HAPPY HALLOWEEN

I thought this was funny. I downloaded it about three years ago. As most of you know, my grandson has his own blog.

I was supposed to take him out tonight for the trick or treat event, but I was sick for the past two days, and my daughter did not want him to catch it, and then pass the cold on to her (which would make her miss school, which she really cannot afford to do). Sigh.

I live in an area where there are no kids knocking on the doors because it is secured apartment buildings with security codes, so no one bothers to come by. My first few years here were weird because I had never experienced NO ONE coming to my home for Halloween. I've gotten used to it now, but with a 6 year old grandson, who has at least another four more years of trick or treating events ahead of him, I look forward to next year being able to dress up and take him door to door, albeit in another neighborhood!

For those that haven't bought into the really archaic concept that Halloween is somehow against Christianity and supports satanism, HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!! The rest of you really need to check your priorities.

Yes We Can

I filled out my absentee ballot and will mail it in tomorrow. I voted for Obama and Biden. It's time for change in America.

True -- Whasssup -- Change

The original:

The reprise:

Stinky Farts

When I was 12 years old, staying with my grandparents in Hawai'i with the rest of my family (well, my sister, and my three cousins), I got in trouble for farting too much one day.

Seriously. The smell was awful, and I was being a bully farting everywhere, that I finally was put on restriction.

A smelly rotten-egg gas in farts controls blood pressure in mice, a new study finds.

The unpleasant aroma of the gas, called hydrogen sulfide (H2S), can be a little too familiar, as it is expelled by bacteria living in the human colon and eventually makes its way, well, out.

The new research found that cells lining mice's blood vessels naturally make the gas and this action can help keep the rodents' blood pressure low by relaxing the blood vessels to prevent hypertension (high blood pressure). This gas is "no doubt" produced in cells lining human blood vessels too, the researchers said.

(Turning on fan). If I didn't get my blood pressure medicine for free, I might have had to consider discussing the alternative ... a prescription to fart anywhere, anytime, in public!

Once Again, Republicans Mail Out Fliers Misinforming Democrats About When To Vote In Virginia

An interesting tactic -- faking a government document and mailing it out to Democrats in a certan area of Virginia, telling them that the Republicans and Independents will vote on November 4, 2008, but that the Democrats will vote on November 5, 2008, based on an an emergency session of the General Assembly. Unbelievable.

Democracy:

1. government by the people; a form of government in which thesupreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.
2.a state having such a form of government: The United States and Canada are democracies.
3.a state of society characterized by formal equality of rights and privileges.
4.political or social equality; democratic spirit.
5.the common people of a community as distinguished from any privileged class; the common people with respect to their political power.

Why is it always the Republican party that does not want everyone to vote?

H/T to Crooks & Liars.

I Still Hear Your Voice, Warren Wiebe

Today is the tenth anniversary of the death of Warren Wiebe. I've written enough about him that he has his own label for posts.

I really wish that more people heard him sing, although, judging by his book of work, most people have heard him sing, albeit unaware as he sang back up to more famous artists like Celine Dion and Gloria Estefan.

I ran a search for newer YouTube videos, but most of what has been recently posted has the embedding disabled by the user, which means I cannot actually put it on my blog, I can only direct you to the YouTube URL.

Also, as many of my regular readers know, he sang at the Los Angeles Kings' hockey games, but instead of performing the traditional Star Spangled Banner, he sang America, The Beautiful, always ending the last verse with his right index finger pointed skyward, above his head. He was a tenor, and a protege of David Foster (think Josh Groban, if you have no clue who David Foster is -- interestingly enough I found some "blog" apparently attributed to Foster, and today's posts, duh, are about Warren).

Warren committed suicide, and for the life of me, no matter how many sites I Google, I have never, in ten years, found out how he did it (not that it matters). You know though, how people wonder, about suicides, and what manner the person chose to go out. Me, personally, only if I am diagnosed with Alzheimer's would I even consider taking my own life, and trust me, I have about as much talent as Warren had in his little finger, so I have no clue what would make someone with so much to offer, opt to end it.

The link takes you to a rather poorly taped video of a fundraiser, but the vocals are impeccable. Enjoy.

We miss you, Warren. I hope you are tearing up the joint with the rest of my heroes.

