Craig Crawford's Trail Mix

Goood Mooornninggg Trailmixers!

Have a happy day!

The New Yorker cover was inartfully done. They didn't really mean it that way. Yep.

Craig -- Ah-Nold is a convenient republican. In Virginia we'd call him a Democrat.

Does John McCain have a MySpace? Is he on Facebook? In this time when our technology infrastructure is also in danger of lagging behind other developed nations, I really want to have a leader who understands at least the basics. He should at least surround himself with people who do.

Comparing Barack Obama to Vanna White -- Hah!

Here's one idea for a New Yorket re-do....

http://napsterization.org/stories/archives/000711.html

Hey Patsi! But then it would have been tooo obvious. I guess I just can't get too worked up over it -- given the months-long extreme roughing of Hillary Clinton, I'm a bit inured to the way MSM engages in negative portrayal based on narrow stereotypes.

You're so right, Alicia. I think this whole thing is so overblown. And The New Yorker must be loving the fact that at book stores, people are putting their names in for the first copies. The same people who think adding Hussein to their own names is making the statement that they are a cut above the great unwashed, will buy them to frame.

I thought the best touch was having Mr Obama dressed in that silly outfit he wore on his African visit. That was really a Dukakis moment.

I don't think the point was to ridicule right-wing smears; I thought it was to ridicule the abject stupidity of the fear mongering racists amongst us.

Speaking of irony....

One of my favorite framed photographs is that of a Klan march in Pulaski, Tennessee. A photographer that I later got to know took the shot. The Klan members are out in the street, but the focal point of the photo is the black police officer standing watch in the foreground.

I remember that particular Klan event, and that the town had to put double guards on the Klan because they were getting death threats.

The look on the cop's face is priceless -- an expression of perfect disgust -- "God a' mighty...how did I get picked to keep these clowns safe?"

People who see it are sometimes taken aback for a second, then they take a second look and get hysterical.

"I thought it was to ridicule the abject stupidity of the fear mongering racists amongst us."

I think you're right, Flatus.

On the audacity of ego:

http://www.nypost.com/seven/07132008/news/nationalnews/ego_bama__swallow_some_of_that_pride_119709.htm?page=0

I think craig´s post of today says one obvious thing that is allready highlighted by Alicia but definitely worth reating:

Comparing BO to Vanna White. The way that Craig has done this is ...is....is...well....it is....Not so flattering!
But then again,
...
Truth hurts.....

I would quote Siskel & Ebert on this one: Two thumps up!

On the audacity of ego:

http://www.nypost.com/seven/07132008/news/nationalnews/ego_bama__swallow_some_of_that_pride_119709.htm?page=0

Posted by: Alicia Knight | July 15, 2008 7:00 AM

EXCELLENT piece. This one goes on the records as excellent.

The New Yorker has been doing satire for years and years--It is interesting that because it is Obama it is suddenly off-limits! Have you seen some of the covers on the Clintons? There is such a fear of "touching" a black man-- which to me is true racism.

Nero new yorker cover:

http://amrep.files.wordpress.com/2007/01/bush_nero_web.jpg

I'm working on very little sleep today and it's all Craig's fault. I stayed up to watch "Generation Kill" On-Demand. Then I watched all the feature stories about the mini-series -- how all the characters are real people, how some of the real Marines in the book played themselves in the movie, how the actors went through a boot camp conducted by the Marines, how the Humvees are characters in their own right.

Craig you compared this show to MASH, and it has some of those elements, but it also has the esprit de corps of "Band of Brothers." At any rate, it is a fascinating true story. Can't wait for the second installment.

If the show had nothing else going for it-- it has the uber-hawt hero Rudy Reyes.

http://www.deferomedia.com/freedomisnotfree/enews/august/current_tv.html

cover

http://tingilinde.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/ibroke.jpg

Hitchcock on how he would have ended gone with the wind:

Rhett says "Frankly, I dont give a damn."

and then Scarlett pulls out a revolver and puts one between his eyeballs.......

read that in esquire long ago.......

good morning gang....

Craig.... nice appearance on Abrams last night.....
re: crying over the Mazda.....are you sure it's because you're scotch-irish or because men tend to fall in love with their cars..... Rick still reminisces over the 72 Beetle he owned when we got married...... and he said that Maximas are really nice cars..... good choice.....

BTW.... have you seen the movie mentioned in your title "Notes on a Scandal"?
I loved the movie so much I had my book club read the book..... nothing's better than a Judi Dench movie.....

oh yeah...... politics..... ummmmmm.....

I have a recurring dream from time to time about a car I owned once.......the dream always takes place in the present and somehow I get the old 56 chevy convertible back into shape and running again (quite a feat since it wound up wrapped around an oak tree) and then adventure ensues........

Thank goodness those having an adverse reaction to the New Yorker cover have not gone to the extremes of those opposing Danish ‘toons of Muhammad. If it had just been a drawing of BO in Muslim dress, I could understand some concern; then it would’ve been a true caricature. But, the fist bump, an armed MO, etc.; clearly, this was satire.

Would the outrage have been equal to a cover with every old-age joke and McCain as the centerpiece? Nope, just more keep-your-hands-off-our-golden-child attitude. “Has another candidate been treated so horribly this late in the season”? Yes, of course. It’s becoming politics-lite for wusses.

With his war injury, it seems that web surfing might not be physically comfortable for McCain. Does he need to learn how to use a computer since he has a staff to handle things for him? I would argue that he no more needs to learn to get online than he does to learn how to iron his own shirts.

With regard to the continuing New Yorker cover flap.

