Raise your kids right

You know the best part about getting older? Fucking nothing.

I do try and raise my two sons, ages 12 and 6 with a keen eye and a sense of independence in thought and spirit. I still absolutely wonder at the world around me and I find that sloganeering aside, I actually get less cynical as I get older. Kids'll do that (sometimes). When they were younger we did the nursery rhymes and Raffi, and even tried the Dan Zanes and Brady Rhymer etc. I'm not knocking any of it as I guess it was done to me and I turned out more or less OK.

The older boy, James is 12 and a full hard-on teenager (intentional). He is amazing on guitar; on this snowy Saturday walking around the house dressed in just his black robe, a ski hat and unplugged electric slung low, and asks the old man for a good song for him to learn now that he has mastered the canon of Green Day and Nirvana. Being the Good Father I went old school on him and dug this out, appealing to my longing to keep my boy--well, a boy, while also considering how right in the gut cool it is that I can turn him on to irrefutably exceptional music like San Francisco's Flipper. Saving Sex bomb for another (sniff) poignant shared moment together someday soon.

"Isn't it Sinister to swallow a Minister"

Melissa Theuriau: french journalist and anchorwoman

Thoughts On Not Being Gay

great thought here, from a person named Paul, I've never met; I completely agree. Perhaps we'll see more of him on cx3 blog... - sj

Thoughts On Not Being Gay
by: Paul Lubaczewski

I spend alot of time and effort on gay rights,and Im straight. Why? Because I dont care.

What do I mean?

I dont want to care. Frankly, I dont like to picture any of my friends knocking boots, regardless of the boots they care to knock.
And its not fair that my gay friends are pushed into a situation where they constantly feel the need to defend themselves for their own sexuality; just the basic them of who they are. They get so drawn in to a corner, that being gay becomes their identity, because they have to mentally protect themselves against the backlash they know is coming.

We can do better then that. We can and should reach a level of tolerance where we really dont give a flying fuck about what two consenting adults do in the privacy of their own bedroom.

So as long as I have gay friends, and as long as society paints them in to a corner and tries to keep them there, I'll fight for them.
When society lets them serve in the military and the board rooms, and nobody cares one way or the other, then I'll put down my sword.

Until then, its on.

L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N.

anyone know what this is from?

League Of Villainous Evildoers Maniacally United For Frightening Investments & Naughtiness.

or: L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N.

here's what my iPod played on shuffle, this AM..

...in the kitchen, as I ground my French Roast coffee beans, and began to clean up the mess!
Doom - Gazillion Ear
Huffamoose - We've Been Had Again
Smashing Pumpkins - Siva
Police - Hole In My Life
Sierra Maestro - Son Para Ti
Butthole Surfers - Whirling Hall of Knives
Beastie Boys - in 3's
Led Zep - Rock n Roll
Cornershop - Candyman
The Ethiopians - Train to Skaville
Hives - Declare Geurre Nucleaire
Original Sins - Happy Birthday Jesus
Alice Donut - Tiny Ugly World
Outkast - I'll Call Before I Come
Caterpillar - I'm OK, You're OK
Kanye West - Barry Bonds
Joy Division - The Only Mistake
Jesu - Silver
Paul Morelenbaum - Brigas Nunca Mais

NBC news report on 2nd day of Sex Pistols U.S Anarchy Tour, Jan 1978

some really good and funny stuff in here...

nevermind "Wolfman" - this is the REAL scary stuff...National Debt & Budget Deficit summary, and how it affects unborn Americans...

Drowning in Debt: What the Nation's Budget Woes Mean for You
Economists Predict Cutbacks, Tax Increases That 'Aren't Even Imaginable'
By DEVIN DWYER
WASHINGTON, Feb. 17, 2010—

American political and economic leaders have sounded the alarm for years about the red ink rising in reports on the federal government's fiscal health.

But now the problem of mounting national debt is worse than it ever has been before with -- potentially dire consequences for taxpayers, according to a report by the nonpartisan Peterson-Pew Commission on Budget Reform.

"It keeps me awake at night, looking at all that red ink," said President Obama in Nashua, N.H., on Feb. 2. "Most of it is structural and we inherited it. The only way that we are going to fix it is if both parties come together and start making some tough decisions about our long-term priorities."