Light's Out -- Malaguena Salerosa

Closing out the bar. Free tequila shots to those still here!

"Ladie's Choice"

Since we were treated to Ellen's dissing of Obama's dance style, I figure this is appropriate (laughs).

MATCHBOX

I was watching this tonight on PBS. Great special, and look how young Eric Clapton looks! He performed as his band Derek & The Dominoes.

Enjoy until the Internet Police take the video down!

McCain, The Party Pooper

John McCain's election night watch party might be missing John McCain. Instead of appearing before a throng of supporters at the Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix on the evening of Nov. 4, the Republican presidential nominee plans to deliver postelection remarks to a small group of reporters and guests on the hotel's lawn.

Aides said Thursday that the arrangement was due to space limitations and that McCain might drop by the election watch party at some other point.

McCain's remarks will be piped electronically into the party and media filing center, aides said. Only a small press "pool" — mostly those who have traveled regularly with the candidate on his campaign plane, plus a few local Arizona reporters and others — will be physically present when he speaks.

I know other bloggers have already interpreted this as the concession, and for the most part, I concur. Still ... what a wuss. Man up, I thought you had balls, McCain! At least attend your own political party's party, damn it.

The Light At The End Of The Tunnel

All week, I had been thinking about how to put forth my observation of the complete political turn around that has occurred in the last month. Then I read this post from Glenn Greenwald, who naturally, as always, says what I am thinking, but more dramatic and concise. An excerpt:

By why are those tactics suddenly not working? If anything, one could have expected that equating Democrats with anti-American, vaguely foreign, radical subversion would have been more potent this year than any other -- given that the Democratic presidential nominee is a previously unknown, black politician from Chicago with a mixed African and Arab name, a portion of his childhood in Indonesia, and substantial parts of even his immediate family still in Kenya to this day. But that line of attack has gotten Republicans nowhere -- other than sinking further into the mud of defeat.

There are numerous reasons one could cite, none entirely satisfying on their own: High levels of economic insecurity -- and an intense belief that the country is fundamentally off course -- have made voters immune to ancillary character attacks. The GOP has been ceaselessly deploying these character-smearing techniques for decades, rendering them stale, overused and drenched with the stench of past-era obsolescence. The country has so turned against George Bush and his party that nothing they say can resonate. Voter demographics are changing, with voters becoming younger and more diverse and less vested in GOP patriotism iconography. The Obama campaign has been far more adept at aggressively engaging these attacks, rather than merely defensively denying them as past campaigns have done. The combination of an angry McCain and an unapologetically extremist Palin makes those attacks more difficult to soften.

Perhaps most significantly of all, the views typically attributed to Democrats and liberals to justify the "unpatriotic" and "radical" labels -- particularly those in national security -- are now views shared by the majority of Americans. I thought one of the most illustrative moments of the campaign was when Sarah Palin, in her debate with Joe Biden, snidely accused Obama of wanting to wave the "white flag of surrender in Iraq." That taunt -- an old, reliable favorite GOP trope -- fell flat on its face. How do you convince Americans that Democrats are weak, America-hating radicals by virtue of views which a majority of Americans themselves embrace?

We're gradually seeing not only the demise of the right-wing faction that has dominated the Republican Party for decades, but also the death of their ugliest and most toxic tactics. When numerous right-wing figures crawl across one's television set desperately denying and abjectly apologizing for attacks on the patriotism of Democrats and liberals, that is potent evidence that, at least as a matter of political rhetoric, a genuine sea-change is taking place.

I started this blog because of my disgust over the way the Republican voice was coming across -- with lies, anger, hatred and vengeance against anyone not white, male, heterosexual, American and Christian. Period. Any deviation from that labeled you many things, none of which bore any resemblance to reality, nor were they founded upon truthful tenets. The first four years of the Bush administration was tempered in some fashion for about a year right after 9/11. But, then, it went downhill with a force of passion that was lapped up by a majority of Americans that to this day, I am still dumbfounded with the astonishing number of people (apparently around 23%) in America that still believe Saddam Hussein and Iraq had anything to do with the attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon!

Sadly, there are still those people (somehow still stuck at the 23% range) that believe in Bush, believe in the policies of hate and war, and who continue to tell themselves that they represent the majority view of the American public.

