The Shannon Family Website

Everyone should read this

2007-10-12T09:01:00.000-07:00

Tim Rutten's column in today's (11/3) L.A. Times.

Marsha Blackburn gets CRUSHED by David Shuster

2007-09-24T21:08:00.000-07:00

Partial Transcript:

Shuster: "Let's talk about the public trust. You represent, of course, a district in western Tennessee. What was the name of the last solider from your district who was killed in Iraq?"

Blackburn:"The name of the last soldier killed in Iraq uh - from my district I - I do not know his name -"

Shuster: "Ok, his name was Jeremy Bohannon, he was killed August the 9th, 2007. How come you didn't know the name?"

Blackburn: "I - I, you know, I - I do not know why I did not know the name..." [Snip]

Shuster: "But you weren't appreciative enough to know the name of this young man, he was 18 years old who was killed, and yet you can say chapter and verse about what's going on with the New York Times and Move On.org." [Snip]

Shuster: "But don't you understand, the problems that a lot of people would have, that you're so focused on an ad — when was the last time a New York Times ad ever killed somebody? I mean, here we have a war that took the life of an 18 year old kid, Jeremy Bohannon from your district, and you didn't even know his name."

Worth getting suspended for

2007-08-30T22:36:00.000-07:00

A high school student who tricked football fans from a crosstown rival into holding up signs that together spelled out, "We Suck," was suspended for the prank, students said.

Kyle Garchar, a senior at Hilliard Davidson High School in suburban Columbus, said he spent about 20 hours over three days plotting the trick, which was captured on video and posted on the video-sharing Web site YouTube. He said he was inspired by a similar prank pulled by Yale students in 2004, when Harvard fans were duped into holding up cards with the same message.

I think the school overreacted. This is pretty funny.

Senator Larry Craig's Guide to Mensroom "Signals"

2007-08-30T08:41:00.000-07:00

I found this pretty funny:

Television's Funniest Moments #3

2007-08-21T11:12:00.000-07:00

Family Guy FCC song. I saw this when it was originally on and laughed til it hurt.

Follow-up to Asheville, NC Hates Free Speech

2007-08-20T08:32:00.000-07:00

I send emails:

(copying Kelly Miller (kmiller@exploreasheville.com) of the Explore Asheville Tourism group (http://www.exploreasheville.com/index.aspx))

Dear Mayor Bellamy:

I just read Jonas Phillips's account (http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/25922) of being arrested in Asheville, NC for standing on a sidewalk and holding a sign that reads, "Impeach Bush/Cheney"... a sentiment I happen to agree with but apparently your police department doesn't and decided to arrest him (apparently Sgt. Randy Riddle was "sick of this shit").

Is this really the policy of your city? Do you welcome visitors of all political persuasions, or just conservatives? If I decide to visit your city and I wear a t-shirt that reads, "impeach Bush/Cheney" and stand on a sidewalk in your town, can I expect a visit from Sgt Randy Riddle?

I look forward to your response.

Asheville, NC hates free speech

2007-08-20T07:53:00.000-07:00

Here's why you might be afraid to visit Asheville, NC. Apparently, standing on a sidewalk holding a sign that reads, "Impeach Bush, Cheney", gets you arrested by the local police.

According to Jonas Phillips:

On Wednesday August 15, I was standing alone with my sign for about 10 minutes, when I was approached by Police Officer Russell Crisp. He asked me how long I was planning to stay there and I told him just a few more minutes because I had to go to work at 8:00. He asked for my ID and I obliged. I asked him if I was doing something wrong, and he said that his Sergeant was on the way and he was going to wait for him. SO, I went back to my sign holding over the interstate.

A few minutes later Sergeant Randy Riddle showed up with a paper in his hand. He spoke briefly to Crisp, then walked over to me and told me to put down my sign, put my hands behind my back, and that I was under arrest! I was shocked and almost thought he was joking until he told me again to put down the sign and put my hands behind me and I was under arrest. So I peacefully agreed and he cuffed me. I asked him why I was being arrested, he told me I was in violation County Ordinance 16-2, (the print out in his hand that he didn't bother to read to me or show me.) He told me I was obstructing the sidewalk. I told him I was not and that officer Crisp had witnessed a guy walk by me moments before.

Riddle yelled at me, "You were obstructing the sidewalk!" and "I'm sick of this shit!" then he said, "Here's your 15 minutes of fame buddy!" I looked back to see his name plate and he said in a mean condescending tone, "Yea, that's 'Sergeant Riddle' get it right!" He then put me in Officer Crisp's police car. Riddle took my sign with him and I was taken downtown and booked by Crisp. I was never read my Miranda rights.

While at the jail I was asked several times about what groups or organizations I was with, like a local group Veterans for Peace. And more specifically the Southeast Convergence for Climate Action group that had protested at the Bank of America on Monday. I was told by officer Crisp that since that protest the police had pulled out this ordinance. I was searched, and they took pictures of me and my tattoos. Since I haven't been in trouble in 15 years, I was given a court date and allowed to sign a written promise to appear in court.

Here's some contact info if you want to let them know what you think of this:

Mayor Terry M. Bellamy
Contact Information
Office of the Mayor
Mayor Terry M. Bellamy
Mailing address:
P.O. Box 7148, Asheville, NC, 28802
Location: Asheville City Hall, Second Floor, 70 Court Plaza
Phone: (828) 259-5600
Fax: (828) 259-5649
E-mail: mayorbellamy@ashevillenc.gov

mayorbellamy@ashevillenc.gov mayor
whogan@ashevillenc.gov police chief
jrichardson@ashevillenc.gov assistant city manager
gjackson@ashevillenc.gov city manager

Family Guy

2007-08-14T21:11:00.000-07:00

This is just funny. Lois does a great Rudy Giuliani impression.

Mission Accomplished

2007-04-26T07:26:00.000-07:00

This is funny. Democrats are sending the emergency funding measure -- that Bush has vowed to veto -- to Bush, timing it so that his veto may fall on the 4 year anniversary of the infamous "Mission Accomplished" speech.

Bleeping atheists...

2007-04-25T20:33:00.000-07:00

From Capitol Hill Blue:

"Mary Tillman, Pat's mother, testified on Tuesday in the hearing before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that she was "appalled" by comments from Lt. Col. Ralph Kauzlarich, an officer in Tillman's unit, who suggested that the family was not at peace with pat's death because they are atheists who believe their son is now "worm dirt.""

Unf*cking believable.

Bill Kristol -- racism not as offensive as telling truth about Iraq war

2007-04-22T11:08:00.000-07:00

(Note, thanks to Think Progress for this). This morning on Fox News Sunday, Weekly Standard editor William Kristol said that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-NV) remark that the Iraq war is lost is “much more disgraceful” than Sen. Trent Lott’s (R-MS) 2002 claim that the country would be much better off if it had maintained racist segregation policies.

“What Harry Reid said is much more disgraceful than anything Trent Lott said, and I do think Democrats should ask Harry Reid to step down,” Kristol said.

NPR’s Juan Williams stared at Kristol with a look of confusion. “Brit [Hume] says it’s ‘laughable,’ you say it’s a ‘disgrace.’ I think what he said is the truth. I mean, it’s unavoidable,” Williams said. “Most Americans think we should have never gone in there, so he’s speaking in a voice that represents the majority of the American people.”

Strong praise indeed

2007-04-21T08:34:00.000-07:00

"At the White House on Friday, Perino lavished praise on Gonzales. "He has done a fantastic job at the Department of Justice. He is our No. 1 crime fighter. He has done so much to help keep this country safe from terrorists. He has worked determinately to prevent predators from attacking our children," she said."

