Tales Too Ticklish to Tell

The editors at Huffington Post will turn their back on these important stories:

Is Sonia Sotomayor A Three In One: Hispanic, Female and Gay?

Murta Buddy Suspended from Dealing With the Navy Due to Fraud Allegations.

Sheriff Joe Soft on Rape.

Oliver North Faves Wackenhut Accused of Fraud.

Democrats Go Royalist and Rally Around Accused Drunken Murderer Son of Former California Speaker.

Evidence Building That Con Artist Informant Hoaxed FBI.

Lawrence Livermore Lab Kicks Off Multi-Billion Dollar Experiment That Could Mean End to Carbon Based Energy Generation.

Climate Change Causes 315,000 Deaths a Year Worldwide.

Are Anti-gang Injunctions Being Overused? Generally, No, But Perhaps in This Case.

Republicans in Conservative Stronghold Go to War Against Each Other.

University of Illinois Concedes Admission Process Corrupt.

Japanese University Using IPhone to Check Student Attendance.

Are Latinos Keeping Gay Marriage Down?

Is Pakistan Going Strategic Hamlet Program in Battle Against Taliban?

Shoes Thrown at Bush Posters in Canada.

Oklahoma Republican Congress Ctitter Admits to Being a Drunk.

FDIC Orders Changes at Five California Banks.

Republican Cops Engaged in Beer Bashes With At Risk Kids.

Unemployment Down in Tennessee, But Hate Crimes Are Up.

Conservative Town Whitewashes Racism Incident Involving Famous Native.

Reality TV Show Results in False Arrest For Murder.

Another Love Canal in the Offing? Tacoma Allows Building of Condos at Superfund Site.

Neighbors of Seattle Area Brothel Mad at Police. Yes, You Read That Right.

Other Municipalities Take Note: Stadium Deal in Portland Will Mean Net Job LOSS.

Vietnam War Hero and Marijuana Smuggler.

Democrat NY State Senator a Maniac.

Pathetic Men Paying for, Get This, Platonic Dates.

Censorship at Huffington Post and ESPN

Over the last couple days, I have had most of my comments censored even though none of them violated the site's posting guidelines. I know, everybody has had that experience and it is the main thing that makes Al-Arianna so frustrating.

Anyway, everyone knows about HuffPo's product placement relationship with the Orange County hegemons at Disney and one of my deleted comments had to do with who I wanted to see go at ESPN. So I present them here and I am sure you will agree with me.

Jettisoning Stephen A. Smith was a good start, as his George Jefferson act got old real fast. But they also need to drop that brown nosing blowhard, Dick Vitale, who makes me change channels everytime he is on. Vitale, who had a short stint at Detroit University as a basketabll coach, is now in the Basketball Hall of Fame only because his tongue has rimmed the right folks. He has about as much right to be enshrined as Chuck Cottier does in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Next on the chopping block should be whoever the blithering idiot they make the excellent Pam Ward put up with on their collegiate softball broadcasts. Not only does this bimbo talk too much, she often doesn't know what she's talking about and seems to be there to be a cheerleader more than an analyst. Compared to her, Fernando Vina is Vin Scully.

And speaking of "Mr. I Can't Criticize Anyone" and steroid abuser Vina, he has to go, too, as does Eric "I can't string two words together coherently" Young. How in God's name anyone could decide to hire these two spluttering bozos is beyond any rational contemplation.

Next to receive a pink slip should be sideline stroke queen Erin Andrews, who is notoriously (and unprofessionally) touchy and huggy with players in the locker room. She sets the cause of women in broadcasting back 40 years.

And can anyone, and I mean anyone, tolerate Chris Berman and his cloying nicknaming of players, his general pomposity and assholiness as well as his pathetically overweening constant attempts to prove that he's hip? I didn't think so. This guy's style is as dated as faux wood paneling.

Tales Too Ticklish to Tell

Among the stories you won't see on Huffington Post:

And the Hits Just Keep on Coming: Another Catholic School Charged with Molestation Incidents.

Abortion in ALL Cases About to be Outlawed in Tennessee.

Arizona Judge Bans Dad from Taking Kids to Mormon Church. No, Really.

Tenneseeans Buying So Many Guns They Are Short of Ammo---No, Really.

Scientology on Trial in France for Fraud.

Las Vegas Media, Pols Blames Obama Campaign Remarks for Drop in Tourism---No, I'm Not Kidding.

The State of the So-called Educational Miracle to Shut Out Some Deserving Incoming Freshman Students From Enrollment to its Most Prominent Universities.

GM Bankruptcy Springtime for Lawyers, Winter for Workers and Pensioners.

GOP Senator Accused of Endangering GM Jobs.

Religious Right Trying to Cashier Medical Privacy for Teens.

Is China's Yuan Going to Replace the Dollar as the Chief Reserve Currency?

Heckuva Job George and Dick! China Now Has Stranglehold on U.S. Debt Markets.

Chinese Academic Fights ISP, Censorship While Spotlighting Corruption.

Roland Burris Goes Big, Totals Up $8 Billion in Earmarks.

GOP Rep Wamp and the Call of the Krank.

Does Showboating Sheriff Joe Apraio Own Arizona Republic Columnist?

India vs. the U.S. in Education.

British MP Expenses Scandal Masking More Spectacular Construction Rip Off.

Gamblers Call NFL Ingrates.

Republican Clears Siegleman of Wrong Doing

And the media largely ignored it. This is a huge story, but the folks in the journalistic sphere who are supposed to be looking out for you fucked you, our legal system and our democracy in the ass.

If anyone does finally pay attention to it, this puts the nail in Karl Rove's coffin because he ginned up a conspiracy to get rid of a popular Democratic Party governor of Alabama. Read the account here. Here's to hoping another federal investigation dime's Bush's brain.

Tales Too Ticklish to Tell

Huffington Post Deigned to Not Bring You the Following:

Wealthy Wingnut Enclave of Dana Point Builds Bridge to Nowhere.

Republican Candidate Seeks to Remove Campaign Contribution Restrictions in Tennessee.

Is Murtha Earmark (Read: Pork) Funding for Airport Wasteful or Not (Make Sure You Read Comments)?

Richly Compensated Liberal L.A. City Council Tries to Defund its Critics; How Rightwing of Them.

Creepy Old Guy to Remain a Republican (Birds of a Feather, You Know).

Good for Him! Obama Nominates Lesbian Parent for U.S. Attorney Post.

Another Republican Sex Perv Headed to the Gray Bar Hotel. Gay marriage, GOP, Israel,

Another Republican Accused of Sexual Harrassment.

Anti-Gay Marriage Wackos Committing "Logocide."

Book Asserts That GOP Has Abandoned Free Markets.

Man Driving Israeli Militarism Not Allowed to Enter U.S.

Anti-Abortionists Are Overreaching Control Freaks. Duh.

Republicans Bring Ethics Scrutiny in Tennessee to a Screeching Halt.

Republican Federal Attorney Replaced Over Possible Hatch Act Violation.

Corruption Investigation in Kentucky Moving Forward.

Did Abstemious Woodrow Wilson Have an Affair?

How Health Care in Holland Works.

Rightwing Radio Host Uses Notorious Convicted Con Artist as Expert on Terrorism

Sieg heil on your dial KFI, a clear channel radio station with a long reach in the west, had convicted swindler Craig Monteil on Friday as an expert to talk about the arrests of accused synagogue bomb plot conspirators in NYC. Orange County Weekly has the blow by blow here.

Yet another reason why if you listen to wingnut talkers you will be misinformed.

Tales Too Ticklish to Tell

Among the stories missed by Huffington Post Friday:

Uh Oh: FBI Agent in Synagogue Bombing Plot Investigation Has Sketchy Record.

Mary Kay LeTourneau Hosting "Hot for Teacher Night" at Seattle Club. This is Not a Drill.

Agribusiness Gets Book Banned at Washington State University.

Judge Judy Backed NYC DA Candidate Got Bamboozled by Mafia.

Corporate Jets Becoming an Object of Shame for Companies in Tough Times.

From State Prosecutor to Death Row Inmate.

