This is Not a Debate.

It's not a debate if one side is just making shit up.


(from Yahoo News)

Glenn Beck rally sparks debate over crowd size

Glenn Beck kicked off Monday's radio show by thanking the many attendees at Saturday's "Restoring Honor" rally in front of the Lincoln Memorial — at least 500,000 by his count.

Republican U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann told supporters shortly after the rally that "we're not going to let anyone get away with saying there were less than a million here today — because we were witnesses."

Okay, I'm no expert on crowd-size-estimating, but look at the photo.

I gotta say that that crowd looks like it could fit into a good-sized baseball stadium. There is no way in hell that there is anywhere near half a million people there. But like I said, I'm no expert. So what did the experts have to say?

(from CBS)

Glenn Beck Rally Attracts Estimated 87,000

An estimated 87,000 people attended a rally organized by talk-radio host and Fox News commentator Glenn Beck Saturday in Washington, according to a crowd estimate commissioned by CBS News.

The company AirPhotosLive.com based the attendance on aerial pictures it took over the rally, which stretched from in front of the Lincoln Memorial along the Reflecting Pool to the Washington Monument.

So, okay, that is a lot for a baseball stadium, but they could easily be contained in a college football stadium.

So, this seems like a pretty simple scam they're running. You toss out a number which you know good and well is ridiculously inflated, then when the press reports a legitimate estimate, you cry "liberal bias."

It's like if I said that the San Francisco Giants won the most recent World Series. You could look it up and you'd say "according to Sports Illustrated, ESPN and The Sporting News, the Giants did not win the World Series, due largely to their having failed to qualify for the playoffs. The World Series was won by the New York Yankees over the Philadelphia Phillies." And I would look you right in the eye and reply "Oh, the sports media has a well-known East Coast bias. West Coast teams never get any respect," and you'd know that there is just no reasoning with me. But if I had a show on FOX, you'd be forced to pretend to take me seriously, and the headlines would read "Debate Continues Over World Series Winner."

And speaking of World series winners, what the hell is this?

St. Louis Cardinals baseball player Albert Pujols, foreground, hugs his manager Tony La Russa as he wears his medal at the Glenn Beck 'Restoring Honor' rally in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington

God damn it, La Russa! It's not bad enough that you've turned the last three innings of major league baseball games into an assembly line of relief pitchers, none of whom may pitch any more or less than one inning, now you're a Becky? You're throwing your lot in with the Birthers, Deathers, Birchers and Truthers that populate the Tea Party "movement"?

And you're dragging Albert Pujols into this mess? At least I will give Pujols the benefit of the doubt and chalk it up to language barrier. Maybe he thought you had invited him to go see Beck.

and Oh, My God, you not only attended, you actually spoke at this "Hey, everybody, let's all take a huge dump on Dr. King's grave" festival? You really wanted to share the dais with Sarah Palin?

And here's the video of your cure-for-insomnia speech honoring Albert Pujols. It's nice to hear about honesty, integrity and truth from the man who turned a blind eye while Canseco, McGwire, Giambi, and Tejada shot steroids like junkies who just inherited money.



And here's your audience, by the way:

Nice to see that they are bringing the gravitas that this event deserves..

I'm Not Easily Horrified, But. . .

AAAAGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!


I took this photo at an otherwise really cool food shop/restaurant called Aunt B's on Dauphin Island, Alabama.

Apparently, this is really a thing that people really do eat.

Crazy Candidate of the Day

Today's Crazy Candidate is Rhode Island Democrat Chris Young. Chris would like to be the mayor of Providence. He believes that the best way to accomplish that goal is to use the small amount of TV time allocated to him to sing a really bad gospel song that he wrote badly. And sing it really badly.



Oh, man. That poor reporter can't get rid of him fast enough!


Also, he does this:



Chris Brown's main issue is abortion, which is not all that unusual. He does however have his own unusual take on the subject:

(from the Brown Daily Herald)

On the issues
To Young, the biggest issue the country faces is abortion.

