overhaul. . .

Read more at: MSNBC

Four Minutes You'll Never Get Back: Sarah Palin, Lady Liberty

Don't watch this. I'm only posting it because I couldn't believe it exists. Sarah Palin's followers are scarcely different from cult members. She's not particularly bright, not well informed. She quits all her jobs halfway through. There isn't one shred of evidence she'd make a good Governor (her most recent job), let alone President of the United States. What the hell is wrong with these people?

Kids Hate Politicians!

Image from source, Huffington Post

I got a little bit of a late start blogging tonight, so please excuse the laziness of posting a Huffington Post list. But hey, you have to admit, that photo is hilarious.

[Excerpt]

Kids Hate Politicians And Here Are The Pictures To Prove It

Children don't care about politics; in fact, the more they know, the more bored they become. But politicians are constantly using them to show they have a soft side, either by kissing them at campaign rallies or visiting their schools to read Dr. Seuss books. This little conundrum has provided for some hilarious tantrums and "oh, brother" looks from children, while the politicos try their best to keep it cool (unless you're John McCain, then you just throw back your head and laugh maniacally). . .

See the rest at: Huffington Post

Huckabee Compares Gay Marriage to Incest & Polygamy

I almost made this a Captian Obvious post, because this really should be obvious to people. Gay marriage has nothing to do with incest or polygamy. The only difference between same-sex marriage and "traditional" marriage is the genders of the two individuals involved. It does not propose or compare to marrying several people at once. It has nothing to do with allowing close relatives to marry.

I suppose, if same-sex marriage becomes universally legal, there is a slim chance that some contingent of Fundamentalist LDS folks might try to get polygamy recognized. Or incestuous marriage (by presumably the same group). But the same could have been said after interracial marriage was recognized, and it didn't happen. I don't think there is a large group of disenfranchised Americans clamoring to marry their mother. . .or their mother, their sister and their aunt. But you know what? If there is, let them fight their own battle. What do you think their odds would be?

As far as the drug use comparison. . .WTF?

[Excerpt]

Huckabee likens gay marriage to incest, polygamy

Mike Huckabee, a possible Republican presidential candidate in 2012, says the effort to allow gays and lesbians to marry is comparable to legalizing incest, polygamy and drug use. . .

Read more at: Google News

New John McCain Ad is. . .Weird

Just. . .wow.

[Excerpt]

McCain ad: Opponent believes in vampires, fears alien invasion



A new tongue-in-cheek ad from John McCain's Senate campaign has the Arizona lawmaker's leading Republican primary opponent, J.D. Hayworth, declaring that President Barack Obama was born in Kenya, believing that vampires are real and preparing for an alien invasion. . .

Read more at: Raw Story

Captain Obvious: Gays Aren't to Blame for Pedophile Priests

Image from source, Huffington Post

Grrrr. Stories like this really tick me off. Quick, if your big brother did something bad, and your Mom asked him who did it, what did he do? He tried to blame it on you, right? That's what the Catholic church is trying to do here.

Listen, I'm no psychologist, and I'm certainly not a Catholic. But I've been around the block enough times to know that pedophilia is a different thing from homosexuality. There are pedophiles who are gay and straight (and some may not identify with either category). And the church's pedophilia scandal may be 70% boys, but what does that leave? Are the girls being mistreated by the nuns?

I'm going to try to make a brief case here, see if this makes sense to you.

1) Catholic Priests must be celibate. If a guy is celibate a long time, his sexuality (whatever it is) may be expressed in inappropriate ways. I'd venture to say that a Priest so inclined would have more opportunities with boys than girls, though--again, not Catholic--I can't be 100% sure of that. This would not necessarily--strictly speaking--make the offender gay, any more than most men in prison who engage in same-sex behavior. He might be, he might not be. I suppose you could say--again, strictly speaking--the same offender may not have ever pondered pedophilia if he weren't presented with no other options. On the other hand. . .

2) A man predisposed to pedophilia might very well be attracted to the Priesthood as a way to "straighten" himself out. And then, whoopsie, he finds himself in the perfect position to do the thing he was trying to avoid. Or. . .

3) A man predisposed to pedophilia might very well be attracted to the Priesthood because he knows he will find himself in the perfect position to do the thing he wants to do.

I thought that was obvious.

[Excerpt]

Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican's Number 2: Priest Pedophilia Linked To Homosexuality

The Vatican's second-highest authority says the sex scandals haunting the Roman Catholic Church are linked to homosexuality and not celibacy among priests.

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican's secretary of state, made the comments during a news conference Monday in Chile, where one of the church's highest-profile pedophile cases involves a priest having sex with young girls. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post

Thanks to my friend Tracy for the link.

What Happens in Vegas: More Teabonics

Wow. I seem to be steeping in tea bags lately. Anyway, this is a shot taken on Las Vegas Boulevard, so it fits the What Happens in Vegas category as well as the Photo of the Day slot. I don't know if I'm more impressed with the spelling, or the artistic ability.

Source: Wonkette

Monkey likes Utah tags too... He must "just 'work' here"... hmmm...???

Tea Party Warns: No "Pre-Gaming" Before Event

Image from source, TPMMuckraker

In other words, no alcohol or drugs before the event. So, let me get this straight. Does that mean the crazy teabaggers are actually going to be off their meds? And on a side-note, yes I'm from Columbus, Ohio. And yes, I'm embarrassed.

