Blogging Psuedonyms

So I normally don't like to post to other blogs. Unless those blogs are particularly unheard of or just wicked cool. Yes, wicked cool. But, here a well known political blog that's name ends in the feminine "ette" suffix, yet they are amazed when people refer to it with a feminine pronoun, describes the dangers of using blogging pseudonyms and how they just might not work as well as you'd think they would.

Moral of the story? You other fools better come up with a plan B in case someone finds out who you are. It's a good thing I really am the Scarlet Pimpernel!

Wait, what?

"Chris Kennedy, the son of the late Robert F. Kennedy, is taking steps to run for Senate and could announce his candidacy as early as next week, a source close to the Kennedy family told CNN Wednesday. . . . If elected, Chris Kennedy would follow in the footsteps of his father, Robert, who represented New York in the Senate before being assassinated in 1968." Is CNN predicting Chris Kennedy is going to get assassinated?

blago clones

I know this story dropped yesterday, but just heard the NPR article interviewing her on "All Things Considered". She comes across just slightly less of a megalomaniac and crazy than our own disgraced politician. You can find the audio online, here's a transcript. My favorite parts are her being confronted with straight-away questions and not just ignoring them, but feigning complete ignorance.

MR. SIEGEL: Yes, but the reports – I don’t know how partial they are, but they are based on people who have seen transcripts of wiretaps. And they’re very detailed. One, The New York Times reports today that in a call, the caller offered to get Haim Saban, a big political donor and a supporter of Israel, to tell Nancy Pelosi that he wouldn’t donate money if you didn’t get the chairmanship of the intelligence committee.

REP. HARMAN: (Chuckles.)

MR. SIEGEL: Any conversation like that, ever?

REP. HARMAN: Well, how do we know?

it's a yes or no question Jane. christ.

Murder, Porno, and Politics

Phil Spector killed a broad and someone found a dead porn star. Coincidence?

All Hail Senator Franken!

Time for your pictures of Hollywood Office Holders (all Republican, by the way)

WOOT!

So Barry Obama is our president, officially. And he screwed up the oath of office! Good thing the oath doesn't matter because he was technically President during that catchy John Williams tune. That tune was actually just a variation on Variations of a Shaker Melody. Not a good time to plagiarize dooder.

Blagojevich

Okey dokey, so it looks like it's my job to post about Blagojevich getting charge. Here we go . . . .

On Tuesday, Blagojevich was arrested by the FBI. He is being charged with: 1) mail and wire fraud conspiracy, and 2) corruptly soliciting and demanding bribes. Though I'm not really sure if there's any non-corrupt way to solicit and demand bribes. (Also, apparently this violates Title 18 of the United States Code, Section 666!)

Apparently the bribes revolved around the Trib selling Wrigley with State assistance in exchange for them firing some people critical of Blago. Since this likely would've involved mail/phones that can cross state lines, the feds get involved. Going back to this document, check out paragraph 13, on page 7. That's a list of all the corrupt things he's being charged with:
a) Taking bribes for state commission appointments, state contracts, etc. The next two items are going to get more attention in the press, cause they involve Obama and the Cubs, but this is the bread and butter. This is what got the FBI's attention in the first place five or so years ago. Most of the complaint involves this shit (through page 43 of 78). Apparently, Blago kicked into overdrive for this because new State Ethic laws, effective January 1, severely limit the amount of campaign contributions an individual can receive.
b) Trib/Wrigley deal. Why he'd try to extort a newspaper that could, you know, report that shit? I don't know. A good line from the complaint, paragraph 73: "During the call [regarding the Trib's editorials], ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s wife can be heard in the
background telling ROD BLAGOJEVICH to tell Deputy Governor A “to hold up that
fucking Cubs shit. . . fuck them.”" Stay classy, Peggy B



c) Selling Obama's empty Senate seat for Secretary of Health and Human Services in the Obama Administration. (Could be an uh-oh for Obama, or at least someone close to him.) Apparently he was also willing to take a job working for a union which a bidder was willing to try to work about for Blago and a union favored by the bidder. (Interesting, hopefully I'll remember to look in to that)


So this shit is getting mad attention in the press, as it should. (2,500 news hits in the first day) So what can I say that hasn't already been said? Let's deal with what should happen to Blago.

