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December 31, 2008
First good news of the New Year: 2009: A Year Without Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert - Greg Pollowitz Time Warner is threatening to pull seven Viacom cable properties, including Comedy Central, off the air as of midnight tonight unless a new deal can be arranged.Posted by Vanderleun at 6:45 PM | Your Say (1)
Not content with perverting Christmas, the shameless lust addicts at Maggie's Farm have taken the next step in their destruction of traditional American values. Attached to this "news" story, Moslem men don't like T&A, says Reverend they have published this revolting image.
Posted by Vanderleun at 10:29 AM | Your Say (10)
Work hard, chill harder: The American Way according to Morgan.As Americans, we have a long and stalwart legacy of galvanizing ourselves into action as a direct consequence of need. When the need softens, we hibernate like big fat bears. We excel at adapting to the requirement of the moment. Once the zombies are all slaughtered and the mortgage payment is off in the mail and levee has been fixed and the foot fungus has been cured — we, The American People, can sit back the farthest, relax more muscles, flip on that idjit box that fastest, stick out that big ol’ belly the farthest, pop open that beer, and make sure it’s the biggest, coldest one there is…better than any nation, civilized or no, this rock in space has ever seen. That is what we do. We fix things that are busted, and once they’re fixed, we relax to such a masterful extent we practically melt.
Posted by Vanderleun at 9:43 AM | Your Say (0)
December 30, 2008
And so say we all: "Let the Israelis kill them. They've brought only trouble for my people."I've been talking to friends of mine, former Palestinian Authority intelligence officials (ejected from power by the Hamas coup), and they tell me that not only are they rooting for the Israelis to decimate Hamas, but that Fatah has actually been assisting the Israelis with targeting information. - A Fatah Friend Writes: I'm Supporting the Israeli Air Force - Jeffrey Goldberg
Posted by Vanderleun at 7:06 PM | Your Say (0)
The causes of atheism are:divisions in religion, if they be many; for any one main division, addeth zeal to both sides; but many divisions introduce atheism. Another is, scandal of priests... A third is, custom of profane scoffing in holy matters; which doth, by little and little, deface the reverence of religion. And lastly, learned times, specially with peace and prosperity; for troubles and adversities do more bow men's minds to religion. - Francis Bacon: The Essays: Of Atheism
Posted by Vanderleun at 12:16 PM | Your Say (1)
December 29, 2008
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December 28, 2008
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December 27, 2008
For all those who have ever wondered,"Gee, what would Ted Kennedy look like as a psychopathic transexual proctologist on a crash diet during a global Botox and glove shortage?"
Posted by Vanderleun at 10:59 PM | Your Say (4)
First, all over the world, temperatures have been dropping in a way wholly unpredicted by all those computer models which have been used as the main drivers of the scare.
Secondly, 2008 was the year when any pretence that there was a "scientific consensus" in favour of man-made global warming collapsed.
Thirdly, as banks collapsed and the global economy plunged into its worst recession for decades, harsh reality at last began to break in on those self-deluding dreams which have for so long possessed almost every politician in the western world.
Posted by Vanderleun at 8:37 PM | Your Say (0)
"This Intifada will be peaceful for the Palestinians but lethal for the Zionist enemy," Meshal said, adding that this 'new Intifada,' will "rescue Gaza and protect the West Bank." -- Hamas Political Leader in Damascus Khaled Meshal. [I love that "in Damascas" part of this "hero's" location. Here's hoping there's a bomb or a bullet with his forehead's current address on it. ] After IAF strike kills at least 230 in Gaza, Hamas chief vows third Intifada has come - Haaretz - Israel News"Hiding among women and children is evil. Which is why killing these cowards is good." - Don Surber
Posted by Vanderleun at 5:32 PM | Your Say (2)
President-Elect Man-Child:The man-child projects a simultaneous sense of not being comfortable in his own skin and perpetually on display to others. He's twitchy, approval-seeking, and doesn't know when to shut up. He's never been tested to anywhere near the limits of his physical or moral courage, and deep within himself he knows that because of this he is weak. Unproven. Not really a man. And it shows in a lot of little ways - posture, gaze patterns, that sort of thing. He'll overreact to small challenges and freeze or crumble under big ones. - Armed and Dangerous ｻ Blog Archive ｻ Where the men are
Posted by Vanderleun at 12:19 PM | Your Say (1)
December 26, 2008
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December 25, 2008
Luke (Updated) 1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Obama, that all the world should be taxed.Posted by Vanderleun at 12:07 PM | Your Say (1)
December 24, 2008
From The Littlest Angel by Charles Tazewell [ Note: I had this on a record as a small boy and I wore that record out. How nice to find it now, Christmas Eve, 2008, so many years later.] Excerpt:The Littlest Angel trembled as the box was opened, and there, before the eyes of God and all his heaven;y host, was what he offered to the Christ child. And what was his gift to the blessed infant? Well, there was a butterfly with golden wings, captured one bright, summer day on the hills above Jerusalem, and a sky-blue egg from a bird's nest in the olive tree that stood to shade his mother's kitchen door. Yes, and two white stones, found on a muddy river bank, where he and his friends had played like small, brown beavers, and, at the bottom of the box, a limp, tooth- marked leather strap, once worn as a collar by his mongrel dog, who had died as he had lived, in absolute love and infinite devotion.
