Get ready to... get annoyed

I get so irritated with TV commercials, specifically when I'm watching football and hockey, when I more or less have to watch at least some commercials. In fact, the commercials get on my nerves me so much, all I can say is I feel sorry for my wife sometimes, because I go on more than a few mini-rants about them.

Anyway, so far this year, the commercial that's THE worst I've heard this year (and, miraclulously enough, it doesn't even feature Peyton Manning!) is Hyundai's HoliDuh ads that pimp some dumb holiday sale. (See above for an example of one.) Honestly, who approves this garbage? Do companies think that annoying us is going to make us buy their products?

My current Top 10 most annoying commercials...

10. Anything with Peyton Manning
9. Chevy's This is Our Country
8. The Coors Light press conference spots - they were funny, now they've trite
7. The Verizon Network spots - & their network isn't that good
6. Kay Jewelers holiday ads - sorry, but I'm not going to Kay's to buy a diamond anything
5. Any pharmaceutical commercial. Why should I Ask My Doctor about a drug? How about this - ban these freakin' pharmaceuticals from advertising, and maybe our drug prices would come down. Like that would ever happen - they would cry freedom of speech quicker than you can say lobbyist.
4. Any Vonage commercial. Ever.
3. Mazda's grating Zoom, Zoom, Zoom
2. Anything with Peyton Manning, AGAIN
1. Like you haven't figured it out by now. Duh.

Ahhhh. I feel better now.

What a week of games; what an (almost) upset

You just have to love Philadelphia Eagles Head Coach Andy Reid. Just when everyone here in Philly is kicking dirt on him (like they've never done that before), he comes out and calls a very impressive game vs. the New England Patriots last night. Onside kicks, going for it on fourth down, long shots down the field - Reid had plenty in his bag of tricks last night. And the Birds nearly pulled off the unthinkable as all-time NFL historic 25-point underdogs - giving the Pats their first loss. It really would have been something, but it wasn't to be.

I got the sinking suspicion last night that Donovan McNabb's days in Philadelphia are numbered. We'll see how this plays out, especially if he comes back and looks much worse than A.J. Feeley did yesterday in relief. There will be mutiny in South Philadelphia.

I can only hope the lowly New York Giants can pull off the upset in week 16 vs. New England; I cannot stand the Pats, and I certainly don't want to see them get to 16-0, much less 19-0.

###
I'm betting that a bunch of casinos and bookies got very rich off of the Patriots/Eagles game - 25-point underdogs, those Birds were. It feels weird to even type it. That's a college football line. (And I said the Patriots would cover. Ooops.)

If the Steelers win tonight against the Dolphins, I'll have gone 11-5 this week - not too bad - I'm on a mini-hot streak again. But, I don't think my goal of picking .700 straight up in NFL games is attainable. Who knows - I have five weeks left to get average up.

Former University of Miami and Washington Redskin safety Sean Taylor is in critical condition after being shot at his home in Florida yesterday. What another sad and tragic tale of a tremendously talented player being struck down in the prime of his life. I hope he recovers, and, God willing, sees the inside of an NFL locker room again.

I'm already counting the minutes to Cowboys/Packers this Thursday. It's gonna be a barn burner. See my Fact of the Week and Quote of the Week (on the right side of CMB) in celebration of this week's game.

Photo from ESPN

Cyber Monday as good as... Hyundai

I'll admit it, I bought into the hype. For about two seconds. Today is the media-fabricated Cyber Monday, a day when online retailing giants supposedly offer such magnificent deals that we'll all whip out our credit cards and start furiously pecking in the numbers, like obedient freaking droids.

Just out of curiosity, I did a little searching this morning for bargains, both at my favorite online retailers, and in my inbox, which is getting flooded with mediocre (at best) deals, such as "Free Shipping With All Orders Over $75!" Whee.

After only a few clicks at the Web sites of Best Buy, Staples, J.Crew, Macy's and Gap, it didn't take me long to surmise that today, these stores are bores. I found much better deals on Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year. I don't know where Cyber Monday ranks, but in '05 it wasn't even in the top 10 in online sale days.

I worked in retail long enough to know this - if you're having a sale, then have a sale. Offering me free shipping isn't going to feed the bulldog. And for heaven's sakes, come up with a better name. Cyber Monday reminds me of cyber stalking. For that matter, anything with the name cyber in front of it sucks big time.

Like all of the supposed sales I'm seeing online today.

