A "street poet."

And so it goes.

My annoyance here is due to the fact the media went out of its way to portray the Tea Party as physically and psychologically unattractive -- ha ha, look at these old nasty bastards -- but does the opposite with this crew.

And yet... not super attractive, in reality.

Corrected: Oklahoma City, not Kansas City as I wrote. When I read "OKC" I took it as "Occupy Kansas City." And in my head I noted, "Oh, neat, that's the same abbreviation they use for Oklahoma City."

Thanks to Ben.

Posted by: Ace at 05:47 PM | Comments (255)
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Boo! more...

Posted by: Maetenloch at 05:37 PM | Comments (573)
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Fun fact: Chiefs placekicker Ryan Succop (say it out loud) was the last man chosen in the 2009 draft. more...

Posted by: Open Blogger at 04:57 PM | Comments (96)
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A lot of people tried to get the comedy ball rolling on this general topic but the thread is so contentious (consisting chiefly of people demanding that other people believe things they have no firsthand knowledge about) that the humor never had a chance.

So, here. Feel free to ask your Sexual Harassment etiquette questions, or answer other people's.

Posted by: Ace at 02:28 PM | Comments (602)
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Well, Huntsman might show up at least.

A spokesman for "The View" confirmed that requests have been sent to Republican campaigns but declined to speak further about any interest so far. The debate would take place during the show's 11 a.m. EST time slot.

Posted by: Ace at 02:15 PM | Comments (130)
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Some people are citing this as proof this is a Nothing To See Here, Folks, Move On situation.

After all, it was just some completely-innocent gesture:

Van Susteren asked what Cain did that led to the accusation. There were reportedly more than one accusations in the complaint, but Cain said he recalled just one incident. "She was in my office one day, and I made a gesture saying -- and I was standing close to her -- and I made a gesture saying you are the same height as my wife. And I brought my hand up to my chin saying, 'My wife comes up to my chin.'" At that point, Cain gestured with his flattened palm near his chin. "And that was put in there [the complaint] as something that made her uncomfortable," Cain said, "something that was in the sexual harassment charge."

Bear in mind, though, that's Cain's narration of what happened, of the nature of the complaint, and further, only his narration of one of several incidents.

Although I do generally think "where there's smoke there's fire," that's only a rule of thumb, and not something I'd bet money on. It's perfectly possible he's innocent of almost everything except a misunderstanding.

On the other hand, let's not just go Reverse Clinton here and start acting as any of this is impossible, either, or that we know about things we weren't witness to.

By the Way: Cain was asked by the moderator to close the National Press Club event with a song. Cain apparently had closed some previous event with that song, and obliged the host.

As I noted in an update to the last post (see below), given that context, with Cain not deciding himself, sua sponte, it was time for a Christian hymn, it's not nearly as kooky seeming as I first thought.

Posted by: Ace at 12:30 PM | Comments (758)
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He Was Asked To Sing: I didn't know that. Here's the context.

Okay, that's kind of different, because even though a Christian hymn is still out-of-place at a press conference, if he was asked to do it by the moderator, then he has only two imperfect options (sing, in an inappropriate venue, or refuse someone's request).

I honestly thought the guy just decided to sing for the hell of it. Not so much.

Thanks to Jumbo Jogging Shrimp.

...

I know I'm supposed to say it's awesome that Cain sung a Christian spiritual hymn at a press conference, but I really don't think so.

(Why not? I know among some strains of Christianity the Public Expression of Religion is strongly favored. Among others, though, and among those who aren't really religious at all, or are of a different religion, it's a turn-off, and odd. There's something that really rankles people (including me) about the "Elect me, I love Jesus" gambit. What does that have to do with anything?)

Other clips are here. more...

Posted by: Ace at 11:43 AM | Comments (388)
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Oh my stars and garters, look how many "apolitical grandmothers" are on this list!

Posted by: Ace at 10:52 AM | Comments (115)
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At the Cornerstone speech in New Hampshire. I'm including two videos: The "highlights," as cut together by opponents, and the full speech. I think the full speech, while being boring (as it doesn't just focus on the alleged drunken moments), disproves the drunk claims.

He doesn't seem drunk to me. He never slurs, and he speaks coherently. What is odd is that he's a lot sillier than usual, indulging in a teasing sort of comedic delivery. A goofy delivery in patches. Very goofy.

For what it's worthy, I don't think he should do this, because people aren't taking him very seriously at the moment, and so he doesn't need to goof it up. Maybe Romney could benefit from that sort of thing. (It's useful to play against type, but not so useful to play into type.) But Perry can't.

But drunk? Nah, just being goofy, with a teasing sort of humor that is... alas, Bush squared.

One example of that is when he discusses his Cut, Balance, and Grow plan and begins making lurching, Frankenstein/Dumb Guy hand gestures. But what he's doing, obviously, is spoofing the idea that he must have a quick bumper-sticker brand name for his plan, and is "Cut, Balance, and Grow." He's kind of leveling with the audience in noting that such branding efforts are inherently dumb, and mocking himself for going along with the required dumbness.

Drunk? Doesn't seem like it to me.

One question, though, is why is he so goofy/frisky? Talking with Ben Domenech, who's seen him this way in Austin once, he's guessing he's just tired and overdoing the "show energy" thing. more...

Posted by: Ace at 10:42 AM | Comments (317)
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It's a mere $43 million this time, so, you know, don't sweat it. Obama wastes that much cash in about eight minutes.

Massachusetts company that received a $43 million Energy Department loan guarantee last year filed for bankruptcy Sunday, a step certain to fuel criticism of federal green energy financing in the wake of the solar company SolyndraÂ’s collapse.

Beacon Power Corp., which develops energy storage systems, filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware.

As you know, Obama has ordered a 60 day review of the loan processes at DoE, to find out if the correct procedures were followed, without favoritism to connected companies, and with due diligence for the taxpayers' dollars.

Like me, I'm sure you are eagerly awaiting the conclusions of this report, and completely at a loss as to what it will say.

Whoops: Another bankruptcy, this one of a company which would supposedly deliver high-speed broadband to remote rural areas.

The Bush Administration actually approved the loan for this company, Open Range. But this might be a Tale of Two Cronies, with a new crony favored as a new administration comes to town -- the FCC turned down Open Range's request for an extension (to give it time to correct its previous problems) but they were turned down.

The FCCÂ’s handling of the matter has come under scrutiny by lawmakers partly because the agency promoted a similar venture called LightSquared about the same time it was turning its back on Open Range. Critics of the FCC have accused the agency of favoring LightSquared because it is backed by Democratically connected hedge fund financier Philip Falcone.

“There is clearly the perception of favoritism,” said Tim Farrar, an independent analyst at TMF Associates. Farrar said his consultancy has no financial interests in LightSquared or Open Range’s venture. A similar charge was levied by Globalstar in a recent letter to the FCC.

Posted by: Ace at 10:14 AM | Comments (99)
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