Friends, readers, countrymen: We are off to Vegas. There's partying to be done, and we're just the people to do it.
Tags: my 40th birthday in Vegas
With only six days left in the presidential race, I'm running out of opportunities to stupidly second-guess the Obama campaign. So here goes nothing: Anyone else think the decision to go on prime-time TV for half an hour tonight seems a bit sketchy? Obama has a solid, stable lead in the polls. He's probably convinced everyone he's capable of convincing at this point. So why risk it? Why take the chance of coming across poorly (hey, it could happen) or giving the McCain campaign some kind of fodder for a last-minute attack? I mean, we're up two scores, under the two-minute mark, and McCain is out of time-outs. Take a knee.
Tags: Obama
Put aside the Blazers' 20-point loss to the Lakers on opening night. That actually doesn't surprise me. I get the sense from what I've read that this ridiculously young team might be freaking out a bit over the crazy-high expectations they're facing this season. Those jitters will settle down. No, the question that's bugging me is this: Is Greg Oden damaged goods? OK, sure, maybe that's not fair. Maybe it's just a fluke that, after losing him for an entire season to a stress fracture in his knee, he comes back and sprains his foot halfway through his first game as a professional. Still, Portland fans can be forgiven, I think, if they're having a "WTF?" moment this morning.
Tags: Greg Oden, Portland Trailblazers
Sen. Ted Stevens: "I can haz acquittal?"
Jury: "NO!!!"
(Couldn't happen to a nicer guy. I hope he gets a nice, long cellblock sabbatical to ponder the error of his ways.)
Tags: Ted Stevens
3:15 PM: Touchdown! Thomas Jones! J! E! T! S! Jets! Jets! Jets!
2:15 PM: Touchdown! Leon Worshington! His longest run ever! J! E! T! S! Jets! Jets! Jets!
1:15 PM: Touchdown! Favre to Worshington! J! E! T! S! Jets! Jets! Jets!
12:00 PM: Howdy, football fans! Here, wait, let me fluff up that cushion for you. Can I get you something to drink? Some snacks maybe? No, I'm sorry, you can't have the remote. Get your own. It's week eight of what's shaping up to one of the most maddeningly unpredictable NFL seasons in recent memory, and I can't think of anyplace I'd rather spend it than right here on the Virtual Couch™.
Let's see what we've got on tap for today: At 1:00 PM on CBS it's the hapless Kansas City Chiefs and their third-string quarterback taking on the disappointing New York Jets and their out-of-bullets gunslinger. If I wasn't a Jets fan, believe me, I wouldn't be watching this one. Across the dial on FOX, the early game is Rams at Patriots. Chalk up another win for the Pats in that one. That goddamned schedule of theirs sure is making it easier to absorb the loss of Tom Brady. For the late game, FOX brings us Giants at Steelers. And by "us" I mean damned near everybody. (Seriously, Southern California gets a New York team playing a Pennsylvania team instead of the Niners?) Tonight we've got... What the fuck, there's no Sunday night game? Well that's one way to force people to watch the World Series, I guess. I guess that leaves us with Colts at Titans tomorrow night, with the thumbtacks looking to go 7-0. (I predict they get there.)
Tags: NFL
Lee Stranahan's latest effort is a stylish and entertaining take-down of the ridiculous efforts by the McCain campaign and their allies on the right to stir up a red scare for the new millenium. You'd think people wouldn't need to be reminded that re-aligning a tax bracket here and a tax credit there doesn't constitute "socialism", but when you've got a vice presidential candidate out on the trail spouting crap like this:
"See, under a big government agenda, what you thought was yours, your income, your property, your inventory, your investments, really would belong to somebody else, to everybody else. And it would be shared with everybody else. That philosophy of government taking more, which is a misuse of the power to tax. It leads to government moving into the role of taking care of you and government and politicians and kind of moving in as the other half of your family to make decisions for you. Now they do this in other countries where the people are not free."
Well, I suppose it's safer to make the point than let it slide.
Hilzoy does her part to combat this nonsense as well, making a point I've been harping on for over a month now (emphasis mine):
Look: socialism is a word that has a meaning. It means public control of the means of production. It does not mean taxing the top bracket at 39%. Likewise, "collective ownership" has a meaning, and it does not mean the situation that obtains when the government can repeal tax cuts for the top 5% of the population.
That's one more reason I'm voting for Obama: I want to live in a world where words have meanings again.
Tags: Lee Stranahan, socialism
Seeing this item in my news bin this morning certainly caused a nasty stirring in the pit of my stomach:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrat Barack Obama's lead over Republican rival John McCain has dropped to 5 points, according to a Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll released on Sunday.
Obama leads McCain by 49 percent to 44 percent among likely U.S. voters in the daily tracking poll, which has a margin of error of 2.9 points. Obama's lead has dropped over the last three days after hitting a high of 12 points on Thursday.
"Things are trending back for McCain. His numbers are rising and Obama's are dropping on a daily basis. There seems to be a direct correlation between this and McCain talking about the economy," pollster John Zogby said.
Please, America: No drama. Let's bring this one in for a smooth landing.
Tags: presidential race
So what's going on in the world of college football? Any games of note today?
Tags: college football
Got any plans for this weekend? I didn't, but I do now. I'll be rebuilding my computer. Yep, woke up this morning to a scary "Boot Failure" message on my HP desktop. Spent about an hour trying to cajole it into starting, but I got nothing, nada, zip, zilch. I have absolutely no idea what happened, either. So anyhow, right now I'm "restoring" it to factory settings. You know what "restoring" means, right? It means "Have a fun fucking day or three reinstalling every piece of software that's important to you and hoping you managed to back all your important shit up, sucker." Fun, fun, fun fucking weekend I've got in store.
Update: I will say this: I am more glad than ever that I bought a full-featured "desktop replacement" level laptop. I'm going to be living on it for a while.
9:07 AM: "Downloading 66 Updates..." Nice.
9:26 AM: "Installing update 29 of 66..." Looking ahead to the most fun thing of all, restoring my iTunes library, I see this on Apple's support site:
Note: While you can use the Transfer Purchases from iPod option under the File menu to copy iTunes Store purchases from the iPod to another computer, you can't transfer songs from other sources from the iPod library to iTunes...
Um, might I ask why? This seems like such an obvious thing that a person would want to do: "Restore everything on my iPod to my computer". And yet Apple deliberately does not provide this ability. Not without jumping through an unbelievable series of hoops, at least. Just stupid.
11:25 AM: Phew. Got Quicken reinstalled after a long chat support session (lost my order number and all that), then got Quicken Online Backup reinstalled and restored my QData files. I cannot begin to describe what a relief that is. Not having access to Quicken is a sure-fire ticket to a panic attack for me. It's like some small part of my brain thinks that if I can't get at Quicken all my accounts somehow actually cease to exist. Yes, I realize how weird that sounds.
Tags: computer nightmares
This completely cracked my shit up. It's got a certain Schoolhouse Rock vibe to it that just works beautifully. Well done.
On a serious note, though, I've been thinking lately about how Sarah Palin has become the albatross that's dragging down McCain's campaign. Her unfavorable ratings are at historic lows for a vice-presidential candidate, and it seems like most of the high-profile centrists and conservatives endorsing Obama -- including a slew of unlikely editorial boards -- cite her as the reason. On the one hand, it's funny to see Maverick's biggest campaign stunt blow up in his face. On the other hand, it's a bit frightening to think that we might have been one smart McCain move away from this being a tight race. Seriously, fuck Sarah Palin already. Yes, she's a joke. But even if McCain had picked the reincarnation of Teddy Roosevelt as his running mate he should still be getting his ass handed to him. The guy is George Bush without the calm, thoughtful, reflective temperament. After eight years of this stinking political hell, it wigs me out that it's McCain's VP choice, rather than the man's own actions and the policies he's endorsed, that's killing his candidacy.
Tags: John McCain's Albatross
The moment I heard that Obama was going to take a day or two off from the campaign to visit his ailing grandmother I thought "How long before some right-wing douchebag accuses him of doing it as a campaign stunt to milk sympathy from voters?" Well, it took a little longer than I figured, but this vile piece of shit came through big time:
"I'm not doubting she is ill. But believe me, if you think this guy would leave the campaign trail for an hour if he felt he were running from behind, he wouldn't do it. Not unless he thought it helped him to do so...Man. I hope his numbers don't start to drop. He might have to hold a pillow against her face and maybe later break into tears the way Hillary did. Only I suspect hers were genuine."
Sullivan, who provided the link to this post, laments:
"Hold a pillow against his own grandmother's face? Yes, this is what the right has become."
No, Andrew, this is what the right has been for a long goddamned time.
Tags: winger scum
Shorter Alan Greenspan: "Zomygod! Real-life capitalists are so totally not like John Galt!"
Tags: objectivists, Alan Greenspan
Sarah Palin, asked by Brian Williams to describe those dastardly "elite" folks that her and grampa squirrel cheeks are always bitching about, had this to say:
"Oh, I guess just people who think that they're better than anyone else.... So anyone who thinks that they are -- I guess -- better than anyone else, that's -- that's my definition of elitism."
