Alternate Brain

Will it never end?

2009-11-08T19:27:00.001-05:00

Once again, discrimination rears its ugly head

Dr. Hook

2009-11-08T17:29:00.002-05:00

Don't ask me how I got going on this, but YouTube is a strange and wonderful place with more twists and turns than a Repug's logic. I had forgotten how funny Dr. Hook was and listened to a buncha his stuff. Enjoy.

This one looks like it was shot in my ol' stompin' grounds in Westwood CA, home of UCLA. I've seen many, many movies at the Westwood Village theater.

Dr. Hook ~ Baby Makes Her Blue Jeans Talk

Thanks to djmahogany.

Also see:

Hey Lady Godiva (Us old farts remember Esquire pinups, you bet we do! Heh.)

Acapulco Goldie

Roland The Roadie And Gertrude The Groupie

Sunday Church Lady Freedom Music Blogging

2009-11-08T16:05:00.002-05:00

I couldn't decide which version of this song I liked better, so...

Sweet Honey In The Rock ~ Ella's Song

Thanks to Geepereet, Netherlands.

Thanks to vianneyjeans, France.

Ex-GOP Congressman walks out when taunted over lack of military service

2009-11-07T14:48:00.009-05:00

Heh. Raw Story, with video. Entire segment here.

Former Republican Congressman Tom Tancredo attempted to argue against Democratic plans for health care reform on Friday by claiming veterans were dissatisfied with their government-run health care. He was confronted by blogger Markos Moutlitsas, who unlike Tancredo is a veteran himself, and reacted by stalking off the set of MSNBC's The Ed Show where both men were guests.

Kos is a former US Army artilleryman. A Librul who served! Imagine that! (wink)

Tancredo is a racist chickenhawk. A warmonger who won't fight but has no problem sending others to do it and die. Typical.

Moulitsas, founder of The Daily Kos, began laughing as Tancredo was speaking. "Tom, I'm a veteran," he told Tancredo. "I did not get a deferment because I was too depressed to fight in a war that I supported in Vietnam."

This was a slightly garbled reference to Tancredo's having obtained 1-Y status in 1970, after his student deferments ran out, on the grounds that he had been "diagnosed with depression when he was 16 or 17 and received medication for five years for panic attacks and bouts of anxiety and depression." Tancredo was 24 at the time.

You could get a 1Y in those days with a note from your doctor saying you got migraines. If you were white.

Moulitsas and Tancredo then began speaking over one another, but Tancredo finally managed to say, "You're not going to try to insult me that way and then pretend like we're just going on and talking about that. You either apologize or I'm off."

"I'm not pretending anything," Moulitsas replied. "I told you straight up." At that point, Tancredo ripped off his earpiece and microphone and left the set.

Heh. I think running from his past in public like that is a sure-fire way of making sure it's going to come up again. I hope. The truth has a way of bubbling up to the surface. Or maybe clawing its way out of the grave Tancredo thought it was buried in.

Note to Tancredo: You can bury the past, but you can't kill it. It will find you. Best stay under your rock if you wish to avoid the sunlight.

From the 'obtained' link:

But it is a bit too consistent that one of the current bottom tier GOP presidential contenders is just another Chickenhawk. Like Cheney who got multiple deferments that kept him from serving in Vietnam, like Bush who used Daddy's help to get him in the cushy Texas Air National Guard to avoid combat, Tancredo got himself out of the army during a war he supported by declaring that he was mentally ill.

If the story seems all too emblematic of GOP hypocrisy, that is because it is true.

Get lost, Tancredo. Go back to Wingerado and watch your John Wayne movies and pretend you're a man and a good American.

Go away, boy, you bother me.

Also, kudos to Kos for digging up this little bit of Tancredo's past and making him run from a fact-based taunt from a Liberal on national TV. He mighta got rid of him for quite a while.

Update:

From Kos hisself:

No, there's no mail from the Tancredo showdown. Kind of hard to defend their guy when he cut and run from a pussy liberal communist Nazi blogger.

Heh. Even harder to defend a draft-dodging hypocrite who was just going along with Repug policy then as now. They just want it to go away.

