Only The Good Die Young

And for Pete Seeger, 94 was too young:

Pete Seeger, a 20th-century troubadour who inspired and led a renaissance of folk music in the United States with his trademark five-string banjo and songs of love, peace, brotherhood, work and protest, died Monday night after being hospitalized in New York for six days. He was 94.

His death was confirmed to the Associated Press by his grandson, Kitama Cahill-Jackson.

For more than 50 years, Mr. Seeger roamed America, singing on street corners and in saloons, migrant labor camps, hobo jungles, union halls, schools, churches and concert auditoriums. He helped write, arrange or revive such perennial favorites as “If I Had a Hammer,” “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” and “Kisses Sweeter Than Wine” and popularized the anthem of the civil rights movement, “We Shall Overcome.”

Tall and reed-thin, Mr. Seeger was a recognizable figure for generations of listeners. And with dozens of top-selling records and albums, he became one of the most enduring and best-loved folk singers of his generation. He also was one of the few remaining links to two of the 20th century’s early giants of American folk music: Huddie Ledbetter, the black ex-convict from Texas and Louisiana better known as Lead Belly, and Woody Guthrie, the minstrel songwriter from Oklahoma.

Few people had as large an impact on my youth as Pete Seeger. His songs were among the first I learned to play on guitar when I was 8, and while I outgrew pickin’ and strummin’, I never outgrew his music or his politics. To this day, “Where Have All The Flowers Gone?” plays in my head everytime we send young men – and now, young women – off to fight wars we never needed to fight. “We Shall Overcome” remains a mainstay at any rally where human rights are on display. His band, The Weavers, was played even on old-people’s music stations. Folk was acceptable, and groups like The Kingston Trio, and Peter, Paul and Mary, in addition to The Weavers, were in regular rotation.

As noted by WaPo, Seeger instroduced the nation to Leadbelly and Guthrie, and other folk tunes from other cultures. Notably included among these is “Wimoweh,” which you may know as “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”.

Yea. You can blame Pete for that earworm.

He fought the good fight right up to the end, being passed over this weekend for a Grammy for his latest release, albeit a spoken word record. Perhaps the thought of losing to Stephen Colbert was too much for his body to handle.

Godspeed, Mr. Seeger. 

 

Yo soy un hombre sincero
De donde crecen las palmas.
Yo soy un hombre sincero
De donde crecen las palmas.
Y antes de morir me quiero
Echar mis versos del alma.

Virginia IS for Lovers, Finally

This item popped up last night:

New Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring says his decision to challenge his state’s ban on gay marriage, rather than defend it on behalf of the state, is part of an evolution in his views on the subject.

Herring announced his decision to side with plaintiffs in lawsuits challenging the state’s ban on Thursday, a reversal from the position of his predecessor, Republican Ken Cuccinelli.

The Democrat, who was elected in November and took office this month, said though he voted against same sex marriage in the past, his views have changed.

Think of it as evolution in action. While I’m not sure I like the political theatre involved – either you’re for it or against it, and expediencies should be damned – this is a better outcome than the reverse, pursuing such cases more actively.

See, it does two things, one good and one bad.

First, it gives political cover to the legislature to introduce a bill allowing same-sex marriage. A good thing, of course, one whose time has come (pardon the pun). I won’t list the merits of getting on board this bandwagon or why people should be free to marry whomever they love, so long as they are consenting human adults.

So the bad thing? If somehow a bill doesn’t get crafted and Herring doesn’t get re-elected, another wingnut hater might win the AG election and re-establish the pogrom against gays. That’s a bit troubling. Further, anyone who runs on an “I voted against gay marriage” platform will undergo scrutiny by the media to ensure that he or she too does not evolve.

What is it with Southerners and evolution, anyway? I guess something that passes you by, you get all “sour grapey” about…

 

Putin On The Fritz

Well, we’re literally days away from the opening ceremonies of the Sochi Olympics, and Vladimir Putin is starting to see his chickens come home to roost:

The Olympic teams of Germany, Hungary and Italy said Wednesday that they had received emails threatening attacks at the Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, adding to mounting security fears two weeks before competition begins.

The International Olympic Committee told NBC News that it did not consider the threats credible and said that they appeared to be “a random message from a member of the public.”

