Saturday, December 31, 2011

If it's true...

...it's probably more predictive than any poll at this point. Via Political Wire...
Rick Perry has signed up 1,500 precinct leaders in Iowa, a source inside the campaign tells CNN. There are a total 1,774 Republican caucus precincts around the state, about 900 of which are combined.

Only Mitt Romney and Ron Paul have put in similar efforts to build a ground operation for the caucuses on Tuesday.

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Maybe it's much too early in the year…

…oh, heck, no it's not. A New Year's random ten, just in time and 100% Lombardo free...
Lightnin' Hopkins - Happy New Year
Kate Taylor - Auld Lang Syne
Regina Spektor - My Dear Acquaintance (Happy New Year)
Quintron - New Year's Night
Pink Martini - Auld Lang Syne
Otis Redding & Carla Thomas - New Year's Resolution
Roger McGuinn - Auld Lang Syne
Roy Tan & His Combo - Happy New Year
Carole King - New Year's Day
Roy Milton & His Solid Senders - New Year's Resolution Blues

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Friday, December 30, 2011

Top 10 Best New Year’s Resolutions Ever.

Via Mike Licht...
01. I will make no New Year’s Resolutions.
02. I will make no New Year’s Resolutions.
03. I will make no New Year’s Resolutions.
04. I will make no New Year’s Resolutions.
05. I will make no New Year’s Resolutions.
06. I will make no New Year’s Resolutions.
07. I will make no New Year’s Resolutions.
08. I will make no New Year’s Resolutions.
09. I will make no New Year’s Resolutions.
10. I will make no New Year’s Resolutions.
Me neither.

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Worth repeating.

Over and over.

To everyone.

Everywhere.

All the time.

John Cole...
Whenever you are confused as to why the Republicans seem to be doing something that makes no sense or is crazy, you really need to come back to this. The goal of the Republicans is not good governance. The goal of the Republicans is to make governing by a Democrat impossible and to beat Obama in 2012. It’s the only thing they really, really care about.

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Thursday, December 29, 2011

Oops.

Think Progress...
Rick Perry Draws A Blank On Key Supreme Court Case Overturning Texas’ Anti-Gay Laws He Defended
It's really no fun when they just fall over.

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From the "Not exactly news" file.

Another Republican told another lie again.

It's what they do. It's all they've got. It's a major reason that...

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From the "Just the facts, ma'am" file.

Ron Paul by the numbers, via Progressive Punch. His lifetime voting record on:
Aid to Less Advantaged People, at Home & Abroad is 13.40 percent progressive
Corporate Subsidies 31.18 percent
Education, Humanities, & the Arts 13.19 percent
Environment 11.35 percent
Fair Taxation 9.01 percent
Government Checks on Corporate Power 15.16 percent
Health Care 12.62 percent
Housing 6.10 percent
Labor Rights 13.51 percent
Making Government Work for Everyone, Not Just the Rich or Powerful 15.88 percent
Human Rights & Civil Liberties 33.66 percent progressive
Justice for All: Civil and Criminal 30.71 percent
War & Peace 47.92 percent
Hat tip to Kenneth Quinnell at Crooks & Liars, who notes that "Even on the issues he's supposed to be good on, his record is mediocre."

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Plain truth…

...from around blogtopia (™ Skippy)...

dadepfan...
If Republicans had their way, every vital service provided to American citizens would become as bad as the health care industry is today.
Fixer...
It all boils down to one thing with the teabaggers. They hate anybody who isn't white and Christian.
Matt Osborne...
Ron Paul is a gift that refuses to stop giving.
The Rude Pundit...
It's Romney. It was always gonna be Romney. Just like it was always gonna be McCain. Just like it was always gonna be Dole. Sometimes things are just inevitable.
Yep. All of it.

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Wednesday, December 28, 2011

I'm biased…

…because it grants my wish and lets me keep my own personal Congressman, but the Gorton/Ceis Congressional redistricting map looks pretty good to me.

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Breaking news!

In a campaign shocker, Iowa State Sen. Kent Sorenson makes an eleventh hour switch from meaningless to irrelevant.

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From the "Me neither" file.

John Cole...
I just don’t understand how anyone could vote for any of the current Republican candidates. I just don’t.
Me neither.

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Yep.

Neil Sinhababu on Newt's Virginia ballot fail...
That would've been like Pearl Harbor if we lost all those ships because we never maintained them and they just sank.

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Tuesday, December 27, 2011

And light one candle to bind us together...

...with peace as the song in our heart.



Don't let the light go out...

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Monday, December 26, 2011

LIght one candle for all we believe in...

...let anger not tear us apart...

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Sunday, December 25, 2011

From the "What 'victory' looks like" file.

A final Iraq report from Chad Shue...
Iraq Body Count: 12/18/2011
Total Americans Killed: 4484
Post Obama Inauguration: 264
Post “End of Combat”: 68

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Light one candle for those who are suffering...

...the pain we felt so long ago...

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Saturday, December 24, 2011

Light one candle for the strength that we need...

...to never become our own foe...

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Not quite matching bookends…

…on this holiday random ten...
The Jackson 5 - Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
Arlo Guthrie - The Pause Of Mr. Claus
The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir - Fairytale Of New York
Graham Parker & Nona Hendryx - Soul Christmas
Chris Rea - Driving Home For Christmas
Mike Oldfield - In Dulci Jubilo
The Andrews Sisters - Winter Wonderland
Judy Garland - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
Doris Day - I'll Be Home For Christmas
Bruce Springsteen - Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

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Friday, December 23, 2011

From the "Me too" file.

Season's greetings from Susie Madrak...
This is what I wish for all of you this Christmas: To see, to fly above the despair. To understand why Christmas resonates throughout the world, even in places where they don't especially care (or even believe) that Jesus was born in a manger.
Me too.

As one who neither cares much about nor believes the nativity story, I'm totally down with our cultural tradition of a season of mid-winter decoration and goodwill. We're pretty ecumenical around Upper Left World Headquarters. When the candles aren't burning, my silver menorah reflects the Christmas tree lights. These days, any light is good light.

So, in addition to Susie's wish for understanding, I wish you light, before your eyes and burning in your heart.

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Light one candle for the wisdom to know...

...when the time for peace is at hand.

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Thursday, December 22, 2011

Light one candle for the terrible sacrifice...

...that justice and freedom demand...

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How 'bout a little holiday cheer?

Reuters - The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits hit a 3-1/2 year low last week, bolstering views the economy was gaining momentum, even though third-quarter growth was revised down.
Even though every bit of good news has to come with an "even though" attached, that's good news.

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Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Light one candle for the pain they endured...

...when their right to exist was denied...

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Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Light one candle for the Macabee children..

...give thanks that their light didn't die...



Happy Chanukah.

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Monday, December 19, 2011

Me neither…um…too. .

Neil Sinhababu...
I don't know how North Korea works, and I don't know who does.
Me neither.
My hope is the new ruler will be sane enough to allow things to improve in that country, and to not launch nuclear missiles.
Me too.

I have to admit, though, that I'm not particularly confident.

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Sunday, December 18, 2011

Sunday (not so) Funny.

Via Anne Laurie...


Sure, click it bigger.


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From the "Credit where it's due" file.

When she's right, she's right...
Michele Bachmann tried Saturday to peel away support from Ron Paul by repeatedly warning voters across northwestern Iowa that he would be “a very dangerous president.”
No doubt.

Why, a President Paul would be every bit as dangerous as a President Bachmann, or Gingrich, or Romney, or Santorum, or Perry.

Or Huntsman, for that matter.

Which would be very dangerous, indeed.

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Saturday, December 17, 2011

From the "Hoocoodanode" file.

Another one bites the dust...
Newt Gingrich's support in the race for the Republican nomination fallen quickly since national Gallup polls of Republican and GOP-leaning independent voters in early December.
I've always figured that eventually they were bound to come around to the realization that Mitt himself is all the anti-Mitt they'll ever need.

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Signs of the times.

Via Howie...

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What 'victory' looks like.

Dr. Black ponders Iraq...
I suppose, ultimately, it came down to blowing up brown people and pissing off liberals. So it was quite a success, really.
I suppose.

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You can't fool all the people all the time…

…or even most of 'em, sometimes. Encouraging words from Pew Research
By wide margins, the GOP is seen as the party that is more extreme in its positions, less willing to work with the other side to get things done, and less honest and ethical in the way it governs.

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Chappy Choliday!

Random ten, now with random spelling...
Tom Lehrer - (I'm Spending) Hanukkah In Santa Monica
Neil Diamond - The Chanukah Song
Indigo Girls - Happy Joyous Hanukkah
Michele Citrin - Light One Candle
Carole King - Chanukah Prayer
Mark Rubin & His Ridgetop Syncopators - The Dreidel Song
Woody Guthrie - Hanukkah Dance
Marc Cohn - Rock Of Ages (Maoz Tsur)
Three Quarter Ale - Blood Of The Macabees
The Klezmatics - Hanukah Tree
The Sinai Mountain Boys - Oh Hanukah, Oh Hanukah

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Friday, December 16, 2011

Like, it seems, everyone...

...I've read this morning, I have a Christopher Hitchens story. I met him at the Democratic National Convention in 1992, in a corridor behind the seating area for the Washington State delegation, where he was hanging out with Dick Cavett and offering a running commentary on the proceedings that far surpassed anything I saw on the networks that week.

I didn't see Cavett again that week, but Hitchens hung out nearly every day, never disappointing the line of delegates who approached in hope of a handshake and a quip, who he greeted with a level of charm and patience that belied his legendarily acid wit and formidable wrath. I later got the chance to chat with him for the best part of an hour at a party hosted by The Nation and he was, if anything, even more charming in that setting.

Sure, he went a bit nuts after 9//11, but weighing the totality of his life and work in the balance, that's just a few feathers on the scale. He was wrong about the Iraq war, but many were. He was also one of the finest writers, most eloquent oraters and sharpest wits of our time and he'll be missed.

R.I.P.

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Thursday, December 15, 2011

Good, if rhetorical, question.

Sir Charles wonders...

Who feels the need to harass and demean people who are in many instances facing economic ruin -- or at the least tremendous insecurity?
It's a rhetorical question, of course, because, of course, the answer is obvious, and one more reason that...

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Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Odds are he's right.

Jonathan Bernstein...
...in general you're not going to lose a lot of bets if you wager that Americans are ignorant of something.

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A plea...

...from The General...
Please write Lowes, today, and ask them to stop exposing our children to Arabic Islamonumbers.

Here's a sample letter:
Dear Lowes,

We're not fooled by your paternalistic attempt to silence our righteous whining by pulling ads from the teevee show, "All-American Muslim." You are still exposing our children to the Islamuninistoprog agenda through your use of Arabic numbers in your pricing and measurement systems.

We demand that you cease using these Islamonumbers immediately and replace them with good, old fashioned, American Roman numerals.

The change should not be difficult to make. For example, you'd simply change something currently priced at $1,783.84 to $MDCCLXXXIII.LXXXIV. Nothing to it.

Please make the change immediately. We're watching you.

Heterosexually yours,

[Your Name]
Here's Lowe's email address, customercare@lowes.com, and phone number, 1-800-445-6937. Get 'er done.
Saddle up, troopers!

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Tuesday, December 13, 2011

From the "Me too" file.

DougJ's perplexed...
I didn’t feel this way six or seven years ago, but I have a harder and harder time distinguishing serious discourse in official publications from the Onion.
Me too.

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Monday, December 12, 2011

Yep.

The Rude One...
Frankly, President Obama should just ignore these fools and merely campaign on giving him a Congress that wants to accomplish something.
Like I always say sometimes, we don't have a President problem, we have a Congress problem.

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Good question…

…from Beth Schwartzapfel and Hannah Levintova...
How Many Innocent People Are in Prison?
They have some good, if distressful, answers, too.

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Sunday, December 11, 2011

Sunday Funny

Via Bluegal...

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Saturday, December 10, 2011

Good advice...

...from Chipsticks...

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Notice anything missing?