Update II:

It dawns on me that maybe one reason the Repugs aren't stickin' up for Tancredo is that even the wingtards don't like him.

Happy Birthday, Bonnie

2009-11-07T13:35:00.006-05:00

Bonnie Raitt will turn 60 tomorrow. This old fart weeps with joy for she'll be jail bait no more!

Bonnie Raitt & Alison Krause ~ You

Thanks to Raindropser1, Germany.

Saturday Emmylou Blogging

2009-11-07T13:20:00.002-05:00

Emmylou Harris & Some Limey Gui-tar Picker ~ Why Worry

Thanks to DogSwede1, Sweden.

This just about covers it. Er, yup...

2009-11-06T18:25:00.004-05:00

Got these via email from my friend Gene.

Old Farmer's Advice

“Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong.”

“Keep skunks and bankers at a distance.”

“Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.”

“A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.”

“Words that soak into your ears are whispered…....not yelled.”

“Meanness don't just happen overnight.”

“Forgive your enemies; it messes up their heads.”

“Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.”

“It don't take a very big person to carry a grudge.”

“You cannot unsay a cruel word.”

“Every path has a few puddles.”

“When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.”

“The best sermons are lived, not preached.”

“Most of the stuff people worry about, ain't never gonna happen anyway.”

“Don 't judge folks by their relatives.

“Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.”

“Live a good and honorable life, then when you get older and think back, you'll enjoy it a second time.”

“Don 't interfere with somethin' that ain't bothering you none.”

“Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.”

“If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin'.”

“Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.

“The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every mornin'.”

“Always drink upstream from the herd.”

“Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.”

“Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin' it back in.”

“If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around.”

“Live simply, love generously, care deeply, and speak kindly."

“Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.”

And........................................

Click to embiggen

Shopping Day

2009-11-06T11:08:00.000-05:00

See yas later.

Logistics ...

2009-11-06T05:59:00.003-05:00

Yeah, let's go "surge" in Afghanistan:

Between pilfering, mountain passes closed by snow, overturned trucks and attacks by hostile tribes, getting equipment and supplies to troops in Afghanistan is a challenge.

...

They've finally got the process somewhat streamlined (after 8 years) and now they want to double the amount of troops in need of supply?

...

"Ten to 20 percent of the cost of a war is getting there," [Army Lt. Col. Greg] Younger said.

...

From narrow roads to unpredictable weather and attacks, the Khyber Pass through the mountains between Pakistan and Afghanistan presents a challenge to truck drivers.

In February 2008 the pass was closed for nine days due to heavy snow. Nothing was getting in or out of Afghanistan unless it was flown in. And usually, only sensitive shipments like weapons, ammunition and night-vision goggles are flown into the country, so they are not stolen.

...

Good luck with that. I'm hoping the reason President Obama is taking so long in making up his mind about the "surge" is because there's a little voice in the back of his mind that understands the realities and is telling him this is futile.

Thank god it's Friday ...

Link thanks to our buddy Montag.

Ft. Hood ...

2009-11-06T05:22:00.002-05:00

Unlike the wingnuts, I feel it is probably best to say nothing until all the facts come to light. I seriously doubt, though, it was the work of a terrorist group. Our thoughts are with our brothers and sisters who have enough to worry about in-theater, let alone in a place that should be inviolate.

A douchebag walks into a bar ...

2009-11-06T05:12:00.002-05:00

For the last week or so, ever since Whiny Joe began his latest round of attention whoring, our pal Maru has been collecting Joe Lieberman jokes and doing a post every day.

...

Q: Why does Joe Lieberman whistle when he’s sitting on the toilet?
A: Because it helps him remember which end to wipe.

...

Heh ... Start at the top and scroll down (or vice versa).

Everybody hates Grayson ... 2

2009-11-05T19:18:00.002-05:00

They're "pulling an O'Reilly" in Congress:

...

Rep. Alan Grayson on the number of dead from lack of health care. His mic was cut half way through his 60 minutes. No word yet on what happened and why his time on the House floor was cut short.

...

Go get 'em, Al. There'll be something in yer Christmas stocking from me this year.

