Happy New Year!
I broke out the asti early and am, humiliatingly, nearly hammered on half a glass. So I wanted to wish y'all a happy new year before I start drunk blogging. It's been an honor to be granted the keys to this place and I resolve to try to post actual substance occasionally.
Plus perhaps to "accidentally" link to lesbian porn.
Finishing off the last of the good Bourbon myself. Cheers!
Posted by: neuromanncer at December 31, 2008 10:10 PM (GDOa/)
2
I drank the whole bottle of Asti and I'm now into the JD, I may not make it to midnight though.
Happy New Year everyone
Posted by: D at December 31, 2008 11:09 PM (yVSg5)
3
People actually drink Asti? I thought those commercials were SNL parodies ...
Posted by: Hermit Dave at December 31, 2008 11:19 PM (WhFvm)
4
I'm heading out to a party in a few minutes, and I'm probably not
coming back until tomorrow. All you guys and gals have a Happy
New Year!
Posted by: Sean M. at December 31, 2008 11:22 PM (rLWHv)
5
Have had several glasses of Bacardi an coke and I must also thank our gracious host for the ability to post my retardity to mass audiences on his rep.
Thanks DPUD. It's been a great year. I hope to add twice as much next.
Posted by: Moron Pundit at January 01, 2009 12:05 AM (2uped)
Democrats begin agitating for media bailouts
A bit of Name That Party, followed by some interesting reactions from various media people. The question becomes, how many GOP Congresscritters are going to cave and go along with the bailout? I also wonder how many Congresscritters will be swayed by the fear of having dirt on them or personal information dug up or exposed by the media?
What I'll really be interested in is what McCain does, does he allow his "all politics is personal" side come out, and oppose media bailouts for their shabby treatment of him during the 2008 campaign? Or will he come crawling back to his main contituency, like the voters in Murtha's district did to Fat Jack (I can't believe you idjit voters in Western PA let Murtha make you his bitch like that).
1Or will he come crawling back to his main contituency...
Hmmm...support conservative principles or get good headlines?
I wonder which McCain will choose?
Posted by: Slublog at December 31, 2008 10:09 PM (p4s1i)
2
Not, not support conservative principles, but if he was holding a personal grudge for his shabby treatment by the media, that just might make him side with conservatives by coincidence.
Posted by: doubleplusundead at December 31, 2008 11:00 PM (D2cBI)
3
I'd like to believe that, but McCain's career hasn't given us much reason to hope.
Posted by: Slublog at December 31, 2008 11:18 PM (p4s1i)
2008 recap
Lessee, been an interesting year, blogwise, went from just running this crappy little blog myself to having lots of great co-bloggers, we've grown in traffic significantly, and there are lots of people I owe thanks to for that, my co-bloggers, Ace and John Hawkins are probably the biggest ones, but obviously we've gotten to work with lots of other great bloggers too throughout the year.
As for resolutions, I think they're ridiculous, but I promise I'm going to actually, oh, I dunno, write at my own crapblog a bit more, I know I haven't been posting as much.
Why not save the trip and just "martyr" yourself at home?
Unsurprisingly, the Iranians are pissed about Israel's decision to go after Hamas for lobbing rockets at innocent Israeli citizens. Some of them are even volunteering to form "suicide brigades" to attack Israel, though it's not exactly clear how they would get there.
On Sunday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a religious decree to Muslims to defend the people of Gaza in any way possible and said anyone who died from this would be a martyr.Following that, five hard-line student groups and the Combatant Clergy Society began signing up volunteers for military, financial or propaganda aid to Gaza.
They have a Combatant Clergy Society? Of course they do.
But there apparently was one (brief) positive development...
Criticism of Hamas is rare in Iran. However, in an unusual move, the Iranian Kargozaran newspaper published a letter from another student group which called Hamas a terrorist organization for taking refuge in "kindergartens and hospitals." Following this, the Kargozaran, a reformist publication close to former Iranian president Hashemi Rafsanjani, was shut down.
