At the End of the Day

This is bad news??? Being as I am familiar with acts I and II, I prefer that German soldiers remain fat, drunk and slovenly in perpetuity. How 'bout you?

The German Ambassador to Iraq, Hans Schumacher, has submitted a classified report to the Foreign Ministry in Berlin in which it is charged that three Iraqi nationals, working as security guards for the German consulate, were taken into custody and allegedly mishandled by American troops. The third was taken by Americans to a prison camp near Basra, where he was held for four months before the error was discovered. The two who were temporarily detained have been financially compensated. The man taken to Basra has been summarily ignored.

Hastert's Old Seat Flips Blue If that doesn't qualify as a psychological victory and a potent portend for November, I guess I need to be schooled on what, exactly, it would take to meet the criteria...

Hope you already have a job...In a report that was far worse than most analysts had expected, the Labor Department estimated that the nation lost 63,000 jobs in February. It was the second consecutive monthly decline, and the third straight drop for private-sector jobs.

Ya know, the interwebs iz our baby... there would be no internet if there was no Pentagon. Now the Pentagon is having a "What hath God wrought?" moment - they don't want Google Maps showing the layout of bases. And I am torn - I like looking at where my relatives are, but I don't want just anybody to be able to do so.

Rest in Peace Gary Gygax - One of the co-creators of Dungeons and Dragons shuffled off this mortal coil last week. Believe it or not, he had a wife and six kids.

Rhea might have rings A flyby by international exploratory vehicle Cassini has detected what appears to be a large debris field around Saturn's second largest moon. Unlike the rings around Saturn and other planets, the rings around Rhea have not been directly seen. Instead they were detected by sensors aboard Cassini that detected a drop in electrons on either side of the moon. If the ring system is confirmed, it will be the first time one has been observed around a moon.

Back in the day the uncomfortable truth that became common knowledge was that when Americans went into space and discovered that pens wouldn't write up there, millions of dollars were spent on research to develop a gravity-defying pen...while the Russians simply used a pencil. Now the census bureau is in danger of not bringing in the 2010 census on time because they replaced their pens and paper with gadgets that don't work. The failure is expected to triple the cost of the upcoming census.

*************************

And that's it for Blue Girl - but Strannix has a question...

“Okay. Can I ask you about your...Why you’re so angry?”

What began as a typical chat session with traveling reporters on the plane from Atlanta to New Orleans quickly became a testy exchange with McCain. The senator was questioned on the details of a conversation with former presidential nominee John Kerry in 2004 about being his potential running mate.

Pressed further aboard the plane by a reporter as to whether he did in fact have a conversation with Kerry, McCain showed his infamous temper.

The rest of that contretemps here. But, it's not as if I don't have ample reasons for referring to him as "Mad Jack."

It is not difficult in Washington to find high-level military officials who have had close encounters with John McCain's temper, and who find it worrisome. Politicians sometimes scream for effect, but the concern is that McCain has, at times, come across as out of control. It is difficult to find current or former officers willing to describe those encounters in detail on the record. That's because, by and large, those officers admire McCain. But that doesn't mean they want his finger on the proverbial button, and they are supporting Clinton or Obama instead.

"I like McCain. I respect McCain. But I am a little worried by his knee-jerk response factor," said retired Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton, who was in charge of training the Iraqi military from 2003 to 2004 and is now campaigning for Clinton. "I think it is a little scary. I think this guy's first reactions are not necessarily the best reactions. I believe that he acts on impulse."

"I studied leadership for a long time during 32 years in the military," said retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Scott Gration, a one-time Republican who is supporting Obama. "It is all about character. Who can motivate willing followers? Who has the vision? Who can inspire people?" Gration asked. "I have tremendous respect for John McCain, but I would not follow him."

Read that last line again: "I have tremendous respect for John McCain, but I would not follow him." Damn, isn't that just the kind of respect a GOP nominee wishes to engender in the troops?

There's more: "At the End of the Day" >>

At the End of the Day

Guess who? That's right, until Apollo is back in fine fettle, you're left at my dyslexic mercies. Where is your dog now?!