Trying to rebuild after 40 frozen years

2009-11-05T12:41:00.004-05:00

I wasn't aware of this. I'm glad it's over, but it still pisses me off. A perfect example of bureaucracy run amuck to the detriment of, as usual, 'the least of us'.

LATimes

The Navajo believe that a person will always be tied to the place where his or her umbilical cord is buried. When Gordy was born in 1968, his father put his in this rust-colored dirt. It was here on the family's ranch on the edge of the Painted Desert that his father dreamed of one day building homes for his children, and of tilling a field where watermelon and corn could grow.

But the Gordys were forced to put their dreams on hold. In 1966, the commissioner of Indian Affairs, Robert Bennett, halted development on 1.6 million acres of tribal land in northeastern Arizona that was claimed by both the Navajo nation and the Hopi tribe. Bennett imposed the ban to stop either tribe from taking advantage of the other while they negotiated ownership.

The ban became known as the Bennett Freeze. It meant the Gordys and the 8,000 or so other Navajos living on the land couldn't erect homes, open businesses or even repair their roofs. No roads or schools were built, no electric, gas or water lines were permitted.

Gordy is now 41, with a wife and four children. They live in a drafty trailer in the town of Cameron, a 30-minute drive from the old ranch. Cameron was also under the Freeze, but in town, at least, the family could string an extension cord from a neighbor's house to get electricity, and draw water from a working well a few miles down the highway. Though it is now free to do so, the family has not made improvements to the trailer. The cash Gordy makes selling firewood, and the money his wife earns selling jewelry to tourists at the Grand Canyon, an hour away, isn't enough.

I've been to Cameron. 'Town' is maybe a little bit of a stretch, but that's the way things are out in that country. I've probably met Mrs. Gordy too, given that my co-driver-in-life likes Southwestern jewelry and has the pickup stop at every stand, and there are a lot of them.

'An hour away' out there is about a 120-mile round trip. That's a hell of a commute to sell jewelry to tourists.

That is hard country to live in under the best of circumstances and the Freeze put a big hurt on folks who are spiritually tied to the land up there. They are pretty poor and don't have many options anyway, and to stifle what little development they want to do to make life a little easier was just flat ignorant and unconscionable. Aw, hell, they's just injuns.

Great White Father in D.C. strikes again. Please go read the rest. There's an audio slide show that will make you cringe at how these folks were made to live. The above quotes are the tip of the iceberg.

Headline and Quote of the Day

2009-11-05T12:00:00.001-05:00

Jesse Ventura: Democrats & Republicans Should Wear Nascar Racing Suits So We Can See Who Owns Them

Doomsday Tea Party

2009-11-05T11:02:00.003-05:00

Don't miss this one-page article in MoJo.

For more than a decade Dr. Igor Panarin, a Russian academic, has been predicting that sometime around 2010 the United States will collapse, splintering into separate states, some of them controlled by foreign powers. Outside of Russia, no one's put much stock in his crackpot and stereotype-based theories—until now, that is. Who are the newest members of the Igor Panarin fan club? Tea partiers who’ve rallied against the Obama administration's policies and blasted the president for pushing a "socialist" agenda. And he's especially big among tea party activists in Texas, who have hosted Panarin and promoted his work.

In Russia, Panarin, who hosts a weekly radio show, is considered a mainstream expert on the United States. Like Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Panarin used to work for the KGB. He clearly has the support of the Kremlin, for he heads the school that trains Russia's diplomats. And since the election of Barack Obama last November, Panarin has found a new audience in America among far right activists, many of whom believe Obama is destroying the country.

Ex-KGB is like ex-Marine - doesn't exist. This sounds to me like planned disinformation to stir up the stoopids and it appears to be working.

It doesn't surprise me that the wingtards'll fall for anything negative about "Obama's America", but going with this Rushov Limbaughski does surprise me a little bit even though I know it shouldn't. I think they know their doomsday predictions aren't going to come true and are grasping at any straw, however ridiculous and this is pretty ridiculous, to keep their paranoia alive. The Russki's gotta be laughin' his ass off at these fools and takin' it right to the bank.