And the voice of God spoke, saying: Of all the gifts of all the angels, I find that this small box pleases me the most. Its contents are of the earth and of men, and my Son is born to be king of both. These are the things my Son, too, will know and love and cherish and then, regretfully, will leave behind him when his task is done. I accept this gift in the name of the child, Jesus, born of Mary this night in Bethlehem.
Posted by Vanderleun at 8:22 PM | Your Say (4)
“Most of the big shore places were closed nowand there were hardly any lights except the shadowy, moving glow of a ferryboat across the Sound. And as the moon rose higher the inessential houses began to melt away until gradually I became aware of the old island here that flowered once for Dutch sailors’ eyes - a fresh, green breast of the new world. It’s vanished trees … had once pandered in whispers to the last and greatest of all human dreams; for a transitory enchanted moment man must have held his breath in the presence of this continent … face to face for the last time in history with with something commensurate to his capacity for wonder.” — F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
Posted by Vanderleun at 7:53 PM | Your Say (0)
December 23, 2008
The War on Christmas continues in my email! No sooner do I condemn the Perverts on Parade at Maggie's Farm (scroll down if you must) than my own email correspondents start to deluge me with shameful Christmas images such as this.
Posted by Vanderleun at 7:03 PM | Your Say (8)
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"About twenty years ago Jobs and Wozniak,the founders of Apple, came up with the very strange idea of selling information processing machines for use in the home. The business took off, and its founders made a lot of money and received the credit they deserved for being daring visionaries. But around the same time, Bill Gates and Paul Allen came up with an idea even stranger and more fantastical: selling computer operating systems. This was much weirder than the idea of Jobs and Wozniak...." from Neal Stephenson's In the Beginning was the Command Line
Posted by Vanderleun at 6:18 AM | Your Say (0)
The denigration of Santa Claus continues at "Perverts on Parade," aka Maggie's Farm, with this outrage!
Posted by Vanderleun at 6:07 AM | Your Say (3)
December 22, 2008
From our far-flung commenters:"We won't be free until the last Lefty Old Lady is strangled with the intestines of the last Sensitive New Age Guy."
Posted by Vanderleun at 11:07 PM | Your Say (1)
Really Big Questions: Well, I'm glad this one is finally settled.
Posted by Vanderleun at 5:48 PM | Your Say (1)
Varifrank: "Thats some catch that Catch-22!" said Capt. Yossarian. "Its the best there is" said Doc Daneeka.Since the beginning of the current banking and credit crisis, Ive been waiting to hear the sound of the rat trap as it snaps closed on the neck of the general American populace, and I'm here to tell you that I've just heard that fatal "snap".
Posted by Vanderleun at 1:14 PM | Your Say (0)
Expect surprises. Expect blood."This is a government of madmen, of immoral lunatics, of crazed and wild bandits. It simply begs for an intervention by the sane and normal and industrious. If it were a business it would be forced into bankruptcy. If it were a machine it would cease to function. If it were a ship it would be at the bottom of the sea. If it were a man it would be committed to an asylum. If it were a wife divorce lawyers would be summoned. If it were a beast it would be shot dead. A nation ruled by such creatures cries out for the ash heap of History." - Madness | The Return Of Scipio
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December 21, 2008
Have you no decency, Maggie's Farm, at long last? Have you no sense of decency? More pandering to the lowest denominator at the Perverts on Parade site with this gratuitous slam at some of our finest Christmas traditions.