Gee, what a shock. Seriously, though, let's hope the paper's editors and employees are safe. I don't think the Mullahs buy into the whole "dissent is the highest form of patriotism" thing.
Christopher Hitchens basically calling Bill Maher and his audience stupid, then flipping them off:
On an unrelated note, if you tell anyone today that you'll "see them next year," you deserve to be punched in the throat. I've been at work since 1pm (until 9pm) and ten people have used that line. It's not funny. Never has been.
1
I need a quick synopsis since I think I see Bill Maher staring back at me and there is no way I'm subjecting myself to that guy when I'm in a good mood unless he's getting punched in the throat for saying "see you next year" (or, hell, for any other reason).
Posted by: ECM at December 31, 2008 05:05 PM (q3V+C)
2
At least Maher's audience is getting flipped off. That's something.
On a kinda unrelated note, who are the people who make up these studio audiences? I mean, they seem to be able to laugh at any joke, no matter how awful. Are they just really big Maher fans, or are they so happy about their .15 seconds of fame they'll do anything?
Posted by: Daniel Ruwe at December 31, 2008 05:34 PM (9i141)
3
I expect more out of Hitchens than The Bird, however deserving the audience might have been.
Posted by: Sockless Joe at December 31, 2008 05:35 PM (UazZY)
The Official Roland Burris Death ChamberIt's pretty fantastic if you haven't seen it yet. Oh, and in case you were stil in doubt about this man's ego, his children are named Roland II and Rolanda. I'm totally serial.
The Multnomah County Sheriff's Office said an 88-year-old woman fended off a naked intruder by grabbing the man's crotch and squeezing. Deputy Paul McRedmond said the man got into the house Tuesday through a sliding door. He backed the woman into her living room and pushed her face down onto a chair.
That's when the woman reached behind and squeezed. The man tore free and fled.
I said Israel will attack any boat carrying doctors and medical supplies--they have turned away the red cross already and all medical and food assistance. Israel is a NAZI state. The Jewish Soul is being tortured in Israel. The destruction of the jews in Israel has been assured with this inhuman attack on civilians in gaza. Hamas is the street gangs---this is equivilent to los angeles attacking and launching war on the people of watts to attempt to kill the bloods and the crips.
2. Using profanity is against the law on playgrounds and in public parks in Columbia, Md.
3. The last Sunday in June each year is Log Cabin Day in Michigan.
4. In Michigan, it is legal to kill a dog for attacking chickens, livestock or people, but you can't snuff the pooch in a high altitude decompression chamber or by electrocution.
5. In West Virginia, anyone who taunts someone who decides not to participate in a duel or who declines to accept a challenge is guilty of a misdemeanor and can be sent to jail for up to six months and fined up to $100.
6. In Kentucky it is illegal to sell, exchange, offer to sell or exchange, display, or possess living baby chicks, ducklings, or other fowl or rabbits that have been dyed or colored. It is also illegal to dye or color baby chicks, ducklings, fowl or rabbits. And unless they are at least two months old, the aforementioned animals must be sold in batches of six.
Well, that signifies the prevailing attitudinal paradigm of vast swathes of the non-pr0nographic Internet (if a part of such a tiny sub-set can be called "vast").
It's WTF?!? to you laymen.
Posted by: Veeshir at December 31, 2008 11:57 AM (ThMnZ)
2
I want two minutes and twenty-six seconds of my life back.
Posted by: Sean M. at December 31, 2008 12:17 PM (rLWHv)
But while we're on the wild wide world of scary tour, of course, Israel has started another war. A third straight day of airstrikes on Gaza, the death toll now more than 300 people. Israel says they are doing this to prevent Palestinians from firing rockets into southern Israel. First of all, there's the question of proportionality as to how many people those rockets have killed versus how many people the Israeli bombing has now killed. There's also the issue of effectiveness. In the midst of this massive air assault killing hundreds of civilians in Gaza, a rocket fired from Gaza today killed a man and wounded seven in the Israeli town of Ashkelon. Effectiveness. Three Israelis were also stabbed by a Palestinian in a Jewish settlement in the West Bank today. Is there a military solution to this problem?
