Senator Chris Dodd to Retire

Good thing? Bad thing? I'm thinking good, but I guess we won't know for a couple of months. Sen. Byron Dorgan is retiring too, not to mention a Democratic governor. Whether this means there is a "Democratic bloodbath" or not--I'm not sure it does--it's for sure being spun that way. And will be likely for the rest of the week, on into the Sunday shows.

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A Pair of Olbermann's Quick Comments

It remains to be seen if this feature on Countdown with Keith Olbermann lasts very long, but I'm kind of digging it. All the "yeah!"s of a Special Comment without the time investment.

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Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Even Glenn Beck Not Crazy Enough to Join Birthers

Image from source, Think Progress

So, Glenn Beck comes in ever so slightly below Orly Taitz on the "crazy-o-meter." Who'da thunk it?

[Excerpt]

World Net Daily attacks Glenn Beck for lampooning its birther smear.

On his radio show yesterday, Fox News personality Glenn Beck lampooned the birther movement, saying its claim that Obama is not an American citizen is the “dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.” Beck argued that the birthers’ agitation is actually a “dream come true” for Obama because they are constantly “discrediting themselves” and making all conservatives look foolish. Far-right news website WorldNetDaily (WND), which has led the birther charge, took offense to the way Beck “caricatured” its movement’s argument. While both Beck and WND both traffic in extreme anti-Obama fear mongering, the site nevertheless accused Beck of sounding “reminiscent” of “Obama’s apologists” in the media. . .

Read more at: Think Progress

Featured Site: That Will Buff Out

There are tons of fun "time waster" sites out there, and this one ranks right up there. Plus, it will make you feel better about your last fender-bender.

Anybody In Here Need A Ride Downtown?

Source: That Will Buff Out

Flashmob: Christmas at Lisbon Airport

While I'm on a belated posting day (and a frivolity-laden one as well), why not? Some of these flash mob thingies are pretty cool. Though they're not quite as surprising as they used to be.
Hat tip to Lester for the clip.

Better Late Than Never: Jib-Jab's 2009 Year in Review

Because I forgot. . .

Never a Year Like 09' - JibJab
Uploaded by JibJab. - Click for more funny videos.

Kathy Griffin Banned from CNN?

Image from InsideSoCal

Well, I can't say it would be a surprise. But what did CNN think they were getting (especially after last year)? And you just know Kathy will turn it into a bit that makes it well worth her efforts.

[Excerpt]

Kathy Griffin Banned From CNN



Hopefully Kathy Griffin's New Year's resolution was to be on CNN less, because the foul-mouthed comedienne has lost her visitor's pass after dropping the f-bomb on this year's show. Sorry Kathy, but we don't think Fox News will be knocking down your door now that you're available! . . .

Read more at: PopEater

Joan Rivers Kicked Off Plane; Flight Risk!

Image from source, NBC New York

In their defense, Joan was probably getting work done in Costa Rica and looked like she was wearing a turban or something. . .

[Excerpt]

Joan Rivers Kicked Off Newark-Bound Flight for Suspicious Passport

Joan Rivers has been known to look kind of scary at times, but no one's ever mistaken her for a potential terrorist – until now.

The ever-hysterical plastic-surgery poster woman was kicked off a Newark-bound Continental flight from Costa Rica on Sunday after a security agent deemed the two names on her passport suspicious, according to published reports. . .

Read more at: NBC New York

Full-Body Scanners Violate Child Porn Laws?

Image from source, Raw Story

Wow, talk about your unintended consequences! And if they exempt kids, all those terrorists need to do is enlist their own 21 Jump Street program. Yikes!

[Excerpt]

Body scanners run afoul of UK child pornography laws

It has been said that terrorism is a zero-sum game. But try telling that to the manufacturers of three dimensional body scanners, the use of which at airports worldwide is set to soar after the failed bombing of a Christmas day flight into Detroit.

In the United Kingdom, however, a proposed "gradual" introduction of devices which take nude photos of their subjects has run afoul of child pornography law, according to British newspaper The Guardian. . .

Read more at: Raw Story

Olberman's Quick Comment on Dick Cheney

Countdown with Keith Olbermann started a new feature on Monday's show called, Quick Comment, a sort of pared-down version of the usually lengthy Special Comments. It'll be interesting to see if the segment lasts, or if Olbermann burns out on it. Still, it's always fun to see him get fired up, especially when the subject is Darth Cheney.