They do not. Thankfully, this election will shock them into the caged animals that they have always been. Not human beings imbued and transformed by the spirit of godliness and humanity, but whimpering, cowardly old hyenas living with their own dung.

McCain Just Put The Last Nail In The Coffin - He's Toast

McCain, once again, didn't even come close to being coherent about his policies. Hell, he couldn't even stay on topic throughout most of the debate, and on several occasions made snide remarks about Obama's eloquent manner of speaking. What was the point with that? That it is better to be a dumb ass?

As for the debate:

McCain is already off to a bad start in this debate. He doesn't know the facts about taxes, and he's desparately trying to find his soundbite, for now he's going for "Joe the Plumber."

There goes McCain with his same Ireland tax rates bullshit. This has already been debunked.

Again McCain does not answer the cuting spending question. He's blustering about with no definite answer, just talking points. Obama hits a home run on the spending issue. He names names and gives specifics. McCain just continues to talk nonsense.

McCain just cannot stop patting himself on the back. Yeah, McCain, you are just a blowhard.

Now we are onto the dirty campaign comments. Oh, poor McCain has had his feelings hurt. Never mind his "fans" call for Obama to be killed, but McCain's feelings are hurt because Obama attacks his health care policy.

I can't help but see the responses from Obama are measured and well thought out, and the responses from McCain are knee jerk, repetitive talking points, and out and out lies.

I think McCain needs to change his dentures. He keeps messing up his words.

Oh dear god, don't get me started on free trade agreements. McCain is so dismissive and ugly. Does McCain even understand the questions being posed to him? He has a hard time actually answering the questions.

Obama nails McCain on the health insurance questions.

Does McCain think he's helping his cause by constantly evoking Obama's eloquence as problematic! What an asshole!

Here we are on the discussion of education, and McCain raises up Sarah Palin and autistic children! Last time I looked, her kid had down syndrome and was not autistic.

McCain's evil grin is scary. I can't wait for the YouTube videos of this debate, splicing together all of McCain's dismissiveness and his obvious disgust with Obama ... which is not helping him in any fashion in this election.

UPDATE: If the video embed from C-Span is not working, you can view it here.


Obama is in double digits lead in most of the states now, and McCain just put the last nail in his coffin with this debate.

A Random Bus Ride In Hollywood

Tonight’s bus ride was very interesting. I had to take the 217, which runs west on Hollywood Blvd., turning south at Fairfax, and continuing straight down to Washington Ave., which, if you are unfamiliar with the territory, would not want to be at on a lark.

First bus experience are the two Spanish speaking guys that have bus maps and obviously have no clue where they are. I eyeballed them a couple of times, with a look I learned in New York from others that stared at me when I had maps on the subways. Finally, one made eye contact, moved over to my seat, and in broken English asked me to tell him, on the map, where he was. I stifled a laugh, and showed him, and they thought they were going in the totally opposite direction. Through my simple Spanish and his simple English, it turns out the two (older) guys were on vacation from Mexico City, which tripped me out, and were staying in Hollywood, and they had a rental car. They just hopped on the bus for the heck of it to see what to see, thinking they were heading toward downtown Los Angeles. Fortunately, for them, I indicated they should stop off at Farmer’s Market on Third and Fairfax, and hit the Grove for some entertainment and shopping (they had inquired about Rodeo Drive). I took a picture of them, for them, and the one guy proceeded to show me pix of their vacation, and some pictures of his family at home.

Second bus experience that happened concurrently with the Mexican experience, was some dumb ass, older white guy, homeless looking but can’t be sure of that, just out and out baiting the black people on the bus about "Obama ain’t gonna be president" and using the "N" word a lot. I was surprised at how cool most people were, well, cool in that no one pulled a gun and popped the guy, or took him on physically. Most just laughed at him, white and black, and a few shouted him down with comments like "there are women here" and "watch your language." When he finally got off the bus, still yelling his garbage, the whole bus erupted into laughter. It was like, "dude, Obama’s got it in the bag, why you got to show your ugly self in public?"

L.A., a truly integrated city. As some would say, and I quote, "I Love L.A."

