who just doesn't understand?

During the debate, I wanted to vomit every time McCain said "Senator Obama doesn't seem to understand..." It was pretty clearly a tactic (not strategy) decided upon pre-debate. I didn't know if he was goading Obama or what. It was annoying to me, a left leaning Democrat, but I figured it must be intended for the undecided voter, and I wondered if it worked. Well, at least one undecided voter told me it didn't, that McCain came across as an ass. This person credited Obama for not slinging veiled insults back. So that was heartening. I need to stop seeing these debates through my eyes. Obama has my vote; I need to take into account how the "independents" react. If Obama needs to do somethings that don't exactly please me, I understand.

Anyways, what the hell was the point of this? Oh yeah. So one of McCain's "Obama doesn't understand" jabs concerned Pakistan.

"There was a failed state in Pakistan when Musharraf came to power," McCain responded. "Everybody who was around then and had been there and knew about it knew that it was a failed state."

Failed state? Everybody knew? Surely the U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan at the time, William Milan, must have known.

There are a number of interesting books, including a forthcoming one by me, that cover the 1999 coup by the Musharraf-led army. You might want to look at those already published by Steve Cohen, Hasan Abbas, Hussain Haqqani (long before he became the present Pakistani Ambassador), and especially Ian Talbot’s updated history of Pakistan.

I think that all of them would agree that, while there were a lot of things wrong in Pakistan during the years leading up to the 1999
military takeover, Pakistan was not a failed state as we normally define such states. I am on record as stating publicly that, having come to Pakistan from Liberia a year before the takeover, I had a pretty good idea of what failed states look like, and it was not one

Via Yglesias.

mothman - mothman ep (1994)

Sludgy hardcore from New Jersey.

1994 Flatleaver Records.

DOWNLOAD MOTHMAN

big jay mcneely at the adams avenue street fair

Well, Fresno State plays UCLA this Saturday at the Rose Bowl, and I will be there. However, day one of the Adams Avenue Street Fair is Saturday as well. I live a house away from Adams, so it would be super convenient for me to go, and I will go on Sunday. But what makes missing Saturday suck is that I just found out Big Jay McNeely will be playing.

Big Jay is a criminally under appreciated (me included, until around 1997) uptempo saxophone player who absolutely influenced the direction of rock'n'roll in the 50's. But, I'm no expert on the man. I stumbled upon a bargain bin CD (Big Jay McNeely In 3-D) a decade ago and thought, "what the hell?", only to be blown away when I finally played it. I'll admit, I didn't even realize the guy was still alive, much less still playing.

So yeah, it sucks that I have to miss him play, but my Bulldogs in the Rose Bowl supercede almost everything.

Plus, SC hates honkin' horns. That's some choice she gets, foootball or horns. I'm a selfish, selfish, man.

So my point is, if you are going to the street fair, or just looking for something to do Saturday, GO SEE BIG JAY MCNEELY!!! It's be sad to see a sparse crowd show up for a legend.

Here's some stuff to get you primed.

Big Jay Shuffle


The Goof


Nervous Man Nervous (hmmm....did this inspire BDP's "Nervous"?)


Here's the lowdown:

Big Jay McNeely, Saturday, Sept 27, 7:45pm, Hawley Blues Stage

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read much?

I took a sleep aid last night, and it has completely turned my mind to mush. So I may be imagining this. But if I'm not, this seems to be the sequence of events.

1. Treasury Secratary Paulson unveils his bailout plan, which is completely vague and consists of about 3 pages (the whole thing can be read in less than five minutes here).
2. McCain "suspends" his campaign, requests that Friday's debate be postponed, so that he can go back to Washington to help get the plan, which takes less than five minutes to read,  passed. 
3. McCain admits that he has not even read the plan, which again, takes less than five minues to read.

I'm quite sure none of this actually happened, though. I mean, that sequence of events would make no sense whatsoever, especially for a ready-to-lead presidential candidate.

Damn you, generic, Target-branded sleep aid!

and such as

I'll join the meme...



The Editors: 

I get spam which makes more sense than this. I get spam which makes more sense as an answer to Couric’s question than this. Jesus.

You know what's coming.

 

letterman

David Letterman on McCain: 

"What are you going to do if you're elected and things get tough? Suspend being president? We've got a guy like that now!"

debate

McCain suspends his campaign and tries to cancel Friday's debate. Why? Because if his wonderous mojo doesn't get back to DC and do, uh....well, something, we will be in a depression by Monday.