Obama will sign an executive order tomorrow that establishes a bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform to make recommendations on how to reduce the country's debt.

Over the past year alone, the amount the U.S. government owes its lenders has grown to more than half the country's entire economic output, or gross domestic product.

Even more alarming, experts say, is that those figures will climb to an unprecedented 200 percent of GDP by 2038 without a dramatic shift in course.

"Within 12 years&the largest item in the federal budget will be interest payments on the national debt," said former U.S. Comptroller General David Walker. "[They are] payments for which we get nothing."

(click below for rest of scary story...)

National Debt, Budget Deficit: A Scary Forecast for Taxpayers? - ABC News

the Who's Super Bowl halftime show rocked. I don't care what anyone says.

I thought the Who's Superbowl 44 halftime show rocked. Mindblowing? No. the best I've ever heard them? No. Great venue? Hardly. But they did rock. They sounded great (the TV mix was perfect, actually; and surprisingly). The stage, and lighting design/platform that surrounded it was awesome. And Daltrey, who never sings as good you want him to - including 4 decades ago - was good enough; I've heard him before, markedly worse than I did yesterday. Pete's guitar sounded great, and so did his vocals. The other musicians played well, and the backup vocals were good also. They had fun. I kind of felt like I was right there, having fun with them. It was just cool seeing the legends up there, rocking it, in front of the largest TV audience EVER.

Most of the people I was watching with - a large majority - agreed with me. I'd say, "good" to "really good" were the responses. But today, I can't view a single media outlet without hearing about how much they sucked. Why did it suck? How did it suck? Can anyone tell me how or why the performance, or the Who sucked? Seriously.

Was it because SBowl halftime venues suck? Well, that can't matter. It was a SBowl halftime venue - yes the "venue" sucks! Sure I'd like to see them at the Knitting Factory, but the Superbowl wasn't played there.

Was it because they're old? Well, they're old! But they still held their own, and sound better at this stage of their lives than the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and Brian Wilson put together (at their late late late stages)!

Was it the song selection? (M)eh. Sure, I'd personally like to hear other songs, but they're up there playing to millions and millions of people who were hearing them for the first time and/or seeing them for the first time! Why not play the hits?! Played out to us, maybe, but not everyone.

Was it the medley? They got 12 minutes; what's wrong w/ a medley? I loved how they went from "pinball wizard" into "baba o'riley!"

Have you seen the other halftime Superbowl shows? Prince's was as good, perhaps better than the Who's, but no one else has come close. People need to put the 12-minute, Superbowl half-time shows in the proper context, and expect a little less. It's entertainment for a global audience, and if you're lucky, you see a really good performance. The Who's show was worthy rock.

Here's a quote from both Roger and Pete, on their performance, shortly afterwards... Roger: "It didn't even feel like a concert. It's a television show. And what can you do in 12 minutes? I thought it went OK. I understand. It's a TV show. Cameras were everywhere" And Pete: "We were trying to put on a great show. We had as much fun as we could have."

Perhaps Rachel Sklar at Medialite.com put it best: ""If you love The Who and are old enough to remember how awesomely groundbreaking they were, then you loved the 2010 Superbowl Half-Time Show. Amid the flashing lights and super-stadium pyrotechnics, there was a real honest-to-goodness rock concert," she wrote.

I totally agree.

um...can anyone tell me the teams facing off in today's lingerie bowl?

...so Lingerie Bowl VII will be televised during halftime this evening. I've searched plenty on line. I can't find the teams that are facing off against each other! why do I care?!?!

Super Bowl XLIV musings, considerations, predictions and other nonsense...

I have never been so conflicted with considering a winner for a football game. Seriously. Both teams are bleepin’ sick; without question, the best two teams in football. Colts are 16 & 2 right now. If they didn’t sit their top players/starters during the second half, in the only 2 games they did, they’d be 18 and 0; w/ a chance to achieve only the second perfect season in the modern era of football. By the way, the Colts (and the Saints to some extent) proved again, that resting players and taking losses, once the post-season goal of home field thru the playoffs is achieved, works perfectly.