Maybe I'm making a big deal out of a poor word choice here, but "people who think they're better than anyone else"? Look, if you can't point to one single person that you think you're better than, either you've taken the concept of egalitarianism to truly warped and ludicrous extremes or you have an astonishingly low opinion of yourself. Besides, isn't this whole hangup about people thinking they're "better" than you the sort of thing most well-adjusted humans get over by the time they graduate high school? It's juvenile and insecure in the extreme. It also begs for specifics: Better in what way? I'm smarter and more ethical than most, but I have an irritable temperament, can be petty at times, and hold a grudge like nobody's business. So, I've got some better in me and some worse. I'd guess that's true of pretty much everyone.
I suspect, however, that when Palin talks about people thinking they're "better" than others, she's just emitting the noxious fumes of ressentiment. She's got a bone to pick with those people she's met who are brighter, more competent, more gifted, more forgiving and more generous than she is. You know, them that be tryin' to keep a redneck moose-huntin' mama down. Hell, I'd bet if you turn over all the rocks in Sarah Palin's soul, you'd find that it's this festering, smoldering "I'll show them" urge that drives her at least as much as the supercharged ambition that fuels most politicians. The thing is, people driven by ressentiment rarely come to any good. And when they achieve power over their perceived tormentors, it is bad fucking news.
Tags: Sarah Palin, elitism
One week from today I will be on a plane headed for Las Vegas and four nights of 40th-birthday partying. Not that I'm, you know, insanely excited about that or anything...
Tags: Vegas!
I'm not a fan of the "importance" flag that many email clients -- notably Outlook -- allow users to set on their messages. I think if you put an appropriate "Subject" line on an email, your recipient should be able to judge for themselves how important it is. Still, no harm no foul, OK? If you feel the need to clue me in as to the importance of your message, go for it. Word of advice though: If you flag every damned message you send me as Important (!) eventually it's going to have the opposite of the intended effect.
Update: Speaking of Microsoft Outlook, I have a request for the next version: Please remove the "recurrence" option on appointments. Trust me, just do it. Worker productivity across the nation will soar as a result.
Tags: email etiquette
"To put them in perspective, I think of being on an airplane. The flight attendant comes down the aisle with her food cart and, eventually, parks it beside my seat. 'Can I interest you in the chicken?' she asks. 'Or would you prefer the platter of shit with bits of broken glass in it?' To be undecided in this election is to pause for a moment and then ask how the chicken is cooked." -- David Sedaris, attempting to clarify the choice in the presidential race for "undecided" voters (h/t: Sullivan)
Tags: David Sedaris, dining choices
We are now a mere two weeks away from the Big Day. Let's take stock: Today's Reuters/C-SPAN/Zobgy poll shows Obama up by 8. A new Washington Post/ABC News poll puts Obama's lead at 9. Nate Silver points out that, in order to pull within striking distance by election day, McCain would have to erase Obama's recent gains at twice the pace Obama took to build them. CNN's John King is reporting that the McCain campaign is getting ready to pack it in out in Colorado. There are odd rumors floating about that McCain may be getting ready to bank everything on a come-from-behind victory in Pennsylvania, where he currently trails by 12. (That just smells like something McCain would do, doesn't it?) Meanwhile, over at Cogitamus, Nick is ready to declare the presidential race all but over and is trying to decide which winning electoral map looks prettier.
All in all, pretty heady times for those of us backing the Democratic ticket. Over the last month I have gradually moved from "cautiously optimistic but bracing for something awful" to "OK, I'll be really surprised if our guy doesn't win." As I see it, there are three ways Obama can still cough this up: 1.) Some sort of Bradley Effect on steroids that's been systematically suppressed by the polling data, 2.) Obama baby-raping video released on the eve of the election, or 3.) Diebold actually decided what the final vote tallies would be back in March.
What do you think? Are you confident? Guardedly optimistic? Worried? Paranoid, certain of defeat, and already on your second draft of an epic "This country sucks and I'm moving to Canda" blog post? Two weeks left; Share your thoughts.
Tags: presidential election
Pete Abraham passes along the following press release:
NEW YORK YANKEES, DALLAS COWBOYS, GOLDMAN SACHS AND CIC PARTNERS ANNOUNCE FORMATION OF LEGENDS HOSPITALITY
NEW YORK, NY October 20, 2008 -- The New York Yankees, the Dallas Cowboys, Goldman Sachs and CIC Partners today announced that they have founded Legends Hospitality Management, LLC), a new company that will offer a broad range of sports business services. Legends’ initial focus will be on operating catering, concessions, retail merchandising and other facility management enterprises for major sports and entertainment facilities.
Led by Michael Rawlings, former President of Pizza Hut, Inc., Legends will offer differentiated solutions to create innovative, high-quality stadium experiences for fans.
Legends has been granted the exclusive right to operate concessions, catering and merchandising services at the new, state-of-the-art Yankees and Cowboys stadiums on a multi-year basis. Legends intends to expand beyond these anchor teams to provide its services to professional and college sports teams and other event facilities worldwide.
George M. Steinbrenner, Chairman of the New York Yankees said, "This partnership brings together two of the finest sports franchises and creates a business that will take advantage of their tremendous insight and expertise. No one knows their fans better and has a greater interest in providing them a great game-day experience. With both the Yankees and the Cowboys moving into new stadiums next season, this is certainly the right time to rethink our approach. Beyond that base, we are confident that other facilities and teams will be interested in what Legends can offer. I look forward to building a business with Jerry."
Jerry Jones, Owner and General Manager of the Dallas Cowboys, stated, "Fans are increasingly voicing their opinion that they want and deserve more from a stadium experience -- they want a winning team, but they also want a venue that truly complements the game and elevates the experience. We couldn't agree more. Legends was founded on the principle that enhancing the stadium experience will result in a more satisfied fan base. Satisfied fans attend more games and show greater loyalty to their home team, which ultimately benefits franchises, players and their communities."
Let the snarky commentary commence.
"Mr. Obama is now a socialist, because he dares to suggest that maybe we ought to look at the tax structure that we have. Taxes are always a redistribution of money. Most of the taxes that are redistributed go back to those who pay them, in roads and airports and hospitals and schools. And taxes are necessary for the common good. And there's nothing wrong with examining what our tax structure is or who should be paying more or who should be paying less, and for us to say that makes you a socialist is an unfortunate characterization that isn't accurate." -- Colin Powell, denouncing the McCain campaign's ongoing efforts to label Barack Obama a "socialist"
Tags: taxes, socialism, Colin Powell
7:20 AM: Angelos says it best. Thank you, Tampa Bay.
7:45 PM: Hmmmmm. How to describe losing to the Raiders by 3 in overtime? What's the right metaphor? I'm going to go with "That game was a turd burger with vomit sauce." Unfuckingbelievable. But don't worry, my day can still get worse. There is no doubt in my mind that the Sox are going to win game seven tonight to move on to the World Series. None. It would do violence to the over-arching theme of this sports-watching day if they did not.
11:00 AM: Week seven of the NFL season is here, and my mind is in the gutter. Or on the gutters, I should say -- specifically the cleaning of them -- as that foul task stands between me and my usual Sunday routine of being a beer-soaked couch potato. Let me get right to the weekend's lineup so I can hit the shower, scarf down breakfast, and get out there on the ladder.
On CBS at 1:00 PM we've got Chargers at Bills. I need the Bolts to come alive and knock Buffalo down a peg in order to assist the Jets' climb up the division standings. Across the dial on FOX we've got 'Niners at Giants. Will Eli and company bounce back after last week's embarrassment? At 4:00 PM on CBS my Jets travel into the Black Hole. Brett Favre stars as Dr. Hans Reinhardt, a madman intent on demonstrating his theory that a ball thrown with sufficiently child-like joy can actually pierce the fabric of space-time. Tonight, NBC sends everyone off to watch game 7 of the ALCS on TBS by virtue of the fact that they'll be forced to air Seattle at Tampa Bay. And tomorrow the Broncos travel to Mordor to cut the sinking Patriots down to .500. Good times.
Tags: NFL
"Palin didn't need Greek columns. People react to her because they believe she represents what the Greeks established." -- Kathryn Jean-Lopez at NRO's The Corner
Let's call this the Crazy Quote Challenge: In what sense do you think Sarah Palin represents "what the Greeks established"?
Tags: Sarah Palin
The 5-1 UConn Huskies return from their off week to take on the 1-5 Scarlet Knights of Rutgers today at noon. Can I watch it? You betcha I... can't. Once again, it's on ESPNU, which is not part of any Comcast residential package. What great games can I watch? How about New Hampshire versus Northeastern!? Are those schools even in Division I? (OK, just looked it up: According to Wikipedia, they're in the "second tier" of division one.) Anyhow, my frustration continues.
