Sunday, March 1, 2009

Keith Olbermann is on fire.

I know most people consider Keith Olbermann to be liberal jerk-off material, but this is really is so spot on.






^ Keith Olbermann and Eugene Robinson roast Joe The Plumber.





^ Tom DeLay wants Obama to fail.


As an aside, it's nice that someone is finally saying it. Reagan didn't decrease the size of government. He didn't decrease government spending. For all of the bullshit aggrandizing of Reagan and searching for a "new Reagan"; if the GOP were to meet the actual Ronald Reagan, freshly resurrected from the grave like Jesus, they would pass him up as being "not Reagan enough." That's because the Reagan that the GOP harps so much about NEVER existed.





^ Is Michelle Bachmann really that stupid? Moreover, is the audience really that dumb to believe her?





^ How is it that this kind of massive fraud against our troops and against our nation has gone so unmitigated? That is unpatriotic.




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Bobby Jindal caught in a spindle. That was bad wasn't it?

Oh, Bobby Jindal. Not only did many of the GOP think your speech sucked, but it turns out that you lied your ass off about your retelling of events in Katrina.

It looks like Bobby Jindal's staff has been trying to do some damage limitation on that phony Katrina story -- with some help from Politico. But it's blowing up in their faces.

Picking up on an earlier post at Daily Kos, we wrote a post yesterday that raised questions about a key anecdote in Bobby Jindal's big Tuesday night speech.

You can watch the key excerpt here, but here's the transcript:

During Katrina, I visited Sheriff Harry Lee, a Democrat and a good friend of mine. When I walked into his makeshift office I'd never seen him so angry. He was yelling into the phone: 'Well, I'm the Sheriff and if you don't like it you can come and arrest me!' I asked him: 'Sheriff, what's got you so mad?' He told me that he had put out a call for volunteers to come with their boats to rescue people who were trapped on their rooftops by the floodwaters. The boats were all lined up ready to go - when some bureaucrat showed up and told them they couldn't go out on the water unless they had proof of insurance and registration. I told him, 'Sheriff, that's ridiculous.' And before I knew it, he was yelling into the phone: 'Congressman Jindal is here, and he says you can come and arrest him too!' Harry just told the boaters to ignore the bureaucrats and start rescuing people.

In our post, we reported -- among other red flags -- that we couldn't find any news reports that put Jindal on the ground in the affected area during the time when a boat rescue would have been needed. As we noted, we called Jindal's office twice before posting to ask them to verify the incident, but heard nothing back.

This morning, Politico's Ben Smith, noting that we and others had raised questions about Jindal's story, posted a response from the governor's chief of staff, Timmy Teepell:

It was in the days following the storm. Sheriff Lee was a hero who worked tirelessly to rescue those in danger, and he didn't take kindly to bureaucrats getting in his way.

That didn't really seem to clear things up either way -- indeed it admitted that it wasn't "during Katrina" as Jindal had originally said. Still, the headline of Smith's post characterized the statement as "stand[ing] by" the anecdote.

Team Jindal probably would have been wise to leave things there.

Instead, they went back to Smith, now telling him, in Smith's words, that Jindal "didn't imply" on Tuesday that the story "took place during the heat of a fight to release rescue boats." (Take 30 seconds to read Jindal's actual words, and you'll see that's flatly untrue -- but no matter.) Rather, Jindal spokeswoman Melissa Sellers told Smith, "It was days later .. Sheriff Lee was on the phone and the governor came down to visit him. It wasn't that they were standing right down there with the boats."

Smith added:

She said she thought Lee, who died in 2007, "was doing an interview" about the incident with the boats when the governor described him yelling into the phone.

In other words, Jindal only heard from Lee later that this had happened. He didn't actually see it happening and played no role in it himself. We posted a few hours ago, noting that Jindal's office had admitted the story was false.

But then things got weirder: Jindal's people went back for yet more.

Smith soon posted an update explaining that he had misunderstood Sellers earlier. According to Teepell, Smith now wrote, rescue efforts were in fact still underway when Jindal met with Lee. And Jindal overheard Lee yelling on the phone to justify a decision he had previously made, not giving an interview about the episode, as Sellers' earlier version had had it.

In fact, that whole thing about Jindal overhearing Lee giving an interview? It's now gone from Smith's post (though, thanks to the dangers of syndication, it remains here) as if Jindal's office never said it.

There's more. Amazingly, Sellers then argued to Smith that there is no difference between Jindal's original story as told Tuesday night, and the one her office finally settled on this afternoon. And even more amazingly, Smith added another update in which he transcribed that argument without comment, as if it were reasonable.

Then the capper: With Jindal's office now satisfied with the third iteration of its story -- a version that clearly acknowledged that the first version, told Tuesday night to millions, was false -- Teepell went back to Smith with the following comment:

"This is liberal blogger B.S. The story is clear."

And Smith, in yet another update, published it.

Good work all round!

- Source





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Glenn Beck debating marijuana legalization.

You probably know that Glenn Beck is insane as a shit-house rat. But maybe you don't know that Glenn used to do a lot of drugs. I don't know if he "chased the dragon", but he did do cocaine, pot, and was a huge drunk.

Anyways, here's a little vid of Glenn debating Rob Kampia of the Marijuana Policy Project. I don't know what the fuck Glenn was/is on, but he should cut it out. It's making him act like a weirdo. I also like that Glenn can't come up with any arguments against ending marijuana prohibition, but he's still against it anyways. Why the harping of "they shouldn't do it juts to raise money!" Did it ever occur to Glenn that maybe it's not just the money, but actually because of all the reasons why Kampia mentioned?