In other words, John McCain thinks you are very, very stupid.

Josh Marshall aptly summarizes:

He's desperate and reckless. This is what it appears to be: political stunt dressed up as vainglorious self-sacrifice. In other words, typical John McCain.

This campaign has left absurd in the dust on its way to surreal. I can no longer take McCain even semi-seriously as a politician. Watching the decline of someone previously admired by many is not something that makes me happy.

the bailout plan

This is exactly what the entire discussion of the $700 billion bailout plan seems like to me.




I sez we need more monkeys asking "why?"

off with their heads

A few weeks ago I saw Off WIth Their Heads at the Radio Room (formerly  Zombie Lounge) here in San Diego.

Singer dude came across as a prick, but I didn't go to see their sparkling personalities; I went to rock out, man. Here's some shitty fuckin' video taken with my shitty fuckin' camera.





That first song is "Fuck This, I'm Out", for which they made a very technical, CGI-heavy video. Spielberg is jealous.


Off With Their Heads - Fuck This, I'm Out from Mario Framingheddu on Vimeo.

The second song is "That Must Be Nigel With The Brie".

Both songs streaming below.

Fuck This, I'm Out


That Must Be Nigel With The Brie

guess that band

Would you believe....Suicidal Tendencies? 

Via Last Days Of Man On Earth.

overshadowed

The Sarah Palin selection succeeded in overshadowing Barack Obama's convention speech. Now America's financial meltdown is. But I think it's a great speech, and it's a shame that had only recieved a day of attention. So here it is again.



The best commentary on the speech came from a sports blog, Kissing Suzy Kolber, who captured the North Carolina State/Carolina Panther demographic reaction: 

You know, I turned away from watchin’ my ol’ boys from the Wolfpack playin’ them no good Gamecocks last night in some footbaw to see what this Obarama feller had to say last night, and I have to say I wudn’t very impressed.

When is this colored feller gonna get more specific?

All he talked about last night was war, the economy, immigration, abortion, taxes, gun control, conservation, government regulation, education, foreign policy, and energy policy. But that was all just RHETORIC. Folks down here don’t care to hear all that lofty talk. We’re real Americans. We need to hear SUBSTANCE!

For instance, he barely talked about trade last night. I had hoped he would devote at least 70 minutes to talking about trade. And he didn’t spend 35 minutes talking about property levies, like I wanted. And how come he didn’t say NOTHIN’ about the garbage cans that have been sittin’ in Mrs. Furlong’s yard for HIGH ON THREE WEEKS NOW? The whole neighborhood was up in arms about that! How could he neglect to even MENTION it? Sounds like someone isn’t really tuned in to what the American people need to hear!

And he didn’t say SHIT about how Jake Delhomme’s elbow is doin’. I wonder… does he even care?

Nope, he didn’t say nothin’ about any of that. Instead, he just spent 45 minutes giving a detailed, toplined plan about what he planned to do as President. Well, that just strikes me as hollow. I much would have preferred an 85-hour telethon that noted every detail of every single thing he has ever done or ever will do. Now, I heard that you can get this kind of info on his “intersite”. But, that sounds pretty darn elitist to me. NOT ALL OF US HAVE FANCY INTERSITES, SIR! WE ONLY GOT RADIOS LAST WEEK!

I just think this feller’s different. I done never seen him walking around town! How can I trust someone that hasn’t even served on my city council? I don’t know what kind of crazy tricks he’ll try and pull. I don’t think he gets what really matters to us everyday folk.

Like that stage last night. I didn’t care for that art direction ONE BIT. And he didn’t get how much that means to me. So I’m not votin’ for that feller. He just isn’t giving me any concrete reasons to vote for him.

Also, he’s black.

buy my shitpile

Well, financial firms around the world are trying to get in on the shitpile bailout, you may as well too!

With our economy in crisis, the US Government is scrambling to rescue our banks by purchasing their "distressed assets", i.e., assets that no one else wants to buy from them. We figured that instead of protesting this plan, we'd give regular Americans the same opportunity to sell their bad assets to the government.

Let's see, I have:

• Student loan for an MA I have yet to receive.
• Zune.
• McGwire, Bonda, and Clemens rookie cards.
• Shamwow

The government needs to buy these off me at prices I determine, or the financial health of our country is threatened.