• This is not really political, but it is an example of some of the worst kind of corporate chicanery you can imagine. No lives lost (as far as I know) but millions upon millions of investor and consumer dollars (and yen, and euros, etc.) have been consumed by the HD DVD/Blu Ray format war.

HD DVD, the beloved format of Toshiba and three Hollywood studios, died Friday after a brief illness. The cause of death was determined to be the decision by Wal-Mart to stock only high-definition DVDs and players using the Blu-ray format.

I've not had the misfortune of investing in either format, so I'm not fanboy of either. But, like the years ago format war between Betamax and VHS, it would seem that once again, the better format lost out (ironically, this time, Sony was the purveyor of the inferior format). As one pundit noted, regarding the whole mishegas, HD DVD is a product, Blu Ray is a theory. But, $$$ talks.

Sony was between a rock and a hard place, if they lost the Blu-Ray fight the PS3 would have been collateral damage and the impact on Sony financially might have been terminal. This means that Sony, much like anyone fighting for their life, was willing to do almost anything to ensure they didn’t fail.

As in, Sony bribed the living hell out of every studio in Hollywood.

• Here we go, ever so much closer to $100 per barrel.

World oil prices advanced on Friday towards 100 dollars per barrel, briefly topping 96 dollars, as geopolitical jitters stemming from Nigeria and Venezuela stoked global supply concerns, traders said.

Those market fears overshadowed a gloomy warning from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, who predicted "a period of sluggish growth" ahead for the energy-hungry US economy.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in March, won 43 cents to 95.89 dollars a barrel, after rising as high as 96.05 dollars -- which was last seen on January 9.

Stand down, Al. We're doin' just fine.

Al Gore on the second ballot: A scenario that a few weeks ago seemed preposterous is beginning to look plausible to some nervous Democrats looking for a way out of the deadlock between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. It goes like this: We love them both, but neither is a sure bet when it comes to electability. It's not about gender and race, each has more mundane vulnerabilities. Hillary's negatives will drive white men to John McCain; Obama's inexperience will require a gut check on the part of voters. What if the super delegates decide not to decide, denying either candidate the requisite number of delegates to secure the party's nomination. Democrats want to win. The new rallying cry: Gore on the second ballot.

Oh, and Eleanor? Shut the hell up, already. We're all so very tired of ye creatures of the noise machine, no matter where on the political spectrum you may fall.

• February's halfway over, and now I don't think I mind I missed my flu shot this year.

Nationwide, 4.6 percent of flu samples tested have shown signs of drug resistance this season, said officials with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In previous years, resistance to the drug hovered below 1 percent of all cases.

"We have seen this before, though not at this level," said Dr. Joe Bresee, chief of epidemiology and prevention in the CDC's influenza division.

The worry among some experts is that flu strains could develop resistance to more than one drug, leaving doctors with few options for treating severely ill patients. One way that could happen would be for patients to get infected with two flu strains at once, each with resistance to a different type of anti-viral medication.

Have a good weekend. Don't take any sub-prime nickels.

There's more: "At the End of the Day" >>

At the (Beginning) of the Day

Yeah, I slacked off, there were no "At the End of the Day" posts the past two evenings. Strannix has a new girlfriend. This was Valentine's Weekend. If I must say more, then Strannix weeps for you.

• Florida: still America's wang.

There's a new option (maybe a compromise?) in the works when it comes to Florida's controversial science standards.

The Florida Department of Education is working up a second option for the State Board of Education to consider that would insert the phrase "the scientific theory of" before the word evolution and in other "appropriate places throughout the standards," according to Tom Butler, department spokesman.

The phrase would also appear in front of Big Bang and and plate tectonics, for example.

This is in response to "the input we've received from the public," he said.

(Calm down, Sunshine Staters: I reserve the right that rag on all states, at any given moment; I just hadn't had the chance to use the word "wang" in a post for much too long).

• Vlad, the Name-Caller.

"At a minimum, a head of state should have a head," Putin said.

Snap! Whaddaya call "the dozens" in Russian?

