What Republicans are Really Afraid Of.

Looking at the entire article, we also find out the fascinating information that “Republican Mitt Romney unveiled his own package, one that is much smaller than Obama's."  Explains quite a bit.

H/T to Ed Brayton.

Where Food Goes to Die

Trying to find another cranny in my freezer after Thanksgiving this year, I realized (or rather, I stopped being in denial) that the leftovers and food we do not get around to eating before the 'use-or-freeze-by-this-date' and that we then shove into the freezer never seem to get used. Instead they wither away slowly as the moisture sublimes out of them and they develop third degree freezer burns. Meanwhile, I rarely buy food such as frozen veggies because I know that there is no room at home. Our freezer is no longer a place to store things we are planning on consuming. It has become a place where food goes to die.

I cannot provide you with pictures because my camera needs a new battery, and hey, some things are too gruesome, even for the internet.

But that changes today!!! I am doing a major purge of the freezer. Already I have found three ice-packs for injuries (wow, something to keep!) buried behind wads of inadvertently freeze-dried fish and some fresh(?!?) cranberries-----from last year!

It feels great to get rid of all that drek. But I do feel guilty for the food that did get wasted-----I suppose that is what kept me from throwing it out sooner. But now I am promising myself to be better. From now on I will only let myself use one shelf for leftovers and the like.

Looks like it's time for me to go buy some frozen spinach!

Don't Get Me This For Christmas

This is for people who want to run outside, but are frustrated that their treadmills are indoors and stationary! Hmmmmm, how could a person manage to run outside?

Ta-dah!



I could be wrong, but it seems like the whole thing is filmed on a piece of road that is running very slightly downhill. Can you imagine the embarrassment of being stranded halfway through the workout, unable to muster the force necessary to get this heavy machine back up the hill?

In one important respect though, the actual product performs better than in the advertisement------the runner would not be subjected to the incredibly insipid music. (Have they done studies? Does this kind of upbeat music really make people want to buy crud? The answer must be yes; after all, they use it in virtually all infomercials.

I'll Have the Crabhat With a Side of Sauciness

When I first saw the crabhat, I thought it was utterly ridiculous-----though part of me wanted one. After all, it is a hat!

But then after seeing this over-the-top, shark-jumping extravaganza of photo-shoot mania, I decided the crabhat was really a rather conservative, restrained statement of style and mood. "Come too close, and I just might pinch you!" it whispers alluringly.



This look, on the other hand boldly proclaims, "I am an idiot, and if you touch me, I'll slap you and get paint all over you! And yes, those are open toe boots! Whoops, I forgot my knickers!" For a better look at her.....ahem...... paint, just left click on the image.)

(Lower image from French Vogue.)

Bizarre Fashions

I suppose I should not be surprised. After all, ridiculous haute couture clothing has been around for a long time. But this collection is staggeringly awful, and leaves me wondering, "someone got paid for this?""
I will make one exception and note that with the right lighting and background, this outfit achieves a fun "woman-sawed-in-half" effect, so it might work for a Halloween party.



And I suppose there is some enjoyment to be had from the orange gown that appears to have suffered extensive damage from tunneling rodents------a good laugh, that is.






But really, what the Hell are these designers thinking? Do they actually think some woman wants to venture forth looking like a flounced pillow sham?




















I don't even know where to start enumerating the deficiencies of the lavender outfit, except that I have heard that last year's Elizabethan collars are Way Out now------of course I thought they went out of style over four hundred years ago, but I suppose fashion is cyclical.

Mostly it just seems like they cannot even conceive of a woman coming across as attractive.



















In fairness, it must be said that the designers don't know how to make themselves look good either. The cuffed, too-short, plaid pants, the ill fitting jacket (on the guy on the left) the patterned lapels that clash with his tie, a too formal black jacket with jeans (sport jackets can go with jeans, but this looks more like a suit jacket), and a possible dress-shoes-without-socks violation again on the left all suggest that they are fashion poseurs without originality or vision who feel the need to be merely outrageous (in the currently accepted ways, of course) to establish their cred. But at least they look better than the woman on the right in her pink shoulder tutu!

