|link| Posted 10:30 AM by Brian Linse
Political Animal Captured

Calpundit Kevin Drum has gone pro and taken his blog to the site of The Washington monthly. Keep the old bookmarks and links to CP, as Kev plans on occasionally posting there, but add Political Animal to the daily read.

|link| Posted 11:29 AM by Brian Linse
How Hard Could It Be?

Kinky Friedman's campaign store on the web is open for biz. Click the banner below to buy bumper stickers, posters, and t-shirts. I like to think that the slogan suggests that if George W. Bush could do it, how hard could it be?

While you are over there, check out Kinky's article on a Texas death row inmate, "Case Open".

|link| Posted 12:59 AM by Brian Linse
AWOL or ARF?

Kevin Drum seems to have beaten the "real" media to a scoop on the issue of George W. Bush's mystery Texas Guard duty.

Paging Mr. Krugman and Mr. Marshall... let's go guys, get it out there for the world to hear!

Bush promised on MTP today to release his military records, and I don't think the evil genius Rove can weasel out of this one now.

Unless, of course, that horrible "liberal" media fails to pick this up...

|link| Posted 3:39 AM by Brian Linse
Koufax Awards

If you frequent a lot of Lefty blogs, go vote in the Wampum Koufax Awards.

|link| Posted 6:31 PM by Brian Linse
Warren's Day

Warren Zevon would have been 57 today. I remember spending the afternoon with him on his 50th like it was yesterday. I still haven't adjusted to the fact that he's gone.

VH1 is releasing a DVD version of the documentary they shot during the recording of his last album. The new version contains 65 minutes of previously unused footage, so it will be a must-have even if you saw the original program. Click on the cover below to pre-order from Amazon.

The original was a remarkable and very moving docu, and I'm sure the new material will be worth checking out.

Happy Birthday, Warren, wherever you are.

|link| Posted 7:56 PM by Brian Linse
Senators Take Iowa

Sen. John Kerry and Sen. John Edwards are the one and two finishers in the Iowa caucus, and Rep. Dick Gephardt has graciously dropped out of the race. It's now a serious race between Dean, Clark, Kerry and Edwards. Daily Kos has much coverage, and check out Drum's non-prediction predictions at Calpundit.

The remaining contenders would be wise to follow Edwards' lead - and Gephardt's example by dropping out tonight - and focus on beating Bush rather than each other. If these boys can all play relatively nice, two of them could go up against Bush/Cheney in November. Edwards/Clark would be my pick right now, but a Dean/Clark, Clark/Edwards, or Dean/Edwards ticket would all work for me as well.

Here's hoping that the process works, and we end up with the ticket that has the best shot at ousting the Bush Administration.

|link| Posted 6:19 PM by Brian Linse
Campaign Watch Sites

From Calpundit Kevin Drum we learn of two new sites that propose to factcheck the pols and journos on the campaign trail. The Campaign Desk is from the CJR, and FactCheck.org is courtesy of the nice folks at Annenberg. Both are worth a look.

Kevin also puts a dose of reality and reason to the recent Wes Clark consistency controversies.

|link| Posted 2:39 PM by Brian Linse
Register Endorses Edwards

The largest newspaper in Iowa has endorsed John Edwards for the Dem nomination. Edwards has always struck me as a Clintonesque candidate, and at the very least he should be considered as a great VP on a Wes Clark ticket if Dean tanks.

If Dean wins the nom? Dean/Clark would be the way to go for the best chance of ousting Bush Jr.

|link| Posted 2:31 PM by Brian Linse
Professor Nagl's War

Peter Maass has a great piece in the Sunday Times Magazine on the nature of Counterinsurgency Warfare. The subject is covered through a profile of Maj. John Nagl, a West Point grad and Rhodes Scholar who is an expert in counterinsurgency. It is a discouraging picture, in spite of Maj. Nagl's heroic efforts:

''I didn't realize how right Lawrence of Arabia was,'' Nagl said to me once. ''My first experience of war was the gulf war, which was very clean. We shot the tanks that didn't look like ours, we shot the enemy wearing a uniform that didn't look like ours, we destroyed the enemy in 100 hours. That's kind of what I thought war was. Even when I was writing that insurgency was messy and slow, the full enormity of that did not sink in on me. I am seeing appreciable progress, but I am starting to understand in the pit of my stomach how hard, how long, how slow counterinsurgency really is. There is no prospect it's going to end anytime soon.''