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GOP oreinted, social conservative, Christian states have higher porn consumption.

From Andrew Sullivan's blog:

Surprise! There's a significant correlation between consumption of online porn and Christianism:
Eight of the top 10 pornography consuming states gave their electoral votes to John McCain in last year's presidential election – Florida and Hawaii were the exceptions. While six out of the lowest 10 favoured Barack Obama. Residents of 27 states that passed laws banning gay marriages boasted 11% more porn subscribers than states that don't explicitly restrict gay marriage...

States where a majority of residents agreed with the statement "I have old-fashioned values about family and marriage," bought 3.6 more subscriptions per thousand people than states where a majority disagreed. A similar difference emerged for the statement "AIDS might be God's punishment for immoral sexual behaviour."

Utah is the country's single biggest consumer of online porn. You've got to love those Mormons.
- Source



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That asshole clerk might have once been a CEO.

Saw this on the Consumerist and thought it a rather interesting read. Next time you're at a gas station and the cashier's being a huge dick with an inflated sense of self-importance, it may be because they actually were important once.

Meet John Eller. Five years ago, he was a Sprint executive earning $150,000 for managing 7,000 employees at 13 call centers. Today, he's a grocery store baker making $10 an hour. The Times tells us he's not the only former executive now working for minimum wage.
nterviews with more than two dozen laid-off professionals across the country, including architects, former sales managers and executives who have taken on lower-paying, stop-gap jobs to help make ends meet, found that they were working for places like U.P.S., a Verizon Wireless call center and a liquor store. For many of the workers, the psychological adjustment was just as difficult as the financial one, with their sense of identity and self-worth upended.

"It has been like peeling back the layers of a bad onion," said Ame Arlt, 53, who recently accepted a position as a customer-service representative at an online insurance-leads referral service in Franklin, Tenn., after 20 years of working in executive jobs. "With every layer you peel back, you discover something else about yourself. You have to make an adjustment."

Some people had exhausted their jobless benefits, or were ineligible; others said it was impossible for them to live on their unemployment checks alone, or said it was a matter of pride, or sanity, that drove them to find a job, any job.

In just one illustration of the demand for low-wage work, a spokesman for U.P.S. said the company saw the number of applicants this last holiday season for jobs sorting and delivering packages almost triple to 1.4 million from the 500,000 it normally receives.

It's nothing new, but it shows just how far anyone can fall. Something to keep in mind next time you're talking to a customer service representative.

"It has been the hardest thing in my life," said Arlt. "It has been harder than my divorce from my husband. It has really been even worse than the death of my mother."

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Washington state approves doctor assisted suicide.

Finally. I really don't understand why its such a big deal that people cannot choose to end their lives. Especially for those that are suffering. "No! You can't end your life! You must sit and suffer the pain until the very end. It's only inhumane thing to do..."

Terminally ill patients with less than six months to live will soon be able to ask their doctors to prescribe them lethal medication in Washington state.

But even though the "Death with Dignity" law takes effect Thursday, people who might seek the life-ending prescriptions could find their doctors conflicted or not willing to write them.

Many doctors are hesitant to talk publicly about where they stand on the issue, said Dr. Tom Preston, a retired cardiologist and board member of Compassion & Choices, the group that campaigned for and supports the law.

"There are a lot of doctors, who in principle, would approve or don't mind this, but for a lot of social or professional reasons, they don't want to be involved," he said.

But Preston said discussions about end-of-life issues between doctor and patient will increase because of the new law, and he thinks that as time goes on more and more doctors who don't have a religious or philosophical opposition will be open to participating.

"It will be a cultural shift," he said.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2006 that it was up to states to regulate medical practice, including assisted suicide, and Washington's Initiative 1000 was passed by nearly 60 percent of state voters in November.

It became the second state, behind Oregon, to have a voter-approved measure allowing assisted suicide.

[...]

Under the Oregon and Washington laws, physicians and pharmacists are not required to write or fill lethal prescriptions if they are opposed to the law. Some Washington hospitals are opting out of participation, which precludes their doctors from participating on hospital property.

Dr. Stu Farber, director of the palliative care consult service at the University of Washington Medical Center, voted against the measure and doesn't plan to prescribe lethal medication to his patients for now.

"I am not here to tell people how they should either live their life or the end of their life," Farber said. "There's possibly a story out there, in the future, that's so compelling that maybe I would write a prescription."

Farber said he would refer patients to Compassion & Choices of Washington, the state's largest aid-in-dying advocacy group, after talking about how they came to their decision.

The advocacy group is compiling a directory of physicians who aren't opting out of the law, as well as pharmacies willing to fill the prescriptions, said executive director Robb Miller.

"Physicians don't understand yet exactly how the law works," Miller said. "Whenever there's lack of understanding, there tends to be some reluctance."

Dr. Robert Thompson, an internist and cardiologist at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle who voted for the measure, said that in his 32 years of practice he has treated patients who would have benefited from this law.

"I believe for the sake of compassion, and for a person's own individual rights, that this should be an option for them," he said.

[...]

Under the Washington law, any patient requesting fatal medication must be at least 18 years old, declared competent and a state resident. The patient would have to make two oral requests, 15 days apart, and submit a written request witnessed by two people, one of which must not be a relative, heir, attending doctor, or connected with a health facility where the requester lives.

[...]

Two doctors must certify that the patient has a terminal condition and six months or less to live.

Some doctors who opposed the measure have argued that a six-month terminal diagnosis is never a sure thing.