Mr. Panarin describes in some detail which parts of the U.S. will splinter under which foreign influences and it's a hoot to think of Texas as being dominated by Mexico! Hey, Mexico, we'd love to see Texas be your problem for a change! Your drug cartels'd be easier to housebreak! Some of the others would probably be more civilized than they are now. Heh.

Personally, my Mayan shaman says it isn't true and we actually have until 2012.

Supportin' the troops ...

2009-11-05T05:23:00.003-05:00

Not. How many times do I say that you ain't worth a shit to Republicans if you can't carry a rifle?

And a veterans bill that would increase benefits for those who have served is being held up in the Senate by Tom Coburn, a man who has not served his country in any positive way.

...

Kindly old Dr Tom thinks that now that veterans have come home wounded and disabled in significant numbers we should be worrying about the cost.

Cost? Damn the torpedoes when it comes to the shooting war but heaven forbid we spend a dime on those who 'outlive their usefulness'. No wonder he's an insurance company shill.

It's always the grunts ...

2009-11-05T05:04:00.002-05:00

Who get it. Not excusing anyone's behavior but we saw this with Abu Ghraib. A buncha sergeants, corporals, and privates got busted (plus a Reserve general) and the authors of the policy walked. Same thing is happening here. Mostly low-level operators (one station chief) are now effectively under 'house arrest' here in the States yet once again, Bush, Cheney, and the rest of those who ordered these missions are free to live their lives.

You never quite know where Italy is going next. The down side to these convictions is that it's falling on some but not all of those involved in the disgraceful "extraordinary rendition" policy. What about those who gave the orders at the top? Why should the Bush administration get a free pass on this?

...

They should all be indicted and, hopefully, convicted but if the big shots are always gonna skate, you're in denial if you think justice is being done. There are always those in the lower echelons who will follow whatever orders are given them. It's the people at the top who know that and exploit it and they are the real criminals.

You want a tip?

2009-11-04T19:14:00.003-05:00

Okay, don't bet on the ponies. That said, Señor Amato has a few good ones for Dems who are worried about going the way of Corzine.

...

1. If you abandon Democratic principles in a bid for unnecessary "bipartisanship", you will lose votes.

2. If you water down reform in favor of Blue Dogs and their corporate benefactors, you will lose votes.

...

Look at 'bipartisanship' like dating. There might be somebody you really want, but if they don't want you, nothing you can do will win them over. Move on. If you keep trying ... well, most jurisdictions have laws against stalking.

Are ovaries a pre-existing condition?

2009-11-04T14:09:00.002-05:00

Doc Gurley, EssEffChron

Governor Schwarzenegger has signed a bill preventing insurance companies from charging women, for the same coverage, up to 39% more - purely for being women. Was this a common sense move? After all, isn't it true that having a va-jay-jay is a pre-existing condition worthy of financial penileties?

To get a sense of just how (choose one) bizarre/misogynistic/laughable/perverse/flaky/itchy this insurance cost-gouging is for women, try using the same pseudo-logic with any other demographic subgroup. Justifying the act requires the kind of slippery argument that makes a contortionist look like the Tin Man (and similarly heartless). Don't believe me? Try these similar bits of profiteering contortion on for size: a) all men between the ages of 18-50 should be charged twice as much as anyone else for coverage, every month, due to disproportionately higher rates of societal violence and trauma, b) all African Americans should be charged three times as much - not for the pigment of their skin, no - but because, hey, we all know they get worse diseases at younger ages, right? or c) old people, well, don't even get me started with old people - when it comes to that group, we're talking a cash-sucking vortex that no surcharge can possibly offset. Death panels, anyone? In other words, pick your racial/ethnic/age or gender bias of choice and you could stick it to any subgroup of people.

I still don't like Ah-nold very much, but kudos to him on this one.

Got a thingie on your doohickey? Or are you pondering how to tell your doctor he's a jerk? Send your burning healthcare questions to Doc Gurley by emailing docgurleyatgmaildotcom. Doc Gurley cannot answer every question, and she cannot practice medicine through a keyboard (not even with her stethoscope pressed firmly against the monitor) but be assured - your questions will be kept strictly confidential and identifying traits are changed.