I think they got the quote wrong, I believe what the president meant to say about Mike Brown... uh, I mean Alberto Gonzales was:

"He has done a heckuva job at the Department of Justice."

Alberto Gonzales

2007-04-20T08:07:00.000-07:00

CNN reporting quotes from White House senior aides.

"Going down in flames."

"Not doing himself any favors."

"Watching clubbing a baby seal." (watching testimony)

"Very troubling."

"Don't understand that tactic Gonzales used."

Sopranos... if they were broadcast on PAX TV

2007-04-13T10:06:00.000-07:00

The Sopranos... If they lived in Jellystone

2007-04-13T10:00:00.000-07:00

If only I had had this video to watch when I was a child

2007-04-11T17:46:00.000-07:00

Ann Coulter To Replace Tony Snow?

2007-04-08T07:57:00.000-07:00

White House Caught Doctoring "Mission Accomplished" Video

2007-04-08T07:43:00.000-07:00

Why am I not surprised?

Charlie Brown Christmas - Performed by the Cast of Scrubs

2007-04-07T18:42:00.000-07:00

I found this funny.

South Park is sooooooo not PC

2007-03-08T13:04:00.001-08:00

Homemade sub missing in Santa Cruz

2007-02-21T11:05:00.000-08:00

So I see this headline online: "Homemade sub missing in Santa Cruz". It was right below a story about Italian sauces. I'm thinking it's about a sub shop that went out of business. Nooooooo. It's about a missing homemade submarine.

Then explain Marcia and Greg

2007-02-14T15:59:00.000-08:00

Researchers who wanted to find out why it is not only taboo to kiss your sister, but also disgusting, said Wednesday they have uncovered why in a discovery that challenges some basic tenets of Freudian theory...

Apocalypse Ponies

2007-02-03T10:09:00.000-08:00

I just found this very funny:

The things you can bet on

2007-01-29T15:47:00.000-08:00

In case anyone was curious about the latest odds for the 2008 Presidential election...

Al Gore 3-1

Al Sharpton 1000-1

Alan Keyes 750-1

Alberto Gonzales 75-1

Arnold Schwarzenegger 250-1

Barack Obama 6-1

Bill Clinton 300-1

Bill Frist 100-1

Bill Maher 2500-1

Bill OReilly 750-1

Bill Owens 50-1

Bill Richardson 12-1

Bob Ehrlich 75-1

Bob Graham 150-1

Bob Kerrey 50-1

Charles Schumer 75-1

Chris Dodd 50-1

Chuck Hagel 22-1

Clint Eastwood 750-1

Colin Powell 25-1

Condoleezza Rice 30-1

David Shannon 150-1

Dennis Kucinich 200-1

Dick Cheney 75-1

Dick Gephardt 75-1

Donald Rumsfeld 2000-1

Donald Trump 2500-1

Elizabeth Dole 750-1

Evan Bayh 20-1

Gary Locke 70-1

George Allen Jr 10-1

George Pataki 50-1

George W Bush 200-1

Harold Ford Jr 75-1

Hillary Clinton 1-1

Howard Dean 75-1

Jack Kemp 75-1

James Carville 1000-1

Jay Rockefeller 100-1

Jeb Bush 100-1

Jesse Jackson 200-1

Jesse Ventura 1000-1

Joe Biden 30-1

Joe Lieberman 150-1

John Ashcroft 1500-1

John Edwards 8-1

John Kerry 50-1

John McCain 3-1

Laura Bush 1000-1

Mark Warner 15-1

Michael Bloomberg 150-1

Michael Moore 7500-1

Mike Gravel 50-1

Mike Huckabee 20-1

Mitt Romney 10-1

Newt Gingrich 40-1

Pat Robertson 2000-1

Paul Bremmer 150-1

Paul Wolfowitz 750-1

Ralph Nader 100-1

Rick Santorum 50-1

Rudy Giuliani 10-1

Russ Feingold 40-1

Sam Brownback 10-1

Ted Kennedy 750-1

Tom Daschle 50-1

Tom Ridge 50-1

Tom Tancredo 50-1

Tom Vilsack 40-1

Tommy Franks 200-1

Wesley Clark 20-1

Habeas Corpus

2007-01-24T14:54:00.000-08:00

I can't say it any better than Stephen Colbert:

Dianne Feinstein tells me to drop dead

2007-01-24T12:17:00.000-08:00

One of the issues that's big in Silicon Valley is the 49ers planned move to Santa Clara (they would be about 15 minutes from my house). Sen. Dianne Feinstein has been negotiating to keep them in San Francisco. Many people, including myself, wondered why a senator who represents the ENTIRE state would intervene on behalf of one city over another. I wrote her an email to that effect (which unfortunately I didn't save) basically asking her why she's spending her time on this when in fact the move would benefit many of her constituents (including myself) and shouldn't she be spending her time working on behalf of all the citizens and not favoring one group over another?

So here is her response:

Thank you for writing to me about my involvement in the
matter of the 49ers leaving San Francisco. I appreciate the
opportunity to respond.

I have read your letter and first would like you to know that
I spend virtually all of my time on matters concerning California
and our nation. However, I am also a 49ers fan and was Mayor of
San Francisco for nine years, during which I negotiated with the
organization on several matters. I would very much like to see
them remain in the City of San Francisco.

Again, thank you for writing. Should you have any
additional concerns or comments, I hope that you will contact me
again. You can always reach my Washington, DC staff at (202) 224-3841.

Sincerely yours,

Dianne Feinstein
United States Senator

Heckling the President

2007-01-23T18:33:00.001-08:00

So you're in the audience at the President's State of the Union Address. At what point do you heckle him? Here's mine:

Bush: "...we must remember that the best healthcare decisions are made not by government and insurance companies, but by patients and their doctors."
ME: UNLESS SOMEONE WANTS AN ABORTION YOU F*CKING HYPOCRITE!

Bush: "...Five years ago, we rose above partisan differences to pass the No Child Left Behind Act – preserving local control, raising standards in public schools, and holding those schools accountable for results. And because we acted, students are performing better in reading and math, and minority students are closing the achievement gap."
ME: YOU SON OF A B*TCH. YOU UNDERFUNDED THE CRAPPY PROGRAM.. DEMOCRATS WHO WORKED WITH YOU TO PASS THIS PIECE OF CRAP LEGISLATION NOW SAY YOU LIED TO THEM. DROP DEAD! (wait, does that get me a visit from the Secret Service?)

Bush's last day

2007-01-21T11:50:00.000-08:00

Anyone looking for gift ideas for my birthday or Christmas can go here.

Stephen Colbert cracks me up...

2007-01-20T11:34:00.000-08:00

I know this is from last year, but I just saw it again and it still kills me... here he's interviewing Congressman Lynn Westmoreland...

Get Over It

2007-01-16T16:34:00.000-08:00

From AP: There were furious denunciations in the General Assembly after a Virginia legislator stated that black people "should get over" slavery.

Hanover Delegate Frank Hargrove made the comment about slavery in an interview published Tuesday in The Daily Progress of Charlottesville.

In the same interview about whether the state should apologize to the descendants of slaves, Hargrove wondered aloud whether Jews should "apologize for killing Christ."