What Hath Hannity Wrought: Connecticut Rep Says Bush Should Volunteer to be Waterboarded for Charity.

How Much of a Bitch is it to be Poor? Check This Out.

Former New England Patriot Indicted for Murder for Hire Plot.

Huffington Post Contributor Hijacks Alternative Weekly Column Name

After the controversy over Maureen Dowd playing copycat with one of outstanding liberal blogger Josh Marshall's articles, the Huffington Post has now allowed one of its contributors, Carolynn Carreno, to steal the name of a column by Orange County Weekly and L.A. Weekly columnist Gustavo Arellano, "Ask a Mexican." You would think that Arianna's crew would be more careful, but I guess not.

Arellano's work, which can be found here, seeks to clear up misconceptions and stereotypes about Mexico and Mexican immigrants.

Carreno's is apparently a cooking column, which can be found here, thereby trivializing the work that Arellano is doing.

I wrote a comment about it at HuffPo, but, of course, it was censored.

Considering that the number two in charge at HuffPo is former RIAA lobbyist Hillary Rosen, you would think a little piracy would outrage her. Not in this case, though. Hypocrite.

Anti-Gay Marriage Activist is Thrice Married Wife Abuser

You can't make this stuff up.

Iraqi Refugees Treated Like Shit by U.S. Government

For you chuckleheads out there who still think that the situation in Iraq is just hunky dory thanks to your boy Bush, here is a motherfucking clue it ain't.

Yes, in a country the supposedly good Christians of the USA "liberated," Chaldean Christians are being raped, beaten and killed by Muslim zealots. So thousands of them have fled to the U.S. and have mainly settled in El Cajon, which is now becoming Little Baghdad (kind of like how a section of Garden Grove, CA became Little Saigon in the wake of the Vietnam War) after being treated like shit by our wonderful (or not) INS.

Heckuva job there George and Barack!

And if that weren't bad enough, the Bush Administration left an intelligence asset in Iraq to twist in the wind and he is still alive today because some Marines intervened on his half and smuggled him out of Iraq. If Bush can't even keep this guy safe, you think he was competent to keep the U.S. out of harm's way? Only if you believe that Harry Potter is a real person.

The Pelosi-CIA Battle Royale Disturbing, But Not for the Reason You Think

There was a time in this country (like up through the beginning of WWII) where the United States didn't think spying was very cricket. No, I'm not kidding. So we basically had no intelligence capability until the creation of the OSS (later called the CIA). That is one reason why, for example, that when West Germany was born, a former Nazi was put in charge of its intelligence agency since the Nazis had all kinds of information about the Soviet Union and we had just about bupkus.

Anyway, one of the most effective tools a spy network uses is called "disinformation," which is the dissemination of false but plausible (which makes it believable) tales in order to attain some strategic goal, whether it's as large as destabilizing an entire nation or more localized such as luring a suspected double agent into a trap.

The CIA's farcical attempt to set up Nancy Pelosi as regards the torture issue, though, should set off alarm bells to anyone concerned with U.S. national security. Not because what they did to Pelosi was necessarily going to undermine our government per se, but because this bit of disinformation was done on such an amateur hour level that other intelligence agencies abroad, especially our enemies, are now laughing their asses off. Or using this incident to enhance their own disinformation (also known as propaganda) they spread to willing media stooges, who then relay it for public consumption, half of that public being comprised of under 100 IQs (think your average Glenn Beck viewer or teabagging attendee). That puts the U.S. image in the world in a much tougher position.

Look at it this way: you have a baseball team that is all slow footed sluggers and no speed. An entire team composed of David Ortiz'. Sure, they will hammer some teams into mince meat, but not having fleet feet also means you can forget scoring them from first base on a double and perhaps holding runners up at third that faster runners from second would have scored on with a single. That is what not having a viable disinformation game is for an intelligence agency.

Because intelligence, first and foremost, is predicated on the acquisition, interpretation and manipulation of information. Obviously, the Pelosi contretempts was like something out of a fifth grade play. It is hard to believe that the CIA would have deliberately tanked this to make themselves look like boobs. Bureaucracies, which tend to foster a bunker mentality among its members, of any stripe just don't do that.

That means that the agency's disinformation capability has been badly eroded. Who or what is responsible for that I haven't a clue, but it is true that Dick Cheney tried mightily to morph the CIA into another extension of the RNC like Karl Rove did with the Justice Department. So who you had as CIA Director were the likes of Porter Goss, a Levrentiy Beria wannabe (too much of a jackass to pull that off, fortunately) and George Tenet, a colossal dope who I wouldn't allow to walk my dogs.

And Leon Panetta? Still arranging the furniture in his office. I can't believe that he would willingly have anything to do with the orchestration of the Pelosi debacle. He is, by reputation, more savvy than that. If he did initiate all this, he should be fired and quick for being both disloyal to the Constitution and for just being an incompetent twat.

Therefore, what Bush has left us is a degraded CIA and that does indeed threaten our national security. A top to bottom investigation of the agency is thus in order to put things right and prevent embarrassments like this Pelosi matter from reocurring.

Are Lake Havasu Police Dishonestly Shaking Down California Tourists?

Not sure how accurate this is, so make of it what you will, but it is nonetheless an interesting discussion that shows the lengths some communities will go to in an attempt to keep their finances in the black.

That's one of the things I object to here in Washington state. The state troopers aren't there to enforce the law, they are there as basically a shakedown racket done at the behest of Governor Christine Gregoire. The speed limit on the freeways is only 60mph and the limit on big city streets is 40mph. In California and just about everywhere else, those limits are five mph higher. Washington does this to harvest more tickets and, as a result, there are many owner operator truckers who won't haul loads to the state.

Of course, this does zero for the comity between cop and civilian, too. Just what the police and the quest for public safety need, no?

Yet Another Reason Why Newspapers Are Dying

The Seattle Times announced Wednesday that 36 year old Ryan Blethen, the son of current Times publisher Frank Blethen, would become head of its editorial page editor.

Look, I realize that the Times is a family run enterprise, but if you want to tell me that Ryan Blethen was the best potential candidate for that post in a time when papers have either been laying employees off or closing entirely then I have a bridge I want to sell you.

So you can look forward to three things: the continuation of the erosion of the Times subscriber base; endorsements of airheaded congresstwat and Bush buddy Dave Reichert solely because Reichert wants to repeal the estate tax; and further questions as to the journalistic heft of the Times, which already features too much AP (undercover wingnuts) content while it lets go more and more of its own reportorial staff despite being the only paper in a town of half a million.

Blethen tried to dialog with the Times reader base a couple of weeks ago in a patronizing gesture that resulted in him getting scorched from sea to shining sea. Yet, even after seeing just how passionately disaffected readers are with the paper, Blethen basically stonewalled them, not responding to any of their complaints, proving that he has a typical view of normal folks held by the wannabe aristocrats in corporate America, that you can't take the whinings of the populace seriously because they just too stupid to understand.

Of course, like GM, Ford and Chrysler, this is emblematic of just how resistant to change the circus of douchebags that corporate America is, including firms that run newspapers. So nepotism it is and if you don't like it, fuck off.

With that attitude, while I am very uncomfortable with newspapers disappearing since I more or less grew up reading them everyday and they have been such an important part of lubricating our democracy, it is understandable that a part or all of us would would like to see the backside of these arrogant shits. If they aren't honest with their customers and don't act ethically, there is no moral reason we should continue to support them. Too bad, then, that newspaper managers are too elitist and insular to realize the building resentment against them that will result in no one missing them when they finally take their suicidally induced economic dirt nap.

Tales Too Ticklish to Tell

It's Fiscal Gotterdammerung in California,. the World's 8th Largest Economy, After Several Misbegotten Propositions Fail to Pass (Though State Legislators Will Have to Take an 18% Pay Cut With the Passage of One Proposal).

Liberal Shame: The L.A. City Council Raping Taxpayers, Says Liberal Weekly.

CBC News Report Doesn't Offer Much Hope for a Reduction in Mexican Drug Violence.

Obama Ends Bush Lawsuit Policy to Benefit Consumers.

