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Question of the Day
So, this Bizarro cartoon made me laugh:
What's your ideal imaginary iPhone app?
I'm a big fan of "Pie on demand," but I'd also like a "Fast Forward through boring meetings and awkward moments" app, please.
If You Needed Further Evidence
...that the Tea Party is host to some of the worst people to leave the Republican party, look no further. Witness this (now scrubbed) Facebook exchange between Montana Tea Party leader Tim Ravndal and some of his good buddies:
(TW for homophobia and anti-LGBTQ violence.)Tim Ravndal: "Marriage is between a man and a woman period! By giving rights to those otherwise would be a violation of the constitution and my own rights"
I don't have words.
Keith Baker: "How dare you exercise your First Amendment Rights?"
Dennis Scranton: "I think fruits are decorative. Hang up where they can be seen and appreciated. Call Wyoming for display instructions."
Tim Ravndal: "@Kieth, OOPS I forgot this aint(sic) America no more! @ Dennis, Where can I get that Wyoming printed instruction manual?"
Dennis Scranton: "Should be able to get info Gazette archives. Maybe even an illustration. Go back a bit over ten years."
Meanwhile, if you think these sparkling examples of humanity are referencing the murder of Matthew Shepard, you're so, so wrong.When reached for comment Friday, Ravndal apologized for the post, saying he "never made the connection" to Shepard's murder until after national bloggers picked up on it and his phone started ringing earlier this week.
Ravndal also has a bridge he would like to sell you.
"I wasn't even thinking about the tragedy that happened in Wyoming," Ravndal said. "I made a mistake and I apologize to anyone I offended. I do not condone violence to any human being."
UPDATE: Oops, just saw that Ravndal has already been removed from his position. Funny how the Tea Party is constantly performing damage control when their representatives speak in public forums.
(Energy Dome tip to Amplify Your Voice.)
Wow. Sincere.
So as you may recall, about a year ago Kanye West ruined the Video Music Awards for Taylor Swift (and, as Melissa pointed out, Beyoncé as well).
Well, apparently he's still feelin' kinda bad about it a year later, so he's decided to apologize. Via Twitter.
Now, leaving aside how ridiculous an apology via twitter is, I'd like to point out the completely narcissistic big, huge, wonderful gesture Mr. West has made to Taylor Swift to show how very, very sorry he is:
He then explained, "I wrote a song for Taylor Swift that's so beautiful and I want her to have it." He added, "If she won't take it then I'll perform it for her."Can anyone else see how this is going to play out?
If she rejects the song he wrote for her or refuses to perform it, she's a total bitch.
If she rejects it, he takes her choice of having the song performed away from her and performs it anyway. He does it "for her," forcing her to "accept" this apology song. He gets to be the good guy, and she's still a total bitch. Unless she does what he wants, and performs the song, of course. She can't win.
Meanwhile, does the entertainment press focus on Taylor Swift's "choice" and make it all about her, or do they take Kanye West to task for manipulating her into a situation where she has to accept his song whether she wants to or not?
Yeah. They're all over that.
Today in Milquetoast
The Times has a lovely piece up today looking at the Democrats' current non-platform.
The NYT found some guy (Micah) to go through the websites of Democratic and Republican candidates in the US' 33 most closely contested Congressional races to see what issues the candidates took a public position on. Mind you, nobody's evaluating the intelligence or nuance represented by these policy positions, merely that they exist.
Out of the websites of 29 Democrats and 29 Republicans:
3% of Republicans (I believe this amounts to one candidate) and a whopping 0% of Democrats said something about organized labor. Base? What's a base?
52% of Republicans and 14% of Democrats said something about abortion, meaning that no more than 4 of 29 Democrats said that they favored abortion rights. It could be less than 4, depending on what the candidates actually said.
Do you hear that? I think it's the sound of Liss gnashing her teeth down in vacationsville.
"Gay Rights"? (I prefer LGBTQ rights, but wev). You want to talk about gay rights? So do 2 out of 29 Democrats. 21% of Republicans and 7% of Democrats said something, anything about gay rights on their websites.
