Not Quite All Things Considered

Josh Marshall's TPM Campaign Wire had a link to this NPR story...

Clintons' InfoUSA Ties Scrutinized
All Things Considered, February 13, 2008 · Political campaigns spend thousands, even millions of dollars to acquire good mailing lists.

Last year, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton took the unusual step of renting out some of her lists. The transaction once again highlights the Clintons' connections to a businessman who now faces questions from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Reports from Clinton's campaign show that on Dec. 3, it collected payment for renting out three mailing lists, the sale of which netted them $8,225.

It was an unusual transaction, according to Roger Craver, a liberal guru of the political direct-mail industry.

[...] Several sources who work in political consulting and in direct mail, who would not speak for attribution, said they were surprised by the deal, as well as its low price. [...] According to one direct-mail professional, $800,000 would have seemed like a more plausible price for a quality list.

The story then goes on to detail the relationship the CEO of this company, Vinod Gupta, has with the Clintons, and the millions, yes, millions of dollars he's paid Bill, and the $$$ he's raised for Hillary. The angle I'm reading is that this guy is sketchy—one of his companies sold lists to spam scam operation, and that there is something unseemly about the payments to Bill, flights for the Clintons, Lincoln Bedroom, blah, blah, blah...

But there's a passing mention of one of Gupta's company that NPR breezes right past, and no one else is mentioning...

Gupta's empire also includes the Opinion Research Corporation, which conducts the political polling for the television network CNN.

Um, hello? The Clinton campaign supplied a list of its donors and supporters to the company that does the polling for CNN—for no discernable reason, and for next to nothing? What reason could the Clinton campaign and a polling company possibly have for a transaction like this? Think that they could possibly skew a poll here and there if they wanted to?

Google yields a ton of stories about Gupta and the Clintons from early last summer about financial disclosures (here's one from the NY Times), but not much on this new mailing list development, and nobody's looking at the polling aspect. Maybe I'm nuts, but it sounds like it's worth "considering"...

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NOTE: I really wanted to stay away from the Hillary-bashing, but I just don't understand why (or if) I am the only person asking about this.

UPDATE: Adding "CNN" to the Google search nets some results: a brief reference by NY Times, and a dedicated MyDD post on the CNN tie here.

Links

OVERSIGHT IS AN OVERSIGHT
John Cole perfectly encapsulates the fucking joke that is Congress with this. Christ. When I read stuff like that, it makes me dream of "Debt of Honor" scenarios.

SUPERDELEGATE DOUBTS
Rahm Emanuel's brother doesn't trust him to pick the Democratic nominee.

JUDGEMENT = STRATEGY
Matt Yglesias makes a point about good policy and judgement in foresight leading to good politics and strategy in hindsight.

PRIVACY vs. SECURITY
The government would have you believe it's a zero-sum game. It's not.

PRESERVE THE CLIMATE OF FEAR
You might remember a classic Onion piece from when Bush took office, “Our Long National Nightmare Of Peace And Prosperity Is Finally Over” [link]. Last month, they put out the perfect Op-Ed to bookend the Bush Era.

...Not so very long ago, we winced every time we saw someone with facial hair or a backpack. Average people were terrified of opening their mail for fear of getting a face full of anthrax. Those were perhaps our country's greatest days. Yet that once-phobic spirit that defined our times is drastically changing.

Today, people are making eye contact with strangers on the street. They are whistling on subway platforms, strolling down sidewalks, and generally behaving as if they do not feel they could be killed at any moment. [...] It breaks my heart to see the land I love fall into such a state of non-panic.

My God, what have we become?

Depressingly hilarious.


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There. 99% Obama-free.

Obamassacre

And I was actually worried about Virginia and a setback today. Wow. Even more convincing than his weekend haul.

In the words of Chief Brody, Hillary's "gonna need a bigger boat." (RIP Roy Schieder)

No idea what the 12 stories tall Washing-ton means? Watch this.

Dick of the Week: Officer Salvatore Rivieri

Hard to blame the kid here, he probably thought it was a pizza delivery guy stopping to yell at him. Skater Eric's lucky Officer Penis didn't tase him. As is the kid with the bals to hold a camera on this maniac.