[Excerpt]

Tea Party Warns Members: No Pre-Gaming!

In a mass email sent out last night to the supporter list of the Columbus Tea Party and obtained by TPMmuckraker, leaders of the group issued a set of "do's and dont's" for protesters attending an April 15 Ohio State House event -- chief among them: absolutely no pre-gaming.

Specifically, the email warns those planning to attend the "Tax Day" event, "No alcohol (or other mood-enhancer) or pre-drinking. . ."

Read more at: TPMMuckraker

Tea Bagger Candidate for NY Mayor in Hot Water for Emails

Oops.

[Excerpt]

Tea Party Darling Running For NY Governor In Hot Water For Forwarding Racist, Sexually Explicit E-mails



Odien released e-mail pictures that supposedly show Miss France having sex with a man, a photo of dancing African tribesmen entitled “Obama Inauguration Rehearsal,” a photo of President Obama and the first lady doctored to simulate a 1970s pimp and prostitute, and an e-mail showing chimpanzees doing an Irish dance entitled “proof the Irish discovered Africa. . .”

Read more at: Think Progress

Conan O'Brien is Back! On TBS?

Image from source, TV Squad

I didn't write very many posts on the whole NBC Jay Leno/Conan O'Brien Tonight Show battle. Mostly because, if I watch late-night TV, it is usually The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report. Rarely, I'll watch Chelsea Lately, and even more rarely, The Late Show with David Letterman. But I've always liked Conan as a comedian, and never much liked Jay Leno. I think in the nearly 20 years Leno had Tonight, I may have caught a total of 30 minutes of the program.

So, I was pulling for O'Brien. I'm not sure I'd have wished TBS on him though. It seems counter-intuitive, but I suppose it could work. He's got a devoted following, so he'll probably--at least initially--draw a bigger audience to TBS than they've seen outside of a Braves game. And the struggling George Lopez talk show will likely benefit, even though it's being bumped to an hour later. So, good luck Conan! Maybe I'll even try to check out the show.

[Excerpt]

Conan Is Coming Back To TV... on TBS

The long wait is over. Right on the day that Conan O'Brien starts his cross-country tour in Oregon comes this rather large announcement: Conan is coming back to TV this November! But if you're thinking that he's going to do a late night show on FOX, you'd be mistaken. Instead, think "Very Funny. . ."

Read more at: TV Squad

Milestone: 100,000 Hits!

I'm jumping the gun only a little here, as my 100,000th reader will log in sometime in the next 12 hours or so. Actually, that is probably a little off. People access the internet in many ways, and the SiteMeter I use only counts them if they enter a certain way. RSS readers don't register, and I'm sure there are other methods that don't show up either. In fact, Google AdSense says I've had over 183,000 "page impressions." I didn't sign up for AdSense until sometime into my first year, and didn't put the SiteMeter up until month 4 or so.

But hey! That just means that at least 100,000 people have clicked in! Sure, I've been doing this for almost three years, so that is rather paltry by other bloggers' standards. But this is (with rare exceptions) a one-man show, done as a hobby with no promotion. So woo-hoo! Thanks for reading, and please bring your friends!

UPDATE: It happened!

Orly Taitz Joins Anti-Health Care Reform Suit

Image from source, Joe.My.God.

You know, even with a cast of cartoon characters leading the way for the GOP (John Boehner, Michele Bachmann, Sarah Palin), there's someone out there who is feeling neglected, and she's nuttier than all the rest of them. Orly Taitz! That crazy, lost Gabor sister is at it again, still claiming that President Obama is a Kenyan. And she's elbowing her way into the Quixotic Republican fight to declare health care reform un-Constitutional. Now that ought to lend them some credibility!

[Excerpt]

Birther Loon Orly Taitz Files Motion To Join Health Care Reform Suits

All those judgments for filing frivolous lawsuits aren't stopping birther loon Orly Taitz. Now she's filed a motion to intervene in the anti-health care reform suits filed against the feds by numerous state attorneys general. According to Taitz, the health care reform bill is invalid because it was signed by a Kenyan citizen. . .

Read more at: Joe.My.God.

Frivolity Break: Standing Cat

Cats. Useful filler for a blog, but I do love them.

[Excerpt]

Everything you must know about Standing Cat



The cat's name is Rocky. He is 2 years old and his owners are French (Daisy and Yann). Rocky used to stand up because he couldn't see the birds through the windows, and wanted to, so he stood up. Why does he raise his leg in the middle of the video? Probably because there was a bird outside, according to Daisy, or maybe a dog wandering around. Rocky hates dogs. . .

Read more at: BoingBoing

SNL: Weekend Update & Tina Fey

Yeah, three SNL posts in a row is a stretch. Please excuse me, I accidentally saw Liz Cheney on FOX "News" Sunday, and foolishly washed my eyes out with bleach. So, the screen is a little fuzzy. In the meantime, here is a "best of" from Weekend Update, including a segment with classic Update anchor, Tina Fey.

SNL: President Obama and the Census

This, apparently, is what the census might look like if you are a teabagger and/or Michele Bachmann. It's pretty funny, and I think Fred Armisen is getting better as Obama. A much better-than-average Saturday Night Live (but still flat in places).