Here's a post from Nov 16th (after week 12, NFL) on my fantasy football msg board when both Saints and Colts were undefeated. Believe it or not, I took flack for posing this obvious question:

"Is it too early to discuss a Colts/Saints superbowl as inevitiable? Colts have whipped off 18 straight regular season wins; they have a defense (not everyone is the Pats offense), and Manning has thrown for 300 yards in 6 of their 8 games! NUTS. And how about the Colts playcalling? it's ridiculous. Do Colts even have an O-Coordinator? And look out for the Saints; their defense is for real as well."

The only team I though could MAYBE beat the Saints was the Vikings; there was no one I thought could beat the Colts.

I’m bored w/ all the numbers and stats at this point (yards per game, points against, blah, yadda, etc), so I’m gonna focus on the other aspects of the teams and matchup. With regards to the numbers, suffice it to say, both teams, on both sides of the ball have very similar numbers; on offense, the numbers are tremendous; on defense, both teams are above average units, but have similar issues w/ consistency and yards against.

The Saints offense has more weapons than the Colts O (#1 offense this season). They have 3 legitimate running backs, who are all good! Pierre Thomas is a personal favorite of mine; a great team player, always positive (I follow him on twitter!), a smart runner, and catches well, out of the backfield. His back-up is Mike Bell, a very hard runner, who’s been averaging 10 carries a game, roughly, through the season. And of course, the still underrated Reggie Bush. Who is awesome. Nevermind all the fantasy-geeks (I myself, am one) crying about him not “putting up the numbers.” If you watch him play, you know. That long run he made for a TD (vs. Vikes?) this post-season, is what he’s capable of on ANY play. The reason he’s not used more is because this offense has SO many other great weapons, there just isn’t a need to use him more. It keeps everyone more energized, less beat up, and even more importantly, keeps the defenses guessing.

They also have a stacked WR corps, probably as good as the Colts, even taking Dallas Clark into account. Marques Colston, who is great, to be sure, might only have the third best set of hand out of them. Robert Meachem (in his third year, I think, and arguably the best WR on the team), and Devery Henderson both can actually catch the ball better; Colston is bigger, more physical and has more experience, which is why he’s the more known, and commands the double team, if any defense chooses to go that route. Lance Moore, their 4thWR is the best #4 in the leaugue! And Jeremy Shockey has proven all year, he can handle anything, when the game or a first down is on the line.

Drew Brees, has been awesome for years. And I mean awesome. If you watched him play for San Diego, you already knew this. Chargers might have a SBowl by now, if they kept him and got rid of Phillip Rivers, instead. He’s about as accurate as Manning and Warner, super-smart, very physical, and a born leader. Not sure how many MVP votes he got, but he should’ve gotten more.

Saints offensive line, however, while it appears very good to me, isn’t as good as the Colts offensive line. That is the only spot on the offense where the Colts have a marked advantage, when comparing offenses.

Colts offense? It’s the kind you dream about. When Manning’s career is eventually over – and it’s gonna be a long time, still, HATERS! – I don’t see any reason he won’t be considered the greatest QB of ALL TIME. He’s a bleepin’ master; he has mastered the QB position. Seriously.

Their running game is slightly above average, but just slightly. Saints is definitely better. Joseph Addai has had a great year for a seasoned veteran, and is definitely a force to catch out of the backfield, whenever Manning needs to go that route; he’s got good hands. Back up Donald Brown, in his first year, appears to be a good runner also. When don’t’ the Colts have good and great running backs, WR’s, tight ends, and QB’s? Seriously. THAT’s ownership. Colts can’t run the ball consistently, but they don’t need to, when you have as much talent in the passing/receiving game as the Colts do.

Speaking of receiving corps. It’s quite extraordinary. Reggie Wayne is one of the best in the league. He has been, is, and will be. Their next best WR is actually their tight end, Dallas Clark. STATS for him. Austin Collie is a rookie NUMBERS? And Pierre Garcon is a second-year guy, and BOTH have fantastic hands! They’re both physical, run amazing routes, and are very smart. It’s because of Peyton, these two already have the mental capacity and football smarts of 5-year players.