(Okay, so I don't own a Shamwow, and actually, I love my Zune)

beware of the american 419 email scam

Don't fall for these crazy-ass scams:

Dear American:

I need to ask you to support an urgent secret business relationship with a transfer of funds of great magnitude.

I am Ministry of the Treasury of the Republic of America. My country has had crisis that has caused the need for large transfer of funds of 800 billion dollars US. If you would assist me in this transfer, it would be most profitable to you.

I am working with Mr. Phil Gram, lobbyist for UBS, who will be my replacement as Ministry of the Treasury in January. As a Senator, you may know him as the leader of the American banking deregulation movement in the 1990s. This transactin is 100% safe.
This is a matter of great urgency. We need a blank check. We need the funds as quickly as possible. We cannot directly transfer these funds in the names of our close friends because we are constantly under surveillance. My family lawyer advised me that I should look for a reliable and trustworthy person who will act as a next of kin so the funds can be transferred.

Please reply with all of your bank account, IRA and college fund account numbers and those of your children and grandchildren to wallstreetbailout@treasury.gov so that we may transfer your commission for this transaction. After I receive that information, I will respond with detailed information about safeguards that will be used to protect the funds.

Yours Faithfully Minister of Treasury Paulson

C'mon, who would be stupid enough to....oh. Never mind.

football quote of the day

Shutdown Corner: 

Detroit is 8-50 in its last 58 road games. If Matt Millen were any worse at his job, he'd be running Lehman Brothers.

skankin' jesus

charger fans

KSK pretty much nails what it's like to be a Chargers fan.

Sample:

I kind of hate you so much right now, Ed Hochuli. I’d really hate you if I weren’t sampling these delicious fish tacos right now, but god dammit, THEY TASTE SO FRESH....

BUT THAT STILL DOESN’T EXCUSE YOU FROM BEING A DICK! I’M TOTALLY MAD! I REALLY AM! I JUST HAVE TO GO JOG WITH MY DOG AT SUNSET AND ENJOY ANOTHER MAGICAL DAY IN AMERICA’S NICEST TOWN, YOU HEARTLESS BASTARD.

to all the ladies

obama leads, they follow

There's a pattern in case you haven't been following.

1. Obama says something that, if you take a breath and think about it logically, makes perfect sense.
2. Neo-cons flip out about the sensible thing Obama said.
3. Time passes.
4. The people who flipped out about Obama's sensible idea, now embrace it as their own sensible idea.

Happened with a timetable for Iraq, happened over Pakistan's borders, and now it's happening with Iran.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Five former U.S. secretaries of state said on Monday the next American administration should talk to Iran, a foe President George W. Bush has generally shunned as part of an "axis of evil."...

The five -- Colin Powell, Madeleine Albright, Warren Christopher, James Baker and Henry Kissinger -- all said they favored talking to Iran as part of a strategy to stop Tehran's development of a nuclear weapons program.

fundamentals of our economy

Oi vey. This headline bodes well.

economy

i'm missing something

When I first saw the story about how, while Palin was mayor, the city of Wasila made rape victims buy their own "rape kits", I, like a lot of people, thought there must be more to the story than meets the eye. I didn't comment on it, because I didn't want to look stupid when a totally sensible reason came along later. Instead, the story has just become weirder.

In regards to Troopergate, this is what the AP is reporting was the tipping point:

The last straw, the McCain campaign said, was in July, when Monegan planned to travel to Washington to seek federal money for a plan to assign troopers, judges and prosecutors who could exclusively handle sexual assault cases — one of the state's most intractable crime problems.

"What's so bad about that?" you ask.

The governor hadn't agreed the money should be sought, and the request was "out of sequence with our other appropriations requests and could put a strain on the evolving relationship between the Governor and Sen. (Ted) Stevens.". 

What? I am too confused to even try and be funny about this. I really am confused. Sucking up to an indicted Senator by shelving money for sexual assault cases, and firing the guy who actually gave a damn about the problem? Since when is being soft on rape and sexual assault ignored?

How am I distorting this? I must be. If I'm not, I don't understand how she is still on the ticket.

moted

Oppo research can be a great thing, Sarah.

“We’re going to do a few new things also,” [Palin] said at a rally in Cedar Rapids. “For instance, as Alaska’s governor, I put the government’s checkbook online so that people can see where their money’s going. We’ll bring that kind of transparency, that responsibility, and accountability back. We’re going to bring that back to D.C.”

There’s just one problem with proposing to put the federal checkbook online – somebody’s already done it. His name is Barack Obama.

stressed?