Tags: college football
I would like to offer a hearty and sincere Thank You to FOX News for hiring Glenn Beck away from CNN. That will be quite a pleasing change to the cable news landscape. Beck is the absolute bottom of the pundit barrel - a man who combines Limbaugh's charm with Hannity's intellectual prowess and Michael Weiner's sense of humor - and he belongs on FOX with the rest of those filthy, mouth-breathing tools. Ever since Beck's declaration that FDR was "one evil son of a bitch" all I need is to see his face and it's like someone reaching into my chest and cranking the Rage knob to eleven. While I don't watch CNN all that often anymore, I do catch it occasionally at the gym and sometimes I'll have it on at home as background noise, and Beck's smarmy mug pops up a lot on the network; his presence is by no means confined to his assigned hour of vile gibbering.
No more, though. This particular demon has been banished to The Pit. The only question now is what manner of media creature CNN will conjure up to replace him. Will they go out to Wingers 'R' Us and grab whatever Beck clone is on sale? Or will they follow MSNBC's lead and try to tap the growing market for liberal-leaning talking heads? Stay tuned...
Tags: Glenn Beck
"It's going to be a drama-filled two weeks, isn't it? Nothing a nice glass of Merlot and a Xanax can't help with, though." -- Andrew Sullivan, reacting to a blaring headline at the Drudge Report claiming that McCain has pulled to within 2 points of Obama.
Tags: Andrew Sullivan, Matt Drudge
Brett Favre is many things: Hall of Fame QB, enduring icon to the people of Green Bay, low-risk/high-reward gamble for Eric Mangini and Mike Tannenbaum, man-crush fixation of sports journalists across the nation, ubiquitous marketing presence, and occasional cameo actor.
One thing Brett Favre is not is a trainer.
Favre's over-the-top-macho "play through the pain" shtick has always been one of the traits I find deeply irritating about the guy. Yeah, sure, it's admirable when athletes tough it out for their teams. Up to a point. Example? While many, including Favre himself, saw his decision to keep his legendary starts streak going after suffering a fractured thumb on his throwing hand as an act of superhumanly bad-ass toughosity, it always struck me as selfish, stupid, and short-sighted. There's a reason every team carries a backup QB or two: Some injuries you need to sit down for. Sometimes even the most rugged athletes need to sit a few games out and let themselves heal, for their own good and the good of their team.
So Tony? Here's some free advice: Listen to your coaches and above all to your trainers. Please, please don't let your judgement be colored by your consultations with Dr. Favre.
Tags: Brett Favre, Tony Romo
Palin, at a rally in Maine today:
"It sure would be nice if, just once, Barack Obama said he wants America to win," she said, as the crowd cheered.
"We are always proud to be Americans, and we don't apologize for being Americans," Palin added later.
No, Sarah, we don't apologize for being Americans. We do feel compelled, however, to apologize for you being an American.
Tags: Sarah Palin
If I were forced to pick the craziest, dumbest, most flat-out jaw-droppingly fucked up statement from any of the debates this year, even including the one Sarah Palin participated in, it would be this hyperbolic slab of rotting red meat from John McCain in last night's grand finale (italics mine):
"We need to know the full extent of Senator Obama's relationship with ACORN, who is now on the verge of maybe perpetrating one of the greatest frauds in voter history in this country, maybe destroying the fabric of democracy."
You know, after everything that's gone on these past eight years, it's pretty rich to hear a Republican getting all hysterical about "the fabric of democracy". What's really funny, though, is finding out that the greatest threat to our democracy is neither the Bush administration nor Islamic fundamentalist terrorists; it's an association of non-profit community organizers running a voter registration drive.
Got it.
Marc Ambinder, looking into the Republican Party's hysterical nonsense about ACORN, says "[I]t's hard to find an honest GOPer who actually believes that Barack Obama will benefit in any statistically significant way from ACORN-related voter registration shenanigans." Personally, I'd truncate that claim to just the first seven words.
Tags: debates
Hilzoy, on who's actually driving us down the road to socialism:
There are several ways to end up with socialism. One is to try to bring it about. There is, as I said, no evidence that Obama wants to do that. But another is to govern so disastrously that drastic steps like nationalizing banks look like the least bad option. That was the Bush administration's route. And even though I'm sure that Bush did not intend to nationalize banks and an insurance company, he accomplished it anyways, through sheer ineptitude.
If the people at the Corner are really worried about socialism, they should spend less time trying to conjure evidence of it out of thin air, and more time trying to make sure that their party nominates and elects people who will actually govern competently. Their years of cheerleading for Bush's incompetent leadership have done more to bring about socialism in this country than William Ayers ever did.
Now that, my friends, is irony.
(And as a side note, will anyone ever be able to use the phrase "my friends" again without doing a little internal John McCain smirk?)
If Congress were to pass a law prohibiting the use of signing statements could the president sign it into law and then issue a signing statement saying he wasn't goint to enforce it?
Tags: signing statements
This is it, John. Last chance for the straight-talkin', no-bullshit, tough-as-nails, take-no-prisoners (whoopsy - trigger word) macho man to tell off the effete, wet-behind-the-ears, socialist pup who's BFF with a terrorist and shares a middle name with a certain deposed dictator. You game this time around, Sparky? Or are you just going to sit there doing your Mr. Pissy-fidget routine, looking like you're waiting for your Metamucil to kick in, and watch the shade of your dying campaign go gently into that dark electoral night?
Tags: presidential debates
From this morning's Washington Post:
The Bush administration issued a pair of secret memos to the CIA in 2003 and 2004 that explicitly endorsed the agency's use of interrogation techniques such as waterboarding against al-Qaeda suspects -- documents prompted by worries among intelligence officials about a possible backlash if details of the program became public.
The classified memos, which have not been previously disclosed, were requested by then-CIA Director George J. Tenet more than a year after the start of the secret interrogations, according to four administration and intelligence officials familiar with the documents. Although Justice Department lawyers, beginning in 2002, had signed off on the agency's interrogation methods, senior CIA officials were troubled that White House policymakers had never endorsed the program in writing.
..
The repeated requests for a paper trail reflected growing worries within the CIA that the administration might later distance itself from key decisions about the handling of captured al-Qaeda leaders, former intelligence officials said. The concerns grew more pronounced after the revelations of mistreatment of detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, and further still as tensions grew between the administration and its intelligence advisers over the conduct of the Iraq war.
It's sad that articles like this don't even tickle the needle on my outrage meter anymore. I am left, instead, idly wondering how many more mini-smoking-gun stories like this will leak out over the decades to come, each provoking a sigh here and a tsk tsk there before getting filed in the "Too Little, Too Late" bin. And then, balancing that thought, there's the part of me that's wondering at the awesome magnitude of the cover-up/destruction-of-evidence project that is surely ongoing at the White House right now, with merely three months left before this administration's eviction.
Tags: Bush administration crimes
Congratulations, Professor K.
Somewhere, I suspect Ben Stein is losing what's left of his tiny, sad little mind.
Tags: Paul Krugman
8:12 AM: Woo HOO! How 'bout them PATRIOTS!
8:05 PM: I've got a $10 bet with my Mom that the Hatriots lose tonight. Wish me luck, people. You know it's time for Karma to catch up with these cocksuckers.
4:25 PM: Jets win. Good times. Oakland and KC are next, so they should be 5-2 when they head into Buffalo.
1:20 PM: Touchdown! Favre to Jones! J! E! T! S! Jets! Jets! Jets!
12:50 PM: TV Update is down the page a bit, for those who are interested.
12:05 PM: Just placed a three-game parlay: Ravens-Colts over 38.5, Bengals-Jets over 44, and Panthers-Bucs over 38. $25 to win $150. And yes, I admit it, I am the Over's bitch.
11:50 AM: Rumor in the sports page this morning that Tony Gonzalez might be traded to the Giants before Tuesday's deadline. That would be outstanding. Who would have predicted, a year ago, that the Giants, of all teams, would end up one of the most exciting teams in the league?
11:45 AM: Fantasy Update:
Ballbreakers (4-1) (Work league): Second in my division, trailing the inexplicably 5-0 Tequila Shooters. Taking on Walton's Mountains (2-3) this week. I've got Eli going tomorrow night, so even if I'm trailing by a lot I'll have a shot at the end. Not too worried about that eventuality, though. The only scary player he's got is Adrian Peterson. Manning, Forte and Tomlinson alone should put me over the top.
Guns For Hire (3-2) (Frat league): Taking on Tastes Like Chicken, Fridge's undefeated squad. He's got Brees, the Incredible Ronnie Brown, and Reggie Wayne. I've got Favre, Forte and Slaton. Trouble is, my wide receiving corps looks like a MASH unit. I've got Boldin, Chambers, and Berrian riding the pine, and all I could scrape together to start were Antonio Bryant and Devery Henderson. Odds are I'm headed back to .500.
Meanstreak (3-2) (Angelos league): I take on the 2-3 Banged-Up Crybabies this week, and Sportsline has him favored by 21 points. I'm not seeing that. He's got Cutler, Adrian Peterson, and MJD. After that, his team looks pretty sketchy. I've got Favre, Big Jake, and Portis. And at some point my three-headed WR monster of Moss-Owens-Smith has to wake up, right? Maybe it'll be this week.
