Ted Nugent is very manly

Wow, he has "big game trophies" that he is selling. Nothing says "tough guy" quite like shooting a rhino and hanging it's head on the wall. Impressive. I ran into one such "big game hunter" while in Africa. He talked about rich foreigners who paid tens of thousands of dollars to "hunt" such animals. They often use animals taken out of zoos so it's a real sport you know. When "hunters" are especially bad they drug the animals so brave macho men can have an easier shot. It's all very rugged you see, so we should be in awe at their manliness.

Here's a very NSFW video of the tough guy flashing his machine guns and threatening Obama, Hillary and Dianne Feinstein as he screams "freedom." Seriously. This is the kind of thing that would get normal Americans investigated by the Secret Service. Despite his love of machine guns and war, he somehow never made it to Vietnam like the rest of his chickenhawk Republican friends who had flimsy excuses. That said, real sportsmen know machine guns are standard gear for hunting. Read the rest of this post...

Whale and clarinet duet

Amazing:

US musician and writer David Rothenberg has recorded a whale's response to the sound of his clarinet - and says that sometimes it is hard to tell the difference

You can listen to it via the link. Read the rest of this post...

Harvard study: housing slump to be longer than usual

The foundation of Bush's "ownership society" was always questionable and now we're all stuck with the fallout.

"It will take longer this time to rebound given the unusually high levels of foreclosures and constrained credit markets," he said. "The slump in housing markets has not yet run its full course."

Price declines and mortgage defaults are the worst on records dating back to the 1960s and 1970s, the study noted. Job losses and falling prices intensify risk of foreclosure.

The number of homes entering foreclosure nearly doubled to 1.3 million in 2007 from about 660,000 in 2005.

Read the rest of this post...

Britain to vastly expand railways while US wastes half a billion a day in Iraq

The debacle in Iraq comes at a price. We're spending nearly half a BILLION dollars a day on war. This isn't just some flight of fancy that George Bush started and John McCain can continue because, you know, it's not like anyone is gonna get hurt. We've lost 4,000 American soldiers to this war. We've wasted over $500 billion, and we're still spending over $100 billion every year on this stupid thing. The total cost is expected to reach over a trillion dollars - or even several trillion, if you add all the veterans' costs in as well. Europe continues to expand its capacity, China and India continue to grow, and where are we? Pouring money down a hole while our economy grinds to a halt, and we face a world of permanent $4 a gallon gas. That's 3 times the price AFTER September 11. What have we done to prepare our country for this shock? Nothing, because the Republicans simply didn't care. You see, their friends in Big Oil stood to gain a lot of money, so GOP politicians didn't lift much of a finger to help get us off of oil and on to other alternative energies, increasingly fuel efficient cars, etc. Has anyone checked out plane tickets lately? My flight to Chicago I always take went up 50% from what it used to be. Flights to Europe are the same - and I mean, 50% more than they should be at this time of year. Planning to buy bananas ever again? Or corn. Or rice. Or milk or butter or anything that is coming to you, or a store near you, via a car, truck, train or plane? This oil debacle is going to hurt the price of pretty much everything. That's money out of all of our pockets, money we could be spending on our families, on our futures. When we become a country that's so poor we need to charge for water on airline flights, it truly is pathetic what we've become under Republican rule. Read the rest of this post...

Obama blasts McCain after top McCain aide says terrorist attack on US would be good for McCain

McCain is supposedly "distancing himself" from his top adviser. Sorry, but if the guy is still McCain's top adviser, there's no distance at all. I was ready for McCain's Double-Talk Express, but never thought McCain would stoop to the Terrorist-Talk Express. I mean, if John McCain is a sitting Senator, and his top adviser thinks that a terrorist attack on US soil would help McCain win the presidency, then doesn't that mean McCain has a pretty massive, sick, and deadly conflict of interest? Read the rest of this post...

OPEC President: expect high gas prices for a while

Apparently, demand isn't there so OPEC has no interest in increasing supply. Let's see raised hands for those who believed Bush when he said he would jawbone Big Oil way back when. He's an oil man, you know. The people who thought that would mean anything other than profits for friends were the same mindless fools who believed in WMD. Read the rest of this post...

Big Oil ignoring untapped reserves says analyst

Looks like Democrats in Congress aren't the only one to think Big Oil should "us it or lose it" with regards to the millions of acres of federal land that is sitting idle. It may not be convenient, but an oil spill is hardly convenient either.

The oil industry is correct about not hoarding oil, said Oppenheimer analyst Fadel Gheit. With prices at $135 dollars a barrel, everyone is trying to pump as much as they can, he said.

But fearing oil prices will eventually fall, the industry is leery about making too many investments in the fields it has - many of which are in deepwater areas that can be pricey to develop.

