Hell, No

Hilzoy at Obsidian Wings is really on a roll these days, and this post on the Dems knuckling under on the Appropriations Bill last week is a good one. I wasn't really sure how I felt about it at the time, or how pissed off I should be. Hilzoy looks at it in three parts: "first, what's right, second, what's politically smart, and third, the one thing that makes me hesitate."

Really helped me get my thoughts together...Very pissed sounds about right. "Colonel, take us to DEFCON five."

In the comments, somebody linked to this scathing column by the great Charlie Pierce on the Dems selling out last year on torture. Check out the opener...

THE SILENT PARTY. You worthless passel of cowards. They're laughing at you. You know that, right? The national Democratic Party is no longer worth the cement needed to sink it to the bottom of the sea.

God, reading that and recalling that fiasco, REALLY gets me fired up. "Flush the bombers, get the subs in launch mode. We are at DEFCON 1."

Last week, I would say Ezra's view pretty closely mirrored my own. Now I'm a bit more disenchanted.

Stuff I read, and you should too...

Not-So-Hidden Agenda Over at Ezra's, Neil sees through the haze of the Pro-Life Movement. I didn't find it all that hazy, but he writes a nice piece on it.

No Recess Today Harry Reid's got something in mind to keep Bush from pulling any more bullshit recess appointments...never closing the Senate. Me likey.

Membership Rewards Radley Balko joins Andrew Sullivan in the Ron Paul Fan Club. Apparently Bill Maher is pledging, but Chris Dodd? Not so much. Now, I don't find this exchange as frustrating or infuriating as Balko, but Maher really put it on a tee for him, and Dodd's cut was pretty fucking tepid. Swing for the fences, Senator, you have nothing to lose.

Borderline Insanity Hilzoy thinks about immigration so I don't have to.

The Republicans in a Nutshell

"When facism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross."
-Sinclair Lewis

Wow. That quote appears at the beginning of a video on the brush-up between candidates Ron Paul and Rudy Guiliani at the debates. I've never seen that quote before, and I may have to re-design the blog in order to prominantly feature those words.

Here's the video...

Miscellany

File Under WTF? A substitute teacher in Chicago shows a class "Brokeback Mountain." A class of 12 year olds. One girl's grandparents are suing for $400K. Now I don't know about that dollar figure, or why the grandparents are suing, but I'm with the prudes on this one. Not because of teh gay, but that film waaay too sexually intense (R-rated, hello?) for kids in junior high. What the hell was that teacher thinking? This will undoubtedly be pointed to by countless conservatives and Dobson-types as evidence of liberal excess in public schools, Hollywood's pernicious influence, etc. Thanks. [via Carpetbagger]

By-Tor's Snowdogs? They don't say what Geddy Lee named his fantasy team, but here's a cool article about a guy's loves for baseball and fantasy sports.

"I Support this Message" These ads are so good, I might have to support Bill Richardson for Prez. Or Obama's VP. [h/t Sullivan]

"He Couldn't Hold Griffey's Jock" Or, maybe he can. [via Deadspin]

Rocket Science Mathematical proof that Roger Clemens is worth George Steinbrenner's money. George's and no one elses...

But Will It Get You a Six-Pack and Some Smokes? Reporters in Denver board flights with blatantly fake IDs. Heckuva job, TSA.

Hinske for Mayor

I love this guy. When the Sox picked him up last year from Toronto for cash, I had a hunch he'd turn into a nice role player—I wish he could play more. He got a rare chance to start last night. The converted thirdbaseman patrolling the game's toughest outfield made a game-saving, face-planting diving catch, then came back in storybook fashion to hit the game-winning two-run homer. Gotta feel great for the kid*. [video] Congratulations, Eric, you are now officially a dirt dog.

More on the game from Curt Schilling's surprisingly entertaining, informative and, hell—at time's downright educational—blog 38 Pitches.

The Sox are on a special roll right now, with everything breaking their way. Even though 8-0 stud Josh Beckett hits the DL today, it's more precautionary, and feels good that they have enough of a lead to be able to afford that. Bring on the Braves (though I don't like the pitching matchups at all), and next week let's stick a fork in the Yanks.

*Yeah, I said "kid." Hell, if I'm going to have to be 39 for the next year, I can call a 28-year-old "kid."

