compassion

for some reason, all of a sudden, fox/onion is concerned about unemployment, now why would that be?

could it be that the Dow is headed back toward 10K? hmmm, they don’t seem to ever mention the stock market anymore, wonder why??

of course, the drumbeat of socialism continues – the illogical arguments that the government, while able to run the most competent military force on the planet, wouldn’t be able to administer the health care system. That as the only high-income industrialized society on the face of earth without some sort of national health care program, we would be turning French or Canadian if we came up with a way to prevent people from dying or suffering unnecessarily. That if allowed to prosper without the shackles of regulation the free-market would surely create the perfect solution for the millions of people who clearly choose on a daily basis to go without insurance of any kind…

Then we’ve got the birthcertificatedeniers- what up? i mean, really, come on, what up?

so, it’s very, very nice to have a grown up in the white house, and if he can get past all the haters from the other side and stick to his guns, (yes, it was stupidity), he could turn into a great one.

and he plays golf, and has fun doing it!

funny, to me he’s pretty conservative, but to them he’s like Hitler and Stalin rolled into one – go figure

Two versions of one great song

the background chatter is dialogue and sound effects from the show Sons of Anarchy – hopefully some day this version will be available for all to enjoy without having to “watch” it on youtube…

just funkin groovy

and now the missing credits: Ivan Neville Keys/vocs – the Sublime George Porter Jr. Bass/vocs – Leo Nocentelli gitbox – Raymond Weber drums/vocs – and, the Great Willie Tee Keys/vocs?

buncha freakin ninnies

wow, tea parties

of course, anything sean hannity thinks is a good idea requires, at the very least, serious investigation, but reviving the boston tea party less than 3 months into the new administration’s tenure gives off the distinct odor of desperation, and the undeniable mental stench of downright idiocy.

hamfisted, kneejerk responses to anything this president says or does has led even bernie goldberg to scolding him for an extended period, and if you pay any attention at all to the fox/onion you know that when that guy’s not kissing up to a host, host has done sumthin mighty stoopid…

so i’m sure joe the plumber was at a tea party, spewing something about the most complex economy in the history of civilization, hectoring those who somehow know even less than he about how little guys need to take the country back, blah blah

but my favorite moment of this tax day was when I heard hannity after an interview with some clown who wrote a song about the death of detroit, and the bad money guys and politicians, he just so seamlessly went from that right into an ad for a ruth’s chris steakhouse – yes the place where dinner for four probably costs about as much as rent for a month does for all the faithful listeners of this blowhard, where you are so much more likely to run into a lobbyist, politician, banker or tv knownothing, than an auto worker, military person or even an ordinary plumber.

Karl Malone

As tough as he was in the paint, the deliveryman laid it on the Manatee last night – barely letting other guests get a word in edgewise. He spoke of how people don’t want to hear bickering about who wants to do what, just that they want things to work. The chin could barely contain the talking points and tried to engage in a civil conversation, but there was nothing doing, he had no chance.

In a perfect world, he looks up at Karl, says, “my god, what a shameful, degenerate ass I’ve been for all these years, maybe, just maybe, if I start right now I can somehow redeem myself for the petty, pitiful, ridiculous way I’ve behaved for so long.”

ha, five minutes later, back to the Obamabashfest that is the stock and trade of all those clowns.

it really is better than Nascar

making believe

politicians make believe that the process is pure – expecting reasonable, rational human beings to somehow agree with them that they do not ever trade favors, engage in quid pro quo, but somehow otherwise manage to exist and function in some perfect moral bubble that we are never to question, unless they are caught red-handed.
two great pieces in the times today – one about one, yes ONE! senator admitting that there IS IN FACT a duly appointed junior senator from the state of Illinois, the other about the mind boggling financial mess that the Government seems to have no clue how to deal with, other than to repeat past mistakes, and continue to have the SEC be a feeder organization to the highest echelons of Wall Street.

AAAAIIIIIIEEEEEE

corruption

hmmm, all fitzgerald could do in the plamegate case was get a dude named scooter for lying – so he’s the best they could come up with for the case of the century… feeling pretty good about blago’s chances, myself.