Lisa Madigan wants the Supreme Court of Illinois to kick Blago out. I'm not 100% sure on how this'll work and I don't think anyone else is too sure about this one either. I think she was performing her due diligence on how she can help get the jerk out of office.

Here's an article from Slate that covers the rest. Yeah, I'm copping out, but I got finals and it's my lady's birthday today and I got shit to do. More on this later and, most importantly, my thoughts on the Slate article. Pop quiz tomorrow.

BAD PUN ALERT

I gave Sarah Palin a pearl necklace! (Yowza!)

A Question of Loyalty

Aides to Governor Palin have been issued subpoenas regarding alleged abuse of power by the Governor. "As state employees, our clients have taken an oath to uphold the Alaska Constitution . . . . However, our clients are also loyal employees subject to the supervision of the governor . . . . On behalf of our clients, we respectfully ask that you withdraw the subpoenas directed to our clients and thereby relieve them from the circumstance of having to choose where their loyalties lie."

That's not clever editing, that's what was stated. The lawyers don't want to make their clients to choose between the CONSTITUTION (albeit the Alaskan Constitution) and the Governor. I wonder how this is going to play out. Just kidding, the Department of Justice won't be around long enough for that!

I like your style, Palin!

Double Standard

Remember that whole Reverend Wright fiasco with Obama? Looks like Palin has crazy church shit of her own:

"Palin now attends the Wasilla Bible Church. She was there on August 17, just days before entering the national spotlight. David Brickner, the founder of Jews for Jesus, was a speaker. He told congregants that terrorist attacks on Israel were God's "judgment" of Jews who haven't embraced Christianity. Brickner said, "Judgment is very real and we see it played out on the pages of the newspapers and on the television. When a Palestinian from East Jerusalem took a bulldozer and went plowing through a score of cars, killing numbers of people. Judgment -- you can't miss it.""

Yeah, that's what the dood said. Read it again, it's not going to change. Apparently Hamas terrorists are really agents of God. Or something like that. There's more:

"Pastor Ed Kalnin, the senior pastor of Palin's former Pentecostal church, has also come under fire for his comments. In 2004, he told church members if they voted for John Kerry for president, they wouldn't get into heaven. He told them, "I question your salvation.""

Not as bad as the whole "Jews are going to be killed by God" thing, but still pretty bad. Especially considering they ought to lose their tax-exempt status for that shit. But I know what you're thinking, "But like Obama, can't she just say she doesn't agree with her priest?" So let's see what she says herself:

"Her campaign says she doesn't mix her faith with government business. But Palin did ask her audience to pray for $30 billion natural gas pipeline she is on a mission to build in Alaska. In the video Palin says, "I think God's will has to be done in unifying people and companies to get that gas pipeline built. So pray for that ... I can do my job there in developing my natural resources. But all of that doesn't do any good if the people of Alaska's heart is not good with God.""

And:

Speaking of the troops in Iraq, Palin says on the video, ""Pray for our military men and women who are striving do to what is right. Also for this country, that our leaders, our national leaders, are sending them out on a task that is from God. That's what we have to make sure that we're praying for -- that there is a plan, and that plan is God's plan.""

So God wants a natural gas pipeline and a war in Iraq. So she's mixing politics and religion, we've seen 8 years of that already. But I don't know about this kind of religion, not to judge or anything, but we are talking about possibly being "Leader of the Free World" and having nukes and shit:

"Palin's former pastor, Tim McGraw, says that like many Pentecostal churches, some members speak in tongues, although he says he's never seen Palin do so. Church member Caroline Spangler told CNN, "When the spirit comes on you, you utter things that nobody else can understand ... only God can understand what is coming out of our mouths." Some Pentecostals from Assembly of God also believe in "faith healing" and the "end times" -- a violent upheaval that they believe will deliver Jesus Christ's second coming."