Maybe. Maybe not. But when a dimbulb like this is touted as a rising star on a cable network that is nothing more than a broadcast version of the Daily Kos, what does that say?
I don't know but I have a hypothesis. If you consider the cognitive abilities of anyone who actually watches, much less believes what that ditz says, then the businesses that buy ad time during her show are targeting a special demographic -- the idiot sector.
Capitalism rocks!
Posted by: Robert E at December 31, 2008 03:03 PM (13vXO)
2
Here's another take on the disproportionate response:
Its been a great year for Morons so now you get the chance to pick the Moron of the YEAR! I have narrowed the list down to the following five but feel free to add your favorites from the Moron of the Day category in the comments if you think I'm an idiot.
The Holy Diver - A man that loves his karaoke so much he'd kill for it.
The Travelling DUI's - The family that binge drinks and drives together stays together... in jail.
Hammer Time - The news story that made you ask, "which end of the hammer goes in there" and prompted Alice "Anal Penetration Expert" H. to respond "it helps you pull it out."
The truck, carrying 12 tonnes of freshly brewed beer, lost most of its load on a sharp left-hand turn at the bottom of a hill, according to Kassel police inspector Wolfgang Jungnitsch.
Nearly 80 crates carrying about 800 litres flew off the truck, most of the bottles smashed, and their contents quickly froze in the chilly temperature of about minus 4 degrees Celsius, he said.
"A sheet of ice quickly formed and the air was filled with beer fumes," Inspector Jungnitsch added.
It took an hour to clear the intersection, and police said the trucker faced a fine for not securing his load properly.
Hasn't many, many years (their whole existence except for two or three years) of them raising your hopes only to crush them damped down any optimism you might have had?
Posted by: Veeshir at December 31, 2008 11:59 AM (ThMnZ)
I recently got into my annual debate with an ultra-liberal family member and therefore will be ranting to you on several topics I was too tired/rushed/drunk to flesh out during the debate.
One issue we approached was the intrinsic disadvantage people of "victim classes" live under. I think it works like this:
A person of a victim class looks at their life and says, "this shit is fucking hard and it never gets any easier." Then, they look at their own efforts and do not find them lacking so they look to find the reason why. History provides them with fodder for saying their difficulties in life are caused by racism/sexism/etcism.*
Now, society and government buy into this grievance and attempt in good faith to alleviate it. Things change and life disadvantages are removed but ... what the fuck? Life is still hard! The system must still be broken.
The cycle repeats forever.
Why? Well, as a blessed white male with no possible disadvantages in life** I am going to let everyone in on a little secret.
Life is fucking hard. All the time. It never gets easier. There is no point at which you have "succeeded" and can relax. It is hard for rich people and poor people and beautiful people and ugly people and smart people and stupid people. Always. No matter what.
Nothing the government has or ever will do can change that. I know, sucks. Tough shit.
* - I'm not saying that these disadvantages do not exist or that they don't have significant effects on the ability of these groups to prosper. I am merely saying that these disadvantages (particularly in modern America) pale in comparison to the default background difficulty level of life itself.
** - I could get into the specific and rather damaging disadvantages I was born with but nobody wants to hear about MP in that much detail. Let's just say I had to overcome some chemical imbalances over time that set me back about a decade. No big whoop. I look at it as a learning experience.
Update: I like the term Etcism. I'm claiming it. If you use it you have to say, "Coined by the Illustrious Moron Pundit of DPUD" after each use. It is decreed!
