AMERICAN DIGEST: Squawking Points Archives

Squawking Points

The Obama "Legacy" So Far: Let's Review

How you like us now? Sharp, concise, to the point and you can dance to it! Get it and spread it at YouTube - ‪The Obama Legacy‬‏

Posted by Vanderleun at Jul 7, 2011 5:00 PM | Comments (5) | QuickLink:

Seven Beauties Seven Lies

"Tell Me Lies, tell me sweet little lies..."
Stimulus Bill Broke 7 Obama Promises via Sweetness & Light

1. Make government open and transparent.

2. Make it "impossible" for Congressmen to slip in pork barrel projects.

3. Meetings where laws are written will be more open to the public. (Even Congressional Republicans shut out.)

4. No more secrecy.

5. Public will have 5 days to look at a bill.

6. You’ll know what’s in it.

7. We will put every pork barrel project online.

Posted by Vanderleun at Feb 15, 2009 5:22 AM | Comments (5) | QuickLink:

Racism Ends Forever

Posted by Vanderleun at Nov 10, 2008 12:55 AM | Comments (4) | QuickLink:

Obama: A Progressive for Progress! Now with Liberal Substance!

He's not a "Liberal." He's a "Progressive!"

Bigger promises need bigger icons. As I remarked only yesterday in Hope, Change, and the New Old NOW "the people do not want POLICIES, the people want PROMISES! Promise, LARGE PROMISE, is the soul of politics." Today we can see this essential truth continue to reveal itself from two widely opposing viewpoints in the blogosphere.

Continued...

Posted by Vanderleun at Feb 2, 2008 6:25 PM | Comments (14) | QuickLink:

Jane's Got Questions. I've Got Answers

Continued...

Posted by Vanderleun at Jan 2, 2007 4:52 PM | Comments (52) | QuickLink:

You Want the 5-Minute Argument or the Full Half-Hour?

Confused about global warming? You should be. The always much-vaunted Experts can't even agree on whether or not more sunshine is a good idea: "Daylight Saving Change: Energy Boon or Waste of Time?"

Getting in the religious mode in which you are either a "Believer" or a "Non-believer?" Hey, you gotta believe in something and, with the cheapening of God, it really is about time the human race got back to its roots and started arguing about the "Weather Gods."

You just know things are going well in Iraq when the current "End of the World As We Know It" argument is getting all the traction in the puny minds of men.

The morphing of "Global Warming" into "Climate Change" is a brilliant stroke since, well, there's always some climate change going on somewhere. That sly semantic shift alone is good for a couple of decades worth of sturm und drang studies and useless programs costing billions. You can believe what you wish about Global Warming, but what is beyond argument is the fact that the Global Global Warming Funding Scam is here and not going away. Too many people have mortgages to pay and kids to put through college.

What's the take-away from this Oscar award winning line of bullshit? "Everybody argues about the weather, but nobody knows anything about it."

Posted by Vanderleun at Mar 12, 2006 9:56 AM | Comments (1) | QuickLink:

C'mon, You Knew It Was Only a Matter of Time

As the Top of the World Turns reports this new email coming to an inbox near you:

Dear Friend,

This mail may not be surprising to you if you have been following current events in the international media with reference to the Middle East and Palestine in particular.

I am Mrs. SUHA ARAFAT, the wife of YASSER ARAFAT, the Palestinian leader who died recently in Paris. Since his death and even prior to the announcement, I have been thrown into a state of antagonism, confusion, humiliation, frustration and hopelessness by the present leadership of thePalestinian Liberation Organization and the new Prime Minister. I have even been subjected to physical and psychological torture. As a widow that is so traumatized, I have lost confidence with everybody in the country at the moment.

You must have heard over the media reports and the Internet on the discovery of some fund in my husband secret bank account and companies and the allegations of some huge sums of money deposited by my husband in my name of which I have refuses to disclose or give up to the corrupt Palestine Government. In fact the total sum allegedly discovered by the Government so far is in the tune of about $6.5 Billion Dollars....

