Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

DeSantis transforming Florida into 1930s Germany with gators and theme parks.

Giving in to doom is how authoritarians win.

He seems like a smart guy, but JFC, what a dick!

They think we are photo bombing their nice little lives.

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

You would normally have to try pretty hard to self-incriminate this badly.

We are learning that “working class” means “white” for way too many people.

Bad people in a position to do bad things will do bad things because they are bad people. End of story.

Republicans do not trust women.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

Never give a known liar the benefit of the doubt.

America is going up in flames. The NYTimes fawns over MAGA celebrities. No longer a real newspaper.

The lights are all blinking red.

My right to basic bodily autonomy is not on the table. that’s the new deal.

I like political parties that aren’t owned by foreign adversaries.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

Republicans don’t lie to be believed, they lie to be repeated.

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

“Alexa, change the president.”

Fight them, without becoming them!

“The defense has a certain level of trust in defendant that the government does not.”

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

Republican speaker of the house Mike Johnson is the bland and smiling face of evil.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

You are here: Home / Archives for 2004

Archives for 2004

I Just Wish

by | 13 Comments

This post is in: 

I just wish Iraq were not such a distraction on the War on Terror:

A 30-year-old Minnesota man has been indicted on charges of supporting al Qaeda, the group blamed by the United States for the 2001 attacks on New York and Washington, the Justice Department said on Wednesday.

Mohammed Warsame, 30, of Minneapolis, gave “material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, namely al Qaeda” beginning in March of 2000 and continuing until his arrest in Minneapolis in December, the indictment alleged.

The indictment from a federal grand jury in Minneapolis did not say exactly how Warsame is alleged to have aided the group headed by fugitive Islamic extremist Osama bin Laden.

But Attorney General John Ashcroft said the action “demonstrates this nation’s iron resolve to detect, disrupt and dismantle the networks of terror.”

Christopher Wray, an assistant attorney general, added that “This case is a stark reminder that the threat from terrorists and those who help them exists across the country, not just in New York City and Washington, D.C., but also in places like Buffalo, Tampa, Portland, San Diego and, now, Minnesota.”

Warsame has been described in published reports in Minneapolis as a college student. He appeared in federal court in New York and was ordered held without bond pending his return to Minneapolis, the announcement said.

I want the details- this story was too vague.

I Just WishPost + Comments (13)

I Never Would Have Guessed

by | 5 Comments

This post is in: 

This may be the least surprising news story since Michael Jackon was accused of child molestation:

Art Garfunkel, part of the folk music duo Simon and Garfunkel, was charged with marijuana possession after police pulled his limousine over for speeding in upstate New York.

Garfunkel, 62, had a small amount of marijuana in his jacket pocket when a state trooper stopped the limo Saturday afternoon in Hurley, 55 miles southwest of Albany, the Daily Freeman of Kingston reported.

The trooper smelled marijuana after approaching the vehicle, in which Garfunkel was the lone passenger.

Garfunkel, of Manhattan, was scheduled to appear in court on January 28 on the charge, which carries a possible $100 fine, or he could respond by mail.

I guess I just missed the part where someone was hurt by Garfunkel’s behavior- you know, the part that makes this worthy of arrest and public attention. I just hope Willie Nelson steers clear of Hurley, New York.

I Never Would Have GuessedPost + Comments (5)

2004 Election

by | 1 Comment

This post is in: 

This is exactly what I thought to myself when I saw the Iowa Caucus results:

So much for Democrats jumping blindly off a cliff. The main message Iowa caucus-goers sent on Monday is that, while they may be angry with President Bush, they think the best revenge isn’t to snarl and stomp but to defeat him in November.

Democrats took a bold leap for the conventional, lifting a pair of well-known Senators, John Kerry and John Edwards, to the front of the Presidential pack. Both candidates were helped enormously because the two earlier Iowa front-runners, Howard Dean and Dick Gephardt, decided to attack one another in ads and speeches while the Senators dodged media and opponent scrutiny.

But it also helped that Iowa Democrats seemed to be in an Al Davis mood: Just win, baby. According to the “entrance polls” (this being a caucus, not a primary), 26% of voters said the most important quality they were seeking was the ability to beat Mr. Bush. Senators Kerry and Edwards combined to win two-thirds of those voters.

We shall see.

2004 ElectionPost + Comments (1)

SOTU Review

by | 2 Comments

This post is in: 

I guess I should post my thoughts on the speech itself. After hearing it last night, I thought to myself: “Not bad.” Then I went through and re-read the transcript, and I realized what I liked. His delivery. He really has improved as a speaker, and other than a few pronunciation gaffes (nuk -u- lar), his perforamce as a speaker keeps getting better and better.

