Content warning. more...

Posted by: Ace at 10:39 AM | Comments (8)
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I could have sworn at some point I saw a Cthulhu parody of the Brand Dem thing. Maybe I just imagined it; Google can't seem to find it.

I did stumble across this site, for Cthulhu For President (in '04). He ran, I'm informed, as the nominee of the "Elder Party."

So geeky that the webspace was provided by Chaosium, the guys who do the Cthulhu RPG.

Not really laugh-out-loud funny but kind of amusing in that "oh yeah, I remember the tcho-tcho" sort of way.

Posted by: Ace at 10:25 AM | Comments (7)
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Cake or Death reviews his new show. There's no singing this time, but there's a lot of brutishness... on the part of our troops.

Steven Bochco can suck my cock.

This is the sort of glib liberal fool that Hollywood entrusts for this sort of project. No Donald Belasarius, no Steven J. Cannell.

And yes, I know Steven J. Cannell would have our troops assisted by cute robots and zooming around Baghdad in "Assault Ferraris," but shit, I'd still watch it.

Well, no I wouldn't. But I'd promote it.

A Contrary Take: Jessica, guest-posting at Alarming News, says it's actually a good show.

Hmmmm... not sure I care either way, unfortunately. I don't like "shows."

Posted by: Ace at 10:03 AM | Comments (11)
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Good catch of a sarcastic bit from ABC's The Note, where annoyed liberal reporters pine for a Democratic Party with an agenda greater than "Karl Rove should be in jail.

Not that I expect liberals to listen, but I will repeat: This is exactly how Republicans fell out of favor in the late nineties. Our "politics" became obsessive about bringing a few odious personalities before the bar of justice and we neglected real policy questions.

It's odd. The public, I'd guess, doesn't really know if CAFTA is a good or bad agreement, while they do have gut-level opinions about the Plame matter. Just the same they had gut-level opinions about Clinton but probably weren't certain that bombing Serbia was in America's best interest.

So you might expect them to be more animated about the stuff they understand (because, heck, it's simple) and care less about the stuff they don't know enough about to form a strong opinion. But I don't think they do. While they might know more about Rove and Clinton than CAFTA and Serbia, they also know that CAFTA and Serbia are more important, and they don't trust politicians who seem dedicated to pursuing trivial personal paybacks.

The fact that CAFTA and Serbia are complex matters doesn't mean they don't appreciate politicians "doing something about" those issues, right or wrong; indeed, the whole point of democracy is to vote people into office to work on issues that are too difficult for the average guy, holding a full time job, to fully research and form a coherent opinion on.

Another one of Clinton's lessons the raging reactionaries on the left have forgotten.

Posted by: Ace at 09:35 AM | Comments (13)
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Oliver Willis, of course. His forte is mixing the juvenile with the cretinous.

This is part of his "Brand Dem" campaign, which I never really understood. What does it mean? Is he trying to make the Democratic "brand" hip, something the kids would wear rather than Tommy Hilfiger?

I don't know. I know it's not funny, that's for sure. And it seems ripe for photoshopping. If you've got alternative slogans, let me know, and I'll see if I can't get someone to take a couple of the best and "brand" it on the donkey through some easy photoshopping.

Thanks to Allah.

Update: Daily Lunch reminds me that there's a Re-Brand Dem site where you can do quickie "photoshops" to your heart's content.

First One Up... more...

Posted by: Ace at 09:00 AM | Comments (38)
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They're claiming that the it was only the precursor corporation to Air America that stole the money. Or something. I tried to read the brief explanation but my eyes gazed over.

The ratings are still in the tank, of course:

Air America's programming is now carried in part or in whole on 67 stations. Most are in smaller markets, such as Albuquerque, N.M.; Albany, N.Y.; and Reno, Nev.

Here [in Philadelphia], it doesn't even register a pulse. The flagship show, hosted by author and former Saturday Night Live comic Al Franken, airs from noon to 3 p.m. weekdays on WHAT (1340 AM).

Both WHAT and the show have fallen off the charts, according to radio-rating service Arbitron, meaning there were too few listeners to measure during the second quarter of this year - the so-called spring book. Franken's show didn't start on the station until Aug. 30.

Shockingly enough, everyone's not at the water cooler saying "Did you hear what Al Franken said this morning?"

Posted by: Ace at 08:52 AM | Comments (8)
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From The New Criterion's blog. A British simp criticizes Blair for not seeking to "understand" the reasons for terror, but rather "merely" condemning it. David Clark continues:

No one doubts that the bombers are in the grip of an evil ideology. The question, unanswered in the acres of newsprint devoted to rubbishing the suggestion that terrorism is a political phenomenon, is why this ideology has grown in its appeal to young Muslims. To put it in the simplistic Manichean terms favoured by some, why is there more evil around than there used to be? On this there is nothing but silence.