Ooh. So this "end times" is a violent upheaval. And then Jesus comes. Who doesn't want to meet Jesus? Not Sarah Palin, I bet. With all those nuclear weapons at her (possible) disposal, I bet she can bring the "end times" pretty quick, right?

Politics

Sorry I've been away for awhile, but classes have started again. So on to the postings:

McCain has chosen Alaska Governor Palin as his running mate. $5 says that if Obama had chosen Hillary as a running mate, Palin would still be watching icebergs and running Eskimo pie bake sales or whatever they do in Alaska. Though she is kind of cute, in a Tina Fey kind of way. Or at least cuter than Biden. Either way, if the McCain camp keeps running "Obama is not experienced enough" lines, having a first term governor of one of the smallest populated states in the union isn't really going to help. More on Palin later tonight. Stay tuned!

Oh yeah, Obama gtave a speech last night that was pretty good.

Why Won't She Just Go Away?

But the buzz is that Clinton may take it a step further and have her name formally placed before the convention, complete with nominating speeches, seconding speeches and all the hoopla they produce."


(Picture created by the loving plaster encased hands of Driznastic in exchange for 3 PBR and a half a pack of Newports . . . delicious)

Who is That Masked Douchebag?

So after reading about the new wildlife regulations that are to be published by the Department of Interior and Secretary Dirk Kempthorne (what a douche name), I got to asking myself, "Who is Secretary Douchebag?" So I did some digging. Ok, I checked out wikipedia. I'll highlight the important parts for you who don't like to click:

- He's from Idaho
- He hates the environment
- He was executive vice president of the Idaho Builders Association, not really a pro-environment group
- He holds the record for his position as Secretary for being the least active in putting species on the endangered list
- Early in his career, he was state public affairs officer for FMC, otherwise known as Food Machines and Chemicals. Sounds environmental to me.
- During his tenure at FMC, the corporation was rocked by the Ivan Boesky insider trading scandal. Coincidence? I think not!
- The guy who succeeded Kempthorne's senate seat was named Crapo. Apparently Idahoans only vote for people with funny/douchebag names.
- And apparently Dirk was such a douchebag Idaho had to change it's laws in order to stop him from taking corporate money while he was Governor. The law is called the "Bribery and Corrupt Influences Act".
- He's a douchebag

Do I belong on the internet?

Sometimes people question the choices they have made in life. They wake up one day and they say "Wait, putting misspelled captions on pictures of cats is something that would entertain a retard" or "Downloading music is kinda unethical if you really think about it" or "I hate everyone on the internet, but especially liberals, neocons, independents, Paultards, and Clinton supporters"

It is times like this in our lives where we ask ourselves "Is the entertainment value worth all the stupid bullshit i find as soon as I log on?"

To answer that question, click here. If nothing makes you laugh, you should probably just stick to AOL.

and it begins ...

So you know how there's about a thousand movies that depict some kind of bleak world future where corporations run everything, and its just soooo crazy because that would never happen, right? Besides, everyone knows that aside from lobbyists, special interest groups and huge private "gifts" given to politicians; corporations don't involve themselves with the government! They just get politicians to sign bills that favor their industry, hand out cute logo-emblazoned golf balls, and control the government from behind the scenes. Big business would never outright tell people how or who to vote for ...

Wal-Mart Stores Inc said on Friday it has held meetings with U.S. store managers warning them of issues that could arise if Democrats win power and pass a law that would make it easier for workers to unionize, but stressed it was not telling workers how to vote.

Now, call me paranoid, but when a company that has a larger economic presence than a small-to-medium country starts "suggesting" to its employees on how to vote ... well ... shoots ... I guess I'll just wait in line for my soylent green like everyone else ...

yeah, it's called "checks and balances"

it's what that whole "US Constitution" thing is sorta-kinda based on ...

Judge rejects Bush's 'absolute' immunity argument against subpoenas

i.d.i.o.t.s.

