Why Ken Burns, for God/s Sake?

During the intro to game 1 of the World Series, they had a voiceover guy read a Ken Burns essay about baseball. Almost ruined the whole thing for me.

I've loved baseball for as long as I can remember, but Jesus Christ, Ken Burns! It's a fucking game. It's not an allegory for life. It's not a metaphor for America. It's a game.

And really, if you want a game that really represents the American ethos, I think you gotta go with football. Football is a game based on the principle that I'm bigger than you, so I'm going to impose my will on you. I'm going to knock you down, run you over and invade your territory. What the fuck you gonna do about it?

That's America!

Crazy Candidate of the Day

Today's crazy candidate is Florida's Allen West



Mr. West is running for Congress from Florida's 22nd District.

West was a Lt Colonel in the US Army, which is pretty impressive. What's less impressive is this:


(From the Boston Globe)

US officer to resign for assaulting Iraqi

A disciplinary proceeding found that the actions by Lieutenant Colonel Allen West were serious enough to "merit a court-martial." But the military said in a statement that mitigating circumstances -- specifically, the "stressful environment" of combat -- and West's distinguished service record prompted the Army to instead relieve West of his command, fine him $5,000, and order him back to the United States, where he will be allowed to retire.

Yeah. He was kicked out of the Army. The only reason he wasn't court-martialed was that the Army figured he had just snapped under the stress of combat.

"Frustration and anger overcame his professional ethics and personal values, and he performed what he knew to be illegal and immoral acts," said the statement issued by the Army's Fourth Infantry Division.

So, hopefully being a member of Congress won't be too stressful, or he might just kick someone's ass right there in the chamber.

Just kidding! No, Allen doesn't need to get violent anymore. He has goons for that now.

Video: Allen West's Biker Supporters Threaten and Harass Dem Staffer

Apparently, West has some sort of ties to the Outlaws Motorcycle gang.

Last night, NBC News reported that Allen West has ties to an infamous motorcycle gang, the Outlaws, and was “proud” to have been guarded by the Outlaws. The Department of Justice has said the Outlaws are a gang known for making and distributing meth, committing homicide, and prostitution.  The Outlaws have been called “organized crime” syndicate.  The Outlaws have a history of denigrating women and considering women property –actually branding women like cattle. [Justice Department, National Gang Threat Assessment 2009, Published January 2009]

Columns written by Allen West, a former Army officer who is running against Democratic Rep. Ron Klein in a race that has become a national battleground, have appeared since 2008 in "Wheels on the Road," a racy and sometimes lewd biker magazine. Photos from the October issue include ads promoting an upcoming event with text written on a scantily clad woman's bottom along with sexually explicit columns.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee cited one of the magazine's writers who said women exist "to serve man" and suggested they should wear "slave chokers" as accessories. They also allege the magazine promotes the Outlaws, a motorcycle gang linked to criminal activity.


Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/10/25/1890616/dems-criticize-gop-challengers.html#ixzz13b2binRk

The WOTG website is here if you're interested.

Anyway, if that weren't enough reason to vote for whoever is running against West, there's this:

  

EEEEEEWWWWW!!!!!!! Pam Geller!

Irritate Your Friends!

So this is new. Well, new to me anyway. Now there are buttons for Facebook, Twitter, etc. under each post. Just click on one to post a link to your Facebook account or whatever.

You think people hate you now? Just wait until you start irritating them through social media!

Rand Paul and FOX are Disgusting

In the intro to this piece, the FOX on-air person refers to a "brawl" outside of the debate. This was not a brawl. This was one woman being attacked by at least 3 men. Calling it a brawl implies that there were fists being thrown on both sides.

This is a brawl:


Several men knocking down and stepping on one woman is not a brawl, it is assault and battery.

Then Rand Paul comes on and everyone talks about how they sure hate to see such incivility, as if the three men had insulted the woman or called her names or wolf-whistled at her. This was not incivility, this was a crime. And Paul's line about how passions were running high on both sides is just utter bullshit. Passions may have run high on both sides, but only one side got violent. How dare he pretend that there is some shared culpability for this incident?

Why won't he just condemn this? How hard is it to say "These guys don't work for me and I want nothing to do with them because they are obviously violent criminals who should be prosecuted." Why can't he just say something simple like that? Is he that worried about losing the misogynist thug vote? Just apologize! No one's blaming you directly. You were inside at the debate, you weren't orchestrating this assault, just say that you're sorry and tell your followers that this kind of behavior is unacceptable. By dancing around it you're giving tacit approval to your supporters to act like thugs. It's wrong, you know it's wrong, just say so.

ADDENDUM: According to Countdown w/Keith Olbermann, the asshole who stomped on the lady DOES work for the Rand Paul Campaign.

The Darling of the Tea Party Scene II

The Darling of the Tea Party
Act I
Scene II
Enter Sarah Palin surrounded by Todd, Bristol, Track, Piper, Trigg and the other one.

Sarah:
I am the queen of all the bees
I an the leader of the tea parties
The champion of God and guns

Chorus:
And we are her husband and her daughters and her sons,
Her husband and her daughters and her sons!

Sarah:
When at a tea bag rally
I'm the lily of the valley
For the spotlight's glare I never shun

Chorus:
And neither do her husband or her daughters or her sons!
Her husband or her daughters or her sons!

Sarah:
But when the press comes near
I simply disappear,
And run off to the land of the midnight sun

Chorus:
Or hide behind her husband and her daughters and her sons,
She hides behind her daughters and her sons!