For the liberal on your gift list

I'm not a hot beverage drinker (I hate coffee), but if I was, these are two gifts that I'd absolutely want. These are from a Web site called Uncommon Goods...

Check out this global warming mug - it would make a great gift for the environmentally conscious liberal on your shopping list, or a great gag gift for the Ann Coulter or Sean Hannity in your family (and my sympathies if you have to endure that crap every holiday season). The item description:

Sure to be a topical topic of conversation, this mug shows off the adverse effects of that annoying global warming. Just pour in a hot cup of coffee, and the ocean starts to spread across the continent as ice caps melt and water levels rise. A pleasant reminder to take care of the planet and knock down your carbon dioxide emission.

Pretty cool - not even Splenda could make this mug a sweeter green gift.

However, I like this one even better - a disappearing civil liberties mug. No president in history has made 'em disappear like our national embarrassment, President Bush. So, show your frustration with this mug. The item description:

Drink your decaf in this dazzling mug - and watch your civil liberties disappear and reappear! Simply pour in your coffee or any hot beverage and watch the painstaking work of the founding fathers vanish before your eyes and then reappear after drinking up or cooling down. A great way to amaze and entertain a guest with satire.

Good stuff - I'll bring you more cool political items as I run across them, and I'm looking!

Emergency bathroom break

I can never get enough of television news bloopers, and as bloopers go, this one's pretty funny. Enjoy.

h/t Bits & Pieces

Britney accident chart

There are an infinite number of reasons why people should be required to take some sort of a qualification course before becoming parents. I'm only 3/4 kidding - in a free society, that's never going to happen, but it's tragically sad how mindlessly hapless some parents are, and Britney Spears is the latest annoying example.

I found this on Arianna Huffington's new political satire site, 23/6, and it game me a laugh so I thought I'd share. If you haven't checked out 23/6, give it a click when you have a minute - it really is hilarious.

Latest This Modern World

[Click for larger image]

Tom Tomorrow really hit the nail on the head this week. Congressional Democrats, specifically in the Senate, are some of the most unprincipled elected leaders I have ever seen. Not only have they done nothing about funding the war in Iraq, but they just managed to confirm our new attorney general, Michael Mukasey, who gave some truly disturbing answers about torture during his confirmation hearings.

How high are my hopes for our new attorney general? About as hight as a snake's belly. Bonus: Mukasey has very close ties to Rudy Giuliani. Although our new AG has promised to recuse himself from any cases involving Giuliani or Rudy's corrupt partner and federally indicted boot licker, Bernie Kerkik.

Proof positive that it's a small world: According to the New York Post, our new AG's son, Marc Mukasey, has been assigned by Giuliani's campaign to block Bernie Kerik's legal defense team from interviewing witnesses that might assist his defense. Why am I not surprised?

Thoughts on the WGA strike

This video above sums up the Writers Guild of America strike in some pretty simple terms - it's footage of former Saturday Night Live writer and actor Tim Kazurinsky giving his thoughts on the strike.

As a liberal Democrat, I don't fit the typical mold of being pro-union in every single situation, but I do find myself being drawn to that line of thinking more and more. I have some experience on both sides of collective bargaining; I was a member of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) for over 10 years, and I've also worked in management.

However, when it comes to corporate media companies, I trust virtually nothing they say because of one word: GREED. In my view, the WGA strike is nothing different.

From what I've read, the writers are getting screwed by these media companies, big time. In a word - the Internet. Writers of movies and television shows just want a little, small piece of the pie for their work when it's distributed over the Internet, the channel which will be the dominant medium of the 21st century, or at least the first half of it. Right now, the writers get... nothing.

This strike is primarily about two things - union busting and corporate greed. As far as I'm concerned, the Hollywood powers that be would love to see the union go away.

What's more, these companies are being greedy to the nth power, and it's despicable. This reminds me of the record companies, who pushed, pushed and pushed, keeping CD prices at around $18-20 for years, creating a backlash. The result - all of the unpleasantness on the Internet with the record companies, and the theft of music. I don't favor theft, but the record companies brought a whole lot of their problems themselves.

If the Hollywood companies keep screwing the writers, maybe a similar backlash could occur.

What's most outrageous of all is this: According to a recent piece in the LA Times, when Viacom CEO Tom Freston was fired in 2006, he received a $60 million severance package – more than all DVD residuals paid to WGA members that year combined. That certainly puts it into perspective, doesn't it?

A little trip down memory lane...

