Way too easy....but I couldn't resist.

Jumping the Stark may equal "Jumping the Shark" for the Allen campaign....these things don't write themselves ya know but sometimes they do. Allen is a wife spitter apparently. Hmmmm, I didn't even know they existed.

As Fawlty Tower's says "Don't mention the war!. I did once but I think I got away with it".

This is what the Bushies really think about the value of the US soldier. They can't afford to push back too hard on Maliki for fear of sending him way off the rez and spilling embarrassing beans before Tues. But this is something you don't back off of. It is hard to believe that even these guys could be so cynical as to abandon an abducted GI but it appears that is the case. Let's see Rush and Hannity spin this one as a left-wing conspiracy.

Fundamentals and Playing by the Book

Interesting developments on this Times story...According to the article, NATO and the US specifically had nothing to do with the raid on Pakistani militants and no high value targets were among the 80 reportedly killed. NBC News is reporting tonight that the US not only had a hand in the strike but that CIA drones were used effectively in the attack. This info was at odds with first reports and one can't help but wonder if the Pentagon was trying to keep it quiet initially. Perhaps waiting to take credit if Osama was somehow confirmed as part of the mix and downplaying or obscuring the level of participation in the event of a "no-name" conclusion. I think once the cat got out of the bag the Pentagon found itself playing defense and had to reposition on who was pulling strings. Either way it plays out (and I can't imagine we'll see lots of press follow up)...the imagery of burning American flags with shouting anti-American Pakistan protesters can't hurt the GOP get out the vote efforts. Whipping up a little old fashioned public square kill uncle Sam sentiment can go a long way in getting the base and near base to revisit the national security question.

Of course it is hard to ignore the timing and this one looks suspiciously like something out of the Rove playbook. I think I found the entry....lets see.....ok here it is:


Find Dog....Wag the motherfucker.

Santorum Doesn't Disappoint

Nothing like emptying the tank at the end of an election cycle. In this case, that tank is the already near empty reservoir of dignity that the pitiful
Santorum in PA had left. Now he has none...zilch and bupkus. What must it be like to have to look in the mirror and try rationalize behavior like this? I guess christian values are pretty relative and I don't especially care about other people's beliefs...but when it is always the same preachy crew that comes up with the most sickening kind of discourse, it reinforces the fact that they will do anything to retain their power. There is no line left uncrossed, there is no baseless rumor, lie or innuendo left un-attempted, there is no shame and there is certainly no apology... Oh this story definitely stinks but it has the distinct odor of desperation rather than just "politics" attached to it. And that odor is sticking to the Santorum campaign. Out of all the races next week, this one might be the most gratifying to see go down...There isn't really any doubt on the outcome but I would like to see the humiliation factor on Dog Man Rick amped up a bit.

Hapless and helpless

Is what the New York Jets are. If there is a more pathetic sports franchise out there, I'd like to see them. Losing to the 1-5 Browns is unforgivable....losing in the fashion they did is unforgetable. God, do they stink!

Melman's Cafe

Porn contributions are happening here? Well, I am shocked, shocked at this outrageous behavior...

Yeah, yeah Ken.....shocked, I know...whatever.

Mel Kenman is what my Uncle would've called ya

Bundle up East Coasters...

It's 80 here....karma says we'll have an earthquake soon.

Family Guy - Where's My Money

This would be a good collection email to send to tardy customers...just to remind'm a bit of their obligations.

Halloween Wilder

Do NOT OPEN this door!

Let me simplify....

For your listening pleasure...see earlier GD post.



Early Morning Rain

Cardinals

Big time team performances seem to always carry the day in the WS. Congrats to a team that seemed to be lacking just about every necessary component to overcome the prohibitive favorite. Again, as the local Joe used to say..."baseball is a funny game".

Jeanne Zalasko interviewing in the stadium echo is awful...where is the champagne on the heads? c'mon man...have some fun with it for Christs sake....

Eckstein is MVP...hope it is ok with his Dad who apparently still runs his life.

