top 10 political scoops of 2008

There's an interesting list on politico.com. If we sat down an thought for a while, we could probably have come up with it.

But since they already made a list - it is easier to just to post the link.

"Political junkies couldn't have asked for a better year."

http://www.politico.com/

Happy New Year!

Hi Everybody!

i just want to wish all of my friends a very Happy New Year!
i hope that the coming year will be better for all of you than 2008 was. i'm so happy that 2008 is coming to an end...it was a really bad year for so many of us.
We should all try to make 2009 a better year by trying to do good things and by helping other people with their problems as much as we can.

Love from,

tara

Editorials

Talk about fellow travelers....




Amazing how the there are no rules in wartime defense only works for the side that believes they are winning. I can remember when we swore we were not at "war" in Vietnam..that it was a "police action", while at the same time complaining that the enemy were not complying with the "rules of war" (Geneva conventions). I am constantly amazed at how good every country seems to be about wanting it both ways. Here's another. We are all for trying war criminals in an international court of justice...which of course we ourselves do not recognize as having any jurisdiction over us...^_^

Editorials

But..but...weren't the last 15 tax increases on cigarette sales supposed to balance the budgets forever? What do you mean, everyone stopped smoking because it became to expensive....?



What's the difference between the Hindenburg and Rush Limbaugh?





Yep..he's learned how to run a Ponzi scheme from the best...Ronnie Raygun himself. When it comes to stealing investors money there is no better role model than a Repug pres....^_^ ( I believe the theory is.."What a bunch of idiots..they should have invested it themselves. We'll show them what happens when you put your trust in the promises of a government. We'll raid it to pay for our tax cuts to the rich, just like the corporations raid their trust funds...no one will ever notice anyway.")

Medical Myths

Here is the link.

At least some of these I knew were silly...but there are always a couple that I realize I have accepted as facts..often for large portions of my life..^_^. Below are the myths..details at the BBC site I link to...

Hangover Cures
Eating Late and Gaining Weight
Sugar and Hyperactivity
Hats and the cold
Poinsettia Toxicity
Suicides at Christmas

Editorials

This is time consuming. Is it worth it?



As you can see from the cartoon below...this is actually how the repugs see the world. It's all the workers fault....our non worker overlords are to be absolved of all blame. All hail our feudal masters....



I wonder how we blame this one on the workers? Possibly the United Union of Security Salesmen is somehow to blame......^_^


And he's had so much practice ducking he barely even had to move....




Meet the new Bush, same as the old Bush....

Editorials

Yes, there are a lot of them..but I was lazy for a few days..^_^



...and these are the guys who went to the exclusive private schools....



Well, a problem suggesting that these were ever "American" values. GOP values, sure..but not American.




For the last 8 years the Goofs have been blaming everything that's gone wrong on Clinton....so, you would think that for the next 8 everything would be Bush's fault...but .... no...we've gone right to Obama, just for having the gall to get elected!!! And they wonder why we laugh at them. The cartoon below would be considered an exaggeration if it was portraying any group except the repugs.....but the core right wing of the party is still blowing this tripe out of their orifices....

Editorials

No comment needed...



Needs a Lipstick $ .99 sign...



This is normal. A good example of "just not getting it". The criticism of them showing up in their Leer Jet's to beg for money the first time means it is already too late...any sane person would have thought of that before hand. Changing if for later appearances just makes things worse....as it shows how willing they are to pander to the lowest intelligence level (ie, congress). I don't care if they all show up in individual limo's or even work their way down to car pooling (although which car to use would be an interesting debate to hear...I wonder if they would alternate..^_^). I might be a little worried about them all driving around together. I've never heard of much good coming out of a carful of guys out for a joyride..^_^. And aren't they supposed to be competitiors? Perhaps if they were all 3 wouldn't be in trouble. You'd think at least one of them would have been willing to buck the tide if they were really competing...

On a related note, I'm still seeing cartoons railing against the evil "workers" and their compensation package. First off...they are no where near as generous as that given to the non-workers (executives), and, if I recall, the evil unions have already suggested a number of cuts they would be willing to accept. I do not recall hearing anything from any "executives" about how they are happy to accept a cut for the benefit of all. Where are the cartoons mentioning that? Or is it only the easy targets that are grist for the mill? I think maybe it's an example of what is to come. Much of the easy material will be going away soon, and I think the artist/writers of these things have gotten lazy over the last 8 years of easy pickings. They aren't used to having to think a little bit for an idea anymore....^_^

Fake Simpsons cartoon 'is porn'

Reads the headline on the BBC site. Now..first off..that is not the ruling. It is (even without seeing it), almost certainly porn. The ruling was that it was "child porn", which falls under different rules..having little to do with it's prurient interest and much to do with the protection of children...hence a more liberal interpretation of what should not be allowed. Cartoon characters may well be depicted in pornographic situations...but in no way can they ever be considered children (or adults, or animals, or anything other than drawings...and due the same protections as any other form or artistic expression..like say...words....).

