Reed the Viking

Just a Reminder: It Sucks to be a Cop in Mexico

At least 75% of us still agree it's the greatest country EVAH! Optimism in U.S. Government is at a 36 Year Low.  And for those of you who read my blog, optimism is the code word I use when I'm trying not to drop the H-Bomb (hope). 

Just a reminder in case you forgot: The U.N. is completely useless. Iran and Saudi Arabia Considered for U.N.'s New Womens Agency Board.

Just a reminder in case you forgot: Mexico is now more dangerous than Iraq. Every Cop in Mexican Town's Police Force Resigns After Attack. Yikes... I'm glad I'm on an island far, far away from MS-13.

More anti-elitism from Glenn Reynolds and Meg McArdle.

In the case of climate change, there is actual scientific knowledge about the properties of CO2, but advocates of emissions mitigation schemes constantly attempt to drape the mantle of science, or more broadly expert knowledge, around public policy positions that, as I have argued many times, do not follow even from the core technical reports produced by the asserted experts.

 

Bill Buckley famously said that he "would rather by governed by the first 2,000 names in the Boston telephone directory than by the Harvard faculty." So would I. But I would rather fly in an airplane with wings designed by one competent aeronautical engineer than one with wings designed by a committee of the first 20,000 names of non-engineers in the Boston phonebook. The value of actual expertise in a technical field like wing design outweighs the advantages offered by incorporating multiple points of view.

 

The essential Progressive belief that Klein expresses in undiluted form is that crafting public policy through legislation is a topic for which, in simplified terms, the benefits of expertise outweigh the benefits of popular contention. Stated more cautiously, this would be the belief that the institutional rules of the game should be more heavily tilted toward expert opinion on many important topics than they are in the U.S. today.

 

This would be a lot more compelling if the elites didn't have such a terrible track record of producing social interventions that work.

 

An aeronautical engineer can predict reliably that "If you design a wing like this, then this plane will be airworthy, but if you design it like that, then it will never get in the air." If you were to build a bunch of airplanes according to each set of specifications, you would discover that he or she is almost always right. This is actual expertise. I've tried to point out many times that the vast majority of program interventions fail when subjected to replicated, randomized testing.

 

Our so-called experts in public policy talk a good game, but in the end are no experts at all. They build castles of words, and call it knowledge.

Elites are often missing crucial knowledge, and unaware of it. In some ways, that effect is more pronounced than it used to be, with more and more of the elites drawn from a narrow class of extremely well-educated people from a handful of metropolitan areas, few of whom have ever, say, been responsible for a profit and loss statement, or tried to bring a gas station into compliance with local and federal EPA regulations. In a world where your primary output is words, it is easy to imagine a smoothly operating process based on really smart rule-making.

Good stuff.

Senator Babs Boxer is facing ethics complaints again. Who's Barbara Boxer, you ask? Why, she's the Chair of the Senate ETHICS Committee. What's she up against? Complaints that she didn't disclose a million dollar house she had in Oakland and complaints that she had solicited public school students to campaign for her. You'd think somebody on the Ethics Committee would know their right from wrong. And they wonder why we have so little... optimism in the system.

I love Jon Stewart, but I've always said that his upcoming march to restore sanity was basically a pro-democrat operation. I mean, it's bi-partisan as long as you agree with the liberal agenda, if you disagree, however, you're lacking in sanity! I've also always said that the Daily Show, while not claiming impartiality, will almost never make fun of Democrats or criticize them with one glaring exception. They will criticize and make fun of Democrats who aren't being Liberal enough. David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun has a more detailed post on that subject here. If you're interested in seeing how "moderate" his march is going to be, just take a quick look at this WaPo piece by Anne Applebaum. If you're too lazy to look, people are going to be bussed in by PETA and Arianna Huffington, hardly paragons of moderation.

And if you're really naive enough to think that this march is going to be moderate or bi-partisan, just check out Allah's summary report.

That’s one way to look at it, and the DNC is certainly trying to take full advantage. (Says a voting expert at American University, “For Stewart, sanity is a code word for Democratic.”) Another way to look at it is that the left is hot to top Glenn Beck’s rally in turnout and “prove” that they’re still the ones who Care The Most, notwithstanding the brutal beating they’re about to take next week. And a third way to look at it, I suppose, is as a reaction to what Shelby Steele identified today in his superb op-ed about the failure of Obama’s liberal Hopenchange redemption narrative. As George Carlin once said, inside every cynic is a disappointed idealist, and there an awful lot of disappointed idealists among the lefty base right now. Is it any surprise that they’d take comfort in a rally organized by two guys who’ve become superstars of cynicism, with a consoling chicken-soup theme of sanity and moderation and, heck, all-around niceness? (Plus, Sheryl Crow will be there!)

Oh, Sheryl Crow!!! Honestly, if I had the chance, I'd go to the rally because I enjoy Jon and Steven and find them hilarious. 