Still, the threats arrived as Russian security forces were hunting for at least five suspected terrorists who may be plotting attacks against the Olympic torch relay or the games themselves, according to noticed posted in Sochi.

There’s a certain irony to Germany and Hungary receiving threats, as they were part of the Soviet Union’s sphere of influence. Whether these particular threats are credible or not, as the snippet here points out, there are definite terror threats in or arriving in Sochi.

Partly, or perhaps even mostly, because of this:

Ukraine’s anti-government protests claimed their first victims as police retook parts of the capital from demonstrators readying another mass rally.

After a third night of street violence, two dead bodies were found at a medical point set up by protesters, according to Interior Ministry spokesman Serhiy Burlakov. Reports that a 22-year-old activist died in a hospital after being beaten and falling are being investigated, he said today. The U.S. said it would annul the visas of officials linked to violence last year.

“I am extremely concerned about the dramatic developments in Ukraine and the reports of several deaths in Kiev,” North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in an e-mailed statement. “It is urgent that all parties engage in a real dialogue, show restraint and avoid any further escalation,”

The Ukraine and other Baltic region sectors of the Russian Federation have long been in conflict with Putin’s regime.

By the way, keep an eye on the Olympic torch relay this week, as it enters Dagestan.

How concerned is Putin about all this? He’s re-opened top-level communications with Barack Obama. His military, the Russian military, has requested American technological (and by extension, military) assistance in protecting the Games.

I suspect he will not be sleeping well until the Games are over.

Oops! He Did It Again!

Virgin birth. I only hope this time, He gets it right.

Nobody Asked Me, But...

1) Chocolate Fried Chicken!

2) Pride and Prejudice…and Kitties!

3) Could this be Adam Lanza, calling into a radio talk show a year before slaughtering a schoolfull of children with his legally-owned gun?

4) Well, at least our outsourced jobs are going to good people…

5) Seriously, now…KAPTOXA

6) CHOOM!

7) Roy Hinckley is dead.

8) This is your cell phone…in 1991.

9) Happy birthday, FLOTUS! Call me!

10)  OMG! He traded in his Bitchin’ Camaro!

My Morning

Who knew grant applications could take so long and be so damned complex?

Pain In The Ass

Reason.com’s Hit & Run* blog has a story about one David Eckert who was pulled over for rolling a stop sign and subsequently and -- ahem -- extensively searched. Following his arrest Erkert was taken to two hospitals and subject to two X-rays, two digital probes of his butt, three enemas, and a colonoscopy, none of which found drugs but gave Mr. Eckert the just-got-off-a-horse gait. After his butt was found to be clean Eckert got his sue on. He sued the police officers, the hospital, and two physicians; he was awarded $1.6 million. Reason explains the reason for the suit thusly (emphasis mine):

“Eckert... sued various Deming and Hidalgo County police officers; the hospital, which billed him more than $6,000 for these indignities; and two physicians, Robert Wilcox and Okay Odocha, who executed the elaborate assault under the cover of medicine.”

This is the kind of prose I have come to loathe and hate from Reason. There was no medicine being practiced here, Reasondotcom. They were searching for drugs. The cops were not concerned about the polyp in Mr. Eckert’s bum. They were concerned about the dope he wasn’t smuggling. Granted, after nothing fell out of his ass after the second enema, you’d think they would have given up. Plus, charging him was a pretty shitty move. Eckert’s attorney, Shannon Kennedy, did well but needs to work on her phrasing because she told the AP:

"It was medically unethical and unconstitutional. He feels relieved that this part is over and believes this litigation might make sure this doesn't happen to anyone else."

I’m not sure which is worse, that she actually said something was medically unconstitutional or that Eckert feels “relieved.” Trust me when I say Eckert isn’t “relieved” -- those inflatable donuts are not as comfortable as they look. But, then again that’s a good description of a solid BM. Apparently, as Reasondotcom explains at the end, a drug dog alert the police to the driver’s seat and the cops described Eckert as nervous as he stood with his legs together. Maybe he just had to pee?

*Hitting and running is illegal and wrong, kids, no matter how libertarian you are.

Chacun a Son Vie

Here is the difference between the US and France in a nutshell:

French President Francois Hollande has said he is experiencing a "difficult moment" in his private life, following claims of an affair with an actress.

But he refused to answer questions over the report, saying "private matters should be dealt with privately".