I sincerely doubt that any significant boycott will take place, but I'm not buying any movies or giving them as presents this year, and I'd encourage everyone else to do the same. A small gesture, but all movements start with one.
h/t to BobHarris.com for the video clips

Amusing Black Friday footage

I got a pretty good kick out of this - Bush protesters being the first in line to get into stores to snatch up some bargains - the footage made several of the news networks that were reporting on the Black Friday crowds yesterday. Take a look at the footage...

Pretty funny.

I have to confess that I personally don't buy into the anti-shopping school of thought about Black Friday. I guess with times being tight, getting a value is more important to me than ever, and if that means going to a store at four in the morning to save some significant money, I'll do it. I won't be completely happy about it, but I'll do it.

I left our condo at 3:30 yesterday morning, and the line at Best Buy on Columbus Blvd. in Philadelphia was at least 300 people long, and I'm not kidding.

I then went to another store and got in a line that was only about 15 long at 4 a.m. I stood in line for two hours, but I got what I wanted. I won't say what or where though - my wife Vandra reads my blog.

Anyway, happy bargain hunting this holiday season. There are many to be had - and that's the one good piece of news about our sagging economy. Money may be tight, but if you're patient and persistent, you can make your dollar got a lot further than usual.

Here's hoping you all had a Happy Thanksgiving. Thirty days until Christmas!

h/t to Crooks & Liars for the video and picture

Random sports thoughts

Just a few quick sports rants, and then I'll get back to the main focus of CMB, - politics. But, a few things have happened in the world of sports in the last few days that have been too noteworthy to ignore.

• If I haven't said it recently, it certainly bears repeating - Nick Saban, the head coach of the LSU, um, Miami Dolphins, um, Alabama Crimson Tide football team, is a money grubbing, hypocritical jerk. One of the reasons I'm beginning to wane just a bit on sports is the over-the-top hype, ridiculous clichés, lawless behavior, and win-at-all-costs attitude. Saban embodies several of "virtues."

His latest idiotic diatribe? His patently absurd comments following the Tide's loss to Louisiana-Monroe last week. A quick sample:

"Changes in history usually occur after some kind of catastrophic event," Saban said. "It may be 9/11, which sort of changed the spirit of America relative to catastrophic events. Pearl Harbor kind of got us ready for World War II, and that was a catastrophic event."

[Snip]

[His analogies then became only slightly less outrageous...]"They talk about alcoholics and people like that who never ever change until they hit rock bottom," Saban said. "Well, they change because when they hit rock bottom they have an awareness, they have an acceptance and a commitment to change.

"That's what our players need to do right now because in the past two weeks since the LSU game, I haven't seen the same spirit, I haven't seen the same work ethic. That's something we've got to get right."

What a complete moron. I know that coaches have to dig deep to motivate their players after a heartbreaking loss, much less than two in a row, but comparing a sporting contest to alcoholism or 9-11? Breathtaking.

Of course, after his comments, the university rushed to clarify what he meant, and to defend its coach...

"What Coach Saban said did not correlate losing a football game with tragedy, everyone needs to understand that. He was not equating losing football games to those catastrophic events," football spokesman Jeff Purinton said in a statement to The Associated Press. "The message was that true spirit and unity become evident in the most difficult of times. Those were two tremendous examples that everyone can identify with."

Whatever. I ain't buyin' it. I haven't despised a college coach this much since Steve Spurrier was relevant. Saban is a liar, a rube and an arrogant ass. If you think I'm being too hard on him, refer to his broken promises to LSU and the Miami Dolphins, after they threw millions of dollars at him.

• The public now will find out how much JoePa makes in Happy Valley, coaching his Penn State Nittany Lions. From ESPN:

The salaries of Penn State coach Joe Paterno and the school's top administrators must be disclosed by the state retirement system, the state Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.

The 4-2 decision said the Commonwealth Court, which had ordered the disclosure, properly balanced the public's interest in knowing details about retirement system finances against the effects disclosure might have on reputations and personal security.

There's been speculation for years that Paterno is among the highest-paid coaches, but the numbers have never been public.

The Paterno case was the result of a 2002 request by The Patriot-News in Harrisburg that sought the salaries of Paterno and three other Penn State officials from the State Employees' Retirement System.

The retirement board had granted the request, but disclosure was put on hold while the university appealed.

"We hold that the public does in fact have a right to such information to the extent necessary to justify all guaranteed disbursements from the fund," wrote Justice James J. Fitzgerald III for the majority.

