They've had months, years, to make this "world" of what it could be.

Sentences that offend me both morally and from a linguistic POV.

"We have to deal with the world as we find it,"

From:

Top White House Senior advisor, David Axelrod, on why Democrats are going to cave on extending the tax cuts for the wealthy.

Why it offends me morally:

If I have to explain this, you must not have been reading this blog very long.

Why it offends me from a linguistic POV:

"As we find it" makes it sound like they, to use the common phrase, "were born yesterday." Sorry, no. Mr. Axelrod, we--the people who voted to put you (via your bosses) in the White House--we are dealing with the world as we find it.

Every single day, we wake up in that world and we do as best as can to play the only cards we're dealt. You and the President, Mr. Axelrod, are dealing with the world as you have (at the very least, through benign neglect) made it. There's a slight difference.

Do not go asking for our sympathy, get off the fucking cross and do the jobs we hired you (we thought) to do. You have two years until your next worker review, and we want to see a sharp improvement in your performance. Or we will get ourselves another guy.

This has been a warning.

This isn't even worthy of Tucker Carlson

Conservative pundit and Daily Caller editor Tucker Carlson perpetrated a hoax last weekend by posing as Keith Olbermann in a series of emails to a Philadelphia columnist.

On Tuesday afternoon, a set of emails surfaced on the Philadelphia news site Phawker. Phawker said that the emails showed the "100% for real" correspondence between Olbermann and Philadelphia Daily News columnist Stu Bykofsky over the weekend. In the emails, "Olbermann" talks about his boss, MSNBC President Phil Griffin, in hyperbolic, insulting terms.

On Tuesday night, Yahoo's Michael Calderone reached Carlson by phone. Carlson confirmed that he had, in fact, sent the emails posing as Olbermann.

"Could you resist?" Carlson said. "It was just too funny. The flesh is weak."

Look, we've long known that Carlson is an awful human being; a suckup little creep. But by his standards, this qualifies as just barely, even...twatlike. Making up emails and sending them as though they were by another person? Fancy!

Tsk, Tucker. What happened to you?

One of those "I think I agree with 99% of this" post links

Lincoln Mitchell: From the Audacity of Hope to Timid and Kvetchy

It is strange that a candidate who was able to read voters so well has become a president who seems to think citizens simply want legislation. Voters don't care about legislation; they care about outcomes.

Adam Sandler: The new Woody Allen

...but only in this context.

To shock of all, Obama "signals compromise with GOP."

A chastened President Barack Obama signaled a willingness to compromise with Republicans on tax cuts and energy policy Wednesday, one day after his party lost control of the House and suffered deep Senate losses in midterm elections.

Sigh. Mr. President, let me put this simply: THEY'RE NEVER GOING TO COMPROMISE WITH YOU. NEVER. IT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. EVER. If they wouldn't do it when you had the House and Senate, what fantasy of denial leads you to believe that they'll do it now?

With his comments, Obama largely followed the lead of Republican leaders who said earlier in the day they were willing to compromise — within limits.

With unemployment at 9.6 percent, both the president and the Republicans will be under pressure to compromise. Yet neither must lose faith with core supporters — the Republicans with the tea party activists who helped them win power, Obama with the voters whose support he will need in 2012.

He's already lost our support. And one reason is: None of us are even the slightest bit surprised that he "largely followed the lead of Republican leaders."

I think he's right

I've been wondering for a day or two if anyone else got the same uneasy feeling I got from listening to Jon Stewart's final comments at the anger/sanity rally. So far, the only person I've seen come close to expressing it is Keith Olbermann:

Keith Olbermann: Jon Stewart Jumped The Shark At Rally

Well hell, I want to be straight with her too...

...but I don't think she'd like--oh, I see what you're saying.

Miller To Maddow On Gay Marriage: 'I Want To Be Straight With You'

A Democratic Congressman is making noises about impeaching Chief Justice Roberts

I'd love to see it, but considering this is the congress that let the Bush, Cheney and the vile Rumsfeld walk away clean, you'll forgive me if I don't hold my breath. I also can't help thinking that if the Democratic "controlled" congress had done a better job opposing Roberts in the first place we wouldn't be in this fix.

There can be only one explaination for why this is so amazing.

And that is that the Democratic party had nothiing directly to do with it.

I would have embedded this, but for some reason defying understanding they've chosen to make it autoplay only. So I'll just link to it. "It" is a get-out-the-vote ad released by MoveOn.org and
starring Olivia Wilde.*

*Bisexual doctor on House (and lucky enough to have gotten out while the getting was good).

Co-star of Tron 2 (the aforementioned other genre sequel I'm most looking forward to this year).