Mr Hollande was speaking at his first news conference since the allegations in the magazine Closer last week.

He said he would clarify whether Valerie Trierweiler was still first lady before a February trip to the US.

Can you imagine if Bill Clinton had said that, as President? He did say something similar – while still denying the allegations of an affair with Gennifer Flowers – as a candidate but that was when he was barely a blip on the primary calendar in 1992.

The stereotype of a successful Frenchman having at least one mistress in a pied-a-terre overlooking the Seine is legendary, and mostly accepted by the French with good humour. After all, this is a nation with a long history of monarchs and nobility with legendary prowess at bedding women, most notably the exploits of Casanova.

For the French domestically, this is minor fluff: a beautiful woman replaced with another beautiful woman by a man of power and charisma.

For the French internationally, it’s a nightmare. Take another look at that last paragraph. For a nation whose language is still the language of diplomacy, to insult the wife of a leader of another powerful nation by bringing a mistress along will be viewed as tawdry and unseemly by the opposition, and to take a wife one is about to divorce, or so the story goes, is humiliating to the wife.

And of course, Hollande to go stag would be nothing more than a reminder of his “man in a suitcase” status.

To M. Hollande, I offer a solution: bring your daughter Flora with you. An adult woman to escort you would force the American (and local opposition) press to shut up about it during the trip, and Flora being your daughter with Ségolène Royal disentangles you from the current nebulous status.

And sir, may I further salute you on your taste in women…

Today In Aliens

I, for one, welcome our alien overlords…

Note To Self

Remember to drink coffee…

Maybe He Tried Paying With 10,000 Peanut the Elephants?

The creator of Beanie Babies tried to not share…

SCOTUS Overstepping?

That’s what I think in light of the flapdoodle at SCOTUS over recess appointments:

WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court seemed inclined to rein in the president's power to make "recess appointments" when the Senate is out of town, as justices on Monday suggested the practice under both parties had exceeded constitutional limits.

The Constitution grants the president power "to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate," allowing appointees to serve temporarily without confirmation—including some whose prospects for Senate approval were unlikely.

But justices of all ideological stripes suggested Monday that a tool intended to keep the government running during the republic's early days had morphed over the centuries into a weapon to be wielded in power struggles between Congress and the White House.

There’s a bit of historical perspective to be put in place here: when the Constitution was written, it was rare for Congress to break, but when they did, it was for long periods of time.

After all, even a horseback ride along the east coast to Maine or South Carolina was a substantial investment of time, and Congress was not considered the primary source of a representative’s income back then.

Recess appointments made sense then: a President often couldn’t wait the month or so for the Senate to return.

The prevailing opinion is that the Senate is much more “reachable,” much more available to consider appointments now, despite the fact they work less than half a year.

Ah, but the prevailing opinion is not important here, because the counterargument is that the Senate used to rubber stamp appointments unless there was a genuine reason to delay or even turn down a nominee. That’s no longer the case.

SCOTUS, I think, is overstepping its jurisdiction here, because in truth the only way to remedy the recess appointment concern is to overhaul the entire Senate “advise and consent” process, something justices should be loathe to do.

This power is written into the Constitution. If you’re going to claim to be a strict constructionist, you want to leave this alone.

 

If Only There'd Been A Good Guy With A Gun...

…oh wait!

City Journal: De Blasio Sucked At Mayor Before Becoming Mayor

According to City Journal, Bill de Blasio sucked as mayor before he was sworn into office. New York City’s first progressive mayor in 20 years is taking his sweet ass time appointing agency heads and this is because progressivism is a failure. City Journal, which actually brags that The New York Post called it “the place where Rudy [Giuliani] [got] his ideas,” already knows that the de Blasio mayorship will be awful because Giuliani and Bloomberg made quite a few of their appointments prior to their inauguration.

The Journal quickly dismisses a Hunter College political science professor’s opinion that the mayor shouldn’t rush to make these appointments because “quality over quantity” is stupid. Also, that’s just what an apologist would say. The quality of 9/11 mentions made by Giuliani were not provided of as an example.