Funny, I moved to San Diego in part because I feel less stressed here. Guess, others do not agree.

America's Most Stressful Cities:

10. Philadelphia, PA
9. Providence, R.I.
8. Salt Lake City, Utah
7. Cleveland, Ohio
6. San Diego, Calif.
5. San Francisco, Calif.
4. Los Angeles, Calif.
3. Detroit, Mich.
2. New York, N.Y.
1. Chicago, Ill.

At No. 6, San Diego was the most unexpected city on our list. How could a laid-back beach town be stressful? Well, it's got the fifth least affordable housing of the 40 major metro areas surveyed, a 6.4% unemployment rate and car-happy residents paying $3.81 for a gallon of gas. But, they don’t let those numbers get them down. Pleasant weather and beautiful beaches contribute to a serotonin-soaked attitude that appears to take the edge off of tough times.

What exactly are they saying? We're not stressed, but we should be? This doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. But, most of these Forbes ranking/survey things seem to be complete horseshit, anyways. With what's going on on Wall Street, I'm not sure I would trust anyone in the financial field's judgment on anything 

that's what she said

tanning beds

It does not bug me that Sarah Palin installed a tanning bed in the Governor's mansion. She paid for it herself, and besides, like, who gives a fuck?

What bugs me is: Can you possibly imagine what the response would have been if John Kerry did this? ELITIST! ARUGULA! WIND SURFING! HALF CAF LATTES!

chargers v broncos game blog

1st Quarter

• 1st play for Chargers on offense: LT up the middle. I'm shocked. 
• This game is officially fixed. A Bronco's interception that would have been overturned on replay isn't, because the friggin replay camera isn't working. WTF? 
• And the Broncos turn it into a touchdown. Bullshit. 7-0 Broncos.
  
• Chargers start their second drive throwing, and I like it. 
• Rivers has twice done this little twirl-play-fake thing after getting the snap, it's weird, but it's worked so far. 
• That was a good drive, but only resulted in a field goal. 7-3 Broncos.
• So far, Chargers have put 0 preesure on Cutler. 

2nd Quarter

• Lack of pass rush, confused secondary, poor tackling. Chargers defense not looking good. 
• Ugh. This might get ugly. Cutler is way too comfortable. Touchdown. 14-3 Broncos. 
• Sproles runs the kickoff back from the 1 to the 5. Great.
• And the Charger respond with....two ineffective runs up the middle. Innovative!
• And a delay of game, followed by a sack. This team is not ready to play.
• After a punt, quick Denver touchdown. 21-3 Broncos. 
• Oh ye of little faith....Darren Sproles returns the kickoff for a touchdown. 21-10 Broncos. 
• Well, I thought that might have shifted the momentum, but the Chargers continue to play like a Pop Warner team on defense. Field goal makes it 24-10 Broncos. 
• Tomlinson's on the bench, and I get sad. Then Rivers hits Chambers for a 48 yard touchdown. This game is bipolar.  24-17 Chargers. 
• Perfect throw by Rivers, by the way. He's definitely not scared to attack Champ Bailey. 
• "Coors: The Banquet Beer". That may be the oddest tagline I've ever heard. Wait, I DVR'd this, why am I watching a commercial? The horror.
• Now we're back to Jay Cutler with all the time in the world. Mix in a blitz, Chargers. 
• The Chargers defense is a complete disaster. Denver drives 80 yards in two minutes with 1 timeout. Another Cutler touchdown. 31-17 Broncos. 
• Cutler's halftime stats: 22/30, 236 YDS, 3 TD, 0 INT, 0 sacks. Fucking pathetic, San Diego. All of you fuckers are hereby benched on my fantasy team. 

3rd Quarter

• Sans Tomlinson, Chargers mount an impressive drive, ending Rivers to Chambers. 31-24 Broncos.
• I'll never stop giggling at references to a player's "ball skills". 
• Rivers to Tolbert for a 67 yard gain. Somehow the Chargers are in this game. 
• Drive fizzles, Kaeding field goal. 31-27 Broncos. 
• People really watch Two and A Half Men? Really?
• For some reason, the Broncos changed their game plan, and start running and throwing wide reciver screens. 3 and out, Chargers ball. I'll never understand football coacheds. 
• Darren Sproles is a stud. Brilliant run, ruined (partly) by a holding call. On replay, that was a WEAK holding call, fueling my suspicions of a fixed game. 
• Another Chargers drive fizzles near the goal line. Kaeding field goal. 31-30 Broncos. 