All that being said, former coach Tony Dungy is tripping ballz, for making this statement earlier in the week: “I would be absolutely shocked if the Colts lose Sunday.” If he’s serious, he’ll be the only one.

Tired of writing, so I’ll skip over the defense. Both teams have relatively the same type of defenses: any number of individual players are very good, and/or fast, and they fly to the ball and create turnovers. Saints, I think, led the league in Defensive TD’s. Both teams are aggressive, but neither is a shut-down D, or even consistent when they need to be. Here’s an irony, I suppose: since both offenses can, and will, score a lot, the defense will most likely be the deciding factor in the game.

The problem I’m having w/ deciding on a winner, is borne out of not knowing which D is actually going to play better today, or which QB will be able to make more plays, when the D finds the right blend of pressure and coverage. Ugh. Not sure yet.

Coaching edge goes to Saints. I don’t know a damn thing about COLTS coach, except he’s doing a fine job, without question. “Not getting in the way,” is highly underrated, when it comes to coaching in pro sports. Many coaches are in the way all the time (Reid), and can’t see the scoreboard for the clipboard. Or just don’t have any sense about what is actually going on in the field. COLTS coach is smart enough to guide the team, coach the team when necessary, and ‘see’ the team.

But make no mistake, this Saints team is the team that Sean Payton built. Did they award Coach of the Year, yet? Sean Payton (along w/ Brad Childress) is deserving. He truly has a great sense of how a game is going, and possesses a nice blend of simultaneously being both measured and thinking outside the box. He’s a good motivator, and a student of the game.

Experience. Colts have been there, done that. And without question, this is a legitimate advantage. Big, big game experience (and everything that leads up to it), begets more focus in subsequent games. I can assure you, Colts have shed some of the extra baggage – as fun as it is – that has overwhelmed, and still is overwhelming the Saints.

Honestly, I’m calling Colts O vs. Saints D, and Saints D vs Colts O, even. Completely even. I can’t see a single advantage either way. If Dwight Freeney plays, he’s going to be a shell of what he normally is, and a detriment to the team. The guy hasn’t STOOD ON HIS FEET all week, including last night’s practice. And ESPN, NFL Network, and other sports media should be ashamed of themselves for making him the lead story all week Sad, sad, journalism. Raheem Brock (former Eagle!), his backup, is a DE that could start on most teams in the NFL. He’ll be fine. It’s a hit, but he’ll be fine. Both QB’s are SO good, cerebrally, they’ll both be able to do almost anything they want against the opposing defense. THAT being said, the D will makes a little more plays, maybe even just ONE more play than the other, will decide the game. That notwithstanding, these defenses are just about equal.

So confused…

Who do I WANT to win? Even that is tough! I’ve been a Colts fan since the mid-70’s, and I still have fond memories of seeing some Colts games at Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium, with my dad (who’s folks lived just outside Baltimore), when Ted Marchibroda was coach, and Lydell Mitchell and Bert Jones led the team! Oh, and how could I forget the Colts cheerleaders! To this day, the Colts’ cheerleaders had the best costumes, featuring a single blue upside horseshoe, on the rear (forget which side!) of white short shorts, and almost knee-high, white boots; awesome (couldn’t believe it, looked on line and couldn’t find a single pic of this era’s Colts cheerleaders)!

I love the colors, the logo (the upside down horseshoe is one of my favorite luck charms), and have loved that team through the ages. I also think Bill Polian and the Colts ownership is the best in football. Talk about leading, and managing a team! I’ll take this moment to state I think the Eagles ownership sucks, and has for years. Oh, and I don’t have all those other problems Baltimore fans have w/ the Colts leaving town in the “dead of night.” Whatever. It’s the NFL. Dumb, annoying shit happens.

And the Saints? They’re an awesome team, one of the most talented offenses I’ve ever seen in my 38 years of being a football fan, likeable, and if they win, they deserve it. The fans deserve it. And the town of New Orleans is one f America’s best. And they’ve never won. It’s very easy to pull for them.

So, for the first time ever, I decided I am not rooting for a team in the Superbowl - awesome!