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DeMint Falsely Accuses Obama of "Never Saying Terror"

Image from source, Think Progress

You've got to wonder. Don't politicians think anybody will check to see if they're lying or not? I mean, I know that much of the media won't do it, but there's Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Saturday Night Live, Keith Olbermann, Rachel Maddow. . .blogs. . .Google. . .

[Excerpt]

Conservatives Should Learn To Google Before Claiming Obama Doesn’t Use The Words ‘Terror’ Or ‘Terrorism’

. . .But Cheney’s ridiculous attack wasn’t the only barb launched by conservatives at Obama over things he supposedly doesn’t say. Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) complained both yesterday and today that Obama is not “willing to use the word” terror. As the Plum Line’s Greg Sargent pointed out, DeMint’s claim has no merit. Similarly, The New Republic’s Editor-in-Chief Marty Peretz rejoiced on his blog yesterday that Obama “finally” used “the word ‘terror’” in his weekly address on Saturday. . .

Read more at: Think Progress

Mark Levin Calls the Kettle Black

Image from CNSNews

This evening--again, during the brief 15-minute trip home--I listened to a bit of the always dreadful The Mark Levin Show. It's horrible, take my word for it. Not only is he a paranoid, delusional nutjob, he's got one of the most grating voices on radio. So how weird is it to hear such a man making fun of other people's voices?

The two people he was ragging on were Tom Brokaw and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Brokaw has a slight speech impediment, and Kennedy has Spasmodic Dysphonia, a voice disorder. Levin then began to make fun of Rep. Jim Webb (D-Va.) for his appearance. With a face for radio, and a voice for print like Levin, such commentary is not only juvenile, it's ironic. How on earth is this guy so popular?

What Happens in Vegas: Courthouse Shooting

Wow, holy smokes. I didn't even know we had a Federal court house in Las Vegas. But seriously, a shoot-out?

Welcome Back! Now What?

It's the first day back to work in the new year/decade, if you're like me. And it's the first day back on the blog in a way. I've been taking it very easy, posting just a couple of things a day. So, now what? The news hasn't spiked. Even yesterday's political shows were almost entirely rehashes of what they'd discussed the week before.

So, where do I go when I want to put something up to start the week, and there isn't much new to say? How 'bout a favorite topic like the dishonesty of FOX "News"? After all, they're still plugging away telling lies--it seems to be a perpetual thing. And while most of us who believe this to be true aren't going to change our minds, it is possible that a reader or two on the fence--hey, optimistically, maybe even a FOX fan can be converted over to our side. Here's hoping. And Happy New Year!

[Excerpt]

Fox closes out decade by pushing debunked falsehoods

Fox News and its website The Fox Nation closed out 2009 by advancing debunked attacks on President Obama. Specifically, Fox News hosted Ann Coulter, who repeatedly made the false claim that Obama attended "madrassas" as a child, while The Fox Nation continued to promote Andrew Breitbart's story that "ACORN CEO Visited Obama White House Week Before Scandal Broke" days after it was reported that the "Bertha Lewis" who visited the White House was not, in fact, the Bertha Lewis who is the CEO of ACORN. . .

Read more at: Media Matters

50 Best Protest Signs of 2009

Nothing will ever top "Get a Brain, Morans!" but a few do come close. . .

[Excerpt]

The 50 Best Protest Signs Of 2009

We saw some really great protest signs in 2009. Thanks to our President for being a socialist, gay people for being gay, and Kanye West for interrupting Taylor Swift. . .

See them all at: BuzzFeed

Ch-ch-ch-changes! What's Different This Decade?

(From OnlineEducation)

Endings and Beginnings

Christmas (and all its attendant festivities, not to mention competing festivals) has come and gone. The week of holiday limbo that follows has likewise been crossed off the calendars. New Year's Day marked the end and beginning of a year and (kinda) a decade. And now most of us have seen an unusual new year's treat--not having to go back to work until the fourth of the month--sneak up on us, even if we've had the previous 8-11 days off.