L.A.'s Medical Marijuana Theater

2009-11-04T13:30:00.005-05:00

Things are a little loose in Shakytown according to Steve Lopez. Heh.

In the meantime, let's get back to that doctor in Glendale. You may remember that he was the one who told me that, as a gynecologist, he didn't know a thing about bad backs. But within 10 minutes, he had written me a recommendation for an herbal remedy to ease my pain.

Reminds me of an old joke:

Little girl to pharmacist: "Hey mister, do you fit diaphragms?"

Pharmacist, somewhat taken aback by that question from one so young: "Why, yes..."

Little girl: "Wash yer hands and gimme an ice cream cone."

Bada bing! But I digress...

That meant I could go to any dispensary for my medicine, simple as that. But in Los Angeles, you can get light-headed trying to decide where to go.

There's the Unique Vapor Lounge in Tujunga, Green Easy in Mid-City, Westside Medical on Wilshire, and on and on. Some places have free delivery. Some are open all night. The buds go by names like Trainwreck, Purple Voodoo, Mango Og and Purple LA Confidential.

Don't like to smoke? No problem. You can get your medicine in brownies, crackers and even tortilla chips.

First stop: Hollyweed. The name got me.
...

I knocked on the locked door of Hollyweed and a no-nonsense voice instructed me to slide my driver's license and marijuana recommendation through the mail slot. It was kind of creepy. Would I ever see my license again? Was a DEA agent inside making a copy? I was getting paranoid and I hadn't even had a puff.

A few minutes later, a guard opened sesame. Inside, a 20-year-old, dreadlocked gent named Charlie greeted me. He wore a T-shirt that said "Marijuana Cures Racism," and he had me sign forms spelling out the terms of my acceptance into a nonprofit collective run by members for the benefit of patients. Membership does have its rewards.

Then he unlocked another door and took me into a small room with jars of buds on display, just like in a candy shop. Charlie recommended a strain called Indica, which he called a good muscle relaxant for back pain. I opted for something called Chunky Munky and found myself craving the ice cream without even lighting up. He weighed a gram and put it into a prescription bottle, like it was Vicodin, and I handed him a $20 "donation."

Was this really happening?

Hadn't lit up yet, huh?

Please read the rest.

Update:

Planning a career change?

Update II:

Go see Lopez' gynecologist. Heh.

Shit What We Learned From Last Night

2009-11-04T12:52:00.005-05:00

El Rude-o

Forget what the assholes on TV are saying about the various elections and initiatives from last night. Who gives a shit what Michael Steele is crowing about? (Transcendent? Really?) Here's all ye know and all ye need to know about yesterday:

1. In a nation of fat fucks, don't make fun of the morbidly obese candidate for being a fat fuck.
...

[...] Hey, Jonny Fitness, shut the fuck up, pass the gravy, and tell us about your plans on turnpike tolls.

Besides, look at Christie. That lardy fucker ain't surviving a term without a massive coronary.

4. The Tea Party movement is a fraud.

One essential takeaway from the evening was that Glenn Beck can go fuck the horse he rode in on. First of all, his creepy-ass candidate with the wannabe child molester stare, Doug Hoffman, lost to Democrat Bill Owens in the 23rd District of New York, where Hoffman oddly did not live and knew nothing about. It was a fine way of expressing the universal sentiment, "Fucking go away, Sarah Palin, and take Dick Armey with you."

Fat chance.

Democrats should realize at this point that they have nothing to fear from the teabaggers. But they won't.

True. Sigh.

5. But it's still mostly okay to hate gay people.
...

There's only one way this goes: finally, a Supreme Court case is gonna have to decide the issue. This bullshit piecemeal approach is wrong-headed and degrading. Gay citizens in the United States are begging straight citizens to be kind enough to grant them the same rights. Put "female" or "black" in there, and we wouldn't even be having a discussion.

Actually, when it comes to "female", we are, and have been for 37 years. Laws are one thing, attitudes are another.

