Happy Cheney-kah!
The Awful Truth About the Radical Gay Agenda.
Hipster trap! (Original here.)
Cheap drunks need not order.
The year’s best media corrections (via Evan Derkacz at AlterNet’s Peek).
And a picture via Paul the Spud:
Friday Fun
Filibustered!
The Senate fell seven votes short of ending a filibuster directed at blocking legislation renewing the Patriot Act. Think Progress has more, including video of Russ Feingold, infamously the lone no-vote against the original Patriot Act, who swore to filibuster its renewal this time.
Uh-Oh
The Abramoff scandal has hit the op-ed pages. But Shakespeare’s Sister, you may be thinking, the Abramoff scandal has been in the op-ed pages for awhile now, you dim ninny. Ahh, yes, but not quite in this way:
A senior fellow at the Cato Institute resigned from the libertarian think tank on Dec. 15 after admitting that he had accepted payments from indicted Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff for writing op-ed articles favorable to the positions of some of Abramoff's clients. Doug Bandow, who writes a syndicated column for Copley News Service, told BusinessWeek Online that he had accepted money from Abramoff for writing between 12 and 24 articles over a period of years, beginning in the mid '90s.A ten-year lapse in judgment, huh? Zany. It’s amazing how such long-term lapses in judgment always seem to come to a screeching halt as soon as some judgment-impaired knob gets busted, and never a moment before.
"It was a lapse of judgment on my part, and I take full responsibility for it," Bandow said from a California hospital, where he's recovering from recent knee surgery.
(Crossposted at Political Animal.)
Typepad Blowzzz
I don't know what's up with Typepad, but it's sucking big time. To visit some of our favorite Typepadders in exile, go check out the Typepad Refugees.
Jackassery
President Bush got in a muddle when he tried to show of his new iPod.He then choked on a pretzel, fell off his bike, and pretended to look for WMDs under his desk.
The President was trying to show how cool he was as he showed off the music player in the Oval Office.
But he blundered when he called American Pie singer Don McLean 'Dan', says the Mirror.
And then he seemed to get confused when he tried to explain how the iPod worked.
"I get the shuffle and then I shuffle the shuffle," he told confused reporters.
Asked by a TV crew which artists he had stored in the gadget, he started reeling off names.
"The Beatles, the Beach Boys, Angels, Archies, Aretha Franklin." Then he said: "Dan McLean... remember him?"
The interviewer asked: "Dan?" Mr Bush explained: "I mean Don McLean. American Pie. What a great song."
Novak’s Outta There
Bob Nofacts’ tenure at CNN will come to an end on Dec. 31. Aww. Don’t let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya, Bobby.
Media Bistro reports he's moving to Fox. Shocking.
(Via Atrios.)
Koufax Awards II
Nominations are open here. First of all, my deepest thanks to those who have nominated Shakespeare’s Sister—Merciless, Coturnix, Solitaire, The Fat Lady Sings, Kathy, Tas, Tart, KQ, Jurassic Pork, Cernig, R. Mildred, Maria, Madman in the Marketplace, Lizzybeth, and DBK. (Sorry if I missed anyone; if I did, please let me know in comments.) I really love this little community created by the regular writers, the guest writers, and the commenters; I love the blogwhoring and the QotDs and the discussions; I'm so glad and grateful that others do, too.
Secondly, a couple of people have asked if I would recommend individual posts that I think are some of my best, regarding the Best Post category. Here are a couple that are among my favorites: Liberals Will Save America, Scarred, The Sound of My Voice, Longing for the Rapture, Phobocrats. I’ll let Spudsy, Tart, D., and Mr. F. choose their own favorites, especially since some of them have their own blogs under which they might prefer to be nominated.
If you haven’t nominated your favorite blogs yet (and no, that’s not just an encouragement to vote for Shakes!), be sure to—even if they’ve already been nominated. Give your favorites as much attention as you can. And don’t be shy to nominate yourself if you’re a blogger; sing your own praises and let your freak flag fly!