"There is no question in my mind that, if this is too easy of a task, people will die prematurely," said Dr. Linda Wrede-Seaman, a family physician and palliative care specialist in Yakima.

[...]

That decision was made easier by the law's clear option that physicians could opt out if they wanted to, said Dr. Larry Robinson, vice dean for clinical affairs at the UW School of Medicine.

"We're not forcing anyone to do anything," he said.

- Source





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Robotic arms controlled by human brain.

This is so fucking cool.


A wheelchair-mounted robotic arm controlled by thought alone has been created by scientists at the University of South Florida.

The device could give people with amytrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or full body paralysis the ability to perform simple day to day functions that would otherwise be impossible.

"We aren't reading people's thoughts," said Redwan Alqasemi, a scientist at the University of South Florida who, along with Rajiv Dubey and Emanuel Donchin of USF, helped develop the software and hardware. "This is the first time a person with severe disabilities like ALS can perform daily activities for themselves."

Over time, patients with ALS slowly lose control over their muscle movement, losing the ability to move their arms, legs and eventually all muscles except those around the eye. Patients with ALS have fully functional brains, but have no way to express their thoughts.

EEG scans offer one way for patients with ALS to communicate with the outside world. By fitting patients with a head cap equipped with electrodes and filled with an electrically conductive gel, scientists can monitor particular kinds of electrical impulses coursing through the brain.

In this case, the scientists monitor a particular brain wave called P300, so-called because it lasts about one-third of a second. Reading P300 waves is basically like reading a person's thoughts, but only in the most coarse kind of way.

For the wheelchair-mounted robotic arm, the person in the wheelchair looks at directional arrows flashing across a small screen. When the arrow points in the direction that they want to go, their brain lights up on the EEG, and the wheelchair or robotic arm moves accordingly.

This doesn't happen at the speed of thought, however. Turning the wheelchair or moving the robotic arm takes about seven seconds as the arrows cycle across the screen. The wheel chair or arm continues in that direction until it receives a new command.

The wheelchair or arm could move faster, but it might not move as accurately, said Alaqsemi. The next step for the USF scientists is to refine the model's hardware and software, to increase speed and reliability while cutting down on weight.

"Every pound you take off the robotic arm is another pound of payload that can be lifted," said Alqasemi.

Right now the robotic arm can lift about four pounds, about the weight of a gallon of milk. In the next version Alqasemi hopes to double the payload.

Lifting a door handle or moving a gallon of milk may seem like simple tasks, but according to Jonathan Wolpaw, who builds brain computer interfaces at the Wadsworth Center in New York, using thought-controlled devices is harder than simply just thinking.

"Our normal muscle movements require practiced skill and control," said Walpaw. "Controlling brain activity is also a skill that requires practice."

Reading P300 brain waves is a good system, argues Walpaw, because it doesn't take a lot of practice to train the brain. With only one WMRA built so far and no current plans to commercialize the design, not many people will get the chance for their brain to learn the new skill. But when commercial models appear in several years, even slow brain computer interfaces could make the impossible, possible.

"It would allow patients with severe disabilities the ability to control their own environment and have some form of independent mobility," said William Heetderks, Director of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering. "It would be very valuable to these individuals."

- Source





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KKK state trooper fired.

This fucking asshole was a state trooper for 18 fucking years? Well, there's a good reason to never pull over in the state of Nebraska. Actually, the guy was fired a while back, but the issue of his firing was taken up as a court matter.

Robert Henderson maintained that his firing violated his First Amendment rights of free speech. The Nebraska Supreme Court disagrees, and maintains Henderson's firing was perfectly legit.

The Nebraska Supreme Court on Friday upheld the firing of a State Patrol trooper for his ties to the Ku Klux Klan.

Justice John Gerrard wrote that Robert Henderson voluntarily associated with an organization that uses violence and terror to oppose the state's founding principles of equality and tolerance.

Henderson, a trooper for 18 years, was dismissed in 2006 after the patrol discovered he had joined a racist group. He told an investigator he joined the Knights Party — which has described itself as the most active Klan organization in the United States — in June 2004.

An arbitrator said Henderson's firing violated his First Amendment rights, among other things, but Lancaster County District Judge Jeffre Cheuvront overturned that decision.

Henderson's attorney, Vincent Valentino, had argued to the high court that arbitrators, not judges, have the final say. He said Friday that an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court was possible, based on "everything from due process to freedom of speech and freedom of association." A due process argument, he added, would refer to violation of Henderson's rights under the union contract.

Gerrard wrote that while it's not the role of a court, generally, to set aside an arbitrator's decision, it is permissible for a court to "refuse to enforce an arbitration award that is contrary to a public policy that is explicit, well defined, and dominant."

Justice Kenneth Stephan wrote in a dissenting opinion that the courts overstepped their bounds by overturning the arbitrator. Stephan said Henderson had kept his beliefs well hidden while on the job and there was no evidence they interfered with his impartial enforcement of the law.

But Gerrard noted that the state's admission to the Union in 1867, two years after the Civil War ended, was dependent on a "fundamental public policy" that Nebraska would adhere to the principle that "laws should be enforced without regard to race."

"It is beyond dispute that (Henderson) willingly joined the Knights Party, knowing that he was effectively joining the Ku Klux Klan," Gerrard wrote. "In joining, he endorsed a point of view that is completely antithetical to the principles of Nebraska law that he was bound by oath to enforce."

To associate with the KKK is to associate with a legacy of hatred, bigotry, violence and terror, and keeping Henderson in the force would reduce public confidence in law enforcement, Gerrard wrote.