The Frisky: Men are from Bacon, Women are from Cupcakes. Quite possibly the best piece on gender differences I've ever read. It's hilarious and spot on. I'm not one much for sweets, but I'm always down for a bleeding, unhealthily-rare steak with a side of bacon and slathered in baconnaise with bacon salt. Chocolate covered bacon for dessert? If I was kosher, would I be from Turkey Bacon? This article is insensitive to Joos, Islambs, and Hindoods.

That's just how far our culture has gone... chocolate covered bacon, baconnaise. Just look at what King Sized used to mean, back when our country was poor and starving or something. I always marvel at the drinks when I go to Wendy's. They have a price on the board (it's for small) but when you order the meal, they assume you want medium so you end up paying more. And medium is ginormous. I don't even like soda (see above, don't like sweets) very much, and now I've got 32 ounces of it. WTF mate?

Saudi Prince Wants NYC Mosque Moved? When you've lost the Saudi Princes...

I hope I ride on these beasts: New Navy Boat Powered by Seaweed. I'll just unwrap my Lion Roll and fill up my tank.

Johnny Dollar finds more hypocrisy at MSNBC... you don't say? They might as well give Alan Grayson a TV show where he can call everybody Monkey Hitler Talibans and Whores.

New Monkey, Naked Charlie Sheen, and Turning the Tables on Galifianakis

I took nyquil last night and slept like 12 hours. Also, I need to go into work early today so this is going to be a rushed post but here goes.

New kind of Monkey discovered in Burma (I refuse to call it Myanmar, I don't give in to the demands of terrorists). Of course, the only specimen ever to be observed by scientists was already dead and being prepared to be eaten. Those southern Asians sure do love to eat their monkeys!

Charlie Sheen has made a career of playing Charlie Sheen in movies since the dawn of time. Is it any wonder that he also plays Charlie Sheen in real life, after his career and bank accounts were repeatedly rewarded for acting that way on TV? Charlie Sheen hospitalized after being found naked in trashed hotel room with hooker hiding in the closet, admits taking copious amounts of cocaine. Who's surprised?

Zach Galifianakis gets hoisted by his own petard during an interview with Texas radio host, Gordon Keith. The tables are turned, and the outcome is just as hilarious as expected.

 

Israel to Get its Own Tea Party. This might surprise some, but I don't think I like it. Their tea party is defined by opposition to a foreign president (Obama) and has nothing to do with the ideals of smaller government. I get to rain shit on Obama because he's my President, you forners (foreigners) better back off. Also, color me naive, but I think that halted settlements would be good, not as a precondition, but as part of a package deal to reach a two-state solution but that's just me.

1/9th of Our Nuclear Arsenal Goes Offline for an Hour. Heads better be rolling, I planned to use those nukes today!

Stranger Danger on Halloween is a Farce. Although there is one documented report of somebody poisoning Halloween candy:

Joel Best, a sociologist at the University of Delaware, has researched the topic and spends every October telling the press that there has never been a single case of any child being killed by a stranger's Halloween candy. (Oh, yes, he concedes, there was once a Texas boy poisoned by a Pixie Stix. But his dad did it for the insurance money. He was executed.)

Wish they had a picture of the best tattoo artist evah's masterpiece: Tattooist Charged Over 40cm Penis Tattoo on Man's Back. 

I had more to post but I'm out of time unfortunately.

South Park Pulled a Dane Cook

I thought last week's episode of South Park, which spoofed Inception, was pretty funny, but not on the same level as the Jersey Shore or NASCAR episodes. Turns out they lifted some material from an online spoof of Inception from collegehumor.com. My beloved South Park pulled a Dane Cook (stealing jokes; also known as a Carlos Mencia). At least they had the decency to own up to it, which is to be expected for a TV show that seemingly promotes the idea of individual responsibility. I think the collegehumor spoof was actually pretty good, if not even funnier than the South Park episode. Here it is for you to enjoy.

I often refer to Instapundit's Glenn Reynolds as the Instaprophet for his seemingly prophetic blog musings that are almost always accurate. Maybe I'll have to start referring to Allah as the Allahprophet after he predicted this spin just minutes before it showed up on MSNBC. Although as he himself admits:

That was posted at 4:27 p.m.; the Matthews clip below comes from the 5 p.m. hour and the Schultz clip comes an hour after that, with no doubt plenty more in store tonight from Olby and Maddow. That’s how easy it now is to predict MSNBC spin. And as I said earlier, if you think this is rock bottom in terms of liberal desperation this week, just wait. You ain’t seen nothing yet.

Bees are Smarter Than Computers. Well, not exactly but still pretty cool.

It's like rain on your wedding day: Three Term NYC Mayor Supports Two Term Limit. Mike Bloomberg, why are you such a schmuck?

Japan's Young Men Seek a New Path. From what I can tell, an entire generation of Japanese men are turning asexual. What does this mean for us? Hot Japanese girls desperate for real men like me!