1
One of my favorite songs is No One Said It Was Easy by John Ralston - no one said that this was easy/no one handed you a free pass for the ride/no one said that this was easy/keep your chin up someday maybe things will play out right
That sums it up for me. It's not easy, it's not ever going to be easy. There is no fair. I agree, that's not to say that legitimate disadvantages shouldn't be addressed but it's not a curable condition. Human nature is not perfectible.
Instapundit nailed it discussing the kid who wrote the book about starting with I think it was $50 in his pocket and no place to live and ending with $2,000 in the bank and an apartment. (I may be incorrect on some of those details) There are people who will start with nothing and in six months have something and there are people who start with $1,000,000 and in six months have nothing. I'm looking at you, Pinch. Inequity will always exist. That sucks, but that's reality.
Posted by: alexthechick at December 31, 2008 09:20 AM (SHHaV)
2
Yes, but how do you pronounce it, O Illustrious One?
Posted by: Gabriel Malor at December 31, 2008 09:44 AM (rWvvO)
3
ETS - ISM... like "Metsism" without the M. I know it is probably unacceptable to describe the pronounciation of a word by comparing it to another made-up word but ... umm... because SHUT UP.
Posted by: Moron Pundit at December 31, 2008 09:46 AM (83gRI)
The problem is that since we no longer know history, we're bound to repeat it. We've disregarded so much hard won wisdom that it's not funny, except in a "Funniest End of Civilization Ever" sense.
Remember when your parent would say, "If your friends were to jump off a bridge, would you do it?" and the only acceptable answer was "No"? Now, it's an excuse. "Everybody does it."
Remember "Sticks and Stones"? Now you don't even need to call someone a name to get in trouble, they just have to be stupid enough and angry enough to misinterpret what you say and you're in trouble.
Nope, we're doomed and I say that because we've unlearned lessons like "Life is hard" and our media/political/academic betters are acting accordingly.
Posted by: Veeshir at December 31, 2008 10:29 AM (ThMnZ)
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Are you the kind of angry lefty scold who feels the need to inject
politics into every fucking last part of your Chimpy McBu$hitler-hating
life? Well, if you're reading this, probably not, but if you are,
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What's PETArded in 2009?
PETA came out with its list of "What's In and What's Out for 2009" a couple of weeks ago, and of course, it's more or less uniformly idiotic. F'rinstance...In: Eating green, Out: Eating mean. Get it?
But this one puzzled me...In: Inauguration fever, Out: Inauguration beaver. WTF?
Oh, and while I like lolcats as much as the next person, bacon cheeseburgers are never Out. Ever.
For those of you not as deeply steeped in Discovery Channel disaster shows as I, let me sum up. Yellowstone is actually the mouth of a giant volcano that tends to go BOOOOOOM every 600,000 years or so and, pretty much, kill all life on Earth. The last explosion? Ohhh, about 625,000 years or so. Booooooooom.
While I really don't want to live through the ensuing Zombie Apocalypse when Yellowstone does blow (where would I find heels), I will say there's a part of me that loves this. Not just for the death and destruction but for pointing out that human beings are wee little ants who can do nothing compared to the power of Gaia.
1
All that ash spewing into the air would cause one helluva global winter. The hippies will be WISHING we'd caused climate change at that point.
I really kinda hope it doesn't blow, as I have relatives right there. Not that it would make much of a difference, but if it's just a small big disaster, I'd like them to remain unscathed.
Posted by: Alice H at December 30, 2008 08:33 PM (jRtPb)
2
OK, whose turn was it to throw the virgin into the damn thing this year? When it comes to supervolcanoes, "I forgot" or "Oops, she's not a virgin anymore" just aren't sufficient excuses.
Posted by: Hermit Dave at December 30, 2008 08:58 PM (WhFvm)
3
So a mistake of 0.1% here could move the event 600 years sooner or later or plus or minus 30 or 40 virgins?