Problem Child (3-2) (TwoGlasses league): ESPN gives me an overwhelming edge over Angelos, and I have to concur. The biggest difference-maker will be a somewhat healthy MacGahee going against a terrible Indy run defense. I picked up Breaston and the Miami D this morning, both very skillful decisions on my part. No doubt about it: I'm crushing the Fucknecks like a bug this week, and luck will have little to do about it.
Oh, and the picks? This is my week. I gave up my previously overly-cerebral approach and went with my gut this week, and that's what I'll be doing the rest of the season. My gut rocks at picking football games. You've been warned.
10:50 AM: Heyah, people! It's week 6 of the NFL season. Are you ready for some football? I sure as shit am. It's a stupidly beautiful autumn day here in Hobbitown. Sun streaming through the leaves of our Maple tree and into the living room. Smell of bacon wafting in from the kitchen. The occasional ackackack of parakeets chattering in the office. Just a perfect football Sunday in the making. Oh, and we've got my Mom here with Fridge on his way up to join us. The entertainment factor when those two are in the same room is off the charts.
Let's check today's lineup: At 1:00 PM on CBS we've got the Bungholes taking on my New York Football Jets in the Meadowlands. I smell victory, and it smells gooooooood. On FOX we've got da Bears at da Birds (Falcons), which sounds like must-skip TV to me. Later this afternoon, FOX delivers Cowpunks at Cardinals, which should be an entertaining and high-scoring affair. Tonight, LaDainian returns to his All-Pro form, leading me to fantasy victory in my work league and leading the San Diego to a beating of the Hatriots. Tomorrow night, Eli and the G-Men stomp a mudhole in the Browns' asses. All in all, this is looking like one of the better weeks on the board.
9:30 AM: Steve Serby is an embarrassment to sports journalism.
Tags: NFL
Amazing Race: The two idiot divorcees digging in the beach looking for the "container" from the alternate challenge was fucking priceless. Separated couple came in first. Still like them, although the wife showed her annoying side a bit this past week. Too bad about Anthony and Stephanie heading home. I was starting to take a liking to him, the snarky bastard. Favorites: Mark and Bill. Most Hated: Terence and Sarah.
Sarah Connor Chronicles: God damn was that a great episode. I love that they're finally starting to develop Derek Reese's character into something more than Angry Guy from the Future. And the metamorphosis we're seeing in John's character is phenomenal to behold. He's finally starting to show flashes of the kind of leader people would fight and die for.
Heroes: Fascinating storyline they're developing with both Peters being aligned against future Claire, future Parkman, etc.. I also like where they've gone with Sylar's character. I didn't think they'd be able to give him the "Shades of Gray" treatment successfully, but as I so often am with my criticisms of this show, I was wrong. On one matter, however, I think I'm right: They need to stop playing Hiro's character for nothing but laughs. He deserves better.
Dancing With The Stars: Cloris Leachman scored four points lower than any other couple this week, and yet she (would have) moved on, because the viewers voted her back. This is offensively idiotic. It's the Marie Osmond Effect on steroids. Listen, people: If you're voting for someone for any reason other than the quality of their dancing -- e.g. because you think they're amusing or sympathetic or whatnot -- you're a fucking asshole, and you're ruining the show for the rest of us.
House: No new episode this week, but TV Guide had a great article on House and Wilson's bromance. Sounds like it's not really over. This is a good thing.
Smallville: I don't think I've ever noticed, before this week, just how ugly the guy who plays Jimmy Olsen is. Odds in real life that he'd land a babe like Chloe? Let's put them at 173,285 to 1.
Supernatural: With BSG on hiatus, this is officially the Best Show on Television. I love where they're taking things this year. Yes, they're bringing God and angels into it, but what the hell? It's a show about supernatural beings. Besides, the dude who plays the angel is fucking bad-ass. The episode from two weeks ago, where he sends Dean back in time to meet his young, pre-hunter father, and his young hunter (!) mother was absolutely amazing.
Survivor: The thing they did prior to re-dividing the tribes where each person had to vote via private ballot on how they'd rank their tribe members in order of importance was amazing to me. The results were like a study in Privilege: Each tribe arrayed from male to female, light skinned to dark skinned, even tall to short. Again, these rankings were self-generated. I don't know why this blows my mind, but it does. Oh, and Randy is one of my all-time least favorite Survivor contestants. A face only a mother could not punch with an attitude to match.
The Office: I like the new HR chick. She's cute, she's goofy, and she seems up to the formidable task of being a plausible love interest for Michael. But, like all HR people, she needs to chill the fuck out about how people allocate their time. Oh, Jim timing everything Dwight did all episode long was outstanding. I wish the writers would spend more time focusing on Jim, Pam, Dwight and Michael. They've been a little too heavy on the peripheral characters lately, in my opinion.
Tags: television, Amazing Race, Sarah Connor Chronicles, Heroes, Dancing With The Stars, House, Smallville, Supernatural, Survivor, The Office
John Dickerson, whose work at Slate I actually enjoy quite a bit, had this to say in an article about the Obama-Ayers connection:
"Ayers was an accepted member of the community when Obama first got to know him. He worked for a university and was well-respected in education reform circles."
Reading that line, I was struck by the fact that few other journalists - if any at all - have bothered to point out that fact as the McCain campaign continues to press their ridiculous, baseless smear campaign against Obama. I was sufficiently struck, in fact, that I wrote Dickerson the following:
I am curious: How is that not the beginning, middle, and end of the discussion on this matter? Whatever Ayers was forty years ago has apparently been judged irrelevant by society. What he is now is a college professor who regularly consults with politicians on education policy. Anyone who's running around now, in 2008, referring to the man as "a terrorist" should be laughed out of the room. I suspect the reason most Americans don't care about this line of attack isn't simply because they're preoccupied with the economy; it's also because they see that there is simply nothing here for Obama to explain or apologize for.
Am I wrong here? To me, that's why this attack isn't working. It's not just that it's irrelevant to the concerns on voters' minds at the moment; it's that it's bogus on the merits.
Tags: Bill Ayers
Tracy and I took my Mom to the Pickin' Patch across the river from us today, where we procured some gourd-like squashes of the genus Cucurbita. In the foreground are the ladies with their globes of autumnal orange. In the background is Talcott "Mountain" and Hublein Tower. The colors didn't come out as garrulously as they appeared in person, but I assure you that the leaves, they are a-changin'. Autumn in New England. If you're spending it anywhere else, my condolences.
Tags: pumpkin patch
Lee Stranahan is counting down the last thirty days to the election with thirty videos highlighting thirty reasons he's voting for Obama. Coming in at Reason #25 is Sarah Palin.
I love this video mainly for the tone Lee employs. Especially the bit where he says "Nothing funny, nothing cute, we're past that." That line captures something I've felt about Palin pretty much from the moment I read about her speech at the Republican convention.
As accurate as Tina Fey's Palin impression is, I have a hard time laughing at it. I think it's for the same reason I never watched "Lil' Bush" or "That's My Bush!". Like Bush, Palin is an ignorant fool who couldn't think her way out of a wet paper bag and frequently comes across as a complete stumblefuck, and this makes them both worthy targets for ridicule. The tone of that ridicule is important though. People like Bush and Palin should be spoken of, always and everywhere, with contempt. If you're going to make fun of them, it should be biting. Silly, light-hearted humor allows people to forget, even if it's just for a moment, what monsters they are.
Tags: Lee Stranahan, Sarah Palin
No UConn this week. What's that all about? I didn't know college teams had bye weeks.
Tags: college football
I've been waiting for almost two months to get this picture. This is the front lawn of a house three doors down from us. The ignoramuses who live there are always home, usually with the front door open, and they've got two aggressive black dogs who make a racket if you go anywhere near the place, so I've been waiting patiently for my opportunity to discreetly capture this infuriating bit of Shire scenery.
As Barack Obama might put it, "We've got some kind, thoughtful, well-informed citizens in the red states, and we've got some ignorant, hateful, racist scumbags in the blue states."
But wait! There's more! As we came out to our car from Stop & Shop this morning, Tracy and I saw this Prius parked next to ours. It's a little hard to make out because my cell phone camera sucks, but those stickers read "Sarah!", "Say 'No!' to Socialism!" (with a crossed-out Obama logo in the 'o' in 'Socialism'), and "PROUD Republican". There's also a McCain-Palin oval sticker up there and, of course, a magnetic ribbon reminding us that "Freedom isn't Free!". I think it's funny that three of their five vehicular decorations have exclamation points on them. It's almost like a defensive punctuation mark, put there because the person expressing the opinion knows, at a semi-conscious level, how retarded they are. Oh, and I almost forgot, this person also had a blue "SARAH!" sweatshirt hanging inside the car. You can't make this stuff up. I can't even imagine what they thought when they pulled in next to our Prius with the "Obama", "01-20-09" and "Stewart/Colbert" stickers on it.