Want to be disheartened? A round up of good old fashion voter fraud can be found here.

Want to be completely depressed? Who's the Vice President? It won't let me embed the video, so just click the link and watch to lose all faith in the youth of America. College, yes, I repeat, COLLEGE students can not answer simple questions such as, "Who is the Vice President?," "Who's the Speaker of the House?," "How many total U.S. Senators are there?" and "How many Supreme Court Justices are there?" The only question that I didn't know the answer to was "How many total members of the House are there?" and apparently it's 435.

I've said many times in my life that I'm not a big fan of George Bush. He had like a 20% approval rating when he got out of office, so I think I'm not alone on this. One problem, however, is that many people on the left assume that everybody didn't like him for the same reasons. I didn't like him because he was a terrible economic conservative who spent like a liberal. Here to make the point better than I could is Dr. Timothy Dalrymple: The Tea Started Brewing Under Bush. Two quotes that I find poignant.

The important point is this: many who now comprise the Tea Party were not Bush die-hards, but disapproved or largely disapproved of the Bush administration’s big-government tendencies. Of course small-government conservatives and independents, when Obama took those tendencies and magnified them threefold, went from frustration to outrage...

...it is entirely natural that those who rejected Bush for his government growth and deficit spending would become, when Obama exploded that growth and spending, the leaders of the Tea Party movement. Further, for many conservatives there was some amount of trust that Bush would not go too far, that his policies were pro-growth, that his deficits were more sustainable. Obama came along and tripled the rate at which the debt is growing, budgeted for trillion dollar deficits as far as the eye could see, and punishes the very same private sector that he so desperately needs to create jobs. This alone, without reference to racism or bigotry or irrational hatred, is sufficient explanation for the Tea Party movement.

And just one more reason to dislike Obama. He's not very statesmanlike, and is an obvious product of the Chicago political machine as can easily be seen by his statement to the Latino community: 

We’re gonna punish our enemies and we’re gonna reward our friends who stand with us on issues that are important to us

 As if the Latino community is monolithic... identity politics at it's worst. But no, I must dislike him 'cause he's black, of course!

Hot Spy, Dick Weather, Jewish Terrizts, Weird Food, and GGW

I'm feeling kind of sick today, so everybody leave me comments about how much they love me. 

Jihadi who threatened South Park was a Joooooooo! I've said it before, Jihadi is the new "goth." To be honest, I think Jihadis have a better sense of style, and I can't imagine their music being worse, so I think it's safe to say this is a positive social phenomenon.

Some potentially awesome news for the Jooooos in the Middle East: Gamechanger -Israel, Fossil Fuel Giant. While this is potentially awesome news, there is a downside. For years, I've been saying, "the jooz were given the only shitty piece of land in the Middle East that has no natural resources, and they turned it into a prosperous, rich nation." I won't be able to say that anymore if this article is true. I'll have to say, "the jooz were given a great piece of land but didn't know it and for decades we bought oil from Saudi Wahabists who fund radical Islam throughout the world. Great job, assholes, we could've been less dependent on anti-American oil for decades if you guys were smarter and more perceptive." Maybe China will like the Israelis more now and edge away from Iran? *Gives puppy dog eyes of hope optimism* Yikes, I almost said the H-word.

Hot Russian Spy is Hot.

I'd put my shashlyk on her borscht if you know what I mean.

New York pizza and bagels are the best because of the water, it's fact. I don't know what goes into "Brooklynizing" your water, but whatever it is, I'd like to try it and judge for myself. Depending on who wins the lawsuit (Pizza vs. Bagels), I'll have to take a trip down to Florida and see if they walk the walk.

It's not the crime, it's the cover-up: Biden makes a small gaffe, the media covers for him. The gaffe wasn't a big deal IMO, it's that the media MISQUOTED him to change it to a correct statement. Could you imagine them giving that benefit of the doubt to say, Dan Quayle? It's not the crime, but rather the cover-up here that so annoys me.

THEY TOOK ARRRRR JERBBBBBS poodle? 73 year old man has his poodle locked up because he didn't have it on a leash. They wanted him to pay an $100 fine, so he drove his tractor to the jail and busted his pooch out with some wire cutters. Then the cops arrested him and euthanized his dog. Bastards! This is why I'm so pro-gun. So if the gubmint ever tries to take my dogs, I can fight back those tyrants!

GGW doesn't stand for Girls Gone Wild anymore... it's Gubmint Gone Wild now: Cities Restrict Trick-or-treating to Those Below the Age of 12. I definitely went until I graduated High School, the only difference was the addiction of alcoholz and/or droooogz. Get yer damn laws off my candy, gubmint!

When you're a jerk to the planet, it will come back to hump you in the face. I blame the filthy pollutin' Republicans for this: The Weather is a Dick.

 I never though I'd say this, but thank you, Mexico... Thank you for existing right now.