"One cannot simultaneously wear the badge of the Nebraska State Patrol and the robe of a Klansman without degrading what that badge represents when worn by any officer."

In his ruling, arbitrator Paul Caffera ordered the patrol to reinstate Henderson within 60 days and pay him his back wages. He said Henderson was entitled to his First Amendment rights of free speech and that the state violated the troopers' contract.

But the state appealed that decision and won in Lancaster County District Court.

Henderson told an investigator that he joined the Knights Party to vent his frustrations after his wife left him for a Hispanic man. Henderson posted four messages to the Knights' Web site, according to the investigator's report.

Valentino said his client now works part-time for private security firms.

- Source

Oh, well, that makes perfect sense. Instead of just going to a normal website for recently divorced people, or a counselor, or something else of the sort, he joined a white supremacy group to vent his frustrations regarding Hispanics. Seriously though, that is some stupid-as-fuck shit. Good riddance to this piece of shit.




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Am I high? DEA to stop raiding medical marijuana clubs.

Holy shit. Am I high? Really, am I? I don't think so... I did drink a pint of Sierra Nevada's Bigfoot barleywine, but I don't think that would make me loopy enough to start seeing things. Apparently Eric Holder has called for a halt on the DEA raids for state-recognized medical marijuana clubs.

Supporters of programs to provide legal marijuana to patients with painful medical conditions are celebrating Attorney General Eric Holder’s statement this week that the Drug Enforcement Administration would end its raids on state-approved marijuana dispensaries.

Federal raids on medical marijuana distributors continued at least into the second week of Barack Obama’s presidency, when federal agents shut down at least two dispensaries in California on Feb. 3.

Holder was asked about those raids Wednesday in Santa Ana, Calif., at a news conference that was called to announce the arrests of 755 people in a nationwide crackdown on the U.S. operations of Mexican drug cartels. He said such operations would no longer be conducted.

“What the president said during the campaign ... will be consistent with what we will be doing here in law enforcement,” he said. “What (Obama) said during the campaign ... is now American policy.”

Obama indicated during the presidential campaign that he supported the controlled use of marijuana for medical purposes, saying he saw no difference between medical marijuana and other pain-control drugs.

“My attitude is if the science and the doctors suggest that the best palliative care and the way to relieve pain and suffering is medical marijuana, then that’s something I’m open to,” Obama said in November 2007 at a campaign stop in Audubon, Iowa. “There’s no difference between that and morphine when it comes to just giving people relief from pain.”

White House spokesman Nick Shapiro hinted at the policy shift shortly after the California raids, telling The Washington Times that the dispensaries were legal in California and that the Obama administration’s stance was that “federal resources should not be used to circumvent state laws.”

- Source

So, with Obama pledging to cut the deficit and taking a strong stance on state's rights, does that mean he's more conservative than Bush?




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Want more Futurama? Buy the DVDs.

And more stuff from Matt Groening.

Sometimes it's a chuckle of uncertainty, as when he talks about the fact that his weekly comic strip, "Life in Hell," is being dropped by its flagship newspaper, LA Weekly, after 22 years. Sometimes it's a snort of mischief, as when he describes working with "Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane, with whom he allegedly has a feud.

But mostly it's a big, rollicking guffaw, the sound of a man who still can't quite believe how much fun he gets to have at work -- work that includes "The Simpsons," still going strong after 20 years, "Life in Hell" and "Futurama."

It's the latter that's the ostensible reason for a phone interview with Groening. "Futurama," which aired on Fox from 1999-2003, then in reruns on Cartoon Network and Comedy Central, has apparently concluded its run with a new DVD movie, "Into the Wild Green Yonder" (Fox Home Entertainment), which came out Tuesday.

As with the three previous "Futurama" DVD films -- "Bender's Big Score," "The Beast with a Billion Backs" and "Bender's Game" -- "Yonder" will be split into four parts and aired on Comedy Central, which has the rights to the series. But Groening's not willing to say goodbye -- yet.

"We have a great relationship with Comedy Central and we would love to do more episodes for them, but I don't know. Maybe," he said. "I think one of the factors will be how well this DVD sells, because of these troubled times where everybody's gnashing their teeth and biting their nails."

Along with "Futurama," Groening ("rhymes with 'complaining,' " as he's often pointed out) also talked about "Life in Hell," "The Simpsons," MacFarlane and pretty much anything that tickled his fancy. The following is an edited version of the interview, with some laughs included.

CNN: I feel like Comic Book Guy talking to Jack Kirby -- or perhaps Jack Davis.

Matt Groening: (huge laugh) Well, I've met both of them -- Jack Kirby and Jack Davis! They're both heroes of mine. So I can relate. They're definitely part of my pantheon of great artists.

CNN: Let's move over to "Futurama." Is this the end?

Groening: We hope not. If it is, we feel we're offering an emotionally satisfying conclusion to this epic science fiction saga. But we did leave the door open just a bit in case we get renewed. iReport: Tell us your favorite "Futurama" moments

CNN: Is that in the offing?

Groening: We're having discussions and there is some enthusiasm but I can't tell if it's just me. (laughs)

CNN: With all the insider references in your work, do you still think of yourself as a subversive in an industry that doesn't exactly prize subversiveness?

Groening: I don't know how subversive you can be when you've been on the air as long as we have. But we try to sneak some stuff in here and there, and gladden the hearts of sensitive viewers. ...

