Who's Scarier, Republicans Or Terrorists?

Everyone is getting into the act.

Spy Or Die

This is what happens when the Hollywood writers go on strike and the Republicans fill in. Watch the trailer for their new show 24 1/2.


Now here's a more light-hearted take from the writers at the cartoon network.

YOU DECIDE

Viewer Discretion Advised

This was just painful to watch. Chris Matthews skewered a hapless state senator from Texas during last night's primary election coverage. I don't think we'll be seeing this guy trotted out as an Obama surrogate again any time soon:

I suspect this is a bit of a Rorschach test. Depending on your perspective, it's proof that Obama is a lightweight, just goes to show what a gasbag Matthews is, or appeals to the same voyeuristic instinct that makes you slow down and gawk at a car accident. --David Kurtz

k.b.: I say 50/50. No doubt, in my opinion, Chris Matthews is a gasbag but. If Obama is your man and you're speaking for him on national tv, then you should know as much as you can about his history both in and out of politics. There's no excuse for that.

Float Like A Butterfly - Sting Like A Bee

Tell Us What You Really Think

Clinton surrogate and Machinists union President Tom Buffenbarger: "Give me a break! I've got news for all the latte-drinking, Prius- driving, Birkenstock-wearing, trust fund babies crowding in to hear him speak! This guy won't last a round against the Republican attack machine. He's a poet, not a fighter." --Josh Marshall

k.b.: Yep, that's me. Just the other day I withdrew money from my trust fund, ran down to the dealership, picked up my new Prius and had time to stop at Starbucks for a Primo Grande Mocha Latte to celebrate. Oh and one other thing, it's really hard to do that I own a Prius celebration dance in your Birkenstocks.

America The Stupid

Kellie Pickler Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader? Obviously not.


And let's not forget this answer provided by Miss South Carolina from the Miss Teen USA 2007 contest.


Random House; "Disdain for logic and evidence defines a pervasive malaise fostered by the mass media, triumphalist religious fundamentalism, mediocre public education, a dearth of fair-minded public intellectuals on the right and the left, and, above all, a lazy and credulous public."

Published by Pantheon

What's Not Said In The Speeches

Go to Barack Obama's Website.

Oh Thank God!

Duane "Dog" Chapman takes a call at his home in Honolulu, Hawaii January 16, 2007. REUTERS/Lucy Pemoni

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Celebrity bounty hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman is set to return to television after his reality TV show was pulled from the air three months ago in a controversy over his use of a racial slur, cable channel A&E said on Tuesday.

k.b.: One can only watch so much Brittany, Lindsey and Paris.

Student Gun Violence

Time For Hollywood To Tell Us How Good They Are

Rocco poses in the Leo tux, inspired by one worn by actor Leonardo DiCaprio to the Oscars, at Little Lily in Los Angeles, California February 18, 2008. Pet fashion label Little Lily has designed a range of dog clothes inspired by the actual gowns worn by A-listers on the Oscar red carpet. REUTERS/Phil McCarten

k.b.: Who gives a you know what about that little gold man. It's all about the Chihuahua.

I've Taken Beef Off My Menu

Yum

Cooked dog paws at a CXhinese restaurant. A French association of animal lovers on Monday launched a petition aimed at encouraging China to ban, by the Summer Olympics, the killing of dogs for food. (afp.com/toru

It never ceases to amaze me as to what humans will do to other species.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

Parrots are seen inside their cage on the eve of Valentine's Day at a zoological park on the outskirts of the northern Indian city of Chandigarh February 13, 2008.REUTERS/Ajay Verma

Lie Much?

Your President at work for the Republican nominee.

Now wait just a dog-gone minute. I'm not going to be entered in the Non-Sporting Class again.

Walter a Boston Terrier competing in the Non Sporting Category waits backstage to get ready for the Westminster Dog Show at Madison Square Garden, Monday, Feb. 11, 2008, in New York.
(AP Photo/Peter Kramer)

Keep your purple inked fingers Iraqis, we have the freedom to vote and get a hotdog with everything at the same time.

Voters sign in and pick up their paper presidential primary ballots at a polling place in a hot dog restaurant on Super Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2008, in Chicago.(AP Photo/Jerry Lai)

From The Blog Of Left-Wing Evil: Daily Kos

Tue Feb 12, 2008 at 05:10:02 AM PST

Dear Traditional Media,
Every time you call John McCain a "maverick" we laugh at you.
So if you enjoy being the butt of many a joke, keep it up.
Hugs and kisses,
kos

Uno is the first beagle in sixty-nine years to win in the hound group and he looks thrilled.