Chinese Vending Machines Sell Live Crabs. No comment necessary, I think. Don't ask me to translate the whole thing; except for the interviews with people on the street, it's in Japanese. I can, however, translate the interviews. Not going to, but could. Yeah, I'm cool ;).

Phil Griffin of MSNBC: "You guys at Fox News are like, totally using your network to like, fundraise for candidates and stuff and like... we would totally never do that. Seriously guys, like, I dare you to find us ever doing the same thing ever. I DOUBLE dare you even, 'cuz we wouldn't do that. I promise." Ok, so maybe he didn't use those exact words, but the point remains the same. And here is  Johnny Dollar, dutifully calling the bluff. NYT, you're on notice as well. Please don't mistake me, I'm not defending what Fox News or MSNBC does, I'm simply saying that those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. As Tyrone Biggums would say, "Let he who is without sin cast the first rock, and I shall smoketh it!"

The Tolerance of the Left

• Protestor who called Andrew Breitbart "gay" is a Democrat Party Official. I mean, I call people gay all the time. My friends, many of them self-identifying liberals, call people gay all the time too. I don't think that the protestor is necessarily intolerant or a homophobe, I'm just holding her to the same standard that conservatives get held to all the time. People like me - and I'm assuming Breitbart feels this way too - feel that Political Correctness is gaytarded (gay and retarded) and also has super black joo AIDS. But when you're called racist/homophobic/sexist all the time by those who disagree with you, it's fun to hold them to the same standard that they hold you to.
• Tammy Bruce, a self-identified gay independent conservative, notices that there's more tolerance for her on the right side of the spectrum. I think Juan Williams might agree with that.
• Liberals have for years tried to get NPR to get rid of Mara Liasson and Juan Williams because they appear on Fox News. Conservative Fox viewers have never tried to get them kicked off Fox for their work on NPR. Well NPR finally got rid of JW, and he learned an important lesson about the tolerance of liberals and the dangers of thinking the wrong thoughts.

 

Don't Criticize What You Don't Understand

Today I have read two of the greatest posts I've seen in a while. What makes them so great? They agree with me, of course! I've said a billion times that the tea-party would be embraced by the hippies, and I've tacitly alluded to my hippie-ish nature by posting a song by the Youngbloods, titling a posts after Bob Dylan songs, and professing my love for the Grateful Dead, as well as that fine young lass, Mary Jane. I have lamented that the counter-culture warriors who once bucked the establishment and played government watchdog have no become partisan shills and cheerleaders for The Man. I was having a fun little political debate with my "left-of-center" roommate who said he's a "moderate", and I noted that moderate doesn't really mean anything. I'm pro-choice, pro-gay marriage, pro-marijuana legalization, and I'm also pro-guns, pro-capitalism, and very right of center on social security. Sounds like I'm a libertarian, sure, but it just goes to show that I don't fit in on the left-right divide. That's why, courtesy of Zombie, I can present you with the new political spectrum graph!

Zombie's article is truly epic, as he explains the graph, and explains why hippies are right next to The Tea Party on the list. Also, I loved his bit on Hobos vs. Bums, making me even more excited for Hobo With a Shotgun.

I include “hobos” and “bums” on the chart because the distinction between these two classic types illuminates the nature of the spectrum. In case you’re thinking that hobos and bums are just different words for the same thing, note: A hobo is an itinerant laborer who chooses homelessness because of the freedom it affords him, but who is proud of his self-sufficiency and will take temporary jobs to support himself wherever possible. A bum on the other hand is someone who is poor because he simply refuses to work or support himself, and instead is unashamed to survive on handouts and other people’s generosity. Because hobos celebrate individualism, freedom, independence and their own self-worth, they occupy the “sweet spot” at the bottom left corner of the spectrum, along with hippies and Tea Partiers. But since bums are essentially parasites on society and who survive on either formally or informally doled-out welfare, and often blame others for their predicament, they rightfully belong near the other end of the spectrum.

Get a job, sir. The bums will always lose. Do you hear me, Lebowski?

Zombie also explains the vertical axis and the dichotomy splits those who believe human nature can be changed and those who believe it is innate. It all goes back to what Malcolm Reynolds said in "Serenity" when talking about the evil, big intrusive government that is the Alliance.

I know this - they will try again. Maybe on another world, maybe on this very ground swept clean. A year from now, ten? They'll swing back to the belief that they can make people... better. And I do not hold to that. So no more runnin'. I aim to misbehave. 

That, my friends, should be the Tea-Party's official t-shirt. Ok, it's a little long, but c'mon that's good stuff! I at least wanna see "I aim to misbehave" on signs at your rallies [Viking Admission: If they start bringing those signs to rallies, I want royalties!].