Tags: ignorant blue staters
Toastfest! The time is... almost five months from upon us! Having made the righteous choice of Savannah on or about St. Patrick's day, however, those who plan on attending need to array their ducks well in advance. Michelline is currently holding a block of seven rooms at the totally awesome Planters Inn from March 14th through the 18th. Obviously, five nights is a bit much (even for this stalwart bunch of partiers) so the first order of business is narrowing down what nights we want to do this. St. Paddy's is on a Tuesday, so I'm going to open with Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, checking out and returning home on Thursday. The reason I'm thinking Wednesday night too is that there's no fucking way I'm going to be in any condition to travel after Tuesday night, even if we just fly. Anyhow, this will be the thread for the making of plans for this gala event. I'll post a handy link in the sidebar for your convenience. (Please do not use this for random bullshitting; I'd like to keep it germane to planning so information is easier to find.)
Tags: Toastfest
The Connecticut Supreme Court issued a decision this morning in favor of the rights of gay couples to marry. Sayeth the Court:
"Interpreting our state constitutional provisions in accordance with firmly established equal protection principles leads inevitably to the conclusion that gay persons are entitled to marry the otherwise qualified same sex partner of their choice. To decide otherwise would require us to apply one set of constitutional principles to gay persons and another to all others."
There. How hard is that to understand?
Tags: gay marriage
I was coding my ass off yesterday, with more of the same on deck today (don't worry, if push comes to shove I can write myself a new ass) so I haven't had time to blog or even read much. I did have time yesterday to watch that video that's been circulating of the nutjobs at that McCain-Palin rally. Remember the obnoxious blonde woman who kept popping up in front of the camera asking "Have you heard of ACORN? When was the first time you heard of ACORN?" I was totally nonplussed by that. What the fuck did ACORN have to do with anything? So when I saw this story in my feed reader this morning, I was immediately filled with an intense feeling of nausea and foreboding:
CROWN POINT, Indiana (CNN) -- More than 2,000 voter registration forms filed in northern Indiana's Lake County by a liberal activist group this week have turned out to be bogus, election officials said Thursday.
The group -- the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN -- already faces allegations of filing fraudulent voter registrations in Nevada and faces investigations in other states.
And in Lake County, home to the long-depressed steel town of Gary, the bipartisan Elections Board has stopped processing a stack of about 5,000 applications delivered just before the October 6 registration deadline after the first 2,100 turned out to be phony.
"All the signatures looked exactly the same," Ruthann Hoagland, a Republican on the board. "Everything on the card filled out looks exactly the same."
The forms included registrations submitted in the names of the dead -- and in one case, the name of a fast-food restaurant, Jimmy Johns. Sally LaSota, a Democrat on the board, called the forms fraudulent and said whoever filed them broke the law.
Could someone explain what the hell is going on here? What was the idiot or idiots who did this thinking? Considering that we on the left have spent a good deal of effort over the last two election cycles swatting down bogus Republican charges of voter fraud -- successfully, as none of them had merit -- this just seems remarkably stupid. So stupid, in fact, that my first thought was deliberate sabotage.
Whatever the motives of the people behind this, it's bad news. Unlike all the phony hyperventilating over Ayers, this strikes me as the sort of story that, if it continues to fester, could really hurt Obama. (Google search "Obama ACORN voter fraud" and you'll get 193,000 results.)
Speaking of the Ayers thing, contrary to rumors earlier in the week, McCain and his flying monkeys in the Winger Kingdom are not dropping it. Interestingly, the response from the Obama camp seems to be "bring it on". Via Kevin Drum:
Barack Obama: "Well I am surprised that -- you know, we've been seeing some pretty over the top attacks coming out of the McCain campaign over the last several days -- that he wasn't willing to say it to my face."
Tom Vilsack: "If John McCain were so concerned about things like Mr. Ayers, why didn't he just simply turn to Barack Obama and directly confront him?"
Joe Biden: "In my neighborhood, when you've got something to say to a guy, you look him in the eye and you say it to him."
I like this. I like it, obviously, that they're needling McCain, trying to goad him into one of his patented explosions. But I like it even more because it's deeply, personally satisfying to me to see a tough-guy Republican essentially called out for being a coward. More, please.
But coming back to the subject of increasing wingnut inflammation, is there anything to be done about people like this guy:
"I'm mad, and I'm really mad. It's not the economy. It's the socialist taking over our country." McCain started to respond, and the man shot back sternly. "Let me finish please. When you have an Obama, Pelosi, and the rest of the hooligans up there gonna run this country we've got to have our head examined. It's time that you two who are representing us, and we are mad."
Yeah, Sparky, we get it: You're mad. Not only in the sense in which the word was intended, either.
I dunno. Wingnut anger makes me... angry. These people have no right to be angry. None at all. They're the rubes who have enabled the hard right GOP to drag this country to the brink of disaster (and often past that brink). They're the ones pissing a gas tank full of ignorance and fear to power us further down the Karl Rove highway. And they're angry? Sorry, don't want to hear about it. Don't want to hear their spittle-flecked maws blurting out nonsensical garbage about the "socialists" -- Seriously, what proportion of these zombies do you think could give a correct definition of "socialism"? 1 in 100? 1 in 1000? -- and I sure don't want to hear their up-is-down accusations that it's the rest of us who are crazy. What I would like to hear is the sound of all that unjustified anger getting shoved straight up their collective ass. But I guess I'll have to wait, oh, 25 more days for that.
OK, now that that's off my chest, Visual Studio awaits...
Update: One more thing. Did you catch this from yesterday?
Former Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating, a McCain campaign co-chairman, edged up to an explicitly racial attack on Barack Obama on Thursday, describing the Illinois Senator as a "guy of the street" before raising his youthful drug use.
Appearing on Dennis Miller's radio show, Keating charged that the Democratic nominee was covering up his "very extreme" record, and urged Obama to be more honest with Americans. "He ought to admit," Keating said, "'You know, I've got to be honest with you. I was a guy of the street. I was way to the left. I used cocaine. I voted liberally, but I'm back at the center.'"
This is just outrageous. Dennis Miller has a radio show???
Update II: I agree with Benen:
I'm still unclear as to why Troopergate isn't getting more play. We have a largely-unknown Republican VP nominee in the midst of a fairly serious ethics controversy. The evidence suggests she abused her power and lied about it. The evidence also suggests she broke her word about cooperating with an independent probe, and has taken multiple steps to obstruct the investigation. Usually, for the national media, this would be like waving red meat in front of a hungry dog.
Isn't this a bit more important than Obama serving on a Republican-created board with some '60's-era radical?
You'd think it would be, but hey, you know those crazy kids in the media; you just never know what will catch on with them and what won't.
OK now, for serious, work...
"[C]autious, responsible homeowners who took out cautious, responsible loans and bought cautious, responsible houses, are not necessarily thrilled at the idea of their idiot profligate neighbors getting a federal bailout for the idiot profligate loans they took out on their idiot profligate house/remodel/HELOCs." -- Kevin Drum, on the lukewarm response McCain's newly announced plan to rescue struggling homeowners received from CNN's focus group
That certainly jibes with my instant reaction at the time, which can basically be summed up as "Can I haz smaller morgage 2?"
Tags: bailing out homeowners
Anyone got any predictions for tonight's throw-down? Will it be as boring as their first encounter? Will McCain finally lose his shit? Will Obama turn to the despicable old turd and ask him if, at long last, he has no sense of decency? These questions and more will be answered in just a little while, so grab a drink and join us on the Debate Couch!
Tags: presidential debates
After three weeks of listening to John McCain's laughable attempts to pin the financial crisis on first-term senator Barack Obama -- including the baseless accusation that Obama was "gaming the system" in Washington -- it might seem like a perfectly legitimate response for the Obama campaign to remind everyone of McCain's starring role in the Savings & Loan scandal. Problem is, doing so immediately opens the floodgates for articles like this one. Certainly Obama must know that the mainstream media is too stupid to discern the difference between the very real fact of McCain being one of the "Keating Five" versus the very fake fact of Obama "palling around with terrorists". So why take the chance of having the final four weeks of the campaign dominated by false equivalency journalism about "both sides" going negative?
Tags: John McCain, Keating Five, false equivalency journalism
With the Dow plunging below 10,000 points and European markets in turmoil as the global financial crisis spreads, Senator John McCain comes up with a brilliant plan:
"Hey, let's talk about that Ayers guy again!"
The media, grateful to the Maverick of the Senate™ for once again saving them from the horror of doing their jobs, happily obliges.
Tags: John McCain, our idiotic media
2:30 PM: Halftime Beer Blogging! Woo Hoo! OK, so yesterday Tracy and I drove up to Opa Opa Steakhouse and Brewery for a late lunch. Ever since Tracy tried their Watermelon Ale at the Big E she's been jonesing to get some more of it, and since it's a limited-edition seasonal you can only get it at the brewery, not in stores. It was a beautiful day, so I figured what the hell, let's go pay them a visit. Great decision by me. Let me tell you, Opa Opa is skyrocketing up the craft-brewing charts in my estimation. They had over a dozen beers on tap, so we got a couple of sampler flights, and after exploring their full range of brews I was truly and righteously blown away. I grabbed a growler of their F-15 Eagle Double Red Ale before heading out. Let's have us a glass.
The Pour: F-15 lands gracefully in a wide-mouth frosted mug. A faintly worty aroma wafts up as the beer develops a half-inch head of dark tan foam. The head doesn't hang around long, and after a minute or so we've just got a little bit of film sitting on top of a body that is new penny copper-red in color with just a tiny hint of cloudiness. Carbonation levels appear faint.