Sturge, thanks for finding some other New Yorker covers, that some may find just as offensive as the Obama supporters find the current issue.

Would most Americans even be minimally aware of the cover if the Obama camps' media contingent didn't take its cue & keep claiming outrage about it.

Each of the major national news (as well as the local news--at least in the NY metropolitan area) mentioned & showed the cover last night & the morning shows continue to day with the discussion.

Give the Obama camp credit--they immediately set the parameters of discussion--tasteless & outrageous and then let their media contingent run with the message--diffusing any negative content that may be attempted in the forseeable future--the ultimate condemnation as mouthed by the woman (Tanya ?)on with Craig last night--"it's racist".

Regarding falling in love with a car--I once had a Karman Ghia that I adored. I guess it was the closest thing to a sports car for me. It was pale blue---Don't think they make them any more. I do always feel sad when I sell a car. There are so many memories attached and they( the cars ) almost seem human after a while---But then I too am Irish--

This would be funny --if it weren't so dangerous

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/14/BAOS11P1M5.DTL&tsp=1

(07-14) 19:23 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- A disgruntled city computer engineer has virtually commandeered San Francisco's new multimillion-dollar computer network, altering it to deny access to top administrators even as he sits in jail on $5 million bail, authorities said Monday.

Also, I'd like to associate myself with BlueinDallas remarks on the NewYorker cover.

"Nero new yorker cover:

http://amrep.files.wordpress.com/2007/01/bush_nero_web.jpg"

Sturge -- those covers are great. It makes me want a book of New Yorker covers. Maybe that's what's really behind this hoopla....the New Yorker is getting ready to hawk a book.

But the covers also make me wonder about Jane's point. And there's a story about comics and Obama in the Times today, I believe. If he's president, is he going to be considered untouchable?

You know, after 9/11 the Bush supporters got almost militant about people making fun of him.

Very interesting stuff on Morning Joe! Evidently the O-team is now after Mika! Calling her a liar etc for saying O changed positions....goes around, comes around.

RR

""Notes on a Scandal"?" was such a great movie. Judi Dench is remarkable. That character was so shaded. It would have been so easy to go over the top and turn it into cheesy melodrama. Instead it maintained a level of suspense where the audience learns what is happening but the characters don't. know Very well done.

blueINdallas posted: Thank goodness those having an adverse reaction to the New Yorker cover have not gone to the extremes of those opposing Danish ‘toons of Muhammad.
closest that the NYr has come to that phenom was one of the recent cartoon contest captions obliquely referring to the absence of he-who-shall-not-be-depicted in a line-up of religious iconic persons. too bad the artist didn't try a "where's waldo" with hwsnbd hidden on the cover. what an uproar that would be!

Senator Obama needs to get Senator Clinton onboard asap as his running mate. Perhaps this will counter the negative deluge resulting from The New Yorker front cover. I think you are right Craig, that it looks like the Far Left somehow crept into TNYorker offices and took over for a day.

If John Cleese and Monty Python had done the cover I would have know immediately it was satire, but the only American I can think of ofhand who could do satire is Mark Twain. Leave satire to the English and you won't leave it in doubt what you meant!

The only objection I had to the cover was our Flag burning in the fireplace. Otherwise, what I took from it is that it is good for the world if we do have a President whose father was a Muslim and who has Hussein as his middle name, a common name in the Islamic world. Perhap he will be able to effect worldwide politics in a way we have not seen for a long time, and with a Democratic congress, effect tremendous domestic ones, particularly in Medicare and Social Security.

Completely agree on the McCain/computer thing. Two of the smartest and most successful businessmen I know never "surf the web." They have people who check things out for them, to be sure. And their assistants bring them pertinent emails and phone messages.

I was having lunch with one of those guys during the primary -- who is voting for Obama by the way -- and telling him how pissed I was at the sexism I read in messages from O-supporters. He shook his head and said, "I knew there was a reason to stay away from computers."

As I unfolded my NYT today, naturally an article about Obama and comics not making jokes about him.

I see Patsi mentioned it. It continues the idea that Obama apparently is off-limits to any ridicule, satire, humor, etc.

"Want Obama in a Punch Line? First, find a Joke.

"But there has been little humor about Mr. Obama: about his age, his speaking ability, his intelligence, his family, his physique. And within a late-night landscape dominated by white hosts, white writers, and overwhelmingly white audiences, there has been almost none about his race."

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/15/us/politics/15humor.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

Worth repeating Coreen's comment....so true:

"Give the Obama camp credit--they immediately set the parameters of discussion--tasteless & outrageous and then let their media contingent run with the message--diffusing any negative content that may be attempted in the forseeable future--the ultimate condemnation as mouthed by the woman (Tanya ?)on with Craig last night--"it's racist".

on second thought, that portrait over the fireplace may not be osama bin afterall.... could it be hwsnbd?

Morning read

"D-Day Dakotas Grounded for Aviators by EU Wants of Radar, Masks "

``It's bureaucracy gone mad,'' said Trevor Cherrington, 49, a civil servant who paid 90 pounds ($179) for one of the 64-year- old planes' last joyrides. `

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=atafWiVmFhy0&refer=home

Jack

ROFL on the Gone With the Wind ending, sturge....

I'm sure that if McCain learns how to use e-mail he can just as easily learn how to delete them en masse, as the Bush Administration seems to have done. Or trot out the all-purpose "executive privilege" excuse.