Mayor de Blasio’s brand of progressivism appears to be a failure because there aren’t many candidates that share his steal from the rich, give to the poor beliefs. For example, many potential candidates for school chancellor were crossed off the list because they advocated for closing failing schools and increased school choice -- a euphemism for charter schools. The Journal seems shocked Carmen Farina, who opposed many of the Bloomberg education policies including the emphasis on standardized testing, was eventually chosen. I assume they are surprised that someone, anyone, was chosen.

The dissection of the not-yet mayor, which was posted on December 31, 2013, then gets into the real issue at hand: why we don’t need to care about income inequality because de Blasio appointed an ex-Goldman Sachs executive. Apparently de Blasio’s“two New Yorks” message was nothing more than populist nonsense that he didn’t believe in. The exec was appointed to the housing and economic development.

There were a few interesting adjectives that belie the Journal’s unbiased critique of the mayor’s focus on inequality, which is “rudimentary” at best. These adjectives including taxing and spending money on “unproven” fixes, like universal pre-K classes and “ever-more subsidized” housing for those “not rich” or “lucky” to live in rent controlled dwellings. Fucking “poor” people.

If that doesn’t convince you that de Blasio is the worst mayor NYC had yet to see, he’s also sometimes late to meetings and events. This raise questions like, “Why was he late and did he know he was going to be late?” and “Did he apologize? Was it sincere?” I mean, it’s not like he’s busy appointing people.

Edit: here's the link http://www.city-journal.org/2013/eon1231sm.html

Flight of Fancy

Last night I watched the movie Flight with Denzel Washington. In the film (and I promise not to completely spoil it because it is a good flick) Denzel plays Captain Whip Whitaker, a commercial airline pilot who lands a plane after a catastrophic mechanical failure, saving nearly all the passengers on board.The film recreates a plane crash in horrifying detail as well as the horrors of alcohol and drug abuse. Whitaker was hammered drunk that fateful day. Throughout the film it becomes apparent that Whitaker's alcoholism is a real problem that he refuses to admit. 

After carefully looking at my alcohol abuse, and quickly dismissing it as a nonissue, I remembered this NPR story from December. According to MIT statistics professor Arnie Barnett, the odds of a safe landing is good. Like really good. The chances of being killed in a plane crash is about 1 in 15 million. 

"At that rate, 1 in 15 million, you could go approximately 40,000 years, taking a flight every single day, before you would, on average, succumb to a fatal crash," Barnett says.

Those are some damn good odds in my humble and terrified-of-flying opinion.

Flying has long been one of the safest ways to travel and with trains derailing, and cars spontaneously combusting, it's looking even better. Although it is still hard to belief that an aluminum tube hurdling 30,000 feet above the ground at speeds of 600 MPH is "safe." But, as the good professor explains, advances in nonflammable materials and collision detection systems make even a crash more survivable.

I like to think of myself as a rational person, and these statistics should put my mind at ease before and during a flight but they don't and I will continue to get hammered drunk before, during, and after a flight, or work, or day of the week. But don't worry, I take public transportation, which is relatively safe but creepy as hell.

Nobody Asked Me, But...

1) I watched August: Osage County last night. A fine film, with some spectacular performances, but as I watched (for, you know, awards voting purposes), I realized that Julia Roberts needs a new agent. How Meryl Streep is up for lead actress in a film where Julia Roberts is clearly the heroine is beyond my ken. The story is about Roberts, and while she gives perhaps the best performance I’ve seen on screen in a very long time by any actor, she’s considered a supporting player for the awards season purposes. Clearly, this was as an enticement to get Streep to appear.

2) By now, given the little backwater blog you’re currently reading, you know about the breaking news: practically the entire state of West Virginia is in a chemically-induced drought.

3) Chris Christie handled himself adequately yesterday in his news conference, but there are still some issues to be determined in the court of public opinion:

          a) The one question a politician never wants to have hanging over his head is “What did he know and when did he know it?” Precisely the question at issue here for Christie.

          b) Christie wondered how an atmosphere like that could exist that allowed people to lie to him. Unspoken was how could an atmosphere exist that made people think political payback that hurt citizens was a good thing. Christie denies being a bully but this is a clear instance of bullying, and Christie never addressed that.

          c) Even worse, Christie bullied his way into the Fort Lee mayor’s office to insist he personally deliver an apology. Right note, wrong key.

4) This Target stores hack is even worse than we were told. Way worse.

5) But I thought private enterprise could handle things way better than the government?