Are we done until 2010 now?

Ha! RP made a funny! Hell no. Dammit.

Jobs to die for

2009-11-04T12:43:00.003-05:00

He forgot to mention the free plane ride to the free funeral.

A tip o' the Brain to YubaNet.

CA-10, the Forgotten Election

2009-11-04T12:08:00.003-05:00

I'm sure we're all glad that the RWNJ Carpetteabagger lost in NY-23, but there was another congressional election as well in CA-10. From yesterday's Firedoglake, links at site:

The AP’s Liz “Donuts” Sidoti has a conventional wisdom article out today about the 2009 Election, and not until paragraph six, as an afterthought, is one of the bigger races mentioned:

Elsewhere, California Lt. Gov. John Garamendi is expected to maintain the Democratic Party’s hold on the open 10th Congressional District seat near San Francisco, while New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is expected to cruise to a third term. Atlanta, Houston, Boston, Detroit and Pittsburgh also will elect mayors, while voters in Maine and Washington weigh in on same-sex unions and voters in Ohio decide whether to allow casinos.

"Elsewhere, California". Been there. It's right next to "Pavement Ends". Heh.

Democratic seat, “near San Francisco,” no big deal. A Democrat replaces a Democrat in Congress. Ho-hum.

Except the difference between the departed Ellen Tauscher and the incoming John Garamendi is numerous. Tauscher led the pro-business New Democrats; Garamendi, the state’s Lieutenant Governor, is one of California’s leading progressives and a longtime single-payer advocate. Tauscher ran away from progressive values; Garamendi charges toward them. Tauscher and her allies were fond of explaining that CA-10 was a moderate district and only moderates could win there; Garamendi ran as himself and will win today. In fact, because of the prominence of vote-by-mail in California, he probably already has.

Robert Cruickshank explains this as succinctly as possible:

CA-10 becomes a left-wing district. John Garamendi, one of the most progressive California politicians we have and a true leader on a broad range of issues, is going to get elected to Congress today. While the right thinks they have an upset potential here, it’s simply not going to happen. Garamendi has a great GOTV operation and widespread support in the district. And whereas the right will spin whatever Harmer’s vote total turns out to be as some sort of victory, the real story here is that CA-10, which as recently as 1996 was a red district, has now become a solidly progressive district. We always said the 10th could do better than Ellen Tauscher. Today John Garamendi is going to prove it.

It doesn’t fit with the storyline that the media has decided for this election. But John Garamendi moves the ideological bar in Congress as much as any election this year, and will provide a strong voice on health care, clean energy and financial regulation. Here’s an interview I conducted with him for Calitics during the primary election.

Garamendi is OK, and he won.

Two for two. Not bad.

Before you die ...

2009-11-04T05:56:00.004-05:00

In a runaway Toyota, SHUT. THE. FUCKING. CAR. OFF!

...

The 2009 Lexus ES 350 shot through suburban San Diego like a runaway missile, weaving at 120 miles an hour through rush hour freeway traffic as flames flashed from under the car.

At the wheel, veteran California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Saylor desperately tried to control the 272-horsepower engine that was roaring at full throttle as his wife, teenage daughter and brother-in-law were gripped by fear.

...

That's all. Turn the fucking key and the engine stops, and you coast to the side safely. WTF? Is this so hard?

Cross-posted at F & G.

It's good to see ...

2009-11-04T05:50:00.002-05:00

Our pal Nucks is feeling better:

...

You have got to be fucking kidding me, these cunt warts are still trying to mold the discourse and Legislation in this country of over THREE HUNDRED MILLION INDIVIDUAL CITIZENS?!!
Less than ONE HUNDRED,recalcitrant, hissy fit throwing, corporate cock sucking whores are stalling every piece of legislation, every judicial nomination, will not agree that the insurance and pharmaceutical companies in this country are a fucking monopoly and that just being a douchebag is not enough for a public rebuke?
LESS THAN ONE HUNDRED PEOPLE are completely stopping the business of the people of America out of spite.

Think about THAT shit for a minute. [ems and everything else in original]

...

Heh ... I'm going to work.