If They're Reading My Blog, Chances Are, They Are Tapping My Phone

I haven't figured out the "screen capture" format yet, but every time I get a hit from a government organization, I get the willies.

[<<] [>>] Domain Name usdoj.gov ? (U.S. Government) IP Address 149.101.1.# (US Dept of Justice) ISP US Dept of Justice
Location Continent : North America

Country : United States (Facts)

State : Virginia City : Arlington

Lat/Long : 38.8782, -77.1054 (Map)

And people wonder why I wear my aluminum foil hat? Sheesh.

Romo Out With Broken Pinkie, Boo Hoo

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo has a broken finger on his throwing hand and could be out for up to four weeks.

Romo broke his right pinkie on the first play of overtime in a 30-24 loss at Arizona on Sunday, according to a posting on the team's official Web site. A team spokesman didn't immediately return a call seeking comment Monday.

And some people think that football is the "manliest" of sports, ha ha. Out four weeks with a broken pinkie. Give me hockey, any day, where real men play, even with broken bones. Puck in the face, lose a few teeth, and back in the game without missing a shift.

October, The Sports Month

As I've said before, if you're a sports fanatic like me, you have to love October!

Clippers have better record than Lakers (it's only preseason); Chargers kicked NE's ass, Dodgers took it to the Phillies, and Kings are tied with Ducks for last place in their division!

October is the only month that all four major sports are in play. I had to watch the Charger game on TV with the sound muted, and listen to the Dodger game on the AM radio. Since hockey and basketball were in the beginning stages, I chose the Dodgers over either Lakers or Kings games on radio, and anyone who actually reads my blog knows I'm a Charger fan, and since they only play 16 games for a season, it was a no brainer that I was watching the Chargers on TV.

Rednecks For Obama

This is as cool a picture as it gets!

America's Favorite Hockey Mom?

As a season ticket holder for the Los Angeles Kings* for more than 10 years during the Gretzky era, I have seen my share of ceremonial puck drops. The occasions are generally without the very loud music, because the person is pretty much liked by the crowd, which is why they were picked to do the puck drop in the first place. In addition, they tend to stay on the ice for a while, turning in four directions to wave to the crowd and have pictures taken.

It is quite obvious from this little video that the Philly fans were booing, and booing LOUDLY. They had to play music, and LOUD music over the boos. Plus, as soon as the puck was dropped, she was almost literally pushed off the ice!

So much for being the most famous hockey mom in America! And here, I thought the most famous hockey mom was the Sutter family mom, Grace Sutter.


*I was also a season ticket holder for the Ice Dogs, when the IHL was flourishing. Hell, I'm a sports pig, I had season tickets to the Dodgers and the Clippers (laughs).

And They Are Getting Crazier Each Day

Ever since Palin was chosen and it became apparent that she was a little goofy, the McCain campaign declared that she'd never speak to a real reporter ever again, and certainly not without dad present. And ever since questions starting arising about John McCain's physical and mental health, after he started becoming erratic, they yanked him from the press circuit too.

Yet McCain and Palin - who are refusing to speak to the public through the media - are demanding, simply demanding, that the media fully vet Obama (as if he hasn't been, and isn't still currently being). No one in the media should be reporting on anything McCain or Palin say from here on out without noting that they are in their second and third month, respectively, of having ceased their own vetting.

I came across this video somewhere, which, to me, highlights the fact that the Republican's presidential ticket's followers don't really know much about their own candidates. The questions the film maker keeps asking -- how long have you known who Obama is, how long have you known who Palin is, and, do you think Obama is a terrorist -- brings a host of nutty responses. People will say that they've known of Obama from anywhere to never (yes, someone actually said that) to four years, and they answer about Palin from just a few months, to three years (yes, someone actually said that as well), and pretty much all of the people filmed where a tad hedgy but still claimed they believed that either Obama was a terrorist or associated with terrorists.

I'm not really worried about these people. They represent the fringe element, and remind me of some of the people that ride the bus I take each morning to work -- you know the ones, that forgot to take their meds, and yell and invisible people, and smell bad.

That One!

Obviously, I could not resist jumping on this bandwagon!