6) I can sum up what a Super Bowl tourist needs to know about navigating in New York in two words: don’t rush. Take your time, and get out of my -- I mean, our—way. We have places to be and people to see. Don’t try to keep up with us, and don’t try to compete. We’ve spent lifetimes perfecting the efficient art of walking, driving, biking our streets. You’ll never survive.

7) Quietly slipped into Andrew Cuomo’s State of the State address for New York was an authorization for twenty hospitals to begin administering medical marijuana. This is in keeping with the Cuomo family tradition of toe-dipping off a diving board.

8) Well, Hell didn’t freeze over, but…

9) This man made an ass. Of himself.

10) If you’re going to do a smash-and-grab, a banana might be the least of the things you grab.

The Semantics of Weight

It’s easy to make jokes about Chris Christie’s weight. After all, even he’s admitted it’s an obstacle to any Presidential campaign he might launch, and once you open that door, people will step into the breach. Connecting his weight to his niggardly attitude towards other people, such as the poor or the long-term disabled, is within bounds, I think.

I’m not above making weight jokes, to be sure. Like smoking, it’s most often a behavioral problem and therefore generally controllable. I keep in the back of my mind, however, two things: one, it’s important to know the boundaries of taste and harm, and two, there but for the grace of God go I, having been abruptly reminded last year that I was bordering on obesity myself (BMI near 29) and even after losing that all-important first twenty pounds, the last twenty never really seemed to come off.

So it may be a controllable issue, but it’s a struggle, no different from poverty or illness, and we need to respect that.

So it surprised me a little to see this on Bloomberg.com:

A New Jersey judge is set to hear an emergency request to block the testimony of a political ally of Governor Chris Christie today before the state Assembly about a traffic scandal that has drawn national attention.

The ally, David Wildstein, sued yesterday to quash a subpoena compelling his testimony over closures in September of lanes in Fort Lee, New Jersey, that lead to the George Washington Bridge, which connects with Manhattan. The closures snarled traffic for four days and now threaten to tarnish the image of Christie, a Republican weighing a run for president.

Now, it’s a common phrase, to be sure and I don’t want to put myself out there as some bluenose grammatician, but it seems to me some editor or other might have used a different wording like “considering”. “Pondering” is also possible, although the adjectival form of that, ponderous, carries some connotations of bulky and ungainly.

In this instance, on this story, it seems a cheap shot.

McCain Both Wants and Doesn’t Want US Troops In Iraq

Senator John McCain is very angry and it is not the hemorrhoids. As you will see, Senator Lindsey Graham is taking care of those. McCain is upset, and rightly so, that Al-Qaida has taken control of the Iraqi cities of Ramadi and Fallujah. According to NPR, McCain is blaming Obama for all this including presumably the hemorrhoids. Or, and I’m just spit-balling here, it could his recent lack of TV coverage.

McCain believes that pulling out all of the US troops was a mistake, leaving the area vulnerable to America’s enemies. Now it’s a he-said-she-said war on why US troops aren’t in Iraq. Seriously. McCain says “top Iraqi officials” were ready to sign a status of forces agreement that would have prevented US troops from being tried in Iraqi courts, but Obama didn’t want to so the troops came home. Apparently, 86 months wasn’t enough for the Iraqis to get their shit together. Good news for John McCain he isn’t alone in this fight -- he’s joined by Sen. Graham (R- Of Course It’s Graham) in wishing we had “a residual force of 10- to 12,000 [troops]” still in Iraq.

Not surprisingly there are opposing views. Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations panel’s Middle East subcommittee, Virginia Democrat Tim Kaine, says the Iraqis did not want us there anymore -- at least under the terms explained earlier. And he named a name: Iraq’s foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari.

Then from the frozen tundra of Michigan Democrat Carl Levin explains that American military leaders supported the withdraw and then casually mentions that the pull-out date was set by the Bush Administration. Levin goes on to explain that Obama wanted to leave a residual force but the Iraqis wouldn’t let him.

"That was done ... by President Bush, sitting with President Maliki," Levin says. "There was nothing said, even at that time, about a status of forces agreement."