1965 Dead Blogging

If Gordon Lightfoot and Jerry Garcia had a fight, I think 9 fingers Garcia would pound the shit out of Gordo but they both do a great version of Early Morning Rain.

Do yourself a favor and click the link for Grateful Dead Live...hit GD MP3's and grab the show from Golden Gate Studios circa 1965...and then never speak of Gordon Lightfoot's version ever again.

GD

FAT Lady (and I mean circus fat)

Singing like a bird...

Abbott and Costello

Still a classic...hopefully Detroit has a sense of humor...that being the murder capital and all...As Max would say "sorry about that crack about the gorilla"

Abbott and Costello

As the old Who's on First comedy routine by Abbott and Costello goes "I don't know plays 3rd". As the Detroit Tigers go...I don't know how to throw to 3rd.

Not counting, but that's about 40 errors trying to get the guy at 3rd base. And the fans are starting to notice...

Game 5

Verlander vs. Weaver tonight if the rain stays away. I'd still like to see Rogers pitch again this year just to see if Superman reverts to form.

WS

This is more like it...wow!

Chef of the Future

See ya later Sheffield ...oh yeah, you're outa leverage dude.

World Series Blogging

Shaping up nicely with terrifc pitching on both sides so far. Suppan has surprised with another strong effort. God must be on his side...but he's losing...how can that be?

Game 4

Let's get this one in

Same pitchers slated and players were taking live BP outside this afternoon...with a little luck, we should be playing ball.

Crack open a cold one and enjoy!

Bozo's

Now you've ruined it for everyone else

Hat tip to Americablog

Must See TV

Keith Olbermann is consistently the best thing on TV. Entertaining while being informative and funny....I can't imagine that it won't be cancelled soon.

Game Postponed

Rainouts suck but they suck considerably more for World Series games. That's for the fans but I wonder if an off day will benefit either pitching staff at all...food for thought.

Man Down?

Seemed to have some server problems on all blogspotters earlier but I guess it is cleared up now. It wasn't me man...

Uh-oh

That might leave a slight bruise....

But I did not have sex with "that" woman...

Harold Ford likes football AND girls.

Simmons

This guy is funny...he also nails a point I made last weekend on Kenny Rogers.

Bonderman vs. Suppan

I like the Tiger hitters to get healthy tonight against Suppan because no way he pitches another gem and there are some seriously "due" batters in the Detroit lineup.

Political side note: Suppan is one of few sports figures and celebrities scheduled to appear on a ad for Jim Talent rebutting the recent Michael J. Fox spot for stem cell research.

Piece of advice for Supe: Take it outside godboy...

Bush Press Conference/Train Wreck

Watching Bush a bit this morning attempt to explain and defend Iraq policy and I really don't believe what I am seeing. Ramble, Ramble....lecture.. point, laugh inappropriately, blurt out talking points as they jump into head..ramble,ramble. When he loses track of what he is saying he reverts back to old talking points that have since been rendered non-op....boy is this bad.

Note to Bush: As of 4th grade, you are not to use a word to describe itself in a definition. David Gregory asked about the difference between benchmarks and timetables and Bush replied that benchmarks were different because they represented certain benchmarks for the Iraqi gov. to hit....?????? Ow, that hurt my head.

I had to check the time on my watch a few times because I suspected that I had blacked out momentarily and therefore lost salient portions of his responses....nope, no such luck. This study in incoherence was actually taking place real time and I presume expected to reassure the voting public that Iraq was not a total disaster. Hard to know if they are really this delusional or just hope that the American public is.

Robertson Vs. Carpenter

Look for SL to take the 2-1 WS lead tonight behind the home cooking of Carpenter.

