And just like that, it's over.

I'm calling it for Obama. McCain's condescending, rambling bull just didn't sell.

God damn it McCain

STOP FUCKING SAYING OBAMA DOESN'T UNDERSTAND. HE UNDERSTANDS ONE FUCKING HELL OF A LOT MORE THAN YOUR SENILE, WAR-MONGERING ASS!

EDIT: Fortunately, it seems like that line isn't paying off for McHate.

EDIT 2: OH GOD HE SAID IT AGAIN

Watching the Debate, Question 5

Did anyone else say "OH SNAP" when Obama brought up McShame's Spain gaffe?

Watching the Debate, Question 4

McCain, do you have any positions, or just a lot of folksy bullshit?

Watching the Debate, Question 3

McCain starts yammering about troops "not wanting their kids coming back" to Iraq.

Wasn't he the one who said "100 years"?

Watching the Debate, Question 2

McCain, did you just try to push yourself and Failin' as mavericks AGAIN?! Nobody believes that shit anymore but the 28%ers.

Watching the Debate, Question 1

Does McCain ever stop lying?

Jack Thompson Disbarred; World Slightly Less Crazy

From Kotaku: Jack Thompson Disbarred

Is it finally game over for Florida lawyer and violent video game opponent Jack Thompson? Judgment has been entered in the case that started last year and came to a head when Judge Dava Tunis recommended permanent disbarment for the bombastic, showboating law man. The court has approved the report and has ordered that JT is officially disbarred as of 30 days from today.

The Court approves the corrected referee's report and John Bruce Thompson is permanently disbarred, effective thirty days from the date of this order so that respondent can close out his practice and protect the interests of existing clients. If respondent notifies the Court in writing that he is no longer practicing and does not need the thirty days to protect existing clients, this Court will enter an order making the permanent disbarment effective immediately. Respondent shall accept no new business from the date this order is filed.

Note that Thompson still has a chance for a retrial, only due to court sanctions the motion must me submitted by a member of the Florida Bar in good standing, and I don't know that anyone wants to touch this one. It's also worth noting that along with disbarment, Thompson has been ordered to reimburse the Florida Bar fees amounting to $43,675.35. Ouch.

Well, Jack, I guess that's what you get when you harass, threaten, and slander people for a living.

Naturally, Thompson is swearing revenge, in his usual insane, unrealistic, vaguely-threatening way, not realizing that nobody's going to listen to him since he's shown himself to be nuttier than a squirrel's lunch. And, just to rub it in, people are celebrating.

I think it's best summed up by a video I found on YouTube while looking for information on this. As the song says, "Na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na, hey hey hey, goodbye!"

Remember when Sarah totally beefed it?

Couric: You've said, quote, "John McCain will reform the way Wall Street does business." Other than supporting stricter regulations of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac two years ago, can you give us any more example of his leading the charge for more oversight?

Palin: I think that the example that you just cited, with his warnings two years ago about Fannie and Freddie - that, that's paramount. That's more than a heck of a lot of other senators and representatives did for us.

Couric: But he's been in Congress for 26 years. He's been chairman of the powerful Commerce Committee. And he has almost always sided with less regulation, not more.

Palin: He's also known as the maverick though, taking shots from his own party, and certainly taking shots from the other party. Trying to get people to understand what he's been talking about - the need to reform government.

Couric: But can you give me any other concrete examples? Because I know you've said Barack Obama is a lot of talk and no action. Can you give me any other examples in his 26 years of John McCain truly taking a stand on this?

Palin: I can give you examples of things that John McCain has done, that has shown his foresight, his pragmatism, and his leadership abilities. And that is what America needs today.

Couric: I'm just going to ask you one more time - not to belabor the point. Specific examples in his 26 years of pushing for more regulation.

Palin: I'll try to find you some and I'll bring them to you.

facepalm.jpg

My Political Stunt Senses Are Tingling.

John McCain to suspend campaign to work on financial crisis.

“Tomorrow morning, I will suspend my campaign and return to Washington after speaking at the Clinton Global Initiative. I have spoken to Senator Obama and informed him of my decision and have asked him to join me,” he said in New York.

