Sadly, No!

It would’ve been a fine show indeed with nothing but Marc Riley and the Creepers’ ‘Jumper Clown’ on infinite, recursive loop, because then you could feel my torment — what with the song having been stuck in my head for the past, oh, pretty much eight months now.

As usual, the uploady-thing likes some files while finding others not to its taste. The Eastern Dark’s ‘Julie Is A Junkie’ went back into the ‘fridge, as did a Wipers B-side, some cool old hardcore, and Billy Bragg doing the Smiths’ ‘Panic.’

There might be an algorithm there that determines the raw interestingness of a song, and then thwarts you. For instance, Splashcast seems to especially dislike Tenpole Tudor. Imagine Adam and the Ants, except with less of a Gary Glitter/Drummers of Barumba thing going on, and sporting medieval getups instead of pirate costumes.

See? Way Too Interesting.

But the Marc Riley track came through, thank God. I was starting to worry that only I could hear it.

Shorter Charles Krauthammer:

Above: In the presence of a sunbeam becomes death, destroyer of ant farms

‘Music Of the Spheres: Why a Moon Mission Is Worth the Money’

• If Americans colonized the moon after we invade Iran, history will have fulfilled the fondest wishes of my 10-year-old self. I just might buy that fleet of monster trucks and marry a robot, too.

‘Shorter’ concept created by Daniel Davies and perfected by Elton Beard.

Above: What’s that odd stompy noise down in the cellar?

From a quantum computing blog, of all places:

The ugliest flame war of all time

Yes, after searching the web for 12 years, I’ve finally found it. This one, about two adorable twin girls who formed a white supremacist rock band called “Prussian Blue� (having been indoctrinated into Hitlerism by their mother), has 337 posts and has been going on for two years. It has racist and anti-Semitic bile that will outrage even the most seasoned connoisseurs of the genre — and people who attempt to reason with those spewing it. It has side-skirmishes about pedophilia and the troubles in Northern Ireland. Forget about Godwin’s Law. If you’re under the illusion that World War II ended sixty years ago, read this thread.

Um, we’ve been happily perking along since 2005 with no idea there’s been a frickin’ slow-mo Nazi brawl downstairs the whole time.

Like, WTF?!

Brad will write about this later, I’m sure, but let me tell you: I was eating dinner when Travis sent me this photo, and when I saw the picture I literally dropped the fork and scrambled to the phone to call Seb. My hands were still shaking 15 minutes later. I know some people will read that and think I’m exaggerating to claim the mantle of victimhood on my behalf, but I swear to you I’m not.

Above: Josh “Tacitus” Trevino stalks HTML Mencken
outside Razorback Truck Repair, Pedula, AR

Nor did I freak out because Tacky’s a Righty! and we can’t have Righties! that close to HTML Mencken. I freaked out because this guy has a history of being extremely aggressive in intimidating liberals he doesn’t like, as you’ll see by clicking through this link. Which culminated, of course, in this.

Like I said to Seb, if some left-wing activist with a habit of embarrassing conservatives smiled his way into a shoulder-to-shoulder “fan� photo with Michelle Malkin or Charles Johnson or some other right-wing professional victim whose career is built on passive-aggressive whining and the scapegoating of others, the WingNet would go nuclear.

And we wouldn’t laugh one single bit!!!

[Hat tip: Hot Air]

It’s a race with Feministe to see who posts something first on the ‘Ann Coulter calls John Edwards a faggot’ scandal!

Above: Coulter’s appearance nothing like that of unskilled drag queen

On your mark… Get set…

Dean Blasts Ann Coulter’s Slur, Calls on GOP Presidential Candidates to Denounce It

During her presentation to today’s Conservative Political Action Convention, political pundit Ann Coulter used the word “faggot” to describe a Democratic presidential candidate. Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean today condemned her remarks and called on the Republican presidential contenders to denounce them.