Instead, they're holding out, hoping the government will open areas closer to shore that would be cheaper to work on.

Gheit hasn't seen the legislation proposed by Markey and others, but he thinks the government should revise the leasing process to encourage more drilling on existing areas before it puts more acres up for bid.

"Government agencies should hold their feet to the fire," he said. And oil companies "should finish what's on their plate before they do back in line."

Read the rest of this post...

Hillary: Pay off my debt so I can help Obama

If the spirit moves you, go ahead. But honestly, I'd give my money to Obama, to Scott Kleeb, to Tom Allen or to any of the actual candidates in congressional races or the presidency (you can use the links in the upper right-hand corner of the blog). Read the rest of this post...

Saudi oil summit achieved "absolutely nothing"

The oil industry analysts are not impressed. Much like the McCain "let's drill offshore" the Saudi talk about expanding production is years away from being reality. The meeting was exactly the kind of fraudulent PR spin that many predicted.

"The only thing that's been achieved from this meeting is that we have a clear path to $150 and beyond," Stephen Schork, editor of energy publication The Schork Report, told "Squawk Box Europe."

"Why did we even have this quote-unquote oil price summit?" Schork said. "The Saudis didn’t tell us anything we didn't already know."

"My fear is now that OPEC, or specifically the Saudis, has not given this market a reason to sell, and with the amount of speculation in this market we now have every reason to go back in and start buying this market now," he said.

Read the rest of this post...

McCain's top adviser, Charlie Black, sees "big advantage" if U.S. suffers another terror attack

John McCain really is running Bush's 2004 campaign all over again. The politics of fear are front and center. Terror attacks are considered political advantages. Via Think Progress:

Asked if another terrorist attack on U.S. soil would help McCain as well, Black told Fortune that it would be “a big advantage to him“:

The assassination of Benazir Bhutto in December was an “unfortunate event,” says Black. “But his knowledge and ability to talk about it reemphasized that this is the guy who’s ready to be Commander-in-Chief. And it helped us.” As would, Black concedes with startling candor after we raise the issue, another terrorist attack on U.S. soil. “Certainly it would be a big advantage to him,” says Black.

Another 3,000 dead Americans would be a "big advantage"? That's actually pretty sick.

Now, maybe if Bush captured the terrorists who attacked the U.S. instead of launching a war in Iraq, this wouldn't be a factor. But it is. This comment really does show how the Republicans think. Their political gain comes before the safety of Americans. No, it comes at the expense of Americans. John McCain's own top campaign adviser sees terrorist attacks as good things to take advantage of. Read the rest of this post...

Don Imus makes a racist comment, again

Big surprise here. Listen to the broadcast.

When hearing about Cowboys cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones' offenses that led to his suspension including being arrested six times and being involved in night club altercations:

ANNOUNCER: Defensive back Adams "Pacman" Jones, recently signed by the Cowboys, here's a guy suspended all of 2007, following a shooting in a Vegas nightclub.

IMUS: Well, stuff happens. You're in a nightclub, for God's sake. What do you think is gonna happen in a nightclub. People are drinking, and doing drugs. There are women there and people have guns. So there, go ahead.

ANNOUNCER: Also, he's been arrested six times since being drafted by Tennessee in 2005.

IMUS: What color is he?

ANNOUNCER: He's African American.

IMUS: Ha ha, well there you go, now we know.

Read the rest of this post...

Open thread

Hey gang, I'm running a few open threads so Google can try to diagnose a glitch we're having. So if you see this thread, feel free to chat away. If not, well, then I don't even need to be explaining myself :) Read the rest of this post...

McCain is suffering from an enthusiasm gap

The pundits and reporters who ride around on the Straight Talk Express with John McCain are all jazzed up about their friend, but they're in a distinct minority. McCain and the GOP are suffering from a huge gap in enthusiasm compared to Obama and the Democrats:

A new USA Today/Gallup poll has Obama leading McCain among likely voters by six points, 50%-44%.

But the most revealing numbers in the survey were the ones measuring voter enthusiasm: 61% of Democrats said they were more enthusiastic than usual about voting in this year's election, while just 35% of Republicans said that. (emphasis added)

Also in the poll, Obama's fav/unfav is 64%-31%, while McCain's is 59%-35%.

At this point in the electoral calendar, the national polls don't mean all that much when it comes to the horse race. It is, however, quite significant to see that the GOP can't get excited about their nominee. Their only option is to launch a vitriolic negative attack against our candidate. You know it's coming. Read the rest of this post...

Open thread

Hey gang, I'm running a few open threads so Google can try to diagnose a glitch we're having. So if you see this thread, feel free to chat away. If not, well, then I don't even need to be explaining myself :) Read the rest of this post...