And McCain more or less backs Obama's campaign into a corner here, though all things considered, I wouldn't be surprised to see Obama push past this attempt and stab at the heart of the issues. He's exceptional at that, really. McCain is also asking the Presidential debate be postponed, what a surprise.

How a campaign can be this poorly managed, this... hidden away, and still even be holding ANY ground against their opponents is astounding to me.

My paranoid streak is also, unfortunately, flaring up and it makes me uncomfortable to see the words "Suspend Campaign" this close to the election, it causes my mind to immediately ask the question, "For how long?"

Piss Off a Censor - Read

The week starting next Saturday is the American Library Association's annual Banned Books Week.

Piss off those who want to control what we see: Read a book.

Better Yet... (Follow-up to Previous Post)

How about I state my point with a short video:

You Mess With the Bull, You Get the Horns

From The Register: Conservative commentator Bill O'Reilly's website hacked

Two days after someone broke into the email account of vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, unknown intruders have hacked the website of conservative commentator Bill O'Reilly and posted personal details of more than 200 of its subscribers.

The breach into BillOreilly.com came as retaliation for remarks O'Reilly made on Fox News condemning the attack on Palin's Yahoo email account, according to Wikileaks, a site that makes it easy for whistleblowers, hackers and anyone else to leak documents.

As proof, Wikileaks posted a screenshot of the BillOreilly.com administrative interface that showed the names, email addresses, passwords, and home town of 20 subscribers of the website. In all, information belonging to 205 subscribers was intercepted, according to Eric Marston, CTO of Nox Solutions, the company that maintained the O'Reilly website.

The hack came in response to comments O'Reilly made on Fox News about the posting of contents of Palin's email account, including pictures of her daughter and her contact list.

"I'm not going to mention the website that posted this, but it's one of those despicable, slimy, scummy websites," O'Reilly said, according to this snippet from YouTube. "Everybody knows where this stuff is, OK, and they know the people who run the website, so why can't they go there tonight to the guy's house who runs it, put him in cuffs and take him down and book him?"

It's evident from the remark that no one bothered to tell O'Reilly that Wikileaks, the first site to publish the Palin email, is a multi-national, bulletproof organization that has successfully withstood serious take-down efforts before.

I'm not going to say I approve of things like this, but, well, that's what happens when you run your mouth, Billo. You keep talking shit and you'll just make whoever did this angrier. And the angrier they get, it seems, the more people are going to notice what you're doing, and what they're doing.

Is all this beneficial? Probably not. Does it help anything? Certainly not. Is it damn fine schadenfreude? You bet your bippy it is!

Choad A and Choad B

From Pharyngula: Ridiculous sanctimony

The state of California now issues gender-neutral marriage licenses: they simply register the legal relationship of "Party A" and "Party B", where the relevant individuals fill out their actual names. That sounds reasonable and straightforward to me — it's a state-mandated contract.

Wouldn't you know it, though, there has to be someone offended by it.

In an utterly absurd whine, Rachel Bird and Gideon Codding are stamping their selfish, privileged little feet and bleating that they are soooo upset about this.

And to Bird and Codding, that is unacceptable. "We are traditionalists - we just want to be called bride and groom," said Bird, 25, who works part time for her father's church. "Those words have been used for generations and now they just changed them."

Boo.
Fucking.
Hoo.

The state is recognizing that - gasp! - gay people are people too! You should throw a big fucking hissy fit because what boils down to a legal contract is being treated like a legal contract and not a special right for you! And you should voluntarily give up what rights you had solely because you're a couple of spoiled little brats with a huge fucking sense of entitlement!

Bird and Codding have refused to complete the new forms, a stand that has already cost them. Because their marriage is not registered with the state, Bird cannot sign up for Codding's medical benefits or legally take his name. They are now exploring their options, she said.

And while you're at it, take one wild guess as to what's spurring this outburst of petulant tantrum-throwing. If you guessed "self-righeous homophobic religion", congratulations, you win a new car!*

That is insane. They are voluntarily rejecting benefits that they apparently think are pretty important because they don't like the impersonal legalese on a state form? Get over it. What are their real reasons? Here's one: religious wackaloonery.

Bird's father, Doug Bird, pastor of Roseville's Abundant Life Fellowship, said he is urging couples not to sign the new marriage forms, and that he is getting some support from congregants and colleagues at local churches.