The Taste: Oh my god is this beer delicious. It wasn't just the atmosphere at the bar skewing my perception. The first thing to note about F-15 is the huge, creamy body. This beer is brawny. Unpacking the flavors in that big body is a wonderful experience. Malts definitely predominate in what feels like an arsenal of flavor. I'm getting caramel, maple, apple-pie, and hints of roasted almond. The hops are subdued as you savor the fat, malty mouth-feel, but they come out a little bit after you swallow, lending a drier-than-expected finish and filling out the long aftertaste. This beer also yields a slightly cloying stickiness that stays on the roof of your mouth and around your lips a bit, but I'm disinclided to complain about it right now. Oh, so you know, we snuck a peak at the ABV listings for all of Opa's current offerings, and F-15 came in somewhere north of 12%, a fact you can sense in both the flavor and the warm glow that settles in halfway through the first glass.
The Verdict: Boy, I guess since I opened the growler I better finish it. I mean, I wouldn't want this fine beverage to go bad or anything. (Bwuh-huh. Bwuh-huh-huh-HAH! HAHAHAHAHAHA!) Okay, seriously though, this is an amazing beer. I haven't sorted out my faves recently, but if I were inclined to do so I'd bet this would land in the top ten. Spec-fucking-tacularly flavorful brew here. Shout it with me, people: "Opa! Opa!"
1:00 PM: So I've been meaning to share this story with everyone. Last Saturday, Tracy and I had to trek up to Boston for a big surprise party for my aunt Bon and Uncle Joe. We got an invitation back in July, I think it was, alerting us that my cousins were throwing a huge 35th anniversary party for them, and of course we RSVP'ed that we'd be there. My mother, as is her wont, confirmed a hundred and eighty seven times that we were coming up. She also invited us to a small dinner at her place next weekend - a "little get-together" with my brothers and sisters. Yeah, we'd be there for that too. (Two trips to Boston in three weekends is a pain in the ass, but it wouldn't have been the first time it happened.) Anyhow, the plan was to get to my Aunt's house around 3:30 PM. One of the girls was supposed to be doing something to keep aunt and uncle occupied while the guests gathered. Tracy and I left the Shire around 1:00 PM, stopped on the way to grab lunch at a McDonald's drive-thru, and were on pace to get there in plenty of time. Around 3:00 PM, however, we get a frantic call from my Mom, saying "They're going to be here any minute! Where are you guys?!" Irritably, I responded that we were on 128, on target to arrive when she told us to arrive. Five minutes later we get another call: "Look, you guys are probably going to get here after them." "Whatever," I responded, "We'll just yell 'Surprise!' when we walk in." (I get aggravated very easily when people change plans on me mid-stream. I'm anal that way.)
We got to Stoneham right on time, parked the Prius, and headed towards the house. Ton of cars outside. I forgot what my aunt and uncle drove, but I assumed they had to have arrived already. Oh well. So we get to the door, I open it, and there's a bunch of my family members sitting on the front stairs inside yelling "SURPRISE!" Um, yeah, I get it; we're late. "SURPRISE! on us." Very funny. Now where are my aunt and uncle so we can wish them well on their anniversary. This is what went through my head inside a span of about three seconds. Except then I realized that it wasn't just a few people in the hallway busting my balls. Everyone was staring at me standing in the doorway, smiling and laughing and whatnot. Completely nonplussed and now feeling vaguely uncomfortable with all eyes on me, I'm like "What? Why are you all..." Then I looked up and saw the "Happy 40th Birthday!!!" banner.
"No shit," I'm thinking "You have to be kidding me." I turn around to look at Tracy, and she's got this impish grin. That's when I realized how thoroughly I had been played.
The entire thing was a setup. The invitation we got was a one-off. Everyone else got a different one with the actual nature of the event clearly advertised. My aunt and uncle's anniversary? It was their 36th and it had passed weeks ago. The frantic phone calls from my Mother? A nice little flourish. Even the get-together with my brothers and sisters next weekend turned out to be a feint intended to distract me from any possibility of wising up to what was going on. I was completely snowed. It's the first time anyone's thrown a surprise party for me, and between my Mom, the mastermind, and my wife, the key accomplice, they executed it beautifully. Of course, it helps that I'm the last person in the world who's attuned to noticing clues and oddities, but still. Well done. Bravo.
Just how surprised was I? I was so surprised that my cousin Kara handed me -- Mr. "I Don't Hold Babies" -- her newest addition, Bree, and it didn't even faze me. Of course, it helped that Bree was wearing a little baby New York Giants sweatshirt. See, even though she was in the womb at the time, Bree was so stunned by the Giants' upset of the Patriots that she decided to buck the wishes of her family when she arrived, spurning the Patriots in favor of the G-Men. Smart baby.
11:45 AM: Fantasy Update:
Ballbreakers (3-1) (Work league): Battling it out with my nemesis the Fat Man this week for second place in the Mirrors division. We've both got pretty strong teams top to bottom, but I think my triple threat at RB (Tomlinson, Forte and Jon Stewart) has the edge over his (Lynch, Gore, Edge) and I'm hoping that lets me carry the day. (Sportline's Prediction: Ballbreakers by 5)
Guns For Hire (2-2) (Frat league): The Guns are riding a two-game losing streak heading into this week's matchup with Paul's Brooklyn Magic. I'm solid at RB with Slaton and Forte and decent at WR with Chambers and Antonio Bryant, but I really need to hope Kurt Warner doesn't get his ass handed to him by the Bills defense. Where's that Favre guy when I need him? (Sportsline's Prediction: Guns by 9)
Meanstreak (2-2) (Angelos league): I'm currently in a four-way tie for first place in the St. Elmo division. How's that for mediocrity? I feel bad for the one guy in our division that's 1-3. Wait, no I don't, it's Jurus. Anyhow, this league vexes me. I look at the names on my lineup -- particularly my WR triumvirate of Owens, Randy Moss and Steve Smith -- and think "How the hell am I not undefeated?" And yet each week two out of three of those guys manage to underperform and leave me hanging. I'm benching Moss this week, going with a three-RB look instead (Portis, Jacobs, Jon Stewart), which of course means Moss will explode. Hello 2-3. (Sportsline's Prediction: Strongbadia Burninators by 25)
Problem Child (2-2) (TwoGlasses league): After yesterday's particularly irritating argument about the bailout, I think Mike needs an ass-kicking. Unfortunately, Problem Child probably isn't the team to administer it. Trent Edwards at QB? That gets the gas face. Portis versus the Philly defense with DeAngelo Williams as my #2 back? Lee Evans and Lance Moore. (I'd never even heard of Lance Moore before this week - just saw him in the free agency pool and figured what the hell.) Yeah, this lineup does not inspire confidence. Oddly enough, though, ESPN gives me the edge. I guess they think Mike's team will out-suck mine somehow. Here's hoping.
Oh, I got bounced from the Last Man Standing pool last week when Denver puked up that terrible performance against the Chiefs. Stupid Broncos.
10:45 AM: Week 5 of the NFL season already. Ever notice how the off-season in football seems to drag for an eternity and then the season itself seems to blow right by in a rush? It's not fair, I tell ya. Anyhow, let's see what we have on tap for this week. For starters, my Jets are on a bye, which is somewhat frustrating considering the huge game they had last week. I would have liked to see them build on that, but instead they're home on their couches, doing nothing. They could at least stop by here and say hi. Probably won't happen.
Hey, anyone see my train of thought go by? Oh yeah, today's matchups: CBS early looks like Colts at Texans. Meh. FOX's early game is Seahawks at Giants, which promises to be much more entertaining. I sense a G-Men blowout. (Who would have thought, last year, that the Giants would be a more exciting team in 2008 than the Colts? It's like a sign of the apocalypse.) CBS late is Pats at 'Niners. I took San Francisco as an upset in the pick'ems. Wishful thinking, I suppose, but I'm holding out hope that the wheels totally come off for New England. Tonight's game is... (looking it up)... Sweet FSM, Shittsburgh in primetime again? Why does the NFL hate America? Oh well, at least we get to see the Jaguars beat the snot out of them. That will be fun. And lastly, tomorrow night we've got Vikings at Saints. Not horrible, but not enough to keep me up until midnight on a work night either.
Welcome then, friends and readers, to the Virtual Couch™. May the football gods be good to you today. Unless that somehow conflicts with them being good to me, in which case not so much.
Tags: NFL
Any big games of note today? UConn plays at 7:00 PM, although given that we've got 5 hours worth of shows on DVR to watch I doubt I'll be able to pop over to that for more than a few minutes. Assuming, of course, that it's being televised.
Tags: college football
Amazing Race: Tracy and I are both thrilled that this show is finally back, but for her, at least, that joy is mixed with a dash of bitterness. She still can't get over the fact that we weren't even called to audition, and she's still frustrated at CBS's weird rule that says potential contestants can only apply once. In fact, I daresay she's leaning towards blowing that rule off. I can just imagine it: We'll get on the show, blow away the field, and just as we're crossing the finish line to claim the million dollars a producer will walk on and say "No, sorry, you applied twice. You're disqualified."