I can't wait to see this logic continued. The headline possibilities are endless.

REAL SIMPSONS CARTOON:
IS CRUEL TO ANIMALS
ENDANGERS CHILDREN
IS LIBELOUS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT
PROMOTES ALCOHOLISM
GLAMORIZES VIOLENCE

We don't even want to begin to think what troubles the old Warners cartoon catalog is in if cartoon characters are now considered to be real. But...we do get an indication (since this line of thought has been prevalent in the US for the last quarter century or more), why there have been so few good cartoon shows done in that time. (With...of course...the glaring exceptions of the Simpsons and South Park..which don't even pretend to be made for children).

Here is something that those in power are going to have to get through their heads....since graphic representations and virtual reality will make up much of this century at least. These are methods of expression or art.....and have more in common with the printed word than with the motion picture or photograph. No real people were harmed in the making of this drawing (or this rant..^_^).

May contain nuts.

Editorials

Finally, (I hope) got my dish installed properly (ie..the right dish pointed the right direction), which means..with any luck...I won't have to deal with that particular group of "customer service" reps for years. Leaving me still with their Comcast brethren to deal with in terms of broadband...but at least they can only screw me on one service now...^_^.

Found an interesting little article on the BBC site. Here's a link. I love articles that excuse my sloppiness and blame it on my "creative" mind....^_^.

Also..any comments on this? (Especially you Anagen.)


Remember, the cartoons can be seen at a larger size by clicking on them...


Yes..it's the consumers fault. How dare they take cheap home loans and credit and then cry for help and talk about bankruptcy. You won't catch America's bank and industrial leaders behaving that way......^_^. What's that you say? They are? Are what they want is lower interest rates so they can borrow more? Funny...that's not what they say is right for consumers. For them they want higher interest rates and harder bankruptcy rules. Wonder why what works for them is no good for us?



It's an easy cartoon. "It's the governments fault" cry the poor industrialists. I wonder why the non big 3 automakers were able to live with the same rules? Maybe they got some special advantages....like....competent management? A product line that is more varied and flexible?

Return of the editorials...

Haven't been involved looking at the cartoons as much this week. Main reason is..mostly a lot of hot air about nothing. Can't really blame anything on the new guy yet....and even the cartoonists can't be surprised anymore at the pure depth of mis-management and stupidity shown by the current batch. Also...I've spent most of the week trying to save a few bucks a month by getting rid of my cable video and going to Dish Network for everything. I was hoping that along with that would come a slightly more competent customer service department...but it seems that Dish has an even more rigid top down control structure...so that when you finally do actually get a human being they are so limited as to what they can do as to be almost worthless...while (as is virtually always the case) the supervisors who can make decisions are clueless retards. So..the pain in the ass quotient (at least as far as getting things running properly to start with) is just as high as with Comcast....but...I am saving a bundle of money for more programming, and I have high hopes (having been a satellite subscriber before) that once I am up and running I won't have to deal with them with anywhere near the frequency that I have to with the cable...^_^



This has been a running theme the last week....and I basically agree....many people are greedy bastards...but...what I haven't seen in any of the cartoons...is...what about the stores? If you advertise 50% off 1 hour only first come first served for items that are known to be in short supply...don't go wringing your hands when the customer frenzy you've spent thousands to whip up actually occurs. How about a fair price all the time? Then people wouln't be goaded into lining up in the cold for hours beforehand and sprinting for the goal. If you turn things into a sporting competition don't be surprised when you get injuries and foul behavior. For an example, watch any football game..^_^.




However..the difference between Minnesota and Florida is....Minnesota is actually bothering to count all their votes in the recount. Not running about trying to get the courts to stop it....although once again the repugs are frightened to death of what a recount that includes all the cast ballots will show. If I'm a cartoonist..I'm rooting for Franken. Much better one liners...make my job easier...^_^

so when does fantasy turn into reality

November 29th, 2008
Mom wants Drew to serve the max - three years and $300,000

I wonder about the response to this

http://government.zdnet.com/?p=4208

the washington post described the incident:

Drew, 49, of Dardenne Prairie, Mo., posed as a teenage boy, "Josh Evans," using a MySpace account to send romantic, then disturbing, messages to one of her daughter's classmates, 13-year-old Megan Meier. Meier thought she was messaging with a new, good-looking boy in town. As the New Yorker magazine said in a January article about the case: "Megan and her peers carried on an online social life that was more mercurial, and perhaps more crucial to their sense of status and acceptance, than the one they inhabited in the flesh."
Meier, who suffered from depression, killed herself in October 2006 soon after reading a message from Drew's account that said: "The world would be a better place without you."