I always thought that television was the way to go in my goal to invade pop culture (laughs) because it got to towns in which there were no bookstores. That's how I used to think of it: How do I reach kids who not only don't read but probably have no access to much in the way of books?

And "The Simpsons" basically -- and "Futurama" -- are really smart shows. They're kind of disguised as these goofy animated sitcoms, but the references within the shows, if you're paying attention, are pretty smart and pretty sophisticated. And if you don't get it, it's OK -- you have a nice entertainment experience -- but if you've gone to college and seen a few movies, you can appreciate the shows on a much more satisfying level. Listen to Groening talk about his recent favorite films

CNN: How did the plot to this film come together?

Groening: The set of four movies were done by the core writers of "Futurama" headed by David X. Cohen ... [who's been] my partner on "Futurama" from the very beginning. We [planned] these four movies -- one was time travel, next was sword-and-sorcery, third was a space monster movie and the last one is a grand ecological science fiction epic which also has some emotional payoffs for the characters if you've been following the series from the beginning. ...

In a way there was a checklist component to this -- well, let's do this, we haven't done that yet -- and then just great ideas. Ken Keeler, who wrote the script, is very, very smart, and very rarely will concede a factual point, even if it means that we (laughs) postpone getting work done for hours. (laughs) And when you have writers as smart as the "Futurama" writers, you can waste two days on scientific tangents. Listen to Groening talk about the writers' cleverness

CNN: Seth MacFarlane has a role in this.

Groening: Oh yes! That was a real treat to work with Seth and confound the people who want to believe there's some kind of feud between Seth and myself.

CNN: How do you feel about the children of "The Simpsons" -- MacFarlane's "Family Guy," "South Park"?

Groening: I'm a fan of animation and so, the more stuff that doesn't look like the other stuff that's out there, I'm in favor.

There's a staggering array of completely wild animation on TV now ... Adult Swim on the Cartoon Network is unbelievable. And "South Park" continues to do great stuff. And "Family Guy" and the various other Seth MacFarlane projects are amazing.

And I want more. Good! Cartoons! Cartoons that don't look like anything else. Very good. Listen to Groening talk about the animation boom

CNN: To the root of animation, cartooning: You're still doing "Life in Hell," correct?

Groening: Um, yes, but ... well, I feel like the floodwaters are rising.

CNN: Really?

Groening: Yeah, the alternative newsweeklies are really struggling. In fact, this coming week will be my final week after 22 years in the LA Weekly. I and all the other cartoonists are being dismissed because they can't afford to pay.

We'll see. I'm still in a bunch of other papers, so I may continue to do my strip, but it doesn't look good. Listen to Groening talk about the poor treatment of comics

CNN: Have you considered just doing it online?

Groening: Yes! Yes, I'm toying with that. But it's very strange. I've been doing the weekly comic strip for 29 years, "The Simpsons" weekly for 20 years, the "Futurama" weekly for five years and then a little break and then the four movies, and then the "Simpsons" movie, ... so I have a series of ongoing deadlines. So the idea of establishing a Web presence that I'll have to feed on an ongoing basis doesn't give me a lot of pep. (laughs) One more treadmill.

CNN: Let me finish with the traditional "Simpsons" question: Is it going to continue for the foreseeable future?

Groening: Yes. I'll be surprised if we close up anytime soon. I don't see it. The popularity of the show all over the world continues and it is gratifying, and the show's still fun to do. That's always been my ultimate deciding factor: Is it still fun? And it is. ... I get to go in and listen to these brilliant actors make funny lines written by geniuses even funnier. It's a totally entertaining experience from my point of view -- in the middle of it.

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Netflix to offer streaming-only subscription plan.

While I like the idea, I wonder about how feasible it is. America is woefully low-tech for such goals. We don't have a solid fiber-optics network to provide such massive bandwidth that so many entrepreneurs want to use for business models. Streaming TV sounds nice, but it's going to take a huge toll on ISPs. And don't plan on doing any online gaming or browsing while downloading these movies. It will most likely take 30 minutes to an hour plus to download a movie, and that's using up all of your bandwidth. Also, there is only a very small percentage of Netflix's movies that even available for streaming. The good news is, this plan may help to boost the volume of available streaming movies.

Netflix Chief Financial Officer Barry McCarthy said on Wednesday it plans to offer its online streaming service on a stand-alone basis.

"We're likely to do that in the foreseeable future," McCarthy said at the Jefferies 5th annual Internet and Media conference in New York.

Netflix customers currently pay a fixed monthly subscription fee for access to the company's popular by-mail DVD service, with about 100,000 titles, as well as its online streaming service, with more than 12,000 titles available for viewing.

Netflix recently said it had hit 10 million subscribers, and said last month its stronger-than-expected quarterly results were propelled by growth in its Web video streaming service.

The Watch Instantly streaming service was first available only on personal computers, but is now offered through various devices, including the Roku set-top boxes, Microsoft Corp's Xbox, and LG Electronics Inc products.

McCarthy stressed the company still remains focused on providing a bundled offering, but said he understands that some viewers will find a stand-alone streaming service to be compelling, particularly as more compatible devices become prevalent.

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Don't put your dick in these holes! Don't put your dick in these holes!

I've seen stories about people fucking puppies, goats, cows, there's even the infamous Mr. Hands who was killed when the horse that was fucking him in the ass went too deep and ruptured his colon. But this, this... Well, it just takes the cake.

A Saginaw County man has pleaded no contest to indecent exposure after police say he was arrested for performing a sex act with a car wash vacuum.