Of course, Tracy's not wrong to be miffed. Based on this year's crop of contestants, they'll let anyone on this show. Mark and Bill, the geeky, pasty, middle-aged dudes, are kinda funny. Nick and Starr, a brother and sister team, seem OK, if a little Stepford. Ken and Tina, currently separated following an act of infidelity on his part, seem confident and well-adjusted (although the idea of using their experience on the race to determine if they should stay together seems a little goofy). The rest? Ugh. I figured I'd be rooting for the two dorky frat guys, Andrew and Dan, but five minutes in Dan's antics at the airport had me wanting to kick him in the head. Terence and Sarah, the "newly dating" couple, are like nails on a fucking chalkboard. Everyone else? Boring. Do you hear me, CBS? You need us on this show next time around.
Sarah Connor Chronicles: Interesting development as we took a look at Cameron's past this week. First, we learned that infiltrator units are modeled after captured humans from whatever group is being targeted. At least I don't think that's come up before. This added a third layer to Cameron's character: We had Good Cameron, who was reprogrammed by Future John Connor; Bad Cameron, the unmodified terminator unit whose original mission was to kill John Connor; and now we've got human template Cameron ("Allison") who has an actual biography based in (of course) Southern California where the main storyline is taking place. That's a lot of Camerons to manage, but it certainly gives the writers a way to keep playing up the Cameron-as-wildcard angle. (Here's what my brain just did: Summer Glau's terminator character is named "Cameron" and the human girl her terminator was built to emulate was named "Allison"; Summer Glau is totally hot; You know who else is totally hot? Allison Cameron. How 'bout that?)
Heroes: Since it's impossible to pick out any one thread from Heroes to focus on, I'll take the buckshot approach: What the fuck was Hiro thinking opening his dad's safe and letting the Formula out? Is the Petrelli crone really Sylar's mother, or is she just messing with his head to further her own warped plans? Why was Nathan able to fly away from Noah in Season One even though the Haitian was there? (Working theory: The Haitian, for reasons of his own, deliberately unsuppressed Nathan's power so he could escape.) Noah and Sylar would be awesome in a buddy cop movie. You think the writers received death threats after killing off Ali Larter's character and that's why they brought her back as a "twin"? Personally, I thought it was weird that present Peter looked like himself during the scenes where he was trapped in the villain's body and we only saw the villain via reflection; that should have been the other way around. The aborigine dude wandering in the desert with Parkman paints pictures of events that are distant in time and space and he gets milky eyes when he does it. Correct me if I'm wrong, but is that the first time two different mutants have had the exact same power? OK, that's it. (Is this a great show or what?)
Dancing With The Stars: I can't believe that Len and Bruno are working both the U.S. and British versions of this show simultaneously, flying back and forth from L.A. to London every single week. That, my friends, shows a hard-core commitment to bring ballroom dancing to the masses. So what of this season so far? Well, we're through week two and Designated Novelty Contestant Cloris Leachman is still with us. Ridiculous. Recapping the eliminations to date, we've lost crappy roast-circuit comedian Jeff Ross, b-list sitcom actor Ted McGinley, and, this week, the clumsy and underwhelming Kim Kardashian. As much as I'm dying to get rid of Cloris -- seriously, people over 80 do not belong in a dancing competition -- I couldn't argue with Kardashian's ousting. She's one of those contestants who was so clearly just mailing it in that you wonder why they even agreed to do the show. Positively Drexler-esque. On the other end of the spectrum, we've got one Warren Sapp. That man has looked outstanding so far. It's early, but I could see Sapp being the first truly ginormous human to make it deep into the contest. He is smooth, amazingly light on his feet, and he seems to be taking the show quite seriously. Good for him. That said, the top of my leaderboard right now belongs to Brook Burke, who is paired with Derek Hough of the Amazingly Talented and Attractive Hough Children. (Seriously, drawing Derek or Julianne as a partner is almost an unfair advantage. Not only are they two of the best dancers among the professionals -- only Maksim is even in their league -- but they're the hands-down the best choreographers.) Brook has the "born to dance" look that marks all serious contenders. Most contestants on this show need to be babied at first by their professional partner, but each season one or two come out of the gate matching their mentor step for step, spin for spin, flourish for flourish. Brook is in that category. She'll be the one to beat down the stretch. Trust me on this. I know ballroom dancing.
(Note: You'll notice I didn't lead with something like "It's the triumphant return of TV Update!" That's because I may lose interest in doing this as soon as next week. Don't want to get anyone's hopes up. We'll take it week by week and see what happens. And yeah, we're still back on Tuesday of this week. Haven't even watched the Survivor: Gabon premiere yet.)
Tags: television, Amzaing Race, Sarah Connor Chronicles, Heroes, Dancing With The Stars
Oh, and one more goddamned thing before I get to work for the day. Here's Krugman this morning:
A grim morning
Double plus ungood news on multiple fronts this morning. The credit crunch is getting worse: LIBOR jumped again, the TED spread is at a new record. Bad news on employment: payrolls down 159,000, average work week down, official unemployment rate flat at 6.1 percent but broad measure (U6) up from 10.7 to 11.
We are going over the edge.
I don't know if the bailout bill will pass today or not, and if it does I don't know if it will have the desired effect on our credit markets. I don't even know what the hell the LIBOR is or why it jumped or who TED is. I do know that we're in a serious fucking financial crisis and those of you who can't get past the simplistic notion that the ongoing effort to pass some kind of bill to get us out of it is just the "thieves" in Washington trying to line the pockets of the rich really need to get a fucking clue.
Have a nice day.
Update: Another data point via Josh Marshall:
I'm curious to hear from economists and/or state finance experts on the precise significance of this. But it does not sound good. According to the LA Times, Gov. Schwazenegger has written to Secy. Paulson saying that the state of California may need to borrow as much as $7 billion from the feds within weeks because of the unavailability of short term loans it uses to finance state government in advance of tax monies coming in.
By all means, though, let's continue to indulge the fantasy that this is just a bunch of plutocrats stirring up fake hysteria so they can loot the treasury.
Update II: Kevin Drum's Economic Report:
Your economic report for the day: Factory orders plunged 4% in August; the service sector was stagnant; wages were stagnant; auto sales dropped by a third; jobless claims are up dramatically; the commercial paper market fell nearly $100 billion last week, its biggest drop since 9/11; short-term lending rates remain astronomical; employers cut 159,000 jobs in September; and credit remains so tight that Arnold Schwarzenegger is begging the Treasury for a $7 billion loan for the state of California.
That is all. For now. I recommend the House pass the bailout bill today.
What he said.
Update III: Passed. Good.
Tags: bailout bill
I want to take a quick second to address Biden's handling of the issue of same-sex marriage in the debate last night. The following is from the Obama Campaign's website:
Support Full Civil Unions and Federal Rights for LGBT Couples
Barack Obama supports full civil unions that give same-sex couples equal legal rights and privileges as married couples, including the right to assist their loved ones in times of emergency as well as equal health insurance, employment benefits, and property and adoption rights. Obama also believes we need to fully repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and enact legislation that would ensure that the 1,100+ federal legal rights and benefits currently provided on the basis of marital status are extended to same-sex couples in civil unions and other legally-recognized unions.
Oppose a Constitutional Ban on Same-Sex Marriage
Obama voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment, which would have defined marriage as between a man and a woman and prevented judicial extension of marriage-like rights to same-sex or other unmarried couples.
And the following is what Joe Biden had to say in last night's debate:
IFILL: The next round of -- pardon me, the next round of questions starts with you, Senator Biden. Do you support, as they do in Alaska, granting same-sex benefits to couples?
BIDEN: Absolutely. Do I support granting same-sex benefits? Absolutely positively. Look, in an Obama-Biden administration, there will be absolutely no distinction from a constitutional standpoint or a legal standpoint between a same-sex and a heterosexual couple.
The fact of the matter is that under the Constitution we should be granted -- same-sex couples should be able to have visitation rights in the hospitals, joint ownership of property, life insurance policies, et cetera. That's only fair.
It's what the Constitution calls for. And so we do support it. We do support making sure that committed couples in a same-sex marriage are guaranteed the same constitutional benefits as it relates to their property rights, their rights of visitation, their rights to insurance, their rights of ownership as heterosexual couples do.
IFILL: Let's try to avoid nuance, Senator. Do you support gay marriage?
BIDEN: No. Barack Obama nor I support redefining from a civil side what constitutes marriage. We do not support that. That is basically the decision to be able to be able to be left to faiths and people who practice their faiths the determination what you call it.
The bottom line though is, and I'm glad to hear the governor, I take her at her word, obviously, that she think there should be no civil rights distinction, none whatsoever, between a committed gay couple and a committed heterosexual couple.
The long and the short of it is that nothing Biden said contradicted the Obama campaign's longstanding position on this issue. It's certainly not where I'd like them to be, and four years from now I doubt it's where they will be, but nothing Biden said last night should come as a surprise, nor should it merit a response of outraged betrayal.