Ho, Ho, Yeeeearrrrgh
There's new Yuletide Audio Cheer ready and waiting for you over in Spudville. Remember, every time a liberal enjoys themselves during the Holiday season, Bill O'Reilly gets searing gas pains.
(Featuring the greatest snowman picture, ever.)
Older Americans Souring on Bush
The Wall Street Journal reports that the latest WSJ/NBC poll has found Americans 65 and older have become most critical of Bush’s job performance and are keen to see Democrats take control of Congress. Not an insignificant problem for the GOP, with older voters traditionally having a higher turnout in midterm elections than their younger counterparts.
By a 65%-19% margin, Americans age 65 and above disapprove of the performance of Congress; those under 65 are also negative but less lopsidedly, 58%-27%. Moreover, senior citizens say by 47%-37% that they want Democrats rather than Republicans to win control of Capitol Hill. Those under 65 prefer a Democratic victory by a narrower 45%-39% margin…Older voters are largely dissatisfied with the president’s handling of the economy as well (58% disapproval), and are none too pleased with the Medicare prescription-drug benefit, deemed “too complicated and confusing” by 73% of respondents.
[O]lder voters, having given Mr. Bush slightly greater support than younger voters in his narrow 2004 re-election victory, have now become the most critical of his job performance. In the Journal/NBC poll, for instance, Americans under 65 disapprove of Mr. Bush's job performance by a margin of 16 percentage points, while those 65 and above disapprove by a margin of 20 percentage points.
The GOP is hoping that immigration reform may bring seniors back into the fold, but with seniors increasingly concerned about the war, too, all I can say is good luck with that.
(Crossposted at Political Animal.)
Above the Law
The WaPo reports that Bush signed a secret order in 2002, which authorized the NSA to eavesdrop on US citizens and foreign nationals by monitoring e-mail, telephone calls, and other communications. There are, however, prohibitions against this sort of thing.
The law governing clandestine surveillance in the United States, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, prohibits conducting electronic surveillance not authorized by statute. A government agent can try to avoid prosecution if he can show he was "engaged in the course of his official duties and the electronic surveillance was authorized by and conducted pursuant to a search warrant or court order of a court of competent jurisdiction," according to the law.So, basically, we have an administration who will claim once again that the law and Americans’ civil liberties don’t matter, because the war on terra is more important.
"This is as shocking a revelation as we have ever seen from the Bush administration," said [Kate Martin, director of the Center for National Security Studies at George Washington University], who has been sharply critical of the administration's surveillance and detention policies. "It is, I believe, the first time a president has authorized government agencies to violate a specific criminal prohibition and eavesdrop on Americans."
Caroline Fredrickson, director of the Washington legislative office of the American Civil Liberties Union, said she is "dismayed" by the report.Superb.
"It's clear that the administration has been very willing to sacrifice civil liberties in its effort to exercise its authority on terrorism, to the extent that it authorizes criminal activity," Fredrickson said.
(Crossposted at Political Animal.)
Friday Blogrollin'
Stop by and say hi to newest blogroll additions:
Fussy
The Snarky Squab
Fiat Lux
De-Center
Hole in the Bucket
Bring It On
As always, you're encouraged to recommend blogs (including your own!) that should be on my blogroll, but aren't.
No More Torture
Oh happy day! Our president has reversed course (please, liberal traitors—do not confuse that with “changing his mind”) and accepted McCain’s ban on torture.
Bush said the agreement will "make it clear to the world that this government does not torture and that we adhere to the international convention of torture, whether it be here at home or abroad."Ah, the poignant imagery of the driving rain as we call an end to torture. Or something.
"It's a done deal," said McCain, talking to reporters in a driving rain outside the White House after he met with the president.
Under the deal, CIA interrogators would be given the same legal rights as currently guaranteed to members of the military who are accused of breaking interrogation guidelines. Those rights say accused people can defend themselves by claiming they were obeying an order and did not know the actions were unlawful. The government also would provide counsel for accused interrogators…Of course, “We do not torture,” so I’m not even sure why this amendment was necessary. Ahem.