Good - the people of Pennsylvania have a right to know how much JoePa is getting paid. Why? Because Penn State, which is not part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, receives an appropriation of over $300 million from the state every year, yet it doesn't have to tell the state how it spends the money, which I found outrageous.

I won't even get into the fine print about how Pennsylvania wrongfully didn't include Penn St. in the state system when it was created back in 1983, but the bottom line is that Penn St. functions as a private university, with its own council of trustees, etc.

I'm not suggesting that JoePa is a bad person or coach, or that he doesn't deserve to be paid what a dope like Nick Saban is making. Quite the contrary. Paterno is an upstanding man with the highest integrity who has given back millions to the university. But, it's the principle of the point - if state funding might even be possibly paying his salary, then anyone who wants to know what Paterno is making should be able to find out.

• The NFL really needs to do something about its officiating. I still find it totally laughable that the richest sports league in the world still does not employ full-time officials. It's a disservice to the fans, owners, coaches and players. I've seen more blown calls this year than I can count, but a few come to mind that have really affected games, and two of them were in Dallas games: one was during the Patriots game, when Randy Moss was "awarded" a pass interference penalty in the third quarter for merely running into a defender. Unreal. The other one happened last week, when a Dallas pass rusher's hand (I believe it was DeMarkus Ware) merely brushed up against Redskin QB Jason Campbell's face mask (he did not grab it)... Result: 15-yard roughing the passer penalty. Absurd.

I realize that the league can't make every little thing eligible to be challenged, but something needs to be done about some of these penalties, and I don't just mean against the Cowboys. But, with calls like the ones I've seen this fall, it's not impossible to imagine a stupid call affecting the outcome of a Super Bowl, and when that happens, the very integrity of the game will rightfully be called into question.

• I REALLY wish that ESPN (or whichever network broadcasts Sunday and Monday night football in the future) would get away from the school of thought that a broadcast team must have an annoying former QB. Just when the world was mercifully spared from the infinitely annoying Joe Theismann, now we have to listen to Ron Jaworski (above, right) every week. It's tough to pick who was more annoying. Every Monday night, we're now subjected to his daffy rants about "quarterbacking" and his grating, rank cheerleading for "his Philadelphia Eagles." There are too many instances to list, but here's a few...

"Jaws" and Tony Kornheiser are constantly arguing on the air to the point that it takes away from the game. It's almost as if one will take a position opposite of the other just to be a contrarian.

What's more, Jaworski openly cheers for "his" Eagles and against the Cowboys, and it's so obvious. During the Dallas/Buffalo game on Monday night about 3-4 weeks ago, when Buffalo scored early, Kornheiser commented on the air that Jaworski was pounding his back in excitement that "Buffalo could really win this game." Give me a break.

Just because a former athlete played for a certain team, it's not impossible to be impartial. A great example? Troy Aikman, last week during the Redskins/Cowboys game, commented that, "Dallas should not have a home game the week before a Thanksgiving Day home game - it's an unfair advantage to the Cowboys and the league should do something about it." This coming from a former career-long Cowboy. Jaworski is a hack at worst, and at times mindlessly partisan at best. He should study some tape of Aikman if he wants to learn how to be an impartial broadcaster.

• Is anyone else quite annoyed that Dolphins RB Ricky Williams is now back in the league? Professional athletes are role models, whether they want to be or not. They get paid millions of dollars to play on national television in front of impressionable children, and for the life of me, I can't believe this guy, who so publicly has stated that he enjoys taking drugs, would be allowed back in the league. This guy has tested positive four times.

I firmly believe that if someone tests positive for drugs once, it should be a lengthy suspension. Twice, and you're done. It'll never happen, though - the NFLPA would never allow it.

• ESPN's Len Pasquarelli, a wonderfully gifted writer, recently wrote a piece about the AFC's dominance over the NFC in the NFL. It reads, in part:

It has been a long, long time since the NFC won the annual interconference series against its AFC counterparts.

How long? Well, Bill Clinton was still president. Most of the country was fixated on O.J. Simpson's murder trial. Bosnia was the most prominent international hot spot. The FBI was still desperately searching for the Unabomber. Devoted Deadheads were mourning the death of Jerry Garcia. And pro basketball fans were celebrating the unretirement of Michael Jordan.