4th Quarter

• If that bullshit interception is the difference in the game, I will...uh...well...um...never mind. 
• Oh yay, the Chargers non-pass rush is back.
• Denver drives down inside the 10, but the Chargers finally get a turnover on an interception in the end zone. This is the Chargers chance to mount sustained drive to win.  They are usually tring (and failing) to prevent these sorts of end-of-game drives. 
• Who knew? Apparently Damien from The Omen grew up to be Jay Cutler. 
  
• Fucking. Darren. Sproles. Takes a swing pass 66 yards for a touchdown. Two point conversion is good. 38-31 Chargers.
• Did they score to soon? Still five minutes left.
• Despite my negavity, this has been an awesome game.
• With all the Tomlinson-Gates-Merriman talk,  Rivers-Sproles-Chambers are the sneaky heroes of this team. 
• Okay defense, please don't fold. 
• Someone might want to cover Brandon Marshall. 16 catches?
  
• Aaaaand..... they're folding.  17 catches for Marshall. 
• 2 minute warning. 
• Apple iPod commercial songs make me want to vomit. All of them. 
• 18 catches for Marshall. 
• Oh shit, Cutler fumbles trying to throw! Chargers recover! Dude, he fumbled. This game should be over. We'll see if it's fixed now. 
• And the official call is........fumble, but the Broncos get to keep the ball? WHAT THE FUCK? This is fucking bullshit.
• This is crap. I cannot believe this. The fix is in!
• 4th and goal. 
• Touchdown Broncos. Fuck. 38-37 Chargers.
  
• Broncos are going for 2.
• They get it.  39-38 Chargers.
  
• There is no God.
• Chargers last 20 seconds comes up empty.
  
• This game was absolutely stolen from the Chargers.
  

8tracks

8tracks is kinda like the new Muxtape. I thought I'd throw together 10 random tunes from my stuff and give it a shot.

slo'reilly

wussies

This is pretty old, but it's a pretty direct slap in the face to coal miners, oil rig workers, and pretty much anyone who's ever been on Dirty Jobs. No doubt picking lettuce in the Yuma sun is backbreaking work, but's it's not like a lot of Americans don't already do backbreaking work, and for a lot less than $50 an hour.



Out of touch.

of lipstick and pigs

That Obama, so sexist.



Can we please stop the psuedo temper tantrums, McCain's Campaign?

earmarks

It is my strong belief that if you are a governor or mayor, it is your duty to get earmarks and projects for your state/city.town. Palin was apparently good at it, which I have no problem with. But to then turn around and pretend you're a reformer on the issue? Ridiculous.

i dream of palin

I haven't been dreaming about Sarah Palin, which seems to be a weird phenomenon according to Slate and Yglesias, but I have had trouble going to sleep lately because of her. I'm not kidding.

When the Palin was first announced as a VP candidate, I thought it was a laughable attempt to get the Hillary voters. The chaos of the next few days made it that much more laughable. But now that things have settled down, I have to admit, I'm kind of worried. What I first dismissed as hilarious has morphed into genius political move on McCain's part. I shall underestimate McCain no more.

This is not to say that I think Palin is some special politician to be feared on her own merits. No, not at all. Her politics are as opposite of mine as they get (i.e. WRONG!). But if you were to ignore her politics...man, that is a likable woman. Not in the VPILF way either. She's just got something that makes you want to like her. I want to like her.  But then then you find out about her politics and her penchant to lie and well, the buzz gets killed.

But that's the thing; I have no proof, but it seems to me that most people follow politics, even in an election, pretty superficially.  I'm guessing that most people think she sold a jet on eBay and said "Thanks But No Thanks" to the Bridge to Nowhere, even though these things are demonstrably false. Most people have better things to do that obsessively monitor their Google Reader account for the latest political stories and blogs. They like Sarah Palin.  A lot. And it keeps me up at night.

executive experience

I've followed politics for a while now, and I've never heard this meme about important "executive experience" is until Sarah Palin was announced as McCain's running mate. I could be completely wrong about this, but for the life of me, I do not remember it ever being used. This is probably just a blind spot in my memory. It's just eerie to hear all the pundits suddenly talking about it as the be all/end all qualification for political office.

fannie & freddie

Please stop pretending that Sarah Palin has a grasp of national economic issues.