Posted by: snaggletoothie at December 31, 2008 03:23 AM (9m+gW)
4So a mistake of 0.1% here could move the event 600 years sooner or later or plus or minus 30 or 40 virgins?
I'm sorry, there's no math on this blog.
Posted by: alexthechick at December 31, 2008 09:13 AM (SHHaV)
So that number was determined how? Oh.. because they found a sealed chamber that was reopened that has it etched in rock that 625,000 years ago this happened, and 600,000 years before that, and before that and before that.
Okay, then I will believe there is a pattern and a predictability to it.
Otherwise.. it's another "world is ending cult" like global warming.
There are some real wackjobs in this world.
Posted by: McHub532 at December 31, 2008 09:40 AM (lduP/)
6
The number is admittedly inexact but there is solid evidence that a rather incredible explosion happened there between 500,000 and 700,000 years ago. Go to the Craters of the Moon in Idaho to see what happened last time.
Do I think it'll happen in our lifetime? Nah, I'm not lucky enough to live in exciting times. (I mean, who doesn't want to run around Mad-Max style killing bondage freaks named Humongus or whatever.) Do I think, if it did go off, it would be the end of the world? Nah. It would certainly suck, particularly for the United States but it wouldn't be the end of the world by any stretch.
I hope, if there is something to these tremors, that the USGS gets the people out of there earlier rather than later.
Posted by: Moron Pundit at December 31, 2008 10:06 AM (83gRI)
"I mean, who doesn't want to run around killing bondage freaks like Humongus"
I'm gonna go have to say, "Alex".
Posted by: Veeshir at December 31, 2008 10:38 AM (ThMnZ)
8
Um, about that NASA Mars expedition, you know... could we, um, look into it, errr a bit more, you know... whatever. I'm willing to hail my own cab ride to the Cape, you know.
Posted by: Princess Caroline at January 02, 2009 12:09 AM (8V5Ut)
As I have said from the beginning, I'm totally willing to negotiate with any megavolcano without pre-conditions, in order to overcome the negativity that has taken hold about America in caldera around the world. Even though we only have one President at a time, after the 20th I'm sure the climate for negotiating will be much more nuanced. If we can offer up a sacrifice before then to show good faith, I'm sure we can select someone from under my bus - it's well-stocked.
Posted by: The One at January 02, 2009 12:22 AM (8V5Ut)
10
Volcanic eruptions are easy to date. Just measure the age of the lava or ash. Yellowstone has erupted many times in the last several million years. The average time between eruptions is about 600,000 years.
Posted by: eman at January 02, 2009 12:56 AM (9jESx)
11
Mama Gaia is just experiencing a little New Year's indigestion and bloating, is all.
Posted by: Fritz at January 02, 2009 02:36 AM (3Bqev)
12
Big deal. These earthquake swarms happen every year or so. The locations vary, and are sometimes well outside what is considered the caldera boundary. (Like near West Yellowstone or down in the Bechler region.) They last for while, then quit as suddenly as they started. If they occur close enough to a thermal area, they may cause minor changes in some of the individual features there.
The big story here is that people with no knowledge of the history or dynamics of a place a willing to jump to a sensationalistic conclusion.
Posted by: Raoul Ortega at January 02, 2009 10:16 AM (9p0nw)
Posted by: sickinmass at January 02, 2009 12:10 PM (/i4dU)
14 "Volcanic eruptions are easy to date."
Oh, please! I went out with one a few times several years ago. Not an experience I'm eager to repeat, let me tell you!
Explosive temper, smelled awful, tended to make an ash of herself in public...
Posted by: Mr. Right at January 02, 2009 12:54 PM (+1Q/0)
If Yellowstone blows, it will bury the Western US in volcanic ash. It would be a catastrophe. It would mess up the Super Bowl. It would steal focus from President-elect Chicago H. Jesus.
It would make an awesome mini-series.
Posted by: Jones at January 03, 2009 08:28 AM (KOkrW)