Probably should have mentioned it before pretty much everyone went to bed, but tonight's the night to set your clocks back. If you forget, you're gonna end up at church an hour early tomorrow...

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 10:04 PM | Comments (155)
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Welcome to Saturday evening all.

Be sure and save up all that anger and hate for our currently scheduled Flame Night on Wednesday. For now let's try and maintain the tissue-thin facade of moron fellowship and respect. Just a few more days...

The Awesomeness of Wilford Brimley
Before he wanted to talk with us about di-a-beetus for Liberty Medical, he was a Marine, a blacksmith, a bodyguard for Howard Hughes, a stuntman, and then finally an actor.

And yeah back in his prime, he probably could have taken Dennehy.

Megan Fox and Her Flawed Body: Club Thumbs
And Kate Hudson and Halle Berry are said to have six toes. Really?

Posted by: Open Blog at 05:50 PM | Comments (772)
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I feel bad for her. Not a bad person, but the wrong person for the job. She's obviously upset about this.

The question here, which Allah keeps asking, is "Does this prompt a spate of third-party conservative challengers who wind up drawing just enough support from GOP candidates to give the House to the Democrats?"

The answer: There's a good chance of that. This was the danger, and this was what Newt Gingrinch was worried about.

As Allah also pointed out, there are two conflicting camps here: The Rush Limbaugh camp, which recognizes this danger and doesn't seek to encourage it -- not enough to harm our chances, anyway -- and the Glenn Beck camp, which seems to, at least rhetorically, call for near-complete purity, or else, the thinking goes, there is no difference between Republican and Democratic candidate, and we might as well drive Republicans to defeat until they "listen."

I hope the Limbaugh view prevails. Limbaugh will, I am pretty sure, not publicize detrimental third-party spoiler challengers, and will seek, more often than not, to urge his listeners to vote for the candidate who can actually win or who was fairly victorious in a primary. And much of the conservative blogosphere will also take this view, and not push spoiler candidates, or no-chance-to-win-but-only-to-take-away-15%-of-the-vote candidates, and support instead duly-nominated Republican opponents.

That camp will seek to limit this sort of thing, to the extent they (by which I mean "we") can.

What made Hoffman the right choice here? 1, Dede Scozzafava was not merely a wobbly Republican, she was a not-very-wobbly-at-all Democrat; 2, there had been no primary, no true testing of the caucus' wishes, and the whole deal seemed like a directed-from-above decision, almost a sham, and a tactically-poor one at that, 3, Hoffman could actually win, even from the outset; he seemed viable, if unlikely; and 4, because Scozzafava was so out of sync with mainstream Republicans (and obviously conservatives) this really was a case of "it doesn't matter if the Democrat or Republican wins." In this case, it really was the case that the Democrat was arguably more conservative than the Republican. (Indeed, Markos made this very case, before un-endorsing the more-"progressive" candidate Scozzafava.)

But if Glenn Beck is serious and not merely engaging in bluffing rhetoric, he really does believe that the only way to get back to a "Constitutionalist Majority" is to have a series of punishing losses, and full Democratic control of the government, for 5, 10, 15, maybe 20 years or so, unless the GOP "learns its lesson."

The trouble with that is this: There is hardly any guarantee whatsoever that this very-purified new party will be able to win elections and have any power, either. It is a fact that conservatives sometimes like to dismiss, but a good 40% of the country is liberal (I know they don't call themselves that; but many people who claim to be "moderate" are in fact liberal -- you know that from reporters telling you so, and the thousand liberals you've encountered online purporting to be "moderate") and another 20% is not politically principled and simply votes for whatever guy seem to be offering the most stuff at any time.

The other 40%? Conservative, yes. In this landscape, it is doubtful that true, absolute conservatives could win many elections. Some here and there. But how many? Not nearly a working majority, I don't think.

Hey-- ask all those midwest and mountain state conservatives if they want to give up farm subsidies in the interest of True Conservatism. Answer: No, they most emphatically do not, even if they agree with your statement of True Conservatism in principle. They would immediately lose their seats if they voted this way; which means, well, more votes for liberal Supreme Court justices.

I don't know if Beck is bluffing in order to drive the party to the right. If he is, that's not a bad exercise; Kos and his nutroots did that to the Democratic Party in 2004-2006, and that worked out all right for them.

But if he really does mean it? If it's not just rhetoric? If he really would rather see the more conservative party lose, and the more liberal party win, for a generation because the more conservative party still isn't conservative enough?

That would be bad, and I'm not sure what would happen. Beck could provide his slate of protest candidates with enough free media to get money and then get 20% of the vote... which would be doomsday for conservatism, at least before this 20 year project comes to fruition.

I hope that's not where we're heading.

I really hope Rush Limbaugh's jaded pragmatism wins out over Glenn Beck's revolutionary idealism.

That word "idealistic." I have never really understood why people believe that to be a positive thing, or call themselves that as if it's a compliment. I've always thought it was a cop-out.

more...

Posted by: Ace at 01:05 PM | Comments (826)
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Seems to be a lot of this going on lately.

In a dispatch from Kabul posted on its website, the newspaper quoted Western diplomats and people close to Abdullah as saying the former foreign minister would announce his decision on Sunday.

The decision, if confirmed, would effectively give Karzai a second five-year term.

In the battle of different takes on the story, a different Reuter's post calls it a "boycott" rather than stepping aside, and a negotiating tactic (for a power sharing deal?)