Texas Rethinks Sex-Ed

After years of embracing and championing a "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy of sex-ed-------otherwise referred to as "abstinence only sex ed", Texans have been forced to acknowledge that the program has been a terrible failure. According to Brenda Bell of the American Statesman (the Austin Newspaper):

More government money has been spent on the cause of sexual abstinence in Texas than any other state, but it still has the third-highest teen birth rate in the country and the highest percentage of teen mothers giving birth more than once.

The rate of student pregnancies in Austin high schools has increased 57 percent since the 2005-06 school year, and rates of sexually transmitted diseases are rising among Travis County teens.

STD rates are rising dramatically as well, leading Texas politicians to devise new plans to educate their state's teenagers regarding health and sexuality.

Schoolchildren singing Nixon's, Bush's praises

Glenn Beck and various other life-forms are foaming around their mouth-like openings because a couple of videos of schoolchildren singing songs to Obama have surfaced. This is not brand-new behavior. Here's a school choir singing to Pres. Nixon (with Henry Kissinger conducting ftw):

Even more tantalizing is this report from the Washington Wire in the aftermath of Katrina:

At the annual White House Easter Egg Roll, children from the stricken Gulf Coast region serenaded First Lady Laura Bush with a song praising the beleaguered Federal Emergency Management Agency. To the tune of Hey Look Me Over, about 100 young children from Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama sang:

Our country’s stood beside us
People have sent us aid.
Katrina could not stop us, our hopes will never fade.
Congress, Bush and FEMA
People across our land
Together have come to rebuild us and we join them hand-in-hand!

More Beck insanity:


"I've been on food stamps and welfare, did anyone help me out?" Uh, yes, someone did help you out, the Government. Perhaps Glenn Beck and Craig T. Nelson believe foodstamps come from the foodstamp fairy and welfare arrives courtesy of Santa Claus.

h/t to the fine commentators at pharyngula for the links.

Another definition of Communism

Check out the posters from this anti-civil rights rally from about fifty years ago. I finally understand why the signs of so many teabaggers from current protests make so little sense. When they use the words 'communism' and 'socialism', they are not referring to economic policies. This is what they are getting at. This is what they were taught communism means by their parents. (There's even an Antichrist poster in there too!)


(I found this image at Andrew Sullivan's thedailydish.)

The Most Expensive Tomatoes-------EVER!

This Summer I wanted to have lots of Brandywine tomatoes, an heirloom variety with few seeds and lots of flavor. They tend to be irregularly shaped and are prone to splitting, and hence rotting. The ones at the grocery store always seemed overripe as did the ones at the farmer's market. I decided I would grow my own.

I bought eight large plastic pots(8 @ $8.49), eight supports (8 @ $2.29 ?), $20.00 worth of good quality potting soil, and then about $10.00 for some young healthy plants, some Brandywine, and one yellow-pear cherry tomato plant and one grape cherry tomato plant.


For a while everything grew really well, and then the deer discovered them. I had not sprayed the plants with anything because I did not want that putrid stuff on our tomatoes. I thought perhaps that I had them close enough to the house and that, furthermore, tomato leaves are supposed to be poisonous, so maybe the deer would not be fans.


The deer ripped one plant completely out of the soil, and bit several of the others back severely. I moved the least damaged ones to different spots on the deck where I hoped they would be safe although they would get a lot less light. The deer even pursued them onto our deck! Fortunately we have an upper level on our deck ( with even less sunlight) and although it is a little crowded with our table and chairs, I made room for the least ravaged of the plants.

The plants took a long time to recover from the setbacks and are just now beginning to offer a few fruits. It appears that I will harvest a grand total of two Brandywine tomatoes, and a few handfuls of cherry tomatoes. What you see in the picture at the top is my largest haul so far. I picked about seven cherry tomatoes five days ago. At least it looks like there are a few more on the way. And of course I am waiting for those two Brandywines to ripen.

It reminds me of the old joke about the two fishing buddies. After a disappointing haul of only one fish on their vacation, they tally up their expenses, cabin rental, boat rental, fishing tackle and bait only to discover that the one fish they caught cost 14 hundred dollars. "It's a good thing we didn't catch anymore!"

Real Ignorance-------Prepare To Be Really Ashamed

The ignorance on parade in this clip is so profound that PZ Meyers thought it was likely a spoof. I checked. It's not; these arrogant American bimbos are for real.

