Jack of the Woods - Asheville NC

Hanging at Jack of the Wood for the Kevin Kinney acoustic jam. Nice place with decent acoustics, coffee and Jameson whiskey. The lack of brown sugar is more than adequately compensated for by not being out in the cold.

On stage - Jennie Arnau & her band. Another new name. "Chasing Giants" is the next new CD, due in March. Very sweet vocals and an especially nice pedal steel player.

Woody Wood- introduced by local DJ as an Asheville Legend. I can hear why. Nice rough voice with a clean acoustic guitar. 1st murder ballad of the day, too, which is always a pleasure for me.

Oh, an epic moment for me - Ray Sisk is on the stage! Please Please let me hear "Glory Road"

The Pathology of Losing

It seems we can't go a day without some fringe element repeating long-discredited slurs against the current occupant of the White House. G. W. Bush polarized and energized the center and left of the political spectrum. Now Barack Obama has the same effect on the members of the right, the further right the more effective.

The latest arises from a now-defunct Facebook page created by the mayor of Arlington, Tennessee. According to Greg Mitchell's reporting, Russell Wiseman promoted the idea that President Obama, a secret Muslim, scheduled his speech from West Point in a deliberate move tp preempt the annual broadcast of "A Charlie Brown Christmas." Apparently, there's something in the Q'uran about beagles, footballs, and security blankets being signs of the infidel.

This latest is a symptom, I think, of the far right's inability to accept the outcome of the elections. After enjoying the reins of political power for years, they became convinced of the inevitability of their point of view. When God and Government are on your side, the only way you can lose power is by subterfuge, some malign scheme by evildoers who, once having toppled the anointed, then move on to sacred cultural icons, like Charlie Brown.

Democrats should not be too quick to dismiss these paranoid ideologues. They exists in a fever of humiliation, one that very well might power them to the polls on 2010. Midterm losses are expected, but a pissed off base could change the balance of power even more than usual.

Google Sidewiki entry by Dean

Nice, concise list of tools & techniques to slim down that signal-to-noise ratio.

in reference to: Screening The News (view on Google Sidewiki)

Pushing the Limits

The government, restrained by the 1st Amendment, may not restrain citizen speech, with certain exceptions. You can't slander anyone, you can't lie under oath, you can't commit fraud against others, and you can't threaten the President.

This may be legal - it is certainly reprehensible.

Polls on Facebook The obama Poll.png by deanbarnett on Aviary

We Need a New Noun - Twitterbation?

Watching Colorado state Senator Dave "If You're a Slut Your Baby Should Die of AIDS" Schultheis' Twitter stream is a revolting amusement; revolting because of his insanely limited intelligence but amusing because of the apparently  sincere followers he allows. (For the record, I have been officially blocked from this elected official's Twitter stream, a prior restraint activity that begs an ACLU intervention.)

Typically, Schultheis' stream consists of retweets, so much so that original contributions by the Senator are so rare as to provoke questions of his ability to compose a sentence. But on occasion a couple of his acolytes produce  bewildering repetitious tweets, like these:
Twitter - Search - Sen_Schultheis.png by deanbarnett on Aviary

So I wonder - should we coin a noun to describe the endless, self-satisfying  repetition of tweets between followers in a Twitter stream? I'm thinking "Twitterbation" might be appropriate (and I DO NOT want to expand this to describe Twitterbation between members of the same gender, as seen above).

Suggestions?

This Could be Entertaining

Linda McMahon, of World Wrestling Entertainment fame, is seeking the Senate seat in Conneticutt currently held by Chris Dodd. The comedy potential is enormous.

Batshit Crazy in 140 Characters

My favorite local wackaloon, Colorado state Senator Dave Schultheis, is now concerned over a dubious Fox News report that Massachusetts is considering legislation to address a potential H1N1 epidemic by such means as mandatory immunizations and quarantines. Some of his fellow travelers are concerned about "marshall law" while the Senator has asked the cash-strapped Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment to "comment".