There. 'Nuff said.
Tags: gay marriage
Over at TNR's The Plank, Jonathan Cohn notes something very interesting about the post-debate insta-poll results:
CNN just published its instant poll of people who watched the debate. Result: 51 percent thought Joe Biden did the better job, while 36 percent sided with Palin. The CBS poll of undecided voters yielded similar numbers: 46 percent thought Biden won, while 21 picked Palin.
Let’s stipulate that these instant polls are not the most accurate measures of public opinion. Here’s the interesting thing: The results are virtually identical to the results from last week’s debate between Barack Obama and John McCain. In CNN’s poll, 51 percent thought Obama won while 38 percent thought McCain won. CBS had it 39-25 for Obama.
Maybe there’s a lesson here. We’re used to analyzing debates based on the candidates’ performance: Were they likeable? Did they make gaffes? And sometimes, surely, that’s the real significance. If George H.W. Bush hadn’t looked at his watch in 1992 or if Al Gore could have kept his sighs to himself, history might be very different.
But for all of the outsized importance character and personality have taken on during this year’s campaign, perhaps the debates will prove significant for a much simpler reason: They conveyed to the voters the philosophy and proposals that each presidential ticket endorses.
Think about it: Obama and Biden don’t really have similar personalities or debating styles; their backgrounds are pretty different, too. The same goes for the Republican ticket is even more disjointed. McCain and Palin are as different as two candidates can be. But when paired off against their counterparts, both the presidential and vice presidential candidates performed at basically the same level.
It could be coincidence. Or it could be the fact that they made the same essential arguments--and the viewers reached the same conclusions about them.
If this is true, well, maybe there's some hope for this country yet.
Tags: informed Americans
10:45 PM: I don't want to say Palin "won" that debate, but she sure as hell didn't lose. Biden was, of course, the master of substance. He trounced her on facts, details, and all those other things you'd like to think should matter in a debate. But the important thing was that at no time did she seem out of her league. At a superficial level, they came off as equals, and that's really not good for Biden and the Obama ticket.
7:05 PM: Holy Joe: "They're both plenty smart enough to do this job." Seriously, is it really too early for someone from my fair state to begin mounting a challenge for Lieberman's Senate seat? C'mon, it's only four years away. Election cycles are longer these days anyhow. Go for it!
7:00 PM: Two hours until the debate and here in the TwoGlasses home offices we're just biden our time. (rimshot) Hey, come on, just a little weak humor to loosen up those sphincters. Seriously, though, I'm a little on the edge of my seat for this one. Forget about vast gulf that separates Biden from Palin in terms of intelligence and experience; in terms of personality they're both loose cannons. Who knows what topics Palin - ignorant of her own ignorance - will decide to take a stab at tonight? Who knows what dazzling twists and turns and dangerous switchbacks Joe Biden's turbo-charged motor mouth will take him down? Not me, that's for sure, and not you, either, which is why I imagine you'll be tuning in at 9:00 PM right alongside Tracy and me to witness the festivities. Grab your Sarah Palin Bingo cards and a bottle or two of your poison of choice and join us on the VP Debate Couch. This should be a fascinating night.
Tags: vice presidential debate, Sarah Palin, Joe Biden
Wow. I read something yesterday about this dude, Rich Trumka of the AFL-CIO, having given a recent speech urging union members to speak out against those in their ranks who would use race as a reason not to vote for Obama. He's at it again in this video and I dare say that the man knows how to raise the roof. I was worried he was going to burst a blood vessel around the 6:11 mark. Outstanding speech. I hope he spends the next month taking this message on a tour of Appalachia.
Tags: Rich Trumka, racism
Just yesterday, in this amazing interview with the editorial board of the Des Moines Register, John McCain claimed that he has maintained "100% absolute truth" during his campaign for president. It's remarkable to me that a man who has not only lied more often than any presidential candidate I can remember -- an amazing fact given the two Rove-led campaigns he's following -- but who has been confronted with incontrovertible proof that his lies are lies over and over by the media can sit there and make that claim with his bare, ugly face hanging out and not go stark-raving mad from the internal contradictions he's suppressing. Indeed, if you watch the video, you can see that McCain looks pretty damned close to throwing a looney.
With that amazing claim as a backdrop, I thought I'd take a look at Mr. One Hundred Percent Absolute Truth's latest adventure in mendacity. Check out this interview he did with FOX News (shocker) earlier today. Contrasting his role in the bailout negotiations with Obama's, McCain said:
"[Obama] certainly did nothing for the first few days. I suspended my campaign, took our ads down, came back to Washington, met with the House folks and got on the phone, and also had face-to-face meetings."
Let's see: I count thirty-eight words. How many lies did the old douchebag fit into that compact little package?
1. "[Obama] certainly did nothing for the first few days": Lie. If you date it from Sept. 15th, when Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy, then neither candidate did anything "for the first few days" of the crisis on Wall Street. It is also a matter of public record that on the morning of the day that McCain falsely claimed to be suspending his campaign, Obama called him to seek agreement on a joint statement the two campaigns could issue, signaling a unified, bipartisan approach. McCain blew him off. So whenever you choose to date things from, the insinuation that McCain took action prior to Obama is a flat-out lie.
2. "I suspended my campaign": Lie. McCain did at least one high-profile interview and his campaign continued all their normal fund-raising activities.
3. "took our ads down": Flat-out lie. Numerous reports from around the country that day pointed to the fact that McCain's ads were still running.
4. "came back to Washington": Lying by omission. As this Daily Show segment details, McCain spent almost a full day in New York going about his business between the time he falsely claimed to be suspending his campaign and the time he "rushed" back to Washington. McCain would prefer it if that particular 23.5 hours disappeared down the memory hole.
5. "met with the House folks and got on the phone, and also had face-to-face meetings": Gross misrepresentation. We'll never know what McCain was doing in his bathrobe at his DC hotel that weekend - who he talked to and what was said - but we do know what went on at the big White House Summit that happened that Friday: McCain sat silently in a corner and sulked, disengaged, refusing to answer direct questions or offer an opinion on much of anything while Obama sought out both Democratic and Republican Congressional leaders to try to build a consensus. Witnesses from both delegations and White House staffers reported as much the day of the event.
So what have we got? Looks like a full house - Lies over Half-Truths.
In thirty eight words.
This from the guy who got hot under the collar when a newspaper accused him of not being perfectly truthful.
One positive development is that the media - FOX excepted - seems to be as fed up with McCain's non-stop lying as the rest of us are. He's being called out more and more often, and as the interview with the Register showed, he's not dealing with it well. I find it hard to believe he'll make it through October without one or two major explosions. That's a wonderful prospect, and not just because McCain pitching a shit fit would seal the deal for Obama, either. I want to see the last month of this campaign break John McCain as a person. I think this man deserves to go to his grave bitter, angry, and resentful, all torn up inside with nothing but the tatters of his shit-stained reputation to chew on at the end. That would be his just reward for the path he's chosen to take.
Tags: John McCain
"I don't know if she believes in the right to privacy or if she believes in the words 'right' and 'privacy' and saw them together and took a stab at it." -- D-Day, on Sarah Palin's commission of Wingnut Heresy when she expressed support for the notion that the Constitution implicitly guarantees a right to privacy - the legal cornerstone of the Roe v. Wade ruling.
Tags: Sarah Palin, Constitutional right to privacy
I figure everyone needs a break between gnashing their teeth over the bailout drama these last couple of days and obsessing over the VP debate tomorrow night, so I'll throw out a topic that very few of us (Chemist being the exception) are personally invested in: The 2008 MLB post season.
I'll be honest: I mentally checked out from baseball sometime around the first week of August, so I'm hardly in a position to make "predictions" as such. Instead, I'll just say what I'd like to see happen:
ALDS: Angels over Sox in 3 (fuck the Sox); Rays over White Sox in 5 (amp up the Rays hype)
NLDS: Brewers over Phillies in 3 (don't like PA teams); Cubs over Dodgers in 5 (Yay, Cubbies! Less Yay, Torre and Manny!)
ALCS: Angels over Rays in 6 (I want the Rays to taste it, then get denied)
NLCS: Cubs over Brewers in 4 (the earlier CC can start resting his arm for his first season in the Bronx, the better)
WS: Cubs over Angels in 7 (the stinkin' Sox broke their drought; time for the Cubs to join them (sorry, Chemist))
A more dangerous but still tasty scenario has the Sox going to the World Series and losing. Part of me wouldn't mind seeing that at all. On the other hand... no, just keep them as far away from a third championship in this decade as possible. As for the Cubs vs. Dodgers matchup in the NLDS, I considered going with the Dodgers, but then I remembered reading this today. I could not abide all the "Torre the Martyr, Triumphant!" stories we'd have to suffer.
Anyhow, got predictions? Let's hear 'em.
Tags: baseball
Same as the old bailout bill. Except now with tax cuts for small businesses and alternative energy. Oh, and increased FDIC deposit limits. Neither of which, at least to my economically-challenged brain, have anything to do with the current situation in our financial markets. Sausage making can be such an inane project at times.
Tags: Wall Street bailout