Obama Takes Round Two

Well, round two is definitely going to Obama. He was clear, concise, and on point with all the questions. McCain, on the other hand, rambled, went off topic, and spoke in generalities, except when he was attacking specious claims as to Obama's political positions.

I did notice when the event was over that McCain and his wife split rather quickly after a few handshakes, but Obama and his wife are still there as I post this (which is 20+ minutes after the "debate" [if you could call it that]concluded).

UPDATE: First off, just so all my readers know, I watch C-Span for most political information, not CNN, MSNBC, FOX or any mainstream news channel. While the C-Span crew was interviewing one 21 year old Independent about who he would vote for, aside from stating he was now leaning toward Obama, he said he needed to go home and do more research on the two candidates. That struck a chord with me, because, that is what I think is driving this election -- the ability for the voter to access the internet for their research, and not rely on what television pundits want to tell them they should know about the two candidates (or their running mates).

Richard Fuld Knocked Out Cold At Gym

"He went to the gym after ... Lehman was announced as going under," she told CNBC. "He was on a treadmill with a heart monitor on. Someone was in the corner, pumping iron and he walked over and he knocked him out cold.

"And frankly after having watched [Mr Fuld's testimony to the committee], I'd have done the same too."

I watched Mr. Fuld's testimony. I would have punched him as well.

L.A. Moves On, Anaheim (Not LAA) Chokes

The "best in baseball" this year -- is in Anaheim, and they were defeated tonight by the BoSox. From Jason Bay's mouth: "Glad I'm not on that plane going back to Anaheim."

Got that? Anaheim. Not Los Angeles. Not the city, not even in the fucking county.

Yeah, enjoying tonight's beat-down.

Boston may have beat the alleged Babe curse. The Angels might want to consider dropping the "L.A." in their name. They probably could get rid of the L.A. curse.

OH Shit, can't believe I'm hearing my first Christmas commercial on television. October 6, 2008, and they are pimping for Christmas. And some say there's no rescission (let alone a depression).

Good Lord, Heaven Help Us, Because Our Government's Warped Priorities Won't Anymore

Because the films which Little produced included scenes involving sadomasochism, the Bush DOJ alleged, and the federal court found, that the films were not merely pornographic, but also "obscene," and thus illegal (Little's lawyers argued, unsuccessfully, they were intended primarily for distribution in Europe, where such films are legal). Ironically, Little's defense to the obscenity charges was quite similar to the defense which the Bush DOJ itself, years earlier, had embraced in order to claim that Bush officials were not engaged in "torture" when subjecting helpless detainees to gruesome treatment: namely, because the acts in question didn't involve the infliction of severe pain, they weren't illegal:

[snip]

So, to recap, in the Land of the Free: if you're an adult who produces a film using other consenting adults, for the entertainment of still other consenting adults, which merely depicts fictional acts of humiliation and degradation, the DOJ will prosecute you and send you to prison for years. The claim that no real pain was inflicted will be rejected; mere humiliation is enough to make you a criminal. But if government officials actually subject helpless detainees in their custody to extreme mental abuse, degradation, humiliation and even mock executions long considered "torture" in the entire civilized world, the DOJ will argue that they have acted with perfect legality and, just to be sure, Congress will hand them retroactive immunity for their conduct. That's how we prioritize criminality and arrange our value system.

A must read for all, from Glenn Greenwald. Remember, it isn't illegal if the president (or anyone he so deems) does it, but for the rest of you peons, go fuck yourselves. (Tongue planted firmly in cheek - ha ha).

Someone Get Me A Barf Bag, Gwen Ifill Is Making Me Ill

I just could not stand one more minute of the VP debate. Gov. Palin is an idiot, and Gwen Ifill is an even bigger idiot. At what point are you going to ask Palin to actually answer the question, instead of changing the topic. Ifill is a terrible moderator, and simply does not understand the format of what a "debate" is. She cuts of both Palin and Biden, switches subjects, and doesn't call out either side when they don't answer the fucking question. This is not a talking points free for all, this is supposed to be a debate.

Where is Jim Lehrer when you need him. Now he knew how to moderate and handle a debate. Ifill is horrible, just awful. And with all of Palin's coaching, couldn't someone at least tell her it's pronounced nookLEar, not nookUler.

I'm switching to the baseball playoffs. Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!