Really, Senator? An official expenditure of Colorado state funds to address a report on Fox News? Sure looks like an irresponsible fiscal act on your part.

Twitter - Search - Sen_Schultheis.png by deanbarnett on Aviary

Nate Silver on the Tea Baggers Rally

FiveThirtyEight: Politics Done Right: Size Matters; So Do Lies

Nate dispassionately examines the attendance at and meaning of the "9/12" rally in DC, and how the truth of genuine grievances can be overshadowed by lies and poor judgment. Money quote:

The way this false estimate came into being is relatively simple: Matt Kibbe, the president of FreedomWorks, lied, claiming that ABC News had reported numbers of between 1.0 and 1.5 million when they never did anything of the sort. A few tweets later, the numbers had been exaggerated still further to 2 million. Kibbe wasn't "in error", as Malkin gently puts it. He lied. He did the equivalent of telling people that his penis is 53 inches long.

Tea Baggers vs. Pot Heads

The Cluster Fox crowd, particularly Dick "I Used to Have Power" Armey's FreedomWorks corporation, really really want to show their "9/12" crowd in DC deserves to be taken seriously, even if they are forced by actual turnout numbers to lie through their dentures about attendance.

Was it 1.5 million, as FW's Matt Kibbe claimed ABC reported? Well, no. ABC, referring to DC Fire Department estimates, pegged the crowd at 60 to 70,000.

Tell ya what - when the Tea Baggers clearly outnumber the beer-swilling pot smokers at Bonnaroo, I'll consider taking this Cluster Fox movement seriously.

ABC contradicts Kibbe: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/protest-crowd-size-estimate-falsely-attributed-abc-news/story?id=8558055

Bonnaroo Attndance: http://www.bonnaroo.com/rolling-stone-july-9-23-2009.aspx?preview=true

You Can't Handle the Truth

Florida GOPer Reads Speech, Changes Mind

Obama’s School Speech Changes Florida GOP Chair’s Mind - Central Florida News 13

(Florida Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer) previously said he was appalled that taxpayer dollars were being spent to spread Obama’s “socialist ideology,” but after reading the speech, he will send his kids to see it in school.

This sort of full blown crazy gets passed off without so much as a mini media frenzy while the Joneses and Sotomayors of the majority party get microscopic examinations. Looks like crazy white guys from the South (in other words, the GOP base) hold themselves to a different standard.

Text of Pres Obama's "Indoctrination" Speech

Normal folks read at your leisure. It's pretty mild. Demented Fuckwits, put on your tinfoil hats, cover your ears, and shout "Birth Certificate" over and over and over and over. . .

Media Resources Prepared School Remarks

Prepared Remarks of President Barack Obama
Back to School Event

Arlington, Virginia
September 8, 2009

Franchised Faith? Prayer as Fast Food

For when you're just too busy to talk to your imaginary friend on your own time.

Arizona Church Offers Drive-Thru Prayer - US - CBN News - Christian News 24-7 - CBN.com

The Chandler Christian Church in Chandler, Arizona turned their parking lot into a drive-thru prayer service.

You pull up, tell the church members what's on your heart and they pray for you right there, while you are sitting in your car.

Jobs Advisor Hounded Out of Office

White House Official Resigns After G.O.P. Criticism - NYTimes.com

WASHINGTON — White House officials on Sunday tersely accepted the resignation of the administration’s special adviser for environmental jobs after a number of his past statements became fodder for conservative critics and Republican officials.

Umm, does this mean Republicans are anti-jobs? Ideology over employment?

Michelle Malkin Hearts Zombies

Michelle Malkin » I repeat: It’s not the speech, it’s the subtext

"It's not what he actually said, it's what I tell you he said."

So be a good zombie and obey your Anchor Baby Overlord.

Batchit Crazy in 140 Characters

Wacky Dave Schultheis, Colorado state Senator from Focus on the Family, is outraged that advertisers are pulling support from frothing lunatic Glen Beck's Fox Fantasy Fun Hour.
Twitter - Search - Sen_Schultheis.png by deanbarnett on AviaryBad idea, Senator. Considering the GOP's reduction to a regional party concentrated in the southern white evangelical male demographic, such a boycott would really only hurt NASCAR, and you don't want those guys pissed at you.