Realizing they are stupid, McCain and Graham explained that now they don’t want troops there but have some harsh words of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whom they are going to call. But then Vice President Joe Biden, realizing that McCain and Graham are stupid camera whores, whipped out his NexTel and hit up al-Maliki on the two-way explaining that he better get his shit together and start leading. Nouri was all, “OKOK, but can we please have a couple [what?] uh, 100 Hellfire missiles and [what?] and some spydrones?” Biden responded, “You got it, playboy.” And Lindsey Graham swooned.

Bluster to Sell Books

Here’s what’s really weird about Robert Gates’ new book:

In Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary of War, Mr Gates recounts how Mr Obama appeared to lack faith in a war strategy he had approved and the commander he named to lead it, General David Petraeus, and did not like Afghan President Hamid Karzai, according to The New York Times and The Washington Post.

"As I sat there, I thought: the President doesn't trust his commander, can't stand Karzai, doesn't believe in his own strategy and doesn't consider the war to be his," Mr Gates writes of a March 2011 meeting in the White House.

"For him, it's all about getting out."

First, everyone is entitled to his opinion, even the most underinformed yahoo in Bugtussle, Pennsyltucky. However, you’d like to think that a Defense Secretary would have, you know, done a little research before forming an opinion or, moreover, writing a book. Back in 2008, Randy Scheuneman, then Senator John McCain’s foreign policy advisor, pointed out that then-candidate Barack Obama was focused on getting out of South Asia (Iraq and Afghanistan) at the expense of the security and safety of American troops.

And it’s true: Barack Obama campaigned on an exit strategy from, first, Iraq and then after winning some form of the battle in Afghanistan, out of that nation as well.

Afghanistan was a mess, pure and simple. When Obama took office, there was no strategy. The war seemed to be lip service to the fact that Osama bin Laden was based there and had the support of the Taliban. And even that, then-President Bush didn’t give a rat’s ass about finding him.

Obama focused the military on that conflict, and look what happened. Even Gates had to admit that it was a stunning decision on the part of a President.

So we can only conclude that Robert Gates felt his book would be remained quickly, and decided to…conflate…his opinions.

Pastafarians Rejoice!

The takeover has begun!

Their Satanic Majesties Request

I wonder what kind of blowback we can expect with this....hmmmmmm....

How Cold Is It?

Actual daytime air temps in NYC:                       4º F (-16º C)

Actual daytime air temps in Siberia (Novosibirsk):           5ºF (-15º C)

 

It’s so cold here that Vladimir Putin is exiling Pussy Galore to New York.

Aliens Exist; Are Progressive And ‘Green’

One of the most truly human questions is “Are we alone in the Universe?” The other being, “When will this fucking pizza get here?” Well, my friends, it appears all you have to worry about now is who will have to answer the door because, according to the former Canadian defense minister,  we are not alone in the Universe.

In an interview with Russia Today, former Canadian defense minister Paul Hellyer explains that some 2-80 different species of extraterrestrials have visited Earth many times over the last few decades. In a strange-because-it’s-true twist, two human-looking female aliens dressed up as nuns, went shopping in Las Vegas, and are now probably strippers. That last part hasn't been confirmed. Nor denied. According to Hellyer, the Visitors would be more forthcoming with their presence if we humans were less apt to kill one another. The atomic bomb really freaked these beings out. By “beings” I mean all beings -- near and far -- but the aliens seem to think that we would do some serious damage throughout the cosmos if they were to share some (more) of their advanced technology. Plutonian Peacenicks. Hellyer goes on to explain his own encounter, saying he’s only seen one alien that “looked like a star.” And added: the “Star of Bethlehem is one of God’s Flying Saucers.” This seems logical because a spiritual being -- like carbon-based ones -- would need a mode of transportation. The former minister believes that the aliens are kind, altruistic, and progressive and want to help us save us from ourselves. This includes providing alternative energy sources (that we are already testing, shhh) that may save the planet. Not surprisingly, the more advanced beings are liberal. But, in typical human fashion, we shot the aliens out of the sky without so much as an “Identify yourself, over.” CNET’s Chris Matyszcyk (I think that’s how it spelled), who “...brings an irreverent, sarcastic, and sometimes ironic voice to the tech world,” explains the most chilling part of all this:

“Perhaps hardest to swallow is Hellyer's notion that the majority of alien species out there are benign, loving, and progressive.”