The New Criterion answers:

Why is there more evil around, Mr. Clark? Maybe because evil has finally figured out that it doesn't need to hide in the shadows--it can walk around in broad daylight and still we'll find a way not to see it.

Remember when "defining deviancy down" only meant calling out-of-wedlock births fine and dandy?

Ah, the good old days.

Posted by: Ace at 06:01 PM | Comments (13)
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Apparently the word "moderate" is as elastic with respect to imams as it is with respect to Democratic politicians:

A press conference organised by the city council took an unexpected twist when the chairman of Birmingham central mosque, Mohammad Naseem, who is known as a moderate voice, attacked the way the bombings investigation had been carried out.

Dr Naseem said the government had given the impression Muslims were to be targeted. "Why do we not have an open mind about this?" he asked. "Terrorists can be anybody."

He had seen no evidence Muslims were responsible for the bombings and attempted attacks. He claimed the four men killed among others on July 7 could have been innocent passengers.

"Terrorists can be anybody." Uh huh.

This just in: six Iowan schoolgirls from the 4H Club -- "the Female Youth Group of Peace" (TM) -- abducted and beheaded a Jewish reporter today, proclaiming that further "infidels" would be "executed" until the Des Moines minor-league baseball team changes its name to the Rainbow Unicorns.

More like the "Religion of Cognitive Dissonance" if you ask me.

Thanks to Checkers McBamp.

Posted by: Ace at 05:48 PM | Comments (9)
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Speaking of Westworld.

Japanese scientists have unveiled the most human-looking robot yet devised - a "female" android called Repliee Q1.

She has flexible silicone for skin rather than hard plastic, and a number of sensors and motors to allow her to turn and react in a human-like manner.

She can flutter her eyelids and move her hands like a human. She even appears to breathe.

Professor Hiroshi Ishiguru of Osaka University says one day robots could fool us into believing they are human.

It's even easier when you want to believe.

Repliee Q1 is not like any robot you will have seen before, at least outside of science-fiction movies.

She is designed to look human and although she can only sit at present, she has 31 actuators in her upper body, powered by a nearby air compressor, programmed to allow her to move like a human.

Ummm, I don't think the fact that she can only recline is going to hurt her sales.

"I have developed many robots before," Repliee Q1's designer, Professor Ishiguru, told the BBC News website, "but I soon realised the importance of its appearance. A human-like appearance gives a robot a strong feeling of presence."

Uh-huh.

Their Caption: Professor Ishiguru (r) stresses the importance of appearance

Dirty pervert. I like how they point out he's on the (r).

Okay, here's the checklist:

Flyin' cars: NO

Bubble cities: NO

Clean Fusion Power: NO

Oxy-Gum: NO

Super Fembot Positronic Erotic RoboSluts: YES

Glad to see we've got our collective priorities in order.

Man-Hands Alert: GuinPens is bothered by the rather massive meathooks on that electrotrollop.

Okay... not a true fembot yet. More of a male robot who's undergone a sex change.

Let's just call it a TranDroid for now.

When they look like Pris or Rachel Rosen, let me know. Until then, I'll stick with the real thing.

By which I mean internet pornography.

Posted by: Ace at 04:54 PM | Comments (34)
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Objective SuperSpyMom Valerie Plame Bought Two Tickets To Anti-Bush Springsteen Fundraising Concert

Not against the rules, but geepers, sure does call into question the couple's impartiality. And she seems to have lied regarding the required FEC reporting:

The $372 donation to the anti-Bush group America Coming Together, first reported by Time magazine's Web site, was made in Plame's married name of Valerie E. Wilson and covered two tickets.

The Federal Election Commission record lists her occupation as "retired" even though she's still a CIA staffer. Under employer it says: "N.A."

...

Wilson — who played an active role in Democrat John Kerry's losing 2004 campaign — said the anti-Bush concert was "great" and told Time that his wife "doesn't recall listing herself as retired."

CIA rules allow campaign contributions, but the fact that Plame gave money to the anti-Bush effort is likely to raise eyebrows.

Federal rules require a political-action committee to ask all donors to list their employers.

"You don't have to provide it, but if you do, you shouldn't provide false information on those forms — like saying you're retired if you're not," said Larry Noble of the Center for Responsive Politics.

America Coming Together is one of the anti-Bush activist groups bankrolled by Bush-hating billionaire George Soros. He gave the group around $10 million.

What a pair.

Posted by: Ace at 04:15 PM | Comments (6)
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