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Balloon Juice

May 22, 2004

Blockbuster Assholes

I hate losing my temper in public, but sometimes you just gotta.

I put two movies in the Blockbuster drop box some time before noon today, when they were due. I t was close, but I know it was before noon because I got gas down the street from the Blockbuster and the receipt says 11:50. I paid at the pump, and it takes about 30 seconds to get to Blockbuster from the gas station.

I went in tonight to rent a movie, and they tried to charge me $8.46 in late fees. It seems the movies did not get checked in until 5:00 pm. We went round and round, with me explaining that it is not my fault they are lazy and slow with the check-ins, and we were making no progress, when the guy finally made his fatal mistake. He looked at me and said:

"It is your responsibility unless you hand them to an employee inside."

Meaning, of course, that the movies are late because I screwed up and trusted the metal security drop that they want people to use.

He then tried to meet me halfway with the late fees, at which point I said "Why don't we do this? Why don't you go fuck yourself?"

And thus ended my last commercial experience with the Blockbuster Corporation.

Filed under General Stupidity by John Cole at 09:15 PM

Poker Renaissance

Pejman asks:

A couple of weeks ago, I was with a law school friend of mine, and we wondered at the sudden popularity of poker. Various tournaments are now shown on TV, with Texas Hold'Em being the most popular version of the game. What accounted for the poker renaissance?

He then links to this Justin Peters Washington Monthly feature which contains awhole bunch of generational psycho-babble gobbledy-gook.

I can tell Pejman what has caused the increase in popularity in poker in several words (and, in fairness, Peters does reference one aspect deep in his piece):

Keyhole Cameras and Satellite Freeze-outs

Poker has been televised for years, starting with the Texas crew and Binion's World Series of Poker. The problem was, it was about as exciting as watching the America's Cup. You had no idea what was going on, but with the keyhole camera, you know what people have when they are playing, and it makes the show exciting and dynamic.

Satellite freeze-outs made it exciting for everyone to play, because instead of the old stylewith the cronies playing for a few days and then voting on a winner, you played until someone had all the chips. Add to that the concept of anyone being able to somehow make it to the top (see Moneymaker, Chris), and you start to catch the drift.

I am as big a fan of the internet as anyone, but claiming the internet caused the increase in popularity is as silly as the rest of the psychological nonsense in Peters piece. The interest was caused by the television, and ther internet merely provided an outlet to fulfill the thirst for the game.

And, btw, the reason Hold 'Em is the most popular is because it is the purest form of poker. It really is that simple.

Filed under Popular Culture by John Cole at 02:12 PM

May 21, 2004

Poor, Underfunded Democrats

Can we please stop pretending that the Democrats can not compete financially:

Democratic candidate for President John Kerry raised over $30 million in April, $15 million more than the Bush/Cheney campaign. Kerry beat Bush by over $17 million last month as well, when the Kerry campaign raised $43.4 million in March. The Kerry Campaign has receipts for over $115 million for the presidential primary cycle, breaking BushÂ’s 2000 record for a non-incumbent, according to Kerry's FEC report that will be filed with the FEC today.

"Since Super Tuesday, the Kerry campaign has raised over $73 million, $32 million more than the Bush/Cheney campaign over the first two months of head to head comparison," said Kerry Campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill. "Our campaign is thriving on our supporters' energy and commitment to electing John Kerry the next President of the United States. They're creating tremendous momentum and setting new records nearly everyday."

And this does not include Soros, all the left wing advocacy groups being funded by billionaires (half my damn liberal blogroll is on their payroll, it seems), the Unions, the NAACP, the NEA, NOW, the Sierra Club and all of the other traditional financial and advocacy group which pour MILLIONS into the DNC and Democrat causes. Not to mention all the new ways the Democrats have found to circumvent CFR, the bill they championed.

Let's also not forget the vast personal wealth of the majority of the sitting Democratic Senators (and their wives).

