Some people are just born with a gift.

Others can whistle with their toes.

Bell said it all started when she was 14 and trying to learn how to whistle. "And I said I wonder if can whistle with them because I wasn't having any luck with my fingers and so I tried it and it worked!" she said.

I destroy other people's blogs.

Posted by: LauraW. at 06:10 AM | Comments (11)
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While Ace is getting wasted with a variety of strangely-goateed bloggers, we can still entertain ourselves.

Integrity, or Loose Shit. Do what you gotta do.
Just to kick things off:

Broken Image in Reflective Pool

We came to Denmark
for freedoms denied elsewhere
-now you must smother.

UPDATE:The Brawny Towel Guy thing has kind of taken over a bunch of the haikus; here's the link for those who don't get it.
The 'Pre-made' section is the shizzle.

Posted by: LauraW. at 04:55 PM | Comments (173)
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Some of her quips:

NATO has a duty to bomb Syria, as that state allowed an attack on NATO terrirotry (Ithe Danish Embassy), and article V says an attack on one is an attack on all.

Keeps referring to Washington Republicans as "Washington Weenies." They're always running from conservative ideas and judges, that's why they gave us Harriet Miers and some fresh-baked cookies.

Republicans are afraid to act in accordance with the election results. Republicans seem to be in denial about election results. It's one thing for Democrats to be in denial about the Republican electoral juggernaut, but it's strange that Republicans are in denial about it too.

Says almost all Republicans were against Harriet Miers, except those whose main joy in life was to get a phone call from Karl Rove. Then says "There was less dissent among Republicans on Harriet Miers than there was on slavery, (winking at audience) and you know what I mean, girlfriend." (A slap at Hillary's plantation remark.) She then says "And I can say that, because my party ended slavery."

Winds up prepared remarks by noting that when the "Washington Weenies" who gave us Harriet Miers, ran like crybabies from the Federalist Society, and the like, tell us we need to run a pro-choice candidate to beat Hillary, "That's not our party."

Then goes into Q&A. Very brief remarks, not particularly funny or sharp.

Posted by: Ace at 12:15 PM | Comments (147)
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Pretty good.

Thanks to yls.

Posted by: Ace at 11:58 AM | Comments (12)
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Not much. The place is pretty quiet today. Some think that college kids -- a big chunk of the conventioneers here -- overdid it drinking last night and are taking the day off.

I know how they feel. I'm feeling faint and I have to keep getting fresh air. I took an extra klonopin to calm the nerves down.

I spoke briefly to bigtime Boston radio talkshow host Howie Carr, and got his new book about the Bulger brothers. He may be on the show at some point.

I keep having to dodge cameras from Japanese TV stations, who apparently want to show sexy bloggers on Japanese TV.

Based on last night's discussions, the big topics right now (at least here) are the FISA/NSA controversy and the libertarian/social conservative schism. I spoke with very conservative people who are as outraged by the NSA intercept program as, say, Al Sharpton might be after being told the minibar isn't free.

Another conversation was about blue-state conservatives, and how they pretty much share the same social mores as liberals do, and to the extent they pretend otherwise, they're rank hypocrites and/or liars. There's some, some truth to this -- but only some. True enough, a William Kristol probably is more similar in moral/cultural millieu to the urban liberals he lives amongst than he is to heartland conservative Christians, but then, he's willing to challenge the cultural left on its excesses.

Posted by: Ace at 11:43 AM | Comments (55)
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I quoted Anne Applebaum on the cartoon wars the other day. I ignored a gratuitous swipe she took at conservative writers for -- yawn -- hypocrisy in condemning Newsweek's fake "flushed Koran" story and yet praising the Danish paper for having the courage to publish the supposedly offensive caricatures of Mohammad.

Austin Bay responds to her. He notes that, umm, the "flushed Koran" story was fake, for starters. A point lost on Applebaum.

Posted by: Ace at 11:35 AM | Comments (5)
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This is what happens when you give artists a simple frickin' job.
From the opening ceremonies to the Winter Olympics at Turin:

Normalcy and beauty disgust us.

"Rhythm, Passion and Speed," promised the show's producers, and those watching _ an estimated 35,000 at the Olympic Stadium and 2 billion tuning in _ got all of that. What they didn't get was an explanation for some of the extravaganza's more surreal moments punctuated by Fellini, Dante and dancing trees.

Oops...sorry forgot the link when I first posted.

Posted by: LauraW. at 11:19 AM | Comments (37)
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It's all the fault of Yankees fans!

Posted by: Harry Callahan at 11:03 AM | Comments (13)
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Kevlar is good.

Posted by: Harry Callahan at 09:49 AM | Comments (15)
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They're squealing:

A controversy over earmarks _ the congressional name for funding pet projects _ is particularly intense. Especially since one GOP-led committee compiled a secret tally sheet showing earmark requests made by Republicans calling for reform.

"Earmarks have become the currency of corruption," Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., recently wrote Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill. "We can't allow this to continue."

...

Fiscal conservatives are particularly determined to cut back on earmarks.

The practice, an old one, has mushroomed in recent years under Republican sponsorship, and the legislation backed by Flake and numerous other lawmakers is designed to trim it.

The measure would preserve the existence of earmarks, but for the first time allow critics to challenge them one by one on the House floor.

Flake, who issues a stream of news releases accusing his fellow lawmakers of wasteful spending, says the purpose is transparency in government. The theory is that forcing lawmakers to defend projects will expose them to ridicule and, eventually, the practice will ebb.

So far, the legislation has sparked an intense internal struggle pitting Republican against Republican.

The committee that controls the pursestrings compiled a list of earmarks requested last year by GOP lawmakers who favor Flake's bill.

The total was 717 requested earmarks, although none for Flake, for more than $4.5 billion.

The response was sharp.

"I am shocked that the Republican staff of a Republican-led committee in a Republican-majority Congress would do opposition research on a fellow Republican," first-term Rep. Lynn Westmoreland of Georgia wrote in a letter to fellow GOP lawmakers. "I do not see any other purpose behind the preparation of this report other than for it to be leaked to the press."

The Associated Press obtained copies of both the Appropriations Committee tally and the letter.

...

Flake, in an interview, likened the tally sheet to a type of blackmail on the part of members of the House Appropriations Committee. Rank and file lawmakers are required to submit their requests in writing, thus creating a paper trail, he said. No such requirement is imposed on senior lawmakers, he added, including subcommittee chairmen with the power to insert or omit individual projects from the bills they draft.

Blackmail is a silly word, but it's hardball. So, they're showing hypocrisy? Big deal. Rather a hypocrite working for good than someone who is consistently in favor of corruption and waste.

As one pork-reformer notes, Congressmen have to play by the rules now in effect-- and those rules are skewed towards bringing home the bacon for the district. That doesn't mean these rules should be maintained forever.

Posted by: Ace at 08:10 AM | Comments (16)
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