Complete text at As the Top of the World Turns

Posted by Vanderleun at Jan 15, 2005 10:47 AM | Comments (1) | QuickLink:

Brother's Grimm Need Not Apply: The Politically Perfect World According to Children's Book Editors

Want to write for children? Want to create the next Harry Potter, Lemnony Snicket, ~~Huck Finn~~? (Whoops, forget about that last one.) If you do, you'd better know THE RULES before you set pen to paper. Otherwise, you are out before you are even in.

Heres my annotated selection of quotes taken from a "helpful" book "advising" authors on "the limits." The original from Writing for Children and Teenagers was found and typed up by Cameron Wood from Way Off Bass

1) Don't waste our time with traditional values:

If you have a story in which Mom is in the kitchen while Dad is repairing the car, and Betsy has just returned from her ballet lessons at the same time Rob has come home from a rough and tumble game of football - you can be certain that the story will be rejected.

2) Don't forget, and even elevate, the fringe kids:Every woman does not spend all her time in the kitchen, nor does every man have facility with mechanical problems. Girls are not necessarily interested in gentle activities or boys eager to participate in contact sports.
3) We need to see our brains in your book:Let at least one of the characters reflect today's thinking.
4) Ye olde gandma and grandpa are extinct:Gone are the white-haired grandmothers who always wear aprons and cook turkeys on Thanksgiving while Grandpa sits in the living room, smoking a pipe and showering his family with a supreme knowledge of how to live one's life.
5) Grandpa, being male and probably white, is a drooling, ranting, incontinent embarrassment:Grandpa might be shuttled off to a nursing home because his presence is making life difficult in the home.
6) Grandma, being female, never slows down or loses her mind:
Grandma has no time to bake because every Monday she takes her disco dancing lessons.

Continued...

Posted by Vanderleun at Jan 11, 2005 5:10 AM | Comments (5) | QuickLink:

Porretto Punctures "Process"

One of the downsides of contemporary capitalism (yes, there are a few) is the need to invent new "theories" of innovation and work along with genuine innovation. These usually take the form of books, seminars, and other grant-in-aid programs for the army of "consultants" that hover over the corporate landscape like trial lawyers and has-been celebrities hover over unexploited diseases.

The list of these sins is both, as a friend of mine likes to say, "numerous and multiple." One of my favorites was, if you have been conscious and semi-working since the early 1980s, a chunk of blather called "The One Minute Manager." A best-seller in its day and something that gave the author a big hit from the money machine, it has long since shuffled off its mortal coil. [In a way it worked for me as well since, as soon as I saw it on the best-seller list, I went right out and bought a manuscript for Houghton Mifflin called "The 59-Second Employee,"** which enjoyed a similar although smaller success.]

Continued...

Posted by Vanderleun at Oct 7, 2004 4:05 PM | Comments (4) | QuickLink:

Le Smart Car It Is Tres Stupid

Vel Satis: A car of this type rests as from spirit hand over the motorway

Okay, know going in that this story is going to cause your brain to curdle. You've got French technology, French manufacturing, and a French driver all going wildly, terribly wrong. On top of that you have a not-ready-for-prime-time Google translation from German to English. It's going to be a rough ride, but once you get into the spirit of the thing it just sort of skips along.

To set the scene: You have a cutting-edge French car with "smart" technology that takes so many little, irritating tasks away from the driver. You know, little things like air conditioningl, seat adjustment, radio tuning, control over acceleration, braking, and the ability to shut the whole thing down. Add in a wide open road and what do you have? Terror on the tarmac!

[Text verbatim, but cut -- out of respect for our shared humanity.]

It was worse than a nightmare: A normal route on the motorway. To be stopped suddenly will the car ever faster, is no more.

Well one hour long hunted a French driver with speed 200 over the runway, in the Slalom around the other cars. ...

It has a truck overhauled, when its car accelerated suddenly independently on 190 kilometers per hour, quoted the French daily paper "Le Parisien" the driver Hicham Dequiedt on Tuesday:

"It was impossible to drive more slowly. On the brake to step, nothing proved functioned. as useless. " ....

A cause for the Horrortrip was a electronics error in the vehicle: the Tempomat of its Renault Vel Satis was defective. The ignition to switch off is not possibly been, since the car has a smart card instead of a key....