There's No Debate: These Guys are Fucking Nuts

Two interesting annd revealing clips from the Republican debate the other night. [via Crooks and Liars]:

Ron Paul vs. Giuliani on the Root Causes of Terrorism

and

Brit Hume's Torture Porn Hypothetical

Thank God for Ron Paul. That guy is a breath of fresh air. It's too bad his only real purpose is going to end being for the other candidates use him as a BP machine to launch their empty soundbites, and that the Republican voters are too fucking stupid to realize that he is the only guy on the stage that even remotely represents what it means to be "conservative." The rest of these torture-loving authoritarians are like a bunch of preening tyrants auditioning for the role of facist dictator of some banana republic—not President of the United States.

Mr. Furious Heartily Endorses…

Ecover dishwashing powder. Freaking fantastic stuff. I am in charge of the dishes in the Furious household, and I've used just about every kind of dishwashing product both for washing in the sink and using the dishwasher*. In most cases, using the ecologically-sound product involves a compromise of some measure. Not with this stuff. Not only is it the best "green" dishwashing product I've used, it's the best dishwashing product period. Better than anything else I've tried.

Seventh Generation diapers. Just about as good as Huggies (and for the record, Huggies kick ass on Pampers). We still wrap Charlotte's butt in a Huggies for the overnight, [UPDATE: We were just using up the Huggies, it's now all-7th Gen all the time.] but for all-day use? Go with the unbleached, earth-friendlier Seventh Generation diapers.

Triple Delicious Pie Finest dessert ever created. Made for me annually by Mrs. Furious in lieu of a birthday cake. Luckily, my birthday (this past Monday) coincides with the rhubarb season. Topped with vanilla ice cream, accompanied by a cold glass of milk…this pie might be the food event of the year for me. I savor it all week.

Coming soon: Headphone recommendations. My birthday items (one a gift, one a purchase) include a pair of upgrade headphones for use with the iPod, and a pair of wireless headphones for watching tv on the treadmill—which after this week's pie-fest, will come in handy. I am in the midst of auditioning contenders for the coveted spots in the Furious musical and television-viewing empire.

* What Mr. Furious does NOT endorse is the ridiculous "AnyWare™" silverware basket in his otherwise-excellent Whirlpool. A nice idea on paper, the best place to put it is hanging precariously on the front of the main rack, waiting to get ripped off by anyone but me who opens the washer. And it's convenient opening side is much too loose and tends to release my clean silverware on the floor on it's way to the drawer...

Deputy A.G. Resigns…Alberto Pounces

Yesterday Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty became the third (and highest) high-ranking DOJ official to resign over the US Attorney firings. Meanwhile, his boss Alberto Gonzales, the guy who should resign over this, threw McNulty under the bus with such vigor, it practically sucked my car under the bus as I listened to the A.G.'s comments on NPR...

"You have to remember, at the end of the day, the recommendations reflected the views of the deputy attorney general. He signed off on the names... And he would know better than anyone else, anyone in this room, anyone -- again, the deputy attorney general would know best about the qualifications and the experiences of the United States attorneys community, and he signed off on the names."

Of course he neglects to mention that he ALSO signed off on the names. And that McNulty had nothing to do with the list and was completely, and deliberately left out of the loop on the firings. Anyway, that is some Olympic-class buck-passing on display right there. Perhaps the most shameless display of scapegoating I've seen from a Bush Administration official, and that's saying something. What a piece of shit he is.

Alberto's widely publicized and praised immigrant mother must be very proud.

[Shrug...]

Please take my blog reader survey!

I spent the ten minutes taking that survey...not sure what will come of it. Linked from Toast.

Ha-Ha! Circuit City's Screwed

Time for a new shadenfruede-a-licious feature here in the Land of Fury—I'll call it a "Nelson."

The results from Circuit City's clueless corporate scumbag plan to bolster profits by screwing their best employees are in, and it turns out firing all your best salespeople wasn't such a good idea...

Circuit City's Job Cuts Backfiring, Analysts Say
[WaPo] Circuit City fired 3,400 of its highest-paid store employees in March, saying it needed to hire cheaper workers to shore up its bottom line. Now, the Richmond electronics retailer says it expects to post a first-quarter loss next month, and analysts are blaming the job cuts.