The Saginaw News reports 29-year-old Jason Leroy Savage of Swan Creek Township entered the plea Wednesday in Saginaw County Circuit Court.

A no-contest plea is not an admission of guilt but will be treated as one at sentencing on March 25.

Police say Savage was arrested after a resident called officers early on Oct. 16 to report suspicious activity at a car wash in Thomas Township, about 90 miles northwest of Detroit.

Defense attorney Philip Alexander Sturtz had no immediate comment Thursday.

- Source





^ Mr. Show's "The Farm House Musical"




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Really? Pouring gasoline on your head?

Evansville, Ind., police say a teenager who soaked her hair in gasoline to try to kill head lice was critically burned when the gas fumes ignited and set her head ablaze.

Eighteen-year-old Jessica Brooks is in serious condition at the burn unit at University Hospital in Louisville, Ky., following Sunday night's fire at her Evansville apartment.

Police say Brooks was in her apartment's bathroom letting her hair soak in gasoline just before a pilot light from a water heater ignited the gas fumes and her hair.

Brooks' roommate told the Evansville Courier & Press that Brooks was in a medically induced coma.

Brooks and her fiance, Ronald Young, had planned to wed in May. Young suffered burns on his arms trying to extinguish the flames.

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Moral of the story: never help anyone.

Next time you see someone about to get hit by a car, just let them get hit. Lest you be given a jaywalking ticket for your good deed.

A good Samaritan who helped push three people out of the path of a pickup truck before being struck and injured has gotten a strange reward for his good deed: A jaywalking ticket.

Family members said 58-year-old bus driver Jim Moffett and another man were helping two elderly women cross a busy Denver street in a snowstorm when he was hit Friday night.

Moffett suffered bleeding in the brain, broken bones, a dislocated shoulder and a possible ruptured spleen. He was in serious but stable condition Wednesday.

The Colorado State Patrol issued the citation. Trooper Ryan Sullivan said that despite Moffett's intentions, jaywalking contributed to the accident.

Moffett had been driving his bus when the two women got off. In the interest of safety, he got out and, together with another passenger, helped the ladies cross.

Moffett's stepson, Ken McDonald, said the driver of the pickup plowed into his stepfather, but not before Moffett pushed the two women out of the way.

When he awoke in intensive care, he learned of the ticket. "His reaction was dazed and confused. I was a little angry," said McDonald.

The other man also was cited for jaywalking, while the pickup driver was cited with careless driving that led to injury. Sullivan said the two elderly women haven't been cited but the investigation is ongoing.

- Source





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Chavez ramps up his control, seizes rice processing plants.

I remember whan Chavez was first elected. Oh, how people wooned over him. Look at how progressive and fair he is! Look at how much he is helping the poor! What a savior he is! Except each and every day he is further showing that he is nothing more than a power-hungry despot.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has ordered troops to immediately take over rice-processing plants in his country, accusing some businesses of ignoring prices set by the government.

"What are some of the sectors of the agricultural industry doing? They buy rice from producers, and they don't want to produce regulated rice," Chavez said in a televised address Saturday.

"Well, I've ordered the intervention, starting right now, of all those sectors of the agricultural industry."

Chavez did not say how long the takeover will last, but warned that some companies could be nationalized if they tried to interrupt supplies.

U.S.-owned Cargill, with 2,000 employees spread among 22 locations in Venezuela, is among the major rice processors in the country.
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Since winning re-election in 2006, Chavez launched a campaign to nationalize strategic segments of Venezuela's economy, including cement companies, a steel mill and oil ventures.

Last month, Venezuelans approved a Chavez-backed constitutional referendum that allows him to run for a third six-year term in 2012.

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Some might say, "surely, this isn't a bad thing. He is trying to regulate rice costs for his people." That's not the real issue. What he is doing is seizing the rice processing plants in a power-grab. By controlling the rice plants, he can subsidize the poor with rice, all but cinching his re-election. The poor will be happy because, hell, at least they have food. Meanwhile, Chavez will simply gain more power until the entire country is within his grasp. It's an obvious move towards dictatorship.

I remember when he first got elected and began outlining and enacting his policies, I said that he would try to negate election term limits. I was right. He has said if the people vote him out, then he will leave. What makes you think that he will fairly count those votes? What makes you think that it will even be a fair election? Instead, Chavez will continue to drive towards being a dictator while posing under the guise as being democratically elected.




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Take back the country. One dead liberal at a time.

Rush Limbaugh gave a roaring and invigorating speech yesterday. Calling, numerously, on his creed that Obama wants socialism and to destroy capitalism. He called for caonservatives to "take back" America and defended his remarks desiring Obama to fail with more asinine assertions.

"We conservatives have not done a good enough job of just laying out basically who we are, because we make the mistake of assuming that people know. What they know is largely incorrect, based on the way we're portrayed in pop culture, in the drive-by media, by the Democrat party," the conservative talk show host told a mostly young crowd of energized supporters.

"We want every American to be the best he or she chooses to be. We recognize that we are all individuals. We love and revere our founding documents, the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. We believe that the preamble of the Constitution contains an inarguable truth, that we are all endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights, among them life, liberty, freedom -- and the pursuit of happiness," he said, pausing several times for enthusiastic applause.

Really? Then why the attempts to mar the constitution by injecting religious dogma into its foundations? Why has he defended Bush's curtailing the law of the United States by issuing warrant-less wiretaps on American civilians? Also, why is he citing the Declaration of Independence while talking about the Constitution?
Limbaugh used his self-described "first national address," which ran more than an hour longer than his allotted 20 minutes, to accuse President Obama of inspiring fear in Americans in order to push a liberal agenda of "big government."