Watch them display a complete ignorance of geography and foreign culture, and then try to convert a Hindu to Christianity. Chances are you won't be able to stomach this whole clip. It's really hard to listen to so many cringe-worthy statements and such vacuous blather all delivered in such substandard English. Gird your loins before attempting to view!

"You're not Hindu; you just think you are." (t=5:25) Wow!

Fearmongering Blather

What's really "scary" is that Beck has as many viewers as he does. How many are watching to laugh, as opposed to falling for his nonsense?

Check out Beck's spelling in this clip, and take note of the utter vacuousness of his commentary.



I hope Beck continues to lose advertising sponsors-----he has lost plenty since accusing Obama of being a racist.

Why I Have Stayed Out Of Local Politics

Sadly, the level of public commentary and discourse on the local level seems to be about like this, at least where I live. Does anyone have any idea at all what she is getting at?

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

DIY?

Some people blame the recession and others blame body dysmorphic disorder or BDD. But more and more people are attempting crazy (stupid) do it yourself plastic surgery procedures.


This woman injected her face with cooking oil ?!? She was a model before, and now.....!

So if you can't stand the way you look, get professional help: a plastic surgeon, or perhaps better yet, a psychiatrist. After all, the plastic surgery route did not seem to work wonders for Michael Jackson if memory serves.

Sarah Palin Not The Most Delusional Woman In America

She's got some real competition at any rate.
Check out a few of the entries at a Marilyn Monroe look-alike contest in Cincinnati.


















(Do take into account that these pics were published in Pravda, the fine newsgathering institution that brought us this headline:

Russian fishermen catch squeaking alien and eat it

Worthless Wingnut Resolution In Oklahoma Legislature

This is the actual text of the resolution introduced in the Oklahoma legislative session. Don't feel like you have to read all of it, but I will highlight some words in boldface to make skimming it easier. Basically they are saying that our economic woes are because God is displeased with Obama's leadership of our debauched country. This resolution is basically a prayer of contrition so God will forgive us and make us prosperous again. Of course there is no acknowledgment that the economic troubles began before Obama took office.

Honestly, this whole tract is so religious in nature that it seems completely inappropriate to be a resolution in a legislature-----even in Oklahoma!

We the People of Oklahoma, Invoking the guidance of Almighty God, in order to secure and perpetuate the blessing of Liberty; to secure just and rightful Government; to promote our mutual Welfare and Happiness, do establish this proclamation and call upon the people of the great State of Oklahoma, and our fellow Patriots in these United States of America who look to the Lord for guidance, to acknowledge the need for a national awakening of righteousness in our land.

WHEREAS, "It is Religion and Morality alone, which can establish the Principles upon
which Freedom can securely stand" (John Adams); and

WHEREAS, "We have no government armed with power capable of contending with
human passions unbridled by Religion and Morality" (John Adams); and

WHEREAS, "Our Constitution was made only for a Moral and Religious people" (John
Adams); and

WHEREAS, "We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the
power of government...but upon the capacity of mankind for self-government, upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God" (James Madison); and

WHEREAS, "Freedom is not a gift bestowed upon us by other men, but a right that
belongs to us by the laws of God (Benjamin Franklin); and

WHEREAS, "God who gave us life gave us liberty and can the liberties of a nation be
thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the
people that these liberties are of the Gift of God" (Thomas Jefferson); and

WHEREAS, "Whether any free government can be permanent, where the public
worship of God, and the support of Religion, constitute no part of the policy or duty of the state" (Joseph Story); and

WHEREAS, "We hold sacred the rights of conscience, and promise to the people...the
free and undisturbed exercise of their religion" (Roger Sherman); and

WHEREAS, "This great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians"
(Patrick Henry); and

WHEREAS, "When you...exercise the right of voting for public officers, let it be
impressed upon your mind that God commands you to choose just men who will rule in the fear of God" (Noah Webster); and

WHEREAS, "The principles of genuine Liberty and of wise laws and administrations
are to be drawn from the Bible" (Noah Webster); and

WHEREAS, the people of Oklahoma have a strong tradition of reliance upon the
Creator of the Universe; and thought secure when we have removed