As for cars, my first one was a red 1984 Honda CRX. I was 19, and it was the cutest car ever. And it regularly got over 50 mpg. That's not a typo, either. I had that wonderful car for seven years, until I pulled out in front of an invisible car and totaled it. I still occasionally dream about driving that car.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/07/notes-on-a-few-scandals.html#comment-115435

Blue, how painful is it to learn to use a mouse? When was the last time you had to raise your arms over your head to make a normal computer related move?

My dad was 72 when he died and before that he used a very slow computer daily because that was about all that was around 10 or 12 years ago. This is just another thing that ties McCain to Bush. The intellectually and technically incurious.

¡yo soy Horsedooty!

For those keeping track of polling: Latest Quinnipiac Univ. poll:

Obama 50%; McCain 41%

Independents split 44-44%

McCain slight 47-44% edge among male voters & a larger 49-42% lead among white voters

But black voters back Obama 94-1%, while women support him 55-36%.

Obama leads 63-31% voters 18 to 34 years; 44% voters 35 to 54.

Voters over 55 split McCain 45%; Obama 44%

As to those recalcitrant Hillary supporters---about 1/5 of those who voted for Hillary decline (so far) to come home to their party.

http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x1295.xml?ReleaseID=1192

Correction: Quinnipiac poll

Obama leads 48-44% voters 35 to 54

Peggy Noonan usually rubs me the wrong way, but she did say something sensible about the Obama cartoon dust up. So many of his supporters are young and have never been involved in politics before that they can't tell an unreasonable attack from a snarky satire or a legitimate criticism. Everything even mildly negative gets an over the top reaction.

Mika getting the "liar" emails is as much an example of this as the New Yorker cover not to mention the 12 page article inside. Everything is equal to everything else.

the next NYr cover will depict mccain the manchurian candidate hacking into the mag with another inflamatory cartoon cover and muttering "bomb bomb obom"....
but seriously, folks, i think this week's cover was a plant by the bo campaign to get all the rumors out in the open, discussed ad nauseum, and put to rest before the convention and GE.

As to those recalcitrant Hillary supporters---about 1/5 of those who voted for Hillary decline (so far) to come home to their party.

http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x1295.xml?ReleaseID=1192

Posted by: Coreen | July 15, 2008 9:19 AM

so that is 20% ... What does it mean for further campaign electioneering? Are the 20% going to eventually support the Dem nominee? While it's a minority of the Clinton supporters, it is still quite a chunk. I predict that many more will eventually come to the Obama side. And I think if Hillary is the VP nominee, at least 95% of Clinton supporters will support Obama.

"My dad was 72 when he died and before that he used a very slow computer daily because that was about all that was around 10 or 12 years ago. This is just
another thing that ties McCain to Bush. The intellectually and technically incurious."

Several comments about this:

1. Doots, I assume your father was retired and had time to screw around with the web.

2. As I said in my earlier post -- two of the most successful men I know consider it something for their assistants to keep up with. In fact, a LOT of management type people I know say they simply don't have time to mess with it.

3. There are many, many things to criticize McCain on -- this one just seems silly.

Somehow I don't think Obama spends much of his time checking out what's up on the web. He has people doing that.

ET

"Are the 20% going to eventually support the Dem nominee? "

It's not the vote that should concern them. It's the grunt work. The free labor. The loyalty factor. I would bet that these are hard core campaign workers who feel they have been insulted as much as their candidate.

Tom,

No relation to discussion but thought of you when I
saw this article about Doris Day (I think you have said
she was a fav & had no way to get it to you). If I'm wrong, just ignore.

Doris Day: Why She left Hollywood

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/07/14/sunday/main4261283.shtml

revelations about McCain's lack of experience about the Internet is nothing more than push back spin. Is it luck or planning that this information comes out the day after the New Yorker cover. There must be a great pool of Gaff potential at the Obama campaign.

Politics. At least this Campaign is reacting and fighting better than Kerry's. Someone learned from the last. Axelrod is great.

Tom -- I don't know what most of the H-people will be doing. I know several who are sitting out the election and several who are writing in Hillary. Most of the rest are voting Democrat.

Those are the "Democratic" people, though. Many of the center-leaning independents and more liberal-leaning Republicans who supported her are now voting McCain. I think they don't see the difference in McCain 2000 and 2008.

My only argument to those people has been this: "Yeah, I agree that Obama is a phony. But McCain is mentally ill."

And for me, McCain's mental condition is a much bigger concern than whether he surfs the web.

The story about McCain's lack of computer skills is over a month old...

McCain Admits He Doesn't Know How To Use A Computer (VIDEO)
stumble digg reddit del.ico.us news trust Mother Jones | June 11, 2008 08:42 AM
Read More: John McCain, John McCain Computers, McCain And Computers, Politics News Show your

Coreen thanks for the link to the CBS news article on Doris! Good stuff...

Patsi ageed so much with your post.

Tom

You've hit the nail regarding the grunt work, Jamie. None of the women I know have volunteered this time around. Maybe the netroots crowd can tear themselves away from their computers long enough to deliver yard signs.

I am really surprised that I still don't see any signs, bumper stickers -- nothing that signals an election. In 2004 I had Kerry st

It eventually provided fodder for one of CNN's regular off-beat stories done by its national correspondent Jeanne Moos, who took to the streets to conduct an unscientific survey of what Americans both young and old thought of McCain's computer illiteracy.

Everyone but one person interviewed agreed that McCain should know how to use a computer.

One woman exclaimed: "Oh, that's absolutely ridiculous."

Even Hu Jintao, China's president, surfs the web.