Tucker Carlson is a d*ck

2007-01-14T09:47:00.000-08:00

Of course that's old news. Anyway, apparently Tucker took umbrage with a blogger who blogged about his encounter with him at a video store. Tucker went back to the store and this exchange took place:

Tucker: If you keep this shit up, I will fucking destroy you.
Blogger: Whoah, perhaps you would like to take this outside where you can continue threatening me without disturbing the other customers.
Tucker: *Looks out the window, then back at me* I am not threatening you.
Blogger: You just said you would fucking destroy me.
Tucker: No, I didn't.

You can read about the encounter here.

It just keeps getting better...

2007-01-13T15:32:00.000-08:00

From the Washington Post:

MOST AMERICANS understand that legal representation for the accused is one of the core principles of the American way. Not, it seems, Cully Stimson, deputy assistant secretary of defense for detainee affairs. In a repellent interview yesterday with Federal News Radio, Mr. Stimson brought up, unprompted, the number of major U.S. law firms that have helped represent detainees at Guantanamo Bay.

"Actually you know I think the news story that you're really going to start seeing in the next couple of weeks is this: As a result of a FOIA [Freedom of Information Act] request through a major news organization, somebody asked, 'Who are the lawyers around this country representing detainees down there,' and you know what, it's shocking," he said.

Mr. Stimson proceeded to reel off the names of these firms, adding, "I think, quite honestly, when corporate CEOs see that those firms are representing the very terrorists who hit their bottom line back in 2001, those CEOs are going to make those law firms choose between representing terrorists or representing reputable firms, and I think that is going to have major play in the next few weeks. And we want to watch that play out."

Asked who was paying the firms, Mr. Stimson hinted of dark doings. "It's not clear, is it?" he said. "Some will maintain that they are doing it out of the goodness of their heart, that they're doing it pro bono, and I suspect they are; others are receiving monies from who knows where, and I'd be curious to have them explain that."

It might be only laughable that Mr. Stimson, during the interview, called Guantanamo "certainly, probably, the most transparent and open location in the world."

But it's offensive -- shocking, to use his word -- that Mr. Stimson, a lawyer, would argue that law firms are doing anything other than upholding the highest ethical traditions of the bar by taking on the most unpopular of defendants. It's shocking that he would seemingly encourage the firms' corporate clients to pressure them to drop this work. And it's shocking -- though perhaps not surprising -- that this is the person the administration has chosen to oversee detainee policy at Guantanamo.

More Disney/ABC/KSFO

2007-01-13T09:41:00.000-08:00

KSFO radio did a "special" 3-hour show yesterday with a couple of goals:

1. Tell everyone why left-wing bloggers are *ssholes
2. Try to save their advertising base

Regarding #2, they seem to be failing. If you look at their advertisers' page, you'll see it is now their advertiser's page. They had 10 - 15, they now have one.

This all started because a blogger who calls himself "Spocko" started sending audio clips of some of the KSFO personalities greatest hits (you can get some of those from the youtube clip posted previously) to KSFO advertisers asking them if they really wanted their brand associated with hate speech. Apparently this was effective because ABC/Disney sent Spocko's hosting service a cease and desist letter, claiming the audio snippets were a "clear violation" of copyright laws. Apparently they've never heard of "fair use".

There are many many reviews of the show, I'll link to some of those below. What really struck me in listening to it is:

1. They don't see the hypocrisy in slamming left wing bloggers for allegedly trying to censor them while their parent company threatens to sue a blogger over protected speech

2. They believe that the Constitution gives them first amendment protection to receive advertising dollars, because no one is actually trying to force them to stop talking, just pointing out to KSFO's advertisers that their ad dollars might be better spent elsewhere.

Links to online commentary:

DailyKos
San Francisco Chronicle
Sinfonian's Live blogging of the show
Media Matters' Hate-Free Petition

ABC/Disney sucks

2007-01-11T09:29:00.000-08:00

You can read the SF Chronicle article about the war between KSFO and a blogger named "Spocko".

What Exactly "Demeans Women"?

2007-01-07T11:59:00.000-08:00

Is it contraception, as the new chair of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Population Affairs says? Or is it the guy at the left, who happens to be the new chair of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Population Affairs.

See this essay from Sara Paretsky, the author of the V.I. Warshawski novels, about Eric Keroack. Keroack is described by others as another "out-of-step" appointment by the Bush administration and, simply, as a "f*cking insane person."

Al Gore on the failure of the Bush Administration

2006-12-01T09:24:00.000-08:00

"But dammit, whatever happened to the concept of accountability for catastrophic failure? This administration has been by far the most incompetent, inept, and with more moral cowardice, and obsequiousness to their wealthy contributors, and obliviousness to the public interest of any administration in modern history, and probably in the entire history of the country!"

Read the whole article:
http://men.style.com/gq/features/full?id=content_5179

I write letters

2006-11-16T20:45:00.000-08:00

This article appeared in the San Jose Mercury News the other day. Quoting:

"When San Jose police officer and military reservist Derrick Boler answered his country's call, the city promised to make up the difference between his military and police pay so his family wouldn't suffer financially from his sacrifice.

When Boler returned home after 34 months in Iraq, the city handed him a bill for more than $52,000. City officials said they overpaid him by mistake and needed him to repay the difference in three years. With interest.
...
San Jose has socked several of the 73 employee reservists who have served tours of duty over the past three years with repayment demands. The city council, which has tried several times to fix the problems, will discuss the matter again at its meeting Tuesday. But council members aren't sure what to do, because their attorney says they can't just forgive the payments.
...
But the city attorney's office responded that any effort to forgive the overpayments -- even due to city error -- would constitute an illegal gift of public funds."

There's been a lot of controversy up here about the fact the city has given millions of dollars in subsidies to the San jose Grand Prix and Norcal -- the local garbage company. So, I wrote a letter to the editor. My letter appeared in yesterday's paper:

"According to the San Jose City Attorney's Office, city military reservists called up to fight in Iraq who were overpaid the difference between their military pay and city pay are stuck with a repayment bill. The city can't forgive the overpayments -- even due to city error -- because it would constitute an illegal gift of public funds. But what if the reservists were to change their names, just temporarily, to either ``Norcal'' or ``San Jose Grand Prix?'' Wouldn't they be able then to legally get a gift of public funds?

David Shannon
San Jose"

"fat, draft-dodging, drug addict..."

2006-10-28T08:57:00.000-07:00

I assume everyone has heard Rush Limbaugh's "comments" about Michael J. Fox so I won't summarize them here. I did like it when Don Imus called Rush a, "fat, draft-dodging, drug addict -- jacking his maid up, having her buy dope for him -- That fat son of bitch, I mean, enough bad stuff can't happen to him,". I've had a chance to watch Michael J Fox in interviews afterwards and saw him this morning on ABC's This Week with George Stephanopolous. What a class act. Wanting to do something I decided to make a donation to the Michael J. Fox Foundation in honor of Michael J. Fox. You have the option of having a letter sent about your donation to someone (usually yourself for tax reasons I guess). I had it addressed to:

Rush Limbaugh
The Rush Limbaugh Show
1270 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020

So Rush can know that his hateful diatribe led to at least a few more dollars go to Michael J. Fox's Foundation and perhaps get embryonic stem cell research funding just a little sooner.

I'm easily amused

2006-10-25T05:50:00.000-07:00

...by things like this

Jesus Camp

2006-09-27T07:35:00.000-07:00

Be afraid. Be very afraid. And while kids praying to a George W. Bush cutout is creepy, the scariest line for me was the little girl saying, "We're kinda being trained to be warriors, only in a much funner way"????!!!!!!