• Some days, it just ain't worth chewing through the restraints.

A popular video on YouTube shows Kellie Pickler, the adorable platinum blonde from “American Idol,” appearing on the Fox game show “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” during celebrity week. Selected from a third-grade geography curriculum, the $25,000 question asked: “Budapest is the capital of what European country?”

Ms. Pickler threw up both hands and looked at the large blackboard perplexed. “I thought Europe was a country,” she said. Playing it safe, she chose to copy the answer offered by one of the genuine fifth graders: Hungary. “Hungry?” she said, eyes widening in disbelief. “That’s a country? I’ve heard of Turkey. But Hungry? I’ve never heard of it.”

• I'm spending most of mine on hookers & beer; I'll probably just waste the rest.

President Bush on Wednesday signed the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008, calling it a "booster shot" for the American economy.

The government hopes the measure, which will send most Americans tax rebate checks by May, will either prevent a recession or make one relatively brief.

My last booster shot gave me a hella rash. I'm sure it had nothing to do with the hookers. I'm out.

There's more: "At the (Beginning) of the Day" >>

At the End of the Day

Another day, another end.

• The "news" network that had all their eggs in Rudy Giuliani's basket? Yeah, they're not letting little things like party unity stand in the way of smearing their presumptive standard bearer, even if "America's Mayor" has already thrown his lot in with him.
• Obama took all of yesterday's nominating contests, and it appears as if Huckabee has too (WA is still to close to call). Today, Democrats remember the Maine.
• Quote of the Day comes from Ron Paul: "If I may quote Trotsky of all people, this Revolution is permanent." But he continues: "...[W]ith so many primaries and caucuses now over, we do not now need so big a national campaign staff, and so I am making it leaner and tighter. I also have another priority. I have constituents in my home district that I must serve. I cannot and will not let them down. And I have another battle I must face here as well. If I were to lose the primary for my congressional seat, all our opponents would react with glee, and pretend it was a rejection of our ideas. I cannot and will not let that happen." Translation? "All that $$ I took in donations to my presidential campaign is mine, mine, mwa-ha-ha!!" That sound you just heard from your neighbor's basement is the lamentations of another disillusioned Libertarian.
• Ben Shapiro is living proof that people who were born the year that I graduated high school should never be allowed to write professionally (if at all); at least, not until I'm like 127 years old. Ben's latest epiphany? Americans are racists, and they prove their racism by voting for...Barack Obama? Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot.

There's more: "At the End of the Day" >>

At the End of the Day

Apollo is still feeling green, so you've got Strannix in the house tonight.

• Of course, we know the big news today is the "suspension" of Mitt(!) Romney's campaign to turn the White House into the Mormon Tabernacle East. As he told a gathering of CPAC mouth-breathers earlier today, "I Hate to Lose." But, Mitt(!), you'd become so good at it!
• So, what's a Huckabee (yikes!) hater, or a McCain (double yikes!!) hater to do, when their big, white, Mormon knight decides he actually wants to have some inheritance left to give to his 5 freeloading...umm...loyal sons and leaves you feeling like a twice-rolled john outside a Vegas casino? Why, like penile rigidity-challenged Rush Limbaugh, you start to raise money for Hillary Clinton, so that you may have a proper target for your daily two minute hate till November.
• Today in totalitarianism: customs officials now equate your laptop & cellphone with any other sort of luggage. Where is your Fourth Amendment now?
• Let us pat ourselves on the back just for a moment: whether you love, like or loathe Hillary Clinton and/or Barack Obama, odds are you like your choices better than the GOP voters.
  
• And, just before you start to think that "At the End of the Day" is all about the serious, you should check out one of the bands playing at Bonaroo this year; no, not Led Zeppelin, it's Lez Zeppelin.

Get yer ya-yas out in the comments.

There's more: "At the End of the Day" >>

What a Difference a Win Makes

I am not convinced that this endorsement is as big of a deal as many in the MSM are making of it. But, now that they are pushing the narrative, perhaps it will have legs after all.


...more on the flip...