To be fair, what this online branding obscures is the fact that McCain is probably more familiar with, and better versed than most of the roster of the 2008 presidential candidates on the nuances of telecommunications and internet policy because of his work as a longtime member and former chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation -- work for which he has received frequent praise from consumer advocacy groups and think tanks.

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/06/mccain-reps-com.html

wow -- it grabbed that before I finished...just was saying that I had Kerry stickers and signs up EARLY in the season.

Crime fiction writer,JD Rhoades latest newspaper column.

"The Return of Sluice Tundra, Private Eye: The Case of the Missing Maverick"

http://jdrhoades.blogspot.com/2008/07/return-of-sluice-tundra-private-eye.html

It is always a fun read

Jack

Patsi

~~~~~Yard signs?
That is sooooooo, 20th century~~~~~~~~

;-)

Jack

A friend just sent me a whole bunch of bumper stickers. This one seems very applicable to the internet:

We have enough youth.
How about a fountain of 'smart'?

Coreen, I'll add my thanks for that Doris Day link. Like Tom, I am a HUGE fan...and have been since I was a kid. You gotta admit -- nobody dressed better than Doris in those comedies she made! What a wardrobe! And I loved her staunch friendship with Rock Hudson....still my girlhood fantasy, gay or not! He's the kind of man you wouldn't even care if you had sex with anyway -- all you'd need to do is sit and admire his gorgeousness.

We have enough youth.
How about a fountain of 'smart'?

I really did laugh out loud! Could thing I finished my coffee.

"~~~~~Yard signs?
That is sooooooo, 20th century~~~~~~~~"

Ha -- and I still have my Harold Ford stickers on the car.....

"We have enough youth.
How about a fountain of 'smart'?"

That's fantastic!

Even Hu Jintao, China's president, surfs the web.

Queen Elizabeth II is over 80. She surfs under an assumed name and enjoys it. The Royalty Channel is on You Tube. The web page for the Monarchy is one of the best designed on the web with all sorts of fascinating info.

Johnny Mac needs to do some catching up. Of course it is more serious that he didn't know that Czechoslovakia was no longer a single country.

July 15, 2008 9:15 AM

Re: McCain and PCs

As if all of us use computers in a noble fashion, chatting on blogs all day.

Would you rather McCain be sitting in the Oval Office playing solitaire all day?

I know, I know, you don't want McCain in the Oval Office...

Does the Queen post here? Kidding. Family drama here again. Trying to reason with my Dad. It's damn near impossible. Is it 5:00 somewhere?

" Family drama here again. Trying to reason with my Dad. It's damn near impossible.'

Really sorry to hear this, Corey. It's likely to get harder and harder on your mother. There's no easy answer, either.

Maybe McCain would keep having the secret service check the mailbox outside the White House because his computer said he had mail?

"He's the kind of man you wouldn't even care if you had sex with anyway -- all you'd need to do is sit and admire his gorgeousness. "

Way back when studios still did sneak premiers complete with audience opinion cards (OMG that was soooooooooo long ago), I was a cashier at the Paradise Theater in Westchester when "Come September" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054759/ had a midnight showing (what student labor laws?).

It was only up close that you were really aware of how tall he was. Even though most people with any relation to the movies knew the "secret", he was really protected simply because he was a truly nice guy and definitely a gorgeous man.

Oh God, Bush about to speak. I could puke. I have spent eight years scrambling to turn the channel from news to an old movie every time he comes on. I can't stand to hear his voice.

Not looking up for the next eight, either. May have to re-enroll in Netflix.

If it makes you feel any better Corey, today's my dead father's birthday, so count your blessings.

Oh God, Bush about to speak. I could puke. I have spent eight years scrambling to turn the channel from news to an old movie every time he comes on. I can't stand to hear his voice.

Not looking up for the next eight, either. May have to re-enroll in Netflix.

Posted by: Patsi | July 15, 2008 10:19 AM

I will not be liked for this comment but.......I have grown accustomed to his voice and his style. I rather stick with him than have any one of the two candidates that I have to choose between in november!

Corey: rooting for you and your mom. Will require all your strength, and we are here for you.

The man is a dim witted robot. His answer to the financial crisis is more oil drilling!!!!! How long until January? Wake me when he's over.

Champ: know what you are getting at, but a toxic parent is really hard to deal with in the present.

Maybe you and I were blessed with wonderful dads we mourn every day.

Corey did not luck out.

Is it 5:00 somewhere?

Posted by: Corey | July 15, 2008 10:14 AM

Yes!

I wrote a quick post on my blog.

Craig
I posted this on yesterday's page, but I'm putting it here as well because I think this topic is intriguing enough to warrant an attention span that exceeds 24 hours. What are we, the media?

You told us yesterday that "at most conventions, there's a cursory roll call for all candidates and then a motion on the floor to unanimously back the winner by acclamation.'

OK. Here's a hypothetical for you. (Pay attention Geek Esq. This is how they do it in law school.) What if, during the acclamation, at the call for "all opposed" 1636.5 voices hooted, and hollered, and caused a general ruckus. What would happen next?

Here's another hypothetical. (After all, the unity narrative has been so convincing.) How is the DC going to avoid this spectacle?

Patsi, Jamie, Again off the discussion grid, but it is summer.

Enjoyed those Doris Day/Rock Hudson movies, but truth be told--my absolute fav was Robert Wagner, followed by Don Johnson--who my friends still tease me about.

Jamie, that may be because I am a product of the TV generation.

Jamie, I noticed you are looking forward to the Mama Mia movie. I've added that to my "select" movies to actually go to see (Sex in the City was in that category-enjoyable if you were a fan of the series)