That’ some damn good snark. I think?! Damn he’s good. But is anyone surprised? Typical liberal media propaganda trying to put its liberal agenda into the mouths (or brainwaves; who know’s how aliens communicate) of our cosmic neighbors. It is now only a matter of time before NASA starts to receive more than less than 1% of the federal budget. For context, according to the Washington Post, the US spent 20% of the federal budget on defense in 2011.  We’re screwed. Back to GTAV.
It’s a shame that all we have to go on is a former Canadian defense minister and an ironic Internet voice to bring this story to the humanity. I feel as if all is lost. But, I remain hopeful because, somewhere, there are two female aliens stripping their human clothes off for money and putting it all on red.

Introducing My Latest Project/Co-Blogger

Part of my probation from-- well, you really don't need to know except that it rhymes with Mernie Badoff -- is to provide employment for all sorts of nefarious and shady characters, including my cat, ThumbPer.

Esteev and I have a long and fruitful on-line relationship which has at times included selfies and Everclear, altho not necessarily in that order. I can't recall the first time I encountered this young man, but I immediately like the cut of his jib. That, and the fact that he wasn't intimidated by yours truly, Actor212.

This is probably a hiring I should have done a long time ago, but as the Suffolk County sheriff's office refused to lift his internet ban until late last year, I sort of put it on hold. Now that the record has been expunged however, I'm free to ask him to co-blog with me.

It happened in an organic moment of clarity on my part: I sort of looked at a comment he made cross-eyed and realized, "At last! Someone to train for the role of Dread Pirate Roberts!" So I got all, "Um, you wanna blog," and he was like, "Well, OK."

And that's how great things begin, with passion!

Anyway, please join me in welcoming Esteev to the fold.

Say, Isn't This The Nation That Edward Snowden Moved To As a Bastion Of Freedom?

“The measures will include boots on the ground, electronic surveillance, video surveillance, electronic eavesdropping – basically, you won’t be able to move in Sochi without somebody knowing you’re moving or knowing where you’re going,” explained security expert Charles Hecker, research director for Control Risks, a commercial intelligence advisory group.

One Presumes They May Be of the Mental Kind

Item: Liz Cheney to quit Wyoming Senate race.

WASHINGTON -- Liz Cheney, citing "serious health issues" in her family, is ending her campaign for a U.S. Senate seat in Wyoming.

A statement by the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney does not specify whose health has become problematic or the nature of the issue, but implies that one of her children is involved.

The announcement Monday comes nearly six months after Cheney picked a surprise fight within the Republican Party by challenging three-term incumbent Sen. Mike Enzi. The effort quickly became shadowed by a dispute within her own family over same-sex marriage.

The implication that it might be one of her children having health trouble comes from a statement averring how she entered the race to secure the future health and well-being of her kids. The implication, of course, is that she’s leaving because that is now threatened.

Naturally, this has nothing to do with the fact that she trails incumbent Senator Mike Enzi by 50 points, or has embarrassed her entire family with her reactionary stance on gay marriage.

Despite decades of public service pere et jeune filles, the Cheneys value their privacy. Just not anyone else’s, I guess.

And despite pere et jeune fille being the darling of conservatives for decades, Cheney has run into a brick wall of opposition from establishment Republicans in her ham-handed challenge to Enzi, who is also a deeply conservative…possibly the very definition of “rock-ribbed”…conservative. Even a Cheney, even in Wyoming, can overstep a boundary every now and then.

Of course, we wish the Cheney clan health and that whatever is challenging them at this time should pass quickly, but I can’t help that I get the feeling there’s a deeper emotional issue at stake. You don’t get this deeply in denial about what life is all about without being really screwed up.

Bike Tax Unreasonable For Wrong Reason, And Hello

Hello! You may know me from such places as Wonkette, where I usually lurk because they don’t allow comments, or the bar, where I get progressively drunker and yell at sawdust. Or you don’t know or care who I am. That’s not nice. But I respect your opinion to fuck off.

I’ve “known” The actor212 for a number of years -- off and on -- from the Internet. Apparently snark blogs are also good for getting men writers together.

For my inaugural post here at Simply Left Behind, I’d like to discuss Reason. Not the capacity for making sense of things, applying logic, or for establishing and verifying faces, as Wikipedia defines it, but rather the libertarian website for reasonable people. In particular, this post by Scott Shackford about a Chicago councilwoman proposing a $25 annual tax on cyclists. 