Murdoch to Charge for Fox Web Content

Rupert Murdoch decides Fox journalism is so valuable people should pay for access to its content. I can't wait to see how the charges are set: will O'Reilly cost more than Beck?

News Corpse ? Would You Pay To Read Fox News?

In the end, Murdoch will just be doing a favor for all the other online news sites who learn to operate profitably without subscription fees. As the market matures there will be more and more of them. Advertisers will migrate to the web as it increasingly provides a superior return to fading newspapers. And since Murdoch is overweighted in dead-tree media, and his online acumen has been notoriously sub par (witness MySpace), this is just good news all around - the kind even I?d be willing to pay for (but don?t tell Rupert).

Birthers Aren't Just a Southern Fringe Lunacy

Washington Monthly provides a graph of the geographical distribution of the lunatic birthers. The concentration of these neoracist pinheads to the South is not a surprise.

But this particular strain of stupid isn't limited to the heart of Southern Baptist Land. Our own State Senator Dave Schultheis (R - Focus on the Family) thinks there's something to it, too.

Dave Schultheis (Sen_Schultheis) on Twitter.png by deanbarnett on Aviary.

Senator Schultheis is also the renowned Colorado pol who worries excessively about the citizen status of Hispanics in fatal car accidents and believes treating pregnant women with AIDS encourages promiscuity.

Another Duh-bya Moment

OK, now can we get back to teaching facts?

US teen pregnancy and syphilis rates rose sharply during George Bush's presidency, Centres for Disease Control finds | World news | guardian.co.uk

Teenage pregnancies and syphilis have risen sharply among a generation of American school girls who were urged to avoid sex before marriage under George Bush's evangelically-driven education policy, according to a new report by the US's major public health body.

Not to be too snarky, but the home of so many fundigelicalS and core Republicans rates special mention in the report:

The CDC says that southern states, where there is often the greatest emphasis on abstinence and religion, tend to have the highest rates of teenage pregnancy and STDs.

Christmas in July

Speaking for all late night comedians and snarky bloggers, oh, please, please, let it be so.

Palin-Bachmann 2012? | RonP's Blog

So what about a Palin/Bachmann dog & pony show? It would be funny if it weren't so scary or is that; it would be scary if it weren't so funny. Impossible you say? The Republican campaign clown show will be something to see.

Remeber, they'll try anything and stop at nothing and at least 46% of the voting public are willing to let them have it their way.........

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Your Inner Geek Will Love This

Computer hardware poster 1.7 by ~Sonic840 on deviantART

A Matter of Confession

Roger Ebert has an interesting essay on confessions, using the the late Secretary of Defense during Viet Nam Robert S. McNamara's comments as a starting point. I thought this paragraph was particularly astute.

Roger Ebert's Journal: Archives

He agreed to submit himself to Morris's questions for an hour. He ended by speaking for ten. He went to subjects Morris might not have thought to take him, discussed things that were, at 85, much on his mind. He was a key aide to Gen. Curtis LeMay, who directed the fire-bombing of Tokyo when more than 100,000, mostly civilians, were burned alive. After the war, he says, in one of the film's most astonishing moments, LeMay observed to him that if America had lost, they would have been tried as war criminals. What does he, McNamara, think about the bombing? By quoting LeMay's statement that might have forever gone unrecorded, I think he lets us know.

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Democratizing Human Fallacy?

An interesting speculation about the ease of access to personal, even intimate information about ourselves and how that might change social mores.

Personal Transformations in the Internet Age - Boing Boing

I wonder if as a result of pervasiveness of such information we may actually see greater social forgiveness and tolerance. After all, the more people see that even those they admire do stupid things once in a while, particularly when they are young, wouldn't our tolerance level go up also? And hasn't it happened already? The more we find out about personal indiscretions of various politicians and celebrities, the more inured the public has become, it seems. We are finding out that many of our heroes are fallible. Maybe, along with everything else, the Internet is democratizing human fallacy.