Can you imagine the alarmist rhetoric if Bush were breaking fund-raising records? Oops- never mind. You don't have to imagine. The lefty reaction is rather well chronicled.
You don't have to google too hard to find all sorts of apocalyptic rhetoric regarding Bush breaking Clinton's fund-raising records.

*** Update ***

Not only are they not content to merely be quiet and hypocritical about the fund-raising records, but they are crowing about it.

Remember this the next time you hear them bitch about money, and remember- Campaign Finance Reform was a sham. Before the law was even being implemented, the Democrats were already violating it or circumventing it:

Democrats are kicking off a backdoor way of financing their 2004 congressional campaigns today with the very type of unlimited donations from corporations, unions, and individuals that many party leaders had vowed to flush from the political system.

The strategy involves setting up two new groups unmistakably aligned with the Democratic Party's longstanding campaign organizations for the House and Senate. Technically, the two groups are not arms of the Democratic Party, a key distinction, because the nation's new campaign finance law bars lawmakers from soliciting ''soft money,'' the unlimited money that politicians still crave.

House minority leader Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California, and minority whip Steny Hoyer, Democrat of Maryland, will headline a fund-raising event tonight at the Hotel George for a new group called the New House PAC.

Tonight, the group will raise ''hard money,'' a limited, regulated type of donation that lawmakers can legally solicit. But the group plans to ask donors for soft money later this year and to serve as a sort of shadow campaign committee for the Democratic Party, according to sources familiar with the effort.

*** Update ***

Whatever, Jesse.

You were in favor of CFR, yet now your leaders are violating the spirit and, perhaps, the letter of the law, yet you see no hypocrisy in it. Ezra has been consistent on the issue, even applauding the ruling the other day allowing 'soft money' sources to be tapped.

BTW- You have consistently made caustic and sarcastic remarks about Bush's fund-raising, and not in the context of the liberal media. Check your own damn archives.

Filed under Democrat Stupidity by John Cole at 08:49 AM

Nancy, Nancy, Nancy

Everyone has their knickers in a twist about the comments from the jerk Nancy Pelosi. I say- let her speak louder. The woman is a troll and an incompetent, a vicious hack, and a mean-spirited shrew. The more she speaks, the better.

As far as intelligence, a flashback:

"As a member of the House Intelligence Committee, I am keenly aware that the proliferation of chemical and biological weapons is an issue of grave importance to all nations. Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process." - Representative Nancy Pelosi CA (December 16, 1998)

She just didn't want to do anything about it:

House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., said Pelosi's comments "were meant to inspire her political base. But who else do they inspire? If we followed Mrs. Pelosi's advice, Saddam Hussein would still terrorize the citizens of Iraq. We would still be waiting for the U.N. to make any decision regarding our national security."

Iam so sick and tired of the revision of the record. Everyone was wrong about the presence of WMD. nancy Pelosi and her ilk were wrong about not wanting to do anything.

Filed under Democrat Stupidity by John Cole at 08:07 AM

Abuse Photos

I am to the point that I think publishing any additional photos in the press about abuse in Abu Gharib is now irresponsible. The constant drip-drip of photos makes it appear as if the abuse is still occurring, and I don;t see why this needs to be done.

And before the jackasses start braying in the comments, I am not saying they can't publish the pictures, I am saying they shouldn't. No cover-up- they can follow the story all they want. Just quit making photos available for the Al Jazeera agitprop machine.

Filed under War by John Cole at 07:51 AM

May 20, 2004

Miracle

I just saw Miracle, and it was genius. Kurt Russell didn't so much portray Herb Brooks as become him.

If you do not know what Miracle is about, according to Missouri Democrats, it has nothing to do with the United States Hockey team coached by Herb Brooks winning Olympic gold against all odds in 1980. Nothing at all, indeed.

Filed under Movies by John Cole at 09:03 PM

Charming

Saw this charming billboard being run by Missouri Democrats via Dumb and Dumber (excuse me- Hannity and Colmes):

SIGN_051504_NG_FINAL2.jpg

The Democrats are saying, with a straight face, that this is not race-baiting.

Filed under Democrat Stupidity by John Cole at 08:27 PM