Zombie hits exactly upon my feelings here:

So, the hippies of 1968 didn’t particularly like either major political party, but they showed a particular anger toward the Democrats for screwing everything up — while giving the Republicans a shrug. Which, amazingly, is exactly the way the Tea Party feels today: Anger towards Democrats, and a grudging acceptance of Republicans as the lesser of two evils.

Everybody who reads this knows I that the only mainstream American political party I dislike more than Republicans are Democrats. Like the creators of South Park have said, "I hate conservatives, but I really fucking hate liberals." I also found it funny when people would say things like, "if you go to far right you get Nazis and if you go too far left you get commies." It depends on what "left" and "right" you're talking about. They're both collectivist economically and believe in huge government control. So in essence, they're on the same side of the spectrum for Zombie's horizontal axis, but taking in mind the vertical axis, Zombie explains the difference:

On the right half of the chart are all the different varieties of political collectivism, or people who seek to impose or benefit from collectivist government. Those collectivists who think that human nature is malleable and a “cultural construct” are at the upper right; those collectivists who think that “people are the way they are” can be found at the lower right. What unifies the collectivist Nazis, Fascists and Islamists is not just their belief that humans have built-in attributes, but that their specific social, ethnic or religious group possesses built-in attributes superior to everyone else’s.

Zombie notes that he hasn't included all political ideologies on the chart, and that if you take issue with his placement of a particular ideology you can debate him on it and change his mind. He also rejects the left/right dichotomy:

People who adhere to the outdated and overly simplistic left/right divide may have trouble grokking this new way of looking at society. Newsweek, for example, recently claimed that the Tea Party has an “anarchist streak.” I find this interesting, because the Newsweek writer understood that both Tea Partiers and anarchists are on the same end of the “Government Control” axis, but couldn’t grasp that, viewed from a different orientation, Tea Partiers are at the opposite end of the “Human Nature” axis from anarchists, who want to construct an (impossible) law-free utopia based on the assumption that people can change and control themselves in the absence of any authority whatsoever.

This brings up a good point: Scroll back up to the chart and think of it in terms of “halves.” Leftists want to highlight the fact the both Tea Partiers and Nazis are in the same “half” of the chart — the bottom half, as it is currently oriented (although of course the way I rotated the chart was completely random — there is no inherent meaning in the up-down-left-right placement, and I just as easily could have designed it to be 90 degrees or 180 degrees a different way). Of course, as mentioned above, the crucial difference is that Nazis and other totalitarians want to use government to enforce their idea of the natural order of things, whereas Tea Partiers have the exact opposite urge — to have no government enforcement at all, and to let the natural order of things play itself out — naturally.

On the other hand, The Tea Partiers (and I) want you to notice that all the “bad” ideologies, including Nazism and communism, also share space on the same half of the chart, in this case the “more government control” half.

So, the chart is viewpoint-neutral; each person can express their pre-existing political bias by pointing out how this-or-that political enemy is at least in the same half as some identifiably bad ideology. It just all depends on what angle from which you choose to view the spectrum.

The last thing I want to note from Zombie's piece is something I was genuinely ignorant of before reading. Jack Kerouac, beat writer and father of hippies, was a conservative who supported Bill Buckley of National Review fame. That shouldn't surprise me, considering that I have always thought it makes sense that hippies should be libertarian-ish, but it genuinely surprised me. Zombie explains how the commies and anti-capitalists co-opted the hippie movement. Their revisionist history has taught the younger folks like me that hippies were always hard leftists, but it was not so! And Zombie, like my father and Roger L. Simon, was once a hippie and a leftist has woken up and is now libertarian-ish.

Hat tip to Jeff G. at Protein Wisdom on the Zombie article, I don't know how I missed it as I usually read what Zombie puts out. Jeff has also posted his commentary, and his post title is also a Bob Dylan lyrical reference. Here's what he has to say, and if I may say so myself, he sounds a lot like me (that's a compliment, Jeff!)

For awhile now I’ve been pointing out to anyone who’d listen that the 60s counterculture (at least, its rank and file) agitated for the same kinds of libertarian values that we now see coming from Tea Party / legal conservative types. Meanwhile, today’s progressives — the direct descendants of the New Left — pretend toward a counterculture hipness that simply doesn’t jibe with their calls to regulate salt intake, or legislate toilets, or micromanage every aspect of the life of “the people”...

It’s time for the erstwhile hippies to take stock: are you for the freedom and individualism and anti-authoritarianism you once claimed to embody? Are you for smaller government, individual autonomy, self-sufficiency, and the organic organization of the marketplace? Or have you become The Man?

The times they are a-changin'.

Zimbabwe's Latest Trend and the Truth About Bieber

I didn't post all weekend and monday was a holiday, Columbus Day, so I took that off from blogging but I'm back as normal now.