Stay the Course (or not)

One of the more irritating traits of the Bush gang (and there are so many to choose from)is the penchant for lying to people's faces and daring to be called on it. I can't figure out if it is:
a) force of habit
b) arrogance the likes we have never seen
c) assumption of press laziness and or apathy
d) confidence their base will believe anything....and I mean ANYTHING they say
e) all of the above

The new strategy of denying the old strategy appears as well thought out as Homer Simpson's marketing campaign for the local bowling alley a few years back which consisted of shooting off a shotgun at the entrance while yelling "bowling! bowling!"
On second thought Homer's may have more nuance.

Big Daddy

The HBO documentary on Goldwater is an interesting watch and worth checking out. Widely accepted as the "father of modern conservatism", the film leaves no doubt that he would have little use for today's post-modern version. He was a guy that didn't take any crap and it is a shame that most of his party has abandoned many of the ideas he championed. Some of the guys in the film like George Will just can't help but get under your skin though... I'd like to run into that guy in an elevator some time.

You're kidding right?

According to this rightwing nutjob....we haven't killed enough people who didn't invade us...Insane.

Mr. Rogers

So all of a sudden this guy is channeling Cy Young....WTF? HGH anyone? He sure has sacked up but I wonder where the new found invincibility comes from. They say tigers don't change their stripes don't they?

Rogers vs. Weaver

Is not exactly Denny McClain against Bob Gibson is it? 2 guys who ordinarily you wouldn't hire to clean lockers in the post season are the game 2 starters and either one is likely to give you enough to win. Like Garigiola used to say, "baseball is a funny game". Let's see if it is particularly funnier for one of the starters.

Leo Kottke, Chet Atkins and Doc Watson - jamming

Like Jefferson, Lincoln and Roosevelt sitting around talkin politics....the masters at work.

Game 1

Well, that'll thicken the plot a bit. Tigers seemed a bit nervous....though to be fair, it was hard to tell if they were playing baseball or soccer the way they kicked the ball around. Good old ass-kickin to start out but not the expected kicker of ass to be sure.

There is no better start to an October series than one that doesn't turn as predictably as the leaves.

Late Night Wolf Blogging

Remember, I'm pirating so you don't have to...

Hot Effing Tuna

Just because I can now....

Riding the Big Boys

I'm sorry but this dude is sick....

October Classic (hopefully)

All logic points to Detroit having their way with the Cards in this series but post seasons have a knack for defying the conventional wisdom. Surely the Tiger pitching has what it takes to dominate (see Yanks, A's) but I wonder if SL and their unimpressive 83 win regular season might put up a bigger fight than most expect. The Redbirds have certainly been playing with a Cinderella-esque quality so far so who's to say they can't keep on keepin on? I still pick the Tigers in 6 but either way hope for some exciting games. Not really ready for baseball to be over yet...plus it's been 80 degrees all week and that tells me baseball should be still played.

Republican Turmoil

For me a test of technology but an apt metaphor for Republican politics as well.

Tempting yes, but I think I'll pass....

I haven't read David Kuo's book (Tempting Faith) about the the Bush Office of Faith-Based Initiatives during his time there but I gather from the news reports that there was no real "there" there. I agree with Digby that Bush and most of his cronies saw an opportunity to exploit the religious beliefs of the righties for their own gain and then laughed about their benefactor's gullibility behind closed doors. How anybody ever bought the Bush persona as a born again Jesus freak is beyond me. Those righties sure must feel like suckers though. Kinda funny when you think about it...all that time thinking that they had one of their own in the oval office and they were just being bullshitted the whole time. Ouch!

The Fat Lady Singeth

It's all over but the crying....and there will be crying...oh yeah, there will be some crying goin on...

uh-oh (and I mean that in a bad way, Shea)

What is it with people named Molina in post-season play....are they some kind of mutant baseball aliens sent to fuck with the overmatched roider mortals? Man, what a game!

Classic Game

If the Mets win this game it will go down as one of the best Post Season catches ever....Unbelievable!

Woulda, shoulda, coulda

As a Yankee fan, this is what I had hoped to see in October but I guess that the next best thing is to hope for a Mets collapse in the 7th game of the NLCS. If that happens, the year will have the feeling of Lucy pulling back the football at the last moment from Charlie Brown for Met fans. That would be cool.