"He wants people in fear, angst and crisis, fearing the worst each and every day, because that clears the decks for President Obama and his pals to come in with the answers, which are abject failures, historically shown and demonstrated. Doesn't matter. They'll have control of it when it's all over. And that's what they want," Limbaugh said.

What the the fuck has Rush been smoking? What has been the GOP modus operandi for the entire Bush administration? Fear mongering. Fear mongering over bogeymen and that they are coming for you in the night. Obama, on the other hand, is talking realistically about a very real disaster that is unfolding right in front of our eyes: economic collapse. Is it fear mongering to tell a frostbite victim that they may very well lose an extremity, or is it simply addressing the realities of a dire situation? Apparently, Rush can't distinguish the two, so he simply goes into rhetoric attack mode.
Limbaugh praised Obama as one of the most gifted politicians he has seen, but said, "It just breaks my heart that he does not use these extraordinary talents and gifts to motivate and inspire the American people to be the best they can be. He's doing just the opposite."

Yeah, really. What an asshole Obama is. Trying to inspire people to volunteer to help their communities, to conserve resources, to fix their failing infrastructure and strengthen the country as a whole. What a bunch of bullshit. Why doesn't he inspire us to be the best that we can be, like Bush did. Y'know, where he tells us to go out and shop till we drop so the terrorists don't win. Or maybe Rudy Giuliani who openly mocked (to much applause) community organizers that take active roles in trying to better their community.
Limbaugh's rollicking speech came the day after Obama supporters put out a political ad implying that the conservative radio host has become the de facto head of the Republican Party in the absence of a clear GOP leader.

The ad argues that the Republican leadership in Congress is following Limbaugh's lead in opposing the Obama administration's stimulus package.

"So who are Republican leaders listening to?" the announcer asks, before the 30-second ad cuts abruptly to footage of Limbaugh saying, "I want him [Obama] to fail."

It was paid for by Americans United for Change and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union, two groups that supported Obama during the election and are advocating for his agenda.

Limbaugh doesn't speak for all Republicans or conservatives. Copies of the American Conservative magazine with the headline "How radio wrecks the right" were distributed to CPAC attendees, Preston said.

"There is some criticism of Rush Limbaugh. Some people think he is a reactionary," Preston said.

Well, no shit. All he does is piss and moan about how liberals are destroying everything. Even when a matter is clearly the fault of the GOP, Rush will still spin it as created by liberal agendas and ideals. It's like during the very beginning of Obama's term, Limbaugh constantly deduced that falling stock prices was because of Obama. Yeah, because it's not like we were in a recession with dozens of banks falling, a housing bubble run amok collapsing, and record high unemployment continuing to escalate. None of that mattered. It's all because of Obama.
Limbaugh defended his remark about wanting Obama to fail, comparing it to his desire to see the Arizona Cardinals "fail" in this year's Super Bowl game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

"This notion that I want the president to fail, folks, this shows you a sign of the problem we've got," he said.

"What is so strange about being honest and saying, I want Barack Obama to fail if his mission is to restructure and reform this country so that capitalism and individual liberty are not its foundation? Why would I want that to succeed?" he said, bringing the crowd once again to its feet.

"Did the Democrats want the war in Iraq to fail? Well, they certainly did. And they not only wanted the war in Iraq to fail, they proclaimed it a failure."

- Source

Except that's not at all how it was. Those of us on the left didn't want Iraq to fail, we feared that it would. We feared that the monetary and human life costs would not be worth the outcome and that it would only further destabilize the region. Guess who the fuck was right? I'll give you a hint: Cheney said we would be greeted as liberators.

Those on the Left wanted Hans Blix and the UN to finish their assessment. The Right wanted to go rushing on in the Iraq and kick some ass. Hans Blix was prematurely pulled from Iraq, not allowed to finish his inquiry, and troops were soon dispatched. The notion that anyone on the Left wanted Iraq to fail simply isn't true. Instead, that was the tagline used by Rush Limbaugh to demonize liberals as hating our troops and despising America. He uses his own twisted logic to justify further twisted logic.

If this really is the path of the GOP - by listening to the sheer amount of GOP senators that go onto and then harp the words of Hannity and Limbaugh, I can only deduce that it is - then the nation should brace for even more instances like the shooting death of Arkansas DNC Chairman, Bill Gwatney.
The chairman of the Arkansas Democratic Party died Wednesday, about four hours after a shooting at the party's headquarters, police said.

Chairman Bill Gwatney died at 3:59 Wednesday afternoon after a gunman entered his Little Rock office and shot him several times in the upper body, Little Rock Police Lt. Terry Hastings said.

- Source

It was never clearly concluded what the motivation was, as the shooter was later killed by police after a high speed chase.
Johnson's relatives could offer no insight. A sister said he normally voted Democratic.
- Source

Except that turns out to be absolute bullshit.
Is there any chance political passion played a role? It is far too early to say. But, for the record, we obtained Johnson's voting record in White County. He was a regular voter, casting ballots 13 times since November 2000. He voted Republican more often than not in primary balloting. He voted Republican in 2002 and 2004 primaries and the 2008 presidential primary. He voted in the Democratic primary and Democratic runoff primary in 2006. There was no record of a vote in this year's May primary on either side.
- Source

Voting in Democratic Primaries doesn't mean the guy was a "mixed voter." Limbaugh and many in the GOP (as well some for the DNC, such as pinhead extraordinaire Markos Moulitsas of Daily Kos) have called for voting in opposition primaries to beef up votes for the weaker candidate. However, it seems that we will never know exactly. what the motivation was, but it does seem odd that he stormed into the DNC headquarters and shot Gwatney for no apparent reason.