Consumers were still getting accustomed to ordering Christmas presents online from the year-old Amazon.com and computer hackers were still three years away from Googling anything. TLC was rhapsodizing about "Waterfalls" and, on movie screens, loveable but bumbling Forrest Gump was philosophizing over the meaning of life and chocolates.

The Atlanta Braves, Houston Rockets, New Jersey Devils and, yikes, even the Nebraska Cornhuskers, were all champions.

Yes, it has been that long, 1995 to be exact, since the NFC won the interconference series. The NFC topped the AFC in 33 of 60 matchups that season, with the Dallas Cowboys punctuating the senior conference's dominance by defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers, 27-17, in Super Bowl XXX.

Since then, the NFC's less-than-scintillating performance against the AFC should pretty much be XXX-out.

Good stuff - I can't believe it's been that long since the NFC - and I loved the stroll down 1995 memory lane - back then, Amazon was a rain forest and a river, and Monica was someone on Friends, not a victim viewed through the haze of Rush Limbaugh's OxyContin addiction.

Anyway, it's amazing to me how the pendulum swings back and forth. I fondly remember the NFC's winning streak in the Super Bowl, which ran all the way to 13 games, from 1985-1997, before the Denver Broncos finally broke the NFC's hex in 1998. Counting that Denver Super Bowl triumph, its first, the AFC has won 8 in 10 Super Bowls.

However, I still say that either Green Bay or Dallas can beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl this January, and I'm sticking with my pre-season prediction that the Cowboys will meet the Patriots in the big game on Feb. 3. Speaking of the Packers and Cowboys and the 1990s...

• I can't wait for the Packers and Cowboys to meet next Thursday. It will mark the first time that two 10-1 teams have met since 1990, when the Giants met the 49ers. But, at least according to history, the winner next Thursday isn't an indication of who will go to Phoenix in February for Super Bowl XLVII. Back in '90, the 9ers won the regular season game, and the Giants came back to beat them in Super Bowl XXV, 20-19, in the most excited Super Bowl I have ever seen.

I'll spare you the suspense - I think the Cowboys will win a very good game next Thursday. Why? They know what's at stake - home field advantage throughout the playoffs. The Cowboys do not want to go play the Packers at Lambaeu Field in January, which would give them a tremendous advantage in an NFC Championship Game.

Whatever happens, I hope next Thursday doesn't disappoint, no matter who wins - I want to see a good game, even though my heart may not take it. And I really hope these two teams get to meet in the NFC Championship Game, because they clearly are the two best teams in the NFC.

As for next Thursday's game, I'll be writing a great deal more about it next week, but right now, the Packers secondary is banged up, and that's not good news for Cheese Heads. If Charles Woodson is out, who's going to cover TO? It should be an interesting six days of hype leading up to this game.

• I spend enough time taking shots at Philadelphia sports fans, and I think rightfully so. But, they are not the only fans capable of boorish behavior - New York fans can at times be just as bad, if not worse. This week, I read a pretty disturbing piece in the New York Times about what Jets fans consider entertainment at Giants Stadium during football games. An excerpt:

At halftime of the Jets’ home game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, several hundred men lined one of Giants Stadium's two pedestrian ramps at Gate D [Above]. Three deep in some areas, they whistled and jumped up and down. Then they began an obscenity-laced chant, demanding that the few women in the gathering expose their breasts.

When one woman appeared to be on the verge of obliging, the hooting and hollering intensified. But then she walked away, and plastic beer bottles and spit went flying. Boos swept through the crowd of unsatisfied men.

Marco Hoffner, an 18-year-old from Lacey Township, N.J., was expecting to see more. Not from the Jets — they pulled off a big upset over the Steelers. He wanted more from the alternative halftime show that, according to many fans, has been a staple at Jets home games for years.

"Very disappointed, because we're used to seeing a lot," Hoffner said.

The mood of previous Gate D crowds — captured on video clips posted on YouTube — sometimes bordered on hostile, not unlike the spirit of infamously aggressive European soccer hooligans. One clip online shows a woman being groped by a man standing next to her.

Are you kidding me? Even worse was the reaction from the Jets, the NFL and certain members of the security guard staff.

According to this piece, written by David Picker, a reporter who approached several security guards to question them about this behavior was detained, threatened with arrest and asked to hand over his tape recorder.

The league and the team both deferred to the security detail, which is provided by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority. The NJSEA stated that preventive measures were being considered, including turning participants over to the New Jersey State Police.

