June 25, 2010

In Honor Of Dave Weigel

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn209/doubleplusundeadnu/weigel-1.jpg

You just learned who the boss is tonight.

Oh, and thanks to a commenter (and DPUD) for the idea.

(doubleplusundead)  Oh, and when the inevitable Weigel resignation hit, my first thought was Radiohead's Karma Police, then I get back home from work, and see Weigel lamenting on Twitter that the restaurant he's at is playing, yes, Karma Police.  Mwahahahahahaaa.


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Thoughts from a Ratfucker: The Dave Weigel resignation

Blah.  Well, I did have something long and snarky written out, but my computer did that thing where you hit the backspace and it takes you to the previous screen rather than erasing the last letter you wrote.  Yeah, fuck you, too, Steve Jobs. 

Anyway, long story short: Dave Weigel got fired because the Washington Post had to admit that he was what any thinking person to the right of David Brooks knew all along: he is a liberaltarian, not a conservative.

What's surprising is the reaction of some pretty established bloggers, such as Ed Morrissey, who are lamenting Weigel's, ahem, "resignation."  I understand what Ed is saying about Weigel being a nice guy.  DC is a small town, and I know several people who know him as a friend and would say the same thing.  I also know that most of my friends here are either liberals or just plain leftists.  I think they're nice, but I would not want them writing for WaPo to cover conservatism. 

I think what Ed and others are doing is the blogger version of a Capitol Hill GOPer shielding Democrat Congressman and Senators from criticism from the Right on the grounds that "I know Sen. Feingold. He's a charming fellow and a fine family man."  Yeah, he may be, but that doesn't make him above criticism when he's wrong.  *Sigh*

Also, why should we weep for Weigel?  The Narrative is on his side.  The Left and the MSM (BIRM) will send all of his previous writings criticising the Right down the memory whole.  Weigel will claim his mantle as someone who was really conservative, until those darned teabaggers and Palintards got ahold of the party.  I can just smell the Strange New Respect already...

Posted by: It's Vintage, Duh at 01:10 PM | Comments (12) | Add Comment
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June 24, 2010

Oh I just give up

Yeah. So. Judge Feldman? You know, the Evil Reagan Appointee who blocked the moratorium because he owns stock in Transocean and Halliburton?

Yeah. He didn't own those stocks when he made the ruling.

You think that's going to hit the headlines?

Also, he's getting death threats.  Yeah.  Feel the tolerance!

Posted by: alexthechick at 05:36 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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I'll agree: Boycott Fox News

HP, Boeing, Disney and Newscorp, which owns Fox have teamed up with Nanny Mike Bloomberg to push for amnesty.  This cannot be accepted.  If you're looking at buying a new computer or printer, look somewhere other than HP, cancel that trip to Disney and turn off Fox.  These fuckers need to learn stupid hurts.

Posted by: doubleplusundead at 01:26 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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Angle 48 - Reid 41

Dingy Harry is in trouble, gonna be happy to see him lose his seat, oddly enough, his son is also running for governor, and is going to extreme lengths to avoid being tied to his father, leaving out his last name wherever he can in ads and his site

That alone should be a disqualifier to potential voters, I mean, yeah, it's Dingy Harry, but would you really want to vote for a guy that'd go as far as denying his own father in order to get elected to office? 

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Minorities and the defective are in the same category

And teh gubmint ain't gonna help either of them.  via @bitterb.



What did we do before the internet?

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June 23, 2010

It's the little things that lead to the big explosion

It's pretty well established that the popular mood is turning ugly and vicious. I would state that it is doing so with good reason. Reasons such as the Tax Court rejecting the Geithner/Turbo Tax defense for a normal US taxpayer.

Here's the footnote that really twists the knife:

Fn.15: We shall address briefly petitioner's contention that the IRS granted "favorable treatment" in a case involving U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner, which petitioner described as "incredibly similar" to the instant case. According to petitioner, "there should not be different, or favorable rules for the well-connected". The record in this case does not establish any facts relating to the case to which petitioner refers involving U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner. In any event, those facts would be irrelevant to our resolution of the issue presented here. Regardless of the facts and circumstances relating to the case to which petitioner refers involving U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner, petitioner is required to establish on the basis of the facts and circumstances that are established by the record in his own case that there was reasonable cause for, and that he acted in good faith with respect to, the underpayment for each of his taxable years 2005 and 2006 that is attributable to his failure to report self-employment tax.

Here's the thing - it's obvious to pretty much everyone up to and including blind monks in Tibet that Geithner got the treatment he did because of who he was.  I appreciate the Tax Court not wanting to delve into that mess.  But the reality of it is that this is Exhibit 34,293,093 that The Little People are treated differently. 

It's getting ugly out there.  It's going to get worse.

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June 21, 2010

The L.A. boycott is totally based on principles

Unless, of course, it happens to cost the city some cash...

Two much-debated City Hall issues are expected to converge this week when the Los Angeles Police Department's red light camera program moves to the front of the line for an exemption from the city's contracting boycott of Arizona over that state's new immigration enforcement law.