Then to the nuts and bolts. I loved the first half of the speech. And then there was the domestic stuff. Other than the plan to ease the transition for convicts to help curb the rates of recidivism and making the tax cuts permanent, I can’t find anything I like. Period.

And for the record- if you want baseball to get rid of steroids, don’t ask them. Tell them. You want to keep your anti-trust exemption? Institute mandatory drug testing. That would end that debate pretty quick.

The rest of it just seemed like a Clintonian list of conservative mini-programs. Count me as unimpressed, but Bush doesn’t have to impress me much- look what he is running against:

“The State of the Union may look rosy from the White House balcony or the suites of George Bush’s wealthiest donors. But hard-working Americans will see through this President’s effort to wrap his radical agenda with a compassionate ribbon.

“This week in New Hampshire, and as the campaign moves ahead, I look forward to debating with my opponents about who has stood up to George Bush on the issues that matter. About who has actually delivered results for people. About who has the experience and strength to bring real change for American families.”

I don’t understand how Dean is going to get elected when every time he opens his mouth I instinctively think “What an asshole.” Once again, the Democrats are going to set the bar really low for George Bush.

*** Update ***
I am not the only one. Sully and Tacitus are both pretty pissed about the domestic agenda.

SOTU ReviewPost + Comments (2)

Advice to Democrats

by | 3 Comments

This post is in: 

The Calpundit analyzes the weak Democratic response to the SOTU address, and he has a few suggestions:

And what I feel like posting about is the crappy Democratic response to the SOTU. Why was it so crappy?

To be sure, part of it was the speakers themselves. And the speech itself wasn’t so hot either. Plus the decision to have both Pelosi and Daschle speak probably wasn’t very smart. But I think there’s an even bigger problem.

When the president speaks, he does it in a big room full of people. He’s addressing those people, they clap and cheer, and there’s a lot of natural energy surrounding the whole thing. This is what the response needs.

Now, back in my marketing days I used to enjoy talking to groups. I don’t know why, I just did. But practicing speeches was entirely different. I almost never did it, and when I did I was horrible: wooden, stuttery, and joyless. Much like tonight’s performance. But put me up on a stage with real people in front of me and I was fine.

I think that’s what the response needs. The Democrats should have rented a ballroom or something, invited a few hundred party stalwarts (at 500 bucks a pop!), and delivered a real speech to a real audience. Instead of a deathly quite soundstage and an unblinking camera, they could have used the energy of the room the way any good speaker does.

Unfortunately, Kevin is wrong on almost every account. I have some advice of my own, and this is for both parties. Stop giving the responses, period. Just stop it. They are pointless, and I have never seen either party give an effective response. All they do is serve to make the opposition party look puny and out of power, mainly because, as Kevin noted, the President will always have an insurmountable advantage with the pageantry of the spectacle.

How many of you remember the hideous responses the Republicans gave during the Clinton years? I remember Bob Dole’s hideously wooden attempt in 1996 (which served only as a prelude to how awful his campaign would be that year), I remember an equally awful performance by Trent Lott in 1999, and who could forget Jennifer Dunn’s hideously cringeworthy attempt in 1999. The only one I remember that even approached respectability was J.C. Watts in 1997.

The tradition of an opposition response started in the 1960’s, and I think it is time it ended. And, Democrats- if you do nothing else, please stop referring to Nancy Pelosi with the Stalinesque title of ‘Leader Pelosi.’ Jeebus- that made my skin crawl. I can’t imagine how it played in the VFW.

Advice to DemocratsPost + Comments (3)

That Liberal Media

by | 13 Comments

This post is in: 

For a sitting President who inteds to run again, the State of the Union address is not only an attempt to discuss the issues and challenges of the day, but an opportunity to reflect on past accomplishments and to lay the groundwork for the re-election bid. George Bush did just that, but he was not the only member to last night formally start his election bid. The NY Times, in two ofhe most famously partisan and shamelessly un-nuanced editorials I have seen in years, also declared the beginning of their 2004 campaign. They have two candidates, of course- ‘Anybody But Bush’ or ‘Anyone with a (D) at the End of Their Name.’

Here is the opening paragraph of the first editorial, which serves as the rebuttal to all things domestic from this current administration:

When the president delivers his State of the Union address, we like to listen respectfully and respond politely. It is always easy to find things worth applauding. Last night, for instance, President Bush mentioned job retraining, immigration law reform and programs to help newly released prisoners re-enter society. The impulse is always to split the difference

That Liberal MediaPost + Comments (13)

Daschle

by | 5 Comments

This post is in: 

Did Tom Daschle break into Rush Limbaugh’s leftover oxycontin? He sounds like Mr. Rogers and looks stoned to the bejeezus. And that forced smiled at the end of every sentence is creeping me out.

DaschlePost + Comments (5)