All of this sounds... not good enough to me. For a league that fancies itself as a family league, it doesn't sound like it's taking this absurd behavior seriously. No one has ever accused me of being a prude - I went to Mardi Gras in New Orleans twice during and right after college. But, parents don't take their sons and daughters to Bourbon Street on Fat Tuesday with the expectation of civil behavior, but parents do expect decent behavior at an NFL game. And they should get it.

• I'm delighted that A-Rod is resigning with the Yankees for the ungodly sum of $275 million - this will prevent the Yanks from pursuing at least a few other free agents over the length of this contract. Oh darn. I also was happy to see that Yankee reliever Mariano Rivera signed for three years at $45 million, making him the league's highest paid reliever. Both contracts are high sums, even by Yankee standards. A-Rod's deal I can understand, on some levels, because the guy's a major talent (in the regular season ;o), but Rivera? That's money he deserved in the 1990s, but not now. The more desperate the Yankees get, the more I enjoy it.

Speaking of baseball, the Sox have resigned third baseman Mike Lowell to a three-year deal and Curt Schilling to a one-year deal. I was relieved on both counts. The hated Yankees were courting Lowell for first base, and his departure would have left a tremendous hole at the hot corner for the Sox. As for Schilling's deal, I'm glad it's for one year - he clearly is in decline, but he still is certainly worth of a starting spot on a five-man rotation.

Cartoons of the Week, late edition

I didn't get a chance to bring you any cartoons this past weekend - we had a very busy one, but there were too many good ones from last week (and this past weekend) to pass up. Although I haven't been lately, I'll comment on a few of these topics underneath the comics. Enjoy!

Rudy's attempted dismissal of the entire Kerik affair was as ill-advised as it was glib: "I really don't comment on those stories, and it sounds like it's something from the gossip column." The story I'm referring to, in case you missed it, is that a high-placed executive from Fox News reportedly asking Judith Regan to refrain from publicly trashing Bernie Kerik, because it was thought (I say rightfully so) that it would hurt Giuliani's presidential run. Sadly, this story is all too believable. Another argument FOR abolishing the multimedia giants (fat chance) and AGAINST the idea of a Giuliani presidency. Just what we need - another Republican in bed with corporate America, much less the corporate mass media. Hey, Fox has a great deal to lose in this election - they need another GOP hack in the White House, so they can continue their State TV dominance. (Bonus: They might even get more loosening of media ownership regulations under Rudy's watch. Memo to Fox: Attack! Attack! Attack! Hillary had a planted question! [More on that in a minute])

Kerik and Giuliani have a long and storied history: Kerik was Giuliani's driver and bodyguard during his 1994 run for mayor of New York City, and he later served as head the city's bureau of prisons and NYPD police chief, all on Rudy's watch. After Kerik stepped down as NYPD police chief in 2002, he entered into a business partnership with America's Profiteer, joining Giuliani Partners. Giuliani then later recommended Kerik to the Bush administration to head the Department of Homeland Security. It took about five minutes of digging to unearth Kerik's past, which is checkered to say the least (and I'm being very charitable). Now, we're to believe it was all a big mistake? Yea, right. I'll have much more to say on the Rudy-Kerik relationship in the coming days.

I got a tremendous kick out of the accusation last that Hillary took a planted question from a reporter about global warming in Iowa. There are about 10,000 more important issues facing us right now - this is another non-story, but the right-wing bloggers and Hillary haters are foaming at the mouth and licking their chops. Too bad this incident, even if true, doesn't even pass the smell test for Republicans.

How so? This one's too easy. The Bush administration has had so many incidents of planting reporters (most famously, "reporter" Jeff Gannon at a White House press conference), paying consultants to shill on national political talk shows (How ya doin', Armstrong Wiliams?), and other assorted dirty tricks. Most recently, FEMA held a press conference on the California wildfires with little notice, which wasn't attended by anyone in the press. FEMA employees were asking questions that the deputy director of FEMA answered, on camera! (The feed was carried live by several cable news networks.) Those are real stories - the administration in power, using its position to mislead and distort its facts and coverage to the American people.

It's simply outrageous that ANY candidate would plant people to ask faux questions - I don't care which party a candidate is from. But, try this one on - do you honestly find it hard to believe that Karl Rove ever planted anyone at a Gore '00 campaign event, or at a Kerry '04 event? How about those supposed "demonstrations" for president-"elect" Bush in Florida in '00 during the Florida recount? They were bused in by the Republican National Committee. (Read: the Bush campaign) I could go on an on about how absurd this "story" is, and the 15-minute memory span by most voters in America, but I digress.

