Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Attack in Kabul Afghanistan, What's The Motivation?

Read the CNN article that explains the gist of this story if you haven't heard about it.

I just don't get it. I get that the Taliban felt like this was the perfect target for their attack. This hotel has lots of international guests staying there all the time. Also, it was where a news conference was scheduled to discuss the transition to Afghanistan's security forces taking over control of their own country. I get that.

But what I don't get is the timing and why. Why didn't they wait until the news conference was actually going on? I guess I just wish they had because I know security would have been more plentiful and their chances of success greatly reduced. Sigh,

But also, there are many other things going on around Afghanistan dealing with this transfer of security forces. Why now? Why this hotel?

I can't help but feel very sad for the loss of life. Both the innocents in the hotel and and the misguided Taliban members who think this barbaric response to things they don't like is the answer.

It's very sad. And it's very frustrating. And what exactly is the change they would like to see happen in the way things are run that would make them stop suicide bombing every damn thing?

Seriously, what do they want? I get the vague demands for the stopping of oppression. But I've yet to suss out what specifically could be changed that would actually be enough for them to lay down their arms.

Does anyone believe there's anything Obama or Karzai could do to make them not want to blow up themselves and dozens of others?

And if there is, after all the fighting is done, how will we peacefully co-exist? I just don't know, I just don't know.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Thank You Michele Bachmann!

Michele Bachmann has announced she is throwing her hat into the ring to run for the 2012 Republican nomination for President. Read the CNN article covering the announcement.

When I gleefully shared this news with my fiance this afternoon, he asked why I was so happy. He wondered if I was a fan of Bachmann and was finally coming out of the closet about it. I laughed because I realized he doesn't read this blog very much, so he doesn't know how I've had my fingers crossed she would decide officially to run.

I see her as a fringe candidate who's somehow gained legitimacy. She even says things every now and then that don't make me want to slit my wrists and hers. But the fact remains that she's just too loony to be elected President.

If she steals the nomination from Mitt "It's My Turn, I Deserve This" Romney, I'll be ever so happy. A few clips from the ridiculous-ness that's come out of her mouth ought to guarantee Obama his job for four more years.

Americans have a short memory, so they don't remember why this woman gained national notice in the first place. It was because she's f-ing crazy!

Don't believe me? Huffington Post has collected her 16 most unforgettable quotes/clips. You've simply got to go through all 16. Then you will understand my glee.

Because she's not just historically crazy. She's also currently very popular. The only thing that could make this better is if Sarah Palin also enters the race and splits the vote of GOP'ers who would vote for a woman. Actually, maybe that's not good. Because then Mitt might definitely win the nomination.

Things that make me go hmmm...

Friday, June 24, 2011

Eric Cantor Has No Spine

Really? You walked away from debate negotiations?!?

Really? Just because you knew whatever compromise you came up with would be unpopular in the GOP, politicians and electorate alike?!?

Really? That thought never occurred to you before the moment you walked away?!?

I call bullshit. He knew. Perhaps he was delusional enough to think they could stick up the Democrats, yet again, for something really Republican-y to appease having to raise the debt ceiling.

The Democrats don't want to touch Medicare and Medicaid. They haven't yet accepted reality that some changes (hopefully not privatization though) need to happen.

The Republicans don't want any tax raises. They haven't yet accepted that closing a loophole so people pay the rate actually in the tax code isn't the same as raising rates.

They came to an impasse and the solution is no one gets satisfied. But the debt ceiling has to be raised. All the politicians know it.

But Eric "I look almost as good as Sarah Palin in glasses" Cantor is too much of a punk to stand up and say it. He's scared of the scary Tea Party.

I call bullshit. He knew it would go this way. Or at least he should have.

So now he's let negotiations fall apart. Really!?!? That's how you feel? I hope you lose your job. I hope the Tea Party makes you lose your job for having anything to do with this in the first place since you couldn't see it through.

Jerk.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

McCain, I Officially Respect You Again

I knew of John McCain first from his interviews on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. He was the funny charismatic guy who I didn't even mind was Republican.

Then he ran for President and had a real shot of securing the Republican nomination in 2008. Everything went downhill from there. He did what he had to do to win the nomination, but he became someone unrecognizable on that path.

Now, he's back on track. At least when it comes to stances on things like international affairs and defense. He's stood up against his party to support what NATO is doing in Libya. There's an interesting opinion piece on cnn.com you can read here.