Eric, I coulda been a contenda...

Check out Alterman today for a more comprehensive and eloquent analysis of the lack of press coverage on the Johns Hopkin's recent (published but not publicized) Iraq mortality stats than I had last week here. I dropped Eric a note to let him know I'm glad we were both on the same wavelength. Still boggles the mind that it really doesn't seem to bother anyone.

Passed Ball

My bad not to mention that the suspension of Habeas Corpus aspect of the torture bill. While not as morally repugnant as the tacit approval of torture, the former will most certainly impact more Americans that the later. I'm pretty sure that Bush doesn't know Habeas Corpus from Corpus Christi but also just as sure that the Cheney wing counted heavily on Joe Q. not knowing either. It's all about them coming for the other guy. When "that" guy becomes "you".... the writ is rather becoming.

Torture Inc.

Well, it's official for now anyway. When the Supremes have their say, the agins may outweigh the fors on this one. But no matter what happens, severe damage had been done to our international reputation for even considering the pro-torture legislation. Let's be clear about the intent of this also....CYA is a lot easier with a law in place that absolves prior offenses. At some point there will be some morally reprehensible behavior rendered legal due to the Bush torture bill. I can't imagine some of the shit out there if they had to go the lengths of passing a bill retro. Nothing is off the table with this gang...sadly, nothing at all.

How many chickens is that?

Scratch that last impression....now I'm in the system trying to make my case for "severe personal hardship". Pain in the ass clearly doesn't qualify so that is out as an excuse. I'm going with the indispensible nature of my contributions to the local economy. And when I say local, I mean confined to the 4 walls of my personal abode.

Civic Doody

Got to my office this morning after being out of town and touch for a few days and found a overdue reminder message to call a 800 number for possible jury duty this AM. A quick call established that my proverbial number was indeed up because Mr. Murphy says it's so. My mandatory 8:00 arrival turned into 9:00 per my appointment oversight and to my surprise could have been later even still. Didn't get picked in the cattle call for a closer look and got a 4 mile run in during the 2 hour lunch break. Upon my return I located a pay internet system to while away and have to admit it could be a lot worse. I wonder if one were to access a site of questionable content if said one would be encouraged to leave altogether....hmmmmm.

Local Flavor

Got into South Jersey in time to take a run out by what they apparently call an airport in these parts. Saw 5 sheriff trucks in 40 minutes and 3 deer....not sure if that is the general ratio but I didn"t see any regular people...kinda weird.

I also had occasion to visit a local restaurant I'm partial to and recognized a purely east coast brew on tap that I enjoy and proceeded to order a Ling-Ling. Only after sampling a few sips and more closely examining the type on the tap did I realize my rather gross mis-pronounciation. The bartender didn't make mention but he missed the obvious Panda Piss jokes at my expense. I deducted accordingly from his tip for his lack of attention. Dumbfuck hayseed.

Baseball and Lloyd Bridges

Bad time to be a Yankee fan when the leaves start to fall and the only Bombers in the news are suspected terrorists but are unfortunately guilty of being just incredibly bad pilots. I feel bad for Corey and his family but can't help but wonder how long it will take FOX to incorporate the tragedy into a Tommy Lasorda commercial. They are so paranoid about small market teams making and possibly going deep into the playoffs, they had to come up with promos that will guilt fans into watching if their teams are eliminated. Well the Yanks are gone and the only way that I'll agree to watch despite lack of said Bombers is if someone can guarantee that Tommy Lasorda WON'T show up at my house.

Clarification

I have no idea about the veracity of the numbers on the JH study of Iraqi casualties. The lack of interest in actually pursuing accurate numbers is puzzling though. As a human being I'm a little concerned as to what will be found. Could be the strategary (sp) is to kill everyone over "there" ...so we won't have to bother with the swarthy little buggers over here? Makes no sense to me but I guess enough are in agreement on that dicey bit of business for it to qualify as policy...how's tricks in NK?