These two jackasses did as much to undermine civility in our political discourse in the 1990s than anyone else in elected office in the United States, with a nod to Newt Gingrich and Kenneth W. Starr. Yet DeLay continues to run his mouth to sell books, and network shows like The Today Show buy right into it - inviting him on to shill his garbage books that no one cares about. We should all be calling the so-called Velvet Hammer the Velvet Slammer, because that's right where he should be for his dozens of misdeeds. Yet, like Cheney, Bush and Rumsfeld, he escapes justice, because he's insulated himself so well. So be it, but I really wish the whole lot of them were right where they belong - at one of our enemy combatant camps. Here's to wishful thinking...

In your face, Judas John - the laughable Pat Robertson endorses America's Profiteer. So much for your very public ass kissing. I really hope that deep down somewhere, the long-dead straight talker from Arizona feels some sort of remorse for publicly embracing Bush in '04, and earlier this year, the late hater Jerry Falwell at his university of intolerance.

The Obama press coverage has been just a little less laughable than Hillary's, yet he's gaining in the polls in Iowa. Perhaps America will not be fooled by our corporate mainstream media's many characterizations of Obama.

I really wish that this administration would be properly and justly exposed for the frauds they are for repeating over and over Support the Troops. It's amazing what has happened to the military on Bush and Cheney's watch, yet the Democrats are painted as not supporting our thousands of men and women in uniform. I'll scream it for the cheap seats: THE BEST WAY TO SUPPORT OUR TROOPS IS TO GET THEM HOME FROM IRAQ, NOW.

Too funny...

The latest disastrous oil spills in San Francisco Bay (58,000 gallons) and in Kerch Strait off Russia's coast are both proof positive that the oil companies are not to be trusted in environmentally sensitive areas. (Like that's news.) As dissatisfied as I am with the Democratic Party these days - the fact that they have, to date, successfully blocked Big Oil from invading, pillaging and raping the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a major victory for the party.

I can add nothing to this one, other than to shout that it's a sad reality that we must face, yesterday.

Fred Thompson, the say-nothing candidate who is short on ideas, and even shorter on charisma. *DING! DING!* (Cue Law & Order opening here). Relax, Fred - it'll all be over soon, and you can go back to being the faux DA of New York City. We had one intellectual inferior actor as president in my lifetime - we surly can't weather another.

I don't know about all of you, but I feel less-than-safe whenever I fly. It's the lowlight of any holiday when I have to travel. And since we are a bi-coastal family, it's a reality (and let's face it - a danger) that I'm just going to have to live with.

This personifies a good portion of the American electorate. Quick quiz - I recently read that the wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq are now estimated to cost us $2.4 trillion before it's all over. Gee, thanks George. Question - who do you think will pay for it all? It won't be the George Bushes of the world paying higher taxes and suffering from less services over the next 2-3 decades. It's people like you and me.

Quick question - what's now lower - the dollar or Bush's credibility? Good luck trying to answer that one.

B*nds has been indicted for lying to a grand jury and obstruction of justice. Hey very well could spend many years behind bars. My thought? Don't bet on it. There are two justice systems in this country - those who can afford the hired guns to get them off, and those who can't. This guy won't serve a day in jail.

I don't happen to buy into the argument that people like Barry Bonds or Michael Vick are both some sort of victims. If the government wishes to make an example out of these two - so be it. (Although, a small part of me does buy into the argument when it comes to race in the case of Bonds - why wasn't Mark McGuire pursued as doggedly as B*onds?)

When it comes to Vick, few things rankle me more than when I hear people say (like those idiotic cackling hens on The View, and yes, I'm talking to you, Whoppi Goldberg) that Vick is simply a product of his upbringing and environment in the south. That's the most absurd excuse I've heard yet for Vick's inexcusable behavior. After all, that very excuse didn't hold water for racism in the south (and rightfully so).

And black gold is exactly what it is - trading at around $100 per barrel now. We are all feeling it, and it's only going to get worse.

With every veto Bush issues in the face of a Democratic Congress, it further strengthens the argument that when Repubes ruled Congress, they merely rubber-stamped anything Bush wanted, most notably approving hundreds of billions for the War in Iraq. When the GOP ruled Congress, Bush didn't issue one veto, but now that Democrats are in charge of Congress, it seems as if Bush has a veto fetish. Unfortunately, Democrats have caved in the face of most of his vetoes, most notably funding for the Wart War in Iraq. But, they are taking another run at Bush - we'll see if they cave, or if Bush will. More on this in a bit.

