d.c.podhaskie

9/11 Conspiracy Theories "Ridiculous," Al Qaeda Says

noreply@blogger.com (David Caspian) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 21:13:00 +0000

Gotta love the Onion:

9/11 Conspiracy Theories 'Ridiculous,' Al Qaeda Says

HIV Travel Ban: Adios

noreply@blogger.com (David Caspian) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 04:35:00 +0000

The Senate just passed the repealment of the HIV Travel Ban. This means that immigrants who have HIV and who are legally living in the U.S. will be able to apply for citizenship. The U.S. was one of the few nations in the West who still upheld the ban. Andrew Sullivan (who has been barred from being a U.S. citizen because of his HIV status) has a post about it here.

Congrats to Andrew and everyone else who will be joining the rest of us as U.S. citizens.

Iran Has Nothing on America's Photoshop Skills

noreply@blogger.com (David Caspian) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 07:35:00 +0000

In light of Iran's apparent missile test being a giant fakery, some American photoshoppers have come up with "fakes" of their own:

More here. It's the little things like this that makes the U.S. way cooler than Iran.

Love Cab

noreply@blogger.com (David Caspian) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 12:32:00 +0000

My cousin Rachael posted this article about a New York cabbie who runs a dating service out of his cab. One of the couples he set up are now engaged:

The full article is here. I'm not usually one for this mushy Hugh Grant/Rachel McAdams lovey dovey stuff, but the story is pretty cool, or whatever the word for "romantic" is in man-talk.

Happy 4th

noreply@blogger.com (David Caspian) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 14:57:00 +0000

"I know no safe depository of the ultimate powers of
the society but the people themselves; and if we think
them not enlightened enough to exercise their control
with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take
it from them, but to inform their discretion." Thomas Jefferson

Maybe One Day Fox News Will Grow Up

noreply@blogger.com (David Caspian) — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:25:00 +0000

The Tabloid-esque News channel is having trouble being an actual news channel. The channel's morning show, Fox and Friends (aka, The View with men), was doing a piece on New York Times "attack dogs" and their criticism of Fox News. So, in response, the guys on Fox and Friends decided to talk about it, and...well...just read the Media Matters story to be baffled:

"During a segment in which Fox & Friends co-hosts Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade labeled New York Times reporter Jacques Steinberg and editor Steven Reddicliffe "attack dogs," Fox News featured photos of Steinberg and Reddicliffe that appeared to have been digitally altered -- the journalists' teeth had been yellowed, their facial features exaggerated, and portions of Reddicliffe's hair moved further back on his head."

The photos are here:

Incredibly childish, but also kind of funny in a "WTF?!?!" kind of way. I mean, it's pretty trivial, but I never thought they'd sink that low. Here's the clip:

I do believe there is a reason that NBC and CNN have a combined 25 News Journalism awards this year, while Fox News has none. The channel is less about News and more about defending GOPism.

Obama and "Libertarian Paternalism"

noreply@blogger.com (David Caspian) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 21:30:00 +0000

George Will tries to explain what "Libertarian Paternalism" is and how Obama might be a conduit for it's ascension into the American mainstream. I'm not convinced. The word "Libertarian" should probably never be used in the same sentence as Obama unless you are describing how he is definitely not one. But George Will is only slightly crazy these days, so he may be onto something.

Have Gitmo Detainees Gone Back to the Battlefield?

noreply@blogger.com (David Caspian) — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 16:44:00 +0000

Most research shows it's a conservative urban legend.

EURO

noreply@blogger.com (David Caspian) — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 21:12:00 +0000

I just got done watching the Turkey vs. Czech Republic game on ESPN. The last half hour of the match is a great example of why so many people consider football (soccer for you Amurckans) the greatest sport in the world. Every year, whether it's the World Cup, the Euros, or the Champions League, almost a billion people around the world tune in to watch their favorite sport. Turkey, despite being down 2-0, managed to come back in the last 25 minutes and somehow win 3-2 against a side that was definitely the favorites.

If you're free, watch it on ESPN360.com and find out why people love this sport.

Ron Paul Reflects On His Campaign

noreply@blogger.com (David Caspian) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 12:24:00 +0000

Classic Ron:

I have to say: I still love this man. His campaign was such an encouragement to those who still believe small government conservatism is still possible. But the way his campaign was run, from the money-bomb days to the freaking blimp, the grassroots element was especially encouraging. Oh what could have been. I do think he was a bit too old and was a bit too wrong about subjects like the Civil War and immigration, but he was still my candidate. Here he is reflecting on his campaign and giving his speech in his "Hi, I'm your goofy neighbor" sort of way. If only there were more Ron Paul's in America...