McCain's amendment would prohibit "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment" of anyone in U.S. government custody, regardless of where they are held. It also would require that service members follow procedures in the Army Field Manual during interrogations of prisoners in Defense Department facilities.
Brokeass Mountain
Everyone’s got a theory about why Hollywood profits are in the toilet—too much emphasis on awards season leaving the rest of the year bereft of decent films, the ever-shortening length of time between theatrical and DVD releases, not enough films for teenage boys, too few family flicks, etc. etc. etc. Personally, I think it’s a combination of the increasing unpleasantness of the movie-going experience and Hollywood’s compulsion to release swill like Kingdom of Heaven, which was great for Mr. Shakes’ and my regular habit of deliberately watching bad films to mock them, but not much else.
Tammy Bruce, self-described “half Italian, half Irish, half troublemaker,” may not be good at math, but adeptly asserts her own theory on why Hollywood is faltering. Looking at the 2005 Golden Globe nominees for Best Picture tells Bruce everything she needs to know—Brokeback Mountain (“A love story between two gay sheepherders (erroneously labeled 'cowboys' by the media, I suppose because they wear hats)”), Goodnight and Good Luck (“A film portraying as noble the efforts of journalists to demonize and ‘take down’ a US Senator whose anti-communist policies they did not like”), The Constant Gardener (“A film about, as one movie-going reviewer noted, ‘...the horrors of big business and the way they are willing to experiment on the poor to achieve their goals...’”), A History of Violence (“The demonization of the average mid-western American man as someone who is no hero, but a cold-blooded killer at heart”), and Match Point (“…a Woody Allen film about infidelity. Well, he should know.”).
…Not only will we not go see films which insult us, we refuse to support an existential worldview. We happen to think life does matters, that decency is a good thing, and that people are inherently good, not bad. We also have stopped believing the lie that Americans are bad people. We looked away for 4 decades as that lie was spread, but that time is over.Tough stuff, Hollywood. How do you respond?
So you can take your gay sheepherder, noble communist supporting reporters, big-business is evil, Americans are hopelessly and inherently corrupt and violent and unfaithful movies and go to Cannes where at least the Parisian set will love you. But that won't exactly pay the bills, will it?
Hollywood: Uh, doesn’t Tammy Bruce also call herself “an openly gay, pro-choice, gun owning, pro-death penalty, voted-for-President Bush progressive feminist”?
Yes.
Hollywood: We’re too confused to answer.
The Heretik, who gets the hat tip for this one, and who I’m pretty sure is a traitorous French weasel, notes that “Quite a story and a movie could be made of Tammy The Bruce’s life. But if the movie of Tammy The Bruce got made, it sounds like Tammy would be the least likely to see it.” He also proposes what I think is a very good solution to Hollywood’s woes:
What America needs is a return to its roots. And who better to lead us there than a man with foreign roots? More action fare featuring brainless violence is what the people want. Arnold needs to come back to his first job. Or his second job. The one after he was an um bodybuilder, posing in a small suit that well displayed his large um talents. Lead us, Arnold, to moneymaking movie Mecca. Bring us to the Hollywood Holy Land of Profits, if not prophets.See, that’s the way to do it, Tammy. Not just complaining—coming up with solutions.
To be fair, Bruce does have one solution to address her concern that Hollywood is making despicable films about “what they think our culture should look like.”
I'll be adding some of the old classics to my Netflix queue.Splendid idea. The only problem will be finding time to watch all the old classics that feature openly gay, pro-choice, gun owning, pro-death penalty, voted-for-President Bush progressive feminists.
Actually, come to think of it, there aren’t many of those. It might be because Hollywood has never been all that interested in what our culture really does, or should, look like. But hey—if Bruce prefers to watch movies where people like her seem not to exist, who am I to criticize her decision?
As for me and my golden globes, we’ll be seeing Brokeback Mountain.
(Crossposted at Political Animal.)
I Call Bullshit
A bill which would cut or freeze education, research, health, and labor spending, including a cut in federal education spending for the first time in a decade, in pursuit of a balanced federal budget, has passed the House on a 215-213 vote.