The HP Way

2006-09-23T06:12:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure how many of you have been following the Hewlett Packard Saga. To review:

"Patricia Dunn -- Chairwoman of the HP Board -- wanted to find out who on the board was leaking information, so she authorized the hiring of investigators who then impersonated board members, employees and journalists to obtain their phone records, and also surveilled an HP director and a reporter for CNet Networks Inc. They sent monitoring spyware in an e-mail to that reporter by concocting a phony story tip.

They even snooped on the phone records of former CEO and Chairwoman Carly Fiorina, who had launched the quest to identify media sources in the first place.

And in a twist that might seem preposterous if it happened in a movie, The New York Times reported that HP consultants considered hiring spies to pose as clerical or custodial workers at CNet and The Wall Street Journal."

HP has been known for long time as one of the most ethical companies to work with/for, which is why this saga is all the more bizarre. The phrase, "The HP Way" certainly takes on a whole new meaning.

Shoot, Mr. Dixon

2006-09-22T08:10:00.000-07:00

Don't ask me why or how, but Room 222 popped up in my dreams last night.

Nothing big, just us as kids sitting around and watching the show. And now, of course, I have the theme song running through my head.

If nothing else, it's a reason to post a photo of Heshimu (left).

Cute is relative

2006-09-12T17:17:00.000-07:00

I was at the dentist yesterday, and on the wall was a set of supposedly cute illustrations of mice playing with human-sized dental hygiene paraphenalia: toothbrush, tube of toothpaste, and dental floss. In one of the illustrations, one mouse is actually brushing its teeth with the toothbrush. I assume these pictures are supposed to elicit an "awwwwww" or something, but watching vermin use my toothbrush is the stuff that nightmares are made of.

Stupid Duck

2006-08-12T17:08:00.000-07:00

If you're not familiar with the comic strip Mallard Fillmore, you're not missing much. It's a conservative strip that takes shots at teachers, liberals, and the dreaded mainstream media. More importantly, it's not the least bit funny. What made me spit out my coffee, though, was the August 12 strip, which claims that "the costs of operating the tax system eat up an estimated 65% of every tax dollar collected from us." Let's think about that for a second. If every tax dollar collected from us taxpayers pays for the running the government, that means that the budget for ONE government agency, the IRS, is 65% of the total budget.

While composing this post, I was looking for James Payne's article that author Bruce Tinsley cites. I couldn't find it, but I did find this. Apparently, this strip is a repeat from April, and the author says pretty much the same thing I just said, and titled his post similarly. File it under "accidental plagiarism."

Cynthia McKinney

2006-08-10T08:34:00.000-07:00

I was reading Cynthia McKinney's political (about damn time) obituary when I got to this quote and laughed out loud:

"Cynthia McKinney is loved nationally, locally and internationally," said State Rep. Tyrone Brooks of Atlanta, president of the Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials. "I expect her to move to the international scene, especially as it relates to peace, justice and environmental issues. This is going to elevate her to another level."

That shows a distance from reality that is truly mind-boggling. I'm not sure which part of that made me laugh harder, her being loved nationally, locally and internationally or her moving on to the international scene especially as it relates to peace. Wow.

Knott's Berry Farm

2006-07-21T21:22:00.000-07:00

I was sitting over at Uncle Rod and Uncle Steve's this evening and they had a guest over who worked at Knott's Berry Farm restaurant in the 60's. He said Mrs. Knott was a bit mean. The chicken dinners were prepared in assembly line fashion and if you couldn't keep up you got fired. He was saying that all some people did was put the mashed potatoes on the plate and make the indentation in them for the gravy to go into. This guy was liked by Mrs. Knott because he could not only do that but ALSO put the gravy on the potatoes. She would keep pushing the chicken dinners down the assembly line and if any fell on the floor, the person responsible for getting them out would be fired (I Love Lucy - The Candy Factory -- anyone?).

Apparently she was also frugal and gave generously to Goodwill. When the napkins came back from the cleaners they would be tied in a bundle with a string. Workers were expected to keep those strings and tie them in a ball until the ball was as big as a soccer ball and she would donate it to the Goodwill (what the Goodwill did with a ball of string I have no idea). According to this person she found a string in a bus tray and sat the whole serving and bus staff down and said they would stay there until the person who put the string in the bus tray confessed. A server said she put it there because she didn't have time to put it in the ball and Mrs. Knott said that she then didn't have time for her and fired her on the spot.

Anyway, fun, unverified gossip as to what Knott's Berry Farm was like in the 60's.

Causal Relationships and You

2006-07-16T08:39:00.000-07:00

According to today's Los Angeles Times, those affected the most by high gas prices are low-wage earners. Thanks God for the Times and their crack team of economic analysts for bringing much-needed clarity to this complicated issue.

Armonica

2006-07-13T07:45:00.000-07:00

Adrienne and I were in Colonial Williamsburg last week and we saw a glass instrument concert by Dean Shostak. Apparently he's one of only 10 people in the world who play the glass armonica (who knew?). He also played a glass violin and glass bells. Interesting guy. He was also the last guest on the Mr. Rogers show. He showed a clip of him from the show playing the glass armonica. Anyway, as he was talking about and playing the glass armonica, I kept thinking I was probably the only one in the theater that every time he said "armonica" I thought of the Planetarium guy on South Park who couldn't pronounce the "t" in "Planetarium".

The Spirit of 1778

2006-07-04T18:46:00.000-07:00

Just in case you find yourself about 1,500 down to Grandma:

The highest known theoretically possible score for a single play under American tournament Scrabble rules is 1,778 points for joining 8 already-played tiles to form the word OXYPHENBUTAZONE across three triple-word-score squares, while simultaneously extending 7 specific already-played words to form new words.

It's been 22 years...let it go.

2006-06-17T19:29:00.000-07:00

I see that the NBA has suspended Jerry Stackhouse for one game for his flagrant foul of Shaq. So where was the NBA in 1984 when Kevin McHale clotheslined Kurt Rambis? Yeah, I'm still bitter.

ESPN has too much time on its hands

2006-06-14T14:49:00.000-07:00

ESPN2 is running the World Dominoes Championships right now. I think they are hoping dominoes will become the next poker. Not a chance. I'd rather watch hockey.

Stupid statistics

2006-06-12T07:35:00.000-07:00

From today's San Jose Mercury News, "Moises Alou became the 19th player to hit a home run on his own bobblehead giveaway day, according to David Hallstrom of the Society for American Baseball Research."

Why is anyone tracking THAT statistic?

Ann Coulter is now officially crazy

2006-06-08T17:32:00.000-07:00

Or maybe she just figures the only way to get people to pay attention to her is to go the Pat Robertson route and say something so outrageous that it makes the news. Sure, it would be easy to write a reasoned, objective book about those who lost loved ones on 9/11 without resorting to name-calling, but that might only get you one or two hits on Google News rather than a couple of pages. Way to raise the bar, Ann.

I'm so proud

2006-06-01T08:34:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, tomorrow is my last day at Wily... or CA as we're now known since we were bought by them a few months ago. CA just announced that it "delayed its quarterly results and warned that it would post a surprise loss after finding that it incorrectly accounted for sales commissions, dealing a fresh blow to the management software firm that has worked to turn around its business and put a multibillion-dollar accounting scandal behind it."

This is shortly after former CA, Inc. chairman Sanjay Kumar pleaded guilty to securities fraud, perjury and obstruction of justice.

I'll miss the people there. I probably won't miss the rest of it....

The Meatrix 2: Revolting

2006-05-25T05:24:00.000-07:00

For the latest in antibiotic overuse, artificial hormones, and mad cow disease, the gang from The Meatrix is back.

