To be perfectly honest, I don't exactly understand how the current rules of "localism" will be changed to threaten conservative talk radio. I suppose the idea is that the local minority communities, supposedly underserved by radio, will be mandated a greater voice. Which means their own (non-performing) shows, which in turn means it's too expensive to run conservative talk shows, which in turn means that AM stations turn to Top 40 again.

All I know is that every time I get into a cab, the minority cab-driver has NPR on. So the government funded station seems to be serving minority interests well.

Thanks to Kent.

Posted by: Ace at 01:27 PM | Comments (102)
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I have been trying to express all that is wrong with this movie since yesterday.

I haven't written the review yet, so I'll just give you the warning for now: Don't see this. It's awful. And it's very, very left-wing politically, for no good reason.

Sample quote-- the very lame villain, who seems more like an aging Eurotrash party boy who tried to slip your sister a ruffie than a threat to global stability, on why he's undermining a left-wing Bolivian government to install a right-wing general:

"After all, we can't let governments just keep giving resources to the people, yes?"

Oh, so subtle.

But it's awful besides. One and a half stars, a major step backwards. A worthy nominee to the long list of movies which just might be the worst Bond ever. I don't know if it would win (Daniel Craig is really a very good Bond) but it would be in the mix.

Incidentally, two of the worst Bonds are Moonraker and License to Kill. I think Moonraker is a bit underrated, but it's definitely not in the list of good Bonds. What do these movies have in common?

Latin America as the central location of action.

Every time Bond goes to Latin America, it's a disaster. Why? I don't know.

But let this be his last foray.

The only good thing about this movie is Bond's ties. I'm not a fashion following guy, but damn, are Bond's ties awesome.

Alternative: Polynikes says Role Models with Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott is funny. I should have seen that.

Posted by: Ace at 12:55 PM | Comments (165)
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Ace has signed up for the Army team, so it would be cool if Moron Nation supported the Moron In Chief's decision*.

What is Project Valour IT? I'm glad you asked. Blackfive (which I think is the lead site for Team Army) explains.

Project Valour-IT, in memory of SFC William V. Ziegenfuss (Captain Chuck Ziegenfuss' father), provides voice-controlled software and laptop computers to wounded Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines recovering from hand and arm injuries or amputations at major military medical centers. Operating laptops by speaking into a microphone, our wounded heroes are able to send and receive messages from friends and loved ones, surf the 'Net, and communicate with buddies still in the field without having to press a key or move a mouse.

You can learn more about the program and donate here.

As of this moment there are 12 Heroes waiting for laptops. Did I mention the donating part?

*I'm guessing special dispensations will be issued to vets of other services or those will close ties to donate in the name of their team. The important thing is donate.

Cox & Forkum Cartoon [ace]: more...

Posted by: DrewM at 11:44 AM | Comments (17)
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Looks like President Hope 'n Change is going to be getting a nice house warming gift from the outgoing Bush administration....lots of our money.

The Bush administration has told top lawmakers it does not plan to use at least half of the $700 billion bailout fund that Congress approved this fall to aid the financial industry, congressional officials said Monday.

These officials said Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson passed the word over the weekend that he intends to leave $350 billion untouched when the administration leaves office on Jan. 20. That would mean the incoming Obama administration would decide whether and how the funds should be spent.

The disclosure comes at a time when Democrats are working to pass emergency legislation to spend $25 billion of the bailout money to provide loans to the battered auto industry.

As a practical matter I doubt even Paulson could spend that much money in the next two months, so this isn't a surprise. And from a political standpoint, elections have consequences. Why should a lame duck administration tie the hands of the incoming President?

Now I know a lot of you will say, "Democrats would never do this if a Republican were coming in!" You'd likely be right but for better or worse, Bush just doesn't roll that way.

If you didn't like the way Paulson spent the bailout money, my guess is you are really going to hate the way Team Obama does. Consider it a warm up for the next 4 years.

(h/t The Page) more...

Posted by: DrewM at 10:32 AM | Comments (82)
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Look, I'm on record as saying it's important that winning and losing candidates observe some basic formalities after an election. However, I worry that McCain maybe taking this beyond what politeness and decorum require.