Posted by Vanderleun at 1:45 PM | Your Say (4)
December 20, 2008
"None of the most important truths can be proved:that right is sovereign over might, that it is better to be loved than feared, that every human being however poor or powerless is worthy of respect, that peace is nobler than war, forgiveness greater than revenge, and hope a higher virtue than resignation to blind fate. Lives have been lived and civilisations built in defiance of these truths, yet they remain true." - Jonathan Sacks, Genesis and the origin of the Origin of the species -Times Online
Posted by Vanderleun at 8:05 AM | Your Say (0)
The Monster Princess:"Friends Say Kennedy Has Long Wanted Public Role," Anne Kornblut assured readers in an in-depth Washington Post tongue-bath. She hasn't "long wanted" it to the extent of, you know, running for dog catcher in Lackawanna and getting – what's the word? – "elected," but, if you have a spare Senate seat, she's graciously indicated that she'd be prepared to consider accepting it. As lady-in-waiting Anne Kornblut pointed out, Caroline is highly qualified, being "the author of several books." It's true! She's an experienced poetry editor. She edited "The Best-Loved Poems Of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis." Jackie Kennedy wrote poems? Of course! She wrote so many poems that some are better loved than others. - Mark Steyn, We're in the fast lane to Bailoutistan
Posted by Vanderleun at 7:33 AM | Your Say (0)
What Financial System? It's just GIGOs all the way down: The Great Excel Spreadsheet VIA The Daily WTFIn going back previous editions of the spreadsheet, somehow, they managed to send completely idiotic numbers to their customers for three full years (at least). Not a single customer, not a single manager ever noticed the inconsistency for what were supposed to be trivial multiplications; not a single one of them noticed that "The-most-important-figure-on-this-chart-we-base-all-our-decisions-on" was random garbage.
In the end, he found out that whenever Helen needed to create a new row, she would simply copy and paste some random row and then adjust the values. At some point, however, she must have messed up and the spreadsheet ended up in a weird state, with formulas referring to cells in other rows, or sometimes even referring to nothing, creating a whole bunch of inconsistent values.
Excited at the chance to clear his name, Maxim revealed his findings to the lead analyst. However, instead of relief, he only shrugged and responded "Hmph... well, we usually just use our gut for recommendations, anyway."
Posted by Vanderleun at 12:19 AM | Your Say (0)
December 19, 2008
Mark Helprin:The counterpart to Republican incompetence has been a Democratic opposition warped by sentiment. The deaths of thousands of Americans in attacks upon our embassies, warships, military barracks, civil aviation, capital, and largest city were not a criminal matter but an act of war made possible by governments and legions of enablers in the Arab world. Nothing short of war -- although not the war we have waged -- could have been sufficient in response. The opposition is embarrassed by patriotism and American self-interest, but above all it is blind to the gravity of the matter.
But the costs of not reacting to China's military expansion, which could lead to its hegemony in the Pacific; or of ignoring a Russian resurgence, which could result in a new Cold War and Russian domination of Europe; or of suffering a nuclear detonation in New York, Washington, or any other major American city, would be so great as to be, apparently, unimaginable to us now. Which is why, perhaps, we have not even begun to think about marshaling the resources, concentration, deliberation, risk, sacrifice, and compromise necessary to avert them. This is the great decision to which the West is completely blind, and for neglect of which it will in the future grieve exceedingly. --- Bush Has Made Us Vulnerable - WSJ.com
Posted by Vanderleun at 9:37 AM | Your Say (0)
December 18, 2008
The Player -- New York, July 1948. "Young boy tossing a ball on a city street." Photograph by Cornell Capa
Posted by Vanderleun at 8:07 PM | Your Say (1)
The inscrutable dog's head, the lonely pooch gazing over the rim of the world, looking (one presumes) for its vanished master, as mankind might look for its vanished God.- Robert Hughes on Goya's unflinching eye
Posted by Vanderleun at 3:09 PM | Your Say (1)
Re-Volting! At Maggie's Farm they spend a lot of time pandering to perverts with images like this:
I can assure my readers that they'll never see that image here. I, at least, have some standards!