L.A. Teachers: Tony Villaraigosa One Stupid Ass Mayor.

Craig's List Grandstanding by SC Pol Making Him Look Like a Jackass.

Reward Offered for Stolen Hard Drive Containing Personal Info of Former Clinton Staffers. Now THAT is Homeland Security We Can Believe in (or NOT!).

Regular Law Enforcement, Not Invasive Random Civilian Wiretapping, Shuts Down Bomb Plot.

Homophobic San Diego School Stigmatizes Student in the Name of Conservative Correctness.

With Seemingly Half of Florida in Foreclosure, Closet Case Crist to Sign Bill Easing Oversight of Developers.

Is Obama Insane? Proposes to Share Nuclear Technology With UAE.

NY Democrat Assemblyman Gets Ten Years in the Slammer for Racketeering.

I'm an Environmentalist, But You Gotta Know When to Pick Your Spots: Tree Huggers Hinder Green Development.

WashingtonState May Levey $2 Beer Tax to Fund Health Care.

How Mass Transit Becomes Inefficient: A Classic Case Study.

Stadium Huckster Trying to Bamboozle Portland (Oregon). Kansas City Template for That Project Failing.

Portland (Oregon) to Finally End Abstinence Only Sex Education.

Evangelist Buys Way into Notoriously Secular Portland.

Democrat Provided Tax Breaks Result in Debt for Oregon.

Flashback: Returning Korean War POWs Discuss Treatment at Hands of Chinese

There is no way to sugarcoat how incompetent and brutal the Communist Party has been, and continues to be, in China, killing untold millions of its own people thanks to political and logistical abortions such as the 100 Flowers Movement and the Cultural Revolution.

However, the L.A. Times, in an edition dated May 18,. 1959 offered an interview with two American soldiers who had been taken prisoner by Chinese forces during the Korean War (1951-1953). With all the discussion over how Americans have treated detainees at Bagram Air Base, Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, the Times article, which you can view here, should prove a startling contrast.

The caveat here, obviously, is that this is anecdotal, but nonetheless food for thought. .

Rachel Maddow's Ratings Drop

There was this piece in HuffPo about a decline in the ratings of MSNBC hots Rachel Maddow. I posted the following comment:

What's disturbing to me is the marketing of news program hosts and anchor people as celebrities to the exclusion of quality of news content.

Rachel's show is pretty journalistically meaty (not to get on a Talk Soup parody thing) and her criticisms of Obama's refusal to deal with the torture issue as it should be (prosecutions all around) is a worthy topic because Obama is sweeping it under the rug while the rest of the world waits and hopes we finally cleanse ourselves by recognizing the enormity of the crimes committed by the Bush Administration. Yeah, nobody wants to hear about the U.S. torturing because it's pretty painful to accept, but somebody has to keep the fire lit under Obama's behind about it. The media already ignores enough sleaze.

If you want bimbos and himbos discussing pre-digested pablum (Fox News and just about any local news program you can name), then watch that. But you're doing you and your country a disservice.

It doesn't matter that it's Rachel giving us this stuff. It's that SOMEONE is. I don't care about her appearance, the set, or whatever. It's about content. Her show delivers it.

As for why she doesn't get more political guest, they are scared. They saw what she did to Colin Powell and exposed the fact that he's a douchebag. She has become the new Mike Wallace, the person no scam artists wants to be confronted by because even Chris Wallace has punted on being that. .

How to Tell if You're a Douchebag

When the history of pop culture during the first ten years of the 21st century is written, it will go down as the Douchebag Decade.

Indeed, the biggest threat to this country arguably does not lie in the financial crisis or with Islamic fundamentalism, but with the plague of self important high maintenance low brainpower poseurs who have propagated with more virulence than Swine Flu. No insult to that disease intended by the way, so PETA get off my back you douchebags!

So here is how to tell if you have been swept up in the Weenie Wave:

Do you sport sweptback hair and a goatee? If so, you are a douchebag.

Do you regularly mangle simple phrases and turn nouns or adjectives into verbs? Are you always indignantly declaring, "I could care less" when you actually mean "I COULDN'T care less"? Are such inanities as "that is very concerning" and "I am efforting that" a regular part of your verbal repetoire? Guess what, call a feminine hygiene product manufacturer, you are a douchebag!

Do you twitter as if the world should regard your mindless, narcissistic blurting as worthy of the same kind of contemplation as Immanuel Kant and Aristotle? Would you like to make that douchebag paper or plastic?

Do you admire anyone named Tucker, be it Tucker Bounds, Tucker Carlson or, hell, I'll even throw in former NY Giants running back Tucker Frederickson? Is your own first name Tucker? Then you are a card carrying member of Douchebags of America.

Do you wear suit blazers over tee shirts and go to formal events wearing tennis shoes with your tux? You're a douchebag!

Do you wear those tee shirts that look like the front of a tuxedo? Douchebag!

Are you a televangelist or pastor for a megachurch? Yep, I will crucify you for being a douchebag!

Do you have a non-military tattoo? As Carlos Mencia once observed, "what's your tribe, Chad?" You've been stained with the mark of the douchebag!

Are you a suburban white guy who acts black? I dub you an "Afro-Douche"!

Are you Terrell Owens, Starr Jones, Charlie Gibson, Flavor Flav, Alex Rodriguez, Kathy Lee Gifford, Cory Feldman, Charlie Sheen, Judge Judy, Matt Lauer, Al Roker, Don King, Dick Vitale, Bud Selig, David Stern, Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien, a Fox News employee, Katie Couric, Luke Russert, David Gregory, anyone who dated, fucked or married Britney Spears, Elizabeth Hasselbeck, Whoopie Goldberg, Jessica Simpson, Bruce Willis, Jon King, Leslie "Wolf" Blitzer, George Will, Mike Tirico, George Stroumboulopoulos, Ed McMahon, Stuttering John, Rick Sutcliffe, Chad Johnson, Steve Phillips, Vince McMahon, Vince Neil, Rich Lowry, Tommy Lee, Axl Rose, Joe Scarborough, Earl Ofari Hutchinson, Larry King or a local news anchor? Well, when you read the teleprompter, it will have you mouthing the words, "I'm a douchebag!"

Are you a fan of Dane Cook? You're a douchebag and neither that nor Cook are funny.

Do you get really emotionally caught up in reality shows? Watch yourself because you are a douchebag!

Do you actually spend money texting in votes to American Idol? You are a tin eared douchebag!

Ever audtioned for American Idol? No R-E-S-P-E-C-T for you douchebag!

Have you ever bought anything you saw in an infomercial or, even worse, have you starred in an infomercial? Uber douchebag!

Do you robotically repeat intellectualy dishonest Republican talking points you heard on Rush Limbaugh's show? When somebody says, "welcome to Club Douchebag," you reply, "mega dittos!"

Are you a male and have had plastic surgery? Come on, turn in your man license and exchange it for a douchebag!

Are you David Duke, Lindsay Graham, David Dreier, Al Sharpton, Maxine Waters, John McCain, John Boehner, Mitch McConnell, Eric Cantor, Dick Cheney, a Bush, Robert Byrd, Ben Nelson, Sarah Palin, Marilyn Musgrave, Jessie Jackson, Texas Governor Rick Perry, Richard Shelby, Howard Berman, Tony Villaraigosa, Mark Ridley-Thomas, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Orrin Hatch, Alberto Gonzalez, Douglas Feith, Dana Perino, Ari "The Butcher" Fleischer, Stan Cornyn, Tom DeLay, Peggy Noonan, Pat Buchanan, George Stephanopoulos, Elaine Chow, Phil Gramm, Trent Lott or Barney Frank? By unanimous consent, the chair recognizes you all as douchebags!

Do you mosh and/or stage dive at club shows and concerts? I hope you get pounded for being a douchebag!

Ever been a guest on a trash tv talk show? Today's topic, "You're a Douchebag!"

Did you get religion in prison? The judge said 5-10, but I say double that again because you're a douchebag!

Are you French? Mon dieu, you're a douchebag!

Are you a gay hairdresser? Straight eye for the douchebag guy.