Uno, a 15-inch beagle, winner of the hound group poses with his blue ribbon at the 132nd Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at Madison Square Garden, Monday, Feb. 11, 2008, in New York.(AP Photo/Peter Kramer)

What Can I Do?

A malnourished child lies in a hospital ward in Mogadishu February 9, 2008. Fighting between rival militias, Islamic insurgents and the interim government and its Ethiopian military allies has created one of the world's most severe humanitarian crisis. REUTERS/Feisal Omar (SOMALIA)

k.b.: After looking at this photo what I ate for dinner is making me sick. I know you can't get aid to those in need when there is fighting. We need to try harder as human beings. I'm going to keep this little one in my mind the next time I pick up a fork or spoon.

Human Slinky

A performer shows her hula hoop skills during a cultural presentation to celebrate the upcoming Chinese New Year at Longtan Park in Beijing February 6, 2008. The lunar "Year of the Rat" begins on February 7 in China and will also be celebrated by as many as 35 million overseas Chinese in cities across the globe.REUTERS/Claro Cortes IV (CHINA)

k.b.: I bet you didn't know that Slinky has its own website. Either did I!!! It's Slinky It's Slinky and I bet you didn't know that Slinky turned 60 in 2005. I'm glad that there's something older than me.

The feathers of the last endangered and now extinct California Spotted Owl were spotted in New York City on Friday.

The fall 2008 collection of designer Ralph Lauren is modeled during Fashion Week in New York, Friday, Feb. 8, 2008.(AP Photo/Richard Drew)

I can be found quite often using this very pose...to relieve stress.

A young acrobat performs during a cultural show to celebrate Lunar New Year at a temple fair in Beijing February 9, 2008. Thousands troop to temple fairs and parks to celebrate the lunar new year in Beijing on Saturday. The lunar "Year of the Rat" began on February 7 in China and will also be celebrated by as many as 35 million overseas Chinese in cities across the globe.REUTERS/Claro Cortes IV (CHINA)

Westminister Dog Show - NYC - 2008

Wearing sunglasses, a scarf and a hat, Pogo, a 4-year old Parson Russell Terrier from Azle, Texas, stands atop his crate in the backstage area.
Credits: DeCrow/APPublished: 02/11/2008 15:57:01

k.b: Because they all look so much alike, each dog is looking for that edge that will bring home "Best In Show"

Because Of His Mother

Yes We Can N.H. Speech

You Kids Sign Up For The Military Today!

I'll Be Voting On Tuesday

Yes We Can, Yes We Can, Si Se Puede, Yes We Can

Now My Marriage Is Going To Kill Me Too

By Randy Dotinga
HealthDay Reporter Fri Feb 8, 5:02 PM ET

FRIDAY, Feb. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Experts say the secret to a long marriage is communication, and new research now notes it's also the key to a long life.

A lengthy study of Midwestern couples finds that those who felt free to express their feelings lived longer than the perennially resentful. The couples with the most unexpressed anger died the earliest.

"The worst thing to do is to keep it in, not talk about the problem, brood about it, and be continuously angry," said study author Ernest Harburg, professor emeritus at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. "Not talking about the problems in your close relationship is not good for your longevity."

About 14 percent of the couples were defined as "anger-in" types, meaning both spouses developed resentments and failed to resolve problems. "They don't talk about the problem, and when they do, they just start fighting again," Harburg said.

After the mortality rates among the participants were adjusted for the impact of things like heart disease and smoking, the "anger-in" couples still died earlier than couples who handled anger in other ways.

The better approach, Harburg said, is to work together. "You listen, you don't interrupt, you hear the other person, you talk back and forth. And then you use your imagination, resolve the problem and come to some kind of consensus."

Still, the findings did turn up some evidence that mutual open communication might not be entirely a good idea. The couples who seemed to live the longest were those in which the man expressed his anger and the wife held hers in.

Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, director of the Division of Health Psychology at Ohio State University College of Medicine, said it's clear that marital interactions affect the body. "We know that couples who are nasty or hostile with each other when discussing disagreements showed larger increases in stress hormones and greater dysregulation of immune function as a consequence," she explained.

While the new study isn't as complete as it could be, Kiecolt-Glaser said, it does show "the importance of good communication that is consistent over time."

Learn more about stress and the body from the American Institute of Stress.

Do I get extra points for dog love?

"Taxi To the Dark Side"

Dilawar is the taxi driver whose tale provides the narrative thread in
“Taxi to the Dark Side.”