Too Pissed For a Clever Headline

The FISA Court and statute is no longer the exclusive governing authority for how surveillance can be conducted in America. It’s wide fucking open now.

Oh, and telecoms get immunity.

Fucked over retroactively and going forward. Nice job Reid and the rest of you fucking clowns.

And a special “Fuck You!” to Hillary for making sure she got a 21-day jump on building her Texas sandbag wall and skipping the vote altogether.

Also, Debbie Stabenow is now twelve feet down she is so fucking dead to me.

Much more on this to come. Trust me.

“Deserves Got Nothin to Do With It”

First of all, let me get this out of the way—I am NOT opposed to the death penalty. I'm not a "hang 'em high" guy, but a fairly administered, properly tried and convicted, and humanely executed prisoner convicted of a heinous crime is not a problem for me. Sorry if that's contrary to the rest of my (or your) liberalness, but that's the way I feel. What I am opposed to is the manner in which the death penalty is employed in this country...racial bias, bullshit trial processes (ie: Texas), and horrendously cruel procedures. Death rows are littered with innocent men, and I believe there should be a moratorium on the death penalty nationwide until every one of those problems is addressed. So here's why I bring this up...

US may ask death for 9-11 suspects

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon is planning to charge six detainees at Guantanamo Bay for the Sept. 11 terror attacks on America and seek the death penalty.

[...] Military prosecutors also will ask for the death penalty for the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 Americans, according to a second official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the charges had not been announced.

Among those held at Guantanamo is Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the suspected mastermind of the attack six years ago in which hijacked planes were flown into buildings in New York and Washington. Five others are expected to be named in sworn charges.

"The department has been working diligently to prepare cases and bring charges against a number of individuals who have been involved in some of the most grievous acts of violence and terror against the United States and our allies..."

[...] The men would be tried in the military tribunal system that was set up by the administration shortly after the start of the counterterror war and has been widely criticized for it rules on legal representation for suspects, hearings behind closed doors and past allegations of inmate abuse at Guantanamo. Original rules allowed the military to exclude the defendant from his own trial, permitted statements made under torture, and forbade appeal to an independent court; but the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the system in 2006 and a revised plan has included some additional rights...

This is crap. NONE of these guys should be executed. Period. Bush has made such a mockery of the judicial process in handling every aspect of this that I'm not even sure the words "judicial process" apply. It is a kangaroo court in every sense of the phrase. Coerced confessions, torture, no evidence, secret witnesses, trials without the defendants, no appeals, no review, no disclosure. There is no reason to believe any of the evidence, testimony or verdicts in any of this. None.

There is no doubt in my mind that people involved in the 9/11 attacks deserve the death penalty—if properly and fairly tried and convicted. None of these men were. None of them.

This is a feel-good, red-meat-to-the-base exercise and political move on the part of the Administration to impact the election, give the appearance of progress and closure, and an issue to use as a wedge. There is nothing about justice associated with it.

Thanks for fucking that all up too, Mr President.

Brrrrrrrr

I just finished an assignment, it's late, I'm beat, and it is goddamned cold out. The last thing I want to do right now is walk the dog. I hope he can hold it...

I Promise...

...to blog about something other than Barack Obama kicking Hillary's ass across the country this week. Quit yer bitchin' and scroll down and watch the Bob Knight video while you wait...

A Posse

Shepard Fairey, the man behind the not-actually-very-famous "Andre the Giant Has a Posse" and "OBEY" artwork and other graphic-type things did some posters on his own for Obama (above). He did a limited edition print and and sold em all out, then the campaign got ahold of him and asked him to do another version (shown at right). They are giving them out at rallys, etc., but I cannot seem to find a place to order one...aside from the ebay gougers asking $300 and up...

Nerd that I am, I would fucking kill for one of these...

(photos: Kyle Oldoerp OBEY site)

3 For 3

Early in the evening yesterday I was remarking to somebody at a party that the two candidates would trade close victories, and it would be hard for either to blow the other out and grab big chunks of delegates. I noted that many thought the upcoming states favored Obama, but I expected something along the line of winning two out of three, say, 53-47...