The Mighty Q-Tip, ode-city man

No, not that one

 

 

 

 

 

these

the official web site is all about “beauty”

but this perfect product is about much, much more than just beauty.

the history of what was originally the baby gay  is sketchy and mildly interesting, but it makes no difference for me – this is one of my favorite “products” in all of existence – and to my grave I shall be grateful to the man who put the cotton ball on the stick.

it’s possible that i abuse the noble q-tip, but i’ve done far more questionable, dangerous and immoral deeds.

sure, i use them for mundane purposes such as cleaning electronics, swabbing on some neosporin, but one of the great pleasures in life for me is the full ear clean.

i know that even famous, athletically gifted geniuses have punctured their eardrums going a centimeter too deep with the q, but that does not deter me. going slowly and with care, reaching the very limits of reasonable inquiry, a warmly moistened swab perilously as near the brain as seemingly possible yields indescribably fantastic sensations,  removing that smallest, remotest smudge of natural wax inspires triumphal, spine tingling freedom. locating an even more substantial pocket of the substance, requiring the use, of course, of several fresh, dry attacks from the appropriately unanticipated angles, only brings the feeling of purge to a more satisfyingly profound and joyous end.  

the cats can enjoy the cleaning to a degree, some far, far more than the others, and the sympathetic resonance in my understanding, coupled with the massive quantities of dirt and other organic matter that can be extracted from these huge feline receptacles, is another, utterly fulfilling exercise in luxuriant endo-massage.

well, well, well, who knew that was gonna come out?

 

so, anyways, here’s a raised glass to the dude who stole the idea from his wife, (wonder if that’s even happened before or since?), one of the true unsung heros of humanity, i for one would not be shocked if at some point his name found his way on a nobel or other prize of great repute and prestige.

 

*** Medical Disclaimer – I am not a medical doctor, and in no way should this post be construed as an endorsement of using, or suggestion to use Q-tip brand cotton swabs in a way other than that recommended by the manufacturer.

one more/last word about palin

crafty

(pardoning the turkey and making sure there is bloodshed in the interview, she is quite brilliant that way)

 

and finally, Dick Cavett with a wonderful wondering on words, wordiness, worldliness, woodiness, etc.

Dicky C

forgot about this thing

i’m now watching the documentary torturing democracy for the second time.

i was not a fan of the supreme court installing a president in the utterly farcical, unprecented, and allegedly unprecendential manner in which they acted in 2000. ( you may remember the offending language – “Our consideration is limited to the present circumstances, for the problem of equal protection in election processes generally presents many complexities.”  and of course – the offending opinion ) (ironically, the decision is of course now being cited by lower courts as valid precedent, and why shouldn’t it be?).

i was dismayed, and continue to be dismayed, that the majority of people seem to think that the criminal acts carried out by less than two football squads worth of terrorists, (with boxcutters, no less) was a de facto declaration of war, which now has us spending billions of dollars a month in two different countries, fighting against regimes that had nothing to do with the hijackings and subsequent massacres.

[please don't get me wrong, they were heinous acts, political statements, and as written earlier, certainly CRIMINAL. The administration, however, used the incidents for political purposes and have left us in an ethical quagmire, (in addition to the huge financial sinkhole, and most important, the dead and injured members of the military) that must have the founding fathers doing 720s in their graves.]

i was appalled, but not at all surprised, that the administration was given another at-bat in 2004, thanks again, all you freakin brilliant voters, (and to whoever decided that John Kerry was ever going to get elected…)

and now, after the redemption of the 2008 elections, (in which nearly 60 million Americans actually voted to have Sarah Palin next in line for the most important job in the world, by the way), we find ourselves faced with financial problems that have been festering for decades, but bought to an ugly head within the last few years, environmental problems that likewise have been brewing for generations, and perhaps the most fundamental issue to be addressed by our federal government in fifty years- our moral character as a nation.

that the president-elect has made it a priority to close the facility at Guantanamo is a great first step. NYT has a little editorial about the long list of outrages and the very important first step to reclaiming our rightful place in the high grounds of the global community.