Seeking to build on his landslide win in Saturday's South Carolina primary, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) will receive the endorsement of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) in Washington on Monday, sources close to both men said Sunday night.

The Kennedy stamp of approval was one of the most sought-after prizes of the Democratic nomination battle, and it represents a coup for the Illinois senator, adding an establishment seal of approval to what began a year ago as a long-shot White House bid. Obama had cultivated Kennedy's support for months. So had Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), who along with her husband, former president Bill Clinton, had pressed Kennedy in recent days to at least remain neutral.

Kennedy's decision came after weeks of his rising frustration with the Clintons over campaign tactics, particularly comments by the couple and their surrogates in South Carolina that seemed to carry racial overtones. Kennedy expressed his frustrations, directly to the former president, but to no avail. He came to his endorsement decision over the past week, after speaking to numerous family members, especially younger ones, and gave Obama the word on Thursday, people familiar with the endorsement said.

Will this endorsement mean much to the general electorate, or even the Democratic electorate in upcoming primaries? Continue to color me skeptical, especially in the sense where Obama is reputed to bring in new & young voters who were not yet born when Ted Kennedy was first elected to the Senate.


No, where I do believe this news will resonate is amongst the establishment of the Democratic party at the state and national level, especially in the clubby US Senate. By my count, Kennedy is the fourth sitting Democratic senator to come out for the junior, once-elected senator from Illinois, rather than the junior, twice-elected senator from New York...and the wife of an immensely popular former president as well.



[Ah, bless that Google News...it seems that Kennedy is actually the fifth sitting senator to endorse Obama; Leahy of Vermont was the fourth last week. Add these to McCaskill of MO, Nelson of NE and Kerry of MA].


Also, Bill Clinton did much to resurrect the image of Camelot during his White House bid & tenure, and the Kennedys did all but adopt the First Couple in the '90s. So, yes, I believe it is amongst the establishment (and not coincidentally, the money people) where this endorsement will resonate most. And, in that light, it's quite a slapdown of the Clintons.

There's more: "What a Difference a Win Makes" >>

Time to Pass the Hat

Things are not going well in Rudyland.

About a dozen senior campaign staffers for Rudy Giuliani are forgoing their January paychecks, aides said Friday, a sign of possible money trouble for the Republican presidential candidate.

"We have enough money, but we could always use more money,'' contended Mike DuHaime, Giuliani's campaign manager and one of those who now is working for free. "We want to make sure we have enough to win.''

"I want to do everything I can to make sure Rudy's president, and I speak for a lot of the campaign when I say that,'' DuHaime said. "None of us joined this campaign for money.''

Looks as if you hitched your wagon to the right horse then, sir.

[...that's all...]

There's more: "Time to Pass the Hat" >>

A Tale of Two Parties

During this holiday season, with apologies to Dickens, depending upon the political party with which you ally, it is the best of times; it is the worst of times.

In what already feels as an interminably long election season, just days away from the Iowa & New Hampshire contests, Democrats are feeling supremely optimistic about the chances for their various candidates, while Republicans are suffering from uncharacteristic ennui.

Read on, my fine young cannibals...


For the first time in so long that I have trouble remembering (at which elephants are supposedly better at than donkeys, anyway), the Democratic voters are suffering from an embarrassment of riches, while the Republican voters are simply suffering from embarrassment.

Three weeks before the Iowa caucuses, Republican voters across the country appear uninspired by their field of presidential candidates, with a vast majority saying they have not made a final decision about whom to support, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.

Not one of the Republican candidates is viewed favorably by even half the Republican electorate, the poll found.

Read that last paragraph again...

Not one of the Republican candidates is viewed favorably by even half the Republican electorate, the poll found.

So badly has the Republican brand been tarnished, that even die-hard, primary voters can find little to love about their candidates. I'd long predicted that Huckabee would rise fast, then fall hard, largely on the dissatisfaction that potential voters felt with their cash-laden (and media-coronated) frontrunners. It seems my prognostications were on-target.