I was NOT expecting this:

[WaPo] With 99 percent of the precincts reporting, Obama led Clinton, 58 percent to 36 percent, in Louisiana. Obama romped to victory earlier in the evening in Nebraska, 68 percent to 32 percent, and then overwhelmed Clinton in Washington, 68 percent to 31 percent, with 96 percent of the caucus vote counted.

I mean, those are ass-kickings. Very impressive. Of course, I still expect swings and reversals in momentum, but the narrative is undeniable. I have to wonder what the Clinton camp does to counter this...

Semi-Colin

Personally, I think Colin Powell's credibility and integrity are in serious doubt after his role in the run-up to the Iraq War. In many ways, his sins are the worst because he knew more than most, tried to impact the decisions, but in the end went along with it all, lending a veneer of credibilty the Bushies would have lacked without him. So, no, I am NOT a fan.

But, for some reason, he is still regarded by many as a knowledgable elder statesman (for a Republican tool), so if he can't come out and support the GOP nominee, and has this to say, i'm happy to repeat it...

“And as I said earlier, I will vote for the candidate I think can do the best job for America, whether that candidate is a Republican, a Democrat, or an Independent.”

Powell also offered praise for Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, calling him an “exciting person on the political stage.

“He has energized a lot of people in America,” said Powell, who briefly weighed his own run for the White House in the mid-1990s. “He has energized a lot of people around the world. And so I think he is worth listening to and seeing what he stands for.”

[...]“I will ultimately vote for the person I believe brings to the American people the kind of vision the American people want to see for the next four years,” he said. “A vision that reaches out to the rest of the world, that starts to restore confidence in America, that starts to restore favorable ratings to America. Frankly, we've lost a lot in recent years.”

Not thanks to you, douche. But it sounds like Obama to me...If he says all that and ends up endorsing McCain, he's an idiot and right back on the shitlist

Links

THE VIEW FROM MY WINDOW
Anybody who reads Andrew Sullivan might be familiar with his (and others) regular feature "The View From Your Window"—readers send in photos, and he posts one very day or two. I sent one in on 2/2, and he ran my photo Thursday. (NOTE: Not actually MY window...)

SUPERMAN vs LUKE SKYWALKER
Would a light saber harm the Man of Steel. My immediate answer is "no." These nerds discuss—in hypothetical scientific glory—and reach a conclusion.

BEST CAR ADS EVER
The commenters at Jalopnik are submitting their favorite car ads. Some really good ones, some real flashbacks and somebody submitted this this anti-car ad...



REVENGE OF THE WAGON
It's no secret I'm a big sportswagon fan. Bring that shit back! This Accord Tourer concept is fucking sweet. I'll take it. In this color please...


Also a big fan of the past generation Mazda6, but the next one is really slick.

But if I had a job that allowed me to buy it, and a commute that made it worthwhile, I'd be cruising a Jetta SportWagen CleanTDI. Saw it at the car show—40s around town, 50s on the highway. Awesome. (NOTE: Looked better in person than these pics)

I have a TON of car show pics and I've been mulling over a big post on that, we'll see if I get around to it...

Kid F Update

(Bustin' out the ole "Pig and Pascee" for the wagon ride to the O.R.)

SHE DID GREAT
Ruby's surgery went well, and we got home late this afternoon. The doctor went ahead and made a more aggressive correction that will hopefully allow us to avoid another procedure, or at least prolong the need for it. This time the muscles adjusted were the inner ones (towards the nose) and the redness (bloodiness) of her eyes is much less pronounced than last time. She is temporarily "cross-eyed" but that will self-adjust over the next couple weeks. And, bonus, we have drops for her eyes unstead of the dreaded greasy cream—much better! She is a totally bad-ass kid and never cried or complained, and seems to be managing any pain with Motrin and Tylenol, and is finally asleep for the night...

I am very proud of her.

Kid Furious

Today's the day. Kid F has to go in for a second operation on her eyes. In brief, Kid has a problem with her eyes drifting out (sort of like what most people think of as "lazy eye"—but different). The procedure is basically repositioning muscles that control the eye to "force" it to point the right way. It's actually an overcorrection, and the theory is that young kids will train their brains to take over and control the eye to maintain full, binocular vision—otherwise, eventually the brain "picks" one eye and shuts off the other one. An explanation of the eye muscle surgery is here.