Fin

noreply@blogger.com (David Caspian) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 02:06:00 +0000

It's hard to put your finger on when it really ended for Hillary Clinton. Lots of people will say February or March, after a string of Obama victories. But the end of her campaign began before that, whether it was moments like these or a moment like this, it was Mrs. Clinton's attitude of entitlement that turned off many voters. The "She Who Is Inevitable Meme" backfired on her and she got trumped by a freshman Senator with very little political experience. And how did Mrs. Clinton respond to Obama's wins and clear victories? By going below the belt on Obama, whether it was circulating terrible pictures or using a phrase like "change you can xerox," her Rovian and slimeball tactics are the remains of an old style of politics that Obama rightly put beneath him.

While the Democratic race was extraordinary, it was not completely unpredictable (just ask Andrew Sullivan.) Obama is a fresh, young face after we have seen two prominent political familes exact their power over the White House. It's the election after a dreadful president who has crippled the country and then a African-American male comes forward and begins to talk about "change." It's an incredible story. It's a Martin Luther King Jr. kind of story.

Now that we know who are candidates are, the real debate can finally begin. We will finally hear a real debate about issues like healthcare, Iraq, torture, and foreign policy. Obama and McCain will bear it all to the public. We finally have two presidential candidates and we're not worrying about "who's the lesser of two evils," but who is actually better. I can honestly say, for the first time in my life, that I'm an undecided voter. I don't know who I'll vote for, but I know for sure that I will think long and hard about it.

Let the games begin.

Fox News Stoops to a New Low

noreply@blogger.com (David Caspian) — Mon, 26 May 2008 07:01:00 +0000

Simply breathtaking:

The woman's name is Liz Trotta. You can sign the petition to have her fired here.

Leave it to someone on Fox to top Hillary Clinton.

Update: Trotta has apologized.

In Defense of Hillary Clinton

noreply@blogger.com (David Caspian) — Sat, 24 May 2008 16:44:00 +0000

The headline of the New York Post states that Mrs. Clinton "links prez race with RFK assassination." Matt Drudge has officially shat a chicken. The media is going to have a field day, and all in all, Mrs. Clinton will probably stay in the race for a little bit longer. Of course, she should drop out, but I don't think she will. She still feels, for some odd reason, that she deserves the nomination. She's been trying to make her case for staying in so long, and when she made the RFK gaffe, that's exactly what she was doing.

While the woman makes me physically ill and I cannot wait until the day when she disappears from the realm of politics forever, I do not think she was suggesting that she should stay in the race "in case Barack Obama gets assassinated." She was simply making the case that election battles going well into June are not unique. She cited her husband's race to the nomination (he officially wrapped it up in June) and reminded us all that we were mourning Robert Kennedy's assassination in June when he was competing for the Democratic nomination. Here's what she said in March to Time Magazine:

"I think people have short memories. Primary contests used to last a lot longer. We all remember the great tragedy of Bobby Kennedy being assassinated in June in L.A. My husband didn't wrap up the nomination in 1992 until June. Having a primary contest go through June is nothing particularly unusual."

While she is correct that primaray contests have stretched into the month of June, RFK's primary season did not start until March and her husband had the nomination effectively wrapped up as soon as March of that year. Regardless, in neither of her examples did the primary season start more than a year before the general election and we were not voting a few moments after New Year's. This election has dragged on far too long and for her to pretend otherwise leaves me nonplussed. For someone who is supposed to have the political swagger of President James Bond, Hildabeast really needs to work on her delivery and making sure her cited examples make sense. Has it not occurred to her that she could be destroying her political career by staying in the race this long? The assassination comment is my case in point: why would you ever talk about the "a" word when, for the first time in history, a black man looks likely to become President?

Not smart Hill. Not smart at all.

YouTube and the Terror War

noreply@blogger.com (David Caspian) — Thu, 15 May 2008 13:24:00 +0000

YouTube can be a pretty scary place.

I subscribe to a channel authored by a video poster named Sheikh702. He first caught my eye because he had a video referring to Osama Bin Laden as "Sheikh," the Arabic word for Elder, which is often given as a title of respect or honor. Basically, if someone is calling Osama Bin Laden "Sheikh," they are certainly more than merely sympathetic to his cause.

From that point on it gets pretty scary. Just looking at the profiles of the people who post comments on his videos is quite a trip. One guy has a backround graphic of a bunch of American Military graves and his profile description says:

"The backround picture on my channel is the grave yards of bushes capitalistic henchmen. Courtesy of the Iraqi resistance." (Siced hard.)