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Batshit Crazy in 140 Characters

My favorite Colorado GOPosaurus, state Senator Dave Schultheis, (R) Focus on the Family, is wracked, WRACKED I tell you, with guilt over vacationing while the economic and moral structure of the country is ruined by evil Obamatrons. I know this because he took time away from his Minnesota junket to tweet his emotional conflict.

John Ensign, Mark Sanford, Mark Foley, Larry Craig, Scooter Libby, Mark Foley and Duke Cunningham nod in agreement.

Dogs Help with Wounds of War

A great story - truly a man's best friend.

'Sit! Stay! Snuggle!': An Iraq Vet Finds His Dog Tuesday - WSJ.com

Tuesday is a so-called psychiatric-service dog, a new generation of animals trained to help people whose suffering is not physical, but emotional. They are, effectively, Seeing Eye dogs for the mind.

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Well, I Guess She'd Know

Maybe Sarah should quit Twitter instead of her job.

Sign of Economic Recovery or Start of Cirrhosis Epidemic?

Wine prices driven lower than water | Todays News Highlights | News.com.au

Wine prices driven lower than water

By Bronwen Gora

Sunday Mail (SA)

July 05, 2009 12:01am

A WINE glut has driven prices lower than bottled water as the industry faces an unprecedented meltdown and a fire-sale of unprofitable vineyards.

The price collapse and overplanting has forced Australia's biggest winemaker, Foster's, owner of prestigious labels such as Lindemans and Penfolds, to sell 31 vineyards across the country, including 16 in South Australia and nine in New South Wales.

Major wine retailer Dan Murphy's is currently selling cleanskins for $1.99 a bottle - cheaper than some bottled water - due to the oversupply crisis that has led to some vineyard owners leaving grapes to wither on the vine.

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Senator Grassley Solves the Healthcare Crisis

Not The Best Advertisement

Spiritual adviser: 'Darkness' gripped Sanford - USATODAY.com

When Jenny Sanford confronted her husband in January after finding a letter to "Maria" among his official papers, the governor turned to Culbertson. For nearly six months, Culbertson has been the first couple's spiritual counselor — and their secret keeper.

The Sanfords "passed" the Culbertsons' course with flying colors. A week later, Jenny Sanford asked her husband to leave their home.

Res ipsa loquitor

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Maybe a Smart Phone & Google Latitude?

Sanford Will Now Disclose Schedule -- Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

In the wake of reports that South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R) regularly shed his security detail, he "will begin making his schedule available to the public and the media... a marked departure from the way the office has operated the past 6 1/2 years," according to The State.

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The Million Can March

Les Enragés.org: Your Cans Count Here!

If the teabaggers seem less than productive to you, here's an alternative: donate to your local food bank. A dastardly liberal blogger has come up with this notion, and it sure seems like a winning idea to me.

Sunday, June 28, 2009
Your Cans Count Here!

July the 4th is just around the corner. Now is the time to put your best intentions into action. Clean out those pantry shelves (but please double check those expiration dates), go to Costco or wherever you get the most bang for your buck, and tell your friends it's time to pony up.

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I Like Bacon, Too, But . . .

My love of bacon put to the test by bacon dress | Deb’s Style File | STLtoday

I layed the meat on top, then put clear vinyl over it and sewed tracks with clear thread. I used a wide stitch length to avoid perforating the meat to the point it might just… uh, slide down the bottom of the dress. I also blotted it all before sewing to get rid of as much grease as possible to avoid clouding the vinyl. Lastly, I made sure to bind the bottom of the dress with a strip of clear vinyl to catch drips. (I love talking about this; it’s so disgusting.) The whole project took about 6 hours, and I kept it refrigerated until the party. Good times.”