She had the first procedure last year, and it was not completely successful—she still exhibits the drift. So they are doing it again, and may have to do it again at some point in the future. We're hoping not, but realistically, it's likely.

The procedure is minimally invasive, and not too complicated (for eye surgery). It takes two hours, and she has to be out the whole time—that's the scarier part. And the after-care is a nightmare. She needs to have a steroid/antibiotic cream put in her eyes repeatedly—and it did NOT go well last time. Hopefully she'll be more reasonable at five than she was at four...

Send your positive energy, in whatever form you choose, towards Ann Arbor and my little girl—we'll use some and spread the rest around.

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Here's the pre-op post from last year, and the recap. Normal blogging will resume when things calm down. We should be home Thursday afternoon, and I will update when possible. Check over at Mrs F's too.

Pinch-hitter

I'm letting Andrew Sullivan do my blogging for me (I hope he doesn't mind). This post is fantastic, top to bottom. I agree with every pixel.


Perhaps the most telling critique of Obama, to my mind, is his lack of executive experience. [...] I asked him directly last year why a voter should back someone who has never run anything bigger than a legislative office. He responded by pointing to his nascent campaign. He observed out that he was up against the full Clinton establishment, all the chits she and her husband had acquired over the years, and the apparatus they had constructed within the party. He had to build a national campaign from scratch, raise money, staff an extremely complex electoral map, and make key decisions on spending and travel. He asked me to judge his executive skills by observing how he was managing a campaign.

By that standard, who isn't impressed? A first term senator - a black urban liberal - raised more money, and continues to raise much more money, than Senator Clinton. More to the point, the money he has raised has not come from the well-connected fat-cats who do things like donate to the Clinton library. His base is much wider, broader and internet-based than hers. It has many more small donors.

Now look at the strategy he laid out last year, as he explained it to me and others. Iowa was the key. If he didn't win Iowa, it was over. But if he could win Iowa, he would prove the principle that a black man could transcend the racial issue, helping in New Hampshire, and then also helping him peel off what was then majority black support for the Clintons in South Carolina. Then his strategy was meticulous organization - and you saw that in Iowa, as well as yesterday's caucus states. Everything he told me has been followed through. And the attention to detail - from the Alaska caucus to the Nevada cooks - has been striking.

Now consider the psychological and emotional challenges of this campaign. It has been brutal. It has included many highly emotional moments - and occasions when racism and sexism and all sorts of hot-button issues have emerged. Then there was the extraordinary spectacle of a former president and spouse bringing the full weight of the Democratic establishment and the full prestige of two terms in the White House to dismiss some of Obama's arguments as a "fairy tale" and frame him as another Jesse Jackson.

How did the candidates deal with this? The vastly more experienced and nerves-of-steel Clinton clearly went through some wild mood-swings. Obama gave an appearance at least of preternatural coolness under fire, a steady message that others came to mimic, and a level of oratory that still stuns this longtime debater. In the middle of this very hot zone, he exhibits a coolness and steeliness that is a mark of presidential timber. He played tough - but he didn't play nasty. Keeping the high road in a contest like this - without ever playing the race card or the victim card - is an achievement. Building a movement on top of that is more impressive still. So far, he has combined Romney's money with Clinton's organizational skills and Ron Paul's grass-roots enthusiasm. No other campaign has brought so many dimensions into play.

And he won Missouri.

(Photo: Obama at the Apollo by Hiroko Masuike/Getty.)

My only contribution is the spiffy headline layout and the bold emphasis.

Super Wednesday

I have boatloads of shit to do today before I take the rest of the week off for Kid's surgery (a second procedure of this), so my quick thoughts on Super Tuesday (based on when I went to bed, not anything I read this morning) are this...

McCain is the GOP nominee. And he will take Huckabee as VP. Bank on it. HE needs him to shore up the party, and he pretty much owes him for knocking Romney out.

Romney is finished.