Like I said, YouTube is a freaky place, and it only gets worse from that point on. After spending a few minutes clicking around you begin to realize you are staring at enemy; you are watching his videos; you are reading his comments. This is a reminder to me that even though I often post about how I disagree with the Iraq War, I very much believe that the Terror War is real and that is must be won. I don't agree with the neoconservative approach to the War, but I do agree with them that it is the most trying event our generation faces. The Islamic world is in the middle of a schism: one side sees the West and wants to destroy it and the other side sees the West invading its countries and is sympathetic to the cause, and then there are a whole bunch of normal Muslims caught up in the middle.

How do we deal with Fascism with an Islamic face? The same way porcupines kiss: very carefully. And Reza Aslan has some pretty good ideas.

Do You Believe?

noreply@blogger.com (David Caspian) — Wed, 14 May 2008 22:29:00 +0000

AS Roma rightback Cicinho says Roma will win the Scudetto on Sunday:

"I think we deserve to win it, we have had an excellent season and we have shown everyone that we are right up there."

Italian soccer (Serie A) has been the most entertaining thing (and too often not) on television this year. I am a big AS Roma fan and watching them fight to capture first place for the past few weeks has been an emotional roller coaster. Roma now sit only 1 point behind league leaders Inter Milan going into the final game on Sunday. Roma plays Catania, a team that is facing relegation to the lower tier of Italian Soccer, Serie B, should they lose. Inter play Parma, a team that is also facing relegation should they lose. Millions across Europe will be tuned in this Sunday to watch. Do I think Roma can do it?

I believe.

Gay Marriage in California

noreply@blogger.com (David Caspian) — Wed, 14 May 2008 21:20:00 +0000

Tomorrow is the day. If it happens, expect it to become a big topic of discussion this fall. And don't expect too much of a difference between McCain or Obama on the issue. Obama is against gay marriage (but for civil unions), and McCain is against gay marriage, but open to civil unions. It'd be interesting to see how the court decision affects their rhetoric.

Autistic Savant

noreply@blogger.com (David Caspian) — Wed, 14 May 2008 05:02:00 +0000

Pretty amazing:

I like that New York is his favorite city. Sometimes I think that when we see Autistic people we are watching Evolution at work (and I'm not alone.)

Cheers.

John McCain vs. O'Reilly on Torture

noreply@blogger.com (David Caspian) — Wed, 14 May 2008 01:55:00 +0000

Stands up for what is right on one of the bastions of hard-core rightism. He may have had a few missteps on the torture issue thus far, but he still remains on the right side of the issue and that is notable. Amongst a party that is following the Bush-Cheney line on the justification of war crimes, that is most notable.

Way to go John.

Tom Waits Is Brilliant.

noreply@blogger.com (David Caspian) — Wed, 07 May 2008 23:22:00 +0000

I don't think I've mentioned it here, but I am kind of a Tom Waits freak. Anyway, here is a press conference starring Mr. Waits. And I really do mean "starring."

Waterboarding

noreply@blogger.com (David Caspian) — Thu, 01 May 2008 22:17:00 +0000

Unleashed:

If it looks like a duck, talks like a duck, it probably is a big effing duck.

Cartoons from Pennsylvania Aftermath

noreply@blogger.com (David Caspian) — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 18:35:00 +0000

Wonkette has more.

Clinton Supporter: Dean Should Resign

noreply@blogger.com (David Caspian) — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 23:04:00 +0000

Clinton supporter Lanny Davis is suggesting that DNC Howard Dean should resign if the allegations that he had something to do with the cancelling of a North Carolina debate turn out to be true. Lanny Davis suggests that Barack Obama is "afraid" to debate Senator Clinton. The video caught my eye because of a comment someone left on it:

"Why doesnt Obama just debate Kucinich, or somebody else who is out of the race? Is he afraid?"

For some reason, YouTube comments are usually amongst the dumbest in the world, but that one is Pretty clever.

Happy Earth Day

noreply@blogger.com (David Caspian) — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:44:00 +0000

Monty Python reminds us that the Earth is just one planet in one huge universe. Pretty nutty when you think about it:

Too bad they never got to that environmentalist crap...

Only In America

noreply@blogger.com (David Caspian) — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 21:24:00 +0000

From a pro-Tibet rally:

Hilariously embarrassing. Nazi Germany did of course host the Olympics in 1936, and Hitler only allowed Aryans to compete for Germany. This only fuels my suspicions that most protesters are, much like the rest of the general public, not very bright. They just happen to have nothing better to do.

He Just Got My Vote

noreply@blogger.com (David Caspian) — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 00:15:00 +0000

My future President seriously "brushed his shoulders off."

I bet that answers the "is he black enough" questions...