On Tuesday, the City Council is scheduled to consider — and appears likely to approve — an exception to the boycott allowing a 10-month extension of a multimillion-dollar agreement with Scottsdale-based American Traffic Solutions.

[...]

The council's Public Safety Committee says the exception is justified because red light cameras provide a "significant benefit to public safety."
$300,000 worth of Arizona's dirty, racist "public safety." Yeah.

Posted by: Sean M. at 04:42 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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June 19, 2010

Shut Up, Peggy!

Seriously, shut the fuck up. I don't care that you finally seem to haltingly acknowledge what many of us have known for damn near three years now: that Captain Awesome doesn't have the chops to hold the highest office in the land. I don't fucking care about your tepid conversion, because you were one of the "Republicans" who thought that a flashy degree and a smooth demeanor was all that mattered over the experience and common sense others had. I fucking don't care because you went out of your way to tell us that he would usher in a new era of politics, not the naked shower attacks, thuggish union beatdowns, and general cluelessness he presents. And I really fucking in 3D Fuckovision don't care, because a good (hell, even a competent one) President knows how to handle a crisis, something lacking today.

But no, Peggy, you told us you and your ilk, of which Obama was and is a member, had all the answers (and what does that say about the East Coast Literati if this fool is their shining light?). You told us that a lifetime in a classroom mattered more than a lifetime in the fields. You told us that the ability to read a teleprompter mattered more than the ability to think on one's feet and rely upon instincts and experience. And you told us that we were illiterate hillbillies for daring to question the New Age of Awesome. And now that the veneer is dropping faster than your knickers at the White House Social Office, you want to call his reaction to being snakebitten into question?

Fuck. No. Fuck no with the fistfucked fury of a blueballed fucklion. Fuck you for what you have helped foster. Fuck you for helping to weaken and humiliate this country in the eyes of the rest of the world by helping this clown get elected. And fuck you just because your fucking arrogance in the face of failure is galling.

I want my country to succeed and be seen as a strong and powerful beacon of hope in the darkness that is the rest of the world. And I want my President (and yes, Obama is my President) to at least portray to the world a sense that he has everything under control. And we see none of that in Obama; instead, we see a bumbling clod who can only hope to threaten and bully people and businesses with the power of his office, not a man with a real plan and the confidence to accomplish it. And America is hurting because of it, both domestically and internationally.

So fuck you, Peggy Noonan. Fuck you for what you have done to this country. And fuck you for now begging for forgiveness after the damage has been done.

Posted by: eddiebear at 10:15 AM | Comments (16) | Add Comment
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Andrew Sullivan, political genius

Don't worry, the link below goes to NRO, not Andi's place:

“Palin is the only endorsement anyone wants. If you ask who the most influential endorsers are, Palin is numbers one, two, and three," - Rick Santorum.

But the entire Beltway assumes she is a non-starter in 2012. What kind of denial are they in?

Where to start?

First of all, we're in an election cycle where "the entire Beltway" is about as popular as Ebola. My Congressman, who happens to be a solid conservative, has been in Washington since 1999, and he won a three-way primary with just 49% of the vote—the lowest percentage of any campaign he's ever had, including city council races. How are Dems in Red States going to fare?

Secondly, which conservative candidate wouldn't want the endorsement of a popular political/opinion figure who has sold zillions of books (how are your various tomes selling, Andi?) and has a prominent platform on Fox News, the ratings leader among cable news networks? Sure, it's not as if liberal-leaning voters are going to vote for a Palin-endorsed candidate—hell, they'll probably run, screaming, in the other direction—but they weren't going to vote for GOP candidates in the first place. Palin's endorsements are meant to shore up conservative support and convince independents who lean right that they should vote against the Obama/Pelosi/Reid agenda that some of them voted for in 2008. Mistakes were made, she's saying.

And, then, there's the whole "non-starter in 2012" thing. Sully is assuming that her value is that she's going to be the pull for the politicians she's endorsing because she's going to run in 2012. While that may or may not be true, that isn't the point, is it? Palin's value is in the here and now, where there is a huge electoral surge in 2010 that hates what the Dems and Obama have been doing and want to sweep them out of office.

TIME TO GO UTERUS SPELUNKING AGAIN!!!!!

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June 18, 2010

Is This Epistemic Closure?

I await the bazillion and one handwringing posts by the MFM about the closed minded left after Keith Olbermann left Kos.

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June 17, 2010

Why I'm against the BP shakedown

And it's absolutely a shakedown.

As our three readers know, I work in the plaintiff's side personal injury field.  Thus, I have a slightly different take on this.  Bear that bias in mind while reading the below as well. 

I want to know how the hell Obama decided that he knows that $20 billion is enough for the damages.  I haven't read the details of this plan yet, but I am utterly sure that participation in the fund will require the waiver of any rights to sue BP.  I'm also sure there will be enormous pressure brought to bear on those affected to make the claim through this fund, both due to sheer economic necessity and other forms of persuasion. 