Do you feel empty inside when you miss an episode of a celebrity gossip show? If douchebags were celebrities, papparazi would be amassing in your front yard!

Are all the books in your home recommendations from Oprah? The book on you, then, is that you're a douchebag!

Do you wear black sox with shorts? Or wear them while having sex? You're a gross douchebag!

Do you wear dockers and/or polo shirts? The little label on the pocket reads, "douchebag!"

Are you a fat ass who wears speedos? You know that doesn't hide your douchebag!

Do you think that drinking Captain Morgan and/or eating Mentos makes you cool and subversive? Hey barkeep! Douchebag on the rocks here!

Do you own Barry Mainlow records? Listen, you're a douchebag!

Do you say, "whatever!" frequently? Well, then pretend to not care when I say you're a douchebag!

Have you put your child in a beauty contest or been a contestant yourself? You've just been named Miss Douchebag!

Are you a fashion designer? You're neither funky or chic, but a douchebag!

Are you a rock critic? You don't want to hear this (hell, you probably can't), but you're a douchebag!

Have you ever given your kids douchebag names like Rumer or Scout or Ambrose? I name you douchebag!

Are you a rock star who allows his/her songs to be used in tv commercials? At least you get some bucks for being a douchebag!

Are you a rapper or an alternative music "artist"? Well, you're also a douchebag!

Are you Morrissey or one of his fans? Whine, mope and cry because you're a douchebag!

Are you Emo? Well, kill yourself because everyone thinks you're a douchebag!

Do you make lists enumerating who is a douchebag? If so, well, if I need to finish this sentence for you at this point you are not just a douchebag, but you're also a colossal dumbass.

Tales Too Ticklish to Tell

Among the Items That Got Overlooked by Huffington Post Saturday are:

Contrary to Conventional Wisdom, Some Republicans More Than Willing to Sell out to Teacher's Unions.

Google Accused of Trademark Piracy.

Is Cloud Computing Pie in the Sky?

Democrats Give Polluter a Freebie.

Even With Bank Bailouts, Small Business Finding it Tough to Obtain Credit.

The Idiocy of Religion on Parade Again as Parishioners Offer Opinions on Priest's Being a Normal Sexual Human Being.

Are Parents Using Religion as a Form of Intentional Self-Delusion? Duh!

Is France a Model for Health Care?

Rock and Roll Hosebags Flog Alleged Hendrix Sex Tape.

When Activism Becomes Just Another Way to be an Asshole.

How the Fuck Can a District Vote for Airhead Dave Reichert (R-Blank Stare) and Yet Go for Obama Big?

Arnold the Legislative Flopinator.

L.A. Top Cop Bratton, Once on an Obama Homeland Security Shortlist, Continues to Earn the Enmity of Reformers, Other Chiefs.

Boutique Doughnut Shop Top Pot: Sipping on a Scam?

Hey, if You Don't Think Copyright Crackdowns Are Going Too Far, Read This

A pay per view outfit has sued an American Legion chapter in Chino, California for $160,000 because the veterans get together on occasion to take in boxing matches. They've been doing this since time immemorial. Well, not anymore.

And if that weren't enough, an asshole Pasadena lawyer named Thomas Riley is preying on veterans over this by filing suits against other American Legion chapters who have pay per view get togethers. Note that the halls do not have a cover charge, so nobody at the American Legion is making money off of this. It's more like you inviting your buddies over to your place to watch the fight with you. Conceivably, that means that if an American Legion hall can be sued, it won't be much of a leap to start suing fans for taking in matches with their friends at home.

One of the companies engaging in this sort of litigation is owned by slimebag convicted murderer and noted Republican Don King. A Google search on it turned up scores of lawsuits it was embroiled in, so it appears to me that King is using his company as a racket with which to wage legal terrorism. Always the hustler. God bless America, huh Don?

Here is the ugly L.A. Times story.

Media Credibility and Lack of Professionalism

So Wednesday, as Huffington Post showed, the White House briefing was interrupted several times by the ringing cellphones of reporters. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs confiscated one of the offending devices and hurled it into a hallway. That still didn't stop others from TAKING calls during the briefing, including the asshole from CBS.

Here is what Gibbs should do: next time a cellphone goes off in the briefing room, he announces that the session is over and leaves. And he keeps doing this until they finally get the message.

That supposed media pros can't hold to the kind of conduct expected of schoolchildren, that is, keep your cellphones off until the event ends, shows not just incredible disrespect to government officers and our democracy, but it also demonstrates the arrogance and boorishness of what passes for journalists these days.

I would normally say that the media should be ashamed of itself, but it has no shame, so such an assertion would be fruitless.

Rick Sutcliffe: Idiot of the Day

During the pre-game portion of the Dodgers-Phillies tilt Wednesday, ESPN commentator asserted that Jamie Moyer should be considered for the Baseball Hall of Fame based almost solely on prevailing 249 games over his career despite possessing a lot less than dominating stuff.

He equated Moyer with, get this, Bob Gibson, who was victorious 251 times during his time with the Cardinals because they have similar win totals. This is one of the stupidest things I have heard in baseball this year.

Look, it's great that Moyer, whose fastball wouldn't hurt me if I caught it barehanded, has been able to make a living for 22 seasons with his soft, softer and yet softer repetoire. He is a two time 20 game winner and one of the smartest hurlers in the national pastime.

However, you have to look at the stats. Moyer has never had an ERA under 3.00 during his career. Gibson had a CAREER ERA of 2.91. Moyer's lifetime WHIP of 1.32 is the mark of somebody who has been just what Jamie is, a journeyman. Gibson's insane 1968 campaign had him boasting a beyond God-like 0.53 and it was 1.19 overall for his 16 seasons in the bigs. Moyer has had only four seasons out of his 22 in MLB where he met or exceeded that.

Gibons's H/9 was in the sevens lifetime. In 16 of his 22 campaigns. Moyer has averaged more than nine knocks for a regulation battle. In more than half of his career, Moyer has given up four earned runs or more a game, putting a lot of pressure on his offense to score for him. This is despite pitching in the extreme pitchers park that is the Mariners home stadium

So the Gibson comparison was laughably asinine.

The Bert Blyleven Marching and Chowder Society will cheer Sutcliffe's analysis because if Moyer is to be considered a candidate for enshrinement then Blyleven goes in by voice acclimation.

But you know who else does? Try Jim Kaat.

Kaat, who was actually a pretty solid pitcher in his day and who won a roomful of Gold Gloves in the bargain, finished with a 1.26 WHIP and a 3.45 career ERA to accompany 283 wins. Kaat's overall stats are better than Moyer's by just about any measure while largely toiling in a park much more favorable to batters than Seattle's homeground. Only their H/9 are comparable.

If Moyer, for some reason, goes in and Blyleven and Kaat don't it would be a farce.

Did HuffPo Miss the Point on Shuster Debate Over Homophobe Beauty Queen?

In a screaming headline in its Media section, Huffington Post featured a heated series of changes between David Shuster, Contessa Brewer and Tamron Hall over Carrie Prejean's various scandals. HuffPo basically covered it like as typical media carney show, a bunch of fury signifying nothing.

However, to me, it is evident that Shuster is fed up with all the trivial bullshit he is forced to talk about by his bosses and Prejean was merely just in the way. The whole Prejean saga is a big non-story. It's not like there has exactly been a paucity of vapid conservative pagaent contestants over the years. This is about as much news as the existence of smog in L.A.

MSNBC's penchant for, in effect, trivializing the value of its news department with stuff that is better left to the cretins on E! is just a further indication that they are more interested in entertaining you but not necessarily informing you.

And the media, the big dumb creature that it is, wonders why nobody takes it seriously anymore. Forcing Keith, Rachel and Shuster to talk about this stuff is the journalistic equivalent of them being waterboarded by their bosses.

Tales Too Ticklish to Tell

Among the Items Missed by Huffington Post Tuesday:

Obama Threatened Brits to Keep Khafkaesque Renditions Going.

Have Blue Shield? Just Hope You Don't Get Cancer.

What Happens in Vegas Doesn't Stay in Vegas.

Seattle Archdiocese Blamed for Ignoring Sign of Molesting Priest.