Passionate For Polar Bears

Activist arrested for peaceful protest.



k.b.: A therapist I spoke with asked me what I would rather be doing in life and I said, " I would like to be in one of those Greenpeace Zodiac boats that block whaling ships." This would have to be my second choice. This activist rocks. Where can I get one of these bear costumes.

update: Polar Bear costume made by Lionel.
Check out the gallery. The bear's name is Snowshine and click on jaw demo to see a Youtube video of how the lion mask works. Awesome!

Hillary Chosen Over The Black Guy

Is this the generation that finally looks past the color of one's skin?

And TPM Reader BW ...

I'm a little surprised you haven't figured out the role of the ethnic votes on tonight's Democratic results.

I became involved in the NJ campaign after one of my friends told me that his extended Italian family were voting for Hillary cause she was preferable to the black guy. Their votes were being driven by race. We turned some of them around, but with others the racial enmity prevented any rational discussion.

MA also went to Hillary due to the organization of the Irish pols, according to MSNBC. Would sure like to see polling of ethnic votes in these states and NY.

I know that highly negative e-mails about Obama were also being sent around to my Jewish family. With Jewish voters you had the further complication of Israeli representatives coming out against Obama.

k.b.: I would be naive if I said that I can't believe this line of thought is still influencing voters. According to the polls "white folks" of my age and income are voting for Hillary. I think that moving to the state of Virginia has opened my eyes to the good things that diversity has to offer this country.

Would I be a liar if I said that a picture of a young black man looking like a thug didn't scare me. I've seen plenty of pictures of white criminals both men and women and they also look like thugs and like white trash.
They would scare me too.

Does Barack Obama look on the outside any less black? Too white? To me he looks like a smart and confident man. Does he dress white? Does he like hip-hop? Does he speak in black slang? Those are just a bunch of junk questions out there to muddy the waters of this campaign.

I want more of my candidate than that. I want someone who can keep this country safe without sacrificing my liberties. One who worries about my retirement and my health care. One who brings back more jobs that this country lost because of NAFTA.

That to me is Barack Obama.

Blue Dress Day

This is what happens when there isn't a beautiful, strong and committed relationship in the White House.

Remember this? Chelsea had to get between Bill and Hillary after "Monicagate" That's really something nice to put your daughter through.

Michelle, are you sure you can trust, control and have Barack ready to be President on day one?

ABC's Deborah Roberts sat down with Michelle Obama for an interview that aired on GMA and tonight on "World News". Roberts asked about the question being posed to Hillary lately, "Can you control Bill?"

Her answer: "We just don't relate to one another in that way." And she went on, about both controlling her husband and about the focus on race in this election.

Shame On Colin Powell

US Secretary of State Colin Powell holds up a vial that he said was the size that could be used to hold anthrax as he addresses the United Nations Security Council on February 5, 2003, at the UN in New York. When Saad Tawfiq watched Powell's presentation to the United Nations on February 5, he shed bitter tears as he realised he had risked his life and those of his loved ones for nothing. As one of Saddam Hussein's most gifted engineers, Tawfiq knew that the Iraqi dictator had shut down his nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programmes in 1995 -- and he had told his handlers in US intelligence just that.(AFP/File/Timothy A. Clary)

From the end of 2002 the US spy agency had sources inside Iraq's weapons plants telling them clearly what the whole world now knows -- that Saddam had ended efforts to produce weapons of mass destruction.

Nevertheless in March 2003 the United States and Britain invaded Iraq to disarm Saddam of this non-existent arsenal and in the process triggered the effective collapse of the Iraqi state, plunging it into chaos and bringing thousands of deaths. by Jacques Charmelot



k.b.: Colin Powell was once a respected voice of reason who was then used by the Bush Administration as a shill for war against Iraq. A man's reputation destroyed along with thousands of American and Iraqi lives.

I don't understand how this President will get away with all the horror that he has brought down on others in the name of protecting us in the aftermath of September 11th.

The Devastating Truth About Iraq

No End In Sight

Crimes Without Punishment

Kathryn Flett
Sunday January 27, 2008
The Observer

What makes a great documentary? Whether it's epic in scale or cosily intimate, static and verbose or lyrical and beautiful, it has to make my synapses fire or my heart skip a beat or both.

No End in Sight, written, produced and directed by Charles Ferguson, which aired last Tuesday, the day it had been nominated for a best documentary feature Oscar was two of hours of riveting, epic viewing that rejected the opportunity to be obviously filmic (there was, for example, nothing particularly lyrical or lovely about either the way it looked or sounded, which is pretty brave for a documentary aiming at cinematic release) in favour of cold, hard, no-nonsense down-and-dirty home truths, resulting in the most compelling - all the more compelling indeed for being an American film - indictment of Dubya's war on terror I've seen. And I've seen a few.