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/washingtonpostinvestigations/2008/11/myspace_suicide_ruling_a_water.html?nav=rss_blog


is the question one of how to prosecute some who does this kind of thing (ie picking the laws based on terms of use, or is the bigger question, do you hold someone responsible for manipulating someone else in a harmful way - do you prosecute someone who falsifies identity and then purposely promotes angst in others in a real-life physical setting?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hi everybody.

i just wanted to wish all my American friends a very Happy Thanksgiving!

i hope you all have a nice holiday. In Canada we celebrated Thanksgiving back in October. But i'll still cook a turkey wing for dinner tonight!

love from,

tara

Editorials

Now..back to the cartoons...no additional help from me today..^_^

The kind of thing that makes us a laughingstock.

Now..that being said...all countries have things that seem to be more prevalent in their country than any other...so people get to set up and maintain their stereotypes. This one seems prototypical American..^_^.

McDonald's sued...

Comments please...^_^

Editorials

Ok..almost didn't make todays post..but better late than never.


For those who celebrated too early...remember 60 days left and no accountability whatsoever. Now..many of these things he was doing won't last more that 2 months as Obama comes in and rescinds the more ridiculous ones....but still....a lot of damage can be done in 2 months....



Why does he act the way he does? (in reference to the previous cartoon) Possibly a quick look at the Texas school system may hold a clue....

Editorials

I've ranted on this already..but I do like it when someone can do it better in a lot fewer words...^_^



After posting this..I'm not sure what it is..^_^. I had a whole rant set up about the silliness of lying to your customers about your product when all it would take is the lowest level of employee to bring down the whole corporation...but I can't find any news article suggesting that Whole was mis-labeling their products. Now I'll just use it as an example of a poorly thought out comic and see if anyone see's something in it that I'm not....

On the humor side...I found this on Digg...

http://www.ridelust.com/road-rage-101-tips-to-piss-off-other-drivers/

I find I regularly do 3 or 4 of them..but that's only because the drivers around me have already pissed me of by doing the other 6.....^_^

Fwd: REVIEW CONTEST & NEW LIVE VIDEOS!!!

From: Ian McGlynn

WIN $50 OF NEW MUSIC, COURTESY OF IAN MCGLYNN

Hey Everyone! A lot of you have been asking about the review contest. First, to write a review on iTunes you must have an account with iTunes. Second, to write the review, go to the "This Is The Sound" album page on iTunes and click on 'write a review'. The last day to submit your review is Nov. 30, 2008. Please read the below press release for more details. In other news...for those of you who missed the recorded and filmed Blue Light Sessions show, we have some good news. 3 of the live performances are up on Youtube for your viewing pleasure. Please leave a comment and tell us what you think! Play Dead: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=01W61ch7pQI Night Driving: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=B1suQjK1YSI Memorial Day Parade: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=yoNzy7Jg5ig Love, Camp McGlynn and the Bailey Park Think Tank We figure that most of you probably lay in bed at night writing in your journal about Ian's music. Just yesterday, Ian's third cousin Larry wrote this on the bathroom wall of The Thirsty Beagle: "Ian's songs sound like flowers trying to grow in my Nana's garden at springtime." Another fan wrote: "Ian's songs sound like music from a cuckoo's nest." Both beautiful sentiments, but only one is likely to remain on Ian's Facebook page. Since it seems so many of you seek an outlet to express your wonderfully unique thoughts on Ian's new album, we have a suggestion for you. And a challenge. Camp McGlynn and the Bailey Park Think Tank is pleased to announce our This Is The Contest. What's This Is The Contest, you ask? Well, it's as simple as this: Listen to Ian's latest album, This Is The Sound, ponder it every waking hour of your day, and then write a review of it on iTunes. We've assembled an all-star panel of judges to vote for their favorite. The winner gets a $50 iTunes gift card. Meet the judges: Gary Nadeau is a director of films, writer of screenplays, and the guy who's doing Ian's first music video. He co-wrote the film Jack, starring Robin Williams, and has been making a bunch of cool shorts for dwell (http://www.dwell.com). Check 'em out, yo. John Mosloskie is not only the producer of This Is The Sound, and a player on it, but he fronts a group of genius musicians called Holler, Wild Rose! who deserve your immediate attention. Ariane Trahan is the founder of No Correct Way, a music publicity and promotion company that is working with us to make This Is The Sound even more special than we already think it is. So, what are you waiting for! Listen, opine, wax poetic, shoot from the hip. Whatever. Just no erotic poetry, please. Oh, and Ian has a brand new website created by Brandon Tutmarc. Check it out here: http://www.ianmcglynn.com