i still believe that we may have elected the more conservative presidential candidate this year, and i don’t mean it in a disparaging way at all. watching the cabinet form, even with the Clinton sideshow, we see the thoughtful and well-measured movements that were the hallmark of the Obama campaign – which also bodes well for our near as well as more distant future.

internet bull CRAP

we woke up this morning at 5 am to take advantage of an alleged internet promotion at “Leading Hotels of the World”  - the berri had read about it on the la times travel blog – and the offer was for two nights at a hotel for $19.28 per night.

for the first 50 straight minutes, the following page appeared:

“Sorry! Due to the overwhelming number of consumers currently trying to access this promotion, your request is being delayed momentarily. Please be patient, don’t get discouraged, and retry in a few seconds by clicking here, or by going back to http://www.lhw.com/1928.”

i then received the following addendum, from time to time, after being redirected to http://www.lhw.com/promoload/technical.htm:

“More information is available by dialing 1-800-643-8881 within the USA & Canada. Elsewhere please use 1-407-681-6134.”

Eighty-three minutes after i began my tireless attempts to get through, appeared the following:

“Thank you for your interest in the 1928 Promotion.

We regret to inform you that the more than 6000 room nights available at the start of this promotion have all been sold. Congratulations to the lucky participants who were able to get a reservation as part of this great offer! 

Still interested in travelling with us? While we can’t offer you rooms at USD 19.28, we can still offer some great values, including bundles of 3 nights for the price of 2, 4 for the price of 3, or 7 for the price of 5, as well as discounted weekend rates and other Leading Offers.”

as a grizzled veteran of the golf tee time telephone/internet reservation wars and a relatively savvy internet surfer, this whole thing is sitting quite poorly with me.

at NO point during the “80 minute” promotion did i get through to the actual website.

a couple times i was redirected to http://www.lhw.com/1928_SIGNUP.aspx?ext=1928 from the lhw.com/1928 address, but in all that time, not once did I see anything other than the little page their webperson created – ADVISING me to be “patient,” SUGGESTING that I “not get discouraged,” and DIRECTING me to “try again in a few seconds.”

with my new google chrome browser, it was very simple to keep opening new windows at an incredibly high rate of speed, (and i was absolutely relentless), but not once, NOT ONE SINGLE TIME, did i get anywhere but their little – “oh, we’re so very, very sorry, that you can only access this little page that our webperson so creatively put up so that you would keep trying, and trying and trying to get through”

q – so, do I think they actually sold “more than 6000″ rooms during their promotion? 

a – i’d have been much more impressed if they gave me an exact number – like the $19.28 number that was the basis of this whole thing.

q – do I see myself visiting one of these “leaders” anytime soon?

a – um, probably not.

q – do they care?

a – is Sarah Palin qualified to be the President, or even Vice President of the United States of America?

i guess this is where having a highly trafficked blog could make publishing a rant feel like it might do something, but it’s also nice to just get this crap off one’s chest, too.

oh yeah, it was  also  great fun sitting around the kitchen with YB before sun-up, listening to Dylan and getting screwed over by huge, multi national leisure conglomerate… 

a scam? unfortunately, in my mind, that’s what i feel i was a victim of today

.

.

update: have gone back to the latimes website where i discovered the “deal” and they direct us back to the offending website where this is now the apology of the hour:

Due to the overwhelming number of consumers participating in this promotion, we have indeed experienced technical difficulties. Despite our efforts to carefully manage and prepare for this worldwide promotion, we were unable to meet the demand.

Please accept our sincere apologies. You will be receiving another opportunity to participate in this offer shortly via the email you provided to register for this promotion.

In the meantime, please rest assured that we will not be saving your email address in our database for any future solicitations.

Thank you for your understanding.

The Leading Hotels of the World, Ltd.

back at the latimes, we obviously weren’t the only cranky socal socallers early this a.m., check out the short list of commenters…

http://travel.latimes.com/daily-deal-blog/index.php/roundup-leading-hote-2897/