Saturday in Colorado Springs, Colo., Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said, "The fact is that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have gotten too big and too expensive to the taxpayers. The McCain-Palin administration will make them smaller and smarter and more effective for homeowners who need help."

"Too expensive to the taxpayers?"

They're private entities.

She may be perfect for Alaska (and honestly, from what I've seen she does seem to fight pretty hard for her constituents), but that doesn't necessarily translate nationally. And there's nothing wrong with that, as long as you are not a vice-presidential candidate.

you're not helping

I've sadly become hypersensitive to the PR aspect of campaigning.

I'm sure your heart is in the right place, Babs, but I don't see this as being a very good idea.

chargers v panthers game blog

1st quarter

• Initial impression: DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart are looking like a formidable running back duo. 
• I am already sick of this Fox robot thingymabob. What is the point of this? Is their target demographic 8-year-olds?
• Once again, uninspired, unimaginative play calling for the Chargers. 
• I have no idea what this Bill Gates/Jerry Seinfeld commercial is supposed to mean. Did I accidentally get high?
  

2nd quarter

• Bend but don't break defensive schemes are not good for my health. 
• 9-7 Carolina, but it hasn't been that close. Could easily be 21-7. San Diego usually make the proper adjustments in the second half. We'll see. 

3rd Quarter

• This run Tomilinson off tackle is getting so old. I know the philosophy is to wear the defense down, and usually by the 3rd quarter it starts to work, but I don't have to like it. C'mon, Find a way to get it to LT in open space, Norv. 
• Okay, this is why I'm not a head coach. Aforementioned philosophy is starting to pay dividends. 
• Where's Sproles?
• As I type that, enter Sproles. 
• Drive fizzles. FG good. 10-7 Chargers. 
• What the hell is "initial quality" in vehicles? Shouldn't I care more about eventual quality than initial quality?
• Latest holding call ever. They were done with the sack replay before I even knew there was a flag.
• Ugh. More LT up the middle. 
• Oh Jesus Christ. Panthers strip Gates, return the ball for an easy touchdown. This is a pathetic display so far, Chargers. Looks like we'll be back to hating Norv in no time. 16-10 Panthers. 
• LT up the middle. Are you fucking kidding me?

4th Quarter

• After a first-down killing hold, 3 and out. This game is lost. Chargers have absolutely no spark. Nice play calling, Norv, you douchebag.
• The defense is certainly not to blame for this debacle. Panthers field goal makes it 19-10 Panthers.
  
• Nobody on the Charger's offense has played horribly. But they are just running plays that are called. And those plays are horrible. Yet I'm sure Rivers will be the scapegoat. 
• Oh yeah, Vincent Jackson is on the team. Nice to find out in THE FOURTH QUARTER.
• Another Jackson catch. Do I sense a spark? 
• Rivers to Gates, touchdown San Diego. As awkward as Philips throwing style is, it works. As much as a prick he can be, I like him. 19-17 Panthers. See what happens when you open it up a little, Norv? 
• Defense has been clutch. This would kinda sorta be a good time to keep that going.
• Forced fumble, Chargers recover. That would kinda sorta qualify as clutch. 
• LT up the middle, saved by a defensive holding penalty. It's called momentum Norv, seize it. 
• LT up the middle for 8 yards. Genius call!
• Lt to the outside (yes!), 9 yard gain. 
• Back to back up the middle carries by LT and Sproles get only a few yards. This back and forth between loving and hating Norv Turner is not good for my mental state. 
• Rivers to Jackson, touchdown San Diego. I was confident of this all along. I was just trying to throw you off earlier. 24-19 Chargers. 
• In past years, this is where the Charger defense has collapsed. They have been unable to finish an oppenent when they are down. 
• Like that, Carolina is across the 50. 
• Fuck. 2 seconds left. One play from the Chargers 13.
• Touchdown Carolina. 
• Fuck.
  
• If I was a betting man, I'd be rich.
  

chargers -9?

I'm a huge Chargers fan, and I know everyone is picking them the AFC West again, but to be favored by 9 1/2 vs the Panthers is crazy to me. I know the Panthers don't have Steve Smith, but the Chargers have Rivers, Tomlinson, and Gates all coming back from major injuries. Plus, they didn't resign Lorenzo Neal because they thought that Andrew Pinnock could ably fill his shoes, but then cut him due to injuries. So they have a rookie Mike Tolbert, who looks good, but is still a rookie, as starting fullback. That's just too many question marks. I fully expect the Chargers to win, but 9 1/2 points? If I could bring myself to bet against my team, I'd be all over that. But I can't.