Dean issued the following statement:

“There is no place in political discourse for this kind of hate-filled and bigoted comments. While Democrats and Republicans may disagree on the issues, we should all be able to agree that this kind of vile rhetoric is out of bounds. The American people want a serious, thoughtful debate of the issues. Republicans–including the Republican presidential candidates who shared the podium with Ann Coulter today–should denounce her hateful remarks.”

Ann Coulter, Remarks to CPAC Conference, 2/2/07: “I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, but it turns out you have to go into rehab if you use the word ‘faggot,’ so I — so kind of an impasse, can’t really talk about Edwards.”

See the video at: http://thinkprogress.org/2007/03/02/coulter-edwards/

You can call us Pooh — ’cause we’re just that winny.

James Taranto pooh-poohs the whole double-standard thing in the media’s reactions to Barack Obama and John McCain for using the word “wasted” to describe the deaths of thousands of American lives in Iraq. To do so, Taranto presents a careful study of stories pulled from a LexisNexis search, which he then painstakingly — Oh my God, I’m so totally fucking with you. Actually, Taranto says McCain got off relatively easy because his apology sounds more polished than Obama’s. No, seriously, that’s pretty much his argument:

Obama’s initial statement was crystal clear; his “explanation” was a cloud of smoke. Obviously he meant what he said in the first place. He also belongs to a party that has adopted a policy of near-total cynicism when it comes to matters of war, as evidenced by (bwa-ha-ha, etc., etc.) …

Elsewhere on the Journal’s editorial page, Peggy Noonan laments the loss of McCain’s inevitability. Was it really just last week that she breathed a sigh of relief over Hillary’s derailed inevitability?

Holy crap. It really was last week. An earlier draft of this post said “two weeks ago.”

Gavin adds: Dude, at least you correct your drafts. Check Noonan from last week:

Usually Mrs. Clinton is a tough little tank, but on Tuesday she seemed less large, less formidable.

Usually the tough big McCain is less, like, small too, I guess. (?!)

All along, we thought that Tom Friedman was an overentitled globalist Babbitt whose endlessly-shifting rationales for supporting wars in the Middle East reflected the self-dealing priorities of the elite pundit class.

Well, that’s where thinking will get you. Today we find out that Tom Friedman just has a bit of a problem with Arabs:

The Silence That Kills
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

[…]

Occasionally an honest voice rises, giving you a glimmer of hope that others will stand up. The MEMRI translation Web site (memri.org) just posted a poem called “When,� from a Saudi author, Wajeha al-Huwaider, that was posted on Arab reform sites like www.aafaq.org.

See The Guardian* for an article on the Middle East Media Research Institute as an ‘impartial translation service.’ (The National Review, on the other hand, thinks it’s dandy.) The column continues:

When you cannot find a single garden in your city, but there is a mosque on every corner — you know that you are in an Arab country.

When you see people living in the past with all the trappings of modernity — do not be surprised, you are in an Arab country.

When religion has control over science — you can be sure that you are in an Arab country.

When clerics are referred to as “scholars� — don’t be astonished, you are in an Arab country.

When you see the ruler transformed into a demigod who never dies or relinquishes his power, and nobody is permitted to criticize — do not be too upset, you are in an Arab country.

When you find that the large majority of people oppose freedom and find joy in slavery — do not be too distressed, you are in an Arab country.

When you hear the clerics saying that democracy is heresy, but seizing every opportunity provided by democracy to grab high positions — do not be surprised, you are in an Arab country.

When you discover that a woman is worth half of what a man is worth, or less — do not be surprised, you are in an Arab country.

When land is more important than human beings — you are in an Arab country. …

When fear constantly lives in the eyes of the people — you can be certain you are in an Arab country.

It seems we’ve heard this song before…

[Note: Splashcast player recycled. You only get three of ’em at a time, alas.]

We look forward to more of Mr. Friedman’s insightful policy analysis in future editions of Stormfront the paper of record.