New Report: Bill Maher Even More of a Shithead Than Previously Thought. In case you're too lazy to click the link, Bill Maher praises Bin Laden's environmentalist message. It's shit like this and those climate ads that totally scares off lower-case E environmentalists like me. They remind me of the anti-drug crusaders who refuse to tell the truth about drugs. Marijuana is not going to kill you, and global warming is not going to force us into cannibalism. If these assholes weren't so over the top with it, they'd ingratiate a lot more people. Here's an article I've linked to before about Progressives Against Progress. It's an awesome, enlightening article worth the time of your day. Make sure to read it!

I've said I'm a lower-case libertarian, a lower-case environmentalist, and now I'm going to claim the mantle of lower-case progressive. Because the Progressives are against the very progress that I would welcome. Although I can't see who wouldn't welcome this sort of green technology. 285 MPG, and it's not a hybrid. Sure, it'll never hit the market, but I can't see how creative minds couldn't make something similar with great gas mileage. 

Related: If you're worried about "range anxiety" with electric cars, do an experiment with your current car to see if you could deal with it.

I'm also a lower-case feminist. meaning I believe in female equality (just kidding). So when Jerry Brown, the Democratic candidate for Governor of California, called his opponent Meg Whitman a whore, you'd think the feminists would be all over his ass. Especially considering his opponent, Meg Whitman, is an independent female who was extremely successful as eBay's CEO. I think Whitman's a terribly weak candidate, but you'd expect women's advocates to at least voice their disapproval, right? National Organization for Women Endorses Democratic Candidate Jerry Brown Within Hours of "Whore" Comments. Ed furthers remarks on NOW's endorsement hypocrisy here, where NOW endorses Alan Grayson after his comments about "a K Street whore." Because calling a woman a whore is excusable if you're a Democrat.

More on Military demographics: Military Smarter, Richer, Southern..er. Well, I'm smart, and I'm Jewish so I have my secret Jew gold that the media and banks dole out to each of us at birth, making me rich. But like Meatloaf says, Two Out of Three Ain't Bad.

Questions NOT to ask the police: Is There a Warrant Out for My Arrest?

H/T to R.S. McCain for reminding me how hilarious the Onion is.

Justin Bieber Found To Be Cleverly Disguised 51-Year-Old Pedophile 

J.Biebz was just on Oahu, I'm glad I wasn't molested by him before he was exposed by the Onion.

Muslim Brotherhood Declares War on the U.S., nobody notices. As noted in the article, Al-Qaeda once declared war on the U.S. to little note.

Zimbabwe's latest trend: Women Raping Men. Not as awesome as it sounds :(.

Strategypage: The Cost of Muslim Intolerance. Related: Saudis Arrest Filipino Catholics at Mass.

New York Times Fail

Powerline asks: How Dumb Can They Get?

Answer: Pretty freakin' retarded. The NYT does not understand anything that deviates from northeastern liberal orthodoxy. Kate Zernike not knowing shit about Hayek or the "rule of law" and their tax professionals not knowing shit about tax codes are two examples. But let me offer up the best example of how retarded they truly are, and how they see the world as they want to see it. Here's the NYT's blog post about wednesday's new South Park episode about NASCAR. Could Richard Chang have missed the mark any more? I mean, the satire went completely over his head, it seems; even his commenters call him out on it. Here Chang is where Chang displays his foolishness for all to see:

The episode is called “Poor and Stupid” for a reason, and the phrase is recited like a mantra throughout the episode. Truth be told, it’s a boilerplate jibe at Nascar, but nonetheless shocking and effective satire when presented so openly (ad nauseum) on basic cable.

The South Park team tackles other Nascar clichés. There are crashes galore, and when the drivers are interviewed by the press, they rely on politically correct (boring) statements. But the funniest bit goes beyond Nascar satire.

And here are the two commenters who have left comments on the post, who tear him down to size.

1. It was hardly a great South Park episode, but it was targeted at the perceptions around NASCAR racing. And feminine products. Except for the sniper rifle bit with Kenny, it struck me as pro-NASCAR. My favorite scene was the pre-race media interview. The reporters were asking highly technical questions and the drivers were trying to answer them while Cartman was doing his idiot routine. That was a send up of every post-game media interview ever aired. The normally inane questions reporters ask coaches, the ones that drove Bob Knight crazy and often receive a blank 'your kidding me stare' from other coaches, are replaced with questions you need an engineering degree to ask and answer. And the racers are willing to answer, until Cartman interrupts with his inane responses.

2. Can't agree more with muD, this was a satire on the media portrayal and public perception of nascar and its fans. Note that every stereotypical event in the episode regarding nascar was perpetuated by Cartman (causing crashes, inane pre-race comments, ignorant podcast comments, etc), who is South Park's perpetual in-world manifestation of absurd attitudes/viewpoints which exist in our society, with these same events amplified via media "reporting" these events as confirmation of the stupidity of nascar, etc. Furthermore, the always sympathic Kenny is a Nascar fan (and is never portrayed in episodes as stupid, just poor and unlucky), and is incensed at Cartman's actions feeding public/media perception of his beloved Nascar. In true SP fashion, there are always plenty of barbs to go around (a.k.a. Kenny and the Sniper Rifle segment, which does poke fun at Nascar and its fans), but the overwhelming thrust of the satire was on the pre-conceptions which exist about nascar, it's fans, drivers, etc., as well as corporations trying to take advantage of the popularity of nascar (and likely sports in general) with absurd sponsorships. How could Mr. Chang miss this? Is the joke actually on him??