Intelligent Designing Pains

2006-05-05T07:00:00.000-07:00

Kirk Cameron hosts a religious show with this guy, who tries to prove the existence of God with a banana. To this set of skeptical eyes and ears, however, he actually does a pretty good job of describing natural selection.

Oops

2006-05-03T11:31:00.000-07:00

Exhibit A in the argument against capital punishment:

"Four of the nation's top arson experts have concluded that the state of Texas executed a man in 2004 based on scientifically invalid evidence."

"The whole system has broken down," Barry Scheck, co-founder and director of the Innocence Project, said at a news conference at the state Capitol in Austin. "It's time to find out whether Texas has executed an innocent man."

D'oh!

Stephen Colbert Rocks

2006-04-30T18:35:00.000-07:00

Stephen Colbert apparently upset President Bush with his routine at the White House Correspondent Dinner.

Some highlights:

He attacked those in the press who claim that the shake-up at the White House was merely re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. “This administration is soaring, not sinking,” he said. “If anything, they are re-arranging the deck chairs on the Hindenburg.”

Colbert told Bush he could end the problem of protests by retired generals by refusing to let them retire. He compared Bush to Rocky Balboa in the “Rocky” movies, always getting punched in the face—“and Apollo Creed is everything else in the world.”

Turning to the war, he declared, "I believe that the government that governs best is a government that governs least, and by these standards we have set up a fabulous government in Iraq."

He noted former Ambassador Joseph Wilson in the crowd, just three tables away from Karl Rove, and that he had brought " Valerie Plame." Then, worried that he had named her, he corrected himself, as Bush aides might do, "Uh, I mean... he brought Joseph Wilson's wife." He might have "dodged the bullet," he said, as prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald wasn't there.

Colbert also made biting cracks about missing WMDs, “photo ops” on aircraft carriers and at hurricane disasters, melting glaciers and Vice President Cheney shooting people in the face. He advised the crowd, "if anybody needs anything at their tables, speak slowly and clearly on into your table numbers and somebody from the N.S.A. will be right over with a cocktail. "

Observing that Bush sticks to his principles, he said, "When the president decides something on Monday, he still believes it on Wednesday - no matter what happened Tuesday."

Also lampooning the press, Colbert complained that he was “surrounded by the liberal media who are destroying this country, except for Fox News. Fox believes in presenting both sides of the story — the president’s side and the vice president’s side." In another slap at the news channel, he said: "I give people the truth, unfiltered by rational argument. I call it the No Fact Zone. Fox News, I own the copyright on that term."

He also reflected on the alleged good old days for the president, when the media was still swallowing the WMD story.

Addressing the reporters, he said, "Let's review the rules. Here's how it works. The president makes decisions, he’s the decider. The press secretary announces those decisions, and you people of the press type those decisions down. Make, announce, type. Put them through a spell check and go home. Get to know your family again. Make love to your wife. Write that novel you got kicking around in your head. You know, the one about the intrepid Washington reporter with the courage to stand up to the administration. You know--fiction."

Interdepartmental transfer

2006-04-26T07:28:00.000-07:00

Tony Snow goes from the Fox News Division of the Republican Party to the White House Division.

Read this blog or we'll shoot this dog

2006-04-22T08:17:00.000-07:00

Adrienne and I are going up to the wine country in a couple of weeks to bottle some wine. We get to create our own labels and I thought I would use this classic photo from a National Lampoon magazine and have underneath the picture "Buy this wine or we'll shoot this dog" (Adrienne doesn't approve -- but since we're doing reds and whites, she can do her own label). The question I have is what do I call the wine? "Blackmail"? "Animal Rights Red"? I'm blanking here. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Go Sharkies

2006-04-21T11:58:00.000-07:00

The San Jose Sharks odds of winning the Stanley Cup are 14 -1 as the playoffs start today. One of us threw a few bucks down on the Sharks to win the Stanley Cup when they were sitting 9th in their division and getting 30-1 odds. Go Sharks!

A useful tool

2006-04-19T07:45:00.000-07:00

Scott McClellan announced his resignation today. I hate that guy. We've mentioned Scott a few times in this space. A couple of my favorities:

John, from January of this year:

" A Useful Tool"
On The Daily Show, Jon Stewart showed a clip of a White House press briefing in which Scott McClellan referred to the infamous illegal wiretaps as "a useful tool." Stewart responded with: "coincidentally, 'useful tool' is Bush's pet name for McClellan."

Me, from last year:

"Scott McClellan is a liar"
Just following up on the post below... I'm not sure how Scott McClellan could be any more of a Bush whore.... In response to the reports that "Philip Cooney, chief of staff for the White House Council on Environmental Quality, made changes to descriptions of climate research that had already been approved by government scientists and their supervisors"... McClellan had this to say:

"That's false," spokesman Scott McClellan said. "The reports are based on the best scientific knowledge that we have at this time."

Liar."

I'm sure there are others...

Political odds

2006-04-17T16:26:00.000-07:00

According to Sportsbook.com, here are the latest odds for all things political:

1. Will the House Judiciary Committee hold an impeachment inquiry
a. Yes + 400
b. No - 600

2. President Bush - Job Approval Rating on April 30th
a. Over 39% Even
b. under 39% - 140

3. Who will win a House majority in the 2006 Midterm Elections
a. Democrats +160
b. Republicans - 200

4. Republicans win Tom DeLays former district
a. Yes - 140
b. No + 110

5. Who Will win a Senate majority in the 2006 Midterm Elections
a. Democrats + 200
b. Republicans - 260

6. Who will win Pennsylvania Senate seat in the 2006 Midterm Election
a. Rick Santorum + 120
b. Bob Caey Jr. - 150

Only in Texas

2006-04-15T10:19:00.000-07:00

The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission has suspended its controversial program of issuing citations to drunk bar patrons because they MIGHT drive after leaving the establishment. My guess is that our president has mixed feelings about this development. On the one hand, trampling people's civil rights and thumbing your nose at the Constititution is standard operating procedure in the Bush administration. On the other hand, he's probably glad they didn't have this program while he was living there.

As Long As We're Talking Baseball

2006-04-13T15:24:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite trivia questions:

Starting with the first World Series in 1903 and moving forward, of the original 16 National and American League teams which two were the last to make their first appearance in the Fall Classic. Bonus points if you can name the years those two teams finally made it.

(Hint: It's not Boston or Pittsburgh.)

Today, I consider myself the most hypocritical man on the face of the Earth

2006-04-09T08:44:00.000-07:00

Today's L.A. Times has an interesting story on Steve Garvey, who has racked up about $300k in debt while continuing to be "a man of honor, integrity and quality," according to his website. While I can totally understand the debt thing, the hypocrisy that this jerk displays is beyond understanding. I'm really tempted to "book Steve Garvey for (my) next event" just to ask him about it.

Note: the title of this post is completely inaccurate because this guy is in total denial. I just thought it was good way to compare Garvey with the subject of the previous post.

Uncle Otto, Schmotto!

2006-04-01T21:28:00.000-08:00

Turner Classic Movies celebrated the start of baseball season by showing a bunch of baseball movies, so naturally, I recorded "The Pride of the Yankees." I never noticed that in the opening scene, when young Lou is trying to get in to the sandlot game by offering up some baseball cards, he refers to Honus Wagner as "Hans Wagner." I'm tempted to submit that one to the goofs section of Imdb.