Posted by Vanderleun at 2:37 PM | Your Say (11)
December 17, 2008
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December 16, 2008
Excuse me while I quote myself:"My talent, if talent it be, is the ability to write quickly and convincingly on any subject that comes to hand. "Glib R Us." Indeed, the less I know about a subject the more articulate I can be. I blame Wikipedia and Google and am only half in jest." - Sigmund, Carl and Alfred: In The Garage: American Digest On The Couch With SC&A
Posted by Vanderleun at 4:38 PM | Your Say (0)
December 15, 2008
Rush Responds to General PowellPowell's not a Republican. McCain's not a Republican. These guys are not even mavericks. They are Washingtonians. Washingtonians have their own culture and their own desires, and it is to matter. They don't care who's in power, they just want to be closely associated with whoever is. That's the name of the game and they want press adulation. They want to be loved and adored by the media, they want fawning treatment, they want to be thought of as something special, unique, dignified and so forth, and that's the Washington establishment.
Posted by Vanderleun at 11:38 PM | Your Say (0)
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December 14, 2008
Posted by Vanderleun at 2:06 PM | Your Say (1)
Anonymous Works: "Kill Your Father" says Ouija Board“Mother asked the Ouija board to decide between father and her cowboy friend. As usual the board moved around at first without meaning. Suddenly it spelled out I was to kill father. It was terrible. I shook all over.
Posted by Vanderleun at 12:57 AM | Your Say (0)
December 13, 2008
ASSME, the American Society of Shitcanned Media Elites, is a support organization for newly downsized members of the magazine, newspaper, book publishing, advertising, TV and web industries. ASSME: Our Mission
Posted by Vanderleun at 9:31 PM | Your Say (0)
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The Roller of Big Cigars - 9 Things that the Obama should be working on for the benefit of society7. Legal assassinationsMeaning hit-men could ply their trade without hindrance. They can offer the service of legal sanctions for the purpose of resolving disputes. The government needs to realize that not everybody deserves to live and allow for ordinary citizens to rectify this problem legally, either personally (see below) or via proxy.
Posted by Vanderleun at 3:10 PM | Your Say (0)
“Many people can’t really get their day going until they’ve had their morning cup of coffee. Why not drink that morning power-up from a mug that is both cool to observe, and thought-provoking at the same time? As you pour the hot coffee into the mug, you can see exactly what the world will look like if we continue to abuse our planet and the polar ice caps melt." - KaChing![VIA: Web Urbanist]
Posted by Vanderleun at 2:50 PM | Your Say (3)
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Pournelle's Iron Law of Bureaucracy:In any bureaucratic organization there will be two kinds of people: those who work to further the actual goals of the organization, and those who work for the organization itself. Examples in education would be teachers who work and sacrifice to teach children, vs. union representative who work to protect any teacher including the most incompetent. The Iron Law states that in all cases, the second type of person will always gain control of the organization, and will always write the rules under which the organization functions. - Current Chaos Manor mail
Posted by Vanderleun at 11:11 AM | Your Say (0)
Who says there's no good news? Hacks Hacked:These cuts include the elimination of 64 filled and 21 unfilled positions, many of which are associated with the two cancelled programs. Positions have also been eliminated across NPR, including reporting, editorial, and production staffs; station services; digital media; research; communications; and administrative support. Overall, this is a 7% reduction in NPR’s current workforce. [Only 93% left to go!] -Npr: Famous Names Rumored To Be Gone At NPRI wonder if any of these salaries or people were cut:
NPR reported its five highest paid employees were: 1. Managing Editor Barbara Rehm, $383,139 2. All Things Considered host Robert Siegel, $350,288 3. Morning Edition host Renee Montagne, $332,160 4. Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep, $331,242 5. NPR afternoon programming director Richard L. Harris, $190,267. [VIA Josh Gerstein: NPR Salaries: Raw Data]
Posted by Vanderleun at 9:50 AM | Your Say (1)
December 12, 2008
40 Inspirational Speeches in 2 MinutesPosted by Vanderleun at 8:30 PM | Your Say (0)
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December 11, 2008
"Watch the hands. They tell a story."