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Flailing Opposition to Healthcare Reform

TheHill.com - Graham calls Dem tactics Rove, DeLay politicsThe elder generation of Republican leaders are apparently trying every Rovian tactic in memory to slow or derail the healthcare reform process, including using Rove's name as a negative. Instead of addressing the issues and offering alternatives, it seems talking points are all the opposition party can offer. In fact, it's starting to look like an almost generational divide. Witness longtime pol and healthcare critic Charles Grassley's latest.

"When we're restructuring 16 percent of our economy, that's what healthcare is, and we're affecting every person in this country, then we ought to have bipartisan support," Grassley said.

It does not, apparently, occur to Senator Grassley that his party had an excellent window of opportunity, about eight years in width, to create a bipartisan effort to address the problem.

Memo to Grassley - don't like the way things are going in Congress? Win a few elections.

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Faded Star Burns Out

Michael Jackson, the people's king of pop? | guardian.co.uk

Jackson's was not an unblemished life and this makes it tricky for the news channels and tweeting celebrities who long for nothing more than to bathe in the soapy, sudsy pleasure of hyperbolic adoration and eulogies. But anyone who watched the Martin Bashir 2003 documentary in which he talked about sharing a bed with 12-year-old cancer patient, Gavin Arvizo, is going to find this a little strange, if not dishonest.

The striking thing about media coverage of Michael Jackson's death is the careful emphasis on past accomplishments, not the truly bizarre events that dominated the last two decades of his life. I certainly do recognize his contributions to pop music, but, really, does a career that peaked with "Thriller" in 1982 merit the wall-to-wall coverage we're seeing today?

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Michelle Bachman Comic Launched

High profile Minnesota Republican wackaloon Michelle Bachman is now starring in her very own comic book. Talking Points Memo has a review. Sample:

It's now in print in Minnesota, and anybody can order it online. So how is it?

As both a comic book fan and a Bachmann fan, I quite enjoyed it, but my hope is that the first issue was really laying a foundation for more to come. This comic introduces us to Bachmann, but then doesn't so much focus on her as it does on the important information we need to truly understand her political prominence -- the nature of extreme right-wing culture that has bequeathed a politician such as her to our national dialogue.

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We Support Free Speech - Now STFU!

UPDATE: McAuliffe, LU Democrats hold call on club ban | Lynchburg News Advance

Liberty University has revoked its recognition of the campus Democratic Party club, saying “we are unable to lend support to a club whose parent organization stands against the moral principles held by” the university.

“It kind of happened out of nowhere,” said Brian Diaz, president of LU’s student Democratic Party organization, which LU formally recognized in October.

Diaz said he was notified of the school’s decision May 15 in an e-mail from Mark Hine, vice president of student affairs.

According to the e-mail, the club must stop using the university’s name, holding meetings on campus, or advertising events. Violators could incur one or more reprimands under the school’s Liberty Way conduct code, and anyone who accumulates 30 reprimands is subject to expulsion.

Hine said late Thursday that the university could not sanction an official club that supported Democratic candidates.

“We are in no way attempting to stifle free speech.”

Accidental Commentary

MyDD :: Cheney Speech: When Subliminal Messaging is Accurate

Mickey Mouse Silenced

Voice of Mickey Mouse Dies - The Daily Beast

Rush Limbaugh, however, remains on the air.

It's All in the Timing

When I last posted about the Carrie Prejean fiasco, my underlying theme was a lack of integrity, which was, I thought, reinforced by Donald Trump's completely arbitrary overuling of the pageant contract in order to allow this self-serving young woman to retain her tiara. By extension, I doubted the integrity of the pageant's officials in toto. It turns out that assumption was wrong by 1.

IndyStar.com | AP National | The Indianapolis Star

Former Miss USA Shanna Moakler resigned as co-executive director of the Miss California USA pageant on Wednesday, saying she no longer believes in the organization because of pageant owner Donald Trump's decision to let the state's controversial title holder keep her crown.

With this news, my initial assumption is now correct. And it's a damn shame, too.Technorati Tags: Miss California, Donald Trump, Weasels

True to Her Convictions?