Peaceful Iraq, uh... I mean Turkey

2006-03-30T08:07:00.000-08:00

This is pretty funny. Howard Kaloogian, the former GOP assemblyman running for the seat vacated by disgraced 50th Congressional District Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham and has made support for the war in Iraq a central issue acknowledged Wednesday that a campaign Web site photo -- billed as a peaceful street scene taken during his recent trip to Baghdad -- was actually photographed in Turkey.

From the article:

"'It was wrong. We're sorry,' Kaloogian said of the peaceful street scene from Istanbul labeled as depicting downtown Baghdad. He said his staff mistakenly put the photo on the site.

The campaign posted the photo from Kaloogian's July trip to Iraq, a mission dubbed the "Truth Tour" and organized to "tell the American people about the accomplishments (troops) are making in Operation Iraqi Freedom and the fight against terrorism,'' according to the tax-exempt group Move America Forward, a conservative grassroots organization Kaloogian helped found.

The caption read that "we took this photo of downtown Baghdad while we were in Iraq'' which is "much more calm and stable than what many people believe it to be. But, each day the news media finds any violence occurring in the country and screams and shouts about it -- in part because many journalists are opposed to the U.S. effort to fight terrorism.''

But bloggers on the popular liberal Daily Kos Web site revealed the photo depicted a street scene in Turkey.

Kaloogian said the photo was taken during a layover in Istanbul and was mixed up with those taken on the Iraq tour -- whose participants included conservative talk show hosts such as San Francisco's Melanie Morgan of KSFO."

Click here for a breakdown of the photo.

"Mission Accomplished"

2006-03-21T10:13:00.000-08:00

As if we didn't know before--as in before the 2004 election--the douche in the White House speculated today that U.S. troops will be in Iraq for years to come.

When will the American troops come home, Commander-in-Chief-breath?

"[T]hat will be decided by future presidents and future governments of Iraq."

That adds up to at least three more years of American presence in Iraq. Good Lord...

"Incompetent" Is Good, But...

2006-03-16T10:28:00.000-08:00

Here's a game that's fun for the whole family.

In a recent poll, the most frequent one-word description of the president was "incompetent." (Other words that popped into the heads of those polled included "good," "idiot," and "liar.")

So let's play word association. When someone says "George W. Bush," you say ... what?

Please post in the comments box. (And yes, for polling purposes, "douchebag" is considered one word.)

Top ten things I did not hear during my jury duty

2006-03-15T18:29:00.000-08:00

10. “You’re out of order! You’re out of order!”

9. “What about THAT, Mr. Fung?”

8. “I intend to prove that this man is Santa Claus.”

7. “Denny Crane.”

6. “Stand up, children. Your father’s passin’.”

5. “Lousy, rotten kids, you work your life out!”

4. “Did you say ‘yutes’?”

3. “You can’t handle the truth!”

2. “Dingoes ate my baby!”

1. “Are you familiar with the term ‘Old Yellow Stain’?”

Can you name all ten references?

Chef quits

2006-03-13T14:42:00.000-08:00

Isaac Hayes has quit South Park. It turns out that one of the funniest episodes ever.. where they make fun of Scientologists and Tom Cruise, offended Issac Hayes -- who happens to be a Scientologist. As Matt Stone says, "This is 100 percent having to do with his faith of Scientology... He has no problem — and he's cashed plenty of checks — with our show making fun of Christians."

Wonderlic

2006-03-02T19:38:00.000-08:00

Who can beat 13 out of 15 on ESPN's sample Wonderlic test? Mom, Dad and I took the test. You have five minutes to get as many right as possible.

I'm an excellent basketball player. Definitely buried the three-pointers.

2006-02-25T08:42:00.000-08:00

The only question now is who's going to play this kid in the movie. Be sure to click on the movie at the right of the page.

Leave it to Ramona students to misbehave

2006-02-24T12:30:00.000-08:00

Making a mountain out of a snowball:

Two Riverside students suspended for taking snowballs to school

10:53 PST Riverside, Calif. (AP) -- Two Ramona High School students were suspended for bringing dangerous objects to school — snowballs.

Seniors Michael Sepulveda and Daniel Zavala, the snowball co-conspirators, made a pre-dawn run to the San Bernardino Mountains to fill their pickup trucks with snow and bring it to school for what they hoped would turn into an annual "bring Big Bear to Riverside" ritual.

They were suspended after a school parking lot snowball fight before the start of classes Thursday.

Principal Mike Neece said one of his most important responsibilities is maintaining a safe, orderly learning environment.

"Anything that disturbs that or disrupts that is inappropriate on a school campus," Neece said. "Anything that could cause injury, or could cause a student to get upset and instigate a fight, or damage students' personal property is just inappropriate behavior."

Zavala and Sepulveda were stunned.

"The school overdid it. In the handbook it does not say, 'Do not bring snow to school,'" Zavala said Thursday afternoon.

"It's snow," Sepulveda said.

Savala's mother Martha Valdez called the boys' actions "harmless" but said she supported the decision by school officials.

"They're still there to mandate the rules, and they have to draw the line somewhere."

Information from: The Press-Enterprise,www.pe.com

My Christmas party is getting a little too quiet. What ever shall I do?

2006-02-19T06:55:00.000-08:00

There's no place like the internet if you want to get a quick nostalgia buzz. I found an old "Mr. Microphone" commercial on ifilm, and immediately remembered the younger males in the Shannon household talking major smack about the selling points of this product, i.e., that "professional entertainers" use this piece of crap; that dull parties will instantly turn festive once Mr. Microphone makes an appearance; because there are "no attaching wires, you're free to move around," enthusiastically demonstrated by our African-American friend; and finally, because it can play on "any FM radio," you can pick up "good-lookin'" chicks from your car. Did I mention my birthday is May 26?

Just a reminder

2006-02-14T21:57:00.000-08:00

My birthday is May 26.

An Insipid Filibuster

2006-02-13T05:18:00.000-08:00

If you're a refugee with great integrity who has contempt for insipid filibusters, chances are we were checking you out at Merriam-Webster Online.

The dictionary site listed its Top 10 words for 2005. The list, topped by "Integrity," is based on the number of user hits throughout the year. Besides the words in the opening sentence, newsmakers like "tsunami," "pandemic," and "levee," made the top 10.

However, despite the many references to the members of the Bush administration, "douchebag" did not make the list.

Cheney Accidentally Shoots Fellow Hunter

2006-02-12T17:37:00.000-08:00

Read about it here.

And on the sixth day, God created Ken Ham

2006-02-11T21:13:00.000-08:00

I was going to write a whole bunch of smart-ass comments about this guy, but I'll let the article speak for itself, and let you guys have at him in the comment section. Have fun.

A Fork in the "Glory Road"

2006-02-11T15:09:00.000-08:00

Have you caught Glory Road yet?

Good flick, though it's no Miracle, despite how much the filmmakers tried, especially playing fast and loose with some of the facts of Texas Western's 1965-66 national championship season.

Coach Don Haskins was not a crusader for racial integration; he wanted to win a championship. Texas Western had not come out of nowhere to upset mighty Kentucky; the Miners had been to the NCAA Tournament in two of the previous three seasons and brought a No. 3 ranking and a 27-1 record into the championship game. Etc., etc.

Jeff Merron at ESPN.com does a regular breakdown of fact vs. fiction of sports movies in his "Reel Life" column. Interesting stuff on a number of movies, including Miracle, Cinderella Man, Hoosiers, and many others. (Note: Merron's archives include all his columns so you have to search a little bit to find the "Reel Life" stuff, but it's worth it.)