In it, it's described how he calls out Michelle Bachmann in particular to let people know the GOP is on the wrong side of this debate. He's right. We should not stand by, yet again, while countless lives are taken by dictators not willing to accept their time as rulers are over.

It's easy to take a stand when you're old as hell and will face no real political repercussions for your stance. But better late than never. Meghan McCain is no longer the only McCain I can bear to hear what they say.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Lupe Fiasco Is A Douche

I've been saying this since Obama was first running for the Democratic nomination in 2008.

People were always surprised that I wasn't a fan of Lupe as a person because I'm a fan of his music and his reputation as a "conscious rapper" (of sorts) gave him a better reputation. That better reputation makes people assume that he's informed on politics and has an opinion worth listening to.

I've been feeling like he's completely full of crap for 3 years now. I think finally now everyone gets it. If they don't yet, I'm not sure how else I can explain my position.

What happened to make me feel like others can understand just how much of a douche Lupe Fiasco really is? This uninformed idiot has really gone and done it now. The article is titled "Lupe Fiasco Calls Obama a 'Terrorist'".

WTF, Lupe? Back in 2008, he was spouting some mess about how Hilary would make a better president than Obama. I could totally understand that statement with good reasoning but his reasoning was simply because she was a woman and had proximity to the White House while Bill was there. Nothing about her experience as a leader, or long-track record of getting things done. Nope, it was all about anatomy and proximity. Dumbass.

But this diss towards Obama is just ridiculous. In these times, there are waaaay better candidates for the title he's bestowing upon Obama. Gaddafi ring a bell?

Once again, Lupe is amazing me with his ability to sound so incredibly uninformed that I'm convinced he doesn't actually read the news, he just listens to old recordings of Bill O'Reilly. Yeah, I went there.

If it were up to me, he would lose his conscious rapper label. No one who is conscious could possibly come to this conclusion. Even the most right-wing nutzoids aren't saying this. Not after all the uprisings across Africa, Asia, and Europe.

Sure he puts political stuff in his lyrics, but he's a jerk of the first kind. He's always complaining about the way things are, but he doesn't bother to try and change it. He doesn't even vote. And America's foreign policies are bad, yes, but they don't compare to what the leaders of these countries the terrorists come from are doing.

What a douche!

Sunday, June 19, 2011

I'm Boooooored, Boring Grand Old Party

New Orleans (CNN) -- Conservative after conservative took the stage and railed against President Barack Obama at this week's Republican Leadership Conference, a three-day gathering of presidential candidates, party activists and political operatives in New Orleans.


That quote is from the first paragraph in a CNN.com article you can read here.

I'm reading it and thinking, um, okay, whatever!

I guess I just don't get the point of leading with that paragraph. I must look at it through the lens of recent history and remember that back in 2008, those who could decry Bush the loudest amongst the Democrats seemed to get the most attention.

But still... who cares? Does anyone think anyone other than Mitt Romney will win the nomination? We know how the Republicans are. The person who "deserves the nomination", who's "been patiently waiting their turn" will get it.

I would be surprised (and extremely happy and grateful) if Michelle Bachman or Sarah Palin won the GOP nomination, but it won't be them. It will be Romney. I wish things were more interesting now, but they're just not.

Herman Cain isn't doing a good job of replacing Michael Steele as the token black guy. Tim Pawlenty turned out to be such a punk. Don't even get me started on Next "The Titanic" Gingrich. That's my own personal nickname for him by the way.

Trust me, I hope the most foolish choice possible wins the GOP nomination and guarantees Obama the White House for another four years. But I'd at least like things to be interesting on the way there. Snore.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Jerky Comments On Websites

This rant comes up because of a situation a new friend is in. She was attacked and her attack made the news. She's been interviewed on the news and had to deal with the police (CPD seems quite incompetent through all of this) as they f-ed up her case etc.

In this new day and age, most news stories are reported online. This evening, we looked up her news reports for WGN, ABC, FOX, even Yahoo! news. Each one had an almost identical story. They had the basics of the attack, a description of the attacker, information about the alert police put out. Each one also had a comment section.

And oh. my. God. Those comments!

People, what the hell?! What would possess people to put up such ridiculous comments about a situation they know nothing of?