Why do I feel like 90% of my time on The Bluntest is spent pointing out what idiots people are.

here's my latest find of idiocy, courtesy of "Luke Boggs a writer living in Alpharetta"

his story Obama's frequent regrets may make us sorry

anyone with a 3rd grade education (even an American 3rd grade education) can immediately see through/debunk this "article" ... my heightened annoyance stems from the combination of this being on Google News' main page and me being on my 5th beer. my favorite quote ...

So what jumped out at me was how quickly Obama regretted his decision. And that, in turn, made me wonder how often the senator has regretted other choices. Answer: pretty often. (Googling "Obama" and "regrets" yields more than a million hits.)

(the "decision" Obama regretted was to put his kiddies on the teevee)

Ol' Boggy then goes on to describe exactly three (3) times Obama has "regretted" something. One (1) for each year 2006-2008. First off, 3 regrets in 3 years for someone who is NEW to the scrutiny of the public eye is a pretty good record. Especially since one of the "Regrets" listed was letting his daughters be on Entertainment Tonight, or whatever show it was. I dunno, maybe there's a direct link there to National Security Policy I'm just not seeing. Just because Obama acknowledged making mistakes doesn't indict him as the only politicians who DOES make mistakes. Bush's M.O. has been the political equivalent of sticking your fingers in your ears and screaming "NAHNAHNAHNAHNAHNAH". Really, all of this makes me wonder; what is with this strange national obsession against a president showing humility? I understand the current precedence (of at least the past 8 years) is that our Commander-in-Chief does what he damn-well-pleases and not-never-no-how apologizes for anything. But ...... I mean, even conservatives don't like Bush anymore, so what gives? Have people already forgotten what happens when a head strong president does what he wants? We end up in 2 quagmire wars with no end and no purpose, a faltering economy and a severely damaged ecological state. If this is the best The Right can come up with against Obama, they should take those McCain campaign bucks and hire Karl Rove back. Though he's so busy ducking subpoenas from Congress he might not have time ...

oh, and i'm just taking a break from freelance work right now ... s'only reason i'm up and mostly sober at 3am ...

########ADDENDUM

the folks over at Bad Idea Blog read the same article and had a similar reaction.

my fellow bluntesters

are weak sauce.

hey! here's a guy (Scott McClellan) that used to be a spokesman for bush and now (!) he wrote a whole book detailing how the administration is/was "mired in propaganda and political spin and at times playing loose with the truth."

... shocking, truly shocking.

Fox News contributor and former White House adviser Karl Rove said on that network Tuesday that the excerpts from the book he's read sound more like they were written by a "left-wing blogger" than his former colleague.

i think i just like the idea of karl rove reading Daily KoS and MoveOn ...

whatever.

just as bad as the rest of these slobs

but check this out ... happened to be in a position to watch the daily show the other day and caught this ... jon stewart really tears a new one into former undersecretary of defense douglas feith ... he just wrote a book and insists that there was no intentional misleading of the american public in the months before the invasion of the war ... his tenacity is impressive, but he talks like he has been brainwashed by fox news ... jon stewart doesn't shy away from asking him some real questions and not taking his bullshit answers seriously ...



here's part 2

IM N UR STEYT

FYRN UR PROZEKEWTERS!

sometimes i'm just compelled to write like that.
sorry.

looks like rove might have had his sticky fingers all up in the land of lincoln's cornhole.

As a federal probe into Gov. Blagojevich's administration heated up in late 2004, there were discussions between GOP powerbroker Robert Kjellander and Bush White House insider Karl Rove to oust corruption-busting U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald from his job, according to a man whom prosecutors want to testify at Tony Rezko’s trial.

this is only interesting if you follow illinois state politics.
which, i'm pretty sure, most illinoisians don't even do.

quicky

its my day off, i shouldn't be here ...

cool little graph comparing the brits and yankees on certain key political/national/moral/environmental issues ... i was surprised to find that yanks n brits both dont like teh immigants ... unfortunately i wasn't surprised that most americans still think that 6000 years ago there was a garden with happy naked people frolicking with animals until a snake made one eat a piece of fruit thusly banishing them from this garden. comon america.

america + brain (aka any kind of critical thought) = britain.

and

i now have a new standard for hair metal.



aight, im gonna go get breakfast.