I'm just grateful to have seen a film that, via talking heads and archive footage, told this tale of ineptitude, hubris, greed and molten stupidity with a quiet, non-confrontational rage. Underpinning the narrative, which ranged from 9/11 to 2007, was a belief that the 'war' was lost within a few weeks of the occupation, and certainly lost for eternity when the Iraqi army was disbanded rather than constructively redeployed, making 500,000 armed men both unemployed and angry. 'The equivalent of sacking five million Americans,' the voiceover told us succinctly.

From old footage of Donald Rumsfeld's almost gleeful soundbite about 'the first war of the 21st century' to the young Iraq veteran's despairing: 'Are you telling me that's the best America can do? No, don't tell me that. That makes me angry' just before the credits, I found myself in a sofa-punching mood. And it was useful, too, in a week of global financial meltdown, to be told that the projected total economic costs to the US of the war and its aftermath may be something in the region of $1.8 trillion. Recession? Bring it on - we've earned it.

Sometimes, however, even in an intensely talky film, an almost throwaway line can resonate the most: 'There were 500 ways to do it wrong, two or three ways to do it right,' said the former (sacked) US ambassador to Iraq, Barbara Bodine, whose job title was 'co-ordinator for central Iraq, in charge of Baghdad' during the early days of the US occupation. 'And we went through all those 500 ways.' And then some.

Woman Power

(image: Danny Moloshok/Reuters. caption: (L-R) Michelle Obama, Caroline Kennedy, Maria Shriver and Oprah Winfrey stand together after they each spoke during a rally for Democratic presidential candidate US Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, California, February 3, 2008)

k.b.: Hillary Clinton is a woman. I'm a woman. Therefor I must be voting for Hillary Clinton. Wrong. Look at these powerful women. They have more to offer than ten Hillary Clintons. Knowledge, Character, Integrity and Values I can relate to. Go Barack and Michelle Obama.

Go Democrats

By: Howie Klein @ 8:03 PM - PST
Do you believe in magic? You should. So many of us did in 2006… and look what we helped accomplish. And that was just the beginning. Tuesday you get another shot at it. Take a swing… or you’ll never hit the ball. The Lovin’ Spoonful had mainstream radio and commercial success and still managed to appeal to hipsters, especially with their first single, “Do You Believe in Magic” (1965). Even though it’s only 2 minutes long, this video took me forever to put together because I kept alternating between crying and jumping out of my chair to dance around the room.

Pandering By Using A Soldiers Death

image: Joe Pugliese. February 4, 2008 cover. TIME.

Near the end of the Vietnam war, Bob Dole started wearing a bracelet in honor of an American POW in Vietnam, but never told a soul. In comparison, McCain started wearing one just before the New Hampshire primary, in the name of a young American kid killed in Iraq, and now he's flaunting it -- with the magazine's collusion -- on the cover of TIME.

... It wasn't until '96, by the way, that McCain discovered the name on Dole's bracelet was his.
What is it going to take -- both for the media, and the larger public -- not to automatically turn into sheep whenever and however anyone invokes the name of "the troops."

We see the practice here at its most callous, "The Phoenix" rising on the backs of dead young Americans and gesturally staking his presidential claim on it.

I'm interested in your thoughts on the image. Excuse me, though, while I go onto ebay and search for wrist attire.

By: Michael Shaw, Clinical Psychologist; a writer; an analyst of visual journalism and an interpreter of political images; and the curator of this project called BAGnewsNotes.

Yesterday, Today And Tomorrow

Democratic presidential candidate US Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) speaks during Sunday church services at the Greater Mount Carmel Missionary Baptist Church in St. Louis, Missouri February 3, 2008. REUTERS/Brian Snyder


Hillary and Bill (apologizing again) visiting an African American Church. So 1990's.


Democratic presidential hopeful Sen.Barack Obama, D-Ill., works the crowd during a rally at the Edwards Dome in St. Louis Saturday, Feb. 2, 2008. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

k.b.: At the Edwards DOME. That's DOME like SUPERDOME. Not some church and that lady looking thrilled to see Barack looks like my Grandmother. Amazing. That's what's happening today.


Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama talks to the press on a flight from Wilmington, Delaware to Chicago, Illinois February 3, 2008. REUTERS/Jason Reed

k.b.: Campaign plane today and Air Force One in 2008.