Welcome back, NFL.

what we do is secret

One awful movie. It was laughably bad. I don't get it, besides Darby Crash, the rest of the Germs are alive, and there is plenty of original footage, why not just make an actual documentary? I can't believe this piece of shit movie actually got made. Terrible.

hockey moms are worse than terrorists with pms

Sarah Palin:

You know, they say the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull: lipstick.

McCain supporter and evangelist John Hagee:

Do you know the difference between a woman with PMS and a snarling Doberman pinscher? The answer is lipstick. Do you know the difference between a terrorist and a woman with PMS? You can negotiate with a terrorist.

 I didn't say it. Do the math.

fishy

Boing Boing links to a very strange tale. 

It seems a single plane, tail number N987SA, has the following attributes:

1. Was used to fly Florida Republican Mel Martinez around Florida during his 2004 campaign. 
2. Was once owned by Bush Ranger (i.e. raised over $200,000 for the Bush campaign) Stephen Adams.
   
3. Has been linked to the extraordinary rendition of terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay.
4. Crashed in Mexico with 3.7 tons of cocaine on board.

This could all be coincidence caused by a lack of rules pertaining to the transfe ownership of aircraft, but it is still pretty weird. If you google any of this, you'll get a bunch of hits to a lot of conspiracy theory sites, but I still haven't seen any rebuttals or proof that this is all just crazy talk. In any case, it's interesting reading, to say the least.

fantasy football

Over the past few years, I have often had virtually these same thoughts.

Then I got an invitation to join a league, and I said yes. God, I'm an asshole.

jacked up

Nice list of 13 brutal football hits, but he forgot Fresno State's Marcus Riley absolutely destroying Hawaii's Colt Brennan last year. Me and Mark thought Brennan was dead for a few mortified seconds.

there oughta be a law

NBA, how could you let a fantastic logo like this:



turn into an ocular abortion like this:



First of all, team names that are not plural nouns that end with "s" suck. Secondly, what the hell is that logo? Is there a reason for the two thingymabobers going through the shield thingymajig? That's seriously the best you could come up with? Is it 1996 or something?

uppity

Georgia Republican Lynn Westmoreland doesn't beat around the bush, he just comes out and flatly states what Republicans have been hinting at with code words:

"Just from what little I’ve seen of her and Mr. Obama, Sen. Obama, they're a member of an elitist-class individual that thinks that they're uppity,"

 Yep. Make no mistake, when you hear hear "elitist", they mean "uppity", they're just a little more adept at hiding their racism. Obama obviously doesn't know his place. Remember this when you hear them disparage "community organizers". What they really mean is "uppity blacks".

But Westmoreland does have an excuse: he's a complete and utter moron.

double standards

This is why The Daily Show is often your best source of news.

aerial wolf hunting

The video is graphic, but aerial wolf hunting is one of Sarah Palin's pet issues. She wants people to get paid to do this. It'll knoch that hockey-mom sweetness right out of your mouth.

palin clearinghouse

(Instead of twenty seperate blog posts, I'm just gonna write everything that's bugging me about Palin now, in one rambling, semi-coherent post. Sorry.)

Like most people, my first impression of someone comes from some pretty meaningless factors: what other people have said about the person, how the person looks, etc. And so with Sarah Palin, my first reaction was "seems like nice enough of a person, but I can't fathom how she is qualified to on a Presidential ticket."

The latter part, I'm sticking to. Look, it's not "looking down" on someone to say that being the mayor of 6000 people and the governor of 670,000 does not qualify you to be vice president. It's just the truth. No hard feelings. I grew up in Lemoore, CA, population 24,000 (half of that while I lived there), and mayor John Murray is simply not qualified to be vice president (no offense Mr. Murray). I also lived in Fresno, population 430,000, and mayor Alan Autry (yes, that Alan Autry) is likewise unqualified to be vice president. Do they have "executive experience"? Sure. But so did your dad (or mom). It's a matter of magnitude. "Executive experience" is simply a diversion tactic. As Jack Shafer notes, "John F. Kennedy had no executive experience before running for president. Neither, by the way, has John McCain. By this logic, Palin should top the ticket, with McCain as her No. 2." Finally, if you're going to take offense to the fact that some people don't think your "experience" qualifies you to be VP, it would probably not be a good idea to look down on someone else's "experience" as a community organizer. Because that would be elitist. Unless you actually believe what Wonkette only joked: "community organizers help dirty negroes, but mayors of 6,000-population help white people."

