2008 archive
What He Said 0
John Cole, that is.
The attempts of the press to make something out of nothing are just mind-boggling.
For those of us who have minds.
Lost in Transportation 0
Diebold voting machines don’t count:
The votes only materialized when a memory card was put back into the voting machine that used it on election day. That practice isn’t typically followed when tallying votes.
The company changed its name, but it’s still Diebold.
Stacked 0
Delaware Liberal reveals plans for the George W. Bush Presidential Library.
The only thing omitted is the name of the book.
Inquiring minds want to know: Is it Curious George (nah, oxymoron) or Green Eggs and Ham.
“And the Greatest of These Is Love” 0
Faith, hope, and charity. Over at Mithras’s place.
So Not a Medical Device 0
Sanity Claus 3
A Christmas tradition in these parts:
Though in the past he has come in the evening.
OMG BRITNEY ISN’T WEARING PANTIES!!!!! 2
Serendipitiously, this builds on my previous post.
If you don’t pay attention, you might actually fall for the crap.
Jamison Foser on what passes for reportage these days. Read the whole thing (emphasis added):
(Mucho snippage)
Perhaps the most striking aspect of the media’s attempts to link Obama to the Blagojevich scandal has been the volume of news reports that are purely speculative — and not only speculative, but vaguely speculative. That is, they don’t even consist of conjecture about specific potential wrong doing. They simply consist of completely baseless speculation that Obama might in some way become caught up in the investigation at some point in the future, for some reason. It’s little more than, “Maybe Obama will be involved.” Well, sure. And maybe he’ll play shortstop for the Washington Nationals next year.
More here. (Via Will Bunch.)
Via Atrios.
What Happens When You Don’t Pay Attention 0
H. L. Mencken said, “Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public.”
See Fact Check dot org.
Banks Shot 0
Dropping like flies.
There’s an old story about the banker who fancied himself the Oracle of the Community.
The members of the Community loathed him, but, so as to curry his favor, they fellated him, much as Republicans fellate the rich.
One day, a villager came to him with his son and said, “I am worried about how my son will turn out. Can you help me?”
The banker said, “Certainly.”
He placed a Bible, a five-dollar note, and a bottle of whiskey on his desk and said, “When you call your son in here, we will see what he takes. If he takes the money, he will be a businessman. If he takes the Bible, he will be a man of the cloth. If the takes the bottle–well, that’s just trouble.”
The villager said, “Okay.”
They opened the door and invited the boy in.
The boy came in, looked at the desk, tucked the money in his pocket, stuck the bottle under his arm, grabbed the Bible, and left the room.
The villager looked at the banker and said, “Oh, crap, he’s going to be a Republican banker. Just like you.”
Brendan Makes a Phone Call 1
And it’s a corker.
Stray Thought 0
Not mine. John Cole’s.
How Credit Cards Actually Work 0
This is a must-listen. From the website:
We’re told that since consumer activity accounts for 70% of the economy we need to spend yet credit card interest rates are rising and Americans have lest cash to spend. We talk about consumer credit, how it is being impacted by our current economic woes and what the credit crisis means for the average American with Georgetown Law professor ADAM LEVITIN.
Go to the website and search for December 11, 2008, or listen here (Real).
Cloud Cuckoo Land 0
Take the tour here.
My CDs Should Arrive Soon 0
Slackware 12.2 released.
Bushonomics: Sold Out Dept. 0
Reuters:
Sales were down a much more modest 0.2 percent once gasoline sales were excluded as spending on other items, such as electronics, increased.
Meanwhile, down the hall, fourth door on the left, John Cole summarizes Repblican Economic Policy.
Atrios is somewhat more succint.
“The Party Has To Take a Hard Look at Itself” 0
The rest of us have taken a hard look at the Republican Party.
It is not a pretty sight.
Nor, for that matter, is the train wreck of an America they have created over the past eight years.
Take a hard look at itself. No.
Take a slow boat to China.
Oh, I forgot, they’ve already sold us to China.
It should just somehow go away and let grown-ups run the country.
Video via the Huffington Post.
Billions for Bankers, Not One Cent for Working Persons (Updated) (Updated Again) 0
Fellating the rich, buggering the poor. It’s the Republican way.
Molly I. over at Eschaton sums it up:
Addendum, Later That Same Day:
A former bankruptcy attorney speaks.
Addendum-de-dum-dum:
Bonddad, here.
The Passing of a Legend 0
R. I. P. Bettie Page, 1923-2008.
Mithras has an appreciation.
(Warning: If you are so warped as to think there is something inherently smutty about naked women, don’t go there.
If you appreciate beauty, go there without qualm.)