The company, which on Monday also revised its outlook for the first half of its fiscal year ending Feb. 29, 2008, cited poor sales of large flat-panel and projection televisions. Analysts said Circuit City had cast off some of its most experienced and successful people and was losing business to competitors who have better-trained employees.

[...] In particular, the televisions showing disappointing results are "intensive sales" requiring more informed employees, Allen said. "It's a big-ticket purchase for somebody. And if they feel like they're not getting the right advice or are being misled by someone who doesn't know, it would be definitely frustrating. They will take their business elsewhere."

Worst. Airport. Ever.

Washington D.C.'s Dulles International.

Let's start with the outdated, foul-smelling Damnation Alley terminal shuttles. Is this the only airport using these crazy-ass things? If so, how much did it cost to custom-order a fleet of fifteen-feet-in-the-air double-wides? And was Halliburton the lucky recipient of that contract? They probably could have had gold-plated monorails for less.

And once you ride one of these things (which drive around the same lanes as the jetliners, btw) to your terminal of choice, you are greeted by an endless line of half-closed steel gates—because everything in the airport closes at 9:00 p.m.! I had to walk the more-than quarter-mile length of the A/B terminal, without the assistance of any type of moving sidewalk, to get the last sandwich of the night from Potbelly's. And then make the long trek back eating said sandwich in front of the people who had been shut out at the Potbelly's counter moments after I ordered. Talk about awkward...

Is there any excuse for an airport that had flights going out as late as 11:00 p.m. top have NO food available after 9:00? I had just arrived on a flight that served us soda and that's it. Not even pretzels. I, and surely everyone else on board with a connection, was counting on getting food while waiting for their next flight. Awful.

Travelling Violation

No wonder half of the airlines are in bankruptcy. What a screwed up, confusing and counterintuitive industry. I just got finished booking a flight back home to Connecticut for my grandfather's funeral. I ended up getting a flight when I want, and for a good price, so I'm not going to bitch about the results, but the process?...

I usually start on Orbitz and see what ballpark I'm in, what's available, etc. Shockingly, there are some cheap flights available ($200-$250 incl fees), if I make a stop. That's fine with me, I'm travelling alone. I don't see flights from Northwest (and I live near the hub, Detroit) so I go over there to check. My wife informs me we have a voucher with them, so book it if it's close. I also plan to inquire about bereavement rates. The flights at nwa.com are a whopping $645. Sure they're direct, but the times suck too. Have to call for bereavement price...$479. Thanks, but no thanks.

Best flights/prices at Orbitz were on fresh-from-bankruptcy United Airlines. Go to United site...same flights are five bucks cheaper at $229. Lesson? Find your flight on Orbitz, but don't book with them. Call United to inquire about bereavement rate now that I have flight info. "The bereavement fare for that intinerary will be $359, would you like me to make that reservation for you?" Um, no thanks.

Why on earth would the bereavement "discount" be an extra $130? I wish I was quick enough on my feet to have asked when I was on the phone.

So in summation: Prices range by order of magnitude. Some fares must make a killing for the airlines while on others they take a bath. I fully expected to see flights in excess of $800-900 when I first punched stuff in at Orbitz. And while I appreciate it, there is no way you can sustain an airline by offering last-minute, one-night-stay fares for under $200 (which my flight was without the fees).

The problem is this, nobody likes to feel like they are getting screwed. When you go to book a flight, that is always in the back of your mind. Always. It's worse than buying a car. You are at the mercy of the airlines and the results are entirely and utterly unpredictable. Booking one day earlier or later might double or halve your price...

So, as I said, I got what I wanted, and got a great deal. But, I think my experience perfectly illustrates many of the flaws of the airline business model.

--

Yes, I am aware that using this forum to bitch about airlines is my way to avoid grieving...

Riding With Rickey

Welcome to the lineup, Mr. Henderson.

Asshole Thinks ’06 Election Was Mandate for Surge

I'm not so sure adding another scooop on top qualifies as a "dramatically different strategy" in Iraq, you dummy/liar. And I am pretty damn sure it's not what everybody voted the Democrats into power for.

"You Call Yourself a Daughter, You Son of a Bitch?"

