Yes, I Am As Stupid As I Look

I had to laugh while driving home tonight. I decided
to check what Sean Hannity had to say about the
current situation in Egypt and he was twisting
logic every which way trying to say this situation
is Obama's fault and yet at the same time admitting we
have no control over what's going on. He even used
the term "the president who lost Egypt".

While I realize this is a very serious situation, it's
also kind of refreshing to be able to stand back and
acknowledge the fact the people in Egypt are gonna do what
they're gonna do no matter what we think, no matter
what Obama or Biden or Hillary say and certainly
no matter what opinions annoying mouthpieces like Hannity
spew.

Testing Our Principles

It's interesting to watch the situation in Egypt play out...

www.slate.com/id/2283108/

Supremely Corrupted?

There are rumblings that some Supreme Court justices
got paid off for saying yes on "Citizens United"...

Bob Edgar: A Supreme Conflict of Interest

Symbolism and Not Much Else

Andrew Leonard on why the GOP's attempts to repeal healthcare
reform will have little staying power...

The GOP's last gasp on healthcare reform - How the World Works - Salon.com

Knockout

There are two kinds of sports movies I love...boxing
and baseball (and hockey isn't too bad). Football and
basketball are my two favorite sports but movies about
them always seem kind of fake.

Just saw "The Fighter" last night. It's a true story
about two brothers from Massachusetts who aspire to
be champions. One (played by Mark Wahlberg) is on the
way up and the other (Chistian Bale)is a has-been with a
nasty crack cocaine habit.

The acting is great all around. There are four people
in this film (Walhberg, Bale, Amy Adams and Melissa
Leo)that could potentially get Oscar nominations.

What I loved about this movie is the fact it works on
two levels...the boxing stuff is great but the family
story is even better. It's about what so many of us deal
with every day, the struggle to love people even when
we feel like they're always sabotaging our efforts
to be successful in life.

Maybe Next Year...

Hey, it was a good run while it lasted. Chicago played
a nearly perfect first half today and our running game all
but disappeared. But I admire our guys for playing
hard and getting as far as they did this year.

Tucson Really Let Us Down

Jon Stewart talks about how even a memorial service
isn't exempt from political over-analyzation...


Veiled Criticism - The Daily Show with Jon Stewart - 01/13/11 - Video Clip | Comedy Central

Quick Spins

I'm pretty obsessed these days with two relatively
new albums. The first is "Wormhole Wizards and Black
Swans" by Joe Satriani. I've always admired his skill
but up till now none of his music really moved me.
This album is full of amazing guitar work ranging
from stuff that would sound good on a progressive rock
album to gentle jazzy New Age stuff. Every cut is
a winner.

The second is "Inner Speaker" by Tame Impala (thanks to
my good buddy Dave Downing for letting me know about it).
I think at this point you can only get it online but
I'm sure word of mouth will cause somebody to release
it in the states in the near future.

The best way to describe their sound is if a bunch of
Australian guys living in 1967 were suddenly given
musical technology from 2010. It's really fun music.





YouTube - Tame Impala - Lucidity

Another Day, Another Threatened Democrat

Hey, it would be nice if the right-wing psychos would at
least stick to threatening politicians in their own
state...

Arrest in Threat to Kill a Congressman - NYTimes.com

The Arizona Tea Party Cleans House

Maybe Michael Steele should watch his back...

Arizona GOP Official Resigns, Citing Tea Party Threats: 'I Don't Want to Take a Bullet'

Angry Guy Alert

I thought Bill Maher had an excellent idea regarding the
background check that's done when you buy a gun. Have
the sales clerk Google the customer's name and see if they've
put any crazy, violent videos or websites online. That's
a pretty good indicator how potentially violent the person
might be.

It sure would have worked with the kid in Arizona.

Welcome to Pakistan

I've held off commenting on what happened in Tucson
because I wasn't sure what the shooter's motivation
was. I was trying to be fair...in fact, this morning
I corrected my buddy when he said the 22 year old
kid was a Tea Partier. Based on what I've heard, he
was deranged and not particularly leaning in either
direction politically.

But anybody with even just a little common sense
would have to admit that voices on the right have helped
create a toxic cloud of hatred and hysteria the past
couple years. And hatred and hysteria affect even those people who know little or could care less about politics.

I think David Horsey sums it up nicely...

CARTOON/COLUMN: Extreme words have deadly consequences

The Mouth From Minnesota

So, it looks like there's a VERY good chance Michele
Bachmann will try to win the GOP/Tea Party/Wingnut
2012 presidential nomination. I think that's just
great...she's wacky, spontaneous and fun for the
whole family.

Hopefully Sarah Barracuda will also run in 2012.
I'd love to see these two "mama grizzlies" tear
each other apart.

All Hair, No Cattle

Texas has a 25 billion dollar state budget deficit. And it's
not like rootin' tootin' governor Rick Perry can solve it by
punishing poor people...

The Texas Omen - NYTimes.com

Rock 'n Roll Valkyrie

I just finished the book "Just Kids" by Patti Smith. It
recently won a National Book Award it's a
wonderful recollection of her early days in NYC
and her gradual evolution from bookstore clerk to
poet to punk goddess. I highly recommend it.

Something I Love About Sports

I love the emotional rollercoaster rooting for your
favorite team can provide. The Seahawks have had
a tough year and yet somehow managed to fight their
way into the playoffs. Nobody respects them and
nobody thinks they can beat the Saints. But the
game is in Seattle and all the pressure will be
on New Orleans. So it could a really fun game!