What's your ringtone?

2006-02-11T07:18:00.000-08:00

"I Wanna Be Sedated" by the Ramones

Ginger or Mary Ann

2006-02-08T16:17:00.000-08:00

I'm taking a class through UC Berkeley extension on writing about food. I don't think I'm doing well. At break, the instructor passed out ginger snap cookies and we had 5 minutes to write a short piece to describe the cookies as it might appear in the header of a cookbook recipe. So I wrote (and keep in mind I only had 5 minutes):

“In the age old argument, “Ginger or Mary Ann”, Ginger gets the nod here – providing just the right oomph to a cookie that clearly should not be castaway.”

No one laughed. It's tough when you throw something out there and it just dies...

A Dollar Says the Gretzkys Are Headed to Splitsville

2006-02-08T12:08:00.000-08:00

"You did what?!?!?!"

"How could you take the Seahawks and the points?"

"D'oh!"

Any of those could have been The Great One's initial reaction to finding out that his wife wasn't content on sitting on his mega-millions. Seems Janet Jones liked to play a hunch or two. Jones was implicated in the sports gambling ring orchestrated by Gretzky's assistant coach with the Phoenix Coyotes, Rick Tocchet.

This one is going to leave a mark: Wife, assistant coach, illegal sports gambling, money laundering, conspiracy.

"We didn't get into it other than she was concerned about Rick and she felt it was a tough situation with him," Gretzky said, "and she would sit down at some point and answer questions that everybody has for her."

I bet Wayne has a few questions of his own for her.

Raymond Scott & Cabernet

2006-02-06T05:37:00.000-08:00

Completely random post, but it will appeal to the Looney Tunes fans among us...

So we're sitting around Saturday night, Diana, me, and a friend of hers from Columbus. We're talking, catching up, and we have "Big Band & Swing" music on in the background from the digital cable TV service.

About halfway through our third bottle of wine, I hear a very familiar tune. The screen tells me it's "Powerhouse" by Raymond Scott.

"That's a Bugs Bunny song," I thought. Sure enough, "Powerhouse" was one of many tunes Scott composed and recorded for Warner Bros. cartoons. (If you go to the "Powerhouse" link, there's an audio file in there. You'll recognize the tune immediately.) He's also written music for The Simpsons, Ren & Stimpy, and numerous movies, including Starsky & Hutch, Radioland Murders, and many others.

I guess the most amazing thing about this story is that I didn't write down "Raymond Scott" or "Powerhouse" until Sunday morning but still remembered his name and the song. If you're not familiar with him or his work (I wasn't) check out the links here. Pretty cool stuff.

This makes "Ziggy" look good

2006-02-03T18:32:00.000-08:00

Never mind their phallic noses. Never mind that the woman apparently has square breasts. Never mind that they seem to share some sort of congenital disorder that makes their eyes bulge out. Just read the caption. This could quite possibly be the least funny cartoon ever published.

Dennis Miller on Bill and Hillary Clinton

2006-01-27T21:54:00.000-08:00

From his "All in" comedy special on HBO:

"That marriage couldn't be more about convenience if they installed a Slim Jim rack and a Slurpee machine at the foot of the bed."

Apparently they've never seen "Night Shift"

2006-01-27T15:35:00.000-08:00

Party in Autopsy Room Shocks Norway
Health authorities expressed shock and disgust Friday over reports that employees at a hospital in southern Norway threw a party in a post-mortem room and covered an autopsy table with a white cloth and candles.

Turn Me On, Dead Man

2006-01-27T05:40:00.000-08:00

"It was really, really scary. It really bothered me and it really creeped me out."

What's all the hubbub, bub?

Seems the latest audio book from Elmo--"Potty Time With Elmo"--contains the following rhetorical question from Baby David, one of the book's characters: "Who wants to die?" (Note: There's a link to an audio clip in the article.)

"Some people find it really funny. It is, kind of, like, well, maybe for you it is, but you really need to take into consideration what it is telling these kids."

Funny? There's nothing funny about sitting on the pot and wondering if you're about to drop the apocalypse.

Late Night With Stewie Griffin

2006-01-25T09:56:00.000-08:00

Look who's getting a talk show, albeit on the Internet.

"We think that the property is perfectly suited for that audience," Fox Interactive Media president Ross Levinsohn said.

I can't wait for his interview with Courtney Love: "So, is there any tread left on the tires? Or at this point would it be like throwing a hot dog down a hallway?"

I'm betting they don't publish this letter.

2006-01-24T10:40:00.000-08:00

In today's San Jose Mercury News, there's an article about the fact that the San Jose Sharks and the team's charter air carrier are the worst violators of the overnight curfew at Mineta San Jose International Airport, arriving after-hours 10 times in the past season and a half, according to city officials.

So I wrote to the paper:

When your reporter interviewed Sharks President Greg Jamison regarding his decision to ignore the after-hours airport curfew and he stated it was necessary "to keep a competitive balance in the NHL", was he flipping off those residents affected by aircraft noise while he was saying that, or did he wait for your reporter to leave the room before giving them the middle finger?

70's Music Explosion

2006-01-23T17:46:00.000-08:00

So I'm watching an infomercial for TimeLife's 70's Music Explosion (and sadly considering ordering it) and Barry -- Greg Brady -- Williams and some anonymous woman are pimping this collection. At one point the woman says, "What I liked best about the 70's music were all the cute guys who sang". This leads to a montage of "cute" guys, the first being Leo Sayer. Now in what universe is Leo Sayer "cute"? The second guy was I think Andy Gibb.. and OK, I guess. But the 3rd guy was some balding ugly dude. Holy crap, this woman has no standards.

Struggling Against Majority Tyranny

2006-01-23T17:28:00.000-08:00

Adam Cohen writes in today's New York Times about Alexis de Tocqueville's "Democracy in America", where in it he warns, "the greatest threat the United States faces is the tyranny of the majority".

Cohen points out that de Tocqueville "had great hopes for the judiciary. "The courts correct the aberrations of democracy," he wrote, and "though they can never stop the movements of the majority, they do succeed in checking and directing them." Tocqueville would not be surprised that the Supreme Court has limited the Bush administration's excesses in the war on terror - or that the administration has been eager to nominate justices with an expansive view of presidential power."

"He understood that the newest incarnation of despotism was likely to be ushered in by the "avowed lover of liberty" who is a "hidden servant of tyranny."

As Alito comes up for confirmation, keep in mind what our President's agenda is... to reduce the checks of the judiciary by appointing someone who would grant him expansive powers -- thus making the struggle against majority tyranny that much more difficult..

it makes me sick this guy even attended UCLA

2006-01-20T15:21:00.000-08:00

UCLA students urged to expose 'radical' professors
By Steve GormanThu Jan 19, 8:16 PM ET