TV And Tabloid Armchair Psychiatrists

I'm so tired of Hollywood stars and serial killers using the diagnosis of being bipolar as an excuse for their outrageous behavior. They may or may not have mental illness. The media and I aren't ones to decide. There are millions of people and their families in the United States suffering with mental illness that do not make the evening news or the tabloid newspapers. Adding the stigma of notoriety to a bipolar disorder, a complex mental health disease, does so much more harm to those already dealing with this issue.
I am lucky. I have a more mild case of bipolar disorder that is controlled by fewer medications, therapy and behavior modification.
Ask my family how that all pans out sometimes. We've certainly had our outrageous moments that no one knows about. I certainly wouldn't want to find myself on the evening news, tabloids and talk shows. The media needs to stop splashing unconfirmed mental illness all over the place and others need to stop using it as an excuse for their foolish behavior.

Billary's Adventures in Primaryland

"Be what you would seem to be -- or, if you'd like it put more simply -- Never imagine yourself not to be otherwise than what it might appear to others that what you were or might have been was not otherwise than what you had been would have appeared to them to be otherwise."

-- The Duchess in "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"

By Colbert I. King
Saturday, January 26, 2008

Who would have thought, eight years ago, that the country might get back Billary, two people reeking of self-pity and spoiling for fights with anyone who has the temerity to stand in their way?

As with the Queen in "Alice," it's all about them.

ELECTABILITY: That Is All. Nothing Else Matters.

There is a lot to consider when you try and figure out who would be most likely to prevail. Who can better appeal to swing and persuadable voters? Who can better turn out the base? Who would do better with Hispanic voters, white men, African-Americans, married women, youth, whomever? Who can better connect with people emotionally and motivate them? Who would look better under fire from the GOP attack machine? Who would do better up against the likely GOP nominee - whose narrative and character presents the more appealing contrast? Who can the American people believe in? By: John Neffinger

We have two days.
Just remember, folks: ELECTABILITY. That's it. Nothing else matters.
Think hard, and happy voting.


k.b.: I'm just saying.................................

Can He Change?

k.b.: That ship has sailed.

Sally Anthony "So Long"


k.b.: When I see these photos, my heart aches.

I'd Be Faster If You Bought Me The Boots

Mark Treadway tries to encourage his duck, El Diablo, to hurry Saturday Jan 26, 2008 during the 28th annual Duck Races in Avoca, Neb. (AP Photo/Dave Weaver)

k.b.: Does that look like "encouragement" to you? I think he's telling El Diablo he's going to be El Dinnero if he doesn't win. Amazing! Duck Races. On snow! Who knew.

Elect John MCCain, Fearmonger In Chief

k.b.: Brave New Films goes a little over the top sometimes but still makes a scary point about John McCain

Richardson To Watch Super Bowl With Bill Clinton

(CNN) — CNN has learned that New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson will watch the Super Bowl this Sunday with former President Bill Clinton in Red River, New Mexico.

Despite the obvious implications for the much sought after endorsement of Richardson, a Hispanic who holds sway in the community, a top Democratic source describes this as "two old friends getting together, and not to be "construed as a coming endorsement."

Nonetheless, Richardson is not unaware of the power of that picture. The former president has been phoning Richardson “with regularity” since he dropped out of the Democratic presidential race.

k.b.: Maybe they'll toss the pigskin around for old times sake. I smell something rotten here and it's not locker room sweat.

The Saga Of Jimmy Kimmel And Matt Damon

Jimmy Kimmel's guest Matt Damon


Matt Damon's Red Carpet


Guillermo does Bourne Ultimatum


Sarah Silverman (Jimmy Kimmel's girlfriend) and Matt Damom

Speak Up And Cast Your Vote

Registered as "Decline-To-State"? You can vote in the Democratic presidential primary!

k.b.: This is how the primary system works in crazy California. Every state can have different rules regarding primary voting and both parties have rules regarding voter eligibility as well. Crazy, but it all comes down to States Rights vs. Federal - central authority. States Rights wins this round.

We're Having Fish For Dinner

File photo shows the Yushin Maru catcher ship of the Japanese whaling fleet killing a whale by drowning the mammal beneath the harpooon deck of the ship at the Southern Ocean. Japanese harpoonists killed five whales in one day after protesters who had halted the hunt in Antarctic waters were forced to return to port to refuel, an Australian report said February 1
(AFP/Greenpeace/HO/Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert)

k.b.: I keep trying to go vegetarian, even more so after seeing a picture like this. We still don't know the breeding cycle of so many animals and I know all it would take is one kill to push an animal over the brink to extinction. Is that what we really want? To be the cause of a fellow species demise.