Obama said that he and McCain were "just gonna have a good conversation about how we can do some work together to fix up the country. And also to offer thanks to Sen. McCain for the outstanding service he's already rendered."

When asked if he planned to help the Obama administration, McCain replied, "obviously."

It could just be my animosity for McCain getting the better of me but it seems some people are pretty excited about McCain and Obama working together.

Lynn Tramonte, policy director at the pro-immigration group America's Voice, expressed hope for a new stab at US immigration reform after conservative opposition sank a law designed to bring 12 million illegals out of the shadows.

"President-elect Obama and Senator McCain have been champions of immigration reform in the past, and they would make a formidable team going forward," she said.

Awesome!

So, let the guessing begin...what issue will be the first on which McCain joins with Democrats in helping to shut down a filibuster (assuming Democrats don't wind up with 60 seats)? There are a lot of issues to chose from. It could be some sort of cap and trade system, new regulations to take care of those bastards on Wall Street, immigration, judges or maybe even taxes.

UPDATE: Below the fold, their joint statement. more...

Posted by: DrewM at 09:27 AM | Comments (97)
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The Collins English Dictionary is apparently the vanguard of the new Simpsonized evolution of the English language. More will undoubtedly fall into line. Major blowout parties were thrown by Scrabble aficionados worldwide on the news.

Meh. I'm still holding out for the inclusion of "crapweasel".

Posted by: Purple Avenger at 07:24 AM | Comments (108)
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It's a brisk Monday in parts of the country that don't experience much cold. Pajama momma's dog is frozen to her Florida porch. One of her kids, too.

...let's not get into a detailed discussion of her parenting style, OK? They all have a better than 40% chance of leading normal lives someday, and that's plenty.

Sigh. In any case, Winter's coming. A little frozen funny for you:

Open chitty-chatter type thread. What's up wit yous guys?

Posted by: LauraW at 05:44 AM | Comments (81)
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For comments on the items in the Top Headlines sidebar. A link to these comments is stickied at the top of the Top Headline column.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 05:27 AM | Comments (18)
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After review, the previous post was found to be un-newsworthy, so I deleted it.

However, the ramifications of the assault on the 2nd Amendment that's coming our way are certainly worthy of discussion, so, have at it.

Posted by: Open Blog at 09:12 PM | Comments (87)
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Oh, yeah, this gets the flaming skull.

6/12/2008--Introduced.
Assault Weapons Ban Reauthorization Act of 2008 - Amends the federal criminal code to reinstate, for 10 years, the Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act's assault weapons ban to prohibit the manufacture, transfer, or possession of a semiautomatic assault weapon or a large capacity ammunition feeding device. Specifies models and features of banned weapons.
Sets forth exceptions to such ban, including: (1) firearms or devices lawfully possessed under federal law on the date of enactment of this Act; (2) certain firearms, replicas, or duplicates listed in an appendix as they were manufactured on October 1, 1993; (3) any firearm that is manually operated by bolt, pump, lever, or slide action and that has been rendered permanently inoperable or that is an antique firearm; (4) any semiautomatic rifle that cannot accept a detachable magazine that holds more than five rounds of ammunition; (5) any semiautomatic shotgun that cannot hold more than five rounds in a fixed or detachable magazine; and (6) firearms manufactured for, transferred to, or possessed by a federal, state, or local government agency or for law enforcement.
Requires the serial number of any weapon or device manufactured after enactment of this Act to clearly show the date of manufacture.
Directs the Attorney General to study and report to Congress on the effects of this Act on violent and drug trafficking crime.

So much for the loyal opposition.

Sponsor:
Rep. Mark Kirk [R-IL]

Cosponsors [as of 2008-11-07]

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen [R-FL]
Rep. Michael Ferguson [R-NJ]
Rep. Christopher Shays [R-CT]
Rep. Michael Castle [R-DE]

Sweet Lord in Heaven above, all Republicans. And thank God I'll be grandfathered in. I suggest you hop on the stick and get what you can while you can. It's going to be a longer four years than I thought.

Flaming Skull explanation: Note that the 4 Republican co-sponsors signed on after the Presidential election. 5 months after the bill was introduced.

H/T Ragnar.

Posted by: Open Blog at 08:16 PM | Comments (18)
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