TOMORROW'S BREAKING HEADLINE? Newt Gingrich endorses Karzai, declares the importance of outsiders to defer to the locals in these affairs.

Posted by: Dave in Texas at 12:45 PM | Comments (47)
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To govern is to make choices and under the administration of Barack Obama, the choice is in favor of detained terrorists over the Americans those terrorists would like to kill.

Are the people who make this kind of decision the ones you making health care decisions for hundreds of millions of Americans?

Congressmen Mike Pence (R-IN) and Bart Stupack (D-MI) aren't amused.

"As long as Americans must wait to receive the vaccine, the detainees in Guantanamo Bay should not be given preferential treatment to receive the H1N1 vaccination," Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) wrote in a letter to Secretary of the Army John McHugh on Friday.

Pence, too, shared Stupak's concerns, but he also used his interview Friday to take a shot at Democrats -- and their handling of other healthcare crises -- in particular.

"I think this is exactly the kind of misadministration of healthcare, this and other aspects of the way this government is responding to the H1N1 virus, that ought to give the American people great pause about this massive government-run insurance plan that's been unveiled this week by House Democrats," Pence said.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say this get mention two or three thousand times in the upcoming debate in the House and Senate. It should make for a wonderful TV commercial as well.

Fortunately for the Gitmo detainees they are protected from doctors who can only look longingly at their tonsils and feet. If not for the armed guards you just know those greedy MDs would be hacking away at them for the money and the fun of it.

Posted by: DrewM at 12:22 PM | Comments (103)
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College football, Halloween stories or whatever else you got.

Also, you may want to consider droping a few bucks in the Valour-IT fundraising bucket.

I linked to the Navy team because a bunch of HS friends went Navy, so that's a little thank you to them. Whatever team you donate through the money goes to a great cause.

Project Valour-IT, in memory of SFC William V. Ziegenfuss, helps provide voice-controlled/adaptive laptop computers and other technology to support Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines recovering from hand wounds and other severe injuries. Technology supplied includes:

-Voice-controlled Laptops - Operated by speaking into a microphone or using other adaptive technologies, they allow the wounded to maintain connections with the rest of the world during recovery.

-Wii Video Game Systems - Whole-body game systems increase motivation and speed recovery when used under the guidance of physical therapists in therapy sessions (donated only to medical facilities).

- Personal GPS - Handheld GPS devices build self-confidence and independence by compensating for short-term memory loss and organizational challenges related to severe TBI and severe PTSD.

This is the first I've heard about adding the Wii and GPS items to the effort. I think it's great that the folks at Soldiers' Angels are continuing to adapt the meet the needs of these American heroes.

Posted by: DrewM at 09:26 AM | Comments (139)
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A new Sienna Poll (pdf) says Hoffman has 35% and Ownes is at 36%. Hoffman already had 50% of Republicans and plurality of independents.

Wow.

Dede Scozzafava, the Republican and Independence parties candidate, announced Saturday that she is suspending her campaign for the 23rd Congressional District and releasing all her supporters.

The state Assemblywoman has not thrown her support to either Doug Hoffman, the Conservative Party candidate, or Bill Owens, the Democratic candidate.

"Today, I again seek to act for the good of our community," Ms. Scozzafava wrote in a letter to friends and supporters. "It is increasingly clear that pressure is mounting on many of my supporters to shift their support. Consequently, I hereby release those individuals who have endorsed and supported my campaign to transfer their support as they see fit to do so. I am and have always been a proud Republican. It is my hope that with my actions today, my party will emerge stronger and our district and our nation can take an important step towards restoring the enduring strength and economic prosperity that has defined us for generations."

Via The Corner

Posted by: DrewM at 06:59 AM | Comments (464)
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I think Ace has some 'splaining to do...

Posted by: Open Blog at 03:48 AM | Comments (175)
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Remember all the fanfare that went with the supposed credit card reform legislation? Well, congress in its infinite wisdom stupidity gave the banks 9 months to implement it. So what have the banks done during that nice cushy implementation zone? Why they've apparently goosed up everyone's rates and implemented harsher terms and such, etc, etc. In government terms, this is known as operating in "good faith".

...It's hardly surprising that banks and other credit-card issuers would use a grace period afforded to them by Congress to their advantage.

The changes required under the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act, or CARD Act, could go a long way to stop deceptive practices in the card industry. But before that happens, card issuers are grabbing what they can from the millions of Americans who are their customers...

The card companies lobbied Congress hard for the delay. They argued they needed the time to overhaul their computer systems, craft new sales' pitches and rewrite disclosure documents to be sent to customers.

While all that may be true, the facts indicate that they are using the time for something else.

"We worked long and hard to enact the safeguards included in the Credit CARD Act," Sen. Chris Dodd, a Democrat from Connecticut who had introduced the bill in 2004, 2005 and 2008 before successfully passing last spring, said in a statement. "But as soon as it was signed into law, credit card companies were looking for ways to get around the protections this Congress and the American people demanded."

His spokesman declined further comment about why Congress is being so aggressive with its actions now. Too bad they couldn't see this coming a lot earlier.

Posted by: Purple Avenger at 10:48 PM | Comments (138)
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Welcome to Friday all. Finally.

The Homemade Cleveland Tourism Commercial
Alright I'm sold. I'm gonna sell off a few VCRs and buy me a compound in Cleveland. Cause hey they're not Detroit! More here.

And like other failed states Cleveland now has pirates.

And of course here's a Mos Eisley tourism video. [language warning] more...

Posted by: Open Blog at 06:10 PM | Comments (978)
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