The types of comments that irritated me the most were:

racist ass folks who were using the fact that the assailants description was a black male as proof that all black people are some sort of primate (who knew gibbon was a new racial slur?!?) and dangerous to the well-being of normal white folk

militant ass folks who didn't know the race of the woman being attacked and assumed she was lying about the assailant being black in the same way white women used to lie about being raped by black men back during Jim Crow times

ignorant asses who went off on a political rant that somehow involved vitriol toward the Tea Party and Barack Obama with no regard to the actual post they were commenting on


I mean seriously?!? What the hell is wrong with you people? The story was very basic and you had to assume a whole hell of a lot more than the facts presented to come up with your comments.

Before you feel so snug and secure in your online anonymity, please think first about how much of a dumbass you appear to people who know the whole story. Jeez!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Light Fare: Hugh Hefner's Love Life




I'm sure Hugh doesn't think his love life is light fare, but whatever, I call it like I see it. And the nuptials of a celebrity are light fare because I only care about this much.


That being sad I feel bad for Hef that he thought marrying a 25 year old was a good idea. Is she even really 25? She looks at least 30. So unless she's been smoking cigarettes for the last 10 years, I call bullshit. She's not 25.

Moving on. They were scheduled to get married June 18, 2011. The wedding got called off just days before in an amicable split. WTF, what's amicable about a gold-digging woman tricking some old man into falling for her and leaving him the day her single drops?

I will be genuinely shocked if her single, Club Queen, amounts to more than a one-hit wonder. That is assuming it will even be a hit.

She rode him (literally) to celebrity status and as soon as she had a guaranteed release for her song, she bailed. Now she's focusing on her music career? Good for her I guess. She actually has ambitions other than to be a reality TV star.

But I just feel some kind of way about a woman using this method to achieve her dreams. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

I also have to wonder if the next woman Hef decides to marry will also be in her 20s. Yuck.

Did you know his oldest kid is 58 and the youngest is 9? Double yuck.

Read about their breakup here.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Dallas Beats Miami, Could Have Seen That Coming

I wish I could say I was surprised. I figured which team won depended on who had more to prove.

Miami really only had to prove that the move they made putting Wade, Bosh, and James all on one team was a good idea.

Dallas had to make up for a year of terrible sports. Texas does everything big and their history with football and baseball was just downright disappointing in the last 12 months.

Getting to where they were as a team was monumental for Dallas. Proving they could go all the way was a huge deal.

But for Miami, they beat Boston, and they beat #1 seed Chicago. They proved they could put together this dream team and whoop ass.

When it came down to it, Lebron really didn't play the game he needed to and that's why Miami lost.

I think everyone can agree James lost the series and Nowitzki won it. That's all there is to it.

Friday, June 10, 2011

Newt Gingrich aka The Titanic

What kind of day does one have when the Top New Story for all the networks and websites is you being abandoned?

That's a pretty bad day. CNN sent me a text this morning about Newt Gingrich's top aides in 3 states as well as his campaign manager as well as 4 others resigning. All on one day.

They cited differences in the vision for the campaign. Basically, these seasoned people who run campaigns are jumping ship cause Newt isn't listening to them.

He doesn't strike me as a person who's particularly in tune with those outside his immediate circle. He's probably got a lot of people around him who respect him and what he does and are constantly telling him how successful he'd be in the top position in the country.

I don't know anything about how good he'd be in that position. You'll never know til that person is there. But what I do know is national polls don't agree with that sentiment. America on a whole doesn't think Newt is awesome.

And he's had a really crappy day. Can you tell from the tone of this post that I actually feel kind of bad for him?

I mostly feel bad because he's not taking this situation for what it is. It's a sign that his time has passed and the people he was counting on are jumping ship. He doesn't even have the string quartet playing a soundtrack for this sinking ship.

But at least his wife is by his side, standing in the delusion that this will end well for him.

Democrats should be so lucky that Newt Gingrich would get the GOP nomination. They should be so lucky.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Weiner, You're Such a Wiener

Dude, What The Hell?!?!?

Let's talk about how amazing your wife is. Y'all are still newlyweds! Why are you chasing 20-somethings around Twitter?

Let's talk about how you need some Internet usage training. If CSI has taught us nothing else, it's that if you put it out on the Internet, it can be traced back to you. Dumb ass.