Okay, a couple very specific predictions:

---Bush will run back at least 1 PR for a TD. Now, this is predicated on the Colts not “pitching around” him; which, they should be doing, by the way. He can’t break on if he never has the ball. They may – and I would, If I was coach – use him on Kickoffs.

---There will not be an onsides kick except a desperation kick. A surprise or strategical one is out of the question. Neither one of these defenses is a good enough match up against the other’s offense. That would be dumb.

---Manning will throw at least one interception.

---Sean Payton will engineer a very nice game plan, and call an excellent game, w/ a few obscure/trick plays thrown in. I am impressed w/ this guy’s creativity when it comes to play calling.

---The refs will make two inexcusable calls, both, going the Colts way.

---The game day announcers will be incredibly annoying. Find an AM station to listen to.

---The Who will rock at halftime, but Roger Daltry will still sing too much.

Final thoughts on the game…

If Colts take a 14 point lead at ANY point in the game, then Manning and the Colts get their second championship in the last several years (Colts w/ their third overall). The game will still be fun to watch, but Saints cannot come back from that. They would have to get a turnover, or defensive TD or a special teams TD to get back in it and have a chance.

The Saints must – and that cannot be emphasized enough – score on either a special teams TD or defensive TD, and create two turnovers, or they won’t win. It wouldn’t hurt for them to score first either.

For what it’s worth, I did take the Saints and 6 points for a small chunk of change. That decision, at least, I feel fairly confident about.

My absolute, best guess, on the final score:

Saints: 36
Colts: 33

The Saints will win on a long (40 yard+) game-winning field goal, as time runs out.

I'd pay $1000 to punch Oliver North in the face. Seriously. Just sayin'!

You know, I don't say this often, but anti-american, convicted felon, GOP-er, sorry-excuse-for-a-Marine, and all around asshole, Oliver North, deserves to get the living shit beat out of him, or run over by a car, for his latest drivel. He sincerely deserves it. I'm already looking forward to the "good riddance, asshole!" I'm going to shout out when he eventually dies. Just watch this video.

It's the height of irresponsibility, and FOX Noise should be ashamed of themselves. Seriously. They are selling this 100%, untrue ignorant garbage to tens of millions of Americans.

For Oliver North to invoke and equate NAMBLA, and other felonious, psychotic, HETEROSEXUAL adult men who rape, abuse, torture, and physically and mentally scar little boys for life, with adults who actually deserve their civil rights as law-abiding americans, is a FUCKING OUTRAGE! I hate this fucker.

for text, and original piece, go here.

Lookout! Demon Sheep!

This is awesome. Bat-shit-crazy-awesome. This attack ad (3.5 minutes, bottom of this post) for a CA GOP primary, was released 2 days ago, and all things Demon Sheep went viral for 48-hours (and counting). While funny as hell (because it's real!), it's nowhere near as funny as the @demonsheep twitter feed, it spawned (if you like this kind of humor, like I do); check out a few tweets from whatever crazy soul is twittering under the name "Demon Sheep:"-sj

"Offered Todd Palin to help them kill wolves in AK, but he's afraid I'd eat his sled dogs for fun. He's probably right."

"Yes, I have started following some people. How else do you expect me to catch and dismember them?"

"Why do humans worry about 2012? I will never allow you to live that long."

"I am responsible for the very worst atrocities that have befallen mankind: War, Famine, James Cameron's Avatar."

"You know all those pants that are foolishly on the ground? You're welcome."

Here's Jason Linkin's take, from HuffPo: HOLY CRAP, AMERICA. Mere days after a teensy little Orleans Parish Coroner's election offered the opening salvo in the Attack Ad Wars of Campaign 2010, we have this ad from Carly Fiorina, running for the Senate in California that is a straight-up game-changing, shock-and-awe slice of pure, mountain-grown BONKERS.

In this THREE-AND-A-HALF MINUTE LONG video, the Fiorina campaign goes after former California Congressman Tom Campbell, who leads the Republican field in the primary race to unseat incumbent Senator Barbara Boxer. The Fiorina campaign's main point is that Campbell is a "Fiscal Conservative In Name Only." It's a fairly standard issue claim -- or at least it would be, if the video that presented the argument didn't play like Terry Gilliam and Ingmar Bergman collaborated on a campaign-year sequel to "The Wicker Man".