Actually a pretty good actress.

Oh, and Maxim's Hottest Woman in the World, 2009.

And...Democrat.

Dear lord, I think I'm going to cry

New poster for the other genre sequel I'm most looking forward to this year.

To shock of none, conservatives belong to 100% white, 99% Goyim country club

Conservatives like John "I made my money the old fashioned way: I inherited it" (actual quote) Raese and Rush "The Incredible Julk" Limbaugh.

Proof yet again that Walmart is trying to kill us

On the left: Walmart cooking spray. On the right: Walmart furniture polish.

Via Cal da Canadlian.

Further observations on my downstairs neighbor

In case you missed the first set...

Ok, I feel the need to get this down. About 15 minutes ago (as I wrote this in an email to a friend), I woke up and went to the bathroom. I could hear our friend, the flower snoring beneath me.

I turned on my space heater and was about to get a drink before going back to bed when I heard a knock at my door. "Who is it?" I said, pretty sure that I knew who it was. "It's Derek" (the delicate flower.).

The following conversation took place (as best I recall) after I unlocked and opened the door-which, BTW, took me three or more tries--just woke up, remember.

DF: Could you turn down whatever's playing, please? (he may not have said please).

Me (incredulously): The music?

(let me explain why I was incredulous. What he was talking about--we have to assume--was the music coming from my little iPod speakers the size of one hand.

But what kind of music, you may wonder. One of my thumping dancefloor anthems? No, strangely enough I don't find my Kylie Minogue terribly soothing for sleep, so I was listening to the likes of the soundtrack to Godspell, and Miles Davis. Y'know, hard-hitting stuff like that.

The speakers were on the floor next to my bed, yes--where I've had them many nights before without complaint. Now back to our exchange)

DF: Well whatever it is, I can hear it.

Me: You have remarkably keen ears.

DF: Are you being snotty?

Me: What time is it?

DF: It's five AM.

Me: Ok, I'm being snotty. You see this thing on my nose? (I was indicating one of the nasal strips I had bought a few days ago). This is something I got to help me breathe easier so that I wouldn't disturb you with my horrible snoring. I have gone to more trouble for you than I have for some women I have known. We live in an apartment. Deal with it.

And I shut (did not slam) and locked the door.

(Neither of us raised our voices during the discussion, BTW)

Now, I think I have a pretty good idea what happened. Obviously, something about my getting out of bed, walking the few feet to the bathroom and using it woke him. And I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do about that.

Remember, I know for a fact that he'd been sleeping not five minutes before, so I don't think it was my hard-rockin music...but whatever. Rather than take the few minutes it would've taken to go back to sleep, as you or I would...he decided he had the right to come up here and complain to me.

BTW, I could hear him snoring again as I was writing this, so I know I didn't terribly upset his sleep patterns. I wish I had a "sum-it-all-up" paragraph here, but I don't. As I say, I just wanted to get this down. But I do feel pretty safe in saying: It's not me. It's him.

Now, to try to return to my own blissful tranquility...

Questions for the Universe

Wouldn't you think that in this day and age, there'd be an easy way to find out which issues of Mad Magazine (or stories from same) were reprinted in what paperbacks?

What do they mean "back?"

The very latest congressional generic trend chart: GOP back in the driver's seat.

Actually, it's become undeniably apparent that the GOP never left the driver's seat...

So it's come to this.

Police agencies across the country are recruiting thousands of civilians for a growing number of duties previously performed by uniformed cops, in an unusual concession to local budget cuts.

The positions -- some paid and others volunteer -- are transforming every-day citizens into crime-scene investigators, evidence gatherers and photographers in what some analysts suggest is a striking new trend in American policing.

"It's all being driven by the economy and we should expect to see more of it," says University of Pittsburgh law professor David Harris, who analyzes law enforcement practices. "As budgets are squeezed, an increasing number of duties are going to be moved off officers' plates."

You realize what this means...

(story via HuffPo)

Looking for something saddening to read on this Saturday?

Here's a lengthy, and chilling, look at the Senate and White House's failure to effectively address climate change. It'll take you about 10 minutes to read, but IMO it's well worth your time. However, if you want the shorter version, here it is in two sentences:

1. There is no hope.

2. Give up.

(when I say saddening and chilling, I mean...)

Because when you think hip, you think James Carville

Even Democratic strategist James Carville was forced to admit of Christine O'Donnell 'Now, this is one hip woman,' on CNN's Crossfire.

With what, a stopwatch?

Top Evangelical David Barton: Maybe Government Should 'Regulate Homosexuality'

I think this is the best poster I've seen for this yet