Last month, I paid homage to Alec Baldwin — brilliant character actor, standout SNL guest, even good on politics — but what I just listened to at The Superficial leaves me pretty cold.

Baldwin left a message on his daughter's voicemail, and it made it's way onto YouTube...

It's straight-up fucking child abuse. He might be across the country, and she may not even hear his words as he utters them, but it is abuse nonetheless. She is eleven years old and he lays into her like the salesmen at Mitch and Murray. I actually couldn't listen to the whole thing.

I don't care about the epic custody battles with Kim Basinger, or how pissed you are, there is no excuse for this with your (or any) child. None.

God complex, indeed.

In a week when the Attorney General lied to Congress and the country for a full workday, a psychopath shoots up a college campus snuffing out the lives of 32 people, and an asshat blogger calls those victims pussies — Alec Baldwin sneaks in as the last-minute, upset, dark horse Dick of the Week.

UPDATE: My wife pointed out that I might have been a bit callous in referencing VaTech in this post, I want to make clear that Baldwin's selection as DOW in no way compares to what happened on Monday. Cho Seung-Hui is off the DOW charts — an insane person of historic and infamous proportion. Guys like that are not what DOW is all about, and I should have left him out of the discussion. Derbyshire's comments, on the other hand, put him in the driver's seat for DOW, but I went with Baldwin because as a father of two girls, and as a guy with nieces of the same age as Baldwin's daughter, I was really impacted by what I heard. [NOTE: link fixed, and slight editing of the VaTech portion]

UPDATE 2: If you are not familiar with the Baldwin monologue from Glengarry Glen Ross than you are not going to get half of the references in this post, including the title. Do yourself a favor and watch it. I guess now we know why Baldwin is so good at playing an asshole...

The Bank

This is pretty good...

Al, The President's Man

The always enjoyable Dahlia Lithwick ties everything up in a neat bundle. Don't miss the graphic from the hearing that Sen. Whitehouse, a Republican busted out to contrast the Bush and Clinton White Houses. Hilarious.

Other notable Republican quotes?

Tom Coburn: It's "generous to say that there were misstatements" by Gonzales and others, Coburn said. "I believe that you ought to suffer the consequences," he said, adding that Gonzales ought to be judged by the same standards with which he judged the U.S. attorneys.

"The best way to put this behind us is your resignation."

Lindsay Graham: "...[You] made up reasons to fire them, because you wanted to get rid of them." "Mr. Attorney General, most of this is a stretch..."

Republicans on the Committee are now callling for his head, but through it all, we should remember that Gonzales serves at the "pleasure of the President." Well sounds like his job is safe...

White House: "President Bush was pleased with the Attorney General's testimony today. [...] The Attorney General has the full confidence of the President, and he appreciates the work he is doing at the Department of Justice to help keep our citizens safe from terrorists..."

Pathetic.

On the Air-sick Bag

I am listening to the Gonzales hearing online on C-SPAN Radio (much better feed than the videos), and Orrin Hatch is just about making me wretch. Absolutely pathetic performance...

“So, Mr. Attorney General, is it true that you iron your own shirts?” “That’s fantastic.”
“Now about the coffee station in your office, is it true you decided to spring for the half and half for the staff yourself rather than use the government issue non-dairy creamer?” “You sound like a terrific boss.”

Ugh. It was just about that bad.

Not-so-bitchin' Camaro...

This rules



Model Camaro Display Weathered and Rusted - $25

Reply to: sale-311599687@craigslist.org
Date: 2007-04-14, 12:23AM EDT

Incredible build of a model Camaro. Car appears to have seen it's better days. Countless hours went in to the weathering and distressing of this model. From the oil on the rocker arms to the very realistic rust and oxidation on the paint, this car looks genuine and will be a true conversation piece. Email with questions or to consign your own custom model.

It will go perfectly in the overgrown yard of my scale model trashy Arkansas shotgun shack. Seriously, anybody who ever built a plastic model can respect the work that went into this thing. I used to just soften a fender with a lighter and create a dent...this is a labor of love and the 25 bucks ought to work out to about 3 cents an hour for the time invested.

[h/t Jalopnik]

Supreme Court Upholds Ban

Read this and tell me the Supreme Court made the right decision today. Seriously. Read it now and come back and finish this.