Any specific reason you are looking forward to Mama Mia. I did see the play in NYC, it was very light & entertaining, creativity in setting a play entirely around
ABBA music.

Coreen

I actually make the effort to see any Broadway play or musical that is brought to the screen. Whether good or bad, I want to encourage the practice. Currently Sondheim is one of the few that allows the stage version of his musicals to be released on DVD so now it is possible to compare the stage presentation to the Johnny Depp movie. Plays can even be rarer except for TV presentations. I guess great acting doesn't sell.

I buy cast recordings both original and revivals. Just something I love. The majority of people can never get to Broadway. Most don't even live close enough to see a B touring company. I think encouraging theater is part of our cultural heritage.

Anyway I love Streep and Abba music is fun, so it should be a pleasant way to spend a couple of hours.

Nah, my old man was a major-league asshole. Abusive, narcissistic, all of that. I still miss him, and wouldn't mind having him back for a few minutes at least, just to ask a few questions. "Assholes" are people, too.

I used to scoff at all his postulations and admonishments. As I've gotten older, I realize he really did know what he was talking about. Insert Mark Twain quote here.

Not knowing your situation, and not wanting to know Corey; I'll spare all of you any further details of mine. Though if you wanted any advice, I'd be happy to give it privately. I'm not so arrogant as to assume you need it. Good luck.

Does anybody have a Bush to English dictionary handy?

Corey

I understand, My wife and I spent the day Sunday dealing with my Fatherinlaws Dirty house and cockroach problem. He has blown close to $10000 dollars on lottery tickets since his wife died 9 months ago. Mean while he is all piss at us because my wife won't transfer money out of a trust into his account.
So we spent the Sunday with crawling cockroaches and a pissed of old man.
Needless to say we got pissy faced drunk that evening.

A idea or two for you. First off protect your mother and the rest of your family. If you haven't been to a lawyer do so and get the family assets seperated so you mom will have some assets for her emergencies. Also, if you can find one, your mom, you and your siblings who are providing support, might benefit from a support group. Just being able to talk to people that are in the same situation is a great benefit. A great many of us are going through what you and your mother are. They might give you leads and advise you can use also.

You and your mom are in my thoughts and prayers.

Jack

Why does it seem like Bush is inventing new words when he speaks on camera? I find myself wondering...is that even a word?

Well, here is something a wee bit more pertinent than a New Yorker cover:

"After a brief bout of Obamamania, some Capitol Hill Democrats have begun to complain privately that Barack Obama’s presidential campaign is insular, uncooperative and inattentive to their hopes for a broad Democratic victory in November. "

I wouldn't call that a scandal... just the first four bars of Axelrod's Disaster Symphony.

Anyone want to read this and sing yet another chorus of "He's Got The Party's Yarbles In His Hands"?

(If you don't know the words... just sing "baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" over and over and over. Same thing!)

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0708/11750.html

Jamie,

Quick followup, Mama Mia may be touring, the play is going to be presented at the Schubert, New Haven, CT the beginning of December, 2008 (May even go again). So it's possible you might have the opportunity to see it in WA in the not to distant future.

I''m still trying to see "Jersey Boys" in NYC, but the wait for orchestra seats continues to be about 1 year & its hard to get anyone to commit to such a far out date (unless you want to pay triple the face value of the ticket--then you can go the next day!).

Corey

Inventing new words is a great Texas pastime. GWB has always wanted to be a great Texan. But like everything he has doen in his life, he is not too good at it. In fact calling him average would be a stretch.

Jack

LOL@ 911

Jack

Jack,

I wonder...

Is the convention going to revive that vital public willingness to believe in Barack?

Or will whatever's revealed change what is left of Obamamania into the Dem's Obama-ammergau?

Coreen,

Try broadwaybox.com...

mornin' all.

Quick pop in, then gone.

Dumya just doesn't recognize all those little things on the paper in front of him, so he makes it up when he can't read it.

Corey, your Dad sounds like my mom did before she passed away. But I'd like to have her back, uninformed opinions and all. Take Jack's advice to heart.

I see Bernanke has done the unimaginable - given a clear eyed and sober assessment of the economy to Congress. And it combined with the news from GM (to say nothing of the continued fall of the dollar against the Euro) has the Dow doing swan dives.

Another thought , Corey.

GWB has been educated in the best private schools in the nation.
Doesn't say too much for a private school education does it.

Oh and thanks for listening to Bush for me, let me know if he says anything would you.
Your a brave man Corey;-)

Jack

Jack

Another just because. Might make you feel better, believe it or not.

Black Sabbath- War Pigs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtqy4DTHGqg

YEAH!

Alert, Alert!

Presumptive Nominee Obama about to start an 8-Flag, Surmounted with Eagles, complete with Soviet Ceremonial Fold, Major Address on Iraq and Afghanistan!

Ah, all the trappings of High Office. Let's see if he has a message to match. Or will it be the same old "I was against..."

"Is the convention going to revive that vital public willingness to believe in Barack?"

Thinking about GWB, makes me think that almost all of us are so desperate for any type of leadership that we will convince ourselves of anything.

We are in a crises of confidence in the basic structures of this nation and our current president is unaware. It is New Orleans all over again, only it is the whole nation.
No matter how bad either McCain Or Obama ( and I think both have major flaws) both would be better than what we've got.

Thanks for allowing me to rant.

Jack

Speaking of Mama Mia,