“Abortion is tied to all the economic problems that are occurring in this country,” Young said.

Okaaaaaay. . . . .

Young said he also believes abortion is a form of eugenics, through which pro-choice advocates are encouraging the racial cleansing of blacks. A disproportionately large number of abortions involve low-income, black women, he said.

“This is the new civil rights issue of this country,” Young said of his theory of racial cleansing. “You’re on the ground floor of an issue that will be exposed. It will be exposed.”

I'm sure it will be, Chris. It'll be exposed. Why don't you have a nice lie-down now?

he opposes legislation. . . to tax students, and instead seeks to find a way to tax universities without burdening their students.

“These university presidents make hundreds of thousands of dollars in salaries. Why should the students have to pay? (Universities) should just not pay their staff as much,” he said.

Oh, sure. Yeah, that'll happen.

Universities seem to be a bit of a sore point with Chris:

Taking money from universities to give to municipalities would “decrease the power that these little ‘quasi-governments’ are taking away from the public interest,” he said. He said he advocates taxing universities’ properties as well as their trusts and also wishes to remove their abilities to arm their police forces.

And there's this story, headlined:

Charges dropped, but Young still banned from campus

which includes this little snippet:

Young said the University has not yet contacted him about its December order that he not enter University property. The order was issued in a “retaliatory manner” for his vocal opposition to the arming of Brown police and the University’s tax-exempt status, Young said.

“Their agenda, clearly, is also tied to my desire to investigate Ruth Simmons and her role with Goldman Sachs as well as her role on the Council on Foreign Relations and why these university presidents are making so much money,” he said.

No one ever mentions the Council on Foreign Relations who isn't totally sane and rational!

So, if you live in Providence, Rhode Island, please consider Chris Young for mayor. He may be crazy, but at least he's nuts!

Happy Birthday, Musical Geniuses!

On this day, but in different years, two brilliant songwriters and musicians were born. Elvis Costello and Jeff Tweedy.

Jeff Tweedy was a founding member of Uncle Tupelo and the leader of Wilco.

For some reason, neither band has ever gained the large following that they deserve.

Here's Uncle Tupelo from their debut album "No Depression"



And here's Wilco performing live:




And from the album often considered their masterpiece "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot," here is "I am Trying to Break Your Heart"



And on a related subject, the other band to rise from the ashes of Uncle Tupelo is Son Volt, headed by Jay Farrar:



And Elvis Costello, everyone knows:







Bonus Jeff Tweedy solo:






Oh, and also this:

Bonus Crazy Candidate

This is Peg Dunmire.

Peg is running against Florida Representative Alan Grayson on the Tea Party ticket.

Here she is explaining why she got into the campaign:



Um, the Democrats took the majority in 2008, but whatever. Why should a potential Congressperson be expected to follow current events, especially those that involve Congress?

Also, saying that Obama has been divisive is like saying that the squirrels are being jerks about not getting along with the dogs. And "Chicago thug?" Seriously? Have you ever seen a less thuggish person than Barack Obama?
This is what a Chicago Thug looks like:

Barack Obama wouldn't last 10 minutes as a thug.

Yes, of course they were sincere. Lunatics are always sincere. The guy on the corner with the tinfoil hat sincerely believes that the CIA is putting thoughts into his brain. The Twelve Galaxies guy is entirely sincere about what he believes.

I have no idea what that is. It used to be all about impeaching Bill Clinton for violating intergalactic law, but now he seems to have just gone off the deep end.

(The 12 Galaxies guy, Frank Chu, is an institution in San Francisco. From his Wikipedia page:

Frank Chu holds Bill Clinton responsible for directing the CIA to withhold payment to him for being the star of something called "The Richest Family" during the presidency of George H.W. Bush. His protests frequently called for the impeachment of Clinton even after Clinton was no longer in office. Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and current President Barack Obama are frequently accused by Chu of cooperating with the 12 Galaxies to commit crimes and treasons.)

For more on the 12 Galaxies guy, click here: http://12galaxies.20m.com/