Personally, I've been off work since Christmas Eve. I've managed to accomplish at least as much as my cat in that time, and in fact have picked up a habit or two from her. Sunbeams do make fun napping places! But there is a counter-inutuitive bit of time perception that happens on stay-at-home weeks of from work. Usually, if you waste time by doing nothing, time crawls. Actually trying to waste time seems to make it go on and on. But when you do this at home--rather than at your desk at work--time actually seems to accelerate. Here I am on day 11 of my break, staring at returning to work tomorrow morning, and I'm thinking, "already?!?"

So, I'm making my last leisurely brunch/late breakfast. I'm on the last day of my waist-expanding project. I'll resume my low-carb diet tomorrow, along with a slightly-better-than-halfhearted attempt at regular exercise. And, I'll try to return the blog to more than a post a day. But that project could be difficult if this morning's Sunday political yack-fests are any indication.

I actually had to check my DVR to make sure that I wasn't watching last week's Meet the Press with David Gregory. Seriously, did nothing happen in the past week? Nearly the entire program was taken up with the Christmas Day attempted underwear bombing. There was absolutely nothing new to be heard, with Gregory (who is turning out to be a piss-poor substitute for Tim Russert) asking the same batch of loaded questions he asked last week. Pathetic.

FOX "News" Sunday with Chris Wallace was no better (as though it ever is). The vaguely creepy host continued to embarass his father by dragging the allegedly "hard news" segment of FOX "News" into the partisan gutter as he does every other week. Wallace also seems to think it is last week, with--as I watch this--nothing that would let you know an entire week has gone by since they talked about the exact same thing. That's 9 days since the non-event "happened."

I may have to zip through the rest of the program with the remote, especially when they haul out the ludicrously named "Power Panel," the rag-tag (surely skeleton crew) group of arch-conservatives and milquetoasty moderates that constitute "fair and balanced" on this stupid program. Then, unless it is preempted by tennis or golf or girls' field hockey, it'll be time for This Week with George Stephanopoulos. Unless they've replaced him. At least he has the "Sunday Funnies" segment, which usually proves amusing. Except all the comics have been on vacation, so good luck with that, George. Maybe my New Year's resolution should be to stop watching these increasingly lame shows? Maybe. But habits are hard to break.

Blogiversary! 31 Months! Over 5,900 Posts!

Wow. I'm still here. My goals for the blog keep shifting. At first, I wasn't sure it was going anywhere. Then, my goals were six months, a year. 1,000 posts. And here I am, more than 2-1/2 years in, creeping up on 6,000 posts. I get bummed sometimes that I've never really "broken through," but then again, I'd probably get stage fright if I did.

The world is a vastly different place from where it was when I started this blog. It began out of frustration with the Bush administration and the dominance of FOX "News." Today, Bush is a (bad) memory, and the Obama era is--though still pretty fresh--in full swing. I'm not as impressed with it as I'd hoped, but really, could anybody fix the mess we were in quickly?

I've still not lit upon the "destination feature" I've been hoping for. I'd like to come up with a great idea that people look forward to on a schedule, like Democratic Underground's Top 10 Conservative Idiots. Maybe in 2010 I'll find that idea. In the mean time, I'll keep plugging along, though I probably won't swing into full blog force for a couple more days. Still enjoying my holiday vacation.

So thanks for reading, and as always, bring your friends!

Kathy Griffin Drops F-Bomb on Anderson Cooper New Year's Eve

Oh, c'mon. They hired her again, and people are surprised? If CNN rehired her after last year's dick joke, they really must not care. And Anderson Cooper still seems to be charmed by her, so who cares? And before the calls for FCC fines begin, remember, this is cable TV. The FCC doesn't have jurisdiction. So there!

Happy New Year!

If you've stopped by in the last 24 hours (or the last week, for that matter), you may have noticed a few less posts than usual. Sorry about that. I can't even claim to be busy. Here I am, with New Year's a little over an hour away, sitting at home watching the new year in on telly. Which is about as low as you can go, sweetie. (Thank you, Edina from Absolutely Fabulous)

I just wasn't in the mood this year for revelry, I can't really say why. Part of it is that The Other Half is working early tomorrow, and can't participate. Another is, I dunno, I guess I'm holidayed out. Maybe the February blahs came early to me this year. But I'm here on the blog, and I should have the thing up and running at normal speed in a couple of days. But my "vacation" still has three days left on it, so I might just continue to take advantage of that. But by Monday! Tuesday at the latest. . .

Meanwhile, Happy New Year!!!