-

Editorials

Awww...is da big bad unions pushed the poor multi millionaire CEO and his minions to the verge of bankruptcy? Poor old CEO. I wonder where the union bashing has been the last couple of decades when "management" was ignoring the future and counting their money? Why is it with repugs that when a company is doing well it's because of skilled management..and when it's doing poorly it's the greedy workers fault? Just once I'd like to hear one of them admit that maybe lack of planning and lackwitted good ol' boys were the problem...not some grunt barely making a living wage. Anyway..if they are so hot on getting these automakers bailed out..rather than bashing the unions they might be saying thank you. The dems certainly owe no favors to the management side...while they may well owe the unions some consideration. Personally..I say let them crash and burn and buy a Toyota....^_^



Here is more the problem with the auto companies. The 80's taught them nothing..in fact, they still behave as if it's the 50's. Maybe they can ask some questions..like why are they always 5 years behind the rest of the worlds automakers? Must be those damned unions. Probably been spiking managements water with lead....^_^

Not that I'm ever known to brag.....^_^

Full analytical report for Cliff

Please bookmark this page; it will be available online for two weeks. You may also print a copy of each section for your records.

General statistics

Total number of questions: 30
Questions answered: 30
Questions not answered: 0
Questions answered correctly: 28
Questions answered incorrectly: 2
Percentage correct answers: 93 %

Your age adjusted IQ score is 142 and the average score for all test takers is 100.

Your Grade ** Gifted **

Anyone with a general IQ this high is considered to be gifted. You have the ability to think critically, conceptualize ideas and form your own conclusions. Your ability to think in patterns and to produce order out of chaos enables you to handle complexities and see logic in everything. Needless to say you are self-aware of your abilities and have the brains for all known occupations. If you think of intelligence as the ability to adapt easily to new situations then you are at the top of the charts.

So...my eternal question is...if I'm so smart (and verbal is my strongest category), why is it I have such a hard time getting anyone to understand what the f I'm talking about? ^_^

PS..this is directly in line with every IQ test I've taken since I was in high school +/- 4 points. Just nice to see my brain hasn't totally given up..^_^ Here is the web site if anyone is interested.ll

http://www.intelligencetest.com

Editorials

hmmm..I think I made a similar comment a day or so ago..but that was about rank and file right wing loonies...not this specific subset.

On top of their little parties....lets also take into account all of the money they've wasted over the last few years trying to raise their name recognition and profile...only to have it tossed away by an idiot executive staff (given that that phrase is not an oxymoron). Not only are they in financial trouble, but their name is now shit on top of it. 20 to 1 they are purchased and subsumed...(or do the purchasing themselves and take the name of the company they purchased..like Cingular did with AT&T).

Second Life affair ends in divorce...

Hi everybody,

i just read the item that Cliff posted at this blog on Friday, November 14, 2008, about the Second Life affair that ended in divorce.

My first reaction was one of disbelief...like can't these people tell reality from fantasy? Why don't they get a life?

But....then....i was thinking about it more and more...and hey, i think i'm the same way as the lady whose partner cheated on her in Second Life. That if it happened to me i would probably react the same way!

Does that mean i'm taking Second Life too seriously...that i'm spending too much time in a fantasy world?

Does it all mean that i'm wasting my real life by living more and more in my Second Life?

What do all of you think?

Love from,

tara

Editorials

I suggest an off shore prison camp for them..I know just the place....^_^



No turkey..turn the axe where it will save us all....



Always room for more clowns at that circus....

Well, that attempt to email a link directly looks ugly as hell. So...let's try this link to Dick Cavett's blog.

Second Life affair ends in divorce - CNN.com

Powered by    * Please note, the sender's email address has not been verified.       Here's an attempt to publish from another site by emailing the article. Hope it works.             Click the following to access the sent link:       Second Life affair ends in divorce - CNN.com*                 Get your EMAIL THIS Browser Button and use it to email content from any Web site. Click here for more information.   *This article can also be accessed if you copy and paste the entire address below into your web browser. http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/11/14/second.life.divorce/index.html?iref=mpstoryview