Maj. Nagl suggests that predicting the outcome of the Iraq conflict is impossible. The last graph of the Maass piece is particularly chilling:

Yet if predicting the future is a hopeless endeavor, learning from the past is not. The counterinsurgency books that Nagl studied do impart an important lesson. The goal the United States hopes to reach in Iraq -- a successful counterinsurgency that does not drag on for years and does not involve a large amount of killing -- has never been achieved by any army.

It's a long article, but worth the time. Go catch it while it's accessible (registration required).

|link| Posted 9:51 AM by Brian Linse
The Canadian Ann Coulter

Ladies and gentlemen, meet Ms Rachel Marsden, Jersey GOP "Republican Babe of the Week" and frequent pundit on a variety of right wing media outlets.

This past weekend, Ms. Marsden had a remarkable piece on the UPI website that attacked Howard Dean's candidacy, and in the headline that I saw reproduced on Google news claimed that it is "imploding".

This is a case where you really do have to read the piece in question, so go check it out. I'll wait.

Wow. Appallingly written, eh? Tried but failed to be funny at places, eh? Bizarre obsession with sexual metaphor, eh?

But wait, it gets even more bizarre.

Turns out that Ms. Marsden, self-styled "compassionate conservative" and Neocon cheerleader, has an interesting history of sexual harassment. Back in 1997, she nearly cost a coach at SFU his job when she filed false charges against him. Read a full breakdown here if you are interested.

And about a year ago, she was arrested in Vancouver for harassing a 52 year old former lover. The Crown counsel requested an evaluation of her mental state.

But the best part is that she has been described as the "Canadian Ann Coulter", which must stand as one of the few times when such a comparison would be an insult to Ann.

UPDATE: Atrios found the infamous photos! Jeebus, what a strange world we live in...

|link| Posted 10:56 PM by Brian Linse
Keith Magnuson 1947 - 2003

Catching up on some news tonight, I read over at the blog of my old friend, Drex35, that one of my childhood heroes had passed. Former Chicago Blackhawks player and coach Keith Magnuson was killed in a car accident outside of Toronto.

Magnuson was one of the stars of the 70's era Blackhawks along with Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita, Tony Esposito, and Whitey Stapleton. He was one of the first college-boy NCAA players to gain respect in the NHL, and he was, from his rookie season on, always a leader of his team.

I remember watching him fight - and often take a beating - against some of the toughest players in the toughest era of professional hockey. He had heart and spirit that surpassed his talents, and was a fearsome presence on the ice.

After one game in the early 70's, my dad and I waited to get some autographs outside the locker room. When Magnuson walked out in his long black coat, I remember suddenly being terrified of him. His face was a mess - stitched and bruised beneath his shock of red-blonde hair. My dad spoke and asked him if I could have an autograph and a photo. Magnuson knelt down and smiled as he posed with me, his gentle presence instantly putting me at ease. I'm gonna have to track down that photo next time I'm in Chicago.

The stats say that Keith was 6 feet and 185 lbs - almost exactly my size right now, which I find hard to believe because in my memory he was, and always will be, a giant.

|link| Posted 4:30 PM by Brian Linse
Ladies and Gentlemen...

...Mr. Tony Pierce.

When Mr. P is on, there is nobody better.

|link| Posted 2:44 AM by Brian Linse
A.K.Olsen In The House!

Congratulations to Dawn and Eric Olsen, and happy birthday to their new son, Alexander Kirk Olsen!

If they'd asked me I'd have suggested "Miles Thelonius Olsen" if it's a boy, or "Miles Thelonius Olsen" if it's a girl - but they didn't, so I'm gonna call him A.K., and I expect him to be up and blogging in a few weeks.

Welcome to the world little man.

|link| Posted 2:36 PM by Brian Linse
Scalzi Hepls Kidz Reed

Go see John Scalzi and donate to his literacy drive. You'll get access to three original Christmas stories by John, and be helping a worthy cause. Blogs need readers! Let's help Scalzi teach some new ones!

|link| Posted 5:05 PM by Brian Linse
Worst Movies of All Time

There's been some fun recently with Worst Movies of All Time lists. Chuck Kuff and Barlow, amongst others, have tempted me to join in.