Miss California Carrie Prejean appears on Dr. Dobson's radio program. Apparently, Satan has subcontracted temptation to Perez Hilton.

Miss California to James Dobson: 'Satan Was Trying to Tempt Me' - God & Country (usnews.com)

Dobson: Why did you give the answer you did with regard to the affirmation of marriage?

Prejean: . . . I felt as though Satan was trying to tempt me in asking me this question. And then God was in my head and in my heart saying, "Do not compromise this. You need to stand up for me and you need to share with all these people . . . you need to witness to them and you need to show that you're not willing to compromise that for this title of Miss USA."

And I knew right here that it wasn't about winning. It was about being true to my convictions.

Well, I'm certainly happy to hear about commitments to convictions, but I have to wonder about which convictions, and for how long. For example, at age 17 Ms. Prejean posed semi-nude for a Victoria's Secret lingerie ad, a photo session she denied when signing the contract with Miss California USA pageant officials. As a result, her state crown is now in jeopardy.

But to make matters of conviction even more muddied, Miss Prejean claimed the released photo was the only one taken. Not so, according to a second photo released after her initial explanation of semi-nude pic #1.

Not worry, though, Miss Prejean's immediate future is bright. Even if her serial lies cost her the California crown, she's already inked a deal with the National Organization for Marriage, word whore Maggie Gallagher's latest source of income, to appear in a $1.5 million ad campaign that will attempt to keep Satan and Perez Hilton from marrying someone of the same gender. At least Miss California is keeping her commitment to that conviction.

UPDATE 5/12/09: Creepy old rich guy cuts buxom blonde a break.  Sure didn't see that coming.

Make Cheese, Not War

Welcome Back, Roquefort - The Atlantic Food Channel

In its final days, the Bush administration imposed a 300 percent import tax on France's famous Roquefort cheese, among other luxury food imports from Europe. Designed as retaliation for a European Union ban on imports of U.S. beef containing hormones, the measure was announced on January 13 and was to take effect at the end of April. Had this happened, it would have eradicated the U.S. market for Roquefort.

Daphne Zepos recounts the historic use of fine food to make diplomatic gains. In this case, a 300% tariff on Roquefort was removed under Obama's watch. She wonders if, perhaps, the President was allowed to taste some of that wonderful cheese?

Let's Do the Math

Obama to cut slain officers program almost in half

There's a little snarky meme floating around this morning concerning a cut in budget for the Public Safety Officers' Death Benefits Program. Last year  the program was funded with $110 million. The proposed budget cuts that to $60 million.

The usual conservative opinionators, like Warner Houston,  are feigning outrage. How dare Obama dishonor the fallen?  Why isn't the liberal media all over this?

Well, it could be because the program was seriously over funded during the Bush years. Paying benefits to survivors in the $300,000 range, the program would have issued just shy of $40,000,000 last year for 133 slain officers, leaving a surplus of $70,000,000.Cutting $50,000,000 from that bloated budget doesn't seem like such a big deal, after all.

But what if the number of killed officers goes up in 2009? The numbers for year to date do indicate a 21% increase over last year, but it's hard to say if that increase will hold throughout the rest of '09. Even so, a bump of 21% would call for benefits to be paid for up to 160 recipients. That totals about $48,000,000, still well below the proposed $60 million budget.

Sure looks like fiscal responsibility to me.

Be On The Lookout. . .

God Indicted in Absentia on Bird Flu Related Terrorism Charges | Avant News

Funny how God never gets the blame, but if the Intelligent Design loons are correct, then the Almighty would turn out to be a real terrorist.

Washington, D.C., April 22, 2007 -- Following confirmed reports that the H5N1 avian flu virus has again been altered, making it even more resistant to anti-viral medications and increasing the risks of human-to-human bird flu transmission, a warrant has been issued for the arrest of God, the leading Suspect in what is now described as a global bio-terror conspiracy.

It's a good day to buy a new phone.

Trying ping.fm