* MEMRI’s founder, former Colonel Yigar Carmon of the Israeli Defense Forces’ intelligence branch, disputes the Guardian’s claim that MEMRI…you know, right-wing propaganda outfit associated with Israeli intelligence, and all that.

Because of stuff like this, I fear for our ability to survive as a species (my emphasis):

The senior thesis of Hillary D. Rodham, Wellesley College class of 1969, has been speculated about, spun, analyzed, debated, criticized and defended. But rarely has it been read, because for the eight years of Bill Clinton’s presidency it was locked away.

As forbidden fruit, the writings of a 21-year-old college senior, examining the tactics of radical community organizer Saul D. Alinsky, have gained mythic status among her critics — a “Rosetta Stone,� in the words of one, that would allow readers to decode the thinking of the former first lady and 2008 presidential candidate.

Despite the fervent interest in the thesis, few realize that it is no longer kept under lock and key. As MSNBC.com found, it is available to anyone who visits the archive room of the prestigious women’s college outside Boston. With Clinton’s opponents in the 2008 presidential race looking for the next “Swift Boatâ€? attack ad, and the senator herself trying to cast off her liberal image, Clinton’s 92-page thesis is certain to be read and reread by opposition researchers and reporters visiting the campus.

Oh. My. God.

We are talking about a thesis that was written by a 21-year-old college student. How old is Hillary now? 49* years old, right? And stuff she wrote in her college thesis more than 25 years ago matters why?

Read the rest of this entry »

Above: Controversy swirls on in controversial
wingnut/sandwich controversy

Since I started this whole mess, let me respond to a few points:

1.) I can see the argument against fat jokes. I have quite a few friends who are overweight, and whenever I think about making a fat joke, I ask myself, “Is this something I’d have the balls to say in front of so-and-so?” If the answer is “no,” then the joke is inappropriate. Also, fat jokes are incredibly easy and cheap and anyone can make them. I don’t speak for anyone else on this blog, but I will refrain from using someone’s weight as a criteria for bashing them in the future.

2.) That said, some people need to lighten the eff up. Specifically, I’m thinking of many of the people leaving messages on this thread. Holy mother of God. Let’s do a quick sample of the completely ridiculous and embarrassing comments posted there:

Do you remember what happened the election cycle before last? Do you remember how Al Gore’s suits became more important than George W. Bush’s incompetence? Do you remember how Al Gore was ridiculed for his his stilted speech, his wooden mannerisms, his inability to tell a joke, his wonkishness, his solemnity, his earnest concern? In other words, his nerdiness? Remember how he was turned into the loser of the election not because he was the worst potential president–because hoo boy–but because he was a big dork? Remember the utterly straight-faced arguments about how Bush deserved your vote because he’d be more fun to have a beer with? Remember how the same thing kinda happened again four years later?

These days, Al Gore gets ridiculed for being a fatass AV nerd who cares about girly crap like the environment. And we get into endless wars because we care more about whether or not the president looks cool in a bomber jacket than whether or not he can do his job. Our next candidates are already being evaluated on the most superficial criteria imaginable. Hilary’s too mean. Obama is cute. Edwards smiles too much. Way better hair than that guy with the hair, though. Civilian death tolls? Whatever. And have you seen what Nancy Pelosi is wearing? This country is being run and covered by a bunch of middle-schoolers.

Ahem. Correct me if I’m wrong, folks, but I don’t think fat jokes were responsible for the 2000 election.

Read the rest of this entry »

Over at Fables of the Reconstruction, Mithras writes (and we approve!):

Now is not the time to make nice-nice with the conservative firebreathers. Now is the time to kick them in the balls.

You do the kicking, we’ll do the holding. Uh, wait. [Does this post make us anti-balls?!?]

Unrelated: A lot of comments have been getting caught in the anti-spam folder. We apologize for the inconvenience and are keeping a close eye on things.