My CNN segment yesterday on media "bias" vis-a-vis gays getting married in California

Read the rest of this post...

It's back to 2002 for Susan Collins. She wants Mainers to be afraid, very afraid

In the campaign in 2002, Susan Collins stood by George Bush's side as he led the nation to war. I mean, she literally stood by his side. In October of 2002, Bush did a campaign stop in Bangor, Maine to sing Susan's praises -- and to push the case for his war against Iraq. Reading Bush's speech from that campaign appearance will bring you back to the warmongering that dominated American politics in 2002:

We learned a tough lesson on September the 11th. See, it used to be oceans could protect us, and if there was a war on another continent we'd make the choice as to whether or not we would join that war; that we were safe and secure as a nation because nations could keep us safe and secure. But the harsh reality of the 21st century came home. Oceans no longer protect us. Threats overseas are threats that we must recognize here at home and deal with them.

That's why I asked the United States Congress to have a dialogue on Iraq. That's why I asked the Congress to seriously consider, along with the administration, as to whether or not we should deal with a true threat to our country.

I want to remind you that we're dealing with a man who has used weapons of mass destruction on his own people, on people in his neighborhood. This is a man who has defied the United Nations 16 times over an 11-year period. The world has said, you must do what you said you would do, Saddam Hussein, and that is disarm. And 16 times the United Nations, over and over and over again, has written resolution after resolution, saying, Mr. Saddam Hussein, you must disarm. And he has defied and international body.

That was the GOP message in 2002 and Susan stood with Bush. National security was used as a political club by the Bush/Cheney/Rove/Collins crew.

A couple years later, after the Iraq war was exposed as a debacle, Susan whined that Iraq shouldn't be a political issue.

Now, Susan has flipped back and wants to play politics with national security. Fear is her only weapon. Clearly, given the latest poll showing that her support is tanking, Collins is getting desperate and hauling out the Karl Rove playbook to attack Tom Allen over FISA. Pathetic.

The fear factor strategy worked in 2002. It won't work in 2008. Help Tom Allen beat Susan Collins and the politics of fear. Read the rest of this post...

John and Cindy McCain throw stones -- and they shouldn't

Jed presents a "Don't Throw Stones Production" featuring John and Cindy McCain.



It's oddly fascinating and disturbing how practically no one in traditional media would ever think to hold John and Cindy accountable for this hypocrisy. And, seriously, why does Cindy McCain want to make herself an issue? As John wrote last week:

I mean, with all due respect, what moral authority does Cindy McCain have to start throwing stones at Mrs. Obama? Only one candidate's wife is a drug addict who actually stole drugs from poor children in order to feed her addiction. And that candidate is not Barack Obama. It's John McCain. People who live in glass pill boxes shouldn't cast stones.

And, here's the link to Snopes.com for the full, unbiased version of Cindy's escapades. Read the rest of this post...

Monday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

A new week begins. Should be a very busy week at the Supreme Court, on the campaign trail and on Capitol Hill.

The Senate will probably take up the FISA bill. The Senate shouldn't take up the FISA bill, btw. The Senators who oppose the FISA bill or even just the provision providing immunity to the telecoms need to step up. We've all watched the Senate get tied into knots over much less significant issues. This is about protecting the constitution from George Bush (as Law Professor Jonathan Turley told Keith Olbermann, this bill is an "evisceration of the Fourth Amendment.) So, Senators, let the games begin.

Let the threading begin... Read the rest of this post...

Oil up again

Obviously the market isn't enthralled with the Saudi pledge either. Add to that the almost routine problems in the Nigerian oil region and the Israeli saber rattling with Iran and you have another increase in prices. Read the rest of this post...

British Home Secretary: Iran safe for gays if they are "discreet"

And to think that some say the Labour government is in shambles. What part of persecution and death sentence does she not understand?

In a letter to a Liberal Democrat peer, seen by The Independent, Ms Smith said there was no "real risk" of gay men and lesbians being discovered by the Iranian authorities or "adverse action" being taken against those who were "discreet" about their behaviour.

More on Jacqui Smith, British Home Secretary:

Ms Smith gave her verdict after MPs and peers called on the Government to change its immigration policy and immediately end the deportation of failed asylum-seekers who fear persecution in Iran.

Their call for a moratorium on asylum removals was a response to the plight of Mehdi Kazemi, a gay Iranian teenager facing execution if he returns to Iran, whose case was taken up by The Independent. They said the case of Mr Kazemi, who has since been granted asylum, showed that a change of policy was the "only moral course" for the Government.

Read the rest of this post...

Open thread

Hey gang, I'm running a few open threads so Google can try to diagnose a glitch we're having. So if you see this thread, feel free to chat away. If not, well, then I don't even need to be explaining myself :) Read the rest of this post...