And in a sign of the fluidity of the race, former Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, who barely registered in early polls several months ago, is now locked in a tight contest nationally with Rudolph W. Giuliani and Mitt Romney.

It seems elementary to note that Huckabee's meteoric rise (17 points...in two months!) likely would never have occurred, had Romney & Giuliani (not to mention Thompson...not that anyone of note bothers to mention him any more) been the heirs-apparent to the ghost of Reagan that each man claims to be.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the divide, the contrasts could hardly be more stark.

More than anything else, the poll underlines sharp differences between the Republican and Democratic electorate in how each views its candidates. Democratic voters, on the whole, see their candidates considerably more favorably than Republicans see theirs.

Mrs. Clinton is viewed favorably by 68 percent of Democrats, followed by Mr. Obama, viewed favorably by 54 percent. Mr. Edwards is viewed favorably by 36 percent.

Though the poll cited above was a national poll, the shape of the race in Iowa seems to echo loudly the confidence that Democrats have in their overall field, at least of the three frontrunners. That's how I explain that Clinton, Obama & Edwards nearly evenly split 70% of Iowa voters. A blowout by one candidate, or a neck-and-neck contests between two, I could see. But a three-way race? It appears that a goodly portion of Hawkeye state sees something awfully appealing in that triad.

Both in Iowa and nationally, Huckabee has surged on the GOP side. Not that he should expect an overly warm reception from Republican voters as the race wears on.

[Huckabee's] gains come even as Republicans remain skeptical about his ability to win in the general election, indicating that "electability" is not a priority in the race for the nomination. Only 13 percent thought Huckabee was the most electable, compared to 43 percent who said so about Giuliani and 18 percent who said Romney would be the party's best candidate in November 2008.

The Republicans sound like a party going through a severe case of identity crisis.

There's more: "A Tale of Two Parties" >>

I Want Dark Meat. Oh Yeah? Well, I Want White Meat!

Matt & Roy Blunt Discuss Presidential Politics Over the Holiday Weekend

Seventy-six days before Missourians have the opportunity to cast votes in a presidential preference primary, and endorsements from some of the state's Republican heavy-hitters are still coming in.

...keep reading, my naughty little gerbils...

Rudy Giuliani has been the fave thus far, with Missouri House Majority leader Steven Tilley, Representative Jo Ann Emerson and Senator Kit Bond all weighing in to endorse him. Meanwhile, Mitt Romney is the man, according to former U.S. Sen. Jim Talent, state House Speaker Rod Jetton and Governor Matt Blunt.

Oddly enough, Congressman Roy Blunt has been mum as to whom he'll be endorsing thus far, though he has utilized Giuliani to help him raise funds for his re-election bid. And, we all know how money talks.

So, I begin to wonder, what kind of Thanksgiving will it be at the Blunt manor this year?

There's more: "I Want Dark Meat. Oh Yeah? Well, I Want White Meat!" >>

He Who Cannot Be Named

Via AmericaBlog, I was directed to serial traitor Karl Rove's newest paying gig, penning paens of praise for the nutty neocons in Newsweek.

...read on...


Karl is still a-strategizin' for the GOPers, and his latest offering to the party is how they can beat Hillary come November '08 (always assuming, of course, that she is actually the Democratic party's nominee). It's ignorable dribble, for the most part, but a few excerpts are necessary just to illustrate that these people have no reality but that which they create for themselves:

• Every presidential election is about change and the future, not the past.

Umm, anyone remember "are you better off now than you were four years ago?" Ronald Reagan's famous question had almost nothing to do with the future, and everything to do with the past & the present. Essentially, Reagan was asking, "hey, why don't you elect me...what's the worst that could happen?"

In fact, the entire Republican conservative philosophy has long been one of regression, not progression. Karl came of age during the ascendency of this regressive philosophy. Who the hell is he trying to kid?

• That's the best antidote to the low approval rates of the Republican president.

Emphasis mine. The Republican President? What's the matter Karl, has he truly become such an embarrassment to you and yours that you cannot bear to speak (or write) his name?