The epic ad begins with a voice-over narrator intoning, "Purity...piety..." against the backdrop of galloping sheep. Then, Monty Python animation kicks in, elevating one sheep on a giant column into the ionosphere. Then: THUNDER! LIGHTNING! Darkening skies! A new voice-over narrator -- the cheapest Morgan Freeman imitator money could buy -- starts impugning Campbell, amid jump cuts of Campbell and sheep and pigs and graphs and quotes, while Satan's opera company chants dark recitatives in the background.

"And sadly, we're just getting started..." Cheap Morgan Freeman says. And sadly, THEY ARE! JUST! GETTING STARTED! More accusations and quotes and scary question marks, until it achieves its apotheosis: DEMON-EYED SHEEP!

By the way: this whole metaphor of Campbell pretending to be a heroic cutter of budgets and limiter of government DOES NOT REALLY WORK when you refer to him as a "wolf in sheep's clothing." Surely, the brave fiscal conservatives are the more vulpine breed! Ideally, the Fiorina campaign would want to contend that Campbell is a SHEEP in WOLVES' clothing. Right? Take off his disguise and he's just another member of the herd? I guess it's hard to work in the DEMON-EYED SHEEP image, in that case.

Also, when the ad gets around to mentioning that Fiorina is the better choice, maybe its makers should have killed the Satan Opera for a more optimistic piece of music?

Fiorina campaign: you should totally call me for ideas!

And OMFG, the poor guy who had to crawl around on all fours in a field wearing a sheep's pelt to make this ad! I have the most pity for that individual. I also have pity for California State Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, the twittering loser who is also running in this primary race that no one takes seriously, and who probably has a sad that he's not earned his own attack ad like this.

That said, this advertisement is just beyond belief. I dare anyone to top this.

snowboarding in downtown Philly (reason #79 Philly rules)!

Saw this on Philebrity (reason #80, Philly rules) yesterday, with this headline: "OK, The Impromptu Temple University Snowboarding Park is Pretty Much the Most Awesome Thing Ever" - and I agree, it is awesome. Check it out. The tipster who submitted this clip to Philebrity, said: "In what other major city can you find an abandoned lot to build a world class snowboard park, lite a fire, set off fireworks, obtain a redbull can (legally?), jib a keg – and not hear one single police siren? Hmmm? I rest my case!”

Ima Betta Jibba Temple University Snowboard Club from Temple U Snowboard Club on Vimeo.

They live among us! The 2010 comprehensive Daily Kos/Research 2000 poll of self-identified republicans

Okay, folks this is too much. The new poll from Markos Moulitsas (a hero of my mine) and Daily Kos. And it's 100% independent and legitimate, as you can read the COMPLETE methodology at bottom of poll. There are links to the complete story, and analysis below; the poll is long, but the the findings are truly extraordinary. The summaries are short, but all are worth reading. This is too damn important to not read, and I sincerely urge you to do so.

I learned years ago, I lived among tens of millions of Americans who aren't that bright (too put it nicely), but honestly, I didn't know it was this many. And I didn't know the extent of their gullibilty (is that a word?!) and ignorance. At a time when information and facts are at everyone's disposal, we STILL have millions of people who apparently forgo fact, for fiction, and choose to believe the craziest batshit out there (it especially helps when Rush/Rove/Hannity/FAUX news tell them what to believe)! Well, in this case, it's solely republicans I'm speaking about, as only self-described republicans were polled independently for this survey. No, not all republicans are clueless (in all seriousness, I have plenty of friends and neighbors who are republicans, and many of them are far from clueless; not all of them though). But according to these poll results, LOTS of them are! These are their OWN answers! Just look at them! So w/out further rambling, I'll try and get the whole of the poll on this post, w/ a few summaries/results printed, and links to the original stuff.-sj

by Kos
Tue, Feb 02, 2010, at 08:58:03 AM PST

As I've mentioned before, I'm putting the finishing touches on my new book, American Taliban, which catalogues the ways in which modern-day conservatives share the same agenda as radical Jihadists in the Islamic world. But I found myself making certain claims about Republicans that I didn't know if they could be backed up. So I thought, "why don't we ask them directly?" And so, this massive poll, by non-partisan independent pollster Research 2000 of over 2,000 self-identified Republicans, was born.