The police certified Dequiedt a "admirable behavior": "you discussed solution types at the telephone with me." The officials let a Mautstelle on his distance vacate, all barriers were eliminated and fire-brigade and ambulance alarmed as a precaution.

"I stood, said the fear of my life. It became dangerous, when before it a truck on the left trace overhauled another vehicle. It could change over only to the standing tire. "I thought, my last Stuendlein struck."

Only after approximately one hour and 200 kilometers he could finally bring the cars to holding. "I stepped as firmly, as I could, on the brakes, and the car came finally to a halt."

The pressestelle of the manufacturer Renault confirmed the incident, which occurred on Sunday. "The car is examined for the moment in France", said spokeswoman Caroline Sambale. To the causes she can say to still nothing for the moment. ....

The model Vel Satis is steered via the smart card: Door locks open automatically, as soon as the driver equipped with the map, whom grasp affects.

Preferences of the driver such as air conditioning system and seat position, in addition, vehicle-relevant data such as maintenance dates are stored on the smart card. As soon as the driver puts it into the reader in the center console, going away barrier and steering column bolting device are solved.

The driver must operate then an asynchronous operation button, in order to start the engine.

Zoot alors! It is that "asynchronous operation button" at the bottom of all this merde dans les epinard!

Posted by Vanderleun at Oct 5, 2004 10:28 PM | Comments (7) | QuickLink:

Sullivan Suckupathon Now Aimed at Hoovering Money from Dems

"So long, suckers, thank's for the tips," says
Sullivan in classic "hide that second chin" pose.

IT SEEMS LIKE ONLY YESTERDAY THAT ANDREW SULLIVAN WAS PUFFING HIS HIT COUNT BY GOING ALL WOBBLY ON BUSH. Might have worked, but we didn't care to follow up.

Now that he's announced that he values his marriage more than his life, Andrew is passing the tip jar around in hopes of snaring a few bucks from the billions of born again Democrats that are sure to be flocking to his page after he promoted himself to the head of Conservatives for Kerry.

There's been a lot of heat and pressure directed at Sullivan -- most of it centering around the concept that Sullivan has "sold out."

Not so.

Sullivan has not sold out, he's bought in.

Let's face it. It is summer time, Andrew's a long way from a steady paycheck, and his needs are numerous and multiple. Simply put, he needs the cash and his current take is probably a long way from the high point of tip jar heaven for him of a year or two back.

What's a boy to do with the expenses of a Provincetown summer looming? Why

Continued...

Posted by Vanderleun at Jul 26, 2004 12:31 PM | Comments (11) | QuickLink:

The Roots of the New York Times Gloom Over the US Economy

New York Times Stock Flirts with One Year Low

THE ECONOMY MAY BE RECOVERING IN THE UNITED STATES BUT NOT ON 43RD STREET: New York Times Lowers Outlook for Newspaper Ads

"Overall, the pace of the recovery in the advertising market is still not as strong or as predictable as we would like to see in a reviving economy," Janet Robinson, New York Times chief operating officer, said during a conference call. "We are looking at a better second half, but we certainly don't want to overpromise and underdeliver."

New York Times now expects total company costs for the full year to increase by low- to mid-single digits, down from previous expectations for growth in the mid-single digits.

Advertising revenue will increase in the low- to mid-single digits in 2004, a more sluggish pace than the mid-single digits growth previously forecast, the company said.

"Clearly, this is disappointing from a company that many investors, including us, had expected to be outperforming at this point in an ad recovery," Lauren Rich Fine, who follows the publishing industry for Merrill Lynch, said in a report.

New York Times' soft revenue trends come on the heels of solid second-quarter results from rival Gannett Co., publisher of USA Today and nearly 100 other daily newspapers. "After decent numbers from [Gannett] yesterday, investors will likely take [New York Times Co.'s] deteriorating revenue progression during the [second quarter], with particularly soft June results, as a cautionary signal with regard to the second-half industry outlook," said Peter Appert, publishing analyst with Goldman Sachs.