Episcopal Priest Suspended for Sexual Misconduct.

Alaska Air Gets a Tardy from Government.

Don't Count on Wi-fi on Your Flight.

Villaraigosa Tries to Bullshit Constituents With Gun Buyback.

Former Bush Surgeon General Subject of 20 Count Indictment.

Cheerios Health Claims Bullshit.

Conservative Run City of Orange (CA) to Try to Send 77 Year Old Pensioner to Jail Over Housing Code Surprise.

IMAX Scamming Movie Goers.

LAPD Trying to Frame Innocent Man Out of Embarrassment?

Tales Too Ticklish to Tell

Jindal Gives Away 200 State Jobs and Contracts to Contributors.

Congress Kills NAFTA Mandated Program and Mexico Reacts With Increased Tariffs.

Crist Gets Pulled Out of the Closet.

Hispanic Community Criticizes Priorities in Building of New Stadium for Marlins.

When Women Bully Other Women at Work.

Get Out the Popcorn: New Virgina GOP State Chain Hates Cantor.

Columnist from Black Republican Family Has Harsh Words for GOP.

Democrat State Senator Pleads Guilty to Illegally Using Non Profit Money for Personal Use.

Big Surprise (Not): Ethics Bills Fail Despite Growing Corruption in GOP Stronghold of Alabama.

George Will and David Brooks Get Taken to the Woodshed Bigtime.

Is Incompetence Neutering the International Criminal Court?

Republicans and Some Democrats in Connecticut Want to Restore Corruption as Usual.

Domenici Feeling Increased Heat in Bush Attorneys Probe.

New Mexico's Ugly History of Corruption.

Latinos Targeted for Abuse in South.

Bybee Tried to Help Bush Legally Justify Iraq War.

Halliburton Involved in Nigeria Bribery Scam.

Texas Sheriff Pleads Guilty of Federal Charges in Massive Jail Corruption Case.

Is Orange County Democratic Party Chariman an Apologist for Corrupt Ex-Sheriff?

Is 11 Year Old Preacher Being Shafted by Adults Around Him?

Seattle Slumlord Dies Pathetic Death

When You Go to Bat for Idiots, You Look Like One, Too

Huffington Post contributor Daniel Cubias is angry about the boys who assaulted a Mexican immigrant being found not guilty on the most serious charges agianst them. The immigrant, Luis Ramirez, later died from his injuries. Cubias then goes on to equate what happened here to the Rodney King case. Unfortunately, Cubias is voting his hood and not the facts.

But before I get to why Cubias is as full of shit as your average elephant, let's revisit who ol' Rodney was for a minute:

A wifebeating drug user and alcohol addict, King pummeled the living bejusus out of a convenience store owner during a robbery, permanently disabling the immigrant shopkeeper. The idiotic L.A. justice system gave King a slap on the wrist and he was back out on the street in a year.

Then during the incident that made him thw world's most famous felon, he got high on PCP and, together with three passengers, he lead police on a high speed chase in his Hyundai. They eventually stopped him. The three passengers all surrendered peacefully and were quietly taken to jail, a fact you never see cited in the press. King, though, was acting erratically and a female officer drew her weapon with the intention of killing him. Officer Lawrence Powell ordered her to reholster her weapon. He wouldn't follow orders and was acting in a bizarre manor. Attempting to subdue him, they clubbed him again and again (they should have just blown his worthless ass away). The beating itself was the only thing most folks saw. A jury in Simi Valley justly aquitted the officers. Blacks decided to use that as an opportunity to go burn Koreatown to the ground and hispanics and whites from UCLA decided to join in on the looting, resulting in the military having to be called in at one point.

That pussy G.H.W. Bush, then had his justice department go after the officers in an egregious display of cowardice and political correctness.

Okay, now let's move on to Ramirez.

What started the conflict with the high school football players was that Ramirez, 26, was seen in a park with his 15 year old girlfriend. Yes, you read that correctly, a grown man was porking (presumably) a 15 year old. One of the youths remarked to the girl, "a little late for you to be out, isn't it?" So now we have a case where Cubias is calling a pedophile the morally superior party here. Isn't that a little ridiculous? Is the Pope German?

Anyway, the remark somehow set Ramirez off and he initiated the brawl and got his ass kicked.

The teenagers, acting like impulsive kids do, also shouted the usual anti-hispanic profanities we all know and loathe while they hammered him with their fists and feet.

The kids started to walk away. But then more words were exchanged and Ramirez went after one of the teenagers again and was on the receiving end of a stright righthand that resulted in his death. Yes, after a good beatdown and despite being outnumbered, he goes back for more. Makes sense to me. Or not.

So let's look at the totals here: pedophile goes after kids who merely think it weird a 15 year old is out with a 25 year old man late at night. He gets his head handed to him. He then comes back for more. And you're attempting to tell me these kids were in any way responsible?

Look, the best scenario would have been for someone to call the cops on Ramirez for being a pedophile rather than getting mixed up in a rat packing. That Ramirez thought he had any moral standing to go after these kids with his fists, much less being one guy against young high school football players, is laughable.

What killed Ramirez was a combination of pedophilia, machismo and stupidity. I'm going to perhaps make some of the more lunkheaded out there really angry, but it is for the best that a 26 year old who seeks out 15 year olds for sex is no longer with us. Deal with it.

But don't misunderstand me, either. The kids weren't heroes of any stripe. This whole situation was a bit like Albert Camus "The Stranger" and these kids are the protagonist. The kids are also lucky that Ramirez wasn't concealing a firearm on him.

And let this be a lesson to you: you see something out of line like Ramirez and his 15 year old paramour, then call the cops. Otherwise, shut the fuck up and mind your own business lest you risk a whole lot of sudden unpleasantness in your life.

Oh, and MALDEF, which is a Hispanic Supremacist group, can suck my dick.

Earl Ofari Hutchsinson and the Black Juicers Liberation Front

In an earlier entry, I discussed how columnist Earl Ofari Hutchinson has a tendency to ignore big issues and instead focus on trivial bullshit. Sunday, he did something far worse.

Imagine this scenario:

Martin Luther King standing at the podium at the Lincoln Memorial on August 28th, 1963 and uttering these words:

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the content of their character, but by the grandness of their stats.

Because that is more or less the point that Hutchinson inadvertently made in his piece, which propounds that the only reason Bonds is facing a perjury trial is because he was a black man who had the audacity to eclipse Babe Ruth. Never mind that the home run record holder had been another African-American, the widely admired Hank Aaron, before Bonds obliterated it with the help of modern chemistry. Basically, Hutchinson is insisting that it is okay to lie to a grand jury in a steroid manufacturing and distribution investigation because his skin color is of a darker hue than Pat Boone's.

Hutchinson then goes on to ask why Roger Clemens isn't in the same predicament. Is Earl paying attention? Clemens is not only being investigated for lying before a congressional committee, but he has been roundly humiliated by the recent revelations of his steroid use that showed that his previous denials concerning his employment of them had been lies. Right now, mud doesn't want to be associated with Clemens, such is the low his public image has sunk to.

Part of the credibility problem many black leaders and writers have with the broader American public is that too many of them are willing to excuse not just misbehavior, but even murder (think O.J. Simpson) because whitey owes them one after two hundred years of slavery and another century of segregation. Nobody with a brain is buying that nonsense.

Hutchinson, Al Sharpton, Jessie Jackson, Danny Bakewell, Mark Ridley-Thomas, Maxine Waters and that whole lot of narcissistic hustlers have neutered the "content of their character" part of the King dream and see blackness as inherently more virtuous than any other race (which is a false anthropological construct anyway) by dint of victimhood.

Roman emperor Nero had been molested by his father, emperor Tiberius (this is true), so now we should excuse Nero's depredations on his people because of that? Not happening. Nero gets no sympathy from historians and so Bonds deserves none from the public.

Yeah, I know that what Nero did is of far greater import than Bonds' actions. But you get my point. If you want legal equality then you also have to be willing to accept equality of judgment of your moral character. And Bonds, as well as Clemens and A-Rod, flunked.

Bonds and Hutchinson aren't part of King's dream; they are a segment of his nightmares.

NYC Schools Chancellor Joins Parade of Teacher Haters Without Addressing Widespread School Board Malfeasance

This article by Joel Klein effectively puts and end to tenure, which protects teachers from small minded religious nuts and politically motivated attacks, without saying that. He also makes an assertion about the Troops to Teachers program, which I conceptually wholeheartedly support as part of the solution for teacher recruiting, but he cites no evidence to back up his claims about the efficacy of that scheme. This is a typically intellectually dishonest politician move.

Here was the comment I left (I know I intended to stop posting on HuffPo, but I just can't seem to help myself):

Unfortunately, this article focuses, as too many do, on scrutinizing teachers without any proposals to evaluate and fix the gross incompetence and fiscal mismanagement of local school boards. Basically, by having school boards, we allow amateurs who have never taught one student or undergone one minute of pedagogical training to make the day to day decisions as to how our children are educated. In the private sphere, allowing amateur outsiders to run things just isn't done and with good reason.

So you get horrible monuments to educational malpractice like the Los Angeles Unified School District, the Mississippi and South Carolina school systems (the latter sees a 53% high school graduation rate) and yes, the New York City public schools, just to name four.

Let's abolish the antiquated and no longer useful institution of school boards, dissolve the school districts and allow children to attend any public school they want rather than making them captives of those districts and come up with a way to make both teachers and politicians to own the educational outcomes of their constituents. Without school board reform or abolition, any proposals regarding teachers are spinning your wheels.

How "Fuck" Came to be Taboo

In the wake of the ridiculous and hypocritical decision by the Supreme Court allowing the FCC to still intervene in content matters on television and radio comes this essay on how "fuck" morphed into the big king dick of profanity.

Idaho County Commissioners Try to Hide Nuclear Plant in Plain Site Through Euphemism

Yeah, it really is as screwy as the headline sounds.

Texas' Version of Sarah Palin

Except she didn't leave her town a $22 million debt in the name of her ambition. Try $1 BILLION.

How does this idiot keep getting elected?

Finally, Somebody Called Jack Kemp for What He Was---Just Another Rightwing Douchebag

The Huffington Post ran largely laudatory remembrances of now departed former Buffalo Bills quarterback and GOP economic hack Jack Kemp.

Unfortunately, one had to go to an alternative weekly to get the scoop on just what a smarmy asshole Kemp actually was. Read it and be glad he's gone.

Conservative Failures Reviving Communism in Japan

Contrary to its name, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in Japan is more akin to the Republicans, a conglomeration of over-represented rural constituencies and big business that is also allied with the Yakuza (Japan's version of the Mafia) and far right neo-fascist groups.

Unfortunately,. the corruption arising out of the mix has resulted in what many in that country fear is becoming a "karyu shakai (underclass society)" more akin to the income distribution of Brazil.

Of course, a reaction to that is inevitable and that is benefiting the marginalized Japanese Communist Party, as the BBC Reveals.

Japan has long also had a Socialist Party, but its old fashioned brand of neo-Marxism and general impotence as well as scandals within it have lent it declining public credibility.

Related Article.

Tales Too Ticklish to Tell

After a pretty strong edition Thursday, the Huffington Post fell back a fair bit, extending stories into Friday and upping he celebrity content. So here are some of the stories that they ignored:

Hillary Fundraiser Headed to the Hoosegow.

Major Donor to Republican pOLS Facing 79 Count Indictment; Illegal Immigration Opponents Take Note! The Money Trail is Followed Here and Here.

Town Economy Reels After Immigration Raids.

Toyota Financial Picture Becoming Grim.

Company Owned by Family of Utah Governor and Possible Presidential Candidate Jon Huntsman Sees 33% Sales Decline. Company Linked by NAACP to Environmental Racism. Company Had Fines Levied Against it by State of Texas for Environmental Violations.

Pork Processors Hit by Swine Flu News, May Seek Government Bailout.

What the Coal Industry Won't Tell You: Coal Waste Bad for Public Health.

Surveillance of Citizens Going to Far Warns Technology Expert.

The Scott Boras Roid Roster.

Tax Problems May Sink Career of Democrat Rising Star Miguel Pulido.

Republican Orange County (CA) Towns Hate on T-Mobile Towers.

Obama Cronies Locke and Gregoire and their DSHS Failed Foster Children, Court Rules.

Does U.S. Need "Digital Warfare Force"?

Two Former Bank of China Execs and Their Wives Jailed in U.S. for Committing $482 million Worth of Fraud

Medical Pros Slam Bill Gates Foundation.

Red Neck Town Mayor Wastes Everyone's Time Inveighing Against Women's Bodies.

Bill O'Reilly Then Fritters His Audience's Time Away by Blasting Musto's Snark About Homophobe Miss California.

Wacky Item of the Day: Walking Backward May be Good Brain Trigger.

Vapid Music Industry Insider Conference Flops.

Arianna Continues Slobberfest Over Katie Couric

I have long asked this question in the comments section of Huffington Post and have yet to see anyone from that site respond to it, but why is Arianna so invested in pumping up Katie Couric, one of the most prominent pin ups of how mediocrity has driven down the credibility of the news business.

Thursday, HuffPo ran a screaming headline with a photo of Couric wearing a commando helmet that blithered, "COMMANDER COURIC!" The article that was attached to is here under a different headline now.

The piece also basically uses the conflict that is killing American soldiers and innocent local civilians as a backdrop for Couric to play celebrity monkeyshine games against, an act of such bald callousness and fakery that it boggles the mind.

Several commenters got shots at Couric through the snotty and politically correct moderating staff. Here are some excerpts:

"The thought that comes to my mind when I see pictures and read articles like this is that we need to end the embed program. It is a disgrace" (WarSkeptic)

"SPARE U.S.

"Martha Stewart's guest, Katy Couric demonstrates MRE preparation, NEXT! Stay tuned-you don't want to miss THIS!" (mommadona)

"That kind of picture got us President H.W. Bush" (Uosdwis)

"Mission Accomplished" (mikefina)

There had been others that had initially shown up, but the censors then deleted them because we can't have anyone dissing Arianna's beloved Katie.

This is all just gauche. Both Arianna and Couric ought to be ashamed of themselves. However, being a celebrity means having the shame gene excised from one's DNA. And this article proves that the procedure was a success.

Tales Too Ticklish to Tell

First, Thursday's edition of Huffington Post was commendibly weighty, but here are some items they could have also used to take up their bandwidth nicely:

Cuomo Pension Scandal Probe Going Nationwide.

Mariners Use Screwy Logic to Try to Fend Off Strip Club Opening Near Their Ballpark.

Former Manhattan Prosecutors Slam Judge Judy After She Shills for Conservative DA Candidate Who Got a Freebie Rental on a Crime Ridden Club for Fundraising Event.

Transexual Meets Homophobic Miss California---And Then Disses Her Bigtime!

Democrat Tax Cheats and Other Dubious Pols Screw Taxpayers in Orange County.

Republicans: Bailouts for Investment Banks Yes, Localities No.

Zodiac Killer Daughter a Hoax.

Republican Dad Protects Crooked Cop Son With Blog.

Ohio Stupidly Still Insists on Prosecuting Teens for Sexting

Major Health Care Firm to Pay $80 Million in Penalties for Defrauding Government

Keeping American Safe: Bush Passed Over Experienced Antiterrorism Prosecutor Due to Wife's Democratic Party Activism.

Republicans Pork Up in Florida---For Alligator Marketing.

California Republican Supervisor Bilking Taxpayers for Millions. And Police Don't Care.

Minnesota, on verge of opening New ballpark for Twins, to Declare Hockey Official State Sport

Dick Cheney's Wife May Soon be Afflicting Texas Education.

Charlie Crist's Florida a Hotbed of Medicare Fraud.

The Case for Freeing Leonard Peletier.

Florida Republicans Help Criminals Escape Warrants

Students Say Bristol Palin Dissembling on Sexual Abstinence.

Greater Heart Attack and Stroke Risk With Plavix?

Barney Frank Whores for Online Gambling.

CNN Hates on Ivy League alumni who Sit on the Supreme Court.

Mozilla Starts Making Anti-trust noises at Microsoft.

Hackers Ransom Virgina Prescription Database.

Roberto Alomar Settles AIDS Lawsuit.

Arianna Does a Turn on the Governmental Catwalk

One of the more annoying aspects of Huffington Post is Arianna Stassinopoulos Huffington using it as a vehicle for promoting herself. She testified the other day before a Senate subcommittee about the future of journalism. This raises a whole host of questions:

1. What is the government doing wasting time on the state of a profession? That is for the folks in that field to decide, not the government, especially as how government and media are supposedly adversarial (okay, I'll wait while you finish laughing).

This is a far different issue from net neutrality, which the government does have rightful input on because it is of grave public concern.

2. What can the Senators who hear this testimony do about it? Nothing. I don't want a government bailout of newspapers. The newspapers shouldn't want that, either for a whole host of reasons, one of which is that it would effectively put newspapers and the government in bed together. That is not healthy for the state of objective journalism.

3. If certain media outlets decide to require subscriptions for access to their content, well, that is their business. I think the subscription approach is hopelessly wrongheaded for a mass market product like the news because it inherently shrinks the available audience for that product, but the companies take the risk. The marketplace will speak. Don't intervene in it.

4. Is any of this testimony stuff we haven't been hearing the last two years? No.

Consequently, this hearing won't change squat and is little more than a kind of lowbrow kabuki theater.

But hey, Arianna never met a tv camera she didn't like.

9/11 Engenders More Victims---and the Perp is the U.S. Government

Your and my U.S. federal government will likely initiate eminent domain proceedings soon in order to seize 500 acres worth of property from landowners in Pennsylvania so that it can build a national park commemorating what happened aboard flight 93 on 9/11.

So not only are we going to continue to wallow in that tragedy, but now we are forcing innocent third parties to fork over their land at the point of a court order in a totally unnecessary action that is actually a victory for Middle East terrorists.

Why does this deal do our enemies favors? Because it looks like we are still sobbing over the events of that notorious day like a bunch of pussies to the degree that we are willing to seize privately owned land in order to enable said whimpering. Terrorists will be high fiving each other that their evil continues to resonate deeply within us.

Moreover, the landowners will not have been directly victimized not by sociopathic foreign conspirators, but by their own government. This is a Monty Python level absurdity!

There are more dignified and reasonable ways to commemorate the flight 93 incident. A national park requiring the exercise of eminent domain isn't it.

Nice job HuffPo for ignoring this instance of wretched governmental excess.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson: The Bonfire of the Trivialities

Has anyone noticed how Huffington Post contributor Earl Ofari Hutchinson has been totally ignoring important issues involving African-Americans and instead has been churning out a mindless gumbo of utterly trivial bullshit?

The latest example was this piece for HuffPo about Miss California's anti-gay views.

Earth to Earl! Earth to Earl! Beauty queens are notorious for their vapidity. After all, these are desperately narcissistic dopes who try to garner attention based on their looks and not their content. Everybody knows this. All you are doing here is feeding her narcissism.

So by wasting his and our time with such flotsam, he has totally turned a blind eye to, for example, to Texas police shaking down black motorists for their property by threatening to frame those drivers for drug possession. You can read the rest of the ugliness here.

It also has to be noted that the NAACP hasn't addressed this either, nor has the usual coterie of black civil rights leaders and commentators even though this kind of thing sounds like a flashback from the 1950's, when the KKK and their enablers in southern law enforcement regularly harassed and even killed innocent African-Americans.

Hutchinson might as well be Montel Williams. He is trivializing himself as well as the issues he is failing to take up. C'mon Earl, wake your ass up!

Innocent 16 Year Old Taken Away by FBI Under Patriot Act; Case Has Ominous Implications for National Security and Personal Freedom

The FBI, along with North Carolina state troopers, busted down the door of a house late at night recently and arrested a 16 year old boy on terrorism charges under the Patriot Act. However, not only is he almost certainly innocent, but our top federal law enforcement agency is apparently incapable of spotting IP spoofing.

At this time, they are holding the boy somewhere in Indiana and has not been allowed to see anyone and a gag order has been imposed on all the officers involved in the teen's seizure.

I urge everyone to write your Congresspeople about this case as well as President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder.

Se TV news report here.

So if the FBI is helpless against IP spoofing then how do we expect them to investigate more complex computer related cases competently? We can't. This case is great news for domestic and foreign enemies. Really, it is both scary and pathetic.

And it puts every citizen of this country who is on the internet at risk of a false arrest and detention with no due process rights.

Nepotism is Alive and Well in Washington State

It will be interesting to see if Huffington Post celebrates this even though it is such a blatant case of nepotism it's ridiculous.

Courtney Gregoire, the daughter of our not so hot Governor Christine Gregoire, a Democrat, was named Commerce Secretary Gary Locke's Legislative Director. The young Gregoire had earlier been the LD and chief counsel for Senator Maria Cantwell despite being fresh out of law school at the time.

You think Joe Notconnected gets that job (as well as that seat at Harvard) with Cantwell? Only if you believe that Joe the Plumber has a brain.

A commenter on the Seattle Times site who dubbed himself "Seattle Tomes," got to the heart of the matter with this take:

"For those of you who suggest she is qualified, she was admitted to practice law in January, 2006 (Go to WSBA web site). She has been a lawyer just over three years. This gets her a job as legislative director and chief counsel for Cantwell and now a plum job with Locke. This smacks of nepotism no matter what side of the aisle you are on. New lawyers typically have to earn their chops before they get such sweet jobs, that is unless, of course, you are politically connected, as is Gregoire's daughter. Absent that connection, her resume would be in the round file for both those jobs, guaranteed. There is a different standard applied to the political class. Qualified, my arse."

Yup yup!

It's this kind of political inbreeding, where pols and their families begin to see positions in government as entitlements rather than things to compete for and earn fairly, that is partly responsible for holding this country back.

Locke, who outsourced state tax dollars and jobs to India as Governor Gregoire's predecessor, is a boob, calling his Indian transactions "a good deal for taxpayers." His appointment as Commerce Secretary is not change I believed in when I caucused and voted for Obama.

By the way, Gregoire just slammed Washington's college students with big fee increases during an economic downturn.

But Republicans make it easy for Democrats to get elected as long as they keep running candidates who are a cross between Jim Bakker and Ebenezer Scrooge and they have their own aristocrat wannabe problems, too.

Team Owned by McCain Patron, Major GOP Donor, Goes Bankrupt

The Phoenix Coyotes NHL hockey team is now that league's version of the Montreal Expos, as the club has gone bankrupt and will now be managed by commissioner Gary Bettman and his office until a new buyer can be found. The Coyotes have reportedly lost $90 million total over the past three seasons.

Erstwhile Research in Motion supremo Jim Balsillie is said to be interested in moving the team back to Canada. It was originally the Winnipeg Jets before it went under new ownership and headed to Arizona.

The owner of the Coyotes is Swift Transporting founder Jerry Moyes, who has given donations to the campaigns of failed presidential candidate John McCain as well as Crazy Caucus members John Shadegg and Jim Inhofe. He has also donated $5,000 in 2008 to a lobbying firm for the trucking industry.

Moyes' fortunes have reportedly been hard hit by the downturn in the economy and high gasoline costs, according to ESPN. Getting a good sale price for his hockey side would be tough, given how Forbes has called it, "one of hockey's greatest disasters."

Bettman would like to keep the club in Phoenix due to his obsession with the American market and he and Balsillie are thought to not see eye to eye generally anyway.

An economics blogger at the rightwing Ludwig Von Mises Institute had harsh words for the situation that both the Coyotes and the NHL finds itself:

"Bettman is "dealing with the situation" by simply throwing more money down the hole. He doesn't want to admit that the NHL's artificial-boom-fueled expansion and reliance on government-funded arenas was a poor business strategy. The NHL is the sports equivalent of the Fed; it's been printing worthless money in the form of new franchises for decades. Consider this: From 1978 to 2008, the National Football League and Major League Baseball increased their total "output" of regular season games by about 15%; during that same time, the NHL increased output 81%. Somehow, baseball and football remain more popular and profitable despite a slower growth rate. Some would say there's a lesson here."

The blogger is essentially right, as other NHL outfits are on an economic precipice, even after breaking the players union a while back.

McCain has whored himself to pro sports franchises, the owner of the New York Jets, Woody Johnson, raising $7.5 million for his presidential campaign last May 7th as one instance. Johnson is an Arizona native.

For more info on the Coyotes finances, see Mike Savino's blog here.

That old GOP economic magic strikes again.

Did Selena Roberts Trivialize Her Career With Her Book on A-Roid? Oh Yeah

Huffington Post Contributor Chris Kyle wrote a piece that actually didn't do anything more than highlight the reactions in the press to Selena Robert's book, A-Rod: The Many Lives of Alex Rodriguez. concerning steroid and other alleged performance enhancing drugs use by Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez.

One of the highlighted passages was a rant by the redoubtable Jason Whitlock, a Kansas City Star columnist, who is generally not known as a friend of jocks who get out of line. He has even attacked the behavior of what he called "today's hip hop athlete" for being the reason for major league baseball and other sports leagues not signing more black players.

Unfortunately, Whitlock compared Roberts book to the idiotic unjust prosecutions of the Duke lacrosse players by grandstanding DA Mike Nifong. Swing and a miss Jason.

Aside from the fact that Rodriguez is unlikely to ever face jail time for his juicing, the $250 million man has indeed been found out to be doing something underhanded and in violation of MLB rules. This isn't Snow White we're talking about. This is the phoniest pro athlete in America.

That Kyle allows Whitlock's hysterical exegesis to be used as some kind of credible condemnation of Roberts admittedly gratuitous and lurid tome brings no light to this issue. You also have to take into account that while people around A-Rod, guys like Shane Spencer, a dubious character himself, and former Yankees first sacker Doug Mientkiewics deny that they saw any evidence that A-Rod was building better muscles through chemistry or tipping pitches, Rodriguez himself has denied nothing, only using, to quote Chrissy Hynde in "Brass in Pocket," his sidestep when reporters attempt to query him on the allegations at hand.

If you are a juror and a man is innocent, you generally want to hear him profess his purity from the witness stand. A-Rod, who would be in no legal jeopardy for issuing a denial, continues to stand silent, which makes jurors, that is, the sporting public, look at him even further askance.

As for Roberts herself, well, the NY Times already had Jason Blair and Judith Miller (who is now working for Fox News) fall down on the journalistic job and her still to be proven allegations of high school steroid use and pitch tipping (which, if true, should earn him banishment from the game) are indeed, as Deadspin writer AJ Daulerio noted, the kind of thing Roberts used to bitch at bloggers about. And the book ends up thus looking like not a product of America's leading newspaper, but something out of the keyboard of the discredited NY Post Page Six writer Richard Johnson as a result. Heckuva job there, Selena.

What's the Deal With Arianna's Last Name?

Feminism propounds that women are not appendages to men, but rather independent and unique individuals unto themselves who deserve respect and the opportunities men have historically enjoyed. Little to disagree with there.

Nonetheless, for all the feminist folderol on Huffington Post, the woman whose name adorns the site has made a curious choice in keeping the surname of her gay ex-husband, former Republican Congressman and perpetual empty suit Michael Huffington. WTF?

Arianna, as most of you know, was the daughter of a Greek journalist and was largely educated in the UK. She then married Huffington and attached herself to the Newt Gingrich Contract on America crowd, causing me to call her "Zsa Zsa Gabor with a Phd."

But once the whole GOP "revolution" turned into the same old repressive bullshit of a time long gone by, replete with corruption that was little more than just the looting of the national treasury, she bolted both the yellow elephants and Huffington. Yet, she didn't revert back to the last name she was born with, Stassinopoulos.

She had basically retrenched her life and certainly using the name her father and mother had given her would have been symbolic of that. Plus it would have been an announcement that she wasn't just going to float in the wake of a man (who was a boob to boot) and would plot her own course.

Of course, it has long been a tradition in Hollywood where actors and actresses with uncommon surnames (or, God fobid, those indicating a Jewish background) to take new identities to ease their viability as a public consummable.

However, these are more forward thinking times and such stragems are no longer necessary. Plus you now have a situation where the vapid Debbie Matanepoulos, is arguably the leading celebrity Greek-American. Well, unless you want to say Telly Savalas, but does anyone even remember him?

It is ironic that not only does the supposed feminist Arianna continue to go by her husband's last name, but she has even named her putatively progressive site after a man who was a conservative oil millionaire. Sorry if I think that's screwy.

Tales Too Ticklish to Tell

Lost amid all the celebrity gossip on Huffington Post were these important news items:

FBI Hires Convicted Con Man to Infiltrate Islamic Mosques in Southern California. Said Con Man Then Swindles Taxpayers, the FBI Itself and Various Civilians.

Pentagon Slow to Recover Unearned Millions from Defense Contractor.

Alaska Republican Pleads Guilty to Bribery in Oil Tax Bill Scandal.

Alabama Governor Committed Two Federal Crimes; Media Ignores it.

Film Outs Florida Governor and Closet Case Charlie Crist.

Mexican-American Hate Groups Do Immigration Advocates No Good. Gustavo Arellano Exposes the Pendejos.

Anti-White Hate Songs Popular in Mexico.

The Catholic Church Continues to Move Pedo Priests Around, Unbeknownst to Spanish Parishioners.

Obama Homeland Security Candidate Bullshits the Locals With Bogus Assertions on the L.A. Crime Rate.

So-Called Moderate Minnesotat Governor and Presidential Aspirant Tim Pawlenty Hops on the Homophobe Express.

Media Myths and Falsehoods About the Supreme Court.

Convicted Murderer Has Ties to L.A. Mayor and Possible Future Gubernatorial Candidate Tony Villaraigosa as well as cokehead councilman Mike Hernandez.

Bid to Put More Cops on the Street Turns into a Hustle and Villaraigosa is Mixed Up in it.

Villaraigosa Helped Developer Skirt Environmental Rules.

Bipartisan Corruption in Philadelphia Tax Board.

Republican Convict Pol Greeted "Warmly" in Tennessee Capital.

Pols Gone Wild.

GOP Pol Used Privilege in Attempt to Avoid DUI Ticket After Being Caught Exceeding 100mph.

Do You Have to be Mormon to Get a Job or Run a Business in Idaho? These Folks Say Yes.

Congress Critters Continues to Manipulate Wikipedia.

VD More Popular Than Orrin Hatch in Utah. This is Not a Drill.

Is Mormon Church's Homophobia Strengthening Pro-Gay Cause?

Poll Finds Iowans Hating GOP Bigtime.

Former Republican Alaska Governor Gets Bad News on Discrimination Claim Against Him.

Arlen Specter is Gay! (Satire)

Young People to Republican Homophobia: Epic Fail.

NY Latinos Conservative Socially---and Favor Democrats.

Lack of Affordable Health Care Costing Texas Big.

History Channel Should Know: Republicans Living in the Past.

Texas Republican Pol in Cahoots With Crooks and Yet Calls Himself a Victim.

Michele Bachmann Nominated for A Darwin Award (Satire).

Anti-Gay Evangelist a Tax Cheat. And is His Foundattion a Scam?

New Federal Rule Blamed for Keeping Seattle Condo Buyers Homeless.

Seattle Police Panting Over Gay Porn.

Former DEA Agent Facilitating Crack Cocaine Sales?

The Purpose of This Site

The Huffington Post is a putatively progressive site, but in practice it is not. Its heavy handed censorship of its reader comments, emptyheaded gender cheerleading, tendency to defend mainstream media figures, dishonest product placement schemes and Arianna's general starfucking have resulted in a lot of grumbling by its users.

So this site will hopefully prove to be a rod of correction.

All commenters are welcome to react to the posts on my site as long as you aren't trolling. Yes, you can post your comments that Huffington Post censored. Email me with that deleted comment and if it is worthwhile, I will feature it under its own heading, even if I don't personally totally agree with it.