Journalism Schmournalism

NBC Nightly News reported on Bush's rose garden presser today, hitting a few of the supposed key moments. One of the highlighted questions had to do with the release of the Johns Hopkins' study on the wartime Iraqi fatalities which according to the report has exceeded an astounding 650M citizens. Bush's response: "that study's methodology has been discredited". OK, fair enough....But don't you think it would be easy enough to establish whether or not the analysis was statistically sound and within accepted guidelines for measuring these types of numbers? There was no further mention about that clearly unambiguous Presidential statement but damn, shouldn't there have been one? Like, Hey we checked and these methods are solid and whoever discredited them is full of shit. Or, how about: We found x number of others in addition to the WH discrediting the methodology....or expounding on any alternate process that back up the contentions? Too much trouble I guess. I'm now of the rather jaded opinion that if Bush were to pronounce that 2 + 2 is no longer 4, the press would report it....they just wouldn't challenge it...and that is a serious problem.

I guess Torre is safe

I haven't had a chance to weigh in on the stunning defeat of the Yankees yet but I don't think that changing managers is the answer to the problems in the Bronx. They need to get younger and get more Paul Oneill's in that dugout. I don't think that they had to replace a watercooler all year but hey, sometimes you need to air it out and do it in public to make sure that everyone understands the urgency of the situation. I don't Joe is going to do so I think it is up to one of the players. Speaking of intensity....was that really Kenny Rogers pitching last Fri.? Different guy than I remember.....Funny, but the Yankees finally got the pitcher they thought they were getting 10 years ago after paying millions for the "Gambler". Too bad he was playing for the other team at the time.

Going, Going, Gone...

Off to Catalina for some R &R till Tues. Still trying to get over the debacle in Detroit last night. Do or die time for the Yanks today and if they go down....it will not be a pretty vacation. Just wanna put that out there right now.

A fine Specimen

If Denny has to resign (and he will) you know it will be a depressing event for him and that is a concern....you have to hope that he doesn't let himself go physically.

Devious Dems

So apparently the right wing noise machine is starting to float conspiracy theories related to the Foley story. I guess that wingnut version is that the Dems somehow manipulated both the participants in the events and the media on this to create an Oct. surprise. Yeah, right...shurrrrre that must be it...thats the story. Couldn't be that the Republican leadership is populated by various self hating pervs and craven power hungry hypocrites...could it? Look, they got caught redhanded and the truth hurts like a mutha.....it burns, it burns....But, let's try to turn this against the Dems and since a large portion of the republican base is dumber than a box of rocks...there is a good shot many will buy into that.

Really?

Forget about who knew what, when etc on Foley-ramma......drinking can make you gay? and a pedophile? Fuckin-A, I did not know that.

What Would Jesus Do?

How long do you think it will take for the GOP to consult with the Catholic Church on the Foley-Gate scandal? If anyone knows about this kind of damage control it is the Catholics. They wrote the book on it so to speak. Watching the leadership squirm and issue mutiple statements, retractions and generally try to absolve themselves is hilariously good fun. The Dems got themselves a club....let see if they know how to use it.

MWK

We lost a close family member last week very unexpectedly. A terrible, terrible loss. May she rest in peace.

Baseball Playoffs (AL)

Took long enough but the Tigers finally blew the division. That buys them the Yankees and an early ticket to the golf course. Kenny Rogers spit the bit and took the loss for the biggest free fall in recent memory. I like the Yanks (natch) in 4 and hope for Oakland to upset the Twins in 5.

MTP

Dewine vs. Brown debate on MTP the morning. Man, that Dewine is an empty suit. Ohions, Ohioians (?) must be especially stupid to ever elected that guy but I think he is probably going down for the count come Nov. Some of these repubs remind me of the Saturday Night Live sketch where Jon Lovitz playing Dukakis says " I can't believe I'm losing to this guy" Ditto.