Who was it that said, "A psychotic is one who is completely in touch with reality, it just happens to be his private reality"?

Posted by Vanderleun at Jul 23, 2004 11:02 AM | Comments (11) | QuickLink:

Andrew Sullivan Mondays Freeze Dried

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO JUST DON'T HAVE TIME FOR AndrewSullivan's Daily Dish on Mondays, we've prepared a lite version below. The original weighs in at 2098 words, but we've pared it down to 478. This way you can get the essential Sullivan in one fifth the time:

RETHINKS: Mike Kinsley kills own editorial -- I remark that my blogging had inconsistent positions and rife with conflicts. Ask for slack. For Kinsley too.
- 5:35:47 PM
�
CALABRESI: Volokh
- 5:25:54 PM
�
BEGALA NOMINEE: "Supreme Court -- Bush /Gore =Mussolini / King of Italy = Hindenburg / Hitler. Bush not Hitler. Bush = Mussolini. Franklin Roosevelt same but elected big." - Calabresi , judge 2nd Circuit Court Appeals.
- 4:08:13 PM
�
ELECTROCUTION? Iraq prison badness "... electrocution genitals, rape and murder -- Saddam's former torture-palace. approved by higher-ups? Rumsfeld? I harangued for continuing to write -- huge deal if torture sanctioned secret + the president, against law. Need to know -- Rumsfeld authorize ? responsible? -- scape-goat underlings -- exonerate Rumsfeld? Supoena, say I.

BBC EXPOSED: Devastating - true.

BECAUSE CAN: Child-molesting priests protected by Vatican -- sickening, important --vital.

GOD'S PARTY: Republicanism = holy war. Karl Rove / Ralph Reed make it. My column -- GOP abusing faith -- political ends -- opposite .

APPEASEMENT: foreign desk editor-- Lebanon + Syria -- people there -- friends -- Sharkansky sticks boot.
- 12:21:03 AM
�
QUOTE DAY 1: "Conservative -- SF marriages, adoption by same-sex , and NH Episcopal bishop. Gays married + children + church = OK. Next -- school vouchers, boycot HBO + Republican. Arguing not happening w/ conservatives -- formats radio/TV = no debate. Tone not trial of Socrates = Johnnie Cochran to O.J. jury." - P.J. O'Rourke , Atlantic.

QUOTE DAY 2: "Deborah Solomon: Abu Ghraib okay?

Trent Lott: Mississippi said: 'America #1.' Interrogation not Sunday-school. No American lives saved withholding pancakes.

DS: Unleashing killer dogs + naked Iraqis not = withholding pancakes.

TL: Did dogs bite / assault?" - From NYT Magazine .

PEACE PROCESS: I amused @ UN: doves of peace, released "dead before dropped like a brick.'" inquiry. Dead dove? Priceless.

KRAMER VS SULLIVAN: Kramer Reagan = Hitler . I respond = Advocate. I surprised by Goldberg last week -- I not playing to gay = non-endorsement of Bush -- I alienate gay establishment -- against shibboleths. Oppose hate crime; reservations re: non-discrimination; favor Boy Scouts discrimination but deplor discrimination; challenge AIDS orthodoxy: battle victimology endorse Dole Bush over Gore praise drug companies HIV treatment. Very few gay controversial as I -- happens I believe Constitution not place = social policy+ marriage = l right for all not straight ones = I say all audiences. Always.

BLOGGING CONVENTIONS? Bloggers more statement = not going to infomercials; schmooze-fests for journalists, pundits politicals + corrupting donor parties -- political importance = television shows. New York = fun -- hang outside with left-wing freaks, not inside with right-wing freaks. Rationalizing Ptown? No. You kidding?
- 12:20:39 AM
�
GAY LIFE: List of occupations -- gay applicants -- marriage licenses -- Massachusetts -- Week1: [insert 360+ job descriptions]

Challenge. Think of straight who does job, tell him/her no marry -- spouse = room mate -- children take away any time. Gay people live this every day; are treated sub-human -- beneath citizenship. Endit.

Posted by Vanderleun at Jun 21, 2004 4:11 PM | Comments (2) | QuickLink: