Nice Try

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

I guess the Secret Service is a bit rusty on their shoe interception techniques. I understand Dana Perino got a black eye in the ensuing kerfuffle, so it wasn't a total loss.

Too Bad For You

Sometimes the history of a word can tell us a lot. Take “decimate” for instance. Originally, designating the Roman practice of punishing mutinous troops by killing every tenth member of a legion, the word is now generally accepted (albeit by only 61 percent of the usage panel for the American Heritage Dictionary) as indicating the killing of a large portion of a group. On this one, I’m with the minority of the panel. The punishment and the word were meant to convey the devastation experienced by the whole group when “only” a tenth of the population was punished. Now, when decimation brings to mind wiping out a majority or a plurality of a group, rather than a tenth, strict decimation may seem not so bad—and that’s very bad.

What brings this to mind is Mona Charen’s December 9th blogpost, “Stampede Psychology,” in which she chides the nation as a whole for overreacting to the current economic crisis. Observes Mona:

Yes, there have been 1.9 million jobs lost since the start of the recession last year. And that's not good. But that still leaves 93.3 percent of us employed. Close to 10 percent of homeowners have either missed a house payment or are in foreclosure, according to the Los Angeles Times. That's bad obviously. But 90 percent of us are not in danger of losing our homes. . . .

The economy is not as bad as our behavior indicates it should be.

Or as one legionary said to another, “What are you crying about? They left 90 percent of us alive."

Panic is never an appropriate response to a crisis. And of course losing a job or a house is not losing one's life (by the way an even smaller percentage of the usage panel accepts decimation for use when destruction other than killing is meant.)

But for Charen to minimize the effect on the whole of a nation of a near seven percent unemployment rate (that’s 10.3 million people in case you’re counting) and the fact that 2.25 million homeowners will face foreclosure this year alone, amounts to a moral deficiency. But such is the callousness of capitalism.

HT to silveradept.

What...no perp walk?

U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald said in a statement that “the breadth of corruption laid out in these charges is staggering.”

And just like that Illinois goes from being in a state of pride to being in a state of embarrassment.

Ahhh...tainted politicians in the morning... smells like Chicago.

Tuesday Malamute Blogging

Kodi loves avocados...even in plant form. Or the pot is nice and cool for his furry head.

The Good Life

The good life @ Yahoo! Video

I'll drink to that...

OK, I shamelessly stole this image from bartcop because it made me happy, and right now I find myself adding up the silver linings. Most of them, realistically, could do with a bit of buffing.

We here at Ms&Ms are working on a more cogent response that we can all get behind. So stay tuned...

Quick Question

Has Bill Kristol been right about fucking anything?





NO.

Monday Malamute Blogging

He's found the bed again.

Fundamental Rights On the Line in CA

Where is the Democratic leadership on this offensive, divisive piece of execrable legislation?

Regardless of how you feel about the issue, we should not eliminate fundamental rights for ANY Californians. Please vote NO on Prop 8.

ht to magyarok_saman for the link to the video

Power Suit to Nowhere

We get mail:

Well, it appears that Palin and her family arrived for the convention with very little in the way of clothes and certainly not ready for the glare of the national stage. Bristol's boyfriend's hair, for example, was such a mess that he basically had dread locks. After a 10-minute, high-level discussion it was decided he must get a haircut (I believe the RNC picked up the tab for that too)...

Well, anyway, it was decided to shop at Neiman because Neiman Marcus is a truly full service department store: the sales team brought the department store to the hotel, bringing racks of clothing for the Palins to try on. This was apparently easier and more practical than browsing the racks at TJ Maxx. More expensive, too.

This was in reference to the big, big shopping spree ($150,000!!) Sarah Palin won as a bonus prize for appearing at the RNC and agreeing to be John McCain's "flair" running mate. Governor Palin, come on down!

Wow. $150,000 is more than most real Americans spend on hearth and home in a lifetime. Well, maybe half a lifetime. Do you think they'll let her keep the swag?

No word on whether Levi Johnston's dreadlocks signified spiritual intent, natural and supernatural powers, or were a statement of non-violent non-conformity, communalism and socialistic values, and solidarity with less fortunate or oppressed minorities.*

*from Knotty Boy's Dreadhistory

Food for Thought

Silveradept, in comments, asked for links to a study or report ranking post-WWII U.S. presidents that would bear out the list posted below. I asked John at Progressive Involvement who said he posted an email he received and had no links to share. I did a little digging and found the tables below.

According to Forbes, Bill Clinton ranks first among the 10 postwar presidents overall, with LBJ and JFK in the top three, but Ronald Reagan is ranked above both Truman and Carter.

The US Misery Index says Eisenhower presided over a less miserable country than the other nine.

Tuesday Malamute Blogging

The other day a bunny frolicked in the yard for a good couple of hours. Kodi was beside himself. This is the least blurry photo of the afternoon.

Tax and Spend Liberals

John Petty over at Progressive Involvement checks the record from WWII to the present:

1. The largest growth in domestic product – Truman

2. The highest growth in jobs – Clinton

3. The largest increase in personal disposable income after taxes – Lyndon Johnson

4. The highest growth in industrial production – John F. Kennedy

5. The highest growth in hourly wages – Lyndon Johnson

6. The lowest Misery Index (inflation plus unemployment) – Truman

7. The lowest inflation – Truman

8. The largest reduction in deficit – Clinton

Think what our elections would be like if only our public education system worked.

Gawkers Look Elsewhere, or Better Yet, Get A Life

Jeez! The howls of indignation. Grow up, people. Yes, it's gone; that oh-so-exciting post that people can't seem to get enough of. We know deleting doesn't erase it from memory. Like so much urine in a swimming pool, trace elements will remain.

For those of you trolling this site for dirt on Obama and Ayers, please look elsewhere. Red Rabbit and the rest of us have said our piece which doesn't amount to much beyond that yes there was an event which we attended and which has been part of public record for years. If you want to have a serious debate on how progressive Obama truly is then we can talk. But judging from the traffic stats and the comments I doubt that's what you're looking for.

This site has been pretty hard on Obama but has always criticized him from a progressive standpoint. Quite frankly the accusation that Obama would have a terrorist agenda is laughable considering what a cautious politician he is. Nor should Ayers be tried anew for his weather underground activities. His radical bonafides are so outdated, calling him a terrorist is giving him way too much credit.

So go to the Boston Globe, or Politico.com or wherever else we've been quoted. As for us, this blog is independently run, and reserves the right to pull material, specifically if that material hurts the blog at large. Moreover the post in question was up LONG before this election and in the last several months has been woefully distorted to slander a private citizen.

Meanwhile, shouldn't you look to your own candidate? He ain't doin' so well.

GOP Racism

It looks like the Republicans will be out in the streets with their sheets and nooses before this election is over. The illustration above appeared in a GOP newsletter in San Bernadino, CA this month.

Diane Fedele, president of the group, said she had no racist intent.

"I never connected," she told the newspaper. "It was just food to me. It didn't mean anything else."

But what else did we expect from the party of Jesse Helms, Strom Thurmond, William Rehnquist, and Ronald Reagan?

A Gigantic Nuclear Furnace

An animation of the sun, seen by NASA's Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) over the course of 6 days, starting June 27, 2005. (Courtesy of SOHO/EIT consortium) #

Paul Krugman Wins the Nobel Prize!

Way to go Professor Krugman! Hmmm...Secretary of the Treasury has a nice ring to it. Are you paying attention Barack?

Sunday Malamute Blogging

On a recent trip to For Dog's Sake, in search of healthy chews for Kodi, Marcía the owner, talked us into getting him a bull penis. He loved it. He may no longer have cojones, but he now has a bully stick.

Cool!

It's working!

You know that e-mail everyone's been sending around, encouraging people to donate to Planned Parenthood in the name of Sarah Palin? So far, it has yielded $802,678 in donations from over 31,000 people, from all 50 states, two-thirds of whom are first-time donors. Thank-you notes to Palin, care of the McCain campaign headquarters, will begin going out next week.

Keep 'em coming.

Paul Newman

With broken hearts we note the passing of one of our favorites. Paul Newman was one of those rare actors who never struck a false note, and I suspect it was the same in his real life.

Favorite films: Hombre, Hud, and Road to Perdition
Favorite quote: 'Necessity is the motherfucker of invention.'
Favorite little known characteristic that I shared with him: He was color-blind. (I still am)