Obama had a huge night, but needed to land a knockout blow. I think an effective draw is okay at this point, but he needs to start damaging Hillary. He needs to dominate to ensure a nomination because I don't trust the delegates. I think momentum is on his side and he will continue to broaden his appeal, while Hillary might be at her ceiling.

Hillary held her territory and standing as frontrunner. Barely. She is losing momentum, so her lack of a decisive win might be more damaging going forward than it is for Obama.

That's it for now. More on all of this, and Kid Furious later.

Again With the Mandates, Professor?

As long as Paul Krugman keeps cranking out these columns slamming Obama for failing to meet his progressivism double-standard, I'll keep telling him to drink up.

Yesterday, the good Professor again mounted his steed and aimed his lance at Barack Obama, in defense of Hillary's supposedly superior plan.

Krugman:

But as I’ve tried to explain in previous columns, there really is a big difference between the candidates’ approaches. And new research, just released, confirms what I’ve been saying: the difference between the plans could well be the difference between achieving universal health coverage — a key progressive goal — and falling far short...

[...] Mr. Gruber['s research] finds that a plan without mandates, broadly resembling the Obama plan, would cover 23 million of those currently uninsured, at a taxpayer cost of $102 billion per year. An otherwise identical plan with mandates would cover 45 million of the uninsured — essentially everyone — at a taxpayer cost of $124 billion. Over all, the Obama-type plan would cost $4,400 per newly insured person, the Clinton-type plan only $2,700.

Well that sounds pretty cut and dry. Maybe Krugman is right.

But wait, look closely—PK isn't comparing Obama's plan to Hillary's plan—he's comparing a plan of unknown similarity to Obama's plan with one that doesn't even exist—that same "Obama-like" plan, plus mandates—it's got nothing to do with Hillary's plan. I call bullshit.

And those per person costs are not per insured, they are per newly insured. So, they are wildly effected by the numbers enrolled, not actual costs. And how do this "research" conclude the differing numbers of newly insured?

It "assumes." In other words, makes it up.

[link] Professor Gruber writes: "In particular I assume that 95% of those who would not voluntarily choose to insure are forced to insure through the mandate."

Massachusetts has yet to enroll more than half the uninsured in it's mandated plan, so how does Gruber "assume" near-perfect enrollment? Especially considering Clinton has not given ANY indication yet how she plans to enforce a mandate?

Krugman goes on to make some more valid points about the politics of all of this, and yes, I wish Obama's plan was more aggressive—hell, I wish they were both talking single-payer—but I've read plenty of counterpoints that make Obama's plan seem every bit as viable as Clinton's, and they've done a better job of doing so without (that I can tell) making shit up out of whole cloth.

Quit with the fucking litmus test and the stretching the truth, Professor. It's speaks poorly of your "conscience as a liberal."

[via Mark Kleiman]

An additional critique on Krugman here. [via Sullivan]

General, Motors

Coach Bob Knight abruptly retired from coaching last night. Always classy, Knight bailed on his Texas Tech team in midseason right at a crucial stretch heading towards the tournament.

The winningest coach in history, Knight is credited with developing the motion offense and is acknowledged as one of the great coaches of all time. Oh, and he was a hall of fame asshole as well.

Watch out for flying chairs, clubs and obcenities if you're on the golf course in Indiana...



Deadspin's Will Leitch has a good "tribute."

John Feinstein on Knight on NPR this morning.

Class Dismissed

"...why are fans of New England teams so reviled?" a commenter at twoglasses asks. I posted a long-ass answer that I'll reprise here, but really boils down to three words...

Because they're dicks.

Seriously? It IS because they're dicks, but it's a more complex story than that. Fans in New England no longer no their place, and it's due to success. they've become the equivalent of the "ugly American."

I grew up in Connecticut—among the Sox-Yanks border wars. My dad was a Red Sox fan (but, ironically a Giants fan), and I was actually taught how to score a baseball game by my grandmother of all people. My grandfather was actually featured on local television after the 2004 World Series as one of those fans who never thought they'd live to see the Sox win again.

Because of that background, I think I'm a bit more old-school than typical fans these days. A little less emotional, a little more reserved. Particularly in trying to be somewhat gracious in victory—at least NOT being a complete prick.

I always thought Fenway Park contained the superior fan. I went to school in NY and lived for years in NYC and that conclusion was borne out of years of experience. Yankee fans in Boston were treated to more or less good-natured ribbing, while Sox fans in NY should fear for their safety (or at least their laundry).

As the Yankees latest dynasty took shape, that dynamic changed. Sox fans became bitter. Ugly. While in NY, perhaps watered down by bandwagon-jumpers, Yankee fans seemed to be able to relax, rise above. I suppose that's easy(ier) when you win every freaking year. But I could sit in box seats, upper deck, wherever in the Bronx wearing a visitors cap or jersey and it seemed to be no big deal.

To be clear, I fucking HATED Yankee fans when I lived in NY, and much of that city's phony embrace of the team drove me nuts.

Meanwhile, in Boston, it was different. After losing the ALCS in 2003 in the Aaron Boone game, I was positively despondent. I didn't know if I could ever watch again. I caused me to reassess. How important is this shit? But to other fans, it was like losing to Bush in 2004. Anger and hate built. Boiled over. Winning the World Series in 2004 was a fantastic, cathartic moment in my life. Much of the country seemed along for the ride, it was great. But too many fans in New England (Boston particularly) reacted with a classless, jeering "in your face!" attitude.

Celebrate? Sure. Talk shit to and about the team that has handed you your ass repeatedly throughout history ? Not so much. Not for eternity anyway. But that's what they did. And I find it ugly. So, apparently, does everybody else.

As for the Pats, this was just happening on an exponential level, because the success was that much greater. Unlike my hereditary Sox fandom, my affection for the Pats was entirely self-installed. And for years it sucked. That gave me perspective. I was there on the way up—freezing my ass off on a fucking metal bench as plucky Bledsoe-led teams vanquished dragons... Each year going a little bit further... For Brady's emergence...

But as Bill Simmons observed, the "fun kid" Tom Brady has been replaced by a Belichicked android—a perfect fucking emotionless Terminator on the field, who removed suspense from games, and off-field, a guy who gets chicks pregnant and leaves for the next supermodel—in short, a douche. The kind of guy who deserves disdain, and if he were not a good-looking white guy, would probably get some. I find it hard to get behind that guy. He's not a lunchpail quarterback like Steve Grogan, or even Bledsoe (by comparison) or a likable character like Big Ben or Romo—he's a pretty boy fashion model. He's probably even a Republican.

Doing the salary cap league with the guys at twoglasses this season was another eye-opener. The Pats are in many ways like fantasy team to me now. No longer human. And as this "perfect" season wore on I tired of the hype.

But the assholes in Boston reveled in it.

So it is that the Patriots have become the team that New England fans always liked to hate—the dynasty, the favorite. And the New England fans were graceless in that role because they are not accustomed to it. And when something like yesterday happens, the schadenfreude is like a damn tsunami for the rest of the country.

Bushonomics

We can't get rid of these clowns fast enough...

[NYT link] The Pentagon on Monday will unveil its proposed 2009 budget of $515.4 billion. If it is approved in full, annual military spending, when adjusted for inflation, will have reached its highest level since World War II.

That new Defense Department budget proposal, which is to pay for the standard operations of the Pentagon and the military but does not include supplemental spending on the war efforts or on nuclear weapons, is an increase in real terms of about 5 percent over this year.

Overall since coming to office, the administration has increased baseline military spending by 30 percent...

[...] Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Admiral Mullen have said military spending should not drop below 4 percent of the national economy. “I really do believe this 4percent floor is important,” Admiral Mullen said. “It’s really important, given the world we’re living in, given the threats that we see out there, the risks that are, in fact, global, not just in the Middle East.”

[...] “The secretary believes that whenever we transition away from war supplementals, the Congress should dedicate 4 percent of our G.D.P. to funding national security,” Mr. Morrell said. “That is what he believes to be a reasonable price to stay free and protect our interests around the world.”

Over half a trillion dollars—not including the war? Fucking absurd. Almost as absurd as the idea of tying the funding of anything to G.D.P. Unless The Decider (or anybody else) is willing to index government tax revenues to G.D.P. as well.

If you want to set a floor percentage of the budget for defense, fine, but this idiotic.

UPDATE: Hilzoy did a much better job on this the other day...including this chart (via Ezra):

Ezra adds: "Our spending is 43 percent of the total. Not the total on that chart. The total of the world."

All of the candidates running for PResident are calling for various increases of some sort (Barack Obama included, apparently) This is unacceptable. You want to shift money from ridiculous weapons programs into human costs? Fine, do it. YOu want to add troops? Great, do it at the expense of whatever fucking nuclear weapons Bush is still buying. There is no reason we should be spending anything close to this much of our money on this. Not while the rest of the country falls apart. Fuck that. Not EVER.

And don't give me any shit about "what about at a time of war?" Remember, this doesn't even include the fucking war!!!

Super Choke

I'd be remiss if I didn't put something up about the Super Bowl...and I don't want to be accused of ignoring it because my team lost. Badly.

First, let's get this out of the way—undefeated regular seasons mean jack if you can't close it out. The Pats might as well have gone 12-4 or whatever if this was going to happen. The only thing "for the ages" about this season now is the fact that they got beat by the fifth seed Wild Card team.

Second. I didn't care about this game. Don't believe me? I took the opportunity to go to a deserted Lowe's and Home Depot early in the game, and never thought twice about it. I knew I'd catch some of the game here and there, and I TiVo'd the fourth quarter and watched it later since it was close, but I'm just not invested in this team anymore.

I got as sick as everybody else of all the hype this year. Belichick and the New England fans have become insufferable, and I consider this loss a nice karmic payback for "Spygate."

I'm just sorry Junior Seau worked his ass off to come back and lose, I hate that New York fans (not Giant fans specifically, but NY fans of anything, period) get to celebrate, and most of all, I wanted those bitter old Dolphins to STFU. But that's about it.

Eli strapped on a set that I didn't think existed in the Manning family combined, and he marched his team down the field in, well, Brady-like fashion and put this one away. David Tyree made a ridiculous catch after Manning somehow escaped a freaking 10-car pileup to heave it down the field, and Plaxico Buress got the last word on Tom Brady in the trash exchange.

Congratulations to the only Giant fan I can think of off the top of my head, Fridge, and to the morons back in New England who have gotten to the point of making Yankee fans look restrained, you had it coming.

Wow.

Watch this.

How fucking cool is that? That is hands-down the coolest campaign ad/video ever conceived and executed. It might be the glossiest, glitziest, least-policy-related thing ever, but it is amazing.

After watching that, and learning that Obama's rally in Boise today of 15,000 people—seven times the total number of Idahoans who caucused in 2004—can you honestly tell me that something isn't happening here? Forget Bill Clinton versus Bob Dole—Barack Obama stands to make John McCain look as lively and viable as Bob Dole's right hand.

UPDATE: So that video is 4 minutes and 30 seconds long...and Obama raised $32 million in January, from 250,000 new donors (me among them), is that enough cash for a halftime ad tomorrow night?

Just wondering.

UPDATE 2: I found a YouTube version that The original site has a better version I can embed, the quality is equal to the link above, but the screen is smaller but I suggest clicking above and watching/listening to the higher quality version instead if you can. Yes you can.



UPDATE 3: I just can't let it go. That thing needs to be shown during the Superbowl. It is a game-changing, back-breaking play. There is no bigger audience, there is no bigger moment. Talk about "the fierce urgency of now." Super-Tuesday is in 36 hours, and the environment surrounding the SuperBowl is like none other. hundreds of millions of people are watching. People who don't give a shit about the game watch for the ads. The ads! All everybody talks about the next day are the ads.

Picture the Superbowl party when this video comes on. Everyone stops to see what this ad is. You can't blow that video off. If you aren't moved, or at least tweaked by that, you're hopeless (literally). There is no downside here. Anbody who reacts negatively isn't voting for him anyhow, and the sheer number of people, like Midge in the comments, who will be left thinking, "Wow. I gotta find out more about this Obama guy" is what pushes him over the top to the nomination.

The best part? It's not even an Obama ad. His name is never mentioned or shown. He doesn't need to spoil the mood by "approving this message." Hell, John Legend alone could bankroll placing this thing, so the campaign doesn't need to break the bank running it. What the hell is dipdive.com anyway? Is this their ad, and Obama is merely a (willing) prop?

Just you imagine if THAT VIDEO was what everyone was talking about for the 36 hours and what happens going into the day when half the states have primaries?

This could be the either the greatest moment in advertising ever if it works, or it could be the greatest ever opportunity missed if they don't try it. I can only hope that the fact this came out yesterday is somehow indicative of this being a Superowl ad that leaked out.

UPDATE 4: Apparently FOX was not allowing any political ads during the national broadcast of the game, but Obama placed local ads in key markets. Ads that drew good marks from the pundits, etc. but just felt flat to me compared to this...

A Round for the House

It's been a very busy week for loudmouths and idiots. So many in fact, that I think I should just order pitchers of STFU to keep my tab down. Bottoms up:

N.O.W.
The N.Y. state chapter of NOW threw an absolute fit over Ted Kennedy's endorsement of Obama, calling it "the ultimate betrayal to women." And that's just for starters. Go here for the complete and completely unhinged rant.

NEW HAMPSHIRE
The editors of The The New Hampshire Union-Leader are all bent out of shape about Hillary's play for the Florida delegates—first campaigning for them, and then trying to seat them. Everything they say is true and correct, but guess what? I don't want to hear you bitching about the primaries, New Hampshire, you're the fucking problem. Hopefully your days of importance are over, and this bullshit primary setup is trashed. Then you can go back to doing what you do the other 1,460 days between elections—being the poor man's Vermont.

HILLARY
Just because those Green White Mountain yokels are shutting the fuck up, doesn't mean I'm letting you off. All of this "Changing the rules once the game's underway and you have a lead" crap has got to stop. You are rapidly becoming that which you seek to replace

ARLEN SPECTER
I actually thought this was a joke when I saw it. Snarlin' Arlen wants NFL Commissioner Goodell to come before Congress and explain why the League destroyed the Patriots "spygate" tapes. Specter went as far as declaring this action "analogous to the CIA destruction of tapes." Yeah. It's just like that. The Patriots violated the countless laws and international treaties when they sent a guy out to walk around with a camcorder at the Meadowlands. Luckily for Goodell and Belichick, ole Arlen never follows through on his threats...

PAUL KRUGMAN
Look. I love the Professor as much as the next guy, but for some reason he's got a stick up his ass about Obama. Monday's "Lessons of 1992" installment was the most convoluted anti-Obama rationale yet: See, Bill Clinton already tried this message of hope, post-partisan approach, and it didn't work. So Obama's got nothing to offer. Better go with...the Clintons? Take a vacation until the general election, okay Paul?

UPDATE: NANCY PELOSI
[c/o Toast] Madame Speaker is sounding off about President Bush's latest signing statement:

"I reject the notion in his signing statement that he can pick and choose which provisions of this law to execute," said Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California. "His job, under the Constitution, is to faithfully execute the law - every part of it - and I expect him to do just that."

No, granted, this specific statement is among the most blatently unconstitutional assertions of CIC power yet, but I still don't want to hear it Nancy. Bush has been doing this all along, and you have been letting him. In seven years he has chosen to exempt himself from more laws than all previous Presidents combined. All of them. As in two hundred years worth. So don't get all feisty about it now, you have no intention of doing anything about it, so do as the mug says.

Whatever Happened To...

...Otto Man, Thrillhous and the boys at Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Nachos?

Seriously dudes, what's up? I see OM kickin' it at KSK, and I know he and Malibu Stacy were expecting a baby, the Thrillhouses as well, if I recall...God knows the demands of parenthood CAN wreak havoc on blogging, drop by and let me know what's up...or shoot me an email misterfurious53 at yahoo

UPDATE: I see a new post went up a month ago, and in between Chinese spams I see OM confirmed the birth of Baby Ottoette. Congrats. I still want an update. After all the FRTs and doing the heavy lifting on the 72 Bands thing, you owe me!

Busy...

I have several half-baked posts itching to get out, but I've been swamped all day. Be sure to check back later or over the weekend.

All three of you...