BadDude criteria:

1) Film must have been a US Theatrical release that was supposed to be a "hit". (Thus the absence of direct-to-video Resurrection(1999), perhaps the worst movie I've ever seen. It was straight to vid in the US, but I saw it screened in Mexico City.)

2) I must have actually seen the film, though cable/DVD viewings do count. (Thus the absence of Gigli & Rollerball (2002), and the inclusion of Battlefield Earth.)

3) The film must have no redeeming qualities. None. (Thus, the absence of Howard The Duck, which was redeemed by Lea Thompson romping on a bed in her panties. So if Lea's panties can redeem a film, you get the idea of how bad it has to be to make my list.)

The List (in no particular order):

Battlefield Earth (2000): I actually felt sorry for Barry Pepper and Forest Whitaker.

Town and Country (2001): This one was so bad I told all my friends to see it.

Lost In Space (1998): When a combination of Gary Oldman as Dr. Smith with Mimi and Heather in shrink-wrap uniforms can't redeem a picture, well, let's just say I was surprised that the world didn't end shortly after it's release.

Oscar (1991): Directed by John Landis, so that explains a lot. But poor Don Ameche is prolly only now getting out of Purgatory for participating in it.

Driven (2001): Burt Reynolds was likely supposed to be the failsafe on this one, but he wasn't up to it. At least Days of Thunder had Robert Duval.

Leonard Part 6 (1987): Gloria Foster redeemed herself with her role as The Oracle in The Matrix, but nothing could redeem this film.

Shanghai Surprise (1986): How bad does a film have to be when Sean-fucking-Penn can't redeem it?

The Avengers (1998): How could this have happened? I'm still confused...

Bedazzled (2001): Worst. Remake. Ever.

Sweet Home Alabama (2002): This one is wrong on so many levels I don't know where to begin. Suffice to say that if you ever meet a woman who says it's one of her favorites, run away as fast as you can. There's no shame in self-preservation.

And to help you judge where I'm coming from...

Top Ten:
Vertigo
Blue Velvet
Rear Window
Slapshot
Local Hero
The Verdict
Blade Runner (Director's Cut)
Goodfellas
The Graduate
Dr. Strangelove

Guilty Pleasures:
The Fifth Element
Hunt For Red October
Beautiful Girls
Dune
Alien 3
Casino
Body Double
Barbarella

|link| Posted 3:11 PM by Brian Linse
Grammy Wammy

While the mainstream media is obsessed/impressed with the domination of the 46th Grammy Awards nominations by Rap performers, a much more impressive showing by anyone's standards has to be by the late Warren Zevon. In five years time, when nobody will even remember who most of these hot Rappers are, Zevon's five nominations (four in the top 20 catagories) and the music that earned them will still hold up as the work of a true American genius.

Song Of The Year: Keep Me In Your Heart - Jorge Calderón & Warren Zevon, songwriters (Warren Zevon) Track from: The Wind

Best Male Pop Vocal Performance: Keep Me In Your Heart - Warren Zevon Track from: The Wind

Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal: - Disorder In The House Warren Zevon & Bruce Springsteen Track from: The Wind

Best Rock Song: Disorder In The House - Jorge Calderón & Warren Zevon, songwriters (Warren Zevon & Bruce Springsteen) Track from: The Wind

Best Contemporary Folk Album: The Wind - Warren Zevon [Artemis Records]

Other FOBs (Friends of BadDude) gaining noms this year are The Yellowjackets for Best Comtmporary Jazz Album, Time Squared, and composer/arranger Vince Mendoza for Best Instrumental Composition, and Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist.

And from perhaps the only session I would have wanted to attend as much as The Wind sessions:

Best Spoken Word Album For Children: Prokofiev: Peter And The Wolf/Beintus: Wolf Tracks - Bill Clinton, Mikhail Gorbachev & Sophia Loren (Kent Nagano; Russian National Orch.)

Wolf Tracks?

|link| Posted 10:05 PM by Brian Linse
Lefty Directory Update

48 new Lefties are added to the blogroll over at The Lefty Directory.

|link| Posted 4:36 PM by Brian Linse
"Why The Hell Not?"

Finally, a campaign that I can get behind: Kinky Friedman for Governor of Texas!