I understand that the web is merely one place for candidates to make positions public, and that not all candidate websites are equal. However, there's no excuse to ask to run the country whilst having a shitty website. These candidates have staff-- some of them should be htmling their asses off ATM. Not having a website and running for election is a lot like not reading the news and running for Congress, and we all know how that turned out.
Another thing: I don't care if you're William Jennings Bryan (if I only had a nickel for every time I said that), you're not going to have time to mention all of your policy positions in your stump speeches. One of the nice things about the Internet is that you can get a 2 GB website for free. That's like, 2 billion characters or so to get your point across, plus-or-minus a picture of you with your wife, kids, dog, and lawn.
In other words, if the Democratic candidates had a position on any of these issues, there's no excuse for them not to say so on their websites. Sure, opinions may offend some folks, but so did that Bryan guy. As for me, I'm sitting here fuming at the lack of an opinion over my full membership in society. As far as I'm concerned, this silence is not just a sign of a crappy political [non-]strategy; it's a personal failure to embrace the humanity of the electorate.
Question of the Day
What's your favorite lunchtime food? If you don't eat lunch, what do you most enjoy eating in the middle of the day?
Call me old-fashioned, but I'm a sandwich guy. Preferably a hot sandwich, on a pretzel roll, please.
Daily Dose o' Cute
In honor of Labo[u]r day, the cats of eastsidehouse take a well-deserved break:
Richard Parker
Tillamook
Blog Note
I'm taking today and tomorrow off. Many of the other contributors and mods won't be around, either, or will be on reduced schedules, because of the Labor Day weekend.
I'll be back Wednesday. See you then!
The Virtual Pub Is Open
[Explanations: lol your fat. pathetic anger bread. hey your gay.]
TFIF, Shakers!
Belly up to the bar,
and name your poison!
Blog Note
Hey, Shakers. Iain is off today, so we're going to start our weekend a little early. The pub, will, however, still be posted later this afternoon, of course!
To all the USian Shakers: Have an enjoyable and safe Labor Day weekend!
Roethlisberger's Suspension Cut Short
[Trigger warning.]
The NFL has cut Ben Roethlisberger's suspension from six games to four.
In a letter to Roethlisberger, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said "You have told me and the Steelers that you are committed to making better decisions. Your actions over the past several months have been consistent with that promise and you must continue to honor that commitment."
Swell.
Q&A at Shakes Manor
Last night...
Liss: How many balls do you think Andrew Zimmern has eaten?
Iain: Seven thousand varieties. Fifty thousand individual balls.
Liss: [laughing] That's very specific.
Those aren't balls; they're squirrel brains—an Appalachian delicacy!
[Image Description: Andrew Zimmern, host of "Bizarre Foods," sits at a table at Embers restaurant on Snowshoe Mountain in West Virginia, and holds up a plate of some unusual-looking meat, in a still shot from his Appalachian episode.]
You know, I always say, "Try everything once!" and I'm pretty adventurous. But some of the stuff he puts in his mouth...? No. Fucking. Chance.
It's a texture thang. [/kblogz]
Friday Blogaround
This blogaround brought to you by Shaxco, publishers of How to Get Along with a Big Dog When You're a Little Cat, by Sophie McEwan.
Recommended Reading:
Digby: Message: They Care
Echidne: Christina Romer's Farewell Speech
Loryn: What's Wrong With "Regular" Black Girls?
Resistance: Watching Wo Ai Ni Mommy So You Don't Have To
Fannie: Quote of the Week
Mo Pie: Last Night on Project Runway…
Leave your links in comments...
Daily Dose o' Cute
Video Description: Iain gives a huge belly laugh (in response to some ridiculously hyperbolic comment I made about how stupendously lovable Dudley is, just before I started filming), and then says himself: "Oh my god, Dudley, you're just so adorable."
All the while, Dudz sits in his dog bed, being totes cute.
[Yesterday's Daily Dose O' Cute was snapped either right before or right after this.]