Then there is the more direct and clearly motivated attack on the Tennessee Unitarian Church.
It was a simple plan, he wrote, borne out of hopelessness but rooted in patriotism.

“The future looks bleak,” the ex-soldier lamented. “I’m absolutely fed up! So I thought I’d do something good for this country — kill Democrats ‘til (sic) the cops kill me.”

With what he believed to be his last pen strokes, Jim David Adkisson urged other suicidal soldiers against the “liberalism that’s destroying America” to leave their own trail of carnage behind.

“I’d like to encourage other like-minded people to do what I’ve done,” Adkisson wrote. “If life ain’t worth living anymore, don’t just kill yourself. Do something for your country before you go. Go kill liberals.”

[...]

n his manifesto, Adkisson deemed his rampage part “political protest” and part “symbolic killing.”

“This was a hate crime,” he wrote. “Liberals are a pest like termites, millions of them … the only way we can rid ourselves of this evil is kill them in the streets, kill them where they gather.”

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Police found right-wing political books, brass knuckles, empty shotgun shell boxes and a handgun in the Powell home of a man who said he attacked a church in order to kill liberals "who are ruining the country," court records show.

[...]

Inside the house, officers found "Liberalism is a Mental Health Disorder" by radio talk show host Michael Savage, "Let Freedom Ring" by talk show host Sean Hannity, and "The O'Reilly Factor," by television talk show host Bill O'Reilly.

- Source


So, what exactly do the nation's favorite mainstream conservative casters say that could spur such attacks?

“My only regret with Timothy McVeigh is he did not go to the New York Times Building.”

Vester: You say you’d rather not talk to liberals at all?

Coulter: I think a baseball bat is the most effective way these days.

So for those of you who haven’t read any of my five best-selling books: Liberals are driven by Satan and lie constantly.

“I’d say something about John Edwards, but if you use the word ‘faggot’, you have to go to rehab.”

“We need somebody to put rat poisoning in Justice Stevens’ creme brulee. … That’s just a joke, for you in the media.”

“Patriotic Americans don’t have to become dangerous psychotics like liberals, but they could at least act like men. “

“I don’t know if he’s [Bill Clinton] gay. But [former Vice President] Al Gore — total fag.”

They say there's a word of truth behind every joke. The fact that Coulter thinks beating our political leaders and those with differing points of view is "funny" shows how much of a fucking lunatic she is. But why stop there, there's plenty more to choose from.

Ruch Limbaugh:
“They are 12 percent of the population. Who the hell cares?” [To a caller who said black people need to be heard.]

“…If you want to know what America used to be — and a lot of people wish it still were — then you listen to Strom Thurmond.”

“I tell people don’t kill all the liberals. Leave enough so we can have two on every campus — living fossils — so we will never forget what these people stood for.”

“Because we are sympathetic, we are compassionate people, we have responded by letting our government literally feed these people to the point of obesity. At least here in America, didn’t teach them how to fish, we gave them the fish. Didn’t teach them how to butcher a — slaughter a cow to get the butter, we gave them the butter. The real bloat here, as we know, is in — is in government.”

You have to slaughter cows to get butter?

Pat Robertson (founder of the Christian Coalition with over 1.7 million members)
“How can there be peace when drunkards, drug dealers, communists, atheists, New Age worshippers of Satan, secular humanists, oppressive dictators, greedy money changers, revolutionary assassins, adulterers, and homosexuals are on top?”

“When lawlessness is abroad in the land, the same thing will happen here that happened in Nazi Germany. Many of those people involved with Adolph Hitler were Satanists, many of them were homosexuals–the two things seem to go together.”

“Feminism encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism, and become lesbians.”

“Maybe we need a very small nuke thrown off on Foggy Bottom to shake things up.” [Speaking about bombing the State Department]


Michael Savage:
“I can guarantee you [liberals], you wouldn’t be in business too long. I can guarantee you you’d be arrested for sedition within six months of my taking power. I’d have you people licking lead paint, what you did to this country.”

“Carl Levin and Ted Kennedy and Hillary Clinton, The New Yorker, CBS have destroyed the war effort against terror. And if, God forbid, a suitcase bomb goes off you’ll know who to blame. I’m — hey I’m not going to mince words, there’s no grey zone here. It’s black and white, it’s them versus us and the enemy within on their side.”

“My fear is that if the Democrats win [in the November midterm elections], and I’m afraid that they might, you’re going to see America melt down faster that you could ever imagine. It will happen overnight, and it could lead to the breakup of the United States of America, the way the Soviet Union broke up.”


Bill O'Reilly:
“Everybody got it? Dissent, fine; undermining, you’re a traitor. Got it? So, all those clowns over at the liberal radio network, we could incarcerate them immediately. Will you have that done, please? Send over the FBI and just put them in chains, because they, you know, they’re undermining everything and they don’t care, couldn’t care less.”

“Americans will respect your beliefs if you just keep them private.“

“You want to have two guys making out in front of your 4-year-old? It’s OK with them. A guy smoking a joint, blowing the smoke into your little kid’s face? OK with them. And I’m not exaggerating here. This is exactly what the secular movement stands for.”

“Conservative people tend to see the world in black and white terms, good and evil. Liberals see grays. In any talk format, you have to pound home a strong point of view. If you’re not providing controversy and excitement, people won’t listen, or watch.”





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