His name is George Walker Bush. You know, the man you've been selling to America for lo so many years? The man whose legacy your party will have hung around your necks like a lodestone for the next generation? Here's a reminder of better times, to jog your memory:

• Tackle issues families care about and Republicans too often shy away from. Jobs, the economy, taxes and spending will be big issues this campaign...

Jobs, the economy, taxes and spending? These are really issues you wanna highlight your party's absolutely abyssmal handling of?

• Go after people who aren't traditional Republicans. Aggressively campaign for the votes of America's minorities.

The very same minorities your party has marginalized, and even demonized, over the past four decades?

• Be strong on Iraq.

Oh, hell, I'm not even gonna bother with that one; it's just too easy.

Rove is convinced that Senator Clinton (again, for him, the presumptive Democratic nominee) is "eminently beatable." This may, or may not be true; we'll certainly find out in a year's time.

But, if he deems that any of the current GOPer frontrunners are up to the task, he is truly deranged. In much the way that Rove cannot bring himself to mention the name of the current resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, his bright shining lights of the Republican party tend to speak his name seldomly as well.

Again in direct opposition to Rove's contention that "every presidential election is about change and the future, not the past," well, it seems that this current crop didn't get the memo, as they tend to fall all over themselves to bask in the retro-glow of Gipper Glory.

No matter how much they wish to believe otherwise, Karl and the boys must dwell in the shadow of he who cannot be named, for that is the red meat for which the party faithful yearn.

From promises to "double Guantanamo" to assurances that lowering taxes raises more money, revelling in a fantasy world from which their good sense can never possibly escape is the signature philosophy of the modern GOP.

This is what you've sold Karl; this is what your party owns.

There's more: "He Who Cannot Be Named" >>

Al Gore: Odds-On Favorite?

How easy would it be for Al Gore to leap to the head of the pack, were he to announce his candidacy for President? After this week's Nobel Peace Prize win, easy enough to make some bookies nervous.

Bookmakers cut the odds of Al Gore becoming the next president of the United States and started to sweat as the former U.S. vice president won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday.

The reason is that in winning the prize Gore has now satisfied two of the three conditions the bookies set for a 100 to one bet they had offered -- winning an Oscar, becoming a Nobel laureate and taking up residence in the White House.

The oddsmakers have improved Gore's chance of winning the White House from 10-1 to 8-1...all without him even having announced his candidacy. A current Gallup Poll has him tied for 3rd nationally with John Edwards at 10%...again, without him even having announced his candidacy.

Certainly, entering a race this late and winning the nomination goes against all current conventional wisdom. But then, when was the last time a former (and possibly future) candidate for president had an Oscar-winning film and a Nobel prize on his résumé?

There's more: "Al Gore: Odds-On Favorite?" >>

Because the Chicken Doesn't Vote for Colonel Sanders

Though it always seems to be a subject of contention (officers seem to trend pro-GOP, while enlisted members trend Democratic), the conventional wisdom seems to hold that the military is overwhelmingly Republican (a CW that wingnuts love to toss out).

But toss in a few...umm...errors in strategic judgment such as the ongoing idiocy of the war in Iraq, the resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan, poor treatment of wounded at Walter Reed, etc., and an interesting trend begins to develop.

So far this year and in the 2004 election, about 40 percent of contributions from donors identifiable as military members has gone to Democrats, compared to about one fourth in the 2000 and 2002 cycles, the center's study said. Service members gave about $1.8 million in the 2004 cycle and about $330,000 this year, the study said.

And who is the biggest recipient of the new military largesse? Why, none other than the Democrats own Senator Barack Obama.

Democrat Barack Obama, who is calling for a troop withdrawal to start immediately, has received the most of any presidential candidate from uniformed service members -- about $27,000.

While on the dark side:

Ron Paul, the only Republican candidate who opposes the war, has brought in at least $19,250 -- more than Vietnam War hero John McCain, who supports the war and has raised $18,600 from military personnel.

I have a number of friends who are veterans and to a person they do not and will not be supporting the GOP any time soon. And who can blame them.

There's more: "Because the Chicken Doesn't Vote for Colonel Sanders" >>