As for the first part of my first impression, the whole "seems like a nice person" part, I take that back. With prejudice. After a little digging, she comes across as anything but.

Let's take a brief tour of what I've learned.

• F**ked:

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice-presidential nominee who revealed Monday that her 17-year-old daughter is pregnant, earlier this year used her line-item veto to slash funding for a state program benefiting teen mothers in need of a place to live.

• Up:

The Associated Press reported that Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, opposed funding to prevent teen pregnancies, a position that Palin also took as governor. "The explicit sex-ed programs will not find my support," she wrote in a 2006 questionnaire distributed among gubernatorial candidates.We already knew Sarah Palin is rabidly anti-choice (it's probably what got her on the ticket), but she's also anti-sex education, unless it's abstinence only. And we all know how well "abstinence only" works. To put it mildly, these two positions don't go well together.

• What Would Ted Nugent Do?

Disgusting.

Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska and John McCain's vice presidential pick, is an enthusiastic hunter who has proposed legislation and cash incentives to encourage aerial wolf gunning, the controversial practice of shooting wolves from an aircraft.

How sportsmanlike.

• Farenheit 451
  

[Former Wasilla mayor] Stein says that as mayor, Palin continued to inject religious beliefs into her policy at times. “She asked the library how she could go about banning books,” he says, because some voters thought they had inappropriate language in them. “The librarian was aghast.” The librarian, Mary Ellen Baker, couldn’t be reached for comment, but news reports from the time show that Palin had threatened to fire her for not giving “full support” to the mayor.

• She's a reformer who stands opposed to pork barrel projects and earmarks.

Oh yeah? Click here. You did well, indeed. And also,

Under her leadership, Alaska has asked the federal government for almost $300 per person in requests for pet projects this year. That's more than any other state received, per person, from Congress and runs counter to the image the GOP ticket is pushing.

• The "Bridge To Nowhere"

You continually hear how Palin courageously said "thanks but no thanks" to the infamous "Bridge To Nowhere". Problem is, it's a bunch of bullshit.

In the city Ketchikan, the planned site of the so-called "Bridge to Nowhere," political leaders of both parties said the claim was false and a betrayal of their community, because she had supported the bridge and the earmark for it secured by Alaska's Congressional delegation during her run for governor.

• She's the commander of the Alaskan National Guard.

Yeah, about that...

The governor has no command authority overseas or anywhere in the United States other than Alaska, said Maj. Gen. Craig Campbell, the service commander of the Alaska National Guard.

• The Glass Ceiling

Only 25 years too late.



Finally... I guess we all agree that Palin's kids should be off limits. Obama has explicitly stated this, and he's right. It doesn't matter - leave em alone. But with the indignant, snarky tone of Palin's speech, forgive me for being crass for a moment and notate the rank hypocrisy/irony of the entire Bristol Palin situation w/r/t SP's positions: anti-choice + abstinence only + slashing funds for assitance to teen mothers (sorry for the DFW-isms, I'm a fan).

I honestly and sincerely hope the current situation results in a softening in her positions on those last two variables.

Oh, and yes, conservative Byron York goes there:

If the Obamas had a 17 year-old daughter who was unmarried and pregnant by a tough-talking black kid, my guess is if that they all appeared onstage at a Democratic convention and the delegates were cheering wildly, a number of conservatives might be discussing the issue of dysfunctional black families.

I didn't say it. The National Review did.

So yeah, that first impression...

sarah & john

but how do you really feel?

The Editors aren't much for parsing words. Highlighted is one of the best lines ever.

There are a number of very good reasons why I don’t want to vote for John McCain.  For example: he’s crazy.  And in those areas where he isn’t actually crazy, he is willing to act crazy to appease the Crazy Bush Base.  He is a very angry little man.  And now, in his one pre-executive decision, he has managed to pick the craziest, stupidest, most unqualified, most embarrassing candidate since the Foley Administration …  and whose pastor believes that terrorism is God’s judgment on the Jews, and that people who don’t love Bush are damned … and whose undeclared business was shut down by the state … and who compassionately cut state funding for pregnant teens, like her daughter … and is basically the biggest disaster since the Titanic crashed into the Hindenberg while I was drinking a New Coke and watching ‘Gigli’.