NYT, you fail.

P.S. - Chang, you've shown yourself to be stupid. Also, knowing how the NYT pays their D-listers and interns, I can safely assume that you're probably pretty poor for the NY standard of living... oh my God, could it be that YOU are a NASCAR fan?

**UPDATE 10:38AM Hawaii Time**

Huffpo misses the mark as well. Did these people even watch the episode? H/T to Huffpo for posting what I thought was one of the funniest moments of the episode, Cartman's homophobic podcast.

 

Poor and Stupid
Tags: SOUTH
PARKEric Cartman,Leopold "Butters" Stotch,more...

 

**UPDATE 5:28PM Hawaii Time**

Welcome to readers of The Other McCain, and thanks for the link!

 

Fat Bottomed Girls are Under Pressure

A while back, I wrote about my opportunity to drive government vehicles, and my delight in playing hippie music in the military van. I loved being able to play my iPod in the van, because Hawaii radio sucks and they are stubbornly holding to the "Rihanna Eminem Only" playlist.  Of course, we had to play appropriate music in the duty van because we're representing the Navy and don't want complaints. It makes perfect sense, a company car wouldn't want to blast hardcore rap about fucking hoes and selling drugs when busing around their employees. Perfect sense to have a policy in place against playing inappropriate, offensive music, right?

Imagine my surprise when a Lt. Commander told me that iPods were now banned from the duty van. He told me he was sorry to spoil the fun, but one bad apple spoils the bunch and that they had an obligation to take complaints seriously. The song that ruined it all? "Fat Bottomed Girls" by Queen. Yep. Fucking retarded. Some Lieutenant took issue with the song, and instead of asking the driver to change it, he brought up a complaint and got iPods banned for a song commonly played on the classic rock station (which we're allowed to listen to). An airforce staff sergeant who overheard the whole ordeal told me that some older lady, a civilian contractor, upon hearing the Lt.'s complained asking him, "What's the problem, sir? Only listen to Justin Beiber?"

The annoying thing is that the radio plays far more offensive music than I play on my iPod. I generally stick to very "safe" music, like the Beatles. Meanwhile, as I mentioned earlier, the radio plays that terrible Rihanna Eminem crap. So this asshole Lt. decided to punish the device for the music. Sir, with all due respect, you are a fag.

Now, there's been a bunch of gay suicides and deaths related to bullying in the past few weeks. This is really sad stuff, and homophobic behavior has serious consequences. That's why I want you to know that when I use the word fag, I don't mean gay fags, but like, people who ride harleys.

 

The F Word
Tags: SOUTH
PARKmore...

 

 

People who know/read me know that I love Queen, so that also contributes to my anger at this Lt. I also love David Bowie. But I also love muppets... say, what would happen if you put the three together?

 

As lame as that weiner is, I still can't help but enjoy the video. Make no mistake, the guy performing is a complete and total fag who takes himself way too seriously (like the Lt. above), but it's still inexplicably entertaining. Well, actually, it's quite explicable, and I shall explain it using simple math. Freddie Mercury + David Bowie + Muppets = Awesome.

His Hands Tied Behind Him

Former CNN-employee and frequent butt of Jon Stewart jokes, Rick Sanchez, got fired last week after calling Jon Stewart a bigot and crying about the Jooz in control of CNN. Jon Stewart got him back on the Daily Show last night with a hilarious segment that showed the world that Rick Sanchez to be the real world Michael Scott (the Office). Well Christopher Hitchens has weighed in on the firing, and in his typical Hitch way, he made me look at the issue from an angle I couldn't previously see. I support his idea to call for Jon Stewart and the Jooz to support Rick Sanchez to be hired back, and if he doesn't get re-hired, he could see first hand that we don't control the media. I personally want him back because he's too hilarious to lose. It's not like having him around costs CNN some of their respect and gravitas; hooker handler Elliot "Gov. Outcall" Spitzer has a show and that network. But like a tree falling in the woods, if Spitzer gets a show on CNN and nobody watches, does it make a noise?

I disagree with Hitchens in that I do think Sanchez was implying that jooz run the media as he simultaneously played the victim card. He also seems to suggest that Jewish success sort of supports Sanchez' statement that the jews don't qualify for entry to the "oppressed minority" club. Success in the face of oppression doesn't mean that the oppression doesn't exist.

Hitch also says, "Self-criticism among Jews, on matters of religion and statecraft, is actually rather noticeable." It's also noticeable on matters of science and technology. From the scary joooo lobby AIPAC, here's a video on Israeli innovation.