WHEREAS, we believe our economic woes are consequences of our greater national
moral crisis; and

WHEREAS, this nation has become a world leader in promoting abortion,
pornography, same sex marriage, sex trafficking, divorce, illegitimate births, child abuse, and
many other forms of debauchery; and

WHEREAS, alarmed that the Government of the United States of America is forsaking
the rich Christian heritage upon which this nation was built; and

WHEREAS, grieved that the Office of the president of these United States has refused
to uphold the long held tradition of past presidents in giving recognition to our National Day of
Prayer; and

WHEREAS, deeply disturbed that the Office of the president of these United States
disregards the biblical admonitions to live clean and pure lives by proclaiming an entire month to an immoral behavior;

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that we the undersigned elected officials of the people of Oklahoma, religious leaders and citizens of the State of Oklahoma, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world, solemnly declare that the HOPE of the great State of Oklahoma and of these United States, rests upon the Principles of Religion and Morality as put forth in the HOLY BIBLE; and

BE IT RESOLVED that we, the undersigned, believers in the One True God and His
only Son, call upon all to join with us in recognizing that "Blessed is the Nation whose God is the Lord," and humbly implore all who love Truth and Virtue to live above reproach in the sight of God and man with a firm reliance on the leadership and protection of Almighty God; and

BE IT RESOLVED that we, the undersigned, humbly call upon Holy God, our
Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer, to have mercy on this nation, to stay His hand of judgment,
and grant a national awakening of righteousness and Christian renewal as we repent of our great sin.

Signed on the second day of July in the year of our Lord Christ Two Thousand and Nine.

What did the FBI do with their top Arabic speaking counterintelligence agent after 9-11?

Nothing.

The FBI has 6 (that's SIX) Arabic speakers. One of them, Bassem Youssef, had previously spotted the al-Quaeda threat; waaay ahead of the curve. So, of course, the FBI let him cool his heels till, well, now.

Read about it here. The article is only two pages long. I highly recommend it.

The last gasp of the Republican party

Everyone now, point and laugh. Not because it's a conservative rap--which theoretically could work, I think--but because it is so amazingly lame. Ha ha. /nelson.



My favorite line? "Jesus made me conservative and told me to waterboard." Good t-shirt. Plus, "Three things taught me conservative love: Jesus, Ronald Reagan, plus Atlas Shrugged." Oooh, aren't the Randians cuuute?



Here's the real thing: "La Rage," by the French kick-ass rapper Keny Arkana. I know, I know, they can't sing rock and roll, but oh, say can they rap.

Straights win rights to string of 8 letters -- M A R R I A G E

Congrats!

We now all know that the California Supreme Court ruled for Proposition 8. However, the ruling was on the narrowest possible grounds. To quote (page 37) "Proposition 8 reasonably must be interpreted in a limited fashion as eliminating only the right of same-sex couples to equal access to the designation of marriage, and as not otherwise affecting the constitutional right of those couples to establish an officially recognized family
relationship." (Emphasis added.)

In non-lawyer-speak, opposite couples get the sequence of letters M * A * R * R * I * A * G *E, Same sex couples get all the rights that "traditionally" go with the word marriage. So, the battle was over a couple of phonemes.

But wait, there's more!

in all other respects same-sex couples retain the same substantive protections embodied in the state constitutional rights of privacy and due process as those accorded to opposite-sex couples and the same broad protections under the state equal protection clause that are set forth in the majority opinion in the Marriage Cases, including the general principle that sexual orientation constitutes a suspect classification and that statutes according differential treatment on the basis of sexual orientation are constitutionally permissible only if they satisfy the strict scrutiny standard of review.

p. 41
Shorter version: second verse, same as the first. Except louder and stronger. Same-sex, uh, nuptials, have exactly the same rights as those other ones.

Oh, but this is not sufficient. Why is actual marriage (I'm looking at you DOMA) important? Read this story of a woman and her three chidren unable to visit their dying partner/mother Lisa Pond because they had the misfortune of being in Florida when Lisa collapsed with a brain aneurysm. Family values? As I have said previously, only for very small values of "family."

Just another example of those that rather mysteriously call themselves "Pro-Family" kneecapping actual families.