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/arts/entertainment-britain-boxoffice.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Never was a big fan of ABBA - (Hendrix and SRV were more my tastes) - but they were phenomenal.

9/11

Thanks, I will try that outlet. I've only tried the "official"
ticketmaster or ticketron (forget which it is at the moment).

And now I need to leave & go earn a living.

Jack, just goes to show that when the bar is set very low, it's not hard to jump over it.

....LOL At least Obama knows about Czechoslovakia breaking in half. What was that?

flatus, I assume you're standing at attention with hand over heart and a tear in your eye?

Well, gots to go to work again. Later, chillun.

Jack,

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss...

Won't get fooled again. No no.

Duty calls, peace.

Pogo

LOL, ain't that the truth

Jack

Obama was against Czechoslavakia breaking in half from the beginning.

Good morning peeps,

Today's thread on the BackChannel Blog:

Hillary Isn’t Paying Attention To PUMA, Why Should You? by Chef Sheila

http://clistersbackchannel.wordpress.com/

mccain's little computer chat reminded me of antiquated bush's opportunities to look manly and tach savvy for photo ops in '92. His image guy told him to get into the car (a jeep? a racing car?) he was supposed to drive. The upper class twit climbed into the passenger seat. There were also pics of the President rushing across a bay in a cigar boat, but again, he was just a passenger. While buying sox for the 1st time in his life, old bush remarked that the bar code scanner was the wave of the future, unaware that he was the last person on earth to encounter scanners. mccain's opportunity to look computer savvy, like retired bush's attempts to look like Buckaroo Bonzai both end up displaying the products as upper class twits.

These daily gaffes are comedic. It is as if mccain is a character in a screwball political comedy who is trying desperately to avoid being elected, without appearing to be avoiding it. Picture Bob Hope as the hapless and zany candidate.

Btw, wasn't it Senator ted stevens who gave a long incomprehensible lecture on the vital internet tubes? republicans don't need to be tech savvy, that's what the servants are for. ( :>D )

Sounds groovy.

I'm sticking for now with "Obama Not Paying Attention to Reid & Pelosi..."

“--Coordination between the Obama campaign and the House and Senate leadership is so weak that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) — who will chair the Democrats’ convention in August — didn’t know of Obama’s decision to move his final-night acceptance speech from the Pepsi Center to Invesco Field until the campaign announced it on a conference call with reporters".

With great power comes great irresponsibility...

" "Assholes" are people, too."

ROFL! Well said, champ!

I love getting good news first thing in the day!

July 15, 2008 - Women, Blacks Give Obama 9 - Point Lead Over McCain, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Men Are Split And Whites Tip To Republican

http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x1295.xml?ReleaseID=1192

Speaking of McCain and computers...I often wonder about candidates and computers. When Dick DeVos ran for governor in Michigan a few years ago, he was often asked what were his plans for Michigan's economy. He always declined to give specifics when answering questions in interviews. He simply told people that his business plan was posted on the internet and that if people wanted specifics to visit his webpage. What about people who don't have a computer or internet access? My parents have never owned a computer. How do they become informed nowadays. Yes, there are newspapers, but it's not nearly the same as the internet.

"Les Crane, Talk Show Host, Dies At 74"

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/15/arts/television/15crane.html

'The Crane show was canceled just a few months later, in spite of Mr. Crane’s interview with Bob Dylan, during which Mr. Crane asked Mr. Dylan, then 23, about the songwriters who influenced him and about the overall message of his songs. Hank Williams and Cole Porter were the answers to the first question. To the second, Mr. Dylan said: “Eat?”'

As this good obituary declined to mention his "shotgun mike"...

I will. Just amazed I can't find that once infamous promotional pic of him aiming it at his studio audience.

"Tyranny of oil", good line Obama just gave.

He's been using that one since 2007.

The Economist has been using it since after the WTC attacks.

"Thinking about GWB, makes me think that almost all of us are so desperate for any type of leadership that we will convince ourselves of anything.

We are in a crises of confidence in the basic structures of this nation and our current president is unaware. It is New Orleans all over again, only it is the whole nation."

Yep.....

That's the problem with great lines. Some one else has already used them. That is why I believe in creative thievery.

Jack

The New Yorker cover is always a chuckle and thats about it. I prefer the ones that require a little more viewer participation but this one was okay.
There has been a lot of good humor in the campaign from comics. The John Stewart bit on the Presidential looking emblom was good. The comments here have been witty too. Mccain has also tried in his way to lighten things up--he's not funny but he tries. What will worry me until I see it is the lack of humor in the Obama Campaign. Not even an attempt. That's what made the Stewart piece so funny; after telling the joke he wonders how it will be taken by "the campaign" with his childlike fearful look. "Are my ears really that big?" would have been so much better than: "I have no comment on that".

"Hillary Isn’t Paying Attention To PUMA, Why Should You? by Chef Sheila"

How many tut-tut's are involved?

From Real Clear Politics this morning:

"-- Earlier, we mentioned that McCain, by focusing on Iraq, has the chance to "score the upset." That's how the race feels, like Obama is ahead by a wide margin and McCain is desperate for media oxygen. But, as The Fix wrote yesterday, the race is surprisingly close. Take a look at different measures and come up with different explanations: The latest RCP National Average shows Obama leading by just four points; the latest RCP Electoral Count has Obama leading by a wider 255-163, just fifteen votes short of a majority. The truth lies in the long run: It doesn't matter who's ahead now (Al Gore and John Kerry both led at approximately this point, while Bill Clinton, in 1992, trailed both the incumbent President Bush and Ross Perot). It only matters that it's a close race."

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/politics_nation/2008/07/strategy_memo_war_peace_and_po.html

Janis Joplin- Try (Live at Woodstock, 1969)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBJnoMP1Uyc

Also... for those with nephews, nieces, sons and daughters...

"Not surprisingly, marijuana intoxication can cause distorted perceptions, impaired coordination, difficulty in thinking and problem solving, and problems with learning and memory. Research has shown that marijuana’s adverse impact on learning and memory can last for days or weeks after the acute effects of the drug wear off. As a result, someone who smokes marijuana every day may be functioning at a suboptimal intellectual level all of the time."

http://www.nida.nih.gov/infofacts/marijuana.html

Creative thievery? Kinda like when I was 18-19 and my best friend and I got the idea to have some tennis shirts screenprinted for ourselves. My idea was to have a tennis racquet on the t-shirt and unerneath the tennis racquet have the phrase "Speak softly and carry a big stick!" printed. My friend thought that was the greatest line I'd ever come up with. Apparently, he wasn't a big Teddy Roosevelt historian. LOL!

"Apparently, he wasn't a big Teddy Roosevelt historian."

Ha...good idea for a t-shirt!

Patsi,

Tsk Tsk

Lede stories on the NYT online just after noon..

Bernanke: Economy will stay sluggish.

GM: Dividend suspended .

Stocks recovering as oil prices fall.

Other stories are covered, too.

The Obama speech only quasi-appears in a tiny type link under the story from last night about the Obama joke deficit... and runs in The Caucus blog.

Inneresting...

Janis Joplin - Mercedes Benz

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-g7Q7hXn7o

Our daily prayer

My sister pointed out to me that my neices and nephews aren't sure how to take me.

I smiled and said "Yep and I'm gonna keep it that way"

Jack

Jack

From Jack Shafer at Slate.com...

"Rather than appreciating the joke—The New Yorker was cataloging and sending up the most extreme and common of the anti-Obama smears—the Obama campaign issued a roar of indignation ("tasteless and offensive"). The opportunistic McCain campaign wasted not a minute in echoing with its own protest. In their denunciations, both campaigns continued on the path Slate's John Dickerson described back in February, when he identified taking umbrage as "this year's hottest campaign tactic." As Dickerson noted in his piece and in a follow-up, the candidates have professionalized the business of taking umbrage, capitalizing on the offenses—perceived or imagined—to issue a new round of fundraising letters."

http://www.slate.com/id/2195317/

McCain really can't compete on the speaking front. He must be so hoping to get past the conventions and get him in front of a town hall audience where at least he will stand a chance.

Patsi,

About the PUMA article

Some stories just write themselves. I'm a bit like the NYtimes, as pointed out by 911. I'm more interested with our current problems then in reading some old rehash of a tiresome argument.

Jack

In my opinion the Tyranny of Oil (Big Oil) is what the bushcheney White House was all about. Everything else was mere busy work - 'pro-life', anti-gay marriage, Public Television, OSHA, SEC, VA, FDA, DoT, State, DoJ, Afghanistan, FBI, NSA, et al, were all suborned to, or subverted by, the main project of making Big Oil richer and more powerful. Mission Accomplished.

We are all New Orleans now.

Oh BTW, wake me up when the convention is over. Then it is time to start paying attention again.

Jack

911

To steal a phrase from someone on use net.

Both campaigns are becomeing good at offense Cleptomania.

If there is an offense laying around not being used they both will make sure it has a home.
It gets boring after a while.

Jack

McCain is coming to East Grand Rapids for a fundraiser on Thursday. He will then speak at a private function at GM's tech center in Warren on Friday.

The Obamas and many of their disciples are eextremely thin skinned.

This is ironic since they are pros at dishing out the dirt.

If Barack and Michelle can't take the heat, perhaps they should get out of the kitchen..

I've tried and can't come up with anything funny to say about the cover in a spontaneous way. But I always enjoy Janis. My point though was that humor is something I look for in people and candidates. It is sorely lacking in this cycle. If connecting with the people is important to a campaign then humor is the easiest, if not surest, way of getting there. No, seriously, thats what I believe.

It better be one hell of a speech Corey, he's got a 10 point gap to try and close in Michigan.

Brian H....
I agree that humor is completely lacking in Obama and some of his followers....
someone compared them to fundies last week..... no humor in that set either....

Corey.... hang in there, buddy..... and yes.... I watched the first 2 legs of the home run derby last night...... went to bed thinking that Hamilton had it in the bag..... but I should know better by now..... 80% of the time I do that, I'm surprised in the morning.....

9/11...... love seeing you here again..... you always make me laugh.....

Patsi..... back channel thingy...... yeah, but..... how many times is Kumbaya mentioned.....

Didn't see this posted yet, thought everyone (including our own Fearless Leader) would find it amusing:

http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlDC/news_notes/separated_at_birth_craig_crawford_and_barney_fife_89234.asp#email

h'dooty - How painful is it to use a mouse? Well, for someone like me with cubital tunnel syndrome, painful and makes the pinkie go numb. Possibly the same kind of problem for folks with carpal tunnel, etc. We haven't walked a mile in McCain's shoes, but his range of motion looks pretty limited.

I still argue that he has no need to learn how to use a computer when he has a support staff...unless this is the equivalent of being someone you could have a beer with & people need to think he's "one of them." Otherwise, why learn now when he's busy campaigning & why mention it at all?

Filed under "its an ill wind"
http://www.miamiherald.com/457/story/604924.html

"Hard times a boon for repo men"