[waiting]

Angry now? You should be. There is NO WAY anybody could ever convince me that the government has any place in that story. While the woman who shared her story is certainly courageous, the unsung hero in that story is actually the doctor who performed her procedure—an exceedingly compassionate man no doubt painted as the ultimate bloodthirsty villain by the Right.

I have plenty of anger at Bush and the other assholes pictured above to say nothing of the Court's disingenuous majority. But that's like being angry at a shark—they do what they do because it's who they are. That picture was taken in 2003 when Bush signed this crap into law. It's taken four years, but they finally have their victory—trojan horse legislation designed to make ALL abortions illegal, and now blessed by the highest Court in the land.

My anger right now is directed at fools who thought there is no difference between parties or that the country isn't safe enough to turn over to Democrats. But especially at John Kerry.

Kerry and the Dems really blew it in 2004. THIS was the issue and they punted. The Supreme Court hung in the balance in 2004 like no time I can recall in my life. It is about more than Roe v. Wade—countless issues are due to come before the Court in the next year or two, and whoever would become President would get to single-handedly impact those events.

Bush won and appointed not one, but TWO Justices—and we all knew he would. Anything happens to Stevens, and Bush will have a chance to completely turn the Court and wreak havoc on the country that will last a generation or more with his next appointment of a young conservative Justice.

This is a terrible day, but the decision was, as Publius points out, effectively made in November 2004.

--

Atrios lists the Democratic Hall of Shame

His Kung Fu is Indeed Strong

John Rogers pens the definitve analysis on the whole Imus affair...

For all these years, Imus stayed, barely, on the right side of the power equation. Always gone after public figures, or his bosses ...

... but then he screwed up. He didn't steal power, he used it. Used it to say just shitty things about people who, in our minds, just didn't deserve it. He broke the power equation. And when he did, we balked, even if we don't quite understand why this one got under our skin. The wiring goes both ways. It's actually heartening, because it confirms one of the admirable things about American society at large:

America loves a rebel.

America loves a bad boy.

But America hates a fucking bully.

Is this the start of a sea change? I don't know. Some people are even distressed at all the attention being paid to this -- after all, he's a shock jock, he says shocking things, why are we doing the victory dance? I don't know about that. People lump all shock jocks together, never realizing the damage context-less bullies do while skating under the radar of other funny shock-jocks. These guys have gotten a pass for a long time, like our racist, drunk uncle at Thanksgiving. At some point you have to slam your beer down on the coffee table and say "That's not cool." Not everybody will agree with you, and your mom will accuse you of ruining the shared fiction of the family holiday, and let's face it, you're not really going to change anything ... but you know it's the right thing to do.

Blogroll: The Agitator & Andrew

Wandered by Radley Balko's place this morning, and after reading several excellent posts, I was left wondering why I never stuck him in the Blogroll. He's there now.

• Dr. Phil's an ass.
• So is Jon Corzine
• An infuriating post on the Bush DOJ's priorities

Oh, and I am moving Andrew Sullivan (& Co.) up in the batting order since his column has been a must read these days, and he posts prolifically.

• This post contained the link that sent me over to Balko, plus a grusome essay on why you should wear your seatbelt.
• The best post I've read regarding the Virginia Tech shootings and gun control.
• And, VaTech and Iraq.

Snake Eyes

Dice-K took another tough loss tonite. 10 Ks, 3 hits, 2 runs. Loses 2-1. I have to say, I like what I've seen thusfar, but this weekend (Yankees) will be the revealing test. So far the Sox are looking pretty good this season, and both the Yanks and jays are reeling with some key injuries. The Sox have like 10 of the next 13 games against those two teams—time to do damage.

Boston Pizza Party

Best. Game highlight and analysis. Ever.

Awesome! Jerry Remy is the best analyst working in sports and that clip alone should net him an Emmy and an Espy. And a Pulitzer. Hell, give him a Nobel prize too.

And Orsillo can barely contain himself... Thank God for Youtube.

[h/t KSK]

UPDATE: MLB has been pulling the videos of this down, you can see it here.

Easter's Over—Watch Your Ass!

First Anniversary Edition. Still the funniest thing I think I've ever seen on YouTube.