Posted by Vanderleun at 3:05 PM | Your Say (1)
December 9, 2008
The Dark Fire is Gibson's second robot guitar in so many years. This one is a beast. Three state-of-the-art pickups, robot-accurate frets and neck, "revolutionary rotary potentiometer." Wonder what that is? The Dark Fire guitar "can play every single guitar tone ever." Seem like a stretch? Come with me, and we shall spell out the doom that is the Dark Fire.... --Dark Fire Robot Guitar by Gibson USA » Yanko Design
Posted by Vanderleun at 5:28 PM | Your Say (1)
Obama: Don't stock up on guns "Lawful gun owners have nothing to fear. I said that throughout the campaign. I haven't indicated anything different during the transition. I think people can take me at my word."
Posted by Vanderleun at 2:49 AM | Your Say (11)
December 8, 2008
Vinnie is THE MAN! What is not to like about this guy? If I was gay or he was a girl I'd marry him.I'm the evilest of evil Conservatives. I recycle nothing. Not a single can, plastic bottle, nor newspaper goes into our recycle bin. As a matter of fact, ever since our city put out recycle bins, ours has sat at the side of the house, doing nothing, because the whole recycling thing is one big scam. The only thing that would make me more evil would be clubbing baby Harp seals for their fur. If any moron wants to pony up the dough for a trip up north, though, I'm there. - Vinnie @ Ace of Spades HQ
Posted by Vanderleun at 4:56 PM | Your Say (0)
December 7, 2008
will recognize their first few faltering steps here: how to hide the feet you don't quite know how to draw; the temptation to squeeze in every cool thing you've learned how to draw-- a skull, a punch, a broken wall, an axe-- whether it fits or not; and of course, a girl in a slinky dress, perfected during those agonizing years when it was easier to invent your own girl than talk to a real one." -- DAVID APATOFF@ ILLUSTRATION ART: ONE LOVELY DRAWING, part 23
Posted by Vanderleun at 8:51 PM | Your Say (0)
December 7, 1941Posted by Vanderleun at 12:08 AM | Your Say (3)
December 6, 2008
"Much has been written about panics and manias, much more than with the most outstretched intellect we are able to follow or conceive; but one thing is certain, that at particular times a great deal of stupid people have a great deal of stupid money." - Walter Bagehot
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December 5, 2008
Zooillogix : The Best Use of Poodle
There are many uses of poodle from watchdog to loyal companion. In fact, Andrew and I had a moderately brain damaged, standard poodle named Willy that brought joy into our young lives for 12 years. By all accounts, however, this appears to be the best use of poodle we've ever seen. Now I know what many of you are thinking right now. "This is animal cruelty," you're saying, "That's blatant exploitation." But I would ask you this....Is it? Is it really?
Posted by Vanderleun at 11:08 PM | Your Say (1)
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December 4, 2008
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153 scientists from 20 countries participated in the survey of Espiritu Santo in the South Pacific, scouring caves, mountains, reefs, shallows, and forests collecting species. Out of over 10,000 species collected, the researchers are predicting that as many as 2000 may be previously unknown to the scientific community.
Posted by Vanderleun at 12:53 AM | Your Say (1)
December 3, 2008
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"Some of the evil of my tale may have been inherent in our circumstances....As time went by our need to fight for the ideal increased to an unquestioning possession, riding with spur and rein over our doubts. Willy-nilly it became a faith. We had sold ourselves into its slavery, manacled ourselves together in its chain-gang, bowed ourselves to serve its holiness with all our good and ill content. The mentality of ordinary human slaves is terrible--they have lost the world--and we had surrendered, not body alone, but soul to the overmastering greed of victory. By our own act we were drained of morality, of volition, of responsibility, like dead leaves in the wind." - Seven Pillars of Wisdom
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December 2, 2008
Posted by Vanderleun at 3:41 PM | Your Say (1)
This captioned cat picture postcard was found by Tracy Angulo in a Seattle antique store. Tracy tells us that the photograph is from 1905, which would make this officially the oldest cat picture with a caption, AKA lolcat, that we've seen. The differences are clear. Proper grammar and a more formal tone was in vogue back then. But the similarities to modern-day kitten struggles and lolcats are amazing. ALL CAPS is still cool, but most importantly, she also no can has cheezburger. More than a hundred years later, all that's changed is the spelling.
Posted by Vanderleun at 11:27 AM | Your Say (0)
December 1, 2008
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