Republican leaders have sent mixed signals about whether they believe the budget plan can pass before Congress adjourns, but the issue is important to fiscal conservatives eager for the Republican Party to regain its footing on the budget.I don’t doubt that the American people would like to see a return to fiscal discipline and limited government, but I’m not sure this is exactly what they had in mind.
"It is absolutely imperative that we stay as long as it takes," said Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind. "The American people want to see this Congress, this (Republican) majority reassert its commitment to fiscal discipline and limited government."
Within the last two weeks, the House has voted to extend the Patriot Act, and a House bill was passed preserving the 15% tax rate for capital gains and dividends, among the other various tax cuts for individuals and businesses which were slated to expire at the end of the year. That’s not just a difference of opinion on how best to limit government and attain fiscal responsibility; that’s a complete hypocrisy on the part of anyone who asserts to give a rat’s patoot about either issue. Look, I’m willing to debate the merits of the Patriot Act and tax cuts for the rich with anyone goofy enough to support either one, but spare me the disingenuous bullshit about how the GOP is committed to principle, when their (non)application of same routinely demonstrates otherwise.
(Crossposted at Political Animal.)
Koufax Awards
Nominations for the Koufax Awards, which honor the best blogs and bloggers of the left, are now open. Awards will be granted in 15 categories: Best Blog, Best Blog—Pro Division, Best Blog Community, Best Writing, Best Post, Best Series, Best Single Issue Blog, Best Group Blog, Most Humorous Blog, Most Humorous Post, Most Deserving of Wider Recognition, Best Expert Blog, Best New Blog, Best Coverage of State or Local Issues, and Best Commenter.
At the above link, you’ll find the parameters for nominations in each category.
Be sure to stop by and nominate your favorites!
Snowpenis
I guess it’s penis day at Shakespeare’s Sister, as more penises go MIA. This time, it’s a snowpenis, which was smashed to the ground by a marauding band of man-hating feminists. Oh wait—that’s not right. Actually, it was the police.
"We got some calls that people thought it was offensive," said New Windsor police Chief Michael Biasotti. "We assumed it was some kids who did it."Ouch.
Officers found no one home. Assuming the snow sculpture was more prank than nod to Christmas' pagan roots, the police knocked it down. Beat it down with shovels, actually.
Larger image here.
No citations or criminal violations will be issued for the display, Biasotti said. The town codes prohibit lewd signs on businesses, but don't mention anything about public snow sculptures.Seriously, I can’t remember a time in my childhood I would have been traumatized by a snowpenis. Collapsing into a fit of giggles, maybe.
"We probably weren't 100 percent correct in going on the property and knocking it down," New Windsor Town Supervisor George Meyers said. "But our intentions were pure. Some people were offended. There are school buses going by there all day."
Police and town officials aren't sure what their move will be.Attack of the Snow Penises! Build them and they will come.
"I'd want the police to talk to the property owner if we got complaints, ask them to take it down" Meyers said. "But after that, I don't think there's too much we can do."
Biasotti worries the display might give others ideas. "Now we're going to get snow penises popping up all over town," he said.
Many scholars, of course, trace the origin of the modern-day yule log to ancient pagan totems to virility and sun-god worship. Is that what [Jessica Sherer] was going for?Ha.
"We just did it because we were really bored, and we thought it'd be funny," she said. "It was huge."
Via professional snowpenis model and dirty pervert Mannion.
Superman Indeed
Via Pam comes the story of the new superman’s super package.
Producers are reportedly worried about the size of Brandon Routh's bulge which would make his profile in the superhero's skintight costume distracting, reports the Sun.Lucky guy. It’s every man’s dream to don tights onscreen and be digitally reduced to the appearance of a smooth-fronted Ken doll.
Hollywood executives have ordered the makers of Superman Returns to cover it up with digital effects.
The Sun's source said: "It's a major issue for the studio. Brandon is extremely well endowed and they don't want it up on the big screen.
“We may be forced to erase his package with digital effects.”