Let's talk about how you've pissed off all the Democrats. Your own party leadership is calling for an ethics investigation.

Let's talk about your lack of personal responsibility. You outright lied about what happened because you "didn't want to get caught"?!?!? What are you, eight years old?

Let's talk about how dumb you are. Who tries to conduct an illicit relationship OVER THE INTERNET??? Seriously dude? You get what you deserve simply because you were so stupid.

Back to your amazing wife. I was so glad she was off living her life and pursuing her career so she wasn't able to stand by your side as you gave your half-assed apology via press conference.

And let's all focus on what's really important: you apology didn't mean a thing because you would not have apologized had you not gotten caught.

Idiot.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Being John Edwards Has Got To Suck

I mentioned in a previous post how Arnold Schwarzenegger was not doing well, but at least he was doing better than John Edwards. And I really really really mean that now.

If you haven't heard, John Edwards was recently indicted for violations of campaign law. They think he may have given those funds to his mistress. His terrible terrible mistress who told on him and got him caught up. I guess she wanted her baby to have a daddy more than she wanted that daddy to be President.

But now he has to go to court to settle those allegations. And the charges are criminal charges. It has got to suck to be him.

Losing a presidential bid, losing his wife, alienating his country, and now criminal charges. He isn't even close to the first politician to have a child out of wedlock. At least his mistress didn't require he go to the Appalachian trail (you know what I'm referring to, South Carolina).

But he did bad things and got caught and now he's paying the price. I'm sure he's scratching his head and wondering how it all happened. Not wishing he hadn't gone down that path, but wishing he had made wilier decisions so he wouldn't be in this exact predicament.

Of course, for a public figure in turmoil, there's only one solution: write a book!

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Really Sarah Palin and Donald Trump?

Meeting for pizza in New York City? Really?

Sharing your thoughts about prospective candidates even though one of you is technically still standing on the edge of the ring hat in hand? Really?

Using "kind of" in every damn quote? Really? Is that supposed to be folksy or everyman?

Having your hairstyle be an integral part of who you are as a person? Really?

Seriously, these two bug me. Sarah Palin is on her bus tour across the country going to all these historic sites, but stopping for pizza at the Trump tower somehow fits the vision? I guess.

I suppose I'd do it if I were her. If she does declare candidacy, her only shot is to be backed by someone with deep pockets. And Trump is just batshit birther crazy enough to support that woman.

Those two love their publicity. And I'm unfortunately adding to it. Google is getting my stats. I read every article with either of their names in it. I guess I'm drawn to the still-surprisingly low depths they'll sink to.

Maybe they'll right a book. Then I'll have to read it and look at myself in the mirror and go, "Really?"

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

The First Hot Day In Chicago Is Always A Trip

Sunday, May 29th was a hot day in Chicago. The temperature reached 90 degrees. It was very humid, so it felt even warmer. And people lost their damn minds.

There were a lot of news reports of people getting hauled off the city beaches in ambulances and paddy wagons. Chicagoans lose their mind. It's been unseasonably cold for a long time and so I guess people had a lot of extra hair they had to let down.

But come on, let's have some sense. It's like when the first snow falls in the city and people forget they have to start driving slow.

Here are my tips:

How To Live In Chicago When It's Warm For Dummies

1. Bring/buy water. It will be hot and you will sweat. You need to replace the fluids you will lose and beer/vodka won't cut it.

2. Dress appropriately. Of course you're hot in your jeans sneakers and matching jacket. This is Chicago! We are not bred to wear jeans in 90 degree weather like it's Florida. In Chicago, we come up out our clothes when it gets hot. Put those chicken legs and untanned arms in a wife beater and shorts!

3. Maintain your calm. People are more likely to argue when it's warm. But arguing makes you hot which only exacerbates the problem. So stop and breath before you respond to person who was rude to you.

4. You can't win against the cops. They will arrest you for public drunken-ness. They can't be convinced to let you past the roadblock. And they don't know where you can get more booze/weed/open fire hydrants.

5. If you stay in your own neighborhood, keep the firecrackers to a minimum. Illinois has laws against everything that is lots of fun and a little bit dangerous. You can get hurt or in trouble with the law by drawing attention to yourself with firecrackers. Plus, it's not 4th of July yet. You can wait.

These 5 tips should help even the least smart of us get through the next really warm day in Chicago.
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