So what does that mean?  That means that some bureaucrat is going to get to decide how much your fishing business is worth, not a jury of your peers.  Of course I'm against that.  Yeah, the jury system may suck but does anyone, anyone at all, trust that this fund will be administered fairly and transparently?  Bueller?  Bueller?  What happens when the fund starts to reach the cap?  Will BP be on the hook for more money or will the claimants be told too bad so sad?  What methodology will be used for valuation?  Will there be any type of appeal process if you don't like the number that is placed on your claim?  Will that appeal process be intra-agency only or will there be any type of court oversight of this process? 

The closest analogy I can come up with is the 9/11 Fund.  The Firm did some pro bono work on those claims and I can tell you from personal experience that it was a hugely complicated and not even remotely equitable process.  At least the 9/11 fund had some colorable claim of necessity, since it involved questions of suits against sovereign entities *koff*  Saudi *koff* that made the existence of an alternate method of recovery reasonable.  But this?  There are ample civil and criminal means of recovery in place right now.

For those who take this as a defense of BP, it's not.  My point is that BP is getting off CHEAP.  Not only is this hugely problematic from a separation of powers point of view, it's also hugely problematic from a plaintiff's perspective.  I anticipate that the next move will be some lawyer attempting to certify a class of all potential claimants to the fund, that class being granted and then the creation of an all but impossible opt out procedure.  So BP was presented with a deal it could not turn down.  Why should it?  If I were BP's counsel I would tell BP to jump on this with both feet and then make sure the actual implementation screwed over as many claimants as possible.

From my perspective, Obama just created precedent to eliminate the jury trial in any type of mass disaster.  That's terrifying. 

I also want to know how this interplays with bankruptcy law.  I know jack about the current US bankruptcy system and less than that about foreign bankruptcy.  Are these funds going to be considered exempt from secured creditors if BP goes down?  If so, then, once again, the entire concept of secured creditors goes out the window.  See re:  Chrysler. 

So, yes, I have tremendous problems with this.  So should everyone else.

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June 16, 2010

The all-seeing eye of Barney Frank

And I'm not referring to his brown-eye.

I'm so sorry for putting that image into your head.  But I suppose it's only mildly worse than S. Weasel contemplating his lack of teeth.

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Oh my

You know things are bad when Michael Barone gets bitchy.

Seriously, I cannot recall any point at which he's really sounded more than mildly peeved.  This reads as if it could have been written by a Moron, lack of profanity notwithstanding.

Someone's a wee bit ticked.

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June 15, 2010

What part of fuck no did you not understand

Nice executive order there attempting to tell me what the fuck I can do with my body, Obama.

Seriously, this is completely and utterly outrageous.  Freedom means nothing without the freedom to fuck up.  If I want to not exercise and shovel cheese fries down my throat, then it's MY FUCKING LIFE. 

I want some kind, any kind, of intellectually coherent explanation as to how it is not the government's business who I eat but it is the government's business what I eat.  Good luck finding that. 

Posted by: alexthechick at 10:07 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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Is there some reason Bob Etheridge isn't in jail right now?

Seriously, if any one of normal person had done what he did, had it published, then had it go viral on teh intarwebs, we'd be sitting in jail.  So why isn't he?  I want to know if he actually stole the phone or not, too, because if he did, he should be charged for that too. 



Frankly, I'd wager that a GOP Congressman would be facing charges already if they'd done similar as well.

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June 14, 2010

Yet another reason why Bing is better

Once again, Bing is celebrating an American holiday (Flag Day) while Google?  Not a damn thing.  The image up for Bing is actually really really lovely.

(I'd put up screencaps up, you know, Moron)


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June 12, 2010

Um...

Some people have no class.

Some conservatives suffer from such an acute case of Obama Derangement Syndrome that they can’t even debate the issues of the day with out resorting to childish name-calling.
So says Media Matters hack Eric Boehlert, referring to L.A. Times blogger Andrew Malcolm in a lengthy whine (which I'm not going to bother to link) at lefty blog...The Smirking Chimp.

You can't make this stuff up.

Posted by: Sean M. at 08:02 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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June 10, 2010

Investment advice - tar and feathers

Seriously, the Obama Administration is actively trying to get The Masses riled up. Newest way? Eliminiating the mortgage interest deduction!

Let's see, this eliminates a big reason to own instead of rent.  That will press housing prices down more.  It's a win/win!

Look, I'm actually open to the idea of eliminating the deduction but it's considered untouchable for a freaking reason.  Telling homeowners that the mortgage interest deduction is getting eliminated in order to pay for Obamacare?  Good luck with that!

Posted by: alexthechick at 10:02 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Boy howdy there are those who really want there to be open revolution aren't there?

The evidence sure points that way.

That crazy paranoid idea that the government is coming after private pensions? Well, it's hard to be paranoid when they're really out to get you.

Seriously, I'm starting to believe those who think that Obama et al are bound and determined for there to be rioting in the streets.  Also?  With my current personal circumstances, I'm finding it incredibly difficult to comprehend why I should bother trying to work and save and be responsible.  It certainly doesn't seem like that's going to be rewarded.


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