Now I’ve no idea whether this will actually happen, although Disney reportedly gave Lindsay Lohan a digital breast reduction for Herbie: Fully Loaded, since they thought family audiences might be offended by a fully loaded actress. That the veracity of this ridiculous maneuver could even be considered possible, however, is indicative of the influence of a particular brand of thought about sexuality that is, in reality, more perverse than the views of sex it asserts to combat. Purveyors of this dubious chastity love to assert the idea that there is a “normal” sexuality—one man, one woman, and two gold bands that bind them—with any other sexual expression deemed “abnormal” or “unnatural.” Homosexuality? Unnatural. Bisexuality? Unnatural. Premarital sex? Oral sex? Anal sex? All unnatural. Deviations from the norm. Their practitioners? Deviants. A wholesale rejection of the spectrum of (legal and consenting) sexuality recognized by sex experts, the psychological community, and most people.
And yet, how “natural” or “normal” is it to pretend Superman doesn’t have a penis? (Isn’t having one what makes him Superman, as opposed to Super Gender-Indeterminate Individual?) How about pretending Adam didn’t have one? From Charles Pierce’s November Esquire piece, “Greetings From Idiot America,” his description of the Creation Museum in Hebron, Kentucky:
Today, for example, one young artist is working on a scale model of the moment when Adam names all the creatures. Adam is in the delicate process of naming the saber-toothed tiger while, behind him, already named, a woolly mammoth seems to be on the verge of taking a nap. Elsewhere in the museum, another Adam figure is full-size, if unpainted, and waiting to be installed. This Adam is reclining peacefully; eventually, if the plans stay true, he will be placed in a pool under a waterfall. As the figure depicts a prelapsarian Adam, he is completely naked. He also has no penis. This would seem to be a departure from Scripture inconsistent with the biblical literalism of the rest of the museum. … After all, Genesis 2:25 clearly says that at this point in their lives, "And the man and his wife were both naked, and they were not ashamed." If Adam courageously sat there unencumbered while he was naming saber-toothed tigers, then why, six thousand years later, should he be depicted as a eunuch in some family-values Eden?Good question.
The insistence on pretending that certain parts of the human body don’t exist, that they’re somehow intrinsically dirty, has its genesis (no pun intended) in the same thinking which has determined abstinence-only sex education is better for young people than a proper sex education course, which includes information on the mechanics of sex, its possible consequences (including both pregnancy and STDs), and how to avoid them, i.e. safe sex and the myriad of birth control and prophylactic options available. Abstinence-only sex programs don’t work and are generally rife with errors that serve an anti-choice and anti-equality political agenda, editing out the truth about sex and sexuality like so much Supermanhood.
In spite of the claims to the contrary, detecting the vague outline of a penis in a red spandex codpiece, or seeing breasts moving along with the rest of a woman’s body, or even having access to condoms, doesn’t suddenly create a desire to have sex where none before existed. Humans are sexual creatures by nature. It’s pretending otherwise that’s unnatural. It’s the dogged assertion that only one specific sexuality is normal that is unnatural. Nature, as it happens, loves deviation.
And I’ll wager Superman is fairly fond of his package. I say we let him keep it—and while we’re at it, we could all keep a modicum of perspective on human sexuality, too.
(Crossposted at Political Animal.)
High Turnout in Iraqi Elections
Well, Kevin certainly seems to have gotten his wish. From everything I’m reading this morning, the Iraqi elections had a high turnout, including strong Sunni participation, and only scattered reports of violence. I continue to be amazed and impressed by the Iraqis who risk bodily harm to cast a vote, and wonder what the hell is wrong with Americans who can’t be bloody bothered.
Anyway, from my perspective, as an advocate for withdrawal, this is good news indeed. Many Iraqis told reporters they see the elections as a means to end the American occupation, and I hope they’re right. Still, there’s always got to be a downer who’s all negative and shit, trying to undermine any success in Iraq.
However, the Bush administration has stressed that a successful election alone will not be a panacea for Iraq's problems.Geez, don’t they know that our soldiers are listening…and the enemy is, too?
(Crossposted at Political Animal, where I'm guestblogging for a few days.)