Via Meteor Blades...
In California, supporters of abolishing the death penalty have gathered hundreds of thousands of signatures to place a measure on the November ballot, while activists and lawmakers in Maryland, Kansas, Ohio and Connecticut are gearing up for legislative battles in their states.
Why not Washington?

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No Gurlz Aloud.

Not by design, of course. It just came out that way, you know, randomly...
Bobby Day - Over And Over
George Strait - Right Or Wrong
Bruce Springsteen - Thunder Road
Jimmy Buffett - This Hotel Room
The Safaris - Wipe Out
Todd Snider - Beer Run
The Evening Rig - Goddamn, I Could Use A Drink
Jerry Lee Lewis - Lewis Boogie
Little Richard - Good Golly Miss Molly
Richard Thompson - Walking On A Wire

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Friday, December 09, 2011

Via Think Progress...

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Charges need to be filed…

…careers need to end, asses need to be kicked...
The Air Force dumped the incinerated partial remains of at least 274 American troops in a Virginia landfill, far more than the military had acknowledged, before halting the secretive practice three years ago, records show.

The landfill dumping was concealed from families who had authorized the military to dispose of the remains in a dignified and respectful manner, Air Force officials said. There are no plans, they said, to alert those families now.
…and families, of course, need to be alerted, even if it means at least 274 lawsuits.

Oh yeah, and the Air Force needs to buy that land and build a memorial.

Yesterday.

We already know how to do this...

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Thursday, December 08, 2011

Chart of the day.

Via Jessica Hagy at Indexed...

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Wednesday, December 07, 2011

From the "Me too" file.

The once and future Speaker of the House...
"I like Barney Frank's quote the best, where he said 'I never thought I'd live such a good life that I would see Newt Gingrich be the nominee of the Republican party.'"
Me too.

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Tuesday, December 06, 2011

Priorities.

Spent nearly every waking minute today watching "Be Here To Love Me," a documentary about Townes Van Zandt that's been kicking around without my ever hearing of it since 2005. The Brilliant and Beautiful Bride of Upper Left brought it home from the library this morning and I've watched the feature, watched it again with the commentary, watched all the special features and consider it all time better spent than scanning the blogs for the latest Republican outrage or Democratic disappointment.

Off in a minute to commit a public act of folk music myself.

Politics later.

Priorities, ya' know...

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Sunday, December 04, 2011

Tis the season...


A blessed Bummernacht to y'all, and graphical gratitude to Blue Gal.

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Saturday, December 03, 2011

Signs of the times.

Via Donkeylicious...

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From the "Me neither" file.

Brad DeLong on tonight's Republican debacl…erm…debate...
Romney: Asking: "are we going to be a nation governed by the government?" I must say I had not thought the answer could be anything other than "yes".
Me neither.

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It's simple...

...you just push the shuffle button and count to ten...
Bob Lind - Elusive Butterfly
Buddy Holly - Rave On
Guy Clark - Arizona Star
The Esquires - Get On Up
Eddie Hinton - Build Your Own Fire
Chad & Jeremy - A Summer Song
The Dell-Vikings - Come Go With Me
Delaney & Bonnie & Friends - Coming Home
The Coasters - Down In Mexico
Jefferson Airplane - Volunteers

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Friday, December 02, 2011

Wolverines!


Photo by Mark Harrison, The Seattle Times


My high school alma mater won its fourth consecutive, and ninth in the last eleven years, state football championship tonight, 35-16 over the Irish of O'Dea.

Congratulations to all the kids on the field, all the kids in the stands and all us kids at heart watching from afar.

Congratulations especially to a remarkable class of seniors who have won a state championship in every year they've been at Bellevue. It's an achievement that rewards years of work and dedication to one another and their school. I hope they'll indulge an aging alumnus in grabbing just a ray or two of reflected glory.

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From the "Since you asked" file.

Jed Lewison is curious...
Hasn't Herman Cain already hurt enough women?
Since you asked, Jed, though his appetite for abuse seems boundless, yes, he's hurt enough women.

Too many.

Plenty of men, too.

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Thursday, December 01, 2011

A reminder...

...via Robert's Daily Dose.

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Chart of the day.

Via Maddow Blog...

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