"I would encourage you to refuse to sign marriage licenses with 'Party A' and 'Party B,' " he wrote in a letter that he sent to them. "If ever there was a time for the people of the United States to stand up and let their voices be heard - this is that time."

Here's another:

"Those who support (same-sex marriage) say it has no impact on heterosexuals," said Brad Dacus of the Pacific Justice Institute. "This debunks that argument."

Please, by all means, continue losing out on benefits voluntarily because you're a couple of hateful little choads. The only ones being harmed by it are you and your children.

*Disclaimer: "New car" does not exist and no prizes are awarded.

Spain? That's near MEX E' KO, right?

I'll just leave this right here.

To recap:

"What about President Zapatero and Spain?"
Response: "Talking points about Mexico."

"Okay, and what about Zapatero and Spain?"
Response: "Talking points about Latin American leaders"

"Spain?"
Response: "What?"

facepalm.jpg

I Present: The Non-Sequitur

Contender for STUPIDEST LETTER EVER.

Smoking ban sends folks to food banks

I heard on the radio that the Community Harvest Food Bank is almost out of food because of hard economic times. One has to wonder just how many of those people collecting food may be unemployed thanks to the City Council.

Cindy Henry said in the September issue of Fort Wayne Magazine that 22 bars have closed since the City Council banned smoking in bars and private clubs. She also said she employs 16 people. If all 22 bars have 16 employees, that amounts to 352 people and their families who can thank the City Council.

What happened to all the non-smokers who couldn’t wait for the bars to go smoke-free so they could enjoy the night life also?

STEVE SCHECKEL Fort Wayne

Ladies and gentlemen, I have no comment. This level of abject stupidity must stand on its own merit.

To be fair, I did steal this idea from Craig.

Stay Up Late

So, I just watched Barack Obama on Letterman - he brought the place down. Letterman ought to be in political coverage. He always looks so much more like the respectable kind of person we haven't seen in politics in some time when he's doing so, and certainly moreso than the folks doing "real" political coverage.

And now, I'm watching Craig Ferguson tongue-lashing America for being so goddamn complacent, and so very, very stupid, about politics. The man's a Scottish-born naturalized American, and he's smarter about our politics than many of the Americans I've seen.

Why is it that all the good political coverage is isolated mostly to late-night talk shows? Why isn't it everywhere, like it should be?

Still Alive

So, the Large Hadron Collider has been used, and it works. Even better, nothing bad happened. Yes, despite the anti-science wailing of a few morons, nothing bad happened. Not like their doomsday predictions have any basis in reality, anyhow.

Now I'm excited to see what happens.

It's worth pointing out.

Alternate reality, or has Hell frozen over?

Bill O'Reilly writes ......... positive Obama column?

After going mano-a-mano with Obama on television, I am also persuaded that he is a sincere guy—that he wants the best for all Americans. He's an ideologue, but not a blind one. He understands that his story is incredible, and, I have come to believe, he is grateful to the American system for allowing it happen.

MY MIND IS BLOWN.

*WHOMP*

From Pandagon: Georgia Republican Rep. Lynn Westmoreland calls Obama ‘uppity’

The GOP’s white sheet is showing (again). There’s a reason the RNC has hit a record low in black attendees at its convention.

Georgia Republican Rep. Lynn Westmoreland used the racially-tinged term “uppity” to describe Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama Thursday.

Westmoreland was discussing vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s speech with reporters outside the House chamber and was asked to compare her with Michelle Obama.

”Just from what little I’ve seen of her and Mr. Obama, Sen. Obama, they’re a member of an elitist-class individual that thinks that they’re uppity,” Westmoreland said. Asked to clarify that he used the word “uppity,” Westmoreland said, “Uppity, yeah."

There it is. There's what they really think of him. It's stated in no uncertain terms right in that paragraph: When they call Sen. Obama "elitist", they're really saying he's some "uppity negro" (I won't use the word they're REALLY really thinking).

So, anyone else want to say that there's no racism against Obama? Anyone at all?

Live mike fun at the RNC Convention

But remember, conservatives are energized over the choice, and she's the MOST qualified!

Heh.

Mike Murphy and Peggy Noonan speak HONESTLY on Sarah Palin.

Republicans, you can stop now. We aren't buying it.