~~~~~Nice to see some one prospering~~~~~~~

Jack

Ahhhhhhhhh, politics!

"While the destruction Gramm has caused is felt across the country, little is known about the seedy business schemes that preceded his political career. Before Gramm joined the Christian Coalition's Ralph Reed to call for the defunding of the NEA, before he attacked an opponent for taking money from a gay rights group, and before he was interviewed by the white supremacist Southern Partisan magazine, Gramm was an avidly active investor in soft-core pornography movies.

Gramm's journey into porn began in 1973, when his brother-in-law, George Caton, rushed to tell him about an exciting low-budget soft-core production called Truck Stop Women. A promo poster for the film boasted of its buxom stars: "No Rig Was Too Big For Them To Handle." Caton, who was in charge of fundraising for the production, asked Gramm to become an investor. To entice his brother-in-law, Caton showed him scenes of Playboy Playmate of the year Claudia Jennings displaying her bare essentials (she is naked throughout much of the film). "

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/max-blumenthal/phil-gramm-may-be-gone-bu_b_112781.html

Good afternoon, folks.

NYT article this morning: Want Obama in a Punch Line? First, Find a Joke

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/15/us/politics/15humor.html?em&ex=1216267200&en=eb5806c4fae3982b&ei=5087%0A&exprod=myyahoo

From the article:

Jokes have been made about what Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton really thought about Mr. Obama during the primaries, and about the vulgar comments the Rev. Jesse Jackson made about him last week. But anything approaching a joke about Mr. Obama himself has fallen flat.

When Mr. Stewart on “The Daily Show” recently tried to joke about Mr. Obama changing his position on campaign financing, for instance, he met with such obvious resistance from the audience, he said, “You know, you’re allowed to laugh at him.” Mr. Stewart said in a telephone interview on Monday, “People have a tendency to react as far as their ideology allows them.”

Oregon Democrat,

Perhaps you too would be thin skinned when you realized that the only people who would get a bit of satire are members of the educated elite.

Republicans think that Obama is a black militant because of his crazy Protestant pastor yet they are still able to convince people he's a muslim terrorist...that's the like saying that the draft dodger is a tougher guy than the decorated military service member...

Then again, that describes every election for the 40 years...

Craig,

Question for you, if the singular theme from the McCain campaign is going to be that he puts country before self all the time, at what point do you thing that his involvement with the Keating 5 will resurface?

Also, he pledged to go to the gates of hell to capture Bin Laden and instead he's run to lap of the current President in letting him live out his days in comfort. When do you think he will be taken to task for it?

Lastly, considering that the Republicans politicized 9/11 ad nauseum, do you think that the clusterfuck known as the Freedom Tower and the embarrassing fact that New York Republicans chose financial gain over an expediant rebuilding of the building there will also be an issue?

Jack,

The laddies (Prince Hamlet and Old Polonius) doth protest too much, me thinks, just to get themselves to a money-ry.

Renee,

Here for awhile until I forget the addy. Happy to see and hear from you.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/dayart/20080715/cartoon20080715.gif

blue,

You're right.

The more abuse a body has received, the greater a reservoir of inflammatory pain rises in it over time.

Relative to computers -- Bill Clinton doesn't use 'em either. Well, perhaps he does now, but he didn't when he was President and it was common knowledge that he was basically computer-illiterate from a personal standpoint. Al Gore, on the other hand, used to be an object of ridicule because he was so wired at a time when so many were not.
On the subject of speeches...having seen our current President, Sen McCain, Sen Obama, and former President Clinton all deliver speeches in the past two days, I'd simply like to say that I really, really miss Bill. He actually makes policy details sound interesting. He was never a great orator, but I always have the feeling he really understands what he is talking about.

OK, will finally bite on the topic:

1) I was surprised Obama spokesperson Burton addressed the New Yorker cover.

2) still have not seen a physical copy of the cover. Suspect it misfired because satire requires that more ppl realize it's satire than might have with this one.

3) Obama and his supporters have a good sense of humor. How long does anyone last in politics without it? His comic timing in remarks on Phil Gramm's "nation of whiners" and "mental recession" gaffe was enviable.

4) You have to remember: Craig's blog is party central for relatively genteel Hillary dead enders. See profmarcia's greeting any morning for the current list. Most Obama supporters are not going to engage with you on the humor front because some of you will try to use that as a weapon to come back with.

Which is sad, because most ppl here have funny comments and asides many days.

Wouldn't read this blog otherwise.

Brian,

That's a funny link though I think the New Yorker will protest and say their next cover was stolen.

jeejee,

From Andy Borowitz --

Winner Of The First-Ever National Press Club Award For Humor. July 15, 2008

Breaking News
Obama Releases List of Approved Jokes About Himself
Bid to Help Late Night Comics

Saying he is "sympathetic to late night comedians' struggle to find jokes to make about me," Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill) today issued a list of official campaign-approved Barack Obama jokes.

The five jokes, which Sen. Obama said he is making available to all comedians free of charge, are as follows:

Barack Obama and a kangaroo pull up to a gas station. The gas station attendant takes one look at the kangaroo and says, "You know, we don't get many kangaroos here." Barack Obama replies, "At these prices, I'm not surprised. That's why we need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil."

A traveling salesman knocks on the door of a farmhouse, and much to his surprise, Barack Obama answers the door. The salesman says, "I was expecting the farmer's daughter." Barack Obama replies, "She's not here. The farm was foreclosed on because of subprime loans that are making a mockery of the American Dream."

A horse walks into a bar. The bartender says, "Why the long face?" Barack Obama replies, "His jockey just lost his health insurance, which should be the right of all Americans."

Q: What's black and white and red all over?
Barack Obama: The New Yorker magazine, which should be emba