A conservative alumni group dedicated to "exposing the most radical professors" at the University of California at Los Angeles is offering to pay students $100 to record classroom lectures of suspect faculty.
The Web site of the Bruin Alumni Association also includes a "Dirty Thirty" list of professors considered by the group to be the most extreme left-wing members of the UCLA faculty, as well as profiles on their political activities and writings.
UCLA Chancellor Albert Carnesale on Thursday denounced the campaign as "reprehensible," and school officials warned that selling or distributing recordings of classroom lectures without an instructor's consent violates university policy.
News of the campaign prompted former Republican congressman James Rogan, who helped lead impeachment proceedings against former President Bill Clinton in the U.S. House of Representatives, to resign from the group's advisory board.
"I am uncomfortable to say the least with this tactic," Rogan, now a lawyer in private practice in California, said in an e-mail resignation made public by the Los Angeles Times. "It places students in jeopardy of violating myriad regulations and laws."
At least two other members of the group's advisory board, which consists of more than 20 individuals, also have quit over the group's efforts to have students record their professors.
The group, which is not affiliated with UCLA or its official alumni association, is the creation of Andrew Jones, a 2003 UCLA graduate who said he runs the organization mostly on his own with $22,000 in private donations.
Jones told Reuters he is out to "restore an atmosphere of respectful political discourse on campus" and says his efforts are aimed at academics who proselytize students from either side of the ideological spectrum, conservative or liberal.
"We are concerned solely with indoctrination, one-sided presentation of ideological controversies and unprofessional classroom behavior," Jones said on his Web site.
Jones' site describes his campaign as "dedicated to exposing UCLA's most radical professors" and his list of the university's "worst of the worst" singles out only professors he says hold left-wing views.
Jones said he would only accept recordings from students whose professors consented in writing to have their lectures taped. And students would only be paid $100 if they furnished complete recordings of every class session, as well as detailed lecture notes and all other teaching materials from the class.
Jones, who also is offering to pay $50 for notes and materials only, said one student has signed up to participate and two others have expressed interest so far.
UCLA spokesman Phil Hampton said the university planned to send Jones a letter warning him that faculty hold copyrights to all their course materials and that his campaign encouraged students to violate school policy.

a quick laugh

2006-01-19T21:52:00.000-08:00

On The Daily Show, Jon Stewart showed a clip of a White House press briefing in which Scott McClellan referred to the infamous illegal wiretaps as "a useful tool." Stewart responded with: "coincidentally, 'useful tool' is Bush's pet name for McClellan."

San Jose Grand Prix

2006-01-13T15:44:00.000-08:00

I write letters. In today's San Jose Mercury News:

San Jose council scorns citizens

I continue to be disappointed, yet not surprised, by the San Jose City Council's contempt for the citizens of San Jose. The latest example is the rush to push through a $4 million subsidy to keep the San Jose Grand Prix in San Jose. Ignoring our morally ambiguous mayor's comment that ``the deal is the deal,'' citizens deserved notice about this and the chance to comment to their council members. This council's culture of excluding the citizens from debate has become standard operating procedure, and I'm afraid it will continue if Cindy Chavez (the only council member other than the mayor informed ahead of time about this deal) is elected mayor. Thank you to Councilmen Cortese, Reed and Yeager for voting against this back-room deal.

David Shannon
San Jose

Interestingly, the Mercury News main editorial today was:

City's climate of secrecy has to change

VOTE ON GRAND PRIX SUBSIDY ILLUSTRATES NEED FOR REFORM

Mercury News Editorial

Still mopping up after the Norcal scandal, San Jose's elected leaders should be going out of their way to win back the public trust. But most of them haven't got a clue.

They proved it Tuesday by rubber-stamping a surprise proposal to give $4 million to the San Jose Grand Prix -- even though most council members had only one day to peruse the deal, and most of the public found out about the unexpected subsidy when they picked up Tuesday morning's newspaper.

It gets worse. Some leaders did know. Mayor Ron Gonzales and Vice Mayor Cindy Chavez had been briefed on the proposal last month. Neither said a word.

It's no surprise for Gonzales, who has a record of keeping discomforting news to himself. But Chavez ought to know better, particularly since she's running for mayor. Voters don't want more of the same.

Springing proposals on the council and the public has been business as usual in San Jose. Staff reports on important issues often go out at 5 p.m. Friday for a Tuesday council meeting. The Grand Prix details didn't make it to the city Web site until late Monday morning.

Only Ken Yeager, Chuck Reed and Dave Cortese stood up for open government and voted no. All but Reed said they'd probably have approved a subsidy once they had answers to a whole raft of questions, including what the net effect of the deal will be on the city's general fund.

The late reports aren't the fault only of the staff. They happen because the mayor and council let them -- or perhaps prefer them in some cases. More notice can mean more public controversy.

Cortese argued eloquently to delay the vote until the next council meeting. But the majority fell for that old sales pitch: This offer's only good for one day! Come back in two weeks, and it may be too late!

Seriously. Negotiations have dragged on for months, but now suddenly a two-week delay will kill the race? If it's that fragile, the sponsors are likely to be back asking for more money by spring. Which, by the way, is another San Jose pattern.

The Grand Prix was great last year, and we'd like to see it come back. But if the ground rules were going to change, the debate should have begun before a firm deal was hashed out, not after. And as Reed has proposed, San Jose needs a sunshine law to prevent these kinds of taxpayer surprises.

Democracy in Action

2006-01-07T08:57:00.000-08:00

My E-mail from Sen. Dianne Feinstein (and don't think that this is some computer-generated form letter, cuz it ain't!):

Dear Mr. Shannon:
Thank you for writing to express your views regarding a Senate resolution to honor Bruce Springsteen on the 30th anniversary of his "Born to Run" album. I read your comments with interest and will keep your comments in mind as my staff and I review legislation. Please feel free to contact me again in the future with any matter that is of importance to you. I value your opinion and appreciate your interest in actively contributing to the legislative process. If you have further questions, or if there is some way I can assist you in the future on other matters, please do not hesitate to contact one of my offices:

San Francisco: (415) 393-0707
Los Angeles: (310) 914-7300

Is that your final new year's eve show?

2006-01-01T20:59:00.000-08:00

Today the internet newsgroups are all abuzz about how bad recovering stroke victim Dick Clark sounded on New Year's Rockin' Eve. But for me, the real train wreck was on Fox, where Regis Philbin hosted New Year's Eve Live. First, Regis came out on a balcony overlooking Times Square and exhorted all the tourists freezing their butts off to sing "New York, New York" along with him in some sort of mass karaoke. The problem was that the only one with a microphone was Regis, whose singing voice isn't terrible, but let's face it - he's no Bo Bice. Then he introduced Jillian Barberie, who had a terrible cold, thus making her poorly written banter with Regis even more difficult to listen to.

So let's see: we lead off with a mediocre singer performing a thirty-year-old song that every one, especially those who used to DJ wedding receptions, is sick of, followed by a chit-chat with a woman famous for being sexy who is wearing a heavy wool overcoat and is in desperate need of a Nyquil IV drip. How do you follow that? I know! We bring out the mediocre singer's wife, who is even less talented vocally than her husband and have them sing a duet of "Winter Wonderland," or as Regis called it, "Wonter Winderland." At that point, I switched over to Dick Clark. To those of you who actually went out for New Year's eve: good call.

South Park Offends Catholics... Who Knew?

2005-12-29T21:03:00.000-08:00

According to E Online, Catholics have been successful in preventing Comedy Central From rebroadcasting the Dec. 7 season finale of South Park, titled "Bloody Mary,".

"In the episode, a statue of the Virgin Mary is believed to be bleeding from its rear end, inspiring faithful parishioners to flock from miles around to be healed by the miraculous blood.

Eventually, Pope Benedict XVI is called in to investigate, whereupon he determines that the statue is actually menstruating and thus is nothing special.

"A chick bleeding out her vagina is no miracle," the pope declares in the episode. "Chicks bleed out their vaginas all the time."

George Bush ... Hermann Goering

2005-12-21T11:06:00.000-08:00

Somebody has been studying his history.

"Of course the people don't want war. But after all, it's the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it's always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it's a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger."

-- Hermann Goering at the Nuremberg trials