This one is so true. I was in a CVS two weeks ago and there was a full compliment of Christmas gaudiness everywhere. I love Christmas, and it's one of my favorite holidays, but even I don't want to celebrate it for 2.5 months every year.

I wonder, though - is the fact that Christmas seems to have dawned just a bit earlier this year, and the fact that retailers seem more desparate than usual for our our depressed dollars another signification of the sorry state of our economy? It's a fair question.

Latest This Modern World

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Isn't this one the truth. Tom Tomorrow could have drawn Bill O'Lielly and Sean Insanity in this picture, and it would not have changed the accuracy of this one.

A sad commentary on our political discourse

I'm not in the habit of attacking my readers, that's for sure. Part of being an educated person is accepting, in a mature way, views that don't agree with my own. But, this comment is worth of a bit of discussion. This was a comment left about a lighthearted post and picture I posted a few days ago that made light of Philadelphia's appalling murder rate. (The post and picture is directly below this one.) Here's the comment...

Restore control?? You aint fooling anyone. Everybody knows you liberals love and embrace criminals just like you love and embrace terrorists. I would think that you cheer on the murders in Philly. After all, isn't that where one of liberals' biggest heros is from? Mumia the cop killer.

here is a riddle, it is along the lines of the chicken and the egg. Which came first, the Coward or the Liberal?

And here's the response I left to the comment following the post. ...

You're highly entertaining. I can't tell you how much joy it gave me today, knowing that I've angered you. Just when my blogging is lagging, I get inspired all over again.

Oh, and yea, I DEFINITELY cheer the murders in Philadelphia ~ the more murders the better. After all, I live right in the city, so of course I want to live in a city overrun by violence.

My big question for you, Mr. Giuliani, is how do you have this much time to read my blog? Don't you have a campaign of fear to be running? If you're too busy reading my blog, you might miss out on an opportunity to profit from America's fear, Mr. 9-11 Profiteer.

~~~~~

Seriously though - this is exactly what's wrong with the political discourse in America, and the party in the White House and many of its supporters have been a big part of the problem. It basically goes like this - If you don't support the president, the troops, and the War in Iraq, then you hate America.

I'm not using hyperbole here. There have been too many incidents to list since 9-11 where if you opposed what this disgraceful and embarrassing administration's policies, you either a. hate America, b. don't Support the Troops or c. you're siding with the terrorists. That's about as un-American as it gets.

I've said it before many, many times since 9-11, and I'm not likely to stop saying and writing it anytime soon - people who criticize those who don't conform and blindly follow/obey/believe what our leaders tell us don't understand freedom, democracy or America.

I believe those words to be truer now than at any time I've ever written then. After all, your beliefs and ideals are really put to the test when they are faced with opposition, dissent and disagreement. I mean, it really takes a brave soul to be a cheerleader for an empty-headed president who took us to war on a lie and who, in the end, will bankrupt the treasury while rewarding the rich with tax cuts. Why question any of that?

I must be crazy, right?

New Philly handgun

Send someone to hellie with this new cellie, brought to you by Nokia and the City of Brotherly Shove, Philadelphia. I got this over e-mail today, and I just laughed at the irony - Philly is now well over 300 murders for 2007. The only question now is, how high will it go?

I don't mean to trivialize death, but this city is on the brink of being out of control. Here's hoping new mayor Michael Nutter can restore control.

Latest This Modern World

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This is one of Tom Tomorrow's better This Modern World strips in a while. The confirmation hearings of Attorney General Michael Mukasey were a total disgrace - I don't know what was more sad - the fact that we now have an attorney general who refuses to classify waterboarding as torture, or the fact feckless Democratic senators dicker, daudle and debate about what to do about such a hapless nominee.

Of course - it was all for naught - President Bush gets his man, as usual.

Weekend Cartoons - Late Edition

Sorry I didn't get to the weekly Weekend Cartoons over the weekend - it turned out to be a pretty busy one, topped off by our hosting a Sunday night party for the Birds/Cowboys game. (More on that in a minute.)

Anyway, as usual, I'm behind on blogging, which unfortunately seems to be the norm these days, but some of the issues in the 'toons below I'll be writing about in the coming days.

Enjoy. ...