 

Also, h/t to my college friend and surfing partner Mona "KGB" Smelnikov, pointing me to this awesome Mark Twain piece from 1899 Harper's Magazine:

 

”...If statistics are right, the Jews constitute but one percent of the human race. It suggests a nebulous dim puff of stardust lost in the blaze of the Milky way. properly, the Jew ought hardly to be heard of, but he is heard of, has always been heard of. He is as prominent on the planet as any other people, and his commercial importance is extravagantly out of proportion to the smallness of his bulk. His contributions to the world’s list of great names in literature, science, art, music, finance, medicine, and abstruse learning are also away out of proportion to the weakness of his numbers. He has made a marvelous fight in this world, in all the ages; and had done it with his hands tied behind him. He could be vain of himself, and be excused for it.

The Egyptian, the Babylonian, and the Persian rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor, then faded to dream-stuff and passed away; the Greek and the Roman followed; and made a vast noise, and they are gone; other people have sprung up and held their torch high for a time, but it burned out, and they sit in twilight now, or have vanished. The Jew saw them all, beat them all, and is now what he always was, exhibiting no decadence, no infirmities of age, no weakening of his parts, no slowing of his energies, no dulling of his alert and aggressive mind. All things are mortal but the Jew; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality?” 

 

And there are people out there that want to snuff us out of existence. There's a reason that Israel is our closest partner in the Middle East. They share our values and dedication to freedom, democracy, and the pursuit of happiness. Take a look at Israel's enemies (our enemies), and know what it is that they wish to destroy.

 

P.S.- You can't spell freedom without Reed.

Molestache: Female Edition

Worst story evah... ok so maybe the story itself isn't that terrible, but by G-d that's an ugly woman. I mean, it's a woman with a molestache who is in fact a molester... surprise! The Molestache: I guess that's one rule that transcends gender. She really looks like Charlie's Uncle from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, no?

Ok, THIS is the worst story evah: Fire Dept. Let Man's House Burn Because He Didn't Pay Fee. Wrong on every level, Allah does a good job with his commentary.

Back in the good old days of the Navy, when sailors died of syphilis.

What chicken nuggets are made from... like the author of the article, I'll probably still eat them. To paraphrase a quote often misattributed to Otto Von Bismarck, "Laws, like sausages chicken nuggets, cease to inspire respect in proportion as we know how they are made." I grew up thinking that was OVB, but apparently some nerd named John Godfrey Saxe came up with it. He's American, so go us!

Lockheed Martin has developed a one-shot self-aiming sniper rifle... the only thing it's missing is speakers that play headshot.wav when you remove the head from the terrizt. I believe soon, sniper rifles will be unnecessary as we'll have gnat sized nano-bots acting as our drones that seek out and murder terrizts. 

How far we've come: Transgendered Sex Shop Executive is the Conservative in San Francisco Race. I like that her/his (it's?) sex shop was named Good Vibrations. You see, it's a joke because it refers to the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations" as well as vibrating sex toys! 

Wait a minute, this guy got paid to RECEIVE oral sex? That's not prostitution, that's an amazing deal! Where can I sign up? Plus he got paid a scratch-off lotto ticket, which could be worth thousands! Shit, I wish I could get paid in scratch-offs by the Navy... maybe I'll drop that one in the C.O.'s suggestion box.

Kinky Americans... God Bless America, land sex positions that I love! Skip the parts about Farah Fawcetts anal cancer, but the rest is a good read!

Only 23% of Classes at Harvard Have Final Exam. I can tell you right now that is not a good thing. When I was in college, I was an unmotivated slacker who literally searched for classes that did not have a final. If the final grade was based on paper-writing, I wouldn't have to go to class and I could rely on my writing skills to get good grades. And that's exactly what I did. I never went to class, never did any work, and I would read enough about the topic to be able to write what I knew they wanted to hear and I'd bullshit an essay for an easy A. I went to a school that's considered to be the best public school in NY State too.

They say the trick to a successful business is to convince the consumer that they need what you're selling. Somehow, I don't think this is what they mean: Home Security Company Breaks Into Homes to Sell Their Services. It sounds like something the mob would do... send somebody out to kick your ass, and then tell you to pay them for your protection.

The Rise of the Unicorns: Black Republicans. "Republicans are running more blacks in white majority districts than the Democrats are." Yeah, but those black people are just a bunch of Uncle Toms, duh! In the same vein, Republican Women Run Record Number of Races. Yeah, but those women are ignorant conservatives who are controlled by men, duh!

I never thought I'd say this, but I think we should follow Brazil's lead on this one... Illiterate Clown Elected in Brazil. His slogan, "It can't get any worse." He promised that he would do nothing except report on what other people in the government were up to.  Wait a minute, we already have illiterate clowns running our country; perhaps they can read, but they choose not to so they might as well be illiterate, no?