“When you tax something, you get less of it.”

We’re off to a great start. Especially when the examples provided are cigarettes, alcohol, and gasoline -- all of which we have plenty of and are enjoyed by millions. I am pretty upset each are so heavily taxed because how can I afford to fill up my car with an environmentally damaging substance to travel to purchase things that damage your body in all the good ways? And what, Scott, would these revenues be used for?

“The revenue can be used for good things, proponents say, like government programs to help children, the environment, and improve citizens’ health.”

But, as Scott rightly explains, if you tax these things, people will spend less money on them, resulting in lost revenues. Which is part of the Nanny State’s diabolical plan to slightly improve California’s air slightly, get smokers to quit smoking, and help families with young children. Nice Prius, you infant. Now cough up some bike taxes. Apparently, even though people are spending less money on smokes, the tax revenue may save the state some loot -- $93M in FY 2011/12.

Scott describes how the Nanny States now hates the environmentally and health conscious cyclists because of budget shortfalls. Granted, it may be foolish to provide more subsidies to automobile drivers than mass transit users but Lance Armstrong only has one taxable ball.

The best part about all of Scott’s post is that he never mentions a good reason why this tax is a bad idea. No, it is not the Nanny State wanting to check your diaper, but because it would only raise as much money as it would take to implement. Forbes, what say you?

“... a bike registration fee would raise some $10 million for the city of Chicago is a pipe dream. Almost every cent would be used simply to administer the program”

Interesting reasoning there.

Nobody Asked Me, But...

1) Just remember: Before we invaded Iraq, there was no Al Qaeda…

2) When my friends ask me why I’m not alarmed by the NSA scandals, it’s mostly because of stuff like this that I realize it’s a lost cause.

3) It hasn’t been Snowmageddon, but it’s been pretty impressive.

4) Of course, Kerry pretty much has to say this, doesn’t he?

5) Tim Tebow for governor? You heard it hear first.

6) So how dangerous is it to text and drive? This dangerous.

7) Get high without the high? But seriously, why would you bother?

8) Breaking news: Dogs suffer from OCD.

9) Guess we’ll have ol’ Toronto mayor Rob Ford to kick around for a while longer.

10) You think this is maybe why he ruled in favor of the ACA?

Occupy Gracie Mansion

Bill De Blasio was sworn in as New York’s mayor yesterday.

Jan. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Bill de Blasio assumed office as New York’s 109th mayor yesterday, sworn in by former President Bill Clinton at a ceremony attended by thousands who heard him vow to dedicate his government to improving life for the least fortunate.

The first Democrat to run New York in 20 years pledged to move swiftly on an agenda that calls for affordable housing and community health centers. He renewed a proposal to tax the wealthy to pay for universal pre-kindergarten classes and after- school programs, a levy that would require state approval in an election year.

“We are called to put an end to economic and social inequalities that threaten to unravel the city we love,” de Blasio, 52, said in his 18-minute address delivered on the steps of City Hall in lower Manhattan. “And so today, we commit to a new progressive direction in New York. And that same progressive impulse has written our city’s history. It’s in our DNA.”

Egalitarian themes from de Blasio, who officially took the oath of office hours earlier at midnight before hundreds of supporters outside his Brooklyn home, have already captured national attention. President Barack Obama invited him and other newly elected mayors to a White House meeting last month to focus on job creation and economic fairness, and he emerged from the 90-minute session as the main spokesman for the group. Democrats will run the 12 biggest U.S. cities this year.

If the Occupy movement can take any heart from the protests of the past three years, it is this: New Yorkers saw their protests, and realized the movement was right: something is desperately wrong with the economic model of the United States. The largest city in the country is now a lab experiment on how to fix that.

And in fixing, we hope that other problems like healthcare and crime will similarly be lessened. Altho how crime in the city can get much lower is anybody’s guess. One thing we can be sure of: black men and women will be able to walk the streets in far less fear of being Stopped and Frisked.

There will be critics, both local and national, watching his every move and ready to pounce on even the slightest veer from course or aberrative data point to prove he’s a failure. In this, I hope he takes a page from President Obama’s playbook and stays the course. It’s easy to criticize, far harder to govern.

We here at Simply Left Behind wish him well.