The results are nothing short of startling.

Ultimately, these results explain why it is impossible for elected Republicans to work with Democrats to improve our country. Their base are conspiracy mongers who don't believe Obama was born in the United States, that he is the second coming of Lenin, and that he is racist against white people. They already want to impeach him despite the glaringly obvious lack of high crimes or misdemeanors. If any Republican strays and decides to do the right thing and try to work in a bipartisan fashion, they suffer primaries and attacks. Even the Maine twins have quit cooperating out of fear of their homegrown teabaggers.

Given what their base demands, and this poll illustrates them perfectly, it's no wonder the GOP is the party of no.

(just a few brief results followed by thought; click on link just below these for the rest! - sj)

Should Barack Obama be impeached, or not?
Yes39
No32
Not Sure29
...for what? who the heck knows. who needs high crimes and misdemeanors when...

Do you believe Barack Obama wants the terrorists to win?
Yes24
No43
Not Sure33
...not just a quarter of Republicans believe this ludicrous premise, but another third think it's a matter open to debate. How do you negotiate with a party whose rank and file are that divorced from reality?

Do you believe Barack Obama was born in the United States, or not?
Yes42
No36
Not Sure22
...We still have over a half of Republicans who don't think Obama was born in the US or think it's a matter open to debate.

click here for the summary, breakdown, captions and comments.

click here for the actual & complete poll, hard numbers, questions, answers and methodology.

"Needle In Your Eye" by War on Drugs

War on Drugs is a rock band from my hometown, Philly. Kurt Vile used to be in them. Adam Granofsky who is in the band, also plays w/ Kurt Vile now. Honestly, don't know a lot of their catalog, but if it's as good as this, then I'm gonna love 'em. This, from Wiki: "The group's sound has been described as influenced by Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, and My Bloody Valentine." Click here for their myspace page.

awesome quotes I heard this week...

"You don't have to be straight to be in the military; you just have to be able to shoot straight." - Barry Goldwater

I LOVE this. And from one of the Grandfathers of the conservative movement! This has been tossed around a lot the last few days, as the Obama administration is finally getting around to fulfilling a promise it made during the Presidential campaign: getting rid of the ludicrous "Don't ask, don't tell" (otherwise known in the tweet/status update/mobile device world as DADT) policy we have in the military. It's time. Look, there was a time when DADT was better than nothing. And it definitely was an important 'baby step.' And of course, it was Democrats who cared enough to pass it. Time's have changed, however. Right? Or left? For an up to the minute report (and links to others), on Defense Secretary Robert Gate's and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff's standoff with select members of the Senate today, click here.



"Fucking retarded." - Rham Emanuel. He said this last August, at a weekly strategy session featuring liberal groups and White House aides. Some attendees said they were planning to air ads attacking conservative Democrats who were balking at Mr. Obama's health-care overhaul.

Now, I love this quote too, but with an (*) asterisk. Asterisk: The word "retarded" is offensive to many, and the President's Chief of Staff should know this, and should've used better judgement (it's 2010, now Rahm; we use the word, "leotarded" in these instances now!). But the sentiment he was conveying, I agree with. And his directness I find refreshing. And it's FUNNY as hell. And I say this as a hardcore liberal/dem, who's got all kinds of problems with Obama's lack of leadership on healthcare/insurance reform. These particular Dems just weren't looking at the big picture. For the original Wall St. Journal piece, click here. To read about Sarah Palin calling for his resignation, and more fallout/analysis, click here.



"Bon Jovi. Their own tribute band." - John Agnello, via twitter, during their Grammy performance, 2 nites ago.

Seriously. I know Jon is a very nice person, a homeboy, a BIG Obama supporter, and highly charitable. But, what. the. fuck. How many more decades do I need to watch this shitty band perform on TV? How many more? I NEVER got